October Frenzy Fun

We've finally come to the end of October...

The month has been full...Mamarazzi has had LOTS of photo sessions this month, and although I wouldn't trade it for the world, it has had it's moments...

However, I was much more aware and organized in my time this year and was able to schedule and make time for things that were most important...FAMILY!

We managed to get to multiple pumpkin farms and hayrides, etc...we made our own costumes and played in the leaves...and Mommy, of course, documented everything with gazillions of pictures:)

The last week of October probably brings the most "frenzy"...as we approach classroom parties, trunk or treating with AWANA, Trailer Treating with our "hick ville" peeps, painting pumpkins and much more...

The week started by finishing up the sewing and scrounging around for the rest of the costumes...Sweetpea went as Mary Poppins, Peanut went as a sweet kitty cat and Little Munchkin wanted to be...of course, a PUPPY!

We then got ready for the classroom parties...now, because I have daughters who, unlike their mother, are able to remember things...they beg me to do the SAME things that I did the year before...unlucky for me, this requires for me to stand in the kitchen for 2 hours gutting oranges to make a special "healthy" snack for one of the girls' classrooms...Also, thanks to the new PINTEREST, I was also "encouraged" by my middle child to make something special for her too...thus, the spider webs...

Once we made it through the classroom parties, we were able to participate in "our neighborhood's version of trick or treating"...we have affectionately renamed it "Trailer Treating"...

Let's face it, we live out where there aren't any sidewalks and the idea of walking 5 miles just to get to 4 houses, well, it just ain't cuttin' it anymore...it was sweet when the girls were little...we'd travel around to our neighbors, get a big ole candybar for Sweetpea, some hot cocoa for Mommy and a beer for Daddy...it was just how it was done:)  Fast forward a few years, and the kids are old enough to realize that 2-3 candybars isn't "enough" to constitute trick or treating...however, we can't just let the kids run up and down these winding back roads with no street lights and such...Therefore, someone came up with the idea that all the homeowners would come to the end of their driveways...and all the kiddos would line up in john deeres, tractor trailers and wagons and we'd form a sort of "parade" up and down the street for 2 hours...

And thus began our Sunday afternoon...the decorating of the trailer...

Once it was all decorated, we got dressed up and headed out...you'd never know (because I didn't bother to take a picture) but, I actually dressed up this year...my friend Amy lent me a pumpkin costume...and so I got decked out with the kiddos and hopped in the back of the trailer and off we went...

It's a great time...Daddy rode in the truck that pulled us...we danced to the music...This was our view from the back...

 here's the scene down the street...

I love how everyone just comes up and dumps candy into bags:)  the kids just sit and are "waited" upon...

I"m so thankful for where we live...for the comradery and neighborhood family...My girls have it good I tell ya!

Anyway, we've painted our pumpkins and daddy carved ONE...We made it easy on him this year with NO teeth:

Happy Halloween!!!

Not goin' for eloquent:(

I'm going to shoot this straight...mostly because I want to remember the date and need a venue with which to express some thoughts.

I received a call today from my sister who had some news to share with me...It's been a day of surprises already...My good friend Marla had just posted about her husband (of just 34 years) had had a heart attack...and Anne & I were just finishing up working on a funeral program for a mom of a bride that we photographed just this past May.  Needless to say, there's been a sense of shock and emotion in the air...

And then Rachel called...we were in the middle of driving down our "hick town" streets...everyone in john deers or tractor trailors...the kids dressed up and beggin' for candy...

My cousin, Reagh, was killed in a car accident.

I "met" Reagh for the first time when he was just 9 years old.  I traveled up to PEI, Canada to stay with my uncle and Reagh & his sister for a week...because I was Anne of Green Gables crazy after my first year of teaching and I thought, "well, I"m single and I can...so off I go to see the world."

Reagh was my buddy...he helped me not crash his dad's car while I tried to drive that stick shift up and down the red dirt roads...We kept in touch as only a 4th grade boy and his "12 year his senior" cousin can:)

Fast forward some more years and he came back to the states when his dad had an accident...he'd grown up, but there was still much of that little boy in him:)   And we had developed a bond that wasn't broken...

We've kept in touch since...exchanged christmas cards, kept up on facebook...I've given him that big sisterly advice and he's teased me about being uptight:)  And I always told him I loved him and he never failed to ask me why?  I wasn't sure whether it was just a joke or if that kid from long ago was wanting to know too...no matter, I gave it to him straight...he's family...there's nothing that he could do or say to make me love him less or more...it's how Jesus loves...and if I can try to show him love like that, I'm going to.

