Happy Halloween

Worth every penny!

Always been safe.....

Every year, in early November, the stories hit the media: Some evil people have put razor blades, drugs, poisons, needles etc. in Halloween treats in order to kill or injure children.
This is one of the most tenacious of urban folk tales regularly appear in the media across North America, at that time, describing adulterated candies and apples. They are almost or completely untrue.

An article appeared in Scientific America some years ago on this topic. The authors traced back stories of poisoned food at Halloween and found that each case was without foundation. In 1997, Joel Best, a sociologist from a Southern Illinois University reported the results of a literature search of the razor blade hoax. The study went back 4 decades. He found about eighty cases of sharp objects in food; virtually all were hoaxes. The National Confectioners Association has run a Halloween Hot Line for over a decade. They have yet to verify an instance of tampering. Spokesman Bill Sheehan said: "These myths become truisms."

Despite e-mail warnings, scary stories, and Ann Landers columns to the contrary, there have been only two confirmed cases of children being killed by poisoned Halloween candy, and in both cases the children were killed not in a random act by strangers but intentional murder by one of their parents. The best-known, "original" case was that of Texan Ronald Clark O'Bryan, who killed his son by lacing his Pixie Stix with cyanide in 1974.

There have been a few instances of candy tampering over the years—and in most cases the "victim" turned out to be the culprit, children doing it as a prank or to draw attention. With the exceptions noted above, no child has been killed or seriously harmed by contaminated Halloween candy.

The Halloween Fairy

I had never heard about the Halloween Fairy until today. 1 blog and 1 email later I googled the Halloween Fairy... and found an article on The New Homemaker blog. and this:

It's the day after trick-or-treating and the kitchen counter is overflowing with candy. It smells good. It looks good. It calls to you at night. How will you rid your house of the temptation? You certainly aren't going to let the kids eat all of it, so what are you going to do?
Hide it? Ration it? Take it to work? No! Schedule a visit from the Halloween Fairy!

The Halloween Fairy is a lesser-known cousin of the Tooth Fairy. She arrives, when invited, just after Halloween to magically turn excess candy into special gifts for good children (and maybe even adults.)
Here's how it works:
Each child is given a quart-sized zippered plastic bag and may choose candy to keep. This is a great time to talk about which candies are just sugar and aren't very tasty and which they really enjoy. Encourage the children to choose only the candy they truly enjoy. (You might want to make a bag too) .

Put the bags of selected candy away, out of sight, to reduce the temptation. Children may ask for a treat when it is appropriate. Treating yourself is okay, but limit to once per day.
Put the rest of the candy in a large bowl in the center of the kitchen table (or other convenient location)

Overnight, the Halloween Fairy changes the candy into small gift. The Halloween Fairy makes the candy disappear with your help (make sure to dispose of it where the children won't see -- and definitely don't bring it to work!) Remove the temptation and have a little fun at the same time!

Now THIS is something I can get on board with! I LOVE the idea of saving a few pieces and then having it magically disappear.... but I don't like the idea of making up a false story to dupe Braden into giving up all his candy that I allowed him to go out into the street and get.... and since we are not 'lying' to him about Santa, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy or even Hanukkah Harry I can't start now (no matter how much I like the idea).

So that means between now and tomorrow night I have to come up with some way to get rid of tons of candy in a way that doesn't make my son feel like he is getting ripped off! Any suggestions?

Organic WHAT?

This past weekend I ran away for a girls vacation in Fort Worth with my BFF Melissa. It was AWESOME. We had a blast running around being silly. At one point we got to talking about smoking (which Melissa does) and I asked her if she knew about American Spirit cigarettes. She had never heard of these additive free smokes. So we found a fancy tobacco/cigar/wine store that sold them. I thought we would grab the traditional blue pack and be off, but when we got there we were faced with about 8 different choices. The guy behind the counter dutifully read them off... non-filters, regulars, lites, ultra-lights, menthol regulars, menthol lights blah blah blah... then the magic word Organic regulars.... WHAT?!! then Organic Lights!

We were all over that.... a picture was a must and Melissa demanded that I put it on the blog. The guy behind the counter must have thought we were absolutely NUTS! It was hilarious! So here it is, the promised picture of me looking like a total nerd with my organic tabacco cigarettes, which BTW Melissa said that she loved! Plus I enjoyed not having to smell that horrible chemical smell... she could sit right next to me and it didn't smell at all! Bonus!!!

