This witch had the best cackle and witch voice I have ever heard. Scary! Notice how I stayed back on the sidewalk. *winkwink*

Getting candy from the horse and cart. I was across the street taking this picture, but they were there a while, talking to the people in the cart, and then the horse. Forget the horse's name, but I'm sure Jason will remind me of it tomorrow. Edit: Indeed, he has reminded me - the horse's name is "Quick" not just horse.

In one of the haunted buildings...this was the entrance - the real gore started around the corner!

Taking a break after lots of walking in the humid hot air. It was in the 80s and humid as could be - not superb weather for Halloweening, but we still had fun! I like how the cup is nearly as big as he is in this picture!

Walking back in to town for more treats!

Fist fight at the L&M Saloon.

Well, okay, we were just being cheesy and Leif was not that into the cheese.

Having a chat with the horse.

A little part of downtown, which comes alive with mummies, fortune tellers, haunted houses, witches and the walking dead on Halloween! This picture doesn't do it justice, but it is the best one of the bunch I took! I like the silhouettes in the top windows on the building on the left (as you're looking at the picture). Click to enlarge to see it better, if ye like.

A Pleasant Weekend

Leif next to the driveway, digging holes in the sand. The sun was going down, but we stayed outside rather late.

Leif takes a good look in to the hole he was digging. I think he was trying to dig to China.
2p, Jonny and I tried to dig to China when we lived in Indiana. I'm pretty sure I was the only one that actually thought we could! We stopped digging when we hit water. The hole Leif was digging was getting very deep, but no water! I'm sure he wouldn't have to dig very far! Gracious, I need to lay off the exclamation points, eh?

Leif is ready to devour that Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire (that's the actual name of it, not my description!)

We ate homemade bread with homemade butter for dinner. The bread is very multigrain - my version had rolled oats, oat bran, quinoa, and brown rice! It wa soft but nice and noshy. Very yummy!

We'e been enjoying very fine weather (that's a movie line). We spend a good part of our day outdoors...on nature walks, collecting weeds (will explain later!), running around the yard, cleaning the outside of the house, gardening, etc. Love this time of year!

He decided to get a chair. He started out sitting on it and digging a hole, but quickly moved down to the ground. :)

I've decided that Leif could use a new bedroom.

Not a different whole room, but a redesign of his current one. The sad truth is, Leif no longer likes his crib. I made the mistake a long time ago of saying in front of him to Jason, "Look how big he's getting! His crib is starting to get too small!" and well, he needed nothing else. He has been saying, for close to a year now, I'd reckon, that "my crib is to 'mall for me!" and refuses to sleep in it (eventually, he does sleep in it, but ugh! the evenings around here!)

The truth is, his crib isn't too small at all.

He can still sleep in it for a another year, at least. But he can climb out now rather easily, and as a little guy that enjoys his independence (that's putting it mildly), I think it's time he has a little bed of his own. A bed with no high sides to it, so I don't have to worry about him falling off as he climbs out and breaking something, a bed low enough to the floor that he can get in and out easily, and a bed high enough so that the things that go creep in the night can't access him as easily. (Our house, we are told, once had a bad rat problem - not the big city rats we're used to, but little water rats. We haven't seen any since we've been here, or any evidence of any, and after our last house experience, I'd say we're pretty knowledgable on rodentia).

So, time to do a new bed...and while we're at it, why not a new room?

I've drawn up plans, both for a new bed and the new room. We'll be taking down the crib and storing it. We'll also take the blanket chest out of his room and move that to another room. Which leaves...no furniture in his room!

We'll build him a bed and a few other things (don't want to give all the surprises away!)

I'm giddy about the whole thing for multiple reasons, but one of them is that in moving furniture around my house, I'm going to get a little sideboard in my dining room that I've been wanting and that will solve my current silverware issue (the issue is: where to put the silverware?)

I know I'm weird - taking all the furniture out of my son's room solves my silverware issue - pure strangeness. But still, I'm really excited and hoping to get his room done very soon! I've been very into decorating the home lately, snarfing down design mags and blogs for inspiration. I think it comes in part, from our being here such a long time. I've been on the move for such a long time (since before I met Jason, even), that I've become very hesistant to hang things on the wall or attempt to decorate too much lest I move again soon. Wall decor and decor in general can be very cumbersome to move - it adds up quick to be a lot of bulk (often somewhat fragile). So, since I'm getting comfortable here, I decided to do a little by little, using what I have as much as possible.

