Trick or Treat!

We had a great Halloween! It's been a super laid-back day which is just what we needed. My birthday is Halloween so that makes it extra fun. We hung out at home most of the day. Evie napped and so did I.

   We went out to get some gelato and look at a place for Evie's birthday. She was so mad when we left because she wanted to play so badly! We took her to the park to run off some energy.

     Taco Soup is our new Halloween tradition. Evie loves to dip the chip into the soup. We met our neighbors to trick or treat which was a blast. Our plan was to just visit a few houses but we made it 1 hour and 15 minutes. We were all shocked but the kids were having a grand time. Christian and Evie rode in the wagon together. Campbell had his own wagon. All three kiddos quickly picked up the candy drill and had such a good time. Right before we got home, we noticed that Evie did not have her ladybug wings on tonight. OOPS, no wonder someone thought she was a red and black ballerina.

    Evie only got scared once and that was when she saw her babysitter, Paige. I think Evie was nervous that Paige looked like a cat. We came home and let Evie eat a few pieces of candy. She's in the bed now and we are still handing out treats. Happy Halloween!

Too Much Fun!

Evie did great with the babysitter last night. She had fun and went to sleep with her door open which is totally out of the ordinary. I put her socks on when I got back and she did not even stir so she must have been worn out.  Carl and I had a fun time on our date.  Evie woke up at 5:30 this morning calling Mommy! That is not music to my ears at that time of day. I tried to get her back to sleep but she was not interested at all. Carl took her to McDonald's and I went back to sleep. He brought me breakfast in bed which was really sweet!

  We had way too much fun with Evie today and are absolutely exhausted. We had a photo shoot in Downtown Franklin this morning. It was freezing! Poor Evie was blue at the end of it and was not happy at all. Not sure if we got any pictures or not but the photographer said we could go early to one of her shoots later this month to get a few more pictures if we do not get any good shots.

   We went to Pumpkinfest while were already in Franklin. It was so crowded and there were kids dressed up everywhere. It was fun to see all the kids in their costumes and Evie was mesmerized. We had some barbecue for lunch and Evie had chips.  They had the best fried cake doughnuts that I have ever had in my life! They were so good even Carl liked them and he is not much for sweets unlike the two girls in his life. Evie devoured her doughnut in two seconds flat and had cinnamon sugar from ear to ear. Evie loved the music at the festival and had so much fun clapping her hands while watching the dancers.

    We got home in time for a nap and Evie slept for almost 4 hours. I took a little nap too. My MOMS group had a pumpkin carving night and we had a blast. Evie loved playing with all the kids, looking at the pumpkins and wearing her glow bracelet. One of my friends, Christina, brought a birthday cake for me. I thought that was so thoughtful! We all ate cake and Evie knew right what it was as she announced cake to everyone. Carl did a superb job carving our pumpkin and Evie loved looking at it.

   We had a jam-packed day and I am headed to bed!

Timely Thursday

Thursdays are one of my very favorite days since it's the day Evie goes to MMO. She's only there for three hours but I get so much done and she has so much fun. I love to pick her up because she is so excited to see me. She was going over a checklist with Ms. Linda when I walked in and was so happy to be helping.

  Evie napped until almost 4 and then we played outside until Carl got home. We had to get our jackets! I made chicken noodle soup for dinner and Carl made grilled cheese. He makes them way better than I do.

   It's almost Friday and we are so excited becausse it's our date night. Can't wait to go do something fun with my husband.

One of my favorite bloggers at Clover Lane posted this quote on her blog. It's such a good quote! I love reading about big families. Not that we plan to have one but it really puts things into perspective.

"Fear less, hope more,  

eat less, chew more,

whine less, breathe more,

talk less, say more,

hate less, love more,

and good things will be yours."

