RECAP THRU PICTURES!

ok, so I just went to download some pics of the camera, and well, there is a whole bunch of 'what we've been up to"...

I always feel like we do something fun, or something funny happens, or I just want to speak my mind(usually not funny LOL) or the kids do something cute, or my husband does something out of the ordinary, or I do something spacey(like everyday!! LOL).....and I always think to myself..

"this would be such a perfect thing to blog about"... and well, life happens, and we just keep going, and then I never blog.


I am a slacker like that. Or do they call it procrastination???


so, I thought I'd give a peek into our whirlwind of the last few weeks.






Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday, and that you spent some good time with family and/or friends. oh, yeah, and that you had fabulous food =)
















Brigham's Thanksgiving feast/program at school the week before Turkeyday.(well, not so much of a program, as it was they stood on their mats, and wiggled and waved at the parents, and TRIED to sing a couple of songs. Some of the kids even included the hand motions.


Mine finally figured it out during the last verse of the second song!!LOL

and we crafted a turkey cupcake!!

Brigham samples his masterpiece. They were actually quiet good!!

and we took home a pilgrim ... he took this with us to my grandma's and tried to describe what /who he was!!

We stuffed ourselves with Grandma's down home farm cooking on Thanksgiving Day.

Tatum and Brig were the life of the party.

My grandma just adores them both, and at 87 years old, still gets down on the floor to play with them.!!

We actaully took a video that we got at the library. SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK---

does anyone remember that? took us down memory lane for sure. My cousins are still in highschool so not to far off for them, but we got quite the chuckles as we looked back at this show.

Brigham of course LOVED it, and is now repeating... junction, junction, whats your function all the time!!

Here is a picture of my sweet brother and Tatum. He has been away in Pheonix for the last 3 years, so it was fun to have him here, even if he did sleep most of the day!!

We made these cute little turkeys.

Love the concentration and the tongue out!!

oh, yeah, and Tatum tried oatmeal for the first time a couple weeks ago....

not a fan at first..

and then she decided it was ok (either that, or she just knows how to work the camera!! LOL)

hope you're having a GREAT week =)

this is how you do it....

step 1:lift the lid very carefully, so you don't make a loud noise(same for shutting the lid)

step 2: wait for a big stream to come out and then see if the water turns '"lello".

step 3: wash hands and make a big mess!!

(notice the blue shorts in the water.. those are from the mess from number two, which we don't quite have down =(

WHOO HOOOOOOO! this is the phrase which he shouts out with great satisfaction!!

we are waking up with dry pullups for about two weeks now!!

its a fun time around our house!

I pulled it off !

tribute to this man and the welcoming him into the thirtysomething club-

We went to dinner with our awesome friends Greg and Kelli. Went to this fabulously nice restaurant in our town(we only have 2 or 3!).It was one of those nice, leisurally dinners, that took about 2 hours of great conversation, lots of laughs, good drinks, good food , good company.

We were celebrating Andrew' s big 30th birthday!!

Little did he know that more fun was yet to come.... we decided to go for drinks at this Irish Pub. I so knew it would NOT be hard to get him to go. and so when we arrived at the bar,

SUPRISE!!!

I had reserved a cozy corner and 20-25 of his friends were waiting there to congratute the old man!

I can't believe I pulled it off.. Andrew said he had thought I might do something b/c he threw me a big suprise party for my 31st(yeah, I was a year late...totally suprised me!!LOL).

Then when I asked him a couple weeks before about a quiet dinner with our closest friends at the Hour Time, he figured, I hadn't done anything... but was ok with it.

So, he totally didn't have a clue!!

I made him this cake too. I baked it Thursday night at my moms(after a mom's night out) so he didn't know about it.. then went back over to my mom's on Friday day to decorate it!

I so thought that a 3 year old jabbermouth was going to spill the beans.. but he never mentioned it!!

Andrew is a HUGE broncho fan.. so that was the theme for the night...although I asked my dad to bring orange,blue, and white balloons ahead of time to the bar.. and well, he brought yellow, blue and white...so we pretended they were for the Denver Nuggets(basketball)!!LOL

anyway, it was a great time and we started out the evening with our friends, and we finished it off around 2 am with a late night snack at Qdobas.

Funny how after a night of drinking, you're always hungry for a meal.. yet at home, you'd never wake up in the middle of the night to eat like that!!