Homecoming

Step 1: Go to Air Force base, wait for a million hours, watch hubby get off the bus, drive home.
Step 2: Let hubby sleep... and sleep.... and sleep.
Step 3: go to the grocery store... pay much more than you have been use to.
Step 4: Cook all of hubby's favorite meals.
Step 5: can't talk about step 5 (this is a family blog)
Step 6: Hand the kids to said hubby and run off to the big city with your best friend!

Dad's Home!

We've been having a wonderful time having dad home!

Progress

it was only a few weeks ago that Braden was drawing legs and arms out of heads.... and then (last week -yeah I'm late) he drew this:

"Grandma & Grandpa Holding Hands" chalk on cement

time, time, time; look whats become of me....

Making the time pass quickly is always the goal during deployments. Especially the first 2 and last 2 weeks.

and even more especially the last 24 hours!

How do I make the time go by quicker?

Leave EVERYTHING until the last minute!

I rush around wanting more time to get things done (yeah I know I had 2 months) looking at the piles I created while Mason was gone... knowing I need clean up.... watching tv, blogging all the while the clock moves quicker and quicker...

tee hee hee! I win!

and for those of you counting.... we are about 12 hours away from touch down!

the zoo at last

The weather is nice and cool here today, so in honor of T's birthday and our usual Friends Fun Fridays we went to the zoo. The kids (including Tristan) had a great time.

The zoo here is under a HUGE expansion and construction project. The first phase has already been completed, which is the new entrance and gift shop. When I first walked in I got very excited... it was beautiful... but the beauty quickly faded. The Abilene Zoo has a lot of potential but its building and expansion has got caught up in red tape... I know someday that the inside will match the outside... and I am sad that we won't be here to see that.
So today we adopted two Zebras for Christmas gifts for my Aunt Karen and Uncle John. Grantie (AK) made Braden a Zebra costume for Halloween and he thought it would be only fitting to return the favor :-)

side note: Am I worried that my aunt will get her surprised ruined? Nah... she never reads the blog !

Tristan Scott - 1 year old

Tristan Scott

22 lbs

30.5 inches

Likes: PB & J sandwiches, baths with big brother, playing the BIG piano, electric toothbrushes

Dislikes: mac n' cheese, lying down for a diaper change

Happy Birthday Tristan!!!

Damm Dirty Ants

Holy Ant Hill Batman.... !!!!

They are building high rises!!!!

i am SO doing this next time

I was at the eye doctor yesterday (long story) and I 'borrowed' (hey! I am going back next week) a magazine I had never seen before called Wonder Time. It was pretty neat... and then I read about ideas to express love to your children in unique and creative ways.....

officer support

Every 4-5 months since we have lived here, I get a call from some form of Texas Police. The state police, the local guys, the highway patrol just called a few minutes ago. It was this call that prompted me to write about my experiences with Texas cops.

I have lived in a few different parts of the country. And I have met my share of cops. Traffic cops, highway cops, military cops, park cops, cops at bars, cops on campus, cops knocking on my door, cops shining a flashlight in my face.

I have never been in any REAL trouble with police. I have never been arrested. I have never been booked or held or anything. But I do know cops.

I understand that cops are people too... and most of the time they have always treated me with respect. EXCEPT in Texas. and interestingly it is Texas where I have received the most harassment and done the LEAST. go figure.

In all the other states... and yes, even southern ones, the cops that I encountered were helpful and respectful. Even when I was young and dumb.

But here in Texas they are mean, rude and manipulative. I have had 4 separate incidences that involved me and cops, all in 4 different areas of Texas, all at different ages and stages of my life... and yet in each time the cops pushed the envelope of intimidation and power. They did not serve nor (and this part is laughable) protect.

So when J D Cartwright called me today and I told him that I was the last person he should be calling to ask for support he responded with "well, I hope you'll never need officer support" and the promptly hung up on me.....

Which just added to the already crummy opinion I have about Texas cops.

But here's the thing that kills me : It's not my job to like cops .... but it IS his job (regardless of what he thinks of me) to SERVE and PROTECT me and everyone else in his line of duty... He can't pick and choose which person gets better treatment. He didn't even understand how ironic (and I believe I am using that word correctly) he was being....

and my response to his passive aggressive statement is " well, I know what it is like not to receive officer support and that is why I am not a big fan... but thank you anyway"!

