Happy 'Ween!

G-Ville enjoying our annual tradition of "Boo Stew" (recipe thanks to our very own Hallow-Mimi)

Happy Halloween all!!

I know the Ohio grandparents are falling out of their seats with great Halloween costume anticipation... So here you have it, the 2010 G-Ville unveiling of the bugs and arachnids.

First we have the deadly black widow :

(spider costumes hand-made with love by Mimi!)

Followed by the Goliath Tarantula (largest spider in the world, FYI):
And then the sweet bee:
And of course our little ladybug (lower left):
We even captured the theme in some of our pumpkins...
And here's a shot of the whole clan:
GG and I never procured costumes for ourselves. I got as far as last-minute, homemade antennae for my butterfly get-up, but never found wings. It just had to do to get us out the door in time!

J barely made it out of the house before being scared by a Scream mask. He high-tailed it inside and was happy to hang with Mimi and Papa sans costume. Oh well--at least we got a few photos, right? He kept saying, "I stay here" over and over again to ensure no one would take him outside for the rest of the night. Poor, traumatized little fella! The big boys seemed to have a great time, though they lost steam pretty quickly after running up and down nearby driveways. Our little ladybug petered out quickly and slept in her daddy's arms as we traveled. Too cute. We were thankful their little candy buckets got full fast, which meant it was time to go home!! Yahoo!!

Halloween--check!

I look forward to getting the candy out of the house as quickly as possible...

"Why?" You ask.

Well because today I've consumed the following: 2 K.K. donuts, 2 Kit Kats, 1 small Snickers, 1 pouch of Sour Patch Kids, and 1 Reeses PB Cup. Ugh. Talk to me tomorrow about my postpartum fitness plan. lol. :) And here today is supposed to be the day when I should be worrying about my children's sugar consumption, not mine! Oh well!!

Cheers to a Happy Halloween and a wonderful day of aftermath tomorrow!

God bless the teachers.

God bless you,

The T-Bone

These shots came home just yesterday. Can you blame me for wanting to buy every one of them?! Sweet T, we love you!

On Creators

M: Mom, why does MG have all this chub on her legs?

B-mama: Because that's the way God made her.

In the next breath...

T: Mom, why is Mickey a mouse?

B-mama: Because that's the way his creator made him.

lol. How I love our coincidental randomness.

Start Spreading the News

GG and I enjoyed a wonderful (albeit brief) trip up to Philadelphia this past weekend! So why the title from a Frank Sinatra singing about New York?? This is thanks to an 80's commercial playing "Start Spreading the News" while advertising Philadelphia Cream Cheese. lol. Now whenever I hear/see one, I think of the other. Advertising at its best.

In any event, we attended the lovely wedding of a PU friend of ours and fellow Camp Winona camper of GG's. It was a grand time and we basked in the fellowship of many great Catholic pals of ours. Most fun was seeing Red and Texas Mommy and getting to hang with them for the night! Red wrote a beautiful reflection of the evening here. Little MG was along for the ride and was the most perfect wedding guest (if I do say so myself). Look cute and you win BIG points at a Catholic wedding! lol. :) Even better was getting to spend the hours with GG in the car talking and planning and connecting... Gosh, do we need time like that as a married couple!

GG and PU buddy, Matt

Red, Tex, and me! Amazing that we got Red to smile here--she was so distraught over the Phillies' loss!

With my adorable godson, Gus

The babies unite--MG and Claire!

Blessings on a Wednesday,

Friday Shorts

Happy Friday, dear ones...

These are the morning tidbits from our little world (published much, much later because I got pulled away from the computer...)

