Signs of Fall

When we began looking for a home here in Tyler, one of our criteria was to have a lot with some trees. We found one with beautiful, old trees all over it. In the 7 months we've owned this home, several realities have come forth about owning a home with these big, beautiful trees.

1. Hurricane Ike- Seeing these huge trees sway in the wind over your home is a little nerve racking, yet strangely hypnotizing at the same time.

2. A large oak over 100 years old dying and having to pay professionals to cut down and remove it...expensive.

3. Fall- The yard guys come pick up the leaves and after a breezy day our yard looks like this

My pathetic attempt to rake up the leaves. I gave up after our two older children began jumping in the piles and "redistributing" them. Can't complain....it provided at least an hour of entertainment. Now we don't rake to actually pick up the leaves, we play instead. The kids have loads of fun.

Have some time?

As the mother of a kindergartner, I was anxious to get involved with school. When we moved to Tyler, there were only a few commitments I would make within the first year...1. seeking a church home 2. school involvement 3. purchasing a home. I had decided I wouldn't join any service organizations or other groups until a year had passed. A defense mechanism? Maybe. I just don't want to jump into something unless I'm 100% into it.

So, when the Jack Jubilee carnival came up, I volunteered. Now, I even narrowed it down to just finding FOUR volunteers. Each volunteer would cover an hour. How hard could that be???? Well, it turned out to be quite the challenge. I got the directory and began calling. Phone calls didn't get returned and the only volunteers I had were my trusty neighbor in addition to myself. Not long after the initial wave of phone calls, I lost my voice. Therefore, I turned to email. Again, no response. I did finally reach a mom who agreed to a shift, sent her a confirmation letter and all. So the volunteers were 1. my trusty neighbor 2. a school mom 3. Me. 4. Scott. Well, the Jubilee came and I went to help set up and get my "trusty neighbor" started. I then returned home to switch cars with Scott so he could take Addy to a birthday party (did I mention the LSU v. Alabama game was on???? Scott was such a good sport). I then got Mary Ella and Molly ready for the carnival and called the first shift worker after her shift was supposed to be over (I had a bad feeling.) I said, "Please tell me the next person showed up." And she replied, "I'm still here taking pictures." So I get up there to relieve her and fortunately someone (not the person it was supposed to be) was doing just that. So I took advantage of the thirty minutes to take Mary Ella around until I needed to "man the booth". She desperately wanted to do the pony ride and we strolled over there to discover a VERY long line....there was no time. What is it about kids and pony rides???? Anyways, I promised (should've known better than to do that) we would get to it once Scott arrived. Well, Scott didn't arrive until late and the kids needed to eat. Poor Molly was having Teddy Grahams for dinner b/c I couldn't get away. Bottom line is that Mary Ella didn't get to do the pony ride that I had promised. I felt so guilty about it...still do. Here I was volunteering at her school....something that is supposed to be good and it turned out to spoil her fun. Now I'm not saying she didn't have any fun because she did. The pony ride is the one thing she really asked to do and we couldn't deliver. What was more frustrating is that I saw some of the moms I had called walking around with their kiddos, husbands, etc....one even came up to say, "hello." (maybe she didn't get the message???) Don't get me wrong, I don't hold a grudge(well, maybe a little...I'm working on it), but at that moment I was a bit frustrated. How can you not return a phone call about volunteering at your kid's school or more frustrating, commit to it and then not bother showing up or calling? This happens at churches a lot too. I just don't "get" it. I hope y'all don't think I'm an angry person, but golly, whatever happened to personal accountability? What a shame.

Despite this, it will not deter me from volunteering again. I think schools are a wonderful place to volunteer, even if you don't have kiddos there. Afterall, their big (many toothless) grins are worth it :).

You a turkey!

Ok, I know I'm on a posting marathon, but bare with me. I forget things as quickly as they happen, so I'm determined to document this one.

For as long as I can remember, my loving grandfather has called us (the grandchildren) "turkeys." Well, Addy has reached 2 1/2 and, for me, the age of 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 seem to be the most challenging. At this age, I say "come here please" (2 0r 3 times) and I finally give the option of time out. Addy then follows my request; however, she starts coming towards me in slow motion with a smile on her face, sometimes she even throws a dance move in there. Inevitably, this occurs when I'm trying to get them out the door. This is only one example of the boundaries being testing right now. To be fair, Mary Ella did this exact same thing. Anyways, the situation just described had occurred and finally I got her in my arms to do hair and don shoes. She was wiggling and trying to make it difficult to complete these tasks. At that point, I said, "Addy, you're being a little turkey this morning" She whipped her head around and said, "No mommy, you being a turkey." She was so proud of her "come back" that she continued to call me a "turkey" all the way to school. She giggled at herself and, admittedly, I found it pretty funny too. So I guess if she goes to school and calls one of her classmates a "turkey" , it'll be played down to Thanksgiving holiday, right???

Our little spooks!

The candy high started early on Friday afternoon. Mary Ella got home and immediately started asking if it was almost time to "trick or treat". After repeated, "no, not yet" answers, I was finally able to say "YES!" The girls kicked into high gear, dressing up, giggling and squealing with excitement. Here they are:

Mary Ella "the Poodle skirt girl"

Addy, "the doctor"...she already has her prescription of "skittles" in hand. Always prepared!

Molly "the cow"....very appropriate since she has been a bottomless pit since she's been eating.

All three of the munchkins. I tried to get a "happy" picture, but Addy was afraid of our 5th grader next door neighbor. He donned a very frightening skeleton costume with a black hood. Addy did not like this and any time he came around, she covered her eyes with her treat bag or hands as shown above. She keeps saying, "Matt's costume scawy. I don't like it"

All of the cul-de-sac kiddos partaking in pizza before getting "candied" up.

The girls examining and consuming the night's "take." I've been enjoying all the things that they don't like to eat.....yikes! Not a good way to start the holiday season.