Getting flack

So, since I've had a couple people get after me lately...here is a brief update on life here!

September was really busy with school starting, and a few other activities. Our school hosts an annual Fall Festival, and I got right on a committee for that! My friend and I put together theme baskets with donations from the classrooms. We assigned themes for each grade, collected items and money, and did some shopping to fill in the baskets. It was a ton of fun! This was the first year for either of us, so we worked out some of the kinks in our newly-created system, and are looking forward to doing this again next year!

I've continued to have cakes here and there - still doing about 2-3 a month for other people. Earlier this month I also made 3D pumpkin cakes and pumpkin topped cupcakes for both of the girls classes. Naturally, it was the week they studied "P,p" and went to a pumpkin patch. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture...very unfortunate, as they turned out really cute (if I do say so myself).

We've also enjoyed some fellowship with others recently! I had the opportunity to go with Sandy to register at Babies 'R' Us...it was fun to pick out newborn things again! We also got together with some church friends for a bonfire. Bill and I are both so thankful to have Christian friends that we can chat with, and even discuss some of life's bigger issues.

This past weekend, we took a mini-vaca up to Randolph to visit Bill's Uncle Joe and Aunt Marcia. Bill will be putting a wood floor in their house this winter, and so while the girls had break for CEA convention, we took the opportunity to go north! Our first business trip :) Although it was waaaay too short, we really enjoyed getting up there, and have determined that we aren't going to wait so long before going back! The kids had the chance to play with our cousins children, and it was fun to see them getting to know each other...I think it was about three minutes before they were running around together! Tunis and Caleb (cousins) were gracious enough to watch all the kids while we took a "nickle tour" of Randolph...good times! We ended at U Joe's company, where they make pancake and waffle mix to distribute to the whole US of A and even Europe! And thanks to their generosity, we came home with two bags of waffle mix...can't wait to get a waffle iron and start making those!

As for the kids...the girls are loving school! I love seeing them come home excited about what they've learned! We've got five letters under our belts, and they really like to practice writing. Sunday School is also underway, so we've usually got two memory verses to tackle each week. They're working on following along with our hymns on Sunday, and we are working our way through "Charlotte's Web" while we wait for the bus in the morning, and at bedtime. I like that reading is an incentive for them to get ready on time! They can also be found browsing the American Girl catalog...

Our household's biggest accomplishments this month go to Nolan! He is now champion of the porcelain...all potty trained! M&M's worked well for his motivation...started out with 1 M&M for a successful "#1" and 5 M&M's for a successful "#2" (which is not what we call it...but for the sake of the blog and my readers...). We quickly added a 2nd M&M for a successful "flush," because, after seeing his sisters cover their ears in public restrooms, he proclaimed that he was "too scared" about the flush...so we rewarded him for that too. Thankfully, in this case, PT a boy was SIGNIFICANTLY easier than my two girls! Just a couple days and he was all good! And, we aren't having to drag around a portable seat for him either...that is wonderful! The funniest part of PT was at the beginning...for about a week, every time he would go, he would look up at us and whisper "It's working!"...totally proud of his effort :)

His second accomplishment is, admittedly, still in the works. He is making the transition into church! We definitely learned some lessons from our experience of taking the girls in, so we think it is going better. However, we know there are still some bumps in the road ahead!

Last week he also came to me and said "Mama, need snack." "Why?" I asked. "Stomach is bigger, and bigger, and BIGGER hurting! Need SNAAACK!" I thought that was pretty cute.

Tessa-girl is growing like crazy. My parents stopped in this weekend and Mom proclaimed that "She's changed again!" She boasts two bottom teeth, and has started working on solid food. She has been army crawling everywhere for over a month, and has been up on all fours, but not figured out how to move her hands forward yet. She's fast enough army crawling...don't know if I'm ready for my baby to be even faster yet! She also made a move to the girls room last week. We are going to paint the "nursery" and officially make it Nolan's room...kind of sad to see it go, but it is time.

She is eight months now, and absolutely delightful! She laughs at everything, and is crazy ticklish. Still taking two good 1.5-2 hour naps a day...yay for Mom and baby! I think Tess is the first child to eat a marker tip, but not the first to get crayon in her mouth. She is certainly less protected than the girls were at 8 months, but getting more love...she's got three siblings that adore her! (This pic is from the nursery...so the border behind her is coming down soon!)

As for hubby and me...well...life is good :) We're VERY THANKFUL that business has been fluctuating between steady and crazy. We like steady, but crazy isn't bad every once in a while either! It was nice to have "windshield time" last weekend to discuss life and its happenings. And, I managed to get this pic of him recently...my heart pitter-patters just seeing this...love this man.

So, there you have it...you've been updated. No more flack for at least six weeks OK?