Halloween Decisions!!!

Man what in the world are we gonna do for Halloween this year. Everything in town is happening at the exact same time!!!
We have the
Trick-or-Treat on 6th Street
Sunday, October 31st
4:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Downtown Redmond

Look for an orange pumpkin in the window of participating merchants.
Check back for a list of participating businesses.

Then there is the
Redmond Fire & Rescue's 2010 Halloween Party
Sunday, October 31, 2010
3:00-7:00 pm
341 NW Dogwood Ave, Redmond, Oregon

Play a few games, ride a fire engine, learn about fire safety and get a treat!

Or
Fall Harvest Festival & Trunk-or-Treat
Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010
4:00 -7:00 p.m.
Highland Baptist Church
3100 SW Highland Ave.
FREE to Attend

A safe and fun place to bring your entire family to play games, collect candy, eat a kid friendly meal and just hang out.The HBC parking lot and gym will be decorated for the event and there will be games such as bean bag toss, cake walk, scavenger hunt, for everyone to play.
Trunk or Treat in the parking lot - members of HBC will have decorated their vehicles and parked them around the parking lot and candy is available from the trunk or bed of each vehicle as the children walk through the parking lot! A lot safer than going door to door
Lots of choices tomorrow will be a busy day!!! Cant wait to see my little boy as "The New sheriff in town" as he says... it will be super cute and you know I will take a ton of pictures!!!!

Lather, Rinse, Repeat, Lather, Rinse, Repeat

That is how I feel every single month.
It takes me all month to get all the bills paid because they are all due at different times, so TODAY Oct 30th I just got the last two bills paid and guess what the 1st is in two days and I have to start all over again.
We spend our lives paying bills!
How is that fair? And I don't even have that many bills... I just hate bills!!!
It is seriously just like the back of the shampoo bottle....Lather rinse repeat.. with no instructions to EVER STOP lathering, rinsing and repeating.......

The Patience of a Four Year Old

Tonight Matthew knew that Grandma was coming over and was bringing Gracee with her. He knew it was going to be about the time that Daddy went to work.
He kicked Daddy out of the house a little early because he wanted Them to show up NOW....He sat on the couch and about every minute he would get up and go to the door and say "They are not here yet MOM".
He sat back down on the couch and I told him it was cold out there so stop going to the door. He looked at me and said "One more time Momma, Just one more time"
When he went to the door and looked and they still were not here he started to cry
"Mom they are not coming" I said yes baby grandma said she would be here she will be here.
Back on the couch he went.....
For maybe a minute...
Checked out the front door again.
So I should probably tell you that grandma lives about 15 minutes away, and it had only been 4 minutes, they were coming it just wasn't a long time that had gone by yet. LOL
He heard a car and ran to the door again....Not them he said
Then he heard a Car DOOR, he just knew it was them, and I knew it was too, so I said well go look....
THE EXCITEMENT ON HIS FACE WHEN HE SAW THEY WERE HERE.
PRICELESS!!!


Then comes the....I don't want them to leave
Once they left Matthew crawls in my lap and said why did they have to go they could sleep in my bed and I will sleep in yours momma.
What a sweetheart, He loves his grandma soooo much and his cousin too!

