Halloween 2010

It's hard to believe that Halloween has already come and gone!  We did our usual - carved pumpkins and then trunk or treat at the local churches.  They both have carnivals; one church changed their trunk or treat; you had to attend the carnival and play the games for your candy. 

This year's costume for the kiddies - a garden gnome and a toadstool.  I constructed the costumes myself which I was super excited about.  Logan's was the easiest; a pair of sweatpants, his snow boots, a henley shirt, and a beanie.  I sewed the belt on the shirt and got some fake fur at the fabric store, cut out a beard, add an elastic band and wallah!  A perfect gnome!  Aslyn's "stem" was one of those halo sacks that I got as a gift from the hospital.  Her mushroom cap took a little bit of thinking.  I  wanted the mushroom shape but also needed it light enough for  her little neck.  So....a bit of cardboard, a take out container, lots of  bubble wrap, some fabric and I had my little toadstool.

Logan's preschool had a big Halloween party.  JP and I were not going to attend at first; but after he heard a line in a song "Life is not the breath you take, but the moments that take your breath away" he decided to drop everything and go.  Everybody else here at already left anyway.  He came to the office where I was - not concentrating very well (I had just received some bad news) and asked if I wanted to go.  Now usually it takes me ten minutes or so to save, send and shut everything down - I was ready in less than a minute.  I'm glad we went; almost all the other kids' parents were there so we got to meet and mingle with them.  The kids put on a costume parade (Logan's teacher said he had the perfect build for a gnome!), they  made cup cakes for their parents, though the two Logan made; only one made it to JP and I.  JP ate the whole thing  - sheesh.  Different activities were around the room; paint a pumpkin, make a ghost out of paper plates and streamers, pumpkins made out of tortillas and orange cream cheese, etc.  It was fun to see all the other kids' in their costumes.  Such a variety!  There was Superman, Spiderman, Iron man, a princess, Daphne from Scooby Doo, and so on.

Pumpkin carving this year was mainly JP and Logan - Aslyn was hungry...again.  JP and Logan sat on the kitchen floor while Aslyn and I sat in the living room where we could see.  Logan kept us updated on their carving progress by after every step bringing the pumpkins to Aslyn and I so we can see.  First it was before anything was done, JP cut off the top of the pumpkins - Logan brought them both over and said,  "See?"  After the "guts" were taken out, Logan brought the pumpkins over to show us.  An eye, then both eyes, the nose, the mouth; he carried the pumpkins over.  I guess he didn't want us left out.  Of course we lit them and ooohed and ahhed.  Logan, "Woooww." 

Now--what to make for next year's costumes?....

Date Night

Have you ever seen the movie "Date Night?" - - - ha, ha, ha; oh anyway (wipe tears away.)

JP and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary (yay!)  Lily - the woman who watched Logan and Aslyn when we went to the Zac Brown concert last month - came out to spend another evening with my beautiful children.  Our plan was to just go out for dinner; but Lily said we needed to make it a real date and see a movie too.  She even brought with her the paper with the movie listings in it!

We decided to try Vernon's Hidden Valley Steakhouse for dinner.  The atmosphere is fashioned after the Prohibition era; the talk is "speak easy" which let me tell you most of what was said flew right over my head - I did get no tommy guns and no squawking, but everything else - whoosh!   I don't think I would make a good gangster.  At first we drove right by the place (good thing we had an address); the restaurant is unassuming and hidden behind a black door through a nondescript entry.  In fact while we were outside before giving our password to get in; another couple came walking by us and kept looking back - probably wondering what we were doing!



Taking the password.

Dinner was fabulous!  JP enjoyed a wet aged rib eye and I a dry aged; a half bottle of red wine (I don't remember what it was called but it was good - and I am usually more of a white wine drinker.)  The waiter asked JP and I if we were celebrating anything and we told him our anniversary.  He then asked how long we've been married.  After telling him seven, I felt like we should have been celebrating a much larger milestone number.   Has it only been seven years?  The waiter brought out the restaurants signature dessert for us (equipped with a candle) and wished us many more years of happiness.  Oh my gosh...the dessert...JP and I shared it, I scraping the plate of any last remaining morsels; in which JP teased me about.  I told him he was lucky I didn't just pick up the plate and start licking it! 
While leaving the doorman told JP that he better be back or he'll send Vinny out to break his knee caps.  Nice!

