That Bites

Me: "Ahhhh! Ouch, ouch, ouch!" (swatting at my feet)

Evan: "Mom, whats the matter?"

Me: "Fire ants are biting my feet."

Evan: "Are you ok?"

Me: "Yeah it just hurts a little."

Evan: "Its kind of like the ants' Halloween!"

Pumpkin!

Help Around the House

When I do laundry, Evan and Seth are in charge of folding all the dish towels. They decided to take the intiative and, without any prompting from me, take the next step in their job. I found this and once I stopped laughing I gave them an "A" for effort.

I also get a lot of "babysitting" help from the older three. Its not uncommon that they'll ask me, "Can I hold my baby?" Well Ford is getting a little big and wiggly for them to hold these days so instead time is being spent on the floor with him. I'm thankful for the extra fuss free minutes when they entertain him!

Who Needs the Weather Channel

Low Humidity:

High Humidity:


These pictures were both taken yesterday, the first early in the morning, the second in the evening.

Moseying

Seth's school had a fall festival so we decided to check it out this weekend. Coincidentally Kane discovered walking with his hands in his pockets that same day. As his parents we found this absolutely adorable and had to share it with you.

He takes his moseying seriously.

Apparently we also dress him in the same green tshirt every weekend. Weird.

6-ish Months

Ford is coming up on his 6 month birthday. So I thought I'd post a picture of each of the boys at about 6 months old.

Ford and the Pumpkin Patch

He posed briefly for me.

Before he got freaked out by the large orange things around him.

I thought maybe his big brother would help calm him down. This is right before he pulled himself out of Kane's grasped and I had to dive to catch him so he wouldnt face planted into the dirt.

Then daddy rescued him.

ACWMK*

I've decided to add a special category to my blog as it seems to be a favorite of some of my readers (Hi Katie!) and they happen frequently! Awkward Conversations with my Kids*

On our way out of Evan's school the other day we ran into his music teacher thus leading to the following conversation.

Evan: "I know you! I know where you're from!"

MT: "You do?" (Smiling thinking that Evan knows where he lived before moving to Florida.)

Evan: "Yes, you're from music class." (He was nervous and mumbled even more than usual)

MT: "No, I'm from Michigan." (Looking puzzled and not understanding what Evan had said.)

Evan: "No you're not! You're from music class."

MT: (looks at me, confused, still not understanding much of what Evan said.)

Me: "He said that you're from music class, he thinks that teachers live in their classrooms."

MT: "Oh." (Doesnt find the humor in the misunderstanding.)

Me: "Kids!" (Laughing awkwardly and trying to herd my children out the door as quickly as possible.)

Another First!

Living in such a Suburban area means we dont get a lot of farm experiences, unless of course you want to head over to Kissimmee and pay $20 a person to pet some goats and walk through a corn maze. Thank you tourists!

After searching online I found a farm that didnt charge admission but still had some fun activities! Santa's Christmas Tree Forest was just what we were looking for. A family operated Christmas tree farm (most of Florida's Christmas trees are shipped in from out of state) that in the last couple years had opened for a second season, Halloween! Pumpkins, hayrides, a petting zoo, pony rides and a zip line (Jed, we forgot to check out the zip line, oops!). Its a bit of a drive but totally worth it. I think we'll be going back at Christmas.

Line starts here!

Isnt she a cutie?!

Seth's on his way!

He really liked it but was a little nervous, too nervous to smile.

Kane was hanging on for dear life as he was slipping all around on the saddle.

But he still managed to enjoy himself thoroughly.

The Next Best Thing

As a kid every fall I would help my dad rake the leaves in our yard. We'd put them into giant piles around the yard then bring a tarp to each pile to put them on and haul them away to the fire pit. Burning the leaves was my favorite part (I'm a weird pyro) but a close second was jumping in the piles!

Its kind of sad that my boys have never experienced this autumn tradition. So I was really excited when we visited a pumpkin patch that had a huge pile of straw for kids to jump around in. What a good idea?!!

I think we've found a new family tradition!

Fashionista

That I am not. However I have a 4 year old who might be... I was pulling out my clothes for the day when Seth walked into my room and climbed on the bed.

Seth: "Mom."

Me: "What's up Doodles?"

Seth: "I just wanted to come in and help you pick out your shirt."

Me: "Really?"

Seth: "Now, you take out two shirts and hold them up for me to look at and I'll tell you which one you can wear. If I dont like either of them you can take out more. Ok?"

Me: "Uhh....."

Seth: "Show me some shirts!"

Me: (Pulls out one green shirt and holds it up)

Seth: "Um, no."

Me: (Holds up a pink shirt.)

Seth: "I love it! Thats the one you can wear."

Me: "Really its a tank top and its kind of cold today."

Seth: "Its pink so it will make you look beautiful."