...luckily we got to sleep in, because my mom had the kids. and thank goodness the smoking band was in effect, because we didn't wake up with the stinch of stale cigarettes in our hair!! YUCK!!!. and to think we both smoked during our college and pre Brigham days...

so yes, Tatum had her first night away from us!! I am not one of those moms that worries, because, she stayed at my moms, and I am pretty sure my mom knows how to handle a baby. and if not, big brother was there to help out!! LOl

Mom, said she woke once in the middle of the night, drank a bit from the bottle and went right back to sleep. Basically she slept from 8 pm to 7 am!!

sure wish she would do that for us!! we've been digressing in the sleeping thru the night department.. UGH!!

but the potty training is coming along great.. no more diapers..just pullups, and no accidents except for #2..

I've got more pics from the party to edit, and we also had our family photo shoot on Saturday.

we got a few shots in for Tatums 6 month shoot, but then she got really tired, so we're trying again in a couple days.

Hope you all had a great weekend!!!

the lion and the lamb

finally getting my halloween pics up. ughh. I have 3 different photo editing software programs.. and they all take FOR-EVER to do.

I usually just wait and edit my pics thru Walgreen's .com before I order them online.

works for me.

I have been trying to organizing my pics little by little as well.... will it ever end???

scrapped a little in the last week.

we had a great time with our friends on Sat night...smores and hot dogs and a bonfire.. and of course some drinks.. (a few of us had a few too many!!). we had so much fun just hanging out, maybe we'll get one more nice night before it gets too cold, to do it again. we'll bring the FUN drinks this time =)

Sunday we had our sunday school lesson on Families of Faith. very cool class. and fabulous book study. We were supposed to go to Morman church (but that would have been 4 hours of church for us!!! =/)

so we decided to stay for our worship service. so glad we did. it was a great sermon.

Sunday afternoon we went to some friends house to watch the BIG game.

Colts vs. Patriots.

We had our token cheerleader dressed in blue!! (though none of us were actually that big of Colts fans.. but since we live in In... we have to try)

Cleaning the house today. baking a chocolate molten cake for dessert. I am hosting my girls group tonight. Hopefully it turns out. I was wanting something more fall-ish, but nothing was sounding that great. so chocolate it is!

hope you're all having a great weeK!

a purdue homecoming & a rainy trick or treat

We went trick or treating for the third year in our little downtown . Very fun. a tad wet, although we never really got wet, due to the building coverage. The quaint streets were tainted with ghosts, and goblins and even Spiderman was going from storefront to storefront to collect candy. Brigham had so much fun, and Tatum(dressed in her costume) slept in the stroller the entire time!! So here is a peek. I just love this photo I captured of Andrew and Brigham. We're all set for some big time trick or treating tomorrow night!!

Here is a replica of the 'moon prints' leading up to the new Neil Armstrong Engineering building. The dedication was Friday night, and we got to go inside and check it out. Complete w/ moon rocks, and a capsule hung from the ceiling. Its a very cool bldg design as well, but I didn't get a pic of it!!

Brigham after the game, intensley watching the band as it marches by. He has informed us that he wants to be in the band. He was playing his 'air trombone' and having a blast. We never even told him how to, he just saw it and mimiked it. gotta love it.

(though Andrew is trying to sway him into playing football instead of the band...)

Here is the statue of the boyish Neil Armstrong as he looked during his Freshman year of campus.

the band getting it on to 'SHOUT'

put your hands up and 'shout'... Brigham never missed a beat!!

Boiler UP!!

proudly showing off his Purdue Pete with the hammer down on the ground.(the phrase he told everyone as he pointed to his cheek!)

the family =)

the weather was better than we expected, and so we took both kiddos with us to the homecoming festivities and the game.

this was the first year...that we did NOT leave early!!

Brigham had a blast. Tatum was snug as a bug the whole time. She took two naps in the snugli, and nursed during the first half of the game. what a trooper!!

wishing you a haunting good time and a safe Halloween tomorrow! I'll be back with pictures later this week!!

a mommy moment

so we were on our way to MOPS(mothers of Preschoolers) this morning, and a conversation with a three year old went like this:

Brigham: Mommy, what color is your pee?
(mind you this is totally out of the blue)

Me: um....green...(trying to be cute)

Brigham: Mommy, your pee is daddy's favorite color GREEEEEEEEN!!!! (the excitement was unreal, as he made this connection!)

another mommy moment: since Tatum is now 5 months old..sniff , sniff. She has offically graduated from being an attendee at MOPS and now has to go into the MOPPETS nursery.
Needless to say this mama's girl fussed the entire time.
I did warn the ladies working in her room and told them not to take offense, that she does this to anyone who is not mommy.

