Happy Halloween

Because You Never Know What Magical Creature Might Live in Your Backyard

We discovered fairies living in our yard!

Of course once we found out, we did what any hospitable neighbor would do . . . build a fairy house. That led to two fairy houses, one for the girls and one for the boys. We periodically checked the houses for signs of habitation and discovered this group of fairies is a wild bunch! There was many a time we found ourselves rebuilding the next day! Here's a photo of the fairy house for the girls.

It's Apple Picking Time

I must include some Fall fun that occurred before my vacation officially started.

The last weekend in September we had a double header. We went apple picking on Saturday and then to the county fair on Sunday. It was a crazy, busy weekend but the kids had a blast. I didn't' mind it being so busy knowing that my last week of work wouldn't be too crazy.

Enjoy a few photo highlights of our apple picking.

Our first stop was at Snowline Village. We like to go there because they have all their apples out for tasting along with apple cider. They also make yummy cider donuts, Ryan's favorite. I noticed that they also had raspberry picking and I thought, "How fun." What I didn't' know was how long it would take to pick three baskets of prickly raspberries among the bees and mud. Not so fun.

After that, we stopped for lunch at Los Rios. We packed a picnic and the kids enjoyed running around. It was there that Matthew saw the ponies. Originally, Daddy said no pony rides but it was only a matter of time before Matthew's heart wrenching sobs turned Daddy into a softie. And rightfully so, might I add.

Who says no to a pony ride. That was money well spent. Not only did they enjoy their ride but they got special treatment and got to brush the horses. It's not something that was quickly forgotten either. Ask Matthew or Natalie which horse they rode and they can tell you their names. Matthew rode Rose and Natalie rode Skippy.

Finally, we did what we had come for . . . apple picking. The kids enjoyed picking their own apples. Natalie hunted for the golden delicious and Matthew sampled any apple he could. He must have had at least three. Anyway, we filled a large box (a half bushel, I think) and headed down the mountain. It was a fun day for all.

Hip Hip Hooray!

It started out as a challenge. I bet Ryan that I could potty train Matthew while I was off track. Ryan had his doubt, but he was extremely happy that he wouldn't be responsible for the task. I, on the other hand, dreaded the task. However, knowing it must be done, I dove in preparing myself for the worst.

Matthew actually started using the potty last March. He was incredibly hip to the idea for a couple of weeks and would gladly poop on the potty, sometimes seven times a day. But somehow, the magic was lost. I attribute that to the fact that Matthew was left up to his own devices as to whether or not he'd go. When he felt like it, he did and then he lost interest.

A couple months back I tried again. The motivating factor was shark underwear. He was eager to wear them so I thought we'd give it another go. It worked out great if I put Matthew on the potty every forty five minutes to an hour. Later on in the day I decided to watch a show I had taped while the kids were quietly playing. Ninety minutes passed and then Natalie came yelling for me because Matthew peed. Much to his dismay he had to give up the sharks. At that point I gave up and decided on waiting until vacation so it could have my undivided attention.

I actually began potty training round three last Saturday. He was doing well again until we went to a birthday party for people that Matthew didn't know. Knowing Matthew and his strange behavior around unfamiliar people (he suddenly regresses to baby talk and gibberish) I decided not to push the issue. Besides he was incredibly disappointed that he couldn't swim like his sister because the pool was too deep for him. I let him find comfort in the fact that he could relieve himself in his pull-up and not some strange toilet in a house he has no recollection of ever being at. He's a comfort boy!

The following day we had dinner plans at Ryan's parents. I didn't push the issue there either because he really doesn't like to be singled out and have attention on him. (Hmm, wonder where he gets that from). But he did notice that his baby cousin (he's six months younger but Matthew thinks of him as a baby - funny!) was wearing the same pull-ups that Matthew had on. I don't think he liked that because it put them on the same playing field and he thinks of himself as older.

The very next day (Monday) it was like nothing. He woke up and used the potty. We put on underwear and he was good to go. Tuesday morning he woke up dry and today (Friday) we had a three hour outing in underwear. No accidents! He even went several times today on his own and changed his own underwear for variety sake! So, we did (Matthew and I that is). He's potty trained and I'd say it took only a couple of days because he hasn't had any wet pull-ups since Sunday!

Yay, Matthew! Mommy's proud of you. You are officially a big boy!