Black and Orange

I've started putting Halloween decorations out! There are so many cheap decorating tips in magazines these days, so I decided to try some out. Here's my mantle.... complete with twigs from my backyard that I spray painted. I'm too cheap to buy the ornaments that are meant to hang from the twigs, so little rings will have to suffice. There's more to come....... so stay tuned!

In honor of Corinne

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Here are a few ways that you can help.

One of the easiest things you can do to help raise awareness and money for childhood cancer is eat at Chili’s. On Monday, September 28th, all Chili’s restaurants will be donating 100% of their profits from restaurant sales to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in honor of childhood cancer awareness.

If you can’t make it on the 28th, that’s ok too. All month long, Chili’s is running their Create-A-Pepper campaign. Guests who make a donation to St. Jude will receive a pepper coloring page to color and decorate. You can also purchase Create-A-Pepper t-shirts, or donate online and create an electronic pepper.

Aside from all the work Chili’s is doing for St. Jude and childhood cancer awareness, there are many other ways you can make a difference.

Wear a yellow ribbon, the symbol of childhood cancer, or add a yellow ribbon to your blog (feel free to copy mine).

Make a donation to the oncology unit at your local children’s hospital, or give them a call to find out if there are ways you can volunteer, or items you could donate that would help.

Remember families you know that are battling childhood cancer, and give them your encouragement and support.

Drop by Care Pages or CaringBridge and leave an encouraging note for a family that is coping with childhood cancer.

Most of all, remember that childhood cancer is something that exists beyond September. Help to raise awareness and support families of kids with cancer all year long.

Ode to Harry

Our beloved Harry fish went on to the promise land today. He lived a full life with us. We brought him home in January and he was a valued member of our family. Believe it or not, he was really friendly and would always swim around to face us whenever we happened by his tank. He was the most social fish I've ever met and I'll sure miss him. The boys don't know about Harry so we'll probably just tell Jack that he "had to go to the fish doctor". His class pet last year went to the doctor a couple of times and the kids were none the wiser ;) Hope the next Harry is as nice of a fish. RIP Harry.

Tea with mom friends

My Mom's club has a Mother's Morning Out today at a local tea salon. We all got small pots of tea and shared our selections. The hands down favorite was something called Midnight Rain, a coconut and almond extract flavored tea that tasted just like wedding cake. You know I was all over that one! We all had a delightful time and could actually carry on a conversation, which never happens when our kids are around ;)

Playdate with Will & Erik

Theo and I got together with his friends Will and Erik today. They had fun playing with trucks and Will's sister's Dora playhouse. Those boys sure do love Dora and Swiper ;) Theo burned off some energy dancing before we came home and he napped.

Ice cream sandwiches

The boys LOVE ice cream sandwiches (ok, who doesn't) but they are a rare treat here. I was expecting a huge mess, hence the stripped down attire and towel to sit on! But the boys surprised me and there was minimal mess. Theo was afraid to actually bite into the sandwich and was left holding a bunch of melted mess. Ha ha.

Winners

Our lucky 5 winners are Dawn, Susan, Leigh, Lauren and Kerstin!!!!!

Email me close up pictures of your kids, they can be separate pictures if you have more than one child, and we'll email about the rest of the details.

Congratulations!!!!

My boys!

Here is my birthday sketch of Jack and Theo, all framed up and hung on the wall! I've had the perfect spot for something ever since we moved in here, 3 1/2 years ago. It's like this frame was always supposed to go there. I love Dave for doing this for me and for picking out the perfect frame and matting for it.

He has offered to do free sketches to the first FIVE people who comment here. He's building a portfolio of sorts and needs the practice. Be sure to leave a comment if you are interested and then I will email you so you can send the pictures. Good luck!!!!

Two new things

Just call me a soccer mom (guess really a T-ball mom though) because we traded the Envoy in today for a Honda Odyssey (mini van). Never in a million, trillion years would I ever have pictured myself driving a mini van. That is until Theodus James (my new nickname for Theo) joined our family. Lugging around 33 lbs, plus bags, plus opening doors for Jack was just too much. My van has "magic doors" and I'm already in love. I'm sure this is making some of you gag. Haters!!!