She apprearantly calmed down when they put her in the swing and then they paged me to come feed her.
So I picked her up, brought her back into the meeting where she was happy as a clam eating and snuggling with mommy.
Then mean mama took her back into that awful place, where she proceeded to cry for another 40 minutes until I got there. Just as I came in the room, the lady rocking her, said she had just fallen asleep!!
Of course she woke right up when she heard my voice!!
Luckily I am not one of those moms that gets all frantic about my baby crying. I don't let it bother me. I know she is in good hands of the caregivers, and if she really doesn't calm down, they'll page me.
This is all new to me, as Brigham was an incredibly easy going, totally content baby (thru about 3 years!!) He never made a peep when he was in the nursery, never went thru the seperation anxiety period. Nope, he has NEVER been sad to see mom or dad leave him!!
guess thats why God makes each child unique, so we can experience ALLL the joys of children =)

We had our annual Pumpkin patch party yesterday. It was perfect weather. A tad windy, but at least the kids were not all bundled up with red noses and dried snot on their faces like last year!! LOL
My friend Kim and I planned the festive menu, of chili, cornbread, apples and carmel, pumpkin dip, and vegies. Kim made a fabulous apple/carmel/pecan trifle and I made a pumpkin(flavor and shaped) cake.

As of Saturday night, I was having a complete stress attack as I thought we were going to have 45 people in my house!!! ackkk. I was freaking out a tad, trying to secure a big bounce, and some other fall games so we could be outside.
Although we were sad they coudln't join us, it actually became a blessing when 3 families of 3, 4, 5 kids actually had to cancel at the last minute!
We had a great time, hopefully got some good pictures. Our friend took a family shot of us, so I can't wait to see if it came out all right.
It could be our christmas card pic. if not, we do have a photo shoot scheduled for Tatum's six month, and while she is here, I'll have her take some family ones too.
Um, yeah I am a tad ridiculous when it comes to photography. My husband reminds me every time he gets the bill!!
Well, I hope you are all having a great Monday, enjoy the beautiful changing scenery!
we took like 6 pictures of the kids, and I don't think any of them managed to get all looking at the camera (let alone smiling!!)

the best lil' punkin in the patch!! a friend gave me this hat. isn't it adorable??

all smiles, the farm, and a cake!

OH, my goodness, I can hardly believe that my little baby girl is five months old!!

I don't remember the time going by this fast with Brigham. Maybe b/c I have two. We are always on the go.(though I feel like I did much more with just the one kid). People always say that children grow up so fast.. but in Brigham's short 3 years, we have done sooo much, grown so much, as a family, as a couple(me and Andrew), in our spiritual lives, with our extended family, with our friends. It really seems like soo much more time has gone by. And when I think about the fact that there will be another three years before Brigham is in school, it seems so far off!

Guess, thats why one keeps having babies.. to keep us young and energized. yeah, I'm almost thinking about another...almost. actually, Andrew and I came up with our name for a boy the other night.its totally secured... so we'll have to wait and see.

for now, I am having the time of my life with my cutie pie. she is all smiles right now. laughing out loud. rolling all over the place. belly 'surfing'. loving her activity mat. and her big brother. she can't get enough of him. seriously, its so adorable.

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Brigham went on his first field trip to a farm on Tuesday. Actually it was just a big pole barn with several stations and we took our turn at each one. Each kid had a little booklet that they could stamped at each station if they answered the question about that animal.. like what is baby chicken called, what is a mommy cow called.. etc.

not many 3 year olds answered , but they got their stamps anyway. I think Brigham's high light was the snack at the end. The kid LOVES his snacks!

That is always the first thing he asks about when I pick him up each day.. he runs to his cubby to make sure no one took it!

BTW, he is the only kid, that even has left over snack.. guess he talks to much during snack time.

I have no idea where he gets that. =)

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and I did my first paid cake gig!! Last Saturday, I made this one for a friend's little boy turning one.