Mom

Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom.....
All Day Every Day!
WOW this whole, Stay at home (Temporarily) thing is way harder then I thought it would be.
When I left everyday I just thought to myself, Someday I will be able to stay home and be a Mom. Little did I know that it is a very trying job!
Don't get me wrong I love being with my little one, he is amazing and my world, But today I am wishing that there was a "playgroup" JUST FOR THE MOMMIES!!!
UGGGG. Today I heard More "mom's" then ever i think. and It was just because he knew it was driving me crazy!
Can I have FIVE MINUTES of quiet?
"Mom how many is 5 minutes?"...
So I go off to my quiet bedroom to just take a minute to not hear the word MOM and guess who was right on my tail........
"Mom I have a Tic Tac in my mouth....I found it in the couch!"
That's nice Matthew I said, Now please go play.
ONE MINUTE LATER
"Mom, I lost the tic tac, it jumped out of my mouth."
Ok Matthew I am sorry that you lost your tic tac where where you when it jumped?
"In the living room it rolled under the couch!"
ONE MINUTE LATER
"Mom I found a balloon!" (he runs down the hall
"Mom it has no air in it"
So in case no one is counting, that is five "moms" in three minutes.
Then he tuns is the bed room screaming "Mom Mom Mom Mom Mom Mom"
So I yell "WHAT!"
He looks at me and says "I love you!"
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Why the 400 "moms" right before that with NO opportunity for me to say "what" in between the yells of MOMS.
My mom tells me he says it over and over and over because I am not responding..........I have NO CHANCE TO RESPOND before another MOM comes flowing out of that mouth!!!
today in addition to the above i heard...
MOM i have a secret
MOM what are you doing
MOM lets sing a silly song
MOM what are you watching
Mom Dad stinks
MOM Can we sing Old McDonald had a farm
Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom, I Love you!
Ok I am off to Change my name and get the classified section and glass of wine!!!!

Deep Questions!

So today I was asked a question that I never thought about, and maybe it still has me a little bothered. At the time of the question of course I had lots of ways to answer it and it sparked good conversation and lots of ideas flowing But as I sit here in the quiet house and rethink the question it may be what is keeping me up tonight.
"How are you leading your child in his walk with God?" Followed by "what have you done and what are you doing?"
WOW Loaded questions! Of course I am teaching Matthew about God and reading scripture, But is that really leading him to walk with God? Is he old enough to grasp it all? Am I old enough? LOL
I know he knows about Jesus and God and the difference between the two, and he knows things like the books of the bible almost all the new testament. But that stuff is just "stuff" there is so much more. How am I leading him?
Do my actions show him how to have a healthy devoted relationship with God? Man these questions just run thru my head tonight and I don't know if I am doing all I should to be that example in his life. There are a lot of things that I allow to happen in this house that shouldn't.
I found myself apologizing to him tonight for him having to hear language in his own house that he comes to tell me is "bad words". He knows it is bad so he shouldn't have to hear it! How do you get your spouse on board that was NEVER raise in a christian environment or ever gone to church?
Dean goes to church with me and life group, but he does not walk with God and it makes it so hard.
Anyway that is a whole different Blog topic all together, But it makes me think about my sons walk with God and what type of environment he lives in.

Things that keep you up at night!

I got more news in the mail today!
I have this area in my life right now that takes a lot of patience and time and keeps me awake at night and the worst part is I can ONLY pray on it, I am not allowed to talk about it.
It is sometimes stressful and sometimes I hear nothing for a week or two. This may be an ongoing issue for quiet some time and there are lots of people involved.
I am not the type of person that likes to keep things bottled up, that is why I blog it helps me to get it out and deal with is so I can move on and be at peace, But this one has restrictions on it, so I have to follow the rules, But Hubby suggested that I still blog about my feelings thru this, just write NO specifics so I am trying it out to see if maybe it will help me to sleep just writing that I can not wait for this chapter of my life to all be closed and over with.
I am told that it will be ongoing, but I can still ask God to have his hand in it to help the process along.
And as we all know I pray daily, but prayer is more helpful if it is specific and that is where I struggle with this one, I don't know how to sum it all up and get it all out and know what I even want in the end. So I lay awake at night, not worrying, but just not knowing, and at the end of each day I have an open issue that I just want closure on....
WOW, there it is, it did help to write it down and get it out, That is what I want......that is what I need to pray for......regardless of outcome....I JUST WANT CLOSURE....
Sweet. I got it off my chest with out being specific, and I maybe just maybe feel better, Lets see if I sleep tonight!!!!

Am I a Brave Boy?