Happy Birthday from your SUCKY friend

Martha's birthday was yesterday! and I missed it! I knew it was there, wrote it down, remembered the whole week until it came game time.

I totally blew it....

So Happy Birthday Girl! I love you and miss you.... and I owe you a call... which once I find the phone (under all this mess) you will be receiving!

reflections

Tristan's birthday is coming in a few days. And when it hits I will be sure to post all about him, with pictures and tribute slide shows, memories of his birth ....blah blah blah.... but today is a day of honesty.
A year ago I wasn't very honest will too many people. I was SUPER freaked out about the impending due date and was holding in (almost) absolute secrecy that I was being induced.

Deanna knew... and my neighbor Beth. Besides my parents (Aunt Karen included) and the doctor (and yes Mason) nobody else knew.

I can remember being at the MOPS meeting that Monday, just a day before I was scheduled to go into the hospital. Lying straight faced to all whose asked about 'the plans'.

I use this opportunity to say that I am sorry... I hope you all understand and forgive me.

That said, I have another confession. I don't think I have been a very good mom to Tristan over this past year. Well, yes I fed him, burped him, changed him, dressed him, bathed him (albeit infrequently) and OBSESSED about his sleeping and napping... BUT... I didn't take very many movies, read any books, take him to the zoo, play puzzles with him, play classical music in the background during his playtime, teach him to clap or wave bye bye, do any yoga with him, teach him any signs, take him to Kindermusik or Mommy and Me, finished his baby book, played hide and find the toy, etc etc etc....(all things I did with Braden)

I know a lot of the reasons why I didn't... because he's number two... but I think there is a darker more silent reason. I am afraid to get to close, because I am afraid I will lose him too.
(and yes, I totally understand that I could lose Braden ... but I don't FEEL that I could lose Braden).

I don't fully understand all of it yet, but I do feel guilty about it. And I guess I just wanted someone to know... :-(

It's Okay.....

I take very seriously the job of teaching Braden what to say in all different circumstances.

When we want something we say "please"
When we burp or pass gas we say "excuse me"
When some one sneezes we say "bless you"
When we hurt someone we say " I am sorry"

When someone hurts us and says "I'm sorry" we say.....Thank you.

How many times when someone has hurt us (big or small) and apologized and we have responded with "it's okay". Women and girls do it WAY more then men and boys. With our words we brush off the fact that we were hurt and in doing so de-value the apology we are receiving.

I teach Braden that when some one apologizes to him, he says thank you. I don't force him to forgive the person right away, nor (if the offence was really hurtful) force the continued play (that is just denying that there was a confrontation which can leave kids feeling even more confused). I know that when he is ready and TRULY forgiven the friend that he will say so and it will be honest.

My job is to teach Braden how to identify his own feelings and assign appropriate words AND actions to each situation. Plus at the same time allowing him the freedom to feel what he feels without worry of it being wrong. Feelings are never wrong...actions and words can be.

A few weeks ago during rest time at school Braden's busy fingers tore off the cover of a paper back book. When I picked him up from school his teacher showed it to me and explained what happened. I thanked her for telling me and told her we would replace the book. She started to scoff at the notion saying it was no big deal and that they could tape it... I asked her "what then are we teaching Braden?" She agreed and gave me the book.

Braden and I talked about how tearing up the book with disrespectful and destructive. We ordered a new book on-line (thank you Ebay) and when it arrived Braden helped me write a note to his teacher... it read.... I am sorry that I tore the book. Here is a new book. Please forgive me. BRADEN

We arrived at school a little early that day and presented his teacher with the book and the note. She hugged him and thanked him for taking responsibility for his actions and told him she forgave him.

It may sound a bit over the top for just a 4 year old and a silly 4$ (did I mention a BIG thank you to Ebay?) book. But I feel if we don't start with the little stuff and the basics then it will just get harder and harder to instill the idea of respect, value, honesty etc etc as the years progress.

Every day there are small lessons to be learned about this world we live in. Every decisions teaches us that to our action there is a reaction.... Words and actions must 'match'. If they don't then our kids will just be receiving mixed signals from us... and eventually they will stop listening.

side note: After Braden walked away and starting playing in the discovery room... his teacher and I hugged and held our broken hearts... we both agreed that with our little ones we are so quick to kiss and make it better. That "it's okay" just comes out naturally and most of the time heartfelt. We brushed our tears aside and laughed a bit and chatted briefly about teaching the small lessons are most often harder on the parents than the kids.