I am doing another one this weekend for a friend's six year old.

I had no idea that this would take off like it did, but I have 4 cakes to do this month. I haven't even gotten my flyers out or gotten my business cards back yet! whoo hoo, I am having so much fun with it.

Going to start a class in November, at Michaels to learn how to work with fondant. I can't wait.

I hear a not so smiley-at-the- moment little girl needing her mama!

hope you're having a great week!

pages smages

obviously, these are in no particular order.. thats the way I scrap em'!! LOL .

been trying to finish Brigham's 3rd year, and of course I am dying to do all the girly pages. anyone have a favorite line for baby girl stuff? I actually finished another 4 pages in the last couple days, but have not uploaded them. I also realized that I absolutely have NO style. you certainly could not pick my LO's out of a magazine.. oh, yeah, they've never been there either!! LOL

just some stuff, I have done recently. thanks for looking =)

home parties,first solids,sickboy and a summery fall

Yep, the time once again has rolled around for the abundance of home parties.

Seriously, before I had Brigham and joined Moms groups, I had no idea this phenomenom existed.

While they are a fun girls night out, they are not so fun for the ol' check book!! EEEK!

but I figure, I might as well buy it from my friends who are trying to earn a little extra as stay at home mamas. and of course, because I absolutely need the new stuff!!! yeah, right.. says my husband!!

I just had a party on Monday night for a friend starting out the biz of INITIALS, INC -

Oh, my gosh, is this stuff the cutest ever!! I am closing my party tomorrow, so any of you readers want to check it out, you'll have the sassiest purse on the block!! LOL

and then last week I went to a trunk show for a children's boutique. I never knew they had home paries for kids clothes.. geeesh.... it is so NOT a good thing!!

I got three invitations in the mail the same week.. the above, and then MATILDA JANE, and RAGSLAnD kids.

all three have such adorable , unique, clothes.... . My kids need more clothes, like I need more shoes!!, but its so hard to resist.. especially, when Grandma sees it..lucky for me than my check book gets to have a rest!! LOL

I have a Mary Kay show planned for this month, and I have had two invites for Pampered Chef.

I sure am hoping this trend continues in my favor!!! I am trying to really work my SILPADA business this fall. I have four shows booked for this month, so hopefully more will book of those =)...oh, yeah, and if any of you readers want to help out this stay at home mama...check out my website =)

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OH yes, my baby tried her first solids yesterday!!! and it came in the form of a paper napkin!

we were at the park with some friends, I was eating, and gabbing, and must have had my napkin to close to her hands(that grab everything these days) and when I looked down, I had a very soggy napkin.

And she smiled as chunks covered her tongue and ran down her chin! where was my camera!! LOL

at least she added some fiber to her all milk diet.

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my poor little guy,had his first sick day today. This is the kid who never gets sick. Last night he had a fever and we gave him cool bath and some 'medsin' , as he calls it, and it still didn't break.

He slept thru the night, and woke up at 7am. He was still hot, so I let him sleep longer. He didn't wake until after noon!! He still had a slight fever but it had come down a bit.

He actually ate two helpings of mac and cheese and some apples and pinapple juice, but he still is pretty mopey. I felt so bad calling into the school, but I am sure this is just the beginning of the sick season =/

*****speaking of seasons.... where the heck is the fall weather?? we went to a dinner at friends over the weekend, and they served chili and smores around a firepit. sounds perfect for the end of Sept/beginning of Oct, right? Except that it had been 90 degrees that day!! don't get me wrong, it still tasted great, and actually did cool down a tad around 8pm!!

yikes, it has been in the mid 80's everyday this week! The leaves are changing, my decor has been out for two weeks, football is in full swing, and I am dying to wear my fall clothes. My poor jean jacket is getting a work out lately. Its the one transition piece that has become my staple. I can wear tanks underneath, so its not so hot, but I am ready to break out my darker colors and oh, the fall colors for my nails and toes too!! its just not right to combine all that with the hot temps. UGH.

I do believe Fall is one of my favorite times... that is until the Christmas season starts..and then the flowers bloom, ok, so I like it all. Maybe thats why I am still in the midwest?

Here is some of my home all decked out. I love sitting on the couch at night , with the pumpkin spice candle burning. See the plate? I made it. This was our first craft for MOPS. I love how it turned out, not bad for a good will plate?