catch up!

Mike had spent the week of the 9th-13th doing a side job siding a house with his friend Brad and getting a little bit of hunting in at night. My parents got to spend time with Bella and take turns when one of them had to take care of the office. Connor and I were alone the whole week but we had fun. Since he goes to bed early, I was able to get alot of housework and laundry done. I must say, Connor is the worst shopper! We desperately need to get our Christmas outfits planned and bought so after work, we went to gymboree and gap. Saturday morning, Connor and I went to my sister's and my mom and Bella met us there. We did some shopping but the mall was crazy and the kids just weren't happy to be in the stroller. We picked up stuff to make chicken and mashed potatos for lunch and then Sam and Ashley joined us. Around 8pm, although the kids were already in their jammies, we decided to go to Kohls when it wasn't so busy. When we got back, we rented a girl's movie and hung out. Sunday morning, the kids and I headed back home.

Tuesday, the 17th, Mike came back from hunting. Wednesday, we took the kids to the pet store to get a fish. Bella wanted a pink fish and a Little Mermaid fish tank, but the guy who worked there, said the Little Mermaid tank wasn't appropriate for two fish. In the end, we got a pretty purple betta fish and a cool tank. Connor was pretty impressed with all the giant fish tanks and kept running off. On our way home, we discussed names and came up with "Perchy" The kids LOVE their new pet :)

Saturday, the 20th, the kids and I had baking day with my mom. Bella LOVES baking with grammy. I am convinced that she will be a little chef someday ;) We made gingerbread cookies, cherry butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate covered pretzels with sprinkles. They loved sprinkling the pretzels.

Sunday, Bella went to church with grammy. I was beyond excited to hear that she had participated in the children's service and sat with grammy in the Sunday school class. She is also gonna be the sheep in the Christmas play! I am so excited!!! After lunch, we headed over to grandma Fran's. She had a little baking extravaganza with her friends so Bella helped her dip pretzels in chocolate. We had pizza with her and then headed back to my parents' around supper before heading home.

He got a deer!

Bella stayed with Daddy up north until Wednesday last week because he wanted to hunt. Since Connor is such a great sleeper and ready for bed by 8pm, I was able to do many loads of laundry and catch up on cleaning. Bella had a fun time playing in the leaves and the park and hanging out with grandma Fran and Papa Len but I think she missed mommy. Mike shot a six pointer on Wednesday morning, so Bel was excited to get a picture with daddy and his "big buck!" She was so excited to tell me about the deer. She said it was brown with pretty eyes and big!

The weekend was so nice, with a high of almost seventy degrees! I was kind of feeling sick, so grammy played outside with the kids all day. They rode Connor's little fourwheeler and played in the leaves until they were tired out.

My mom and I attempted to make cakeballs from the famous http://www.bakerella.com/ blog. They were easy to make, but they didn't turn out as pretty as they should. We will try again soon and hope they look prettier. ;)

Halloween

Tuesday, October 27th, I came home from work to a nice supper that was done and waiting for me. I swear, my husband makes the best breaded chicken ever! Then we went to Fleetfarm because Bella is in awe over their Christmas displays. All the lights, Christmas trees, huge blow up decorations, and toys is like a toddler heaven! She has already convinced my parents to buy a giant inflatable snowman for their yard. Daddy got the kids some Christmas lights and hung them in the bedroom while I made some home-made apple cider.

Wednesday, I picked up a half day working at another clinic because the extra Christmas money will be nice. For supper we ordered the jack-o-lantern pizza from papa johns. The kids really loved it and it sure was yummy.

Thursday, was Boo Bash at the children's museum. I have never seen so many kids in my life. It wasn't as fun as we thought but Bella liked the trick-or-treat part of it.

Saturday, my mom carved a couple pumpkins with the kids at her house. She grew two pumpkins for them in the garden, so of course Bella was quick to point out that hers was the big one and Connor's was the little one ;) Then we got them in their costumes and did a little photoshoot in the yard.

Then we went over to grandma and papa Pickett's for trick-or-treating. We started going around the block and although Connor was bundled in his stroller with a blanket, he still got cold so we brought him back to the house and he was amused watching them pass out candy. We made quite the rounds with Bel, who was warm in her monkey costume. After trick-or-treating was done, we met my mom at her friend's house (since the husbands were hunting) and the kids played barbies while we watched a movie and ate candy.