Swedish Proverb

Dancing Queen

Evie and I straightened the den this morning. She's outgrown some toys and we had little pieces of stuff everywhere. It was so funny to see her so intent on helping. She's really good at sorting objects. We had a lot of piles to sort including lots of balls, babies and blocks! Of course, we had time for a little dancing. It makes me laugh because Evie literally drops everything when the music comes on and starts moving to the beat. She had a pile of books in her hand but they went to the floor when she heard her songs.

  Evie wore her costume to Kindermusik this morning. Ms. Jan propped the door open to keep us a little cooler which helped so much. Evie loved music class today and remembers the steps from her double dose of class last week. It's so cute to see her do the motions to Hot Cross Buns.

   I got everything completed off my to do list this afternoon. That's the first time in a long time that I have been so productive. Evie wanted to play outside after nap so we took our snack on the patio. It was a gorgeous day and there's probably not too many of them left so we took advantage of it.

   Carl had a dinner meeting so we ran a few errands and then got some pizza. Evie was so excited because there were several children in the restaurant and she kept pointing out the boys. She knows a lot more boys than girls but she said girl way earlier than boy. It's interesting to see her putting words to things that she has known for so long and watch her make so many connections to her environment. She's my little shadow and copies everything that I do from propping my leg in the shower to folding clothes.

   After dinner,we played outside some more. Evie likes to check on her pumpkins on the porch and give them a little kiss. I am not sure where she gets these ideas but it keeps her entertained.

Beans in the Bin and the OT's

Evie took a little trip to a nursing home this morning. She wanted to take her chairs with her but I made her leave them at home.  It was a chance for our kiddos to practice trick-or-treating and to let the OT's (old timers as Carl fondly calls them) have a chance to see the kids. Evie was so excited to wear her costume but she became a very grumpy ladybug once we walked in the retirement  home. Old people and Evie do not mix well. She's always been nervous around them and it has not changed at all. It must have been pretty overwhelming to walk into a room with literally 50 people waiting to pass out candy. She quickly learned the drill and was able to snag a few pieces of candy for her bucket. Evie was most interested in the resident dog, Molly. She was so happy playing with Molly. The fish and birds were a big hit too. I was sweating to death in there as I carried around my 27 pound ladybug in the sweltering nursing home. Evie was not impressed with the wheelchairs and refused to go near anyone in a wheelchair. One man kept calling her Dolly which was sorta cute.

It was really fun seeing all the kids dressed up and seeing the smiles on the faces of the residents. Multi-generational relationships are important and beneficial to everyone. It always makes me a little teary to visit nursing homes because it's such a visual reminder of how short life really is even though the days can seem so long. One sweet lady was there visiting her husband in the Alzheimer's unit and it broke my heart to hear her stories. What a terrible disease! She visits him every day and was peeking in at his reaction to seeing the kids. She told me that many years ago they had a little blond hair, blue eyed beauty like Evie. It's hard to imagine Carl and I hanging out in a nursing home together one day but it will come fast. One lady told me that she had been there and done that with kids and did not want to go back. That made me laugh! I guess she still remembers the joys and challenges of motherhood. It was a fantastic experience and maybe next time Evie will warm up to the residents.

   We had horrible weather all day! Tornado sirens going off, rocking chairs flipped over, trash cans swept down the street by the high winds and torrential rain. Scary stuff! It was quite reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz.
   
Evie woke up on the wrong side of the crib from her nap so we watched a show together. She's not into TV but will occasionally sit still long enough to watch a baby show such as Bringing Home Baby.

   We played with beans using a variety of cups and spoons. Evie had a blast and spread beans all over the place. I prepared dinner while she played with her highchair. Chicken Parmesan requires too many steps with a toddler underfoot. It's amazing that it even turned out. Evie was banging the lids of the pan together, crying for a pop and removing every pair of shoes from the storage bench in the kitchen. She's a busy bee!

  Carl came home and took her outside to play. He met another neighbor and she asked him what his husband name was. Carl told her that he was not that kind of guy and she apologized for her fluster. Not sure why but that just cracked us up! I am still laughing about it several hours later.