You may also notice that this picture was taken in the garage. Yes, I park in the garage now. Right next to the Bronco, but there is plenty of room for me to park, get out and unload stuff. Very handy in the monsoon weather we've had recently.

Lounging around

Jack is home sick from school today. He's really doing pretty well, just a very mild fever and dry cough, but 5 kids were out sick from his class yesterday, so something is going around. Theo seems like he's not 100% either, so we all lounged around in jammies this morning. I set up the Elmo tent with a blanket and pillows for the boys to watch Sesame Street. Now Theo is napping and I'm about to lay down with Jack to try and get him to nap. I hope this crud passes along quickly.

Cup and stuff

Theo's MDO has had the kids drink out of cups since day one. Let's just say that Theo came home in his spare shirts for the first of days. He's got the hang of it now and I've been letting him drink out of cups at home. He does remarkably well and hasn't spilled it (so far). Theo sure is growing up!

Little Erik came over today. He and Theo are almost exactly the same age and have all sorts of fun together. Jack drove the boys around in the truck today. Erik rode in the cargo space since Theo called "shotgun". Ha ha.

Elliott also got some love today. Jack is very gentle and affectionate with him. He'll be quick to tell you that he "loves both of his pets, Harry (fish) and Elliott". We're just glad to get outside again since it's been raining non-stop for 2 weeks!

Fall!!!

I went to the Dollar Tree today (my favorite store for seasonal decorations) and found this garland. I got the blocks at TJ Maxx and I think they make a really nice combo. Now the weather just needs to take a hint.

Geaux...............

Tigers!!! Gigi got the boys new jerseys to kick off the 2009 season! It's been raining all week here so I had to include Theo in Jack's old raincoat. I love seeing him in some of Jack's more memorable outfits. It's pretty hard to get a cute picture of both boys. Jack is at the prime age for acting goofy in front of the camera. Hugging quickly turns to choking in our house ;) Enjoy!

Chocolate chip waffles

I went to my favorite grocery store ever on Thursday (I was hosting book club that night) and got these beautiful flowers. I'm ready for Fall and even if the weather doesn't cooperate, I'm putting out the Fall decorations anyway. While I was shopping at said grocery store, I sipped leisurely on the pumpkin spice coffee and stumbled across belgian waffle mix! There were several kinds to choose from.... pumpkin, chocolate, blueberry... but I just got the plain jane variety! This morning the boys were in for a treat- chocolate chip waffles! I told Jack it was in honor of his first LSU game of the season. He and Dave are going in the rain tonight while Theo and I get together with friends. Happy Saturday :)

Theo at 2

Went to the 2 year old well check today. Theo is 3 feet tall and weighs in at a sturdy 33 lbs. About what I expected (he's heavy as hell). Height was 93% and weight was 75%. Head circumference was 20 1/2 inches, which was off the charts. My kids have huge heads! Good news is that Theo is healthy as a horse and eats like one too. Passed the developmental questions with flying colors. Go Theo!!

Having fun with Will

Theo and I get together with my friend, Marlow, and her son, Will, on Wednesdays. Today we took them to an indoor play area, which was a great choice considering the rain we've been getting lately. Theo and Will ran all around and had a great time. Notice Theo's super cool Spiderman lunch box! He's obsessed with Spiderman. Give ya 3 guesses on what he's going to be for Halloween ;)

Bowl or cup?

Or both! I've had these bowls for Jack forever now. He likes to drink the milk leftover from his cereal and well, it doesn't get much easier than this when your bowl has a straw. I just recently let Theo have one and he's in heaven. Drank all of his milk and only took a bite or two of cereal. Hmmm. We'll have to revisit this!!!

Lil Sluggers

Jack started up a T-ball skill class this morning. The coach gives them lots of instruction on how to throw, field and bat. Theo was a wild-man, running all around the field, so we had to retreat to a separate area until the class was over. Luckily Dave took these great pictures for me to see how Jack did!!

Here's another picture from Jack's teachers! They were grouping everyone by the color clothes they wore to school. I love getting pictures from his teachers!