This is not something that a mother should have to hear three times a day, It just BREAKS my heart.
My Son is type 1 diabetic and gets injections four times a day. Two at breakfast, one at lunch and one at dinner, so that is 4 shots.
Let me tell you it is hard enough to give myself injections, It is not fair that I have to poke my Little angel that many times a day.
But man is he sooooo strong and such a brave boy, BUT every time it is time to give him his shots, he looks at me and says "am I brave Momma?"
Ohhhh Man you really wear your heart on your sleeve when you are a mom and that just crushes it to hear that.
Sometimes it is things like "does Grandma think I am brave?" Or Will Dr Hughes Say I am brave?" Of course the answer is always yes everyone tells Matthew he is a brave boy.
When it was time for his 4 year well baby exam he was going to get shots, and Dr left the room and the nurse came in but DR was close enough to hear what was happening in the room, He got his shots with out crying at all and THANKED that nurse for the shot. He is a brave boy, who thanks anyone for a shot. Brave and polite.
My Matthew is my Miracle I wish he did not have to go thru this.
I Was just giving a shot and made me think about how much it hurts my heart.

Oh No you didn't

Every single day.
So let me paint the picture, I get up in the morning and clean, I make sure the house is picked up at all times, and Matthew is a BIG helper and makes sure his room is cleaned and his toys that he is not currently playing with are all put in the right spot.
I put the dishes in the dishwasher away, so that the days dirty dishes go in the dishwasher so that at the end of the night all i have to do is turn it on.
Sounds like a flawless system right? Especially since I have the Toddler on board too, and he knows the routine, and how to put his dishes in the dishwasher too. He looks SOOO proud of himself when he does it too. We like a clean house, that means there is more room to run and play since we live in a pretty small place.
BUT THEN THERE IS THE HUSBAND.
Can not figure out how to pick up after himself to save his life. (no I wont kill him, but every day he does something that makes me want to punch him in the face)
I come out from the bedroom from folding yet another load of clothes, and he has left a plate and a REDBULL can on the LIVING ROOM FLOOR. Oh No you didn't...
I look at him and say you're not gonna leave that there are you? He says NOPE i will get it. Hours go by and guess where it still is?
Last night he grabbed a fresh Peach out of the fridge and GUESS WHAT I FOUND IN THE COUCH, Yep... you guessed it THE PIT. Oh No you didn't.
Is it that hard to clean up after yourself? WHY should I have to clean up after him when Matthew is old enough to clean up after himself too.
I go to vacuum under the couch cushion, last week, (I do this about once a month, i know it should be more) and i find about 12 Popsicle wrappers...ON NO YOU DIDN'T..Those are Hubby's too, he is addicted to them and has Multiple at a time, and apparently the wrappers don't make it to the trash
Uggg, Makes me want to scream. I pray for patience, in the morning and a couple hours later I am praying for patience again, and again a couple hours later to make it thru the day.
He left for work tonight and who picked up the redbull can? Take a guess, Nope not me this time MATTHEW picked it up and put it in the recycle with out me even asking him too (guess who got extra time on the xbox, and we know how i feel about that) But what a good boy!
I know what you are thinking, Man she must nag all the time, to have a toddler that picks up after himself like that. No I dont, and most of the time I just pick everything up and dont even say a word to the hubby either. I read a book called "praying for Purpose" and a point was made in that book that really hit home, that No matter how big or small your current roll is, weather it be a mother and wife, or president of the united states, it is all a servant position for God, SO I do the best at being a wife and mom to please God, so there is no nagging. Matthew just gets it from me that he likes stuff organized, He can keep his room the way he wants it, but he likes it clean and that is good and his choice. He likes to make God Happy too.
I just pray that someday the Hubby will catch on to just bending down to pick up his stuff as he is getting up from in front of the TV.
Well Off to start the dishwasher now and maybe I will have more to write about in a bit.

School Picture

Lately, Matthew has this new fake smile that he has learned that is in almost every picture that we take, so when it was school picture time and I was not going to be there for it I was a littler nervous about how they would turn out, BUT I think that they turned out just fine.