The evening was wonderful; more than I have ever spent on dinner in my life but worth every bite.  Upon Lily's request we went to the dollar theatre and picked whatever movie was showing at that time, The Sorcerer's Apprentice - it was cute.

I came home, stomach happy, tired, and ready to cuddle with my kiddies.  However, Lily had them both fast asleep in their beds, so we just told her about our evening, asked how things went with her,  and made our way to bed ourselves.

The next morning JP took Lily out horseback riding (her payment for watching kids).  She reminded us again and again that she is more than willing to come out once a month to babysit while JP and I have a date night - ha, ha, ha - seriously that movie makes me laugh every time I think of it.

Two Days

The days and nights are getting colder. Especially the nights. I have been in fleece pajamas, a hoodie, wool socks; bundled inside my down sleeping bag and barely getting my body comfortable with that. Of course the fact that JP likes to sleep with the windows open do not help.

It has now been two days since I've slept. One reason is because of the colder weather. But it is not necessarily the cold keeping me up - it's a darn mouse! Either I have become a lighter sleeper or this is just one noisy little critter. I hear him (or her - I don't know) scraping through Biscuits dog bowl and gnawing on his food. Okay, I thought after tossing and turning for a couple hours listening to this; I'll solve that problem. Dog bowl outside. Wrong! Now he is in the stove.

Yesterday I opened up the stove and removed any dog food he had hidden in there. I also found dog food in my fabric supply and in a hood of one of Aslyn's outfits; who knows where else that bugger is hiding it.

After another sleepless night listening to my dear friend, I awoke - coffee calling my name to wake me up - and all over my stove was mouse droppings! I swear this mouse is aggravating me on purpose. Now it is war!!

Reason number two for my lack of sleep (although this one is worth it.)  Don't let that innocent face fool you!  She is little miss party from 3:00 am - 4:30 am!  Isn't she adorable though?

JP's solution to my insomnia.  Go to bed earlier.  Both nights I was in bed by 9:30,  so I asked him, how much earlier?  He said as soon as I get home...6:00?!  That's a little too early if you ask me!

Hey, It's OK!

Every month Glamour magazine has a page devoted to little amusings that women may feel insecure about or are not likely to do (such as actually getting the dressing on the salad instead of on the side) So, I came up with my own list on things that I have learned or am working on.

Hey, It's OK!
...to ask for help.

...to curl up with my kids in bed and sleep in an extra hour even if it means not making JP breakfast (hey, he knows how to work a toaster.)

...to stand up for myself.

...to splurge on me once in a while without feeling guilty.

...to want to run away from it all somedays.

...to squander the day away playing with Logan and Aslyn instead of doing household chores.

Pictures!

Logan took this picture of Aslyn himself!
He loves his sister!
Aslyn was not too happy with Dad putting her in his boot.
What a face!

Logan on his excavator. He always wears his helmet backwards...

The Arrival of Aslyn

I am quite late in posting this but still trying to get acquainted with being a mom of two! (Eek)

At 9:26 am on August 21, Aslyn Grace was born. The events leading up to her birth were quite amusing and just showed that no matter how much you try, you are never fully prepared.

I started getting labor pains around one in the morning; with my in-laws in town I tried pacing around the house quietly - it was more comfortable to walk around then to lie in bed - I stubbed my toe on a chair and tried not to swear too loud, got on the computer to look up the hospital information, and then thought to myself - maybe I should start timing these contractions.

My mother-in-law awoke at three and asked me what I was doing. Now Logan's whole labor took less than six hours, since the second child usually comes faster, my midwife had told me that as soon as labor starts get to the hospital (I live an hour away) - you can already tell how well I listen!

After my mother-in-law took over timing contractions and after much discussion between her and I (as well as giggling - why do early mornings make one giggle so much?) I decided to call the hospital to see whether I should come in. The first phone call, I was transferred. After being on hold for ten minutes I hung up and tried a different number. This second phone call, I was told to call another number. So, I hung up again. The third phone call; they'll call me back. Finally, I got a hold of the midwife on duty and told her what was going on - contractions 3-4 minutes apart, I live out in the boonies, etc. - should I start heading in? Her response was so hazy - (in a dreamy type voice): "Oh, well, you can come in if you want too. Or you can have some breakfast then come in. Whatever you feel like doing." Um...is that a yes?

