Quickie...

Here is a quick peek at our halloween. We had our cousins Kevin, Jill and Joey down to trick or treat with us! We are certainly loving having them in the area!!!
Happy Halloween! Thanks for coming to play with us Jill, Joey and Kevin!

The seasons are a changin'

My favorite part about living on the east coast is the way the leaves change every fall. And apparently I don't even live in the part where its totally awesome. But, even this non-awesomeness (the people who grew up here say this is nothing compared to New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut.) is way more than I had growing up. All those evergreens. All they do is... stay green. So, to celebrate the beauty that is the deciduous tree, Braxton and I baked some sugar cookies and painted them.

Woohoo we're excited!

I even used the leaf shaped cookie cutter. Paint paint paint...

before baking...

Post-bake.

They are OH SO Delicioso!

Pumpkin Patching!

Yesterday we went and visited Cox Farms Fall Festival with the Bender-Perkins bunch. Fun times are always had with them. The beginning of the hay ride... The longest hayride known to man! They had several interactive sequences... the countdown to the aliens landing was the first. Then they started dancing....Then we got stuck and they sent this guy to help. He used his lasso to get us out...PIGGIES!!!!! Oh, I love these noisy little animals. One of my two favorite animals in the whole wide world.

Now for the "slide-o-rama" sequence!

Love the hair...

Our good pals Brendan and Mike. This is the one where Brendan isn't grimacing too hard...

It took him a good forty seconds to scooch his way down this slide. Apparently without mom he lacks a little "go with the gusto".

Now for a few other notable notes from the morning.

Watching Farmer Jack show us how they milked in the "old days". No wonder life expectancy was so short back then.

cutie patootie Kenny. Making his half snorty face to let us know he's not really happy about not recieving any of the "free all you can drink cider".

Braxton attempting to pick up a pumpkin that weighed twice what he does. He ended up having to settle for letting it roll down the hill.

Trying to reach the pedals on the tractor... its gonna be a while kiddo.
and last but not least, the psychic rooster predicting the outcome of the presidential election: Bok Bok Bok Barack Obama!

High Five Turtle.

The title has nothing to do with the post. I just found it to be a very funny line in one of my shows this week.

I'm doing sort of a random post. This week so far has been rather trying. Braxton has hit a "phase", and I apparently am not quite prepared mentally to deal with it. Along with his "phase" Mark is working very, very long hours due to his masters class he's taking after work a few times a week. On top of that Kieran is 11 mos. and still doesn't sleep through the night. Though this past week I've managed to whittle it down to two wake ups a night. This is a HUGE improvement. Oi, I could use a day at the spa right now...

So, because its hump day, I'm going to say that we've gotten over the worst of it all and the rest of the week is only going to get better. I am thinking the boys and I need an adventure... something to shake things up a bit. Until I figure out what that is, I'm going to eat my kit kats then try to get some sleep. And remind myself to breath...

And last but not least... the biggest boy...
Yup, they're handsome and they're all mine!

I got them to...

...Semi-cooperate for a few pictures. This is a HUGE step in the family photoness of us. (at least without a professional at the helm) They're not super, but I'm happy we even got this. I of course had to bribe them with ice cream. Ok, B-rox looked at the camera exactly 0% of the time.
Again, they're not great. But - its something...

NO MORE PORK!!!

Ok, first off - Mark and I are not super poitical. Or at least we don't discuss our politics too much. We find it a waste of time. We have our views, and we vote - so we're not totally uninvolved. We do keep ourselves informed and whatnot - so its not voting just to vote - Don't worry.

Anyway, somehow Braxton has picked up a few things from this election season.

Let me set the scene:
We are at the dinner table - dinner consists of a pork roast, green beans and rice. None of which Braxton will eat. Mark and I are trying to convince him to eat - or at least try - his dinner when he tells us:

"John McCain was on Oprah and he said "My friends - No more pork." So I don't want any."

I'm fairly certain that McCain has NOT been on Oprah. I'm not certain at all on how he came up with any of that. Let alone all together.

Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles!

Just blowing off some steam - or bubbles - if you will, and I got some pretty good shots of the Kenny. I tried taking some of Braxton, but there are only so many times I can post that kids butt.
It was a good way to end the afternoon.

Mutton busting.

No, we haven't recently been to a rodeo. (To be honest, I'm not 100% sure they have them around here...) We did however get Braxton a new hat for his dress up chest. He now has Cowboy to add to his repertoire. He wasted no time wrangling his "sheep-dog".
There is no dog in this sheep. But, to the b-rox she's "sheep-dog". Sheep-dog gaurds the side of his bed from bugs and helps B-rox sleep peacefully at night.

My little yogis.

Part of my fitness "regime" is yoga in the evenings before I go to bed. Helps me stretch out after a run, and relaxes me so that it doesn't take me quite as long to sleep - being the insomniatic that I am.

Anyway, There have been a few times where I'll also do a little bit before a run if I'm feeling tight. The boys are obviously awake for this, and have apparently learned a few things.

This is downward facing dog. The only variation that he puts on it is that he waves his butt around in the air while he's doing it.
Another downward facing dog. The only reason I got this picture is because he couldn't see the camera. in his "warrior pose" and his "head stand" he decided to be a punk and move.

because...

He has started saying mama. Yup... and dadda, and baba - which I'm assuming is for the b-rox. Since he's never had a bottle... And he tends to yell it when Braxton is beating up on him. Unfortunately thats more often than I'd like. I guess that's why God built him big. To put up with his brother. I think he's pretty stinkin handsome. Well, right now mostly just stinking... Gotta go.

**edited to note that he's been making those sounds for a while. He only just started meaning them.**

A whole quarter of a century!

This morning marks a momentous occasion! My bff turns a whole quarter of a century old today. I don't think its that old, but she does so I have to give her crap. Happy birthday BOB. Love you muchos! Have a good day my dear.

Enjoying some good weather

Today was fabulous weather. About seventy degrees and very little humidity. So, we went to the park. It had been a while since I had subjected my boys to the torture of the camera... so today I went hog wild! Here are my favorites.If only this car had an engine. The places I'd go...

I know running with sticks is dangerous... But at least he was holding them out to the side right? See what great opportunities for pictures would be lost if I cut his hair super short?

Teaching him a few life lessons...More to come.

Mr. Men and Little Misses

Braxton has a favorite book series that is divided into the sexes. Mr. Men and Little Misses. The series contains memorable characters such as: Mr. Strong, Mr. Rude, Mr.Bump, Mr. Cheerful, Little Miss Stubborn, Little Miss Brainy, Little Miss Splendid and many many others. Well, Braxton has also gotten to the age of play pretend. Earlier today Braxton decided to assign each of us a character from the series (which is also a tv show that the luvs...). So, for the last few hours Mom, Dad, Kieran and Braxton have ceased to exist. In their places are:

Mr. Rude. Who used to be known as Daddy. Braxton's justification for why daddy is Mr. Rude is because Mr. Rude is funny. (I'm pretty sure its the french accent).

Mr. Strong. Who used to be known as Braxton. Mr. Strong eats eggs. Braxton eats nothing. But, Braxton did the assigning, so who are we to argue?

The only Little Miss in my house. If I thought that Braxton understood the concept of stubborn I would understand his assignment of the character to me. As it stands neither of us understand it. But, Little Miss Stubborn I am.

And last, but not least. The person who used to be known as Kieran. Again, not sure as to the criterium of this assignment. But there it is. The least bouncy person is Mr. Bounce.

And there ya have it folks.