The best thing about Leif's room, though, is with some help from 2p, we've designed it so that we are actually using things we already have, and only need to buy a few cheap things to supplement! Awesome!

I think I could do the majority of it myself, with a bit of help from Jason and his carpentry expertise, but hopefully, we'll be able to work on it together and get it done lickety-split. The sooner we can get Leif content in his room, the better it will be for us all!

Like Leify always says, "We all work together!"

Enough of my blabbering, then.

:)

A Good Day

Leif in one of his favorite places, a box. This one has been loaded with blankets and quilts of all different sizes. He put them all in there, of course. Then he climbs in himself, snuggles under some more blankies, and takes in the view while drinking his milk. Aahhhh...

We've had a good day here today.

I've totally ignored my to-do list (yet again) which I carefully composed last night. Instead, I've gotten all manner of thing taken care of, and have had some adventures, too. And we also got one of my favorite magazines in the mail, which always a Happy Momma Maketh.

On the way to the post office, Leif was whining to go to the airport. There was a helicopter there last weekend, so it was pretty exciting. I said no and on to the post office we drove.

On the way back, Jason decided that we had time to go to the airport, and so we did. There were a few planes parked, and a plane that had crashed over the weekend was sitting sadly beside the runway, all askew and broken-looking. As we were about to depart, we saw a plane coming in for a landing...and then another! Well!

We parked the car at the side of the runway to watch the action. One plane landed and came to the end of the runway...and right after it the other plane came in. Normally, the planes taxi back down the same runway to the parking lot area (for planes, not cars), but with the second plane coming in, the first couldn't do that. Instead, the first plane turned on to the road (that we were on, beside the runway) and started to taxi up our road toward us! Agh!

Then, the trash truck came careening out of nowhere, cut in front of the taxi-ing plane, and started barreling toward us. Yikes! I threw the car into reverse and backed...into a tree. No worries, though...the tree was insulted but no harm was done to either tree or vehicle. All of this was going on - the trash truck, the taxi-ing plane, my plowing backwards into some large plantlife, all while the second plane was landing right in front of us. It was like some bad action-adventure film!

The trash truck decided to pull over right next to us (and I was still wondering how I was going to get out of the plane's wings' way) - and they paused there while the plane taxied safely by. The other plane stopped mid-runway, did a U-y, went to the start of the runway, turned around, and then took off again (to which Jason commented, "He's done seen enough of this place!" which made me laugh).

All the pilots waved to Leify and Jason (who were standing outside the car the whole time) while they landed and took off. Such fun!

After some more shenanigans with the trash truck, we finally got on our way again. Phew! What an adventure at the airport!

When we got home, I had Jason fix some of the windows (our lovely cold snap has gone the way of the Dodo, and now it is HOT here again)(waah) so that we could open and close them all. Then I had him fix some screens. Then we swept the garage out (it floods during a heavy rain, bringing all sorts of dirt, sand, and silt with it) and while Jason and Leif went to bait the crab traps, I broomed off the sides and eaves of the house, where spideys and bugs had been collecting.

Can you see them? They're on the left dock. Jason is lying on his stomach, and Leif is at the end. Click to enlarge if you like.

There's Jason on the left and Leif being pensive over the scenery at the end of the dock.

Zoomed in on the little guy. He spends a lot of time looking out over the view, what he calls, "Looking at the Weather" - it's one of his favorite things!

They were a long time baiting the traps, so I finished my weeding of the garden (which is 99.9% dirt now, waiting for my next planting). At one point, Leif left the dock and went to visit our neighbors. I got the urge to clean the garage a bit, and that's exactly what I did. When Jason came back, I pointed and idea'd, and he made my little ideas come true! I wanted the kayak off the floor, and he thought of a way that secured it up against the wall snug so it won't fall off. So now, we have a nice swept decluttered garage, with the kayak happy in it's wintertime nest! :) (and we didn't have to pay for some fancy schmancy kayak hanging system - we simply used what we had!)

