A change of scenery...

The goal in our house this past weekend was to keep quiet so that Daddy could do some serious studying.  He has a big exam coming up next week and needs some time to pound the information into his head.  Suffice it to say that there are two small children, one dog and one Mommy who don't always make that easy.  Not on purpose, of course, but it's just par for the course with our crew.  So despite the fact that I wasn't feeling particularly energetic, the kids and I took off for a few adventures on Saturday to give Daddy the time that he needed.

We all could use a change of scenery. 

We started off at the library.  I feel like a horrible mother, but I believe Lauren hasn't been there since I had her there in the carrier the winter after she was born.  And for anyone keeping track, we're talking well over a year and a half.  Joshua still loves to read, but our collection has grown at home to the point of a small library, so frequent trips aren't necessary.  But they both had a blast picking out a stack of books to read, and we've been enjoying them in the evenings after tubs.

After that, we headed to Subway and got some lunch.  To my kids, Subway=major treat, so they loved it and gobbled up their sandwiches.  Then we headed to the park.

I don't know why I always come up with this idea at the same time as half of the free world, but let's just say we weren't the only ones soaking up the fall sunshine and relatively warm temperatures at the park.  But the kids were running and climbing and sliding and squealing and generally having a ball.  So much so that we were there for 2+ hours without so much as a single tear, temper tantrum or bad listening episode.  Perhaps because I had told them in no uncertain terms that any of those would result in an immediate end to their park experience.  I'll have to remember how well that worked.

Once we returned, it was Penn State football time and nearly supper time, so we tucked in for the afternoon and evening at home.  Daddy was sick of studying anyway.  Which is good because all manner of silliness ensued.  Nana had picked out some dress up costumes for Joshua's birthday, and they were a huge hit!  One is a doctor's coat and the other is a chef's outfit.  They both use them and switch out the parts and turn them into all sorts of things.  Here was Lauren's get-up at one point.  She makes me laugh so hard!

And I love her look in this one.  As in, "Josh, you're strange."  These two are something else for certain.

It has been a wild week.  I have a few new ultrasound pictures of the new baby that were taken on Tuesday, so I'll hope to share them tomorrow.  With less than 9 weeks to go, things are kicking into high preparation gear in baby land.

More soon!

Trick or Treat

 A very tough Wolverine (check out those blades!) and a very sweet Owl!

For Joshua, Halloween is right up there with Christmas in terms of his favorite holidays.  It all started a few years ago when we rented the movie, Mickey Mouse: House of Villains, and it has been a fascination ever since for him.  To say he was excited about going Trick or Treating was quite an understatement yesterday.  He absolutely loves to pretend, so the opportunity to dress up in costume and "be" a character for the evening is his favorite!

Lauren did great last night, following Joshua and keeping up as well as her little legs would allow.  This was her first "real" Trick or Treating experience, since last year she was in the wagon, covered up in blankets and really unable to eat most of her treats.  She really seemed to have a good time.  Every time we'd leave a house, she'd say "I love trick or treating!"  She did a good job saying "thank you" and only tripped and dumped her candy bucket once.  (With Lauren, this is major success!  She is her mother's daughter in the coordination department.)

We headed to the church for Trunk or Treat, and the kids seemed to really enjoy seeing everyone there.  If only we were able to participate, but with the kids being as little as they are, I think we'll just have to wait until they're a little older to be able to juggle multi-tasking on Trick or Treat night.  It took both Jason and I to manage the process last evening.  And with one of us being 29 weeks pregnant, I wasn't a whole lot of help in carrying a tired toddler whose legs couldn't go anymore!  But I could hold Wolverine's hands, I mean blades, and enjoyed that very much.  After the church, we wandered back down Greenbriar Drive thinking we might see a few old neighbors.  Sadly, none of them had their lights on, but we did go door to door a few places.  We even stopped at our old house, but sadly, missed Sophia (Joshua's favorite friend from school).  It was a little bizarre to be walking up the driveway and chatting on the front porch, but we've become great friends with the new family who moved into our house (go to the same church, kids are in class and Awana together, share an anniversary, etc.) so I have really enjoyed connecting that way.  It's so funny how life turns out sometimes.

We headed back to Turbotville and stopped at a few houses on our street.  Some of the neighbors had been so sweet to think of Joshua and said they had some special "safe" treats for him, so we wanted to be sure to stop there.  I am beyond grateful for those who go out of their way to think of him and his allergy issues at times like Halloween- such a tough holiday for a peanut allergic kid.  But Joshua handles these situations with such maturity, far beyond his five years.  He knows that I need to search his candy and pull out anything that is unsafe, but that I always replace each piece with something that is OK for him.  This little project requires pretty good scouring of all of the candy bags at the stores, so that I know for sure which pieces aren't safe (most aren't labeled individually).  And yes, it does pose a danger to even have him touching the Reeses cups and Snickers bars incase there is resiude on the wrappers.  But this is one of those times that I use my best caution with him, without making him live in a bubble.  We wash hands when we return from being out, and I say a prayer that the Lord will protect him.  And He does.  I shouldn't be surprised, but amazingly, even though 99% of the Halloween candy that is on the shelves is unsafe for him, over half of his loot was perfectly fine.  And that does a Mama's heart good to be able to just let him dig in without feeling like he got the "second best" stuff from me. 

It was a great Halloween!  And now, we welcome November!  Each page that I pull off of the calendar is one less we have to wait to meet the baby girl who rolls and kicks with such strength in my tummy.  I absolutely cannot wait to see what these next few months hold as we anxiously await her arrival.