whobody went to the orchard?

This happened a few weeks ago...but I was lucky enough to join Lola's first grade class on a trip to the Orchard. (This is one of the definite perks of being a stay at home mom....as long as you can find someone else to take the kids you are actually staying home with!) I had so much fun...and so did Lola. Not too much to say today...just wanted to share the pictures.

She is really growing up into a pretty young lady.

 {YIKES} 

Love her.

She is really enjoying first grade and loves her teacher Ms. Streich. We are so blessed to wind up with such great teachers in our elementary.

whobody "helped" mom?

First of all, look at this cutie. pajama pants and a t-shirt. 

He always wakes up OH so happy!

This was one of those first chilly days a few weeks ago...and I decided I was going to make some cheeseburger soup. 

(My favorite. For real.)

The older three were at school...I was JUST about to turn a cartoon on for Cruz so I could start my peeling, washing and chopping....when Cruz had a wonderful idea. "help!" 

(I hesitated, because although it was a great idea...I really didn't know if I had enough time for him to help me.) 

You see, life is busy...

and I am often times guilty of putting my to-do list ahead of my 

teachable moments and being a good mom. 

So often it overwhelms me that my

to-do list is never to-done. 

Therefore I am always trying to be as productive as possible

...which really doesn't make me the best mom. 

I sometimes spend so much time setting things up to be enjoyed...

that I never really enjoy them. 

(for example: cleaning and picking up instead of sitting down to play at night...

my excuse, I can't relax in a mess...

reality: I'm not relaxing if I am picking up either...

so what is the point?.) 

This doesn't mean that I am going to not pick up...I am just trying to make myself more aware of this little problem of mine....because before I know it my kids aren't going to play with toys anymore and I will be wishing they were little again. 

 And...lets be honest...I can't just keep on having kids so 

I don't run out of little ones...or can I? 

(fyi: my body is making it pretty clear to me during this pregnancy, that, no, keeping on having kids is not the best choice.) 

(The ironic thing is that this baby in my tummy is kicking me like crazy right now...trying to tell me something probably...Just don't know what.)

I understand that it is great for kids to 'help' in the kitchen...many times they have helped me prepare different desserts and meals. 

 If I have learned anything in my 8 years of parenting, I have learned that 'help' doesn't always help. 

I know that if you are a parent of little ones, you know what I mean. 

BUT, I will say...now that I have a 6 and an 8 year old...sometimes, it turns out, their 'helping' actually does 'help'.   This is a new thing.  I hate to jinx myself, but Keaton and Lola both actually have the capability to be helpful with some things in the kitchen.  

The only reason they know how to do these things NOW is because when they were Cruz and Nash's age...I let them 'help' and that is how they learned.  

The problem is that now that I have double the amount of children,

the younger ones don't get a chance to 'help' much, because it is so much more productive to distract them with something 

while I just get it done myself or get it done with the help of Keaton and Lola.

But, on this day, I,

for some reason decided to let Cruz 'help'.

  (No, I didn't think through all of the above stuff at that exact moment and weigh the pros and cons of him helping at the time and then make my decision....

he pretty much got to help because he looked so darn cute in his jammies and already had his chair pushed up to the sink.)  

Who could resist this guy?

So.  Cruz 'helped'.  He washed the potatoes...

Every time he put another clean one on the towel he would clap.

After the potatoes were washed, I simply filled the sink with water, gave him a measuring spoon and cup and let him play. He had so much fun!

Mmmmm....water.

Did I mention I had a whole load of wet clothes and towels after this? It was totally worth it.

Pure joy, right there. He would fill his cup with water, and then grab some of my chopped up potatoes, carrots and celery and make his own little 'soup' and then drink it.

When it was all said and done, I was SO glad I let Cruz help. 

The only question I had for myself was 

"Why don't I do this more often?"

I have gone back to this day in my head a few times since then and tried to make sure I don't miss these opportunities every single time they come up. 

 The soup turned out delicious...at least I thought so. 

Not to mention, I very much enjoyed my one on one time with my 

little buddy Cruz.

whobody had a very happy halloween?