I also got the class picture too, which it is sooooo cute to see him there with his class. Man they grow up so fast. I know it is only preschool but it is still a step to growing up.

Kitchen Nightmares

And No I do not mean the TV show....
I am so tired, and so frustrated with this INFESTATION, I don't know how many stupid "house guests" I have in here. I saw ONE last night BUT i am finding its Fabulous little dropping EVERYWHERE, there has to be more then ONE.
I am so Picky or as some would say anal about my kitchen that having these dishes in my sink and on my counter is driving me crazy!!!
I have been running all over town getting normal "stuff" done that has to get done, then I just want to come home and rest and I look and see that I have LOTS more cleaning to do.
I did get Mr Sticky today tho so that helps me clean up the "presents" all over. It was cool, I was shopping at Fred Meyer and a QVC representative was there, and she had the little Travel Mr Sticky, the Regular, and the LARGE one I got them all for the price of the regular one, and NO shipping.
So Off to clean my kitchen some more. and find a place for all these pots and pans that is NOT on my kitchen counter.

No we can NOT Coexist

We came home from life group tonight, to what I thought was going to be a relaxing evening...NOPE
I am sitting in the chair in the living room and I hear something in the kitchen, did I forget to turn something off? what is that noise? Matthew and Dean and I head to the kitchen to see what it is, I open the drawer under the stove and there is my noise right there looking at me, A MOUSE!!!!!!
Playing away and crapping in my pots and pans. Thank you very much for the presents. Luckily i never use what is down there any way and it looks like he has taken up residence there for quite sometime. Ummmm No, you may not live here, No we may not coexist here together.... Get out get out get out....
Then For one slit second I think of the super cute Movie Ratatouille, and I think....Nope that moment past..... Get this mouse out of my house, I am sure he will not be cooking me a gourmet meal.
So now I sent the hubby off to get some mouse traps, and i am doing dishes and disinfecting the drawer. UGGGGG

Favorite Time of Year!

Man, I know that I say every year that Fall is my favorite time of year, But man how true it is and it gets better every year when it comes to my son. This year he has really been into all the fall festivities.....Pumpkin Patch, carving pumpkins, baking apples...etc... he is older this year so everything is all exciting and he is so smart. That makes fall, which is already my favorite time, MORE special.
It also is a little bitter sweet as I remember all the things that my Grandma did this time of year, Canning and baking, and a smell reminds me so much of her that it is hard to breath knowing she is not here with me. Anyway we will focus on all the good things not missing grandma, but stay tuned there will be more to come on grandma.
This year we were planning a trip to the Roloff Pumpkin Patch in Hillsboro, But with tough times and NO GUARANTEE to actually see the Roloffs we decided that it would be about a 140 mile drive to "Just another pumpkin patch" so we decided to just save gas money and stay here and hit our pumpkin patches here, It really would not matter at all to Matthew if he got to see the Roloffs or not.
So we started out at the DD ranch, which is usually amazing, but this year, I think they maybe didn't work as hard on the farm because the pumpkins were not taken care of and there were very few anyway. The Only pumpkin of interest was the one the MATTHEW picked out all on his own and said it was perfect and he had to have it, so we agreed. and it was cute to see him pick it and be passionate about how perfect it was.

But that was all that we got at the DD ranch. Matthew played and played and fed all the animals tho, and as we were leaving he climbed on this truck and was looking at smith rock and I was fortunate enough to grab this picture which just warms my heart.

We left from there and headed just a mile up the road to the Central Oregon Pumpkin Company and played and played there too. BUT there were so many people we did not do anything that required money or tokens because the lines were HOURS waits...It was crazy. But Matthew did not care he went thru all the Mazes and played in the hay. We thought that we were going to get two pumpkins there and then when we looked at the prices decided that was NOT going to happen there. But it was a FUN Saturday afternoon for our little family.
After playing and being silly with Matthew and chasing him every where, (YES I ran) can you imagine the sight....LOL
We headed to Fred Meyer to get Pumpkins there because they are much cheaper there, but Matthew still got the whole Pumpkin patch experience.
Tonight we carved them, It was so fun this year because Matthew was so involved in carving his, he even helped me scrape the inside, which he would NOT do last year. He was so excited and when it was done he picked it up and carried it to Dad. And that in itself was exciting as he could not carry the pumpkin before we scooped it out and carved it so he was SOOOOO Proud that he could carry it!!!!
His pumpkin was simple and took just a couple minutes. Just a little face that looks scared of something.

