Trunk or Treat!

This year we are hoping to start a new Halloween tradition! After having our family over for our yearly Halloween party, we are headed over to church for "Trunk or Treat." We will be decorating our trunk and handing out candy. There are also going to be free games and a free moonbounce. Apparently it's a pretty big event as we have been told to bring candy for 300 trick or treaters! I am very excited! If you live in White Marsh or nearby and would like to come, check out the CCC website for more information: http://www.communitycc.net/

Chapel Hill Nursery

Those of you who know me well know that my favorite season is fall and my favorite holiday/day of the year is October 31st! There's something special about this time of year that I struggle to put into words. From the red, orange, and yellow leaves (beautiful even as they are dying), to the crisp air, to the fragrances in the air, I can't get enough!

Part of our fall traditions include visits to local pumpkin farms for some "agritainment." This weekend we ventured to Chapel Hill Nursery in Perry Hall. Much more affordable (than Webers, sorry Webers!) and less crowded, I am glad we went even if it was drizzling on and off. We enjoyed a hayride through the "scary" woods (this is the best local hayride as far as I am concerned), farm animals (my personal favorite were the newborn baby pigs), a petting zoo, and little train ride. Below are some pictures of our fun!

Caleb and Blake ready to head out to the farm. Caleb wore his "trick or treat" shirt. Caleb wore his pumpkin hat, "too cute to scare" shirt, and Halloween socks.

Caleb in the petting zoo. There were goats, gigantic bunnies, chickens, and baby pigs (although they were impossible to pet).

The gang on the little train ride.

Hailey (Caleb's daycare friend), Caleb, Hanna (my niece), and Blake.

My boys on the hayride, Mom Mom Carr is in the background

Blake enjoying his first hayride.

Chapel Hill Nursery is located at 4350 Chapel Hill Road in Perry Hall, MD. Their phone number is (410) 256-5335. Tickets are $2 a piece or 12 for $20. Each ride/event costs 1 ticket. We bought $20 worth and didn't use all of them.

Blake Feeding Himself for the First Time!

Fun Weekend :)

We are finishing up a fun 3 day weekend today!

On Saturday we spent 4 consecutive hours with no television and it was spectacular! We did play doh, fingerpainting, coloring, board games, and puzzles. Blake even semi participated from his high chair. He seemed happy just watching his big brother play.

On Sunday Caleb went with his Uncle Allen to the Renaissance Festival. It was pirate weekend and he got into the spirit! It was a big deal for me to let him go somewhere like this without me. I was so worried that he would get lost! In the end he had a great time and there were no big problems. He was so tired and dirty that he tried to climb into bed in his birthday suit after his shower. I should let him go out like this more often!

While Caleb was at the Festival, Daddy went to Dover to see the Nascar race with my Dad and brother. This left an entire day for Mommy and Blake to be together, it was wonderful. We went to church in the morning (he wore the adorable "I Drool" outfit above) and then spent the afternoon playing, snuggling, and napping.

Today we are off of school for Yom Kippur. Caleb and Blake are starting to "play" together. It's interesting to say the least! Caleb is still very territorial and gets upset when Blake touches his things. We have a lot to learn, but have made so much progress!

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

I have to admit that lately I've been wondering why Hollywood feels they need to take every classic children's book and turn it into a movie (I still can't believe they are trying to touch "Where the Wild Things Are" next month). "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" has always been a favorite of mine. When student teaching I even had my students write their own books based on the story. Using my three year old son as my excuse, I went to see the movie today. Honestly, it didn't disappoint, but it wasn't exactly like the book either. The graphics were amazing, the story was cute, and there was humor infused throughout the movie. I'd give it three out of four meatballs. It had a nice message about being true to yourself and never giving up on your dreams. My son viewed the film differently, at the end when I asked him about his favorite part he said, "I liked the big meatball."

What a Blessed Weekend!

This week has been a roller coaster of small ups and downs at work and at home in my personal life. God has really been good though, almost seeming to step in and "fix" things.

On Thursday I was very excited to receive a phone call from WRBS 95.1 (local Christian radio station) letting me know that I had won a "VIP package" to the Chris Sligh and Aaron Shust concert. This package included tee shirts, cds, a preshow meet and greet/acoustic session, and concert tickets!!! I really wanted to go desperately (Chris Sligh was on American Idol and was one of my favorites), but things are extremely tight for us financially and it just wasn't a possibility. Jason agreed to go with me, and even though Christian music is not his thing he did mention that he is beginning to have an interest with playing the guitar and was able to appreciate that aspect of the evening. Without going into detail our marriage really needed this night out! It was nice to hold hands, talk, and focus on nothing but each other. Some times I think parents try to be such great Mommys and Daddys that they forget about the husband and wife part of things. Really if you think about it, the marriage needs to be strong in order to be good parents!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the evening:

Me and Chris Sligh. I brought up seeing him on Idols Live, but later he talked about wanting to be know more for than being a "singing head" on Idol though, oops. He was very nice though and so funny! (Just like American Idol, but there I go again! LOL)

Me and Aaron Shust (Unfortunately we only got to hear him acoustically... I felt too guilty staying there until the end of the concert because I wanted to see Caleb before he went to bed. He was great acoustically and very nice though. I hope to see him in a full show one day. He is best know for the song "My Savior, My God.")

Chris Sligh during the concert

I also posted a video on youtube of Chris singing 2 songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY6bTjh6qhc

On another happy note I think we might (fingers crossed that it will work out this time) have found a new church home at Community Christian Church. I like nondenominational churches, despite going to denominational churches (Catholic and Lutheran) as a child. It something about them that is more genuine and laid back in a good way. I thought I had found a great church about a year ago but things really fell apart. I am unfortunately hesitant to get excited after that experience. Their message this week was on Materialism. We are in over our heads big time now financially due to our huge weekly daycare payment and huge mortgage payment, so again I think God put today's message there for a reason.

Any way, I don't have much time for blogging any more but I like coming on here when I can! I hope everyone is having a great weekend! Go Ravens!

Caleb Busting a Move!

Caleb has become quite the break dancer! I wish that dance classes were more socially acceptable for boys, lol!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpWbRiTuCDI