Happy Halloween

Trick or Treating with Gavin was so much more fun this year than last year. He actually got the point of it - getting candy! He even said "trick or treat" and "thank you". I was so proud. We started out our evening going to a few houses in our neighborhood before heading over to Mom and Dad's for a bonfire - in the rain! It's hard to roast weenies in the rain, but it was still fun. We all sat in the garage and talked while the kids ran and played in the rain. I'm so glad it was warm enough to do that. They would have gone crazy if we had to keep them inside the garage the whole time. Rain or not, we still had a great time.

My Little Monkey

Jason's Jack-o-Lantern

Gavin loved the yard decorations at a neighbor's house. Trick or treating at Nana and Pops house.

The REAL Moose A. Moose

Ok, Mommies....are you ready for this??? Jason and I have wondered for a long time who the voice is for Moose A. Moose on Noggin; well, Nick Jr. now. (His voice gets on my nerves, and his singing is terrible!) So Jason said, "Kristi, why don't you just google it?" DUH! So, I typed "who is voice of moose a moose" in the google search box. This is what I found...

Paul Christie

Uh huh! Needless to say, my jaw dropped! Who knew?

Poor guy...so cute, but such a terrible singing voice. :)

Preventing Swine Flu

The guidance counselor at my school sent out an email that was forwarded to him by a friend. It lists several things that you can do to help prevent getting H1N1. Now...I don't know how reliable this information is, but it's worth reading and thinking it over. Prevent Swine Flu - Good Advice Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc.. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W). The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know. The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is. While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu): 1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications). 2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Re sis t all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap). 3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected o ne. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method. 4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.* 5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption. 6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Need a Date Night?

If you're looking for a new place to eat out with your special someone, The Plaid Pelican is worth your time. The music teacher at my school (Ranessa) and I have become close friends. Before she and her husband Paul got married, he used to be our school cafeteria manager. (He cooked at several special events for the school...so good. Not school food, but REAL food.) Once they got married, he left the school and opened his own restaurant - The Plaid Pelican. I've only eaten there once, mainly because Jason and I don't really have any date nights anymore, and the restaurant is in Taylors (we tend to stay close by). I can vouch for the food - ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. It's small and quaint, not really a place for young children. He serves fresh seafood and his specialty is shrimp and grits. I'm not a big seafood eater, so I ordered smothered chicken. It was great! The menu prices are in the $16-$20 range, but totally worth it. This is kind of an advertisement for the restaurant. Ranessa has told me that business has slowed down drastically because of the economy. So, if you're ever looking for a nice little dinner place for you and your sweetie (or if you're doing a girl's night out), give The Plaid Pelican a try and help them out. You won't be disappointed. Directions: Take Hwy 29 (Wade Hampton) to Taylors, to the red light before Texas Roadhouse - Rutherford Road. Turn right onto Rutherford Road and follow it for several miles until you reach the red light at Stallings Road. Turn right onto Stallings Road, over the railroad tracks, and the restaurant will be on the left, in the shopping strip - directly across from Ingles grocery store. You can visit their website and view the menu with prices: http://www.theplaidpelican.com/

Is it here?

I'm beginning to think that the Terrible Twos stage is starting to show itself inside my child's body more and more everyday. We stopped by Nivens this afternoon with Mom, Kelli and the kids, and another friend of ours who has a little girl. We were all having such a grand time, ... and then my lovely two year old had, not ONE, but TWO separate temper tantrums in front of God and everybody at Nivens. First, Gavin would NOT come out of the teepee. He wanted to stay inside. He didn't want to play on anything else, or take any pictures. I finally had to drag him out - my mistake. And then, about 10 minutes later, after the first fit was over and he was fine and playing again, he started running inside the building away from me - he's a fast runner, mind you. So I called for him to stop several times as I'm trying to do a power walk after him, and I even said that if he kept going, he was going to get a spanking. He stopped and looked at me, and just as I was right at him to get his hand, he took off running away...luckily not that far. Of course, the minute my hand touched his, he started screaming. He was crying so hard that he was snubbing. I put that boy's little hiney in the car and left! Let's just say that EVERYONE was looking.

The dreaded cartoon

The one cartoon that Jason CANNOT stand:

Olivia

He said, and I quote, "This show is so annoying. I could just punch her in the face." (jokingly serious)

There are other cartoons on Nick Jr. that Jason can't quite get past, like, where are the parents of the animals being saved by The Wonder Pets? The parents never show up until after the baby has been saved. Jason doesn't understand why the mommy and daddy let their children out of their sight for that long. (Yes, he over-analizes children's cartoons a little too much.) But this one takes him to the limit. It is so hilarious to watch his expression when Olivia comes on the television. I can't help but to roll over laughing.

Gavin, the Tool Man, Varner

Kelli got Gavin a Black & Decker tool set for his birthday. It is complete with safety goggles, 2 drills, a saw, flash light, and measuring tape. We're just now getting around to opening it and putting batteries in all of them. So, now that he's set with power tools, just let us know if there's any work around your house that needs to be done. My little tool man would LOVE to do some drillling!

I love how the goggles are crooked and smushing his nose! He had the goggles on so long that they fogged up on the inside.

Sunday - Skytop Apple Orchard

Yesterday, Jason, Gavin, Mom and Dad, and I went to Skytop Orchard near Flat Rock. It turned out to be a nice day and we had a lot of fun picking apples.

Saturday - Ray's Wedding

Ray's wedding was Saturday. It was such a busy, but fun day. Ray looked so handsome in his suit. I cried when he walked down to the front with Daddy. And then of course, Katie was absolutely beautiful. I definitely cried when she came down the aisle too. After all the emotional marriage stuff, the reception was great. We had great food and dancing.

Partied Out!

We have had such a busy weekend. And all my weekends in October are filled. It's odd how October and May seem to be my busiest months of the year - showers, get togethers, and everything...and the most expensive months too since most of the plans need a gift. We started out the weekend on Friday night with Katie's lingerie/bachelorette party. We had such a great time, but I felt kind of awkward considering all her other friends were single and young. Only 4 of us were married women. Needless to say, it got interesting - games AND conversations. [Plus, it was weird thinking that all these things she was getting was for her and Ray's honeymoon. That's my brother!] We all received a new name to go by while we were at the party. Mine was "Trix", Mom's was "Hot Tamale", and a few others were a touch risque, but quite creative. And she had a trunk full of "bling" - fake jewelry, tiaras, boas, beads, etc. that we had to wear while we were at the party. It was a fun girls night out, but deep down I was missing being with Jason and Gavin. Then Saturday morning, we got to celebrate Caroline's birthday with her other friends and family. Kelly is so creative. We had such a good time playing, grabbing candy from a busted pinata, and making things. Thank you Kelly for inviting us!

Then tonight, we celebrated MY Kelli's birthday. She is approaching 36 - next weekend. We had to celebrate her birthday tonight because someone else has chosen to tie up our time next weekend...Ray. We had dinner - of course - everytime my family gets together, we eat! We ate black eyed peas, cornbread, collard greens, and chicken & dumplings. There were 16 of us eating at Mom's house!

Birthday Girl

We decided to take a group picture - Take 1. We look so happy.

All of us - Take 2.

Imagine all these people in one dining room around a dinner table!

We are definitely partied out!

~

So, tomorrow is Monday - another day to fill. We'll be off to find Gavin some clothes for the Fall. He has plenty for Winter - but we can't find pants that fit right now, plus he needs some t-shirts to play in. (Most of his summer stuff was sleeveless.) Then we'll head over to Christian Supply to pick up some stuff. And hopefully we'll do something super fun since Jason will be with us until he heads to work tomorrow night.