1) It is chilly and wonderful this morning. The air has a crisp feel to it. Very autumn; very thrilling. MG is napping. I'm computering. And J is playing/watching Mickey Mouse club (his morning fix). Soon we will be heading off on a run and finishing up with errands to the craft store. I am making the little invites for MG's baptism coming up in a couple weeks (the rush order was way too expensive to order online...) Trust me, I normally wouldn't choose to be so crafty; money and time are definitely fueling this venture! :)

2) Today marks our annual MOPS Trunk or Treat, where my little munchkins will be scurrying from one mother's car trunk to another in the church parking lot. Too cute!! You bet our "Hallow-Mimi" has been hard at work this week creating our little arachnid get-ups. We had a sneak peek this morning and THEY ARE AWESOME. She's so talented!! I can't wait to show you! (We had the event tonight and it was much fun. The boys and MG looked great...)

3) I've informally started half marathon training! When will I be running one??? Not sure yet, but at least this is giving me a running schedule and easing me back into miles. I'm using the program I followed for my Leukemia and Lymphoma half two years ago. Good stuff. Part of this will be useful when I help my friend finish the last 8 of her marathon coming up in November. I'm really looking forward to it--I had a friend do the same for me when I ran the Columbus Marathon back in '03 and it was uber-helpful! Hopefully some fresh legs and a little encouragement can do the trick for her too.

4) I did Jillian's (Biggest Loser) Shredded 1 workout on Wednesday (thanks to FIOS On Demand) and *boy* am I sore!! I actually took yesterday off to recover more and then am going to try to get in some miles today. Gotta get these old legs going. ;)

5) Speaking of running, M's school had a running competition earlier in the week to help raise canned goods for a local charity. Each child ran 6 minutes during gym class and the parents then pledged a can per lap. Suffice it to say, we are now paying up! M did awesome!! J, MG, and I were able to head down to cheer for him... He strategized Tuesday morning, "Mom, I'm going to run 19 laps!!" We had to talk him down, reminding him it was only 6 minutes. "Pace yourself," I told him, "You'll see a lot of classmates starting off sprinting and then they won't be able to keep running. Just run a strong pace." (Yes, yes, I was that competitive, scheming parent! haha but only because my kid was into it, I swear!) M made it almost 5 and 1/2 laps for the effort, a good 3/4 lap farther than anyone in his class. The lady even said he went farther than some second graders. He charged the whole time and didn't seem to be winded at the end (oh youth!) That's our boy! :) You know the runner mama in me was so proud. We are still waiting to hear the outcome of the Golden Shoe Award--the class with the highest yards/child average. We'll keep you posted... (I know you'll be on the edge of your seats! lol)

Strong stride!

Afterward, being congratulated by friends.

We are headed into the weekend full steam ahead. To end, I leave with some pics from our pumpkin patch trip last weekend... Blessings all!

Halloween 2010 Preview

Can you guess our family theme?

No question--we will be CUTE! :)

The Soccer Skinny

Basking in the sun amidst fields of soggy soccer

It was a glorious weekend to call oneself a Virginian. We undoubtedly lived up every ray of sunshine along with the 70 degree temps. Glorious! This is our reward for surviving such a brutal summer. If heaven promises to be beyond anything like this, sign me up, baby!!

As per usual, our weekend commenced Saturday morning with soccer. The boys were raring to go... M had a fun game and seemed to enjoy himself immensely. "I love Saturday because that's when I have soccer!" Fantastic. We can't argue with his spirit, exuberance, and enjoyment of the game. He is everywhere on the field--forward, mid, defense--whatever is needed!! Cute, cute!

Coach extraordinaire and son pupil

Going in for the kill

T's game was enjoyable as well, especially because 4yo's move a little slower and are a little less intense. Ahh... The perfect way to finish off the soccer morning. T played great and had some great dribble breakaways up the field only to be squelched by some ringers on the other team. Two little girls dominated and happened to be on the same rotation as T! Bummer! But hey, he had a wonderful time and really seemed to enjoy himself. That's what counts!

T's coach was really excited about his game last week. What a great guy--his wife just had a baby a week ago (their third) and here he is coaching!! Congratulations Hughes family.

We capped the weekend yesterday with the start of our at-home Catechesis with another family from church and a trip to the pumpkin patch. Pics to come! Have a blessed Monday!!