Halloween Festivities

We had a VERY busy Halloween. It was more like a Halloween week, as we were doing something almost every day for the holiday. We went to Thatcher for the actual holiday and spent the evening with the fam. Not included in all of these pics are our trip to Howl-o-Ween at the zoo, or the Halloween trunk or treat in Safford- so many pics, so little time! Andrew & I bought this outfit on clearance 2 weeks after we got married, and this is the 1st kid that's been able to wear it! I think we attempted to squish Frank into it, but he was a little large for it by then. I don't know why we bought it. Neither one of us was in any hurry to have kids, but whatever the case, my little pumpkin looks adorable 8 years later.Emma got to wear her Halloween costume to school on Thursday for the costume parade. But the teachers wanted them to take off their costumes, so she wore this one that would fit into her bag better. Always the princess.Pumpkin carving

Frank wanted no part of the pumpkin thing. He kept yelling YUCK!! He sure did want to be included in the praise for the job I did, though. Yep, he's a man!

Jack had other things to do than be interested in pumpkinsEmma LOVES the goopy insides.

She even picked out all of the seeds so that we could roast them. YUMMY!!

Daddy has a strange sense of humor, although Mommy thought it was pretty funny too. This started a pumpkin war between these 2.

The finished product. I'm thinking of going pumpkin-carving pro.

Which is Which?

I've had a lot of people either comment on how much my boys look alike or ask me if I think they look alike. I just like to tell people that all of my kids match! There's definitely no mistaking who they belong to!

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So here's the test. 2 pics of Jack, 2 of Frank.

Can you tell who is who?

I'll do like my sis Tanya & leave the answer in the comments. Good Luck! I was even surprised at how similar they are.

Jack's Blessing Day

Well, I'm a little late posting this, but I wanted to share some pics & thank everybody that drove over to come to Jack's big day. We have church at 8:00 in the morning, so it was a pretty early start for everybody that doesn't live here. And that's everybody! Thank you for sacrificing your sleep to be here.

Who Needs Mom?

There's another woman in my life that's trying her hardest to make me completely unnecessary.

No, Andrew's not having an affair- it's Emma!

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She changes diapers

(Without Mommy's permission. That's why she looks so guilty!)

She entertains the other children

She even bakes!

If it weren't for the dairy cow aspect of my life, I'd be completely obsolete. That is, until it's 3:00 in the morning & everyone else decides that being in charge of the newborn is not fun anymore. Then I'm guaranteed to be promoted to #1 Mommy.

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Hey, I'll take whatever I can get!

Decision '08

Somehow without my knowing, I have become some kind of important VIP. My phone has been ringing off the hook this week! Apparently the fate of the entire presidential election rests on my shoulders alone, and the whole nation is counting on me to make the right decision.

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I've had so many good people call & try to sway me, but in the end, I alone can make the choice. Even though I respect their opinion, I cannot be influenced by my friends, no matter how famous they are. Rudy Guiliani, Cindy McCain and even Sarah Palin herself have called this week. And those are just the big names. I had no idea I held such a position of importance in the Republican party!

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In fact, since all these famous people think I'm so darn special & smart, I'm considering throwing my hat into the race next time around. Obviously I'm a shoo-in. After all, if I wasn't so critical to the outcome, why would they all call me this week?

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So what do you think?

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Kris for President in 2012

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Sounds pretty cool, huh?

Friends & Enemies

Even though I recently had my 3rd child, I am just now discovering some things that I absolutely cannot live without, and others that absolutely make my life miserable. Please to enjoy.

FRIENDS:

1. The Snap-n-Go Stroller

I have decided that this thing is my #1 best friend. Due to the lack of space in the back of our car, we needed to get a smaller stroller than the huge Graco one we've always had. This was the perfect solution for now. Jack's carseat just "Snaps" on & away we go. I can open the back hatch of the car, lift this out, unfold it, refold it, and put it back into the car- ALL WITH ONLY 1 HAND! And, since it's so light, I can wheel it through the thickest of mall crowds with 1 hand & keep hold of the older kids with the other. As Jamie would say- Priceless!!!!!

2. The Snugli

I've always had one of these, but let's just say that I've gained a new appreciation for being able to hold the baby & still have both hands free to strangle- oops, I mean wrangle- the older two kids. 3. Frozen dinners

I thought Andrew was crazy when he hit Safeway & bought a whole cart of these before the baby was born. I never had trouble getting dinner on the table after my other babies. But I have truly LOVED being able to have days when all I have to do is open the freezer & have dinner be done. Convenient? Yes. Lazy? Maybe. A life saver? Definitely.

4. DVR

(I actually was thinking about this last night, Andi. I promise that I didn't copy you!) Anyway, anyone that has it understands. Anyone that doesn't has no idea. Enough said.

5. Laundry bags

I have never used these before, and I regret that. You just fill it up & toss it in the washer. No more searching for teeny little baby socks. No more tiny socks stuck underneath the washer agitator or falling on the ground to be kicked behind the dryer. I heart my laundry bags!

ENEMIES:

1. Mexican food

OK, this is not MY enemy, but apparently Jack has absolutely no tolerance for this particular genre of food. I think I just might wither up & die! What's the point of living if I can't have La Casita or El Guero Canelo? Sigh. 2. Any soda containing caffiene
See Enemy #1. I do not regularly drink caffienated soda, but sometime you just NEED a Dr Pepper! Bigger Sigh.

3. Pimples
My skin was completely clear for my entire pregnancy, and now I have pimples! What the heck? Like a mother of a newborn doesn't already feel bad enough about the way she looks.

4. Costco diapers

Wait, let me clarify. I hate that you CAN'T buy Costco diapers in size 1. (They do sell Huggies size 1-2. But what's the point of buying a case of diapers that you can only use half of?) I adore being able to buy 1 huge box & forget about diapers for the next few weeks. Also, because I can't buy diapers at Costco, that means that I have to go to Wal-Mart more often. Yuck!

A Little Preview of Halloween

Since we thought that I was going to be having a baby sometime in October, Andrew & I started thinking about Halloween costumes all the way back in August. I really feel strongly about making costumes because I can remember all of the great home-sewn costumes that I had as a kid. (My absolute favorite was the Indian princess. I wore it more than once, and I think I might make Emma one next year!) I want my kids to have that same sense that their mom cares enough to do it herself. Besides, have you looked at the costumes in the store? Most of them look like they would fall to pieces if the kid even sneezed the wrong way! I love making costumes for my kids. Here are a few pics of Halloweens past.
But this year the homemade costumes were just not meant to be.

Anyway, because I was a little preoccupied with baby stuff, Andrew sort of got to be in charge of costumes by default this year. This is what he came up with. (Don't get me started on the "hunters are supposed to shoot the deer" issue! We'll just accept that they're cute & leave it at that.) I think that Daddy did a fantastic job.

Our ward had their Halloween party last Friday, and the kids LOVED their costumes. Emma may profess to being a princess girl, but she also is surprisingly excited about shooting elk, deer, and anything else that could be stuffed & mounted on a wall. Strange for a kid that loves animals so much, huh? Frank is all boy & uses everything from keys to sticks to pretend to shoot stuff. So much for my no guns or other deadly weapons as toys rule!

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The thing that really surprised me is that with their hats on, Emma & Frank pretty much looked like twins! I had no idea how much my kids look like each other. I kept calling them by the wrong names all night.

Frank was thrilled when people started giving him candy for free!
Now we're just waiting for the REAL Halloween so that we can load up on all of the candy we can eat. And by we I really mean Mommy & Daddy. I love Halloween!