Wish List

I figure, why not?
Brooke..uh, doesn't have a list.  But she is developing an obsession for shoes.  No, really!  If there is a pair of shoes in the room, on or off of someones feet, she WILL find them.  And put them in her mouth.

Peters list includes, but is not limited to-

this multiplied by many other Really Useful Engines.
Made out of wood.  Not metal.

***Any ideas where to find this cheaper?  I can't believe how much Tidmouth Sheds cost! 

Jamie wants:

CHI...ah.  something finally invented to tame my hair!



(These are the cutest cake platters.  They are from Crate and Barrel, which in my opinion can do no wrong when designing anything that goes in the kitchen)

and finally, the most exciting thing on my list....drum roll please....

Bryan wants: who knows??? He is nearly impossible to shop for.  On a budget anyway.  His list is truly a wish list! 

to pull one of these:

and we can't forget this-

(I think we have to own them first to RENEW them!)

Which in the end means he needs to add one tiny thing to his list-

someday...

8 Thoughts and Thanks

First: Brooke is 8 months old!
Second: Brooke also has 8 teeth!
(pictures to come soon- I promise.)

8 Misguided Thoughts

1. Star Trek  is cool.  (I was informed the other night that it isn't.  Who would have thought?!)

2. "Tumped" is not a real word.  My mom always used it.  So it must be real. right?
      ex.  That bucket tumped over and now there is water all over the floor.

3. No one knows what fantasy football is.  Wrong.  Its just me.  Apparently its very popular.  I just didn't
    grow up in a house with people that played.

4. Mice can jump over baseboards while stuck in a mouse trap. (see the previous post)

5. Cigarette smoke can be removed from wood furniture with fabreeze.

6. Bryan doesn't really care what I make for dinner.  (what he really  means is he doesn't care as long as it is one of the 5 meals that he actually likes, so don't experiment.)

7. My kid will never do ____ (fill in the blank with whatever).  The sad truth is, yes he will.  And I am learning the hard way.

8.  Zucchini and applesauce make a good substitution for butter and oil in brownies.
     uhm. not exactly.  I found that one out the hard way too.

8 Things I Am Thankful For (in no particular order)

1. (a)  I am very grateful for cell phones and skype.  I love that I can talk to my mom or anybody in my family anytime I want.  Which brings me to:
     (b) I am SOOO glad daylight savings has ended.  Now it is only a 2 hour time difference instead of 3. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

2. Bryan.  He is the best part of my day.  Every day. I love that he comes home to me.  I feel so lucky and glad that he is willing to put up with me. (for 6 years! wow.)

3. My health.  I am trying to be more grateful for this.  I am so lucky that I can get up everyday and feel good.  I have 2 legs to get me down my stairs.  My arms are strong enough to lift 2 kids 24/7.  My eyes work (with the help of glasses) and I can hear the sound of my kids playing because my ears can hear.

4. A washing machine and dryer. In my house.  I don't know what I would do with out these!  Especially with how often Brooke seems to be having diaper explosions.  Ew.  I guess that makes me thankful for Bleach too.  Our bathtub sees a lot of Clorox bleach lately.  Thanks Brooke for ensuring that I clean the tub 2x week.

5.  My kids.  They are so fun.  They bring me more joy than I could have ever imagined. And, I have something to learn from them each day.  They are currently teaching me patience, and how to watch what I say.  Did I mention patience?

6. The change in the seasons.  I am appreciating the transition to winter this year.  Well, working on appreciating it anyway.  I am so thankful for the beauty of the earth.  Each season brings change and I am learning how needed change is in life.  I love the leaves in the fall.  I love the warmth of summer.  I love the blossoms and new life of spring.  And I love the looking forward to spring as soon as it snows. I mean, I love snow, only because I have cute boots to wear because I can someday move back home and go snowboarding on a real mountain.  Never mind.  I give up.