I know that there are many others than are hurting even deeper than me right now...his 3 year old daughter...his beautiful girlfriend and mommy to that sweet girl...his mom...his 2 sisters...his dad...

I don't know why death still surprises me...still catches me off guard...why am I surprised when bad things happen...this is the world that we live in...I thank God for hope.

That was the day...there were good things that happened today...and I'll share them soon...but, my emotions are spent now..my body is tired...my heart hurts for all the hurt of those in PEI tonight as well...

good night:)

Let me fill you in on what's been going on with me...

...because I know that it is difficult to move on with life with that looming unknown of "what is mamazazzi doing over there???"

So, with all my medical expertise and background, I have diagnosed myself with either a heart condition, a tumor, a floating pustule or a sinus infection gone wrong...

How, you ask, have I been able to so keenly hone in on my symptoms and procure such a spectrum of diagnoses??

Yes, well, that's where my expertise (or lack thereof) comes in...

The thing is...I haven't had a fever... no sniffles, no cough, no nausea, no diarrhea, no earaches...

what the heck is wrong with you then?  you may ask...

Well...once I discovered the snowstorm at the back of the throat, I went in to see the doctor (you already heard all this, but bare with me)  It's not strep...but I went away from my visit still unsure and questioning whether it was REALLY just a cold...because...duh, no symptoms...

And then came the pain...

Now, let us remember that I birthed 3 babies minus epidurals...I can manage pain fairly well...at least pain that has a starting and an ending point...preferably pain that just lingers for about 2 minutes and then subsides...ultimately stopping once a bundle of 8 pound joy is laid on my chest...(but I digress)

As for the pain...it started in my throat...not like a sore throat...more like a ping pong ball that got lodged and when I swallow it just squished everything instead of going down...

And it got worse...

so much so that it wakes me from a deep sleep at night and started messing with my shoulder and into my arm with pain...everytime I swallow...

Frankly, I could use a good dieting plan and could stand to lose a few unwanted pounds, but not being able to swallow was having some adverse affects to my mood...(i.e. Mommy's cranky)

We know how that translates into the household...

Let us couple it with the fact that my darling Italian Stallion, whom I love dearly, came up with a brilliant plan earlier this week...and I will interject here that ANY OTHER time in the whole 365 day year would have been better than NOW for him to disclose this plan... but, it didn't happen that way...

My awesome I.S. decided that we, as a family, needed to get away from the TV for 3 whole days...Now, for someone like me who doesn't watch TV, it wasn't a big deal...and for the bigger girls, it wasn't huge in that they are at school all day...Little Munchkin however was going to miss her Jake and the Neverland Pirates in the morning while I got the girls to the bus stop...

What I.S. failed to recall was that I was going to have to be the one to ENFORCE this plan...I would have to enforce it during my busiest editing season of photography, during the pain and sick that has taken hold of my throat, during the week in which I have to sew costumes and make umpteen gutted orange jacko lanterns for school parties...during a time in which I otherwise would have (collective gasp here) used the TV as a babysitter for 30 minutes or so to just rest!!!

Did I happen to mention that I "may" have been a little cranky this week?

The TV ban has now been lifted, I'm on a Z-pack so the doc can rule out any infection...after that, I don't know...I just want the pain to go away:(

I have some pictures to show you soon...we'll see how efficient I can be with my time:)

The REST of the weekend...and little bit of today

So, I basically gave you the wrap up of Saturday...but let me finish up with the remainder of the weekend...

I think I might have even mentioned that I'm a bit sick...not the kind of sick that requires you to snuggle in bed and lay there until all the germs have disintegrated...nope, I've been blessed to have the kind of sick where I"m still "semi-functional"...

How this translates into everyday life is: "Oh, pull up those boot straps lady and get a move on...there's lunches to be made, floors to be vacuumed, toilets to be unclogged...hop to it!"

The back of my throat looks like a snowstorm erupted...but feels more like a rocky volcano exploding everytime I swallow...

No fear though...I hoofed it to the doctor this morning, got the whole swab and gag routine...listened to me breathe, checked my ears...you get the idea...

It was at this point that I was given my diagnosis:  "You have a COLD"

WOW...stellar report, I know:)  To be honest, I was kinda hoping for something like Tonsilitis or some other form of a bacterial virus so that I could stock up on some good ole antibiotics and kick this "cold" in gear...

But no...

It's wonderful concoctions of ice water, warm tea, gargling with salt water, and lots of REST for me...

