I Am A Bad Mommy

I forgot to take pictures of them in their Halloween costumes.  *headpalm*  Last night was trick or treat.  We do it on the 30th here.  They made quite the haul I've gotta say.  The weather wasn't too shabby either.

So imagine an Army guy in an authentic army outfit bought at Camp Dodge (a National Guard base).  And now imagine a black and yellow bumble bee complete with one stinger.  Cute, eh?

A couple of observations:
1) The big kids don't let the littles go first.  DD3 was being ran over all night long.
2) Whatever happened to Thank You?  I know mine said it each and every time, but that was not the norm.
3) It appears that the understanding of the word ONE is lost.  I saw many kids grabbing handfuls of candy after they were told to just take one.  So many houses ran out of candy early.  It's not fair to everyone else.

Now, I'm not saying that my kids are perfect, but geesh.  Compared to some of these little candy hogs they look like freaking angles.

How was your Halloween?  Did you take any littles our trick or treating?  Did you pass out candy?  Did you dress up?

Edited to add:  I didn't take them to the pumpkin patch (they both went there on field trips for school).  We didn't carve pumpkins ('cause honestly I forgot till it was too late).  We didn't decorate our house.  I know, bad Mommy!

Holding Patterm

My house seems to be in a holding pattern.  It's not getting any more organized, but it's not becoming disorganized.  I need to snap out of this rut and start getting back onto the organizational band wagon. 

Anyone else feel like this?  What did you do to snap out of it?

Which Blogs Really Suck You In?

Recently I've been sucked into The Scary Mommy site.  It's like an interactive blog with a message board and a confessional.  This site provides me hours of reading.  Check it out!

What are you reading?  I'm always looking for new blogs to read/follow.  :)

3rd Day of Kindy and DS5 Already Gets a Note Sent Home

Oy this is going to be a long year.  He already got a note sent home that he was not on task and he did not use his indoor voice. Oh wise bloggers out there...any tips on how to curtail this behavior now?

DD3 starts preschool on Monday.  Here's to hoping for a good year for her.  :)

Three days a week it'll just be me and my bonus baby in the mornings.  Two days a week after school I get two bonus boys.  Looks like a full house on those days!

Last Week Before School Starts.

This week is the last week before school starts for DS5.  He starts Kindy on Monday!  DD3 starts preschool the following week.  Cha-cha-cha-changes!

This week we have been go-go-going giving an great end of summer bang!

Monday - I was sick so we stayed home chillaxin.

Tuesday - I was feeling better, but not 100%.  In the morning I took my kiddo's to the dentist for their regular checkups.  The both got a clean bill of oral health.  DS5 is already getting his 6 yr molars.  Oh gosh!  We spent the afternoon as a family at the Zoo.

Wednesday - We had a playdate with our 3 &1 yr old friends.  They got to come to our house!  We played inside, outside and went swimming.  Oh what fun!  Check out her family blog.

Thursday - We spend the day playing outside.  I couldn't ask for better weather this week.  :)  We had meet the teacher night.  I took DS5 to meet his Kindy teacher and see his new school building and classroom.  DH took DD3 to meet her preschool teacher (same teacher that DS5 has had for the past 2 years) and let her have a chance to finally run around the classroom.  She was in heaven as she's been able to see the toys, but not play with them.

Friday - We went to Living History Farms and spent the day there. We had the chance to pet horses, piglets, and see chickens.  The kiddo's had a blast running around the different farms and visiting the various buildings in "town."  We got to drink Sarsaparilla straight from the brown bottle and buy some lemon drops at the General Store. 

What has your week looked like?  Do you have any fun ideas to do on the weekends with kiddos?

How Has Your Summer Been?

We've had a busy summer here.  We've been to the zoo, the Science Center, Living History Farms, downtown Des Moines Sculpture Gardens, libraries in the area, swimming, the parks around town, and too many playdates to count.  Whew!

I also started walking 4 miles a night.  I need to get my cute butt back into shape.  Any encouragement on that front is welcome.  :) 

No Spending for 10 Days Part 2

I had such success with no spending on anything non-essential for 10 days in June I though I'd try it again.  :)  So, here we go again.  No spending on anything non-essential for 10 days.  Like last time I'll post here each day with how much I spend on what.  I found that it really keeps me accountable.  'Cause really, no one wants to fail in public.

Day 1 - $0
Day 2 - $47 A pre-planned event.  My budget was $50 so I came in squeaking under. 
Day 3 - $0
Day 4 - $0
Day 5 - $0
Day 6 - $0
Day 7 - $43.64 gas for van
Day 8 - $5 spent on Sarsaparilla and Lemon Drops at Living History Farms
Day 9 - $18 spent at the Farmers Market.  :)
Day 10 - $0

Overall a very successful endeavor.