 We ate dinner as a family and then I ran out for a few minutes. Carl and Evie danced around the den. She sure loves her Daddy!

Playdates and Leaf Pickup

Evie and I went to a play date this morning. It was wild! The funniest part was that every single kid screamed or cried at some point during the play date. Another mom and I were chatting about how this is not what we imagined motherhood to be like before we were mothers. Evie had a blast!

     We ran a few errands after nap time and then Evie helped her Daddy rake the leaves. She is such a big helper and is so proud of herself when she is able to complete a chore.

   I have spent the entire day doing laundry. Where does it come from? Hope you had a good Monday!

Weekend Wrap-up!

We had a spectacular weekend! Yesterday, we went to Loveless Cafe for breakfast. Everyone had told us that they had the best biscuits in town so we decided to test out the theory. Apparently, we were not the only ones with that idea since we waited an hour to eat the biscuits. They were some good biscuits! My favorite biscuits were Poogan's Porch in Charleston until yesterday. Now, Loveless won that honor! Evie did great waiting and waiting for breakfast. We walked around to the shops, met some tourists, spotted lots of Gamecock fans in for the Vandy game and even listened to some music. Evie kissed every pumpkin that she saw since she really likes pumpkins. The man playing his guitar played the Itsy Bitsy spider for Evie which we appreciated so much because it gave us a break from chasing her all over the place. Breakfast was so good! I had country ham, home fries and shared some pancakes with Evie. Our little dipper had a great time dipping every last morsel of her pancake into the syrup. It was a fun time! She had syrup from head to toe but was so happy with her pancakes.

  We came home and played outside before watching a few home videos. Evie loves to see herself on the "show." She napped for a long time and so did Mommy. After nap, we headed to the zoo but it was closed for a ghoul event. We took a walk to the park and then crashed on the couch.

  Evie slept late this morning and then we tried out a church again. Not the church for us because Evie was the only one in the nursery. One day, we will find one that works for our family.  We will keep looking. My neighbor told me it took her three years to find a church once they moved here. That's a long time!

    We stopped by Harris Teeter on the way home. Evie knew it was the cookie place as soon as we were in the parking lot. She convinced her Daddy to let her drive the car cart even though we were only picking up a few things.

  Evie napped and Carl grilled us a pork tenderloin for lunch. It was good but a little too spicy for us. We were a little over zealous with the sauce.

  Carl stayed home to watch football and I went to see a movie. It was Life as you Know it and it was excellent.

   Evie was so excited to see me when I got back and Carl gave us both a wagon ride around the yard. Evie loved having me in the wagon with her. Not sure Carl liked it quite as much! Evie is so much fun. We are having a blast with her and are amazed at how quickly she is changing. She is talking so much and learns words at an alarming rate. Today, she learned: okay, papple (pineapple), bike and Tennessee. She is saying Mommy over and over when she needs my attention so I can see where this can get old but it's still sweet for the moment.

  Our new neighbors came over and I just loved meeting them. Evie had a blast with their boys. She showed them the ropes of living in the neighborhood and introduced them to her triplet friends. It was pretty cute. We hope to get to know the neighbors better soon!

Gymnastics and Pizza

We met our moms group at Let it Shine this morning at 9 AM. It was a major ordeal for us to get somewhere so early since we are used to lazy mornings at home. Evie had a spectacular time playing, jumping, running and climbing all over the place. She loved sliding down the slide into the block pit. It was so cute to see her looking so tiny in a huge pit of blocks. Evie got stuck on the big curvy slide and it was so sweet to listen to her friend Allie make her feel better. Allie said, It's okay Evie. Don't be scared. I used to be scared too." What a sweet girl! Evie saw her friend Ce Ce there and kept looking for her the whole time we were there.

  We ran a few errands after Let it Shine and then came home to play outside. Evie woke up and had a snack outside with our neighbors. Carl came home early and we headed to Mellow Mushroom for dinner. It's so nice that Evie is a little older and can handle going to restaurants a little later without having a meltdown. Evie is growing so fast since she eats so much food. I am pretty sure she eats more than me most days. She loved her pizza and ate a fruit cup too. After dinner, we walked around downtown Franklin and went into a few stores.