I'd like to interject that it was at that moment in the conversation that I giggled a little...I had to gently remind the doctor that I was a mother...of 3 girls...one of which is FOUR years old...at home...all day long...

REST isn't necessarily in the "repretoire" of things to do in the "day and life" of Little Munchkin...

And therefore I fully expect for this COLD to settle in and take up residence for awhile...

In the effort of "pulling up one's boot straps"...we went to the pumpkin patch to finally get our pumpkins...just in time for the "holiday" (if it is actually called that?) 

Because Mommy had 4 photo shoots prior to the pumpkin patching, you will notice all her make up is completely smeared off and what you don't see is the Venti White Chocolate Frappe that Italian Stallion stopped and picked up for her as he chauffeured the children so we could meet up together...

It was an interesting adventure...as we tromped through the fields in search of perfect pumpkins...amidst the squishiness of mud through our shoes and the screams of  "I've got like 10 burs in my hair MOMMY!" (and they did...it was like the remake of Ramona & Beezus...and if you haven't seen that movie, I'm sorry b/c I can't find a youtube clip of it, so you'll just have to trust me on that one and continue reading)

Anyway, we found our pumpkins and I had just enough gumption to get just a few pictures to document the outing...

I'm getting sick and other news...

I can feel it coming on...

I should have seen it coming...through the lack of sleep, the being hacked upon in the middle of the night, the cuddles close to my face and then "ACHOO" right in my eyes...

It's right there....at the back of my throat...waiting for the most INopportune time to flare up...

And so, it was such a comfort to come home after having photo shoots in the morning, soccer game in the afternoon and more photo shoots in the evening...to see this as I pulled in the driveway:

Nothing quite comforts like a warm fire and some gooey SMORES:)



And, just watching my girls enjoy some family time around the ole campfire...and getting goo all over their faces:)

This weekend is going to be busy...it's my photography time of year and although I thoroughly enjoy this outlet, I will be honest that I miss the quiet, lazy days of fall...

This afternoon marked the end of another season of soccer for Sweetpea...and for the first time in FIVE...count them...1, 2, 3, 4, 5 seasons...we actually WON...The past 4 seasons we've gone without a win...oh, we got a couple ties maybe...but lost most of 'em...

Not this season...Nope...we went UNDEFEATED...how about them apples??? I'd like to say it was the stellar coaching by my incredibly talented Italian Stallion...or perhaps it was the fact that 6 of the girls have been together for so long that something must have sunk in...

or maybe we just played younger teams that were really bad because the organization had pity on us....

But, whatever it was...we had a GREAT season and I enjoyed screaming my lungs out on the sideline, like every good soccer mom knows to do:)

 Not sure what she was all perturbed about in this picture...but, she's not much of a "performer" or "spot lighter" like her mother...more likely than not, she KNEW I was taking a picture:)

It's just been an all around great season...

Tomorrow is another busy day...but looking forward to spending time with some great people:) Have a beautiful rest of the weekend!

In Case you Missed It...

There was a brief time period here where it wasn't raining, the wind wasn't knocking you over and whipping your daughters' hair into umpteen knots...where leaves floated to the ground and mud wasn't oozing from the grass...

During this time, we were able to catch the opportunity to play in the leaf piles and photograph the colors of fall...

In case you missed it...you can live vicariously through these pictures:)

Gift Ideas:)

I know it's been awhile...

What have we been up to besides mounds of laundry (did you expect anything less?) and taking a gazillion pictures in the month of October? 

Well..we have obtained some old veggie tale tunes and have been singing about monkey tails and SUVs...

Yes, well...after you have enjoyed that exhilirating rendition of song...just imagine it playing for hours on end in our car...head banging included:)

Needless to say, my brain isn't necessarily functioning on a level fit for mature blogging purposes...

Therefore, in this "wait period"...i.e. the time in which my laundry, dishes and old shoes pile up in heaps in my hallways and closets...the time where my behind is parked behind the computer screen editing pictures from all the photo shoots from the weekends...the time where we run out of toilet paper and have to use ripped up paper towels or kleenex because Mommy keeps forgetting to purchase them at the store b/c she's so scatter brained and only remembers staples such as nutella, Pepsi and possibly the eggs...*ahem*

Yes, so...what I started out wanting to share with you was a neat gift idea for a special mom in your life:)  I discovered a shop on Etsy that has just been FABULOUS:)  Not only is her service incredible, but I happen to love what she makes:)

I wanted to share these awhile ago, but I thought now would be better in case anyone needed some ideas for the upcoming holidays...You can find her shop HERE

And now I'm back to the usual...I promise to visit again soon!