After some more garage puttering, the lads had lunch while I cleaned Leif's room. Jason went to work, and I made bread - "Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire" to be exact. Leif finally went down for a nap, and I took the time to plow through my reading list (blogs), do laundry and then

I Made Butter.

Yup. You read that right. I made butter. At home. I know, I'm a nerd. But it was so easy, and cheaper than buying butter at the store! :)

So tonight, we're having bread and butter (all made from scratch!) for dinner. I was going to make a nice Tomato soup, but it is in the mid to high 80s in the house, and I think that is just way too hot. Bread and butter it shall be! (Jason isn't getting home til late anyway).

So, not only did I not get anything on the to-do list done, but I also had some great ideas for re-doing Leif's room (he desperately wants a bed that is NOT a crib), and for some homemade stationery. Between those ideas, my headboard that I'm working on, and trying to make all of our Christmas gifts by hand, I've got my hands full (not to mention a certain rambunctious three-year old!) :)

Oh, I love some good planning and doing. It sets my heart all aflutter!

Have a great weekend!

(PS. Will try to take more pictures this week. Did very rotten job of taking any pictures this week! All apologies!)

One Year Anniversary

Leif and cousin Katy 366 days ago.
This was taken at the Pumpkin Patch on our first full day here. Katy's 3rd grade class had a field trip to the Methodist Church Pumpkin Patch. We went along, and Katy's teacher took pictures of all of the students in this little pumpkiny corner. Leif wanted to be near Katy, so the Teacher took his picture, too! She sent it to me, so this is the scanned version of that photo that has been on our fridge for a year! They also did crafts in the church hall, and then had snacks. So, Leif took his stickers from the crafts and stuck them all over his shirt, and his mouth was stained from the snacks. Funny thing was, we saw this and noticed Leif was wearing the same shirt on the same day one year later (sans Kool-Aid stains!) Silly-wompuses are we!

So, we've been here one year now - and that marks the second longest time we've ever lived in one house! The first longest title is currently held by our first home, the one we sold. I'm not even sure how long we were there, but I know that is where Jason carried me over the threshhold when we came back from our wedding, and Leif was around 6 months old when we left. I think. So, what is that...around 18 months? 19 months? I'm not very good with timetables...it all runs together in my head. :)

Leif had just turned 2 a few weeks before we moved here...amazing how much has changed with him in just one year! You can see a picture at the very bottom of this blog page (just scroll all the way down til you hit the bottom) of his cavorting in the yard when we first moved here. So little!

Of course, I can be in no place for any duration of time before my wanderlust kicks back in. There is something magical about sweeping and cleaning a new place up, unpacking your things and getting excited over them like when you first got them. I know I'm a little crazy like that, but I get bored when I've been in one place too long. (Does it show? We've only moved a million times in the past 4 years!!) Two years is generally my max, though. I really start itching at the two year mark! I don't know why...maybe it is because once we moved to Florida (when I was a child) we moved every two years or so for the first 6 years? Or maybe I have gyspy blood in me, who knows.

The seafood festival was downtown this weekend, too, another year marker for us. Last year's festival was our first weekend here, just a day or two after we arrived. I didn't get any fried oysters this year, but we did get in a few quick strolls. The first night of the festival, we got dressed in sweaters and pants (a first for the season!) and went downtown. All of the booths were shut up tight, but one was not locked down, but wasn't open for business, either. I saw that they had seashells and I thought aerophytes, so I was determined to come back in the morning! I also wanted to see what the other vendors were selling (answer: nothing much!)

So, the next morning, we bundled up again and as the festival was just starting, we strolled down the main street, travel mugs full of hot mulled cider, and enjoyed the spectacle. I bought a giant starfish and a small conch shell. After that, it was off to take care of all the kiddlies for me, and clam bags for Jason! It was a good day, and we were glad to have some happy little family time together.

Lately, Jason has been working long hours, so family time has been at a minimum. Leif and I generally eat dinner together, and Jason, who leaves at 7 in the morning or earlier most mornings, will come in after 8 or 9pm, and eat his dinner. But, things are getting done and we're productive, so that makes us ver' happy.

Leif and I are off to town today (the big town, not downtown) to get some warm clothes, jammies, and shoes for him. The majority of last year's clothes are way too small, and this cold snap has made it clear that he needs some warm things!