   It was getting dark so it was time to head home. Carl and Evie played outside. Nothing planned for the rest of the night except hanging out on the couch! Happy Friday.

Rinse and Repeat

We pretty much did the same thing we did yesterday. It was another beautiful day. I was getting ready this morning and looked over at Evie. She was playing in the shower which she does every morning. I noticed that she washing her hair all by herself. I did a quick rinse on her and we kept on going.

Evie is on fall break from Mother's Morning out so we decided to make up one of our Kindermusik classes. Ms. Marie taught it and Evie loved repeating the same things from yesterday. She was not as interested in the hula hoops this morning but she did want some "wa wa" that one of the little boys had with him. We took a break for some milk. Goodness, when did it get to where kids cannot get through a 30 minute activity without a snack or a drink. Evie is lucky that I had some milk. It was left from snack time in the car. Too bad I did not leave in the car because now my purse smells like old milk. Just one of those things that you never think about until you become a mommy.

  We played outside before lunch and then Evie crashed. She seems to be growing some more teeth since she spends most of the day with both hands inside her mouth. I went to get her after nap and she wanted to stay in her crib. Have I mentioned she likes her crib? She decided to get out so I could read her some books. We had the best time hanging out in my bed reading a big pile of books while cuddling. She is just the sweetest little girl. I just love those special quiet times with my baby girl who is quickly turning into a toddler. Thank goodness, she still likes to be held and loved on all the time.

  Evie saw the kids next door outside and decided to go join them. Dru had a new remote control car that Evie really liked from a distance. He was sweet and brought it over for Evie to see and then Evie did not like it so much. Dru thought it wold be fun to let his car go down our roller coaster. His mom did not think that was such a good idea.

   Evie jumped off the front steps for a bit and hid in the azaleas. She looks like a beautiful flower fairy when she does this and has so much fun frolicking in her own little forest of trees.

Carl got home so I could get my hair done. I love to see Evie's reaction when Carl gets home. Evie gets so excited as soon as she sees his silver truck pull around the corner.They had a great time while I was gone even though she did not have any veggies for dinner. That's okay, sometimes I forget the veggies too.

Play!

We heard Evie bright and early this morning calling for her Daddy. She must know that Mommy has a rule that we do not get up before 7.  Evie is still telling me to play all day! It's so cute . . . most of the time. She has such a good sense of direction and can tell me when we are getting close to one of her playgrounds. I think she's pretty smart!

  Evie had Kindermusik this morning and she had a blast. I guess the third time is the charm because she followed directions and even gave Ms. Jan a hug after her friend Jane did. That makes her the second one o hug this morning rather than the last. Evie spotted the Hula Hoops up on top of the cabinet and wanted one so badly. She must have remembered the song using the hoop from last week. Ms. Jan thinks we must get Evie her own Hula Hoop right away.  I heard "hoop" at every transition for the entire class. She is one determined little girl.

   Evie napped and I finished South of Broad. It was such a good read and I highly recommend it especially if you love Charleston. You will recognize many of the places and people. It makes me want to go down for a quick trip. Southwest announced their flight schedule today. Carl and I are so excited that there will be a direct flight to Charleston and Greenville from Nashville. They are having really good introductory rates right now too.

    Evie and I had a quick appointment and then headed out for some pizza. Carl had a dinner meeting at an Indian restaurant. Can't wait to hear what he ate because he is not exactly adventurous when it comes to food but the customer requested his favorite restaurant. Carl abhors mayonnaise and I told him that it would be extremely unlikely to find mayo in any of the dishes. Carl reminded me that we had some Indian food several years ago at his cousin's gorgeous wedding. I am glad that Evie saw her Daddy bright and early this morning because she has been calling for him all day.

