Halloween in a new town

A little over a year ago we moved to a new town that has a very different culture from the town I grew up in. Tonight after getting home from a lovely Trunk-or-Treat (more on that later), we turned on the porch light to invite trick-or-treaters to our door for candy. I opened the window shade so that I could see what was going on out there. As I did 15 very small children and a couple of adults walked passed our house without stopping. I seem to remember this happening last year, too. Very sad. It bums me out. Why don't they come to my door? Is there a special thing I need to do besides turn on the porch light? When I was a kid, that was all it took. Most people in town also know this as the pastor's home. I know that the interim pastor who was here just before we were didn't like Halloween, but I don't know about the pastor before that. Maybe that is why they don't come. Maybe someone gave them boring candy before. Maybe I need a big sign that says, "Hey! I've got Snickers and Hershey's and Twix among other yummy candies!!" Maybe the littlest kids need a sign that says "Play dough here!" Oh well. I guess I do get to eat some candy. I'm still sad though.

Reformation Day

My poor husband can't wait for this day to be over. You'd think he'd like Reformation Day; I mean, hello, he's Lutheran. Nope. Reformation Day for him inconveniently falls on Halloween every year. I personally think that he totally didn't trick-or-treat enough as a kid or he'd think it was great. I've never asked him though. Maybe he trick-or-treated against his will or caught on fire one year because he got too close to a burning pumpkin. Who knows? Either way, my husband insists that he won't be a kill-joy and will humor my love of candy--I mean Halloween, seriously though, I don't care what it is called if candy is involved. And how convenient is it that we bought Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters when we won't be getting home tonight until after Allyssa's bedtime. Unfortunately, David has solved this problem and we will simply turn on the carport light. Less candy for me, more candy for kids in costumes. However, if we do get really little kiddos, I have little tiny play dough for them! How fun is that?!! I'd be so excited if I was a 3 year old. Yay for Kohl's! Allyssa gets to celebrate, too. She gets to dress up as a Crayola and go to Trunk-or-Treat at the Church of Christ in Harlingen. That's where we go to MOPS. Hopefully she'll like it. We'll see!

BOY

Half-way

Using Allyssa as my guide, this pregnancy is already about 1/2 over. What better way to celebrate than finding out if this baby is a he baby or a she baby?! You'd better get to voting because we find out tomorrow. That's right. Tomorrow!

My big belly

Allyssa likes to find my belly button now. I think her discovering it has to do with the fact that my belly is big, and she noticed. I'm huge, y'all. I'm shocked. I haven't even gained that much weight (only 6 pounds more than what my normal weight should be), but I'm HUGE. My first trimester is over. I'm around 17 weeks or so. My first tri wasn't bad, but my second isn't going so great. Allyssa was like that, too. I haven't thrown up in a few weeks really, but I don't feel good a lot of the time. I threw up with Allyssa more and more as the pregnancy went on, so I'm hoping for a differnt pregnancy this time. My sister thinks I'm going to have a girl because I'm not super tired. I'm not sure if that is a very good indicator because with Allyssa I was exhausted always. I have a different type of job now, and I think that that makes a world of difference. And my definition of "super tired" might be skewed. Ask any mom of a 16 month old and she would say that she is tired. I go to bed at or before 10 pm and try to never wake up the next morning. For some, that might indicate "super tired." I have noticed that my forgetfulness has increased in an amount proportionate to my big belly size. I expect it to continue that pattern. I've forgotten what I'm doing, so I'm going to stop for now. Have a great day!

Sunday Afternoon thru Tuesday Morning

...we spent at Allyssa's godparents' house in Houston. We had a great time and unfortunatly took no pictures which I'm very sad about. Allyssa enjoyed having another kid to "play" with although she is a toy theif, so really she enjoyed having another kid to steal toys from. Goofy girl. Caleb loved watching her move everywhere as he is 7 months old and learning to crawl. He's pretty fast though. I realized how quickly time flies while there. Honestly, I don't remember that stage of Allyssa's life. It was only 9 months ago that she was his age. For me, that is a good thing. While there are parts of every stage that are not my favorite, I must say that the infant-pre-walking stage was very hard for me. Once Allyssa was able to walk and say a few words, I found myself to be very relieved. For once, I knew what my child wanted at least some of the time. Caleb was so wonderfully happy. I really don't remember Allyssa smiling as much as Caleb who also never seemed to cry. What a wonderful baby!! We has a great time visiting and had a few new experiences. I'd never played Wii and got to play for the first time there. We also got to eat this wonderful chicken that Kati gave me the recipe for. I can't wait to make it. And meatloaf. I don't make meatloaf. Kati does, and it is great! She had bar-b-que sauce that we could eat with it. It was a new flavor for me and was wonderful! They also made brownies that had frosting on the top (David mentioned to me that that was quite a treat as I never put frosting on brownies. He also made sure that I knew that she put it on a 1/4 of an inch thick, which was the right amount. :) ) and bananas foster or something like that (obviously I've never had it since I'm not sure about the name). It was really good and a special treat. It was great getting to visit with Kati because I hadn't gotten the chance to talk with her much because we've never lived very close to one another. Mike and David got to play volleyball together. They love playing sports together, so that was great. All in all it was a wonderful trip!

Coloring Today

I hung Allyssa's picture up, but she didn't like that. She wanted it down so that she could wave it around more. Everytime she noticed it she would point and fuss. I want to save it, so I'll have to hide it and let her color something else.

Coloring Today

Vacation in Sept: Vandercook Side

Sept. Vacation: Vandercook Side

Vacation in September: Drachenberg Side

This seems so long ago...so much has happend since vacation, but here are a few photos from my parents. I hope to get more from vacation up soon.

The List of Already Dids

Somedays a list is needed of the Already Dids just to let a SAHM know that even though there is much to be done, much has already been done. Here's a list from this week (things are missing, this is what I remember doing):
1.) Homemade Refried Beans made
2.) Cookie Bars made
3.) Countless loads of laundry (okay it could be counted, but I can't remember, there were diapers multiple times, towels, Allyssa's clothes, whites, darks, lots of stuff)
4.) Supper and Lunch made everyday (we eat cereal for breakfast)
5.) At least 2 loads of dishes washed everyday (see #s 1, 2, and 4 for why)
6.) Living Room, Den, Allyssa's Room, Our Room, and hall vacuumed
7.) Kitchen floor mopped (the part that really matters anyways)
8.) Toys picked up
9.) Food picked up
10.) Trips to the grocery store and Walmart
11.) Baby Shower attended
12.) Dentist apt.
13.) Phone calls made that weren't "personal" calls
14.) Changed bed sheets (WOW!)
15.) Stuff moved out of Allyssa's new closet before vacation finally found new homes
16.) Organized maternity clothes some more

I'd say that that is pretty darn good.