7.  My Saviour, Jesus Christ.  It is hard for me to comprehend what he really went through for all of us.  I can't imagine actually taking the sins of the world upon myself....I know I could never do it.  So I am so glad that he loves me enough to have done that.  I am forever in his debt.  Hopefully I can live the kind of life worthy of being in His presence again so I can thank Him in person for this wonderful, eternal gift He has given me.

8.  Finally, extra curricular activities.  This encompasses a large amount of things.  I would have to say, friends, both here in Pitt and in AZ and all around the country.  Actually, now that I am sitting here thinking about it, my friends are literally all around the world right now.  Thank you for being a friend to me.
  This also includes date nights, girls nights, and going running with a great friend with 2 strollers and 3 (sometimes 4) kids.  Thanks to all these things I am still (somewhat) sane and have come to really enjoy being in Pennsylvania. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I hope everyone enjoys their feast on Thursday.  I know I will!

Ewwww. Mouse!

Let me start this story out at the beginning...
Last Thursday evening, I put the kids to bed, and Bryan left to play basketball.  I was enjoying some much needed quite time on the couch. All by myself, (That doesn't happen too often) when all of a sudden I see this little thing catch my eye.  I hesitate, and look up.  It was a mouse.  And from the looks of it he was pretty familiar with the way things work in our house.  He ran straight under the kitchen table, to the spot where Peter sits and drops food all over the floor when he eats.  My furry little friend found some treasures on the floor.  Then I got up to see where the heck he was going to run off to.  I bit my lip and resisted the urge to make some kind of sound (preferably a really girly scream).  He took off at half the speed of sound when he saw me. (Believe me, I wanted to do the same.)  I then learned that whoever built our house did a poor job of finishing the details.  There is apparently a space of about 1/2 inch where the baseboards don't meet the bottom of the cupboards.  He jumped right over the molding and into that little 'mini' crawl space below my cabinets.  Ew. Ew. Ew. 
Now what???
Of course.  I freak out.  I call Bryan.  No answer.
Whats a girl to do when hubby doesn't answer??? duh.  Call my Dad.  He is as calm as ever. And probably rolling his eyes at me on the phone because I can't see him. 
"Jamie, just buy a mouse trap."
Ya.  I KNOW that.  But its just the thought of sharing my house with a nasty little rodent.

Part II
We set out glue traps.  You know, the non toxic kind because I didn't want Peter to come downstairs in the middle of the night and get his fingers shredded by the other kind. I go to bed with a tiny bit of peace of mind thinking we only have 1 more night to share with Mr. Mouse.

Wrong.

He alludes the traps. 

For 6 days.

I am a wreck.  Ok, not really.  But it does bother me. 

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Bring in the Peanut Butter.  Bryan puts it right in the middle of the glue trap.  But he REALLY wants to make sure the mouse wants some.  So he uses about 3 tablespoons.  We really went all out and set 2 traps.  Right in the middle of the kitchen floor.  We go to bed. 

5:30 AM  Bryan wakes me up and says- "Hey, did you do something with one of the traps last night?"
               Me- "no"
               Bryan- "Well, its missing"

WHAT?!!!

You heard him.  It is missing.  How the HECK does one loose a mousetrap???  With a year supply of Peanut butter on it?  Bryan left for school.  And I just lay in bed thinking of all the insane possibilities.  What kind of mouse is this?  I am unfortunately wide awake. 
I searched the house.  No trap.  And no signs of a struggle.  There wasn't any peanut butter on the floor or anything!!!  I come to the unfortunate conclusion that he is Mighty Mouse and jumped back over the molding, half stuck in the glue, now with a year supply of food right next to him.  oh geez.

At least my sister has more sense than me.  She tells me to check under my oven.  No way in heck am I gonna look under there without Bryan being home.  I tell her I will have him check when he gets home.  And all day long all I can think about is this little thing staring me down with its little beady eyes from somewhere in  my kitchen. 

And of course, Haley is right.  Bryan comes home, and we find him, stuck in the glue, eating peanut butter, and staring at us from under the oven. 

Ew. Rodent found.  Rodent gone. Thank you peanut butter, glue traps, and Mr. Mouse for giving me such an awesome week.

