Thankful

I am thankful for these guys

and that Sterling is HOME.

I am Thankful for mid dinner dance parties and all the booty shaking involved. (This video is really loud FYI).

Daddyless

Cue the sad music, get a tissue, and get ready to feel bad for me.  Sterling is doing "Cat Duty" in Connecticut (yes, the exact office he just left a few months ago) due to the surge of Superstorm Sandy insurance claims.  He's been gone for over a week now and won't be back for another 9 days (But who's counting?  Oh yes, I am.  I even have a count down chain.  I told Mesha it was for her...)  I know that a lot of women spend a lot of time away from their husbands.  I still don't like it and I don't think I will ever be ok with it.  It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.  But I did resist writing this self-pitying post until just now and all 3 of my children are still alive.  For now.  Feel bad for me yet?  That's ok if you don't, I'll feel bad for me enough for the both of us.  He will be home for Thanksgiving, I will end on that positive note.

Emma

Well if you know me you knew it was only a matter of time before we got a cat.  This one is actually just on loan to us.  We are 'babysitting' her for a few months while her owners are between apartments.  She is a sweet little cat and lets the kids love on her without scratching, hissing or biting.

In her former home she was an inside cat and here she needs to be an outside cat (Sterling is allergic).  The minute we put her in the backyard for the first time she took off scared and didn't come back for a day and a half.  When we did find her it was after a trip to Costco and we heard a funny noise coming from the engine compartment.  Sterling opened the hood and THERE WAS EMMA!  I can't believe she was in there while we drove around and wasn't hurt.  Since then she has stuck around and seems happy.  We are glad to have her with us!

Halloween 2012

Halloween was a success!  We carved our pumpkins.

On Halloween night we dressed up for trick-or-treating up and down our street then we went to our ward's trunk-or-treat.

A fairy princess/ whatever we could find in the dress up box.

Rapunzel.  Yes, we just happened to have a miniature cast iron skillet.  Our kids call it a "Tangle bonk".

Batman!

Happy Halloween!

BFF?

It can be a fine line between good friends and good enemies...

A very fine line.

Bricks

Most parents buy their kids legos...

Our kids get to play with bricks.

Mesha's 5 Year Pictures

I am learning all sorts of new things having a child in school.  Things like how to ignore PTA membership requests, fundraisers, hot lunches, school pictures, etc.  Do I sound like a scrooge?  Maybe, but the request for my time and money are ENDLESS.  After much thought, consideration, and lots of phone calls to sisters and ward friends I have decided that it's easier to not get into it all from the beginning.  I can always change my mind later, but for now this is year 1 of 13 for Mesha and I have more kids to come.  So my goal in life is to keep it simple.
The point of this rant is that I decided to get Mesha's pictures taken outside of school.  The school offers were crazy expensive and redundant (they take pictures in the spring as well as the fall, strange, I know).  I wish I had done this in the spring when she turned 5 but oh well, too late now.  At least this way I got some pictures of Toothless Joe herself.  Here are my favorite shots.

Go me for accidentally matching her socks to her outfit!