My kids had a GREAT Halloween this year.  

They had a lot of fun dressing up and had a great time trick-or-treating.  

Halloween is not my favorite 'holiday' of the year...but I know the kids love it...so I try my best to get 'into' it and make it fun for them! 

The first mini-celebration and costume opportunity was Nash's Preschool Halloween Parade.  This is where the kids dress up and then walk downtown to main street where the businesses come out and give these kids TONS of candy. (Seriously...we came home with a gallon ziploc bag FULL of good stuff!) 

His costume is a 

"knight in shinin' a-ma"

This kid is too much...

Here he is all ready to go with his BFF Tate.... (Tate was happy...just doesn't look like it here!)  However,  I should mention that Nash was very impressed with Tate's muscles...

This is an attempt at a partial group picture.  

I should mention that the weather was NOT ideal for this. 

It was freezing and spitting rain...but these preschoolers were troopers...

anything for candy!!!

The next day was actually Halloween...

so here are the older 2 all dressed up and ready for school. 

(I should have made them take their coats off for the picture, but we were running a big behind....I guess I am not used to doing Lola's 'make-up' before school.)  

Keaton's costume is a UNI Football player...and Lola's is a leopard.

The instant Nash saw the kids in their costumes, he just HAD to get his out. 

 So...of course, Cruz instantly put it on

...and was extremely entertaining!

Seriously. He is hilarious.

I finally pried Nash's costume off of Cruz, put Cruz's dragon costume on him... (coincidentally we had a knight and a dragon....totally not on purpose).  

Cruz's dragon costume has been through the ringer...and I think all 3 boys have worn it at least once....we actually had to have Jason's mom

sew the tail back onto it 

about a week ago! I do love it though.

Cruz could have looked at himself in the mirror, laughing, all day. 

He thought he was hilarious!

Since they were all dressed up with no place to go..

we decided to go to the grocery store. 

(I needed groceries anyway....and thought the kids would like to go in costume).  

Let me tell you...THAT was an excellent idea. 

 The kids got a lot of attention....the workers kept on handing them candy...

and one sweet lady who was actually just there shopping, bought them a package of 6 Halloween cupcakes for being so cute! 

It was so nice....and the kids had a ball! 

It was nice for Cruz to have that candy to eat, instead of him gnawing through the plastic on the grapes like he usually does...

After much needed naps, the older 2 got home from school. 

We had an early supper of "ghoulash"and breadsticks...

and headed up to Garnavillo to trick or treat at 5.  

Lucky for us, it was not fit to pick corn, so Daddy was able to join us for the whole night!  He was an excellent chauffeur and we were so happy to have him along (especially me!).

You may notice that Nash decided to skip his knight costume for the evening and wear a dinosaur costume that Keaton wore for at least 2 years.... I didn't fight the costume change a bit...the dinosaur costume is much warmer and doesn't require him to carry anything!

Sadly, Lola lost her tail...so if anyone sees a leopard's tail laying around...let me know! 

The kids had a blast trick or treating, and we were able to get to most of the houses that we wanted to!  

Here is a picture of the kids with some of their favorite babysitters!!!

Luckily, we were able to get enough candy to last us a couple of years.... 

Lola did a great job of picking out a bunch of Twix for me (and the baby....).  

They had an absolute blast! 

 Now, tonight we have a halloween party uptown put on by the boosters...

and then it is time for Christmas decorations (as far as I am concerned.)  

Hope you all had a 

Happy Halloween!

whobody misses the river?

Halloween is over (except for the kid's costume party uptown tonight). 

 Every year, I am amazed at how quickly this Iowa weather changes from 

summer into winter!  

Last week when I was catching up with my photos...I came across these that I hadn't even gone through yet. This was on Sept. 9th. (which really wasn't all that long ago!)  

This was the last time we went on the river with the kids for the year! 

I enjoyed looking through the pictures...maybe because they warmed me up a little....

 The kids had SO MUCH FUN on the river this summer! And since this is my 'family scrapbook' I needed to include these awesome pictures on my blog (even if they are a little out of season!)