Fire Trucks and Family

We went to NJ last week to visit Byan's cousins.  His mom flew out from Az too.  B's cousin is a fire fighter and he took us to the station to check out the engines.  Peter was in heaven.  He loved the whole trip.  He got to meet his second cousins and play with all their awesome toys. 

About 60% of Bryan's extended family has a birthday in November or December.  We had a huge party to celebrate!

Uncle Skip, Ryan, Ruthann and Peter hanging out in the truck

Brooke vs. 'The Puff'

She FINALLY figured out how to feed herself!

I finally finished!

Six weeks later.
That is a lot of clothes.  I wore EVERY item in my closet.  Now I am getting out my winter clothes...here I go again!

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

   October was such a busy month.  I can't believe how much we did.  And how fast it flew by. (I guess that's what happens when you have a broomstick. he he he)  I put some pictures in the previous post.  I got to be a witch. (Bryan says "what else is new")  But it was fun to be Hermione from Harry Potter.  I even found an awesome stick in my front yard for a wand.  I hosted a book club meeting for the first time.  That was awesome.  I think making the food was the highlight for me!  I did a good vs. evil theme and had black and white food.  A friend gave me an idea to make a goblin cheese ball.  It was awesome.  And tasty.  Bryan and I dragged the kids to DC for a temple trip with Adam and Jessica.  It was great to finally get to go!  I can't believe how hard it is to get there! I was so spoiled in AZ and didn't even know it.  If you live within 2 hours from the temple, with family around...GO! I should have gone way more.  Anyway.  We swapped kids while one couple went.  It was a great time.  And it was Jessica's birthday so we stayed up WAY to late playing games. (3:00 am anyone???)
  The last week of October was jam packed with Halloween and a visit from my parents.  It was sooo nice to see them.  Peter was stoked.  He couldn't wait to pick them up from the airport.  We hung around the house.  We did some shopping, trunk-or-treating, and er, Sunday driving. We took a visit to Simmons Farm to check out the scenery, pick some apples and pumpkins and check out the petting zoo.  It was so sad to see them go.  I can't wait for them to come back again.  It really bums me out that family isn't here or close enough to see all of Peter and Brooke's small accomplishments and changes!
   As far as the kids go, they are growing and entertaining, and a lot of work.  But I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Brooke is getting closer to crawling, but not quite there.  Her first word was Dada.  Followed shortly is Mamma.  (I am so proud!!!)  Peter was hilarious.  Every time she would say Da da, he would get up in her face and say "Dad isn't even here! Brookie, say MOM!"  The best part of this month might just be changes in Brooke's sleeping patterns.  This last week she has decided on an 8:00 bedtime.  An 11:00 feeding, and then to sleep until 8:30 am.  I hope it keeps up.  I haven't felt this rested since, well, before I was pregnant with her!  Geez.  That is a long time to take to finally be caught up on sleep.  I am finally functioning without an afternoon nap.  Its about time.
Here are more pictures from all the happenings of the month.  Warning! Slight picture overload!

***This picture was taken by Gage, who is 5. nice job huh?

***Yes, this picture is random.  I just wanted to capture the fall colors.  The compact cars were just in the way.

Goblin Cheese Ball

Brooke's first apple.  She loved it.

Witches, Vampires and Mushrooms

Amber had a 'witch' party.  It was quite the shindig.  We had awesome food, fun and a great time with just the girls!

We took a random trip to Ohiopyle.  I highly recommend it.  I am now motivated to ride my bike from Pittsburgh to DC.  Its called the Great Allegeny Passage.  I can't wait until summer!

Nothing important here.  Just some cool 'shrooms!

Peter loves going for walks.  He can walk 2+ miles easy! Its awesome!

My Monkey and the Banana! (the Dental School Halloween Parade)

 My monkey and Jessica's monkey make quite the pair! 

Remember how I said Brooke has fangs???
Well, here she is...my little vampire! (or lil' Eddy from 'The Munsters'- according to my dad)

"Cars's". It's whats for dinner.