Thursday, October 31, 2013

Halloween Shenanagans


 1. Check out these awesome pumpkins.
 Thanks to our awesome friend Jamie, we got to carve pumpkins even though our pumpkins went flying out of our car in the accident.

 2. Maddie told me she wants to be an artist when she grows up! She's good huh? She made this picture for her friend Mia but I had to snap a pic before she gave it away.
 3. We went to the mall for trick-or-treating. This is my favorite thing to do for Halloween here. Its never on Halloween night so it doesn't even take away from trick-or-treating on Halloween.
We also ran into another Audrey Hepburn! So fun.
4. Halloween day was Maddie's first day back to school. She was very happy she was able to be in the Halloween parade. Mary Poppins and I hung out at Maddie's school before the parade. 


I had to snap a picture of the back of her coat because it fits so well! I'm so happy with the way it turned out.

Maddie's class before the parade.
Maddie in the parade. Hey Audrey!
 Probably the cutest Mary Poppins I've ever seen!

 5. Later that night we had some friends over for pizza and trick-or-treating. Turns out our neighborhood is awesome for trick-or-treating. Houses are close together, driveways are short, and lots of porch lights on. Felt kind of like a block party with strangers we live by (we do know one of our neighbors and all the dogs). I saw lots of people giving out handfuls of candy. The rain didn't even bother me too much. I'm from Seattle though and a Halloween without a little rain just isn't really Halloween!

 Happy Halloween!!!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

October Dailies

 1. Tara cooked herself.  The girls are getting pretty creative when playing hide-and-seek.
 2. Every night Tara asks me to put her hair in ponytails. Holding her ponytail is how she comforts herself to sleep.

 3. We are teaching Tara how to drive. a fire truck.

 just playin, playgroup at the fire station!

 4. Tara loves to practice letters on the magna doodle.
 5. I was on the phone and very surprised Tara was so well behaved and not bothering me. When I hung up I came out to the kitchen and this is what I found her doing. Hope Aaron doesn't mind princess stickers on his dental equipment. She was sure please with herself.

 6. Maddie has been asking to put up Halloween decorations all month. I put up some bats,
 and a boo banner,
 but it still wasn't decorated enough. So, she bought this at target with her own money.

 7. Country Fair at Maddie's school.
8. We love our Cheesecake Factory dates. Thanks to Grassroots!
 9. Live at Larkin, also known as the best thing ever! Remember how Llyods taco truck changed my life. Guess where Llyods is on tuesday nights? At Larken Square, along with every. food. truck. in. Buffalo. What? plus live music! Where has this place been all my life? Pretty sure this is where I'll be every tuesday night next summer. I didn't know Llyods could get any better but it just did.

 I kind of wanted to build a fort with all of these cushions. That will be happening next summer for sure.
 See that band back there? loved them. Live music is the cats meow.
 fun seats!
 10. Maddie is famous. Maddie's school asked her to participate in a photo shoot for some promotional flyers. This is what you see when you drive by her school from the road.
This is what you see when you turn off the main road into her school. She is also on flyers taped to the doors and was sent to us on a flyer in the mail.
 11. My friend, Carolyn did Maddie's hair and showed me how to do it. It looked nothing like this on Halloween. My hair skills are just not this good. Good thing her face is cute enough it really doesn't matter! Love these girls.
 12. I bought a stick vac. Voted best purchase ever. Who knew that the girls love to vacuum?
 13. Tara is trying on her Mary Poppins coat. I'm pretty proud of it!
 and they are done. I finished their costumes before the night before Halloween. Go me!
14. Maddie is being goofy, and she made that necklace.
 15. Maddie went to a birthday party for a friend at a bowling alley. It was their first time bowling.
 Check out that form.
 Tara was a little hesitant to play but I finally got her to try. This picture is an accurate depiction of the speed of her ball.
 Ten minutes later the ball finally knocked down one pin.
 Go Tara!
 Both the girls loved the arcade.


 16. The girls call this pale nolish. I'm getting a little fancy here with ombre sparkles and an accent nail.

17. No pictures, but we got into a car accident. I was picking up Aaron from school and on the way home someone ran a red light and hit us on the passenger side right behind Maddie's door. Maddie and I were rushed to two different hospitals. Tara went home with the Messicks, some friends from school, and Aaron went with Maddie to the children's hospital. Maddie and I both had a CT scan and X-rays. We came home past midnight with stitches and bruises. We are alive and I am so grateful it wasn't worse but it sure was a wakeup call that something like this can happen to anyone. Anyway, we have a lot to sort out now since our car is totaled.
 We have some awesome friends though and have felt a lot of support and love. Thanks friends, you're the best! I don't even know who sent us this box of chocolate covered fruit. It was delicious. Thanks whoever you are!
 There are a few little things I want to remember surrounding the accident:
- We got a few stories back from the Messicks. They watched Tara while we were in the hospital. They offered Tara McDonalds and she told them that McDonalds is not healthy for her. When I asked her what she had for dinner she told me beans and she was pretty excited about them. This surprises me. Not the part about the beans but the part about saying no to McDonalds. What kid does that? The Messicks also put Tara to bed because we got back late. I was told that after they laid her down she came knocking on their door and asked if she could please have her mommy back. Melt my heart, I love that girl!
- Maddie really enjoyed her visit at the children's hospital. She actually asked if she could go back. She got a beanie baby bunny and got to play games and watch t.v. She also can't stop talking about some stickers she got that I still haven't seen yet. Glad she went there and not where I went!
- Tara was pretty jealous of Maddie's pink bunny. One time I asked Maddie if she was in any pain and if her neck hurt. She said no. Tara said, "My neck hurts, I need a pink bunny." I asked her if her neck really hurt or if she just wanted a pink bunny. She said, "I just want a pink bunny but one with a little heart that opens and has a name in it." ha ha funny girl. Anyone know where we can find a beanie baby?
- After a full day of resting, I decided we needed to clean up a bit. Maddie said she was in pain, and her legs hurt. I told her to go lay on the couch. Later, I heard her bragging to Tara about how she got out of cleaning! I think she is recovering just fine!

Anywho, we had a pretty eventful month!


Thursday, October 03, 2013

September Dailies

 1. We went to a few farmers markets.
 The one on Elmwood is our favorite because of the baked goods. We bought a few cinnamon buns and a loaf of bread at one stand. We ate the cinnamon buns while we were walking around the market. As soon as we got home Tara asked for a piece of bread. When I handed it too her she said, "where's the frosting?" She must have thought the bread was more cinnamon buns. Needless to say, she was pretty disappointed. Below is a picture of the (frosting-less) bread and the watermelon Maddie picked out.
 2. We played in the rain.
 3. We went on a scavenger hunt. I printed these papers out from a blog, took them to a park and they were happily occupied.

 4. Maddie started school.
 5. Tara and I visited a park with sidewalk chalk. Tara had me draw around her body and she added the face.
 6. More rainy day play.
 Seriously? this is what happens to our backyard when it rains a lot.
 7. After school Maddie loves to hang out on the playground. Maddie and Tara are sitting next to one of Maddie's classmates, Mia.
 8. We discovered Llyods taco truck and my life will never be the same. Here is our favorite spot to eat Llyods, in front of an old church.
 9. More sticker fun.

 10. A friend from school had a birthday party at Rolli Polli.