So, we're off and enjoying the crisp weather! Happy day to you!

(PS. Definitely can tell the cold season is here - the tides are all extremely low and our view is once again changing drastically from tide to tide!)

Halloween Decor

The full mantle. Pretty dull, eh? I'm not sure what is creepier: the cobwebs or the scarily dingy fireplace!

A close up of the cobwebs and the scary spider who lives there.

I decided to decorate for Halloween for the first time in my entire life. I've never been a big Halloween person - I'm not big on scary things, so a scary holiday has no appeal to me. I'd only ever been trick-or-treating a few times in my life, maybe three at most...with the last time being when I was seven. Well, I did get dressed up as a hobo as a teenager, but I don't think we did much trick-or-treating...we toilet-papered a teacher's car instead. Whoo!

Anyway, this year, I got it into my head that maybe I should start decorating for holidays other than Christmas and Fall. (Yes, Autumn is a holiday in this house!) But I had to do it super cheap, since I was not about to spend money on something as annoying as Halloween decor.

This is what I came up with. A cobweb strewn mantle, complete with spider. I wanted some more creepy objects on the mantle, but I was flat out of severed hands and blood of newt.

The cobwebs are old cheesecloth that I had on hand (that stuff ain't easy to make in to cobwebs, although it looks like it would be a cinch...maybe I've just gotten wimpy now I'm in my 30s). The spider is a ring that the cashiers at Dollar General gave to Leif. They're forever giving him stuff for free. It's very annoying until I can use it for free holiday decoration!

I was all giddy and into it as I was decorating the mantle and manhandling the cheesecloth - I was listening to Michael Jackson's Thriller (actually, the video was playing on my computer, but I put that screen to the taskbar because the zombies were creeping me out - hurrah for youtube!) As I was decorating, I couldn't get Mrs Havisham out of my head. You know, the old lady in the dusty cobwebby house in
Charles Dickens' Great Expectations? Well, her house was the model for my mantle. And then I kept thinking, "Pip!" who is the hero in that novel.

Anyway, the giddiness passed very quickly about my halloween decor and so I thought I'd share the tedium of it with you. ta-da!

I'd like to end with a clever quote from Great Expectations, but frankly, I practically fell asleep reading it in grade school and I can't remember a single line.

G'day, then.

Super Leif!!!

Super Leif in his new cape*.

The other day, we got a package in the mail and inside was this totally awesome Superhero cape from Aunt 2p! It's handmade by a mom in San Francisco, and extremely well made. It is all beautiful shiny red satin with a felt star on the back, lined with soft snuggly pale yellow fabric.

We weren't sure if he was too young for it, but the next day (we got it late at night) he asked for his cape. So, I helped him to put it on, and he zoomed around the house, jumping, climbing, and having a great time. He may not get the concept of superhero, but he loves his cape!

Landing on the cushions after a short flight through the air.

Super Leif about to take off! (Doesn't that look like fun?
Don't you wish you had a superhero cape? I admit, I put his on, and gave it a try!) :)

Flexing his superhero muscles and {sigh} roaring.

*If you're looking at that top picture and thinking, "Ooph, that boy needs a haircut!" - you're right! He definitely needs a haircut and will be getting one...maybe today! :)

More bloggage below.

For the first time, ever...I'm doing some Halloween decoration this year. These are little bats that I cut out of the foam trays that veggies come on. I've been saving them for months, and the other day Leif helped while I took an Xacto knife to them. I did them freehand, so they're all a little funky and individual, but I think they're cute. They won't stay in this tray - this is just their temporary home until I get all get all the materials for the whole project. I thought they were cute in the tray, though.

Walking through air.

He made a big pile of cushions (grrrrr....) and flew in to them.

Flops on the cushions. You can see the star in this picture a little better than the others.

Presents!

Here he is being silly while he opens a package from Grandmom and Granddad!

Looking very carefully at the box - it's new pieces for his train track system. On the back, there were also pictures of other items you could get, including one train with a few train cars hooked up behind it. One of those train cars had two big white tanks on them, and Leif said, "Look, Mommy, a toilet paper train!" It really did look like toilet paper, and I laughed until my sides ached.