  Evie and I played outside a lot today. She even let me go down her roller coaster but she was not too excited about it. That's good because it's not something that I plan on doing again anyway. She loves for me to walk up and down the ramp with her so that is an easy way to occupy her. We are really enjoying this fabulous weather. Nashville is especially beautiful this time of year!

Roll, Evie, Roll!

We had a super low-key day at home. Just what we needed since I hurt my back yesterday. Evie did not get up and going until 8:30 this morning. She was in her crib for 14 hours! What a good girl. She really likes her crib which makes us so happy.

  Evie and I cleaned the blinds and wiped down the cabinets. Other than that, we did not get anything productive done but we had lots of fun. Carl put together Evie's baby care station from her Ipop and Nana. That entertained her for a LONG time and just loves it! Evie read some books and raided the candy corn bag. She was stuffing her mouth full of candy corn as fast as she could. I tried encourageing her to share with me but she was not interested in sharing at all. We had a late lunch since Evie ate her weight in candy corn. Carl eats his candy corn in three separate bites for each color section. Evie eats her candy corn by the handul. I eat just a few pieces per season because I prefer chocolate candy.

  Evie slept until 4 which gave me a chance to prepare dinner for a friend with a baby. I'm probably the last person to hear of this but lots of people just leave coolers out on their porches here so you can just drop dinner off without worrying about disturbing the mom or the new baby. That's such a great idea! Of course, everyone wants to see the new baby but it can be so stressful at the beginning having so many people in and out of the house while attempting to nurse a baby and recover from delivery.

   Evie spotted several play area's along the way and wanted to play. We were on the way to a park when we talked to Carl. He was at home so we headed back too. Evie played on her new roller coaster from our thoughtful neighbors. It's going to provide endless hours of outdoor entertainment. Evie was thrilled and figured it all out so quickly. We went on a walk to see if that would ease my back pain and it did help for a bit.

   I made spaghetti for dinner while Evie played outside with her Daddy. She was so excited to see spaghetti for dinner. That's one of her favorites although I make penne for her since it's easier to pick up with a fork.

  Evie has been in the best mood all day. Let's hope it continues tomorrow.

  

Triple Play!

Evie and I had a lazy morning at home because we had a super busy day planned. It was so nice to sit at home reading books, playing with baby dolls and getting a little laundry done. We met our friends Logan and Amanda and Carol and Cassidy for lunch at Chuy's. The kids did really great eating but Evie was ready to go by the end.

  We headed to Murfreesboro to see Maura and all three of her girls. It's so crazy that Maura is a mom to three beautiful baby girls now. Everyone was doing great and Abby was such a proud big sister. This picture does not accurately portray how absolutely adorable and teeny-tiny these sweet girls are in person. I just loved holding and snuggling with a tiny baby and it made Evie seem like a giant. Maura is really good at getting calm, sweet babies which makes it look really easy to have three children. She assured me that it was not so easy in the middle of the night! I cannot wait for all the fun we will have with all four girls: Victoria, Sydney, Abby and Evie. My sweet Evie was very impressed that there were two babies. She thought it was really fun to pull on their toes and perform magic tricks with their blanket. Maura is so relaxed and totally relaxed. Evie and Abby played well together even though neither one of them had napped. They really like each other and are so sweet together. Both girls wore their pumpkin shirts but were not too interested in a photo shoot.

   Evie slept all the way to our next stop Walden Farm. We met some moms from our MOMS group. It was a great farm with a little train and a hayride. They had lots of animals and play equipment. Evie made a beeline for the play area since she loves to play. We had so much fun but were both tired after our busy, exiting day.

   Carl's truck was here when we got home but he had gone jogging. Evie was concerned about where her Daddy was since she saw his truck. She kept calling out "Carl" in hopes that he'd appear. Some of our neighbors brought over a roller coaster for Evie. It was Evie's dinnertime so she has not seen it yet but will be so excited in the morning. Bedtime came early for Evie and I will not be far behind her.