Quotables by Le Bert Part Deux

No longer content with saying the Lord's Prayer at bedtime, Braden has taken to 'free styling' his prayer (a la CofC).

But he gets the end kinda wrong.... " And Jesus has a name and he prays. Amen"

North and South

The weather is finally getting cool here in Abilene. A nice crisp 60 degrees is such a treat in the morning. But it can still creep up to 80 by the afternoon. I found myself praying and hoping that it will be cold enough on Halloween that Braden won't sweat through his fleece costume... and it reminded me of when I was a little girl (living in New England) we would all pray that it wouldn't be TOO cold on Halloween because we HATED having to wear our jackets over our costumes. Nothing ruined a perfect fairy princess costume like a big "winta" "paka"!

Quotables by Le Bert

Did I mention that Braden is going to a Christan private school? Plus on Thursday his class took a trip to a petting zoo type of place called May Farms.

All this past week (prior to the trip) Braden would come home and tell me "I can't wait to go to 'MY' Farm and see Jesus!"

my response?

Let me know how that all works out. (smirk & smile)

Sippy Update

We got our brand new sippy cups a few days ago, after a painfully long waiting period. They are GREAT! All the good reviews we had read about them are true. Tristan seems to like them much better than any of the 'el chepo' brands that we had been using. He is drinking much more milk and water! Plus they don't leak and therefore he can crawl around with them. Now the next step is getting Braden something safe too. He has been using regular bottled water for a while and I would like to break that habit. (1. because it is costly albeit convenient and 2. those plastic bottles leach too) I may have to get one for Megan too ... she is a frequent travel companion... something pink should do the trick!

Future Self

One of the reasons I LOVE that "Future Dwight" clip is because I am a HUGE time travel nut/fan/nerd.

This whole obsession probably started after I watched "My Mother Was Never A Kid" after school one day.

I will watch ANY movie that has ANYTHING to do with time travel... ANY movie... no matter what kind of horrible reviews it gets. I have seen everything from "Bill and Ted's..." "The Butterfly Effect" "Sphere" " Clockstoppers" "Frequency" "Donnie Darko" "Dream Catcher" "Event Horizon" "Minority Report" "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home " "Timecop" "Both Terminators" "Both Planet of the Apes" "Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban" "Twelve Monkeys " "Sleeper" "Groundhog Day" " The Lake House" "Premonition" "Peggy Sue Got Married" "Flight of the Navigator" to "Primer" (which btw, will blow your mind).................

Well, you get the point.

And Yes... I have seen both "Time Machine" movies and read the book. Not only did I see all the Back to the Future movies in the theater, BUT I watched ALL 3 DVDs with ALL the extra footage PLUS watching the movies over and over again with the different commentaries!

Like I said "ULTRA SUPER NERD!"

Now, where was I? "Oh yes! Future Self"


I discovered my future self this past year. Most likely because I have been spending so much time by myself that she is my only company... even though I cannot see her. Sometimes she exists in the future and sometimes I exist as her.

I can remember when I first realized that I was "living" with this other "person". I was doing laundry and I bent down to open the dryer. I though to myself "please please let there be NO clothes in here, let it be empty." And it was! I rejoiced and quickly thanked my (past)self for giving me (presentself) a hand. "Right on" .

But shes not always that nice. One morning I woke up to a filthy kitchen, none of the dishes had been done and there were no spoons for breakfast. Oh! I was so mad. How could she do this too me! How could I do this to myself?

I am constantly thinking about Future Self. How to make her happy. I try to be alert, not lazy, making sure everything that can be done NOW doesn't get left for LATER. Because if she is happy then everyone is happy. A happy Future Self is a better friend and mom. Pastself will just have to deal with it!

The Office : Future Dwight

This never gets old... no matter how many times I watch it. The whole thing is just PERFECT. Stanley's reacation is priceless

a bad day turned good ....