BUT MINE WAS NOT SO EASY...... I drew it up myself, which was easy enough but I did not think it thru when it came to all the letters. I was diagnosed with Carpel Tunnel in my right arm last January and Carving Pumpkins is NOT good on the wrist and arm.......If I ever say that I am going to do letters and words again you have permission to punch me in the dome.
It took 2 hours from start of CARVING, not start of scraping and all that for probably an hour and a half from start to finish.....for what???? Its gonna rot and get thrown away!!! I think it turned out OK tho, but I wont do that again.
The best part of pumpkins is cooking the pumpkin seeds and baking the pies!!! Cant wait to bake my pie tomorrow, I was going to do it tonight but No condensed milk....LOL so stay tuned to some yummy pictures tomorrow of HOMEMADE pumpkin Pies!!!!
Over all a great day, I hung out with my little man, we had a little scare today but he is ok, Had a GREAT coffee day with my close friend Tarna and now off to a comfy bed in fresh clean sheets!!!!!

The Things you never thought you would say

So, As I listened to people complain about the things that their kids did, long before I had kids, I would laugh and snicker and think, WOW! What that world must be like...
Then I had Matthew!
Sometimes the things that he does, just makes me stop and say "what was he thinking?" "what goes thru his mind to make him think that is something to do or try?"
I find my self saying things like "Stop climbing up the refrigerator, You wont fit in the freezer." Or "stop scooting you head across the floor, that will give you a rug burn!" (Which he has gotten a rug burn from doing that) I have even heard the words "You are not a dog, get your plate off the floor" come out of my mouth, when talking to my son.
When I say these things I find myself giggling later, Really he was climbing the fridge, He wanted to get in the freezer. REALLY???!!??? What made him even think that was something he could do. He climbs the dang fridge every day!
BUT TONIGHT takes the cake, he was watching the good night show on sprout and I come in the room and he has his TOES in his NOSE. I yelled "Get your Toes Out of your nose!" REALLY!!!! What was that about? What made him think it would be better to pick his nose with his toes. What goes thru his head?
So he thought that was the funniest thing ever that mom yelled at him for his toes in his nose. So we spent the next five minutes laughing about his toes in his nose, and then he tried to stick his toes in my nose.
Man, What will he come up with next. I guess when you are learning the everything for the first time, you experiment with everything.
What a goofy little boy! He sure keeps me laughing and keeps the day entertaining!

Dance to the beat....

Usually it is the beat that is in my head when there is no music playing, or at least no one else hears the music, LOL, But today I went for a 1.2 mile walk to the canyon and back and took my iPod with me.
I set up a "workout" play list of just up beat fast music, cause I thought that would give me the motivation to keep it up. As I get about half way thru the work out I find that I am walking faster and faster, so I was like cool just move with it, the music is good and I am doing OK, Not sweating too bad, and not panting, YET. LOL
Then I notice some guy standing in his driveway just looking at me and smiling, SO I quickly do the normal check, Pants on, yes, Shirt On, yes, Nothing hanging out of my nose, or mouth, LOL What is he smiling about? And of course all this happens in a few seconds as I run thru that's stuff thru my head. SO I smile back and keep on going, then it hits me, I am not longer just walking. I am doing a little dance down the street to the music. LOL
Oops, But he thought I was off my rocker, this crazy big lady dancing down the street. LOL, Good thing it wasn't someone I knew. but oh well, at least I was having fun and working out. It was a beautiful walk and I was enjoying the view of the mountains, and the canyon it was almost 70 and very comfortable. As I round that last block "cupid Shuffle" comes on and let me tell you it is hard to go to the right to the Right to the right to the left to the left to the left the last block home, But I did it and it was a good work out!!!