I figured at 4:30 in the morning, I should probably wake JP up. "Hey JP, you feel like taking a drive to the hospital?" His response: "Are you in labor?" No, I just feel like doing a practice run.

JP flew out of bed - "Dad, get dressed! We're going to the farm!" The house was turned upside down as James and JP ran around getting ready and tore out of here in the pick-up. I looked at my mother-in-law - what just happened?

As the guys were at the farm, us girls decided to pack up the car with overnight bags; we awoke Logan and got him ready, then drove out to the front gate and waited for the guys to come back. I walked laps around the car yelling at my mother-in-law when to start and stop timing.

Headlights appeared from the north and the pick-up sped it's way into the drive where we were waiting. JP jumped out of the truck and yelled at his mom to get out of the way, she handed him my cell phone (what we were timing contractions on) and got out of the car. JP took my cell phone and threw it in the pick up where his Dad, Mom, and where I was moving Logan too. Then it was off to the hospital - now 5:45 am.

All the way to the hospital, JP was worried about the farm and work (the manager was away on vacation until that afternoon.) "If only you could have waited another couple of hours." he kept telling me. Oh, geez.

We arrived at the hospital around 6:45 am. We signed in and got situated in our room. JP immediatly began phoning all the ranch workers. While he was doing that, the nurse came in to check me. It turned out we had a little more time. So, she brought me a "clear" breakfast - jello, popsicles, and so forth and we turned on the Saturday morning cartoons. Without TV at home, this was a treat for us. However, it soon became annoying as I was going through stronger contractions, and JP, my "coach" was too busy watching the cartoons. He would stand by my bed during a contraction, eyes glued to the television set, until finally I clicked the power button.

Of course, by now I was so irritated and tired that nothing JP did was good. He tried to talk to me, I told him to be quiet. He tried to help me to the bathroom, I told him to leave me alone. When he tried to rub my back during a contraction, I told him not to touch me. He started laughing, and I yelled at him for that too.

I asked JP to get someone to come in. The nurse on duty had walked in and set the midwife was going to be there soon to see how far along I was. That was 25 minutes earlier. The pain was so bad I begged JP to find someone. His response: "They have other people to work with, it's not all about you." WHAT!

After pushing the nurses button and telling them that someone needed to get in my room NOW; was when the midwife showed up. And guess what, Aslyn was ready to be welcomed into this world. The midwife went on and on about how fast everything was for me, I know, I told them all that; it's in my charts. She even said that she should have read my chart more closely. Good thing I was in too much pain right then to give her a piece of my mind - and fist (just kidding! - about the fist.)

Aslyn arrived at 9:26 am with no complications. After being checked out she was given back to Mom (me) where I introduced myself and her father to her. My sweet baby girl.

Weekend Getaway

Nestled in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains is the historic inn, Casa del Gavilan. This was one place we stayed on our weekend getaway before becoming four. And let me tell you I absolutely loved it here!

Our room (below) is named the Phillips room; with two windows that opened to the courtyard and the "Tooth of Time" ridge on the mountains.

A library, breakfast, and nature trails were just some of the other "perks" that came with staying here.

Even Logan seemed to fit in well; he chased the birds and cats through the courtyard, flirted with the housekeeper (who was from New Zealand), and of course scoped out and played with everything in our room.

The inn is located six miles outside of Cimarron, NM and one mile outside of the Philmont Scout Ranch where JP went at 15 for a backpacking trip. (View of Philmont ranch below.)


Several hours we toured the Philmont Scout Ranch and the town of Cimarron. A stop in an old fashioned soda shop for ice cream cones and milkshakes (we were waiting out the current rainstorm) a few conversations with the boy scouts attending camp. I quickly realized why JP fell in love with this part of New Mexico.

The next day took us through the winding mountain roads to Red River. This town was faster paced and full of tourists. A few people we talked too have come here every year for years for their family vacations. However, I prefer the quiet, slowness of the Cimarrons (I think Logan did too - here he was fussy, wouldn't listen, and driving Mom absolutely crazy!) A two hour wait for dinner didn't help either.



JP says it only took him 17 years to return to the place he loved (the Cimarron's.) Hopefully we don't wait that long for another little trip to this area. This time, maybe I won't be 37 weeks pregnant and can hike more. :)