Me: "Ok well, you've gotta head out so I can get in the shower now. Thanks for helping me!"

Seth: "Your welcome." (Hops down and leaves)

And yes I wore the tank top even though it was a little chilly. How could I not?

Fishy Irony

I meant to blog about this around Kane's birthday but forgot. Oops.

For Kane's first birthday we bought him a fish tank and 3 gold fish. This was inspired by his reaction whenever we walk into Pet Smart. He really likes the fish and we look at them regularly but he's not exactly attached. My husband on the other hand, feeds them everyday and cleans their tank, he's formed a small bond with our fish.

On the day of Kane's second birthday I was walking passed the tank when I noticed the fish acting weird, upon further inspection I discovered that two of the fish had ganged up on the other fish and had eaten its tail off. The poor tailless guy was just sitting on the bottom of the tank while the other two were bullying him. I put a lot of extra food in to distract the other two which worked and texted Jed a picture of our situation. We decided to try to keep them all well fed and distracted until Jed could get home from work.

We had read online that sometimes fish will grow back their tails but our guy wasnt much of a fighter. He threw in the towel a few hours later and we were forced to flush him. Sad day. On the bright side though I thought all 3 would be dead long before the first year so 2 out of 3 isn't bad! Then again, I'm not sure how I feel about having the cannibalistic fishies left and Jed's pretty upset with them....

Birthday Wish List

If you were wondering to yourself, "Hmmm, what does Evan want for his birthday?" Let me answer that for you.

The Shark Portable Steam Pocket. They're sold at Target and every time we're there he begs me to buy one so he can go home and use it. He promises to clean all the counters, shelves and whatever else he can get his hands on.

Jokingly the other day I asked him if he wanted one for his birthday. He said, "Yes! But mom, I dont know if I can wait that long!" Well, since its $100 he's going to have to wait awhile!

Right now (no school b/c of Columbus day) he has settled for the vacuum and is cleaning up the florida room. Then he wants to do some school work.

Happenings

A new family milestone was achieved today, getting an object stuck in a two year old's nose. Kane went into the closet to eat his daily serving of cat food (How do I break him of this and still feed our cat? Oh, the great mysteries in life.) and decided that eating it was too boring so he jammed a piece up his nose. Did you know that cat food swells and quickly? Yeah. Thankfully Aunt Mimi or I should say,"nurse Mimi" was here to help and keep me calm. We tried to get him to blow it out without luck. After a while he snorted it back and ate it. Yum.

My sister in law, Missy, and her family left earlier this week for Papua New Guinea. They're in Europe right now visiting her husband's side of the family for the next few days. Then Australia and finally PNG for the next 4 years! Ahh! Its so exciting and sad at the same time! I cant believe the next time the cousins get together Evan will be 9! Unless of course we get the opportunity to visit which I'm really hoping and praying for!

Jed rearranged our living room furniture. At first I hated it because it isnt balanced in my opinion however its starting to grow on me. The wall with the big window only has a small chair under it now so it seems much more open in here. Christmas is coming and we always have to move things around to fit the tree in so I think I can live with it until then...

Convo While Coloring

Evan: "Mom, did you have a first born son before me that you gave away to someone?"

Me: "No! Why would you think that?"

Evan: "I dont know, I would have just really liked that kid.. especially if he were in college now."

Me: (Staring at him like he had a third eye, almost speechless) "I dont have a clue what you're talking about."

Evan: "Where is that kid now? Is he in college?

Me: "There is no kid, you're my oldest. I didnt have any babies before you."

Evan: "Well, I wish you had a older kid and I wish he was in college. I wish I was in college."

Me: "So you want an older brother?"

Evan: "No."

Me: "I really dont know where you're going with this."

Evan: (goes back to coloring silently)

Just Another Saturday

I went to the grocery store today with Seth and Kane. I was picking out cereal when a woman walking passed me said, "Well you certainly have your hands full!" To which I replied, "You have no idea!" I giggled to myself as she walked away.

Then two other women mistook Seth for a girl, telling me that Kane was so lucky to have such a sweet older sister! Again I laughed. I'm pretty sure its his hair that confuses people. I had just spent the morning trying to talk him into cutting it, as its a little high maintenance. He's adamant that he wants to keep it long so instead of a buzz cut I gave him a trim and told him he'd have to start brushing it himself in the mornings. As long as the comments don't bother him we'll leave it.

We stopped at the dollar store and bought Evan a huge map of the USA. After we got home I snuck into his room and taped it to the wall next to his bed. Once it was up I found Evan in the living room and with no explanation sent him to his room. He was so confused! I followed him and watched as his face went from perplexed to surprise to delight! Then we sat on his bed together going over the names of each state. He's an interesting kid.

The weather is beautiful here. The rest of the week is supposed to be in the 80s. I'm so excited! Time to get out my jeans!