I finally get a lunch date!!!! No more loserdom for me! My friend Deva Lynn and I met for lunch today... kind of... here's the story:

Today was going to be my big 5 hours off, but at the last minute my baby sitter canceled. It was quite traumatic. I didn't get her message about not being able to come. So I spent the whole morning getting me, the house, the boys ready for Cara to come over. It wasn't until I called her to finalize some details that she told me she wasn't coming. WHAT?! "Oh, didn't you get my message?" she asked me... "NO!" and so on and so forth.

I totally lost it. Broke down crying. I was so angry and hurt. I hadn't realized how stressed I had been and how much I was looking forward to a break (not to mention I had some errands to run which would have been much easier with out the kids). I guess in that moment everything caught up with me... Mason being gone, some medical stuff going on with both boys, my friend who's son died etc.....

I called Beth sobbing and she offered to take the boys while I went to lunch. When I got to Jason's Deli I realized that we weren't going to have enough time to visit before I had to go back to relieave Beth... so we got the order to go and headed back home (not before getting a picture taken - the ONLY known picture of us together!)

We ended up having a great visit. Braden was drawing at the kitchen table, Tristan was napping and Deva and I had over a WHOLE HOUR to visit!

After William died, Deva Lynn was my spiritual mentor and a best friend. We spent a lot of time with each other that summer. She took me to her church, went to bible study, prayed, laughed, went to the movies took the kiddos to Mr. Gattis ... But soon LIFE caught up with us. She had a third baby, Mason came home, she went back to work, I was on Steering Team for MOPS, we both got pregnant and had the babies with in a few weeks of each other... T for me number 4 for her. Since then we haven't seem much of each other... and now that PCSing (moving) is looming in the near future, I wanted to put seeing her and getting to spend some friend time as a priority.

The crying out of sadness turned into crying from laughing so hard... it was a good day after all.

great resource

I read an article today in USA Today about DNA testing for mutts (dogs). It can help determine what breeds make up the dog. The woman in the article said that she thought it was a silly thing to do. A friend of mine remarked that she thought it was a waste of money.

I think it is a great idea. There are many reasons people would need to know what breeds make up their dog. For example; there are too many Labradors that are left in shelters that are part pitt-bull and shelters (afraid of the dogs not being wanted) will NOT tell potential owners.
Also, some breeds are specifically bread to work (such as collies, sheep dogs etc) and mutts that are made of up these breeds will need more mental and physical stimulation than other dogs. Lastly, there are just some breeds that are NOT good family dogs. And a dog that even has a bit of that breed in them should known to potential owners.

Bottom line: knowing the most about your pet as you can only aids in providing them with the best care that you can.

opinions

My senior year in college I took Art History 101. I loved these kinds of classes. I think I am the only person I know who enjoyed Western Civ!

On the first day of class the teacher put up a slide of this cave painting. Then she asked all the obligatory art teacher questions. And the students gave all the same old answers. "it looks as though the artist was wanting to represent what was important to him/her." and "the artist was trying to make a statement about hunting and the connection with nature" and "the artist was tying in the bird man and beast with some sort of phallic symbolism"

And then I raised my hand. I can't remember what her exact question was that provoked me to respond... but it had to do with that little bird. A very simply drawn outline of a bird or duck or something with an ODD looking line coming vertically out of its body. And I can't remember what all the other students hypothesized about in regards to the importance of the line. But I do know what I said.

"Is it possible that the artist just made a mistake? He/she started to draw a bird and then something else attached to that bird but stopped. Maybe they were just doodling or fooling around. Maybe its a sight gag that we can't understand? or maybe they just messed up."

The class started to snicker a bit and the teacher looked at me as if I had lost my mind. She said "No." that none of my opinions were right and that in fact she could WITH the UTMOST CERTAINTY tell me that I was flat out WRONG!

I argued back..."how can you tell me I am wrong? Shouldn't my guess be as equally viable as all the other guesses? I mean, we are talking about people who barely had a verbal language let alone the idea of art being sophisticated. It's not even a one out of a million billion ga-jillion chance that it could have been a mistake or a doodle? You are absolutely positive that it has some real important smarty pants meaning?"

She answered "Yes"....

To this day it bothers me that she dismissed my ideas. She was my teacher. If I was wrong she should have explained WHY and taught me where the weakness of my theory was. Or (and what I was thinking/hoping she would say) she should have given some props to my original idea... but neither happened and I never raised my hand in that class again.