Toilet Seat Controversy

I am so tired of this fight!
But my fight is different then most, Most men leave the toilet seat up!!!! I WISH! No in my house, Hubby is too lazy to even lift the toilet seat, SO I SIT IN HIS PEE!!!! I would rather have my ass hit the water becasue I fall in then sit in his pee!!!!
UGGGGGG How do I get him to stop peeing on the seat???? Makes me so upset I could scream. Most of the time I check the seat first, and I have my handly spray bottle of bleach, cause he would rather me take the extra time to bleach the seat EVERY TIME I pee then for HIM to LIFT THE SEAT.
When You have to go bad sometimes there is NOT time to check the seat for pee, or I would pee my pants. GRRRRR, It would be one thing if it was Matthew but he Listens and he lets me know if he accedently got something on the seat, but its NOT the 4 year old its the 40 year old!!! Makes me wanna punch him in the face!

Addictive Behavior

Man oh man, like father like son when it comes to addictive behavior, No matter what it is and no I am not talking anything illegal so don't go there.
Matthew has become completely addicted to the XBox and I hate it.
Dean is that way with anything and everything. He gets addicted to anything including GUM of all things. Dean will go thru a pack of gum a day because now its an addiction. Red Bulls, Video Games, Popsicles, You name it Dean is either addicted to it or has been in the past.
Matthew is showing the same signs when it comes to the XBOX. he plays it when he gets home from school and could easily sit there ALL day playing it if I let him, (which I don't). Recently the XBOX stopped working (Thank God) and it had to be taken in to get repaired.
You would have thought that the world ended in my house. From the time that Matthew opened his eyes in the morning until he closed them at night, it was "where is the XBOX?" "When is it gonna be fixed?" "I want to play my games Mom" all day every day and it was at the "shop" for a week!
I was so tired of hearing about it, while I originally thought that it being broke was a good thing I could not wait to get it back so he would stop talking about it.
The XBOX came home last night and it being a school night we told Matthew over and over that he had ONE hour to play or NOT AT ALL, he agreed.
But of course when it was time to get in the bath and put the XBOX away, there was an issue. Dean wanted to just jerk the controller out of his hand and let him scream, I on the other hand wanted Matthew to make the right decision and turn it off himself, so that he understands what is happening.... After a little power struggle my Little Man made the right decision and turned off the XBOX, took his bath and went to bed, after saying his prayer, the LAST thing he says before going to bed is "Can I play my games after school tomorrow?"
UGGGGG, Yes of course he can but why is that ALL he thinks about????
This morning, when he opened his eyes, do you think that I got a "good Morning" "love you mom" any of that???? Nope, it was "do I get to play the xbox when i get home from school mom?" UGGGGGG
Why does he think about it all the time, what is it about a video game that draws boys in? I set up arts and crafts time, or story time, or wrestling time, ANYTHING else and he will do that for a while but then wants to go back to the xbox, Do i take it away all together, or just keep on "distracting" him from it, as we do other things?

Pumkin Patch

We have great pumpkin patches here in central Oregon, and Matthew is taking his first field trip to one on the 20Th, and he is so excited. Since he is going there on a field trip we decided to do something different as a family.

We are driving to Hillsboro to head to the Roloff Farms, to see their pumpkin patch. I know what you are saying "you are driving all the way there just to go to a pumpkin patch?" Yes we are, It is just another pumpkin patch, but we could meet the Roloff's too. They say the activly work their farm and pumpkin patch.

For those who don't know who the Roloff's are, they are the family from Little people big world, and they live in Hillsboro and that is close enough for us to take a trip up there.

We are headed there on Saturday the 16Th, so stay tuned for pictures, and lets hope we run into the family, I am excited for something new!