No Guts - No Glory

Well...the busy, busy weekend is over and the household survived.

The Pumpkin Carve went well, albeit it was more low-key than it has been in previous years. We had people staggering their arrivals, so carving space was not as hard to find as it usually is. AND...to my total surprise, I don't think Hailey ventured anywhere near the pumpkin guts!! She was clean the whole night (unless you are counting her diaper). Plus she was super damn adorable in her costume - it certainly topped last year's chicken (and that is no easy feat)!!

For those of you who are keeping tabs on the year and a half long kitchen cabinet refinishing project...we put up all the cupboards for the party whether they were done or not. The result of that being that my kitchen looks funny and Hailey's unrestricted access to my cookware has come to an end. I will be finishing each door on an individual basis - so look for our kitchen to be done by Christmas 2009.

This weekend, Nathan and I also were able to attend two GROWN-UP costume parties! No joke! They were both on the same night, so even though we couldn't stay long at either, at least we only had to ask for sitting help for one evening. Apparently Grandma and Grandpa's bedtime is long before Hailey's - so it's a good thing we didn't stay out too late. It was nice to go out and be adults for an evening - even though we were dressed funny!

The only bad part of the weekend was that the marching band that I have been on staff for, lost its bid for a chance at state finals on Saturday night. I couldn't go to the competition with them (I was painting cabinet doors all night) but tried to be with them in spirit. Only the top 10 bands in Michigan can go to state finals and we have been 11th for the past five years - these poor kids can't get a break! It's tough to compete against bands that have 60-70 more performers and a booster budget that can buy 2 plasma TV screens for a band show (no I'm not kidding). Some of my kids would get on my case for saying that - because I'm making excuses for them...but sorry kids, that's what it boils down to. I just want to make sure they know that I am proud that I was on staff for them this year. They worked really hard and their show was a lot of fun. I'm going to miss all my seniors (Kelsey, Becca, Jon, Emily, Emmalee, and Angie, Sara, Megan and Mitchell). I've known some of you for years and this year's graduation is going to be particularly difficult.

So...no guts this weekend for Hailey and no glory for the band. A bittersweet weekend at best. The good news is that my house is clean and I should have a little more time now to get things done ( I'm coming for you cabinets)!

Quick Pic (The Sequel)

I just realized that we took Hailey in for her 1 year photos, and I never posted any of them online....

Call me a Bad Mommy - or - Bad Blogger...

(you be the judge).

She is just the cutest though! The crawling one is my favorite!

Now if there was a toy careening toward the camera, that would totally capture my daughter.

I thought about these pictures today because a group of us gave one of the daycare moms a gift certificate so she could take her little boy in for his first year photographs. Photoshoots are expensive and I just couldn't bear the thought of her not having pictures of him on his most important of birthdays.

I have such an incredible support system in Nathan, our families and friends...it feels really good to do something nice for another mom who is going through a rough patch.



Besides, it gave me the opportunity to buy some boy clothes (I think they are SOOO cute!)

SO...Happy Birthday Christopher! I hope you are a little easier to corral for you photos than Hailey was (crawling baby + still camera = many eye rolls from the JC Penney photographer).

Things that go Bump....

Hello everyone! It's Fall and my favorite time of year - Halloween!!

Our annual Pumpkin Carve is coming up this Sunday...AND...I still don't have the kitchen cabinet doors finished (big surprise). Having guests able to see directly into our cupboards may turn out to be far scarier than any Halloween decoration I could buy!

This year's Carve should be interesting with a toddler running around the house. I am envisioning Hailey covered in pumpkin guts -which we would be scraping off the walls until New Year's. She already likes to reach inside the toilet up to her shoulder, so getting inside a pumpkin would be no big deal! I think my goal this year is not to create the scariest Jack-O-Lantern face, but to try and avoid a stringy, orange daughter and pumpkin gut wallpaper.

As for Hailey's second Halloween costume...I won't blog about her costume until after she wears it and we get pictures - so you all will just have to be patient!! It may end up that she dresses up in pumpkin guts for the 31st.....hmmmm.....

Well...walking is now the preferred method of travel for our big 14 month old! I have to admit, she is really pretty good at it. She can do all the bending necessary to pick up the latest toy projectile and she has mastered the art of the 'lap sit'. Now if we can lengthen her attention span long enough to completely read through "I'll Teach My Dog Lots of Words" we should be all set.

However, there is one obstacle that without fail will send her tumbling to the floor - erupting in a well rehearsed fit...the dog. Poor Hailey...when standing, her head is now exactly the same height as Harley's uncontrollable tail. She gets whacked in the face more times than Curly from the Three Stooges. But...if I'm being honest here...Poor Harley as well! She takes his toys and climbs on him and is generally the center of attention. I scolded him severely the other day because I heard him (lightly) growl at her as she was climbing on him - I didn't know at the time that he made that noise because she stepped on....uh...er....his... 'thing' that shouldn't be stepped on. Suffering through that and all he did was make a slightly ticked off noise...he's a good dog.

Whatever Harley dishes out, Hailey returns the favor. However, instead of retaliating on the dog, she has been taking it out on the kids at daycare. Apparently my darling sweet daughter is a bit of a bully. The other day she got a 'baby time out' for not letting the other kids play with any toys and for hitting them - that includes a 4 year old boy!! Great - my daughter is just like I was when I was little. I guess Mom's voodoo curse really worked ("I hope you have a daughter just like you someday"). How do you discipline a baby before they understand right from wrong? One minute she is giving out the sweetest (and drooliest) kisses and the next she is smacking you in the face. *Sigh* is this really life with a toddler?

And so....our house is filled with things that go bump this season - whether it is the dog knocking over Hailey, the toilet seat being opened and closed, Hailey throwing her toys or smacking kids at daycare.

Whatever the bump is....it's usually not good (and it is usually followed by crying).

It's going to be a scary holiday!

Quick Pic

Just a quick post - the picture is too cute not to put my blog.

Hailey dancing with Daddy at her Uncle Brian and Aunt Laura's wedding last month.

Everyone together now.... "Awwwwww"