More Spiders (sans Carly Simon)

This guy has been hanging around (no pun intended) our garage for awhile now. Every morning I see him and his HUGE web. It is HUGE... about 2 1/2 feet in diameter. Everyday it gets blown away and he leaves, then in the morning he is back. He works so hard every night to rebuild his web... it really is amazing. He is big too, about the size of a dime (or if you include his legs 25cents). I was able to get up real close and see the silk coming out of his body. I picked Braden up and he was fascinated too. He decided to create a tribute to our spider.

I love that he drew a smile on the spider. I am not afraid of spiders at all. I don't worry about them. I don't kill them and I am not a spaz if I happen to see one. They are on my team... along with frogs and bats.... to help rid the earthy of FLIES (whom I can't stand).

So for now Mr. Spider is our outside pet. It's kinda nice sharing my space with another living creature who doesn't bite or make repetitive chirping noises.

Coming Around Again -Carly Simon

Baby sneezes
Mommy pleases
Daddy breezes in
So good on paper
So romantic
But so bewildering


I know nothing stays the same
But if you're willing to play the game
It's coming around again
So don't mind if I fall apart
there's more room in a broken heart

You pay the grocer
Fix the toaster
Kiss the host Good-bye
Then you break a window
burn the Souffle?
Scream the lullaby

I know nothing stays the same
But if you're willing to play the game
It's coming around again
So don't mind if I fall apart
there's more room in a broken heart

And I believe in love
But what else can I do
I'm so in love with you

"Let's Be Honest

... the planet is just fine!"

WHAT?!

Yeah... you heard me... the planet is just fine. Earth has been around for a couple billion years and will continue to be around for another billion or so.

"So why are we trying to save the planet? "
"Good question Chuck... I am glad that you asked"

We are trying to save the planet so we (as humans) can continue to live on it.

Let me elaborate: No species ever remains on Earth forever... from viruses, to insects (cockroach excluded) to dinosaurs nothing and nobody is permanent. Earth has been working hard for a while to wipe us out, and we have been helping her.

Yes, we have certainly done our fair share of using up whatever we wanted and throwing the packaging out the car window... Before crude oil there was whale blubber... we nearly wiped out all the whales. 100, nay even 50 years ago it was considered wasteful, practically sinful to throw out ANYTHING... everything was reused or repaired. Today no one saves at all... new radios, new TVs, new cars, new blenders, new measuring cups, new dog toys, new curtains, new comforter.... new clothes!

All of our manufacturing, consuming and wasting has taken its toll on the environment. But that is okay... Earth doesn't mind. She is busy killing things off. From tornadoes, tidal waves, earthquakes.... plus diseases such as smallpox (yes its still around), malaria, and AIDS are killing off humans faster as we can find cures... and when we do find cures we use that up too! We've totally F#&%-up penicillin. What was once a life saving medicine has now been so overused that now we have superbugs to deal with.

Yes, Earth is doing what she does best, and we are blindly helping her. Saving our environment means saving US from extinction. In order for us to last on this planet we need to keep it hospitable for US... which means, clean air, clean water, rainforest preservation, saving trees and saving the ________ (fill in animal name) etc etc etc. All of these things work in harmony to maintain a delicate balance that is VITAL to US.

So the next time you roll your eyes at another person who is talking about sustainable farming, using cloth bags (instead of plastic), low emissions on cars, alternative fuels and (yes) baby seals - look at the big picture, Earth aside... how important to you is the continuation of the human species? How do you picture your children, grandchildren, their children living?

No man is an island. And if we all want to survive we have to help each other out.... Earth included.

i am a hypocrite! (i am jack's complete lack of surprise)

Not only did I BUY this costume for Tristan... but I paid way TOO MUCH money ( like more money than I should ever care to admit).

That all aside.... HOW DANG CUTE is Tristan going to look in this costume? I mean, COME ON..... he is going to be a show stopper ! :-)

and that, ladies and gentleman is how the devil stays in business... all us moms selling our souls for the CUTENESS FACTOR!

LOL

a quick update

This week is MUCH better!

Although I have a cold, I don't seem to be too grumpy... I even got to hang out with my friends without them having to look at me through a mirror. AND I can officially say that Mason comes HOME THIS month!!!

And the beat goes on.... halloween costumes... dancing with the stars... the office... not responding to all the emails that I should.....play dates with MY friends .... girls movie night... MOPS... t giggling... b giving hugs...

life is good (but we already knew that, didn't we?)