Happy Halloween

We've had some fun this Halloween. We kicked things off with going to "Boo at the Zoo" at the Cleveland Metro Park Zoo on Oct. 19th. It was so fun. My dad came along, and we were able to see a lot of the animals, jugglers, people on stilts, the energizer bunny (along with a other dressed up characters), and don't forget the treat bags. It was the first time Maxton was old enough to realize there were animals beyond the cages and fences. He loved it and loved growling like a lion whenever he saw a new animal.
Last Saturday night we went to our Stakes Fall festival. We dressed both the boys up in their costumes...Maxton is Elmo this year and Seth is a Pea Pod. Maxton has had a few issues putting on Elmo...it's a perfect fit, okay, maybe a little tight, but he is so cute in it...and I don't think he understands that it is just a costume (we did not skin Elmo, he is still on sesame street with the rest of the gang)...once he gets all situated and busy doing something, he stops fussing about wearing Elmo. Seth is young enough not to talk back or fuss...thank goodness. They had hot dogs, games, made crafts, a costume parade, and of course lots of candy.
Sunday, we went down to my mom's house in Akron and ate dinner and carved pumpkins. It was so fun...it's been awhile since I carved a pumpkin. Last year we were about to move into our house (Nov. 1st will be a year since we moved in), so we didn't decorate at all.
Tonight, we will be turning on the porch lights, lighting the Jack 'o lantern, and dressing the kids for "trick or treating"! Like always, I just went out and bought my candy for the trick or treaters because I have no self control...this way I eat less candy and spend less money trying to replenish all the chocolate I've devoured. Happy Halloween!


P.S. So I received an anonymous comment on my last post entitled "To all my Lurkers"...they forgot to add their name at the end of their comment...so to that individual...first-Who are you? and second-You are still a lurker because I have no idea who you are!

To all my Lurkers

So, I don't know what was going on with my blog, but the layout has altered from it's original format. It use to be easy to read, but the brown background has disappeared making it hard to read the light colored lettering. So, I decided to change the layout and see if that helps. The funny thing is, my lurkers have informed me of this...you know what I'm talking about...those who enjoying reading from afar...driving by very slowly and not stopping in to say hello...letting it ring until the machine picks up and then never leaving a message...going in for that high five and leavin' um hangin...in other words, reading the ol' blog and not leaving your comments...waiting till you see me face to face and telling me what you think...I need not mention names, you know who you are. Let me know if my blog is easier to read...leave a comment...stop in for awhile...hang up after you leave a brief message...give me some skin...peace out!

Not a bragging session

Ben is always complaining about how I need to send more pictures to our family out west...he says there are not enough on the blog, so I either need to put more pictures of the kids on the blog, or upload some photos to Costco so they can view them. So, please don't feel like this is a bragging session for me and my kids, just trying to get a few more pictures of the boys in our blog for the family members so far away, but very near to our hearts.
A few pictures of Seth during General Conference Weekend




A few pictures of Max and Seth dressed like twins




A picture of my Boys

So much for my new thing

So I saw this show on Oprah the other day...yes, I watch Oprah...one of life's simple pleasures...the show was about Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious". It teaches and gives you recipes on how to slip vegetables into everyday meals, by using purees. The reason I wanted to try it, was more for me than my family...I'm not the best vegetable eater...Ben and Max are great with most foods. The day after Oprah's show, I took a trip to Target and bought the book. I went through that day and made up my grocery list, and went shopping the next day. That morning after shopping, I peeled, cut, steamed, pureed (with my Kitchen Aid blender), bagged up my purees, and placed them in the fridge so they would be ready and easy to put in the recipes I had outlined to make. That afternoon, I was able to make some muffins, which I put 1/2 cup of yellow squash in, and I thought they were pretty good. After that, I started to run into some problems...Ben, is a little resistant when I suggest one of my recipes, so I have to make things when he is not home or aware...and the major issue that I'm having now, is that sweet little Max got a hold of my blender and dropped it on the tile floor...need I say more...it broke into many many tiny pieces. So now I don't have the equipment I need to make any more purees. What I thought would be a wonderful idea and more importantly get me eating my veggies, crashed right before my eyes on the kitchen floor. The good news is not only will I be off the hook when eating my veggies, I won't be able to make any milk shakes...that should balance me out, right?!?

