Silly Jack-O-Lanterns

We carved jack-o-lanterns Monday night for FHE and had so much fun. Paislee is finally old enough to get her hands dirty and loved scooping pumpkin goop into the garbage can (that means my hands stay clean from now on)!
Even if Ella were old enough to scoop goop I sort of think she'd avoid it; she's such a girly princess little thing.

The girls get to choose what sort of face they wanted, here's the kissy lips from Ella's.

Paislee supporting the "surprised" face from her Jack-O-Lantern and Ella with the "kissy" face plus eyelashes.

So instead of frightful jack-o-lanterns our front porch displays these adorable silly faces!

I'm a Digi Scrapper!

This is something that I've been wanting to learn how to do for months now and thanks to some help from my friends and family it is a reality! My brother-in-law Mike, gave me Photoshop Elements back in August when I was hinting that was what I would like for my birthday, but once I had it I had no idea what to do with it. So, luckily for me I'm in charge of midweek activities in my ward and there just happen to be a few girls in our ward who are excellent at this, so I conned one of them (thanks Sara!) to teach a class on digital scrapbooking, that was last week. I also need to give a bit of credit to the tutorials at http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/, they helped me figure out some of the finer points. And now I have completed a total of 14 pages and actually have a book done for my Grandparents 50th Anniversary!!! (To quote Disney Chanel) Yay Me! This is probably my favorite layout, it showcases how beautiful my Grandma looks and all the great-grandkids!

Battling "THOR"

Some of you may not know who "THOR" is, I didn't until last night. Jake and I went to a Financial Seminar put on by the Stake. In one of the classes the teacher spoke of our conscience and the two sides of it. The "Smart" side and "THOR". The "Smart" side is the intelligent side, it persuades us to do the things that are good for us, to do the things that aren't always fun to do but necessary, and keeps us healthy and safe. "THOR", on the other hand, lives on the philosophy of persuing pleasure and avoiding pain. This side is the one that convinces that we don't need to get up early to work about before the day begins because we "deserve" to sleep in. It is also the side that tells us we can eat what we want, spend what we want, and basically do what we want. I think this is also the side that makes us feel guilty when we let him win. As I thought more about this concept the more I got mad at "THOR", as nice as it would be to take the easier road it usually creates more problems (anyone thinking of someone else "THOR" reminds you of)? I've decided that I'm not going to let "THOR" win, but in order to do this I need to confess areas of my life that "THOR" prevails:

I'm a disorganized mess, this is my work table in my craft room/office. How can I manage to get any work done. Now I had Super Saturday last weekend so I could justify this if I wanted to, but it's "THOR" that wants to, not me. I want my work area to be neat and organized. I also want all of my unfinished projects to be finished. There are many areas of my life in this same state.
Time, this is something that slips away from me so easily. An hour TV show here, a "quick" check of the e-mail there, 5 hours of work each day, the 45 minutes it takes me to get ready in the morning, a I'll just read a quick chapter in my book before I fall asleep. I know there are enough hours in the day, however "THOR" convinces me that I don't need to use them ALL to be productive, that I deserve some "me" time.In June I decided to lose the baby weight "THOR" convinced me that I could do it just by watching what I put into my mouth, that I didn't need to exercise. Here I sit 19 pounds slimmer but not any toner (it ain't pretty).
This is probably the worst, I don't balance my check book. I buy on a whim, what I want when I want it. I don't plan ahead and save up for something. I'm all about the quick gratification. With the way the economy is right now who can afford to live that way? (Disclaimer, I'm usually pretty reasonable ie) the 1998 Honda Accord DX that I drive, the side mirror is falling off, again, it has 170,000 miles on it, my three kids barely squeeze into the backseat, as much as I would like to have a new car/mini-van/SUV, I have restrained myself).
I am master of what I eat, but not what I drink, I won't admit how many of these babies I drink a day so as not to embarass my husband any further, but I'm tired of it!!!

Now the reason behind the confession? The "Smart" side of the conscience needs accountability. Since I'm human and not all powerful and at times my discipline fails me I put it out there to my friends and family, who can keep an eye on me (peer pressure) and who can encourage me to beat "THOR". So, does anyone want to share what they battle "THOR" about?

Mastering Stairs

I'm not ready for this. Not ready for this boy to be on his own, to be climbing up to new heights without me. To be pushing his limits and entering into dangerous zones. I know it's only a small flight of stairs but it denotes the beginning, the beginning of him not needing his Mom as much, the beginning of his independence, the beginning of the toddler years.
I can only imagine where these feet will take him. Where he will serve his mission, which colleges he will attend, what profession he will choose, who he will marry (I'm scared to death to have a daughter-in-law and apologize publicly to my in-laws that they got me).
I'm looking forward to it and plan on enjoying every minute, I think he will too.

Unibrow

I had Super Saturday today, and I mean when I had Super Saturday I was in charge. Jake was left home alone with the three kids. Grant was down for his morning nap, Paislee was upstairs playing, and supposedly so was Ella. After an hour of blessed silence Jake found out where Ella really was, in our bathroom, on the sink, doing her makeup (my makeup) and painting her finger nails. Fortunately she didn't leave any evidence behind on the counter, you can see the evidence left on her face.

Fun Family Pictures

What I had hoped to title this post was "Perfect Family Pictures" but with three children and my tendency to blink that wasn't possible. However, with modern technology, the ability to swap heads (or eyes), change the color, brighten the color, or simply take away the unwanted they came out pretty close.

Harvesting Pumpkins

Each year we take our family out to the local pumpkin patch and pick the pumpkins that will decorate the front porch and later be turned into glowing jack-o-lanterns. Each year the farm adds to their attractions (and their prices) but we always have a great time. This is a picture of Jake and Grant in front of the hay maze and their beautiful red barn (don't you think all barns should be red)?
This is my feeble attempt to take pictures from different angles and positions than I normally would, I had wanted to get the top of Ella's head running through the maze, instead I got my gorgeous three year old popping up and pozing for the picture.
Grant thought the pumpkins made a pretty good seat and just wanted to hang out on it. Honestly they don't come any easier than this little guy, he's happy doing almost everything.

Every year we each take a picture with the kids in the pumpkin field with the ones we've chosen to take home with us. We're so lucky to have such a close, fun place to start our fall celebrations. This is my absolute favorite time of the year, the nights are cooler and the colors more vibrant. I'm so glad that fall has been creeping in this year instead of all at once so I can savor every moment of it and share that with our kids.