He was so excited he immediately lugged his basket of track out of the playroom on the other side of the house, and brought it in to set up a city with his new pieces. That basket is heavy!

Everyday Silliness

Breakfasttime: I got the bowl and he got the spoon. Hmn...something looks a little off to me!

One of his favorite activities - sorting dry beans. When I'm working in the kitchen, I keep him close and occupied by sorting dry beans. I drag our piano bench (the pianoless piano bench) in to the kitchen, and he brings his chair. Voila - table and chair! He gets a mixture of three beans (all whitish colored as it turns out, but very different in shape, so that helps...) in one bowl, then sorts them in to three more bowls, each bean in its own bowl. He constantly asks for more beans - he probably sorts a pound of beans by the time he is done! He loves it and I love it because I can keep an eye on him while I work.

Happy little Bean Sorter!

He's also been preening a lot lately, as he tells us "trying to be handsome like Daddy." We tell him he is handsome like Daddy, but he responds, "No. I have blonde hair, not brown!" His hair is growing much darker now...there are lovely very blonde bits at the top, but the rest is getting darker, I noticed today.

Hair color aside, he does spend a lot of time in the bathroom in front of the mirror. He pulls out Daddy's deodorant and puts it on. He combs his hair. He washes his face. He washes his hands. He brushes his teeth. He smears lip balm on his lips. He climbs to the perfume cabinet, pulls out Daddy's cologne and sprays it on. Sometimes, he goes for my good stuff, but for some reason, he never goes for the cheap stuff!

He spends a good half hour in the bathroom sprucing up every day. At this rate, what are his teens going to be like?

Happy Days.

Leif's Birthday

Leif growls in a doggy mask from Aunt Amy.

Technically this was taken the day after his birthday, when he was having fun with the mask and the mirror, but oh well.

Leif's birthday was very simple this year - no train rides this time - but we had a very enjoyable day. Leif had been looking forward to his birthday for a long time. He remembered past birthdays: the train ride we took last year, and even his first birthday in Miami, when Aunt Katie made him a birthday hat out of paper bags and rubberbands!

This year, it was quiet, but full of anticipation, since he now knows what fun birthdays can be!

The day started with a nice big breakfast of pumpkin pancakes, a family favorite that we haven't made in years! It was the perfect fall breakfast. Leif also found a new love - apple cider. He's been obsessed with it since Daddy brought it home!

Daddy went to work and Mommy made two pies, pumpkin bread, dinner, and got the house ready while Leify played, read books, and put together puzzles.

Unfortunately the pies did not turn out right (if you know chocolate angel pie and you see the pictures below, you'll see what I mean). They were still really good (I mean, when it meringue, chocolate and cream NOT good?). If you don't believe me, scroll down to the photo of Willie below!

Before dinner, Leif had a chance to open his cards in front of Grandmom, Granddad, and Grandma Mil via webcam, which was nice.

We had a lovely dinner (Penne Sausage Supper from Cooks) and afterwards Caryn, Shawn, Sarah, Katy, Izzy, and Willie all came over for dessert and presents!

Leif loved having his cousins over - I think that was the highlight of his birthday! Uncle Shawn chased the kids round and round the house - they were all screaming and having fun. In fact, he was so sad when it came time for them to go, that he got all teary-eyed and was clinging sadly to his Daddy. His face was all trembly as waved goodbye. It was sad and adorable all at the same time.

The best part of the whole day, though, was...you guessed it - the FULL MOON!

Leif had been looking forward to his Full Moon birthday for so long, and finally, there it was, shining big and bright over the water into our bedrooms. It was the best present of all!

While I didn't get around to the things I wanted to do for his birthday (hats, banners, etc), I realized it didn't matter. He had a wonderful birthday (he's still talking about it!), loves all of his new books and puzzles, and got to fall asleep with the light of the full moon shining on his face.

What more could a Three Year Old Boy ask for?

:)

Lots more bloggage below...keep scrolling down!

Covering his eyes for his birthday cake surprise. Actually a Chocolate Angel Pie. :)

He had already blown a candle out as soon as the pie hit the table.


Blowing out the candles - all three of them!


A hermit crab book from Oma Ru! Yes, that is chocolate pie on his face.

Opening his present from Grandma Mil - books!