One of Grady's Ladies

Hello all! I know, it's been a bit since my last post. I've been busy watching our Cleveland Indians kick some butt! It's been so exciting around our house going to games and watching them on t.v. until all hours of the night. A few weeks ago, Ben came home and said, "Don't be mad at me, but I need to be honest...I bought all the playoff tickets for the Indians?!" How could I be mad at him, he was so excited, and I was excited for him. He told me that as a boy he dreamed of going to an ALCS game, and now he can say that one of his dreams has finally come true. So, I found a sitter and got things ready around the house so that I could attend one of the games...this was our first date night since we had Seth mind you...and we were off. It was pretty amazing, seeing all the fans and the Jake packed...there was definitely a buzz in the air...the best part was that we won...4-2 Indians. The quote of the night said by Ben was, "I love being close enough to smell the grass (sec. 129 row G seats 1 &2)." Ben is truly having the time of his life, what more can I say..."It's Tribe Time Now". As for the title...my favorite player is Grady Sizemore...I tried to name our second born Grady. Who knows...maybe you'll see me on TV while you are watching the World Series...Let's Play Ball!

Busy Boys

It's amazing how much Max can do in a matter of minutes, he's truly entertaining to watch. I love to see him discover new things, and learn how to do tasks all by himself. He has really grown mentally in the last month. I was watching him the other night and within a fifteen minute window, he read a book, played in a box, drank some bottled water, jumped on the couch next to Seth, and played in the dishwasher. On the flip side, Seth just sleeps, enjoys a nice bath, and likes to look around and watch all the crazy things Max can do. It's funny how I thought infants/babies were so much work. I look at Seth in a whole new light...he's easy, he stays right where I left him, and he never gets into anything. I actually kind of enjoy the midnight feedings, because it's just Seth and I with no interruptions. I guess what I'm saying is...I really love my boys and enjoy all the stages of their life.

Over the Top

Since life has become a little more crazy these days, I try to make things as easy as possible. For example...When I was half way through my pregnancy, it was just too much to carry the laundry basket down stairs to the laundry room, so I started throwing all the dirty clothes over the top of the banister and kicking them into the laundry room. Since Seth, I've continued this tradition and Max enjoys this game right along with me...however, if there aren't any dirty clothes to go down, he just starts opening up the draws in each of the bedrooms and throws our clean clothes over the top. But here's the moral of the story...Since I throw diapers in the garage garbage, I don't keep a garbage can upstairs...you know where this is going...I just collect all the diapers from the night before and throw them over the top. Up until now that hasn't been a problem...then yesterday, after nap time, I changed Max and threw his diaper over the top, and realized there was a saturation limit for two stories...yes, the diaper exploded and tons and tons of little saturated diaper crystals covered my tile floor. What started out as a convince, tossing stuff over the top, become a major clean up.

Fall is in the air

One of the great things about living in Ohio is all the great farms that we can visit. Last week, I took the kids to a farm near Vermillion, OH to pick apples. We went with a few other moms from our area and their kids...I think between the five of us, we topped out at 13 little ones....either we're crazy or brave...probably both. It was lot of fun...Max is just now getting to the point where he understands what's going on and can somewhat praticipate with whatever the activity might be. He loved walking down the appletree rows with his personal apple picking bag (he loved it even more holding hands with his friend Sadie). Of course, Seth was easy to have there...all I had to do was keep pushing the stroller around and he was happy to enjoy one of his many naps during the day. We spent most of the late afternoon there, and then played in a small area where they had pumkins, and hay mazes setup. It's really starting to feel like fall.

A whole new Ball Game

There has been lots of excitement around our House...we've had our second baby boy, the Indians are in the playoffs (and yes, Ben is thrilled...so much that he bought playoff tickets from our neighbor who works for the Indians), and I'm now blogging (thanks to my good friend, emily, who I have been making fun for blogging....she now has her first convert...to blogging that is), which I have no idea what I'm doing...so be patient as I get all the bugs worked out and figure my way around this program.

Hopefully our family and friends that are far from us, will enjoy seeing what's going on in Avon Lake a little more regularly (as long as I post something during the week...we'll see).