Halloween Traditions

Halloween is a big deal at our house.

We have 3 small children which means EXTRA fun during the month of October.

If your kids are like mine they talk about Halloween costumes all year and their decision changes by the minute. Here we have a Ninja, Fairy and Grimm Reaper!

The parties started 2 weeks early this year. YIKES!

I LOVE kid Halloween parties and all the little games: Cake walk, pin the nose on the Jack-lantern, hide-n-seek in the dark and my favorite . . . bobbing for apples!

The other tradition? Pappa Murphy's Jack-O-Lantern Pizza!

We eat this before heading out to trick or treat.

Serve with green or orange kool aide and win extra cool mommy points!

What are your traditions?

The good thing today: We've done enough Halloweens now that we can piece together old costumes to create new ones!

Teresa

Kids on the farm

FYI: This is mostly going to be a picture post.

We drove up to Logan and took the kids to the old family farm where I remember running around with my little brother and usually coming home muddy and covered in hay!

Yes, her hand is all the way inside the calf's mouth, YUCK!

The loved my husband, but apparently the girl looked a bit dangerous ;)

Smart horses!

The good thing today: Soap and water! Between cow saliva, pig poop and bird feathers this nurse was grateful for good old soap!

Teresa

The boys' room!

My boys are 5 and 7 and LOVE pirates! Argh!

They wanted pirates everywhere and water . . . so this is what I came up with.

We bought them captains beds, which I love because of the under drawers.

The large pirate ship was bought here and attached to the wall.

Pirate Decals bought here

Bucket for shoes because I'm SO tired of tripping over them.

Blue curtains with a view of their tree house

"Pirates life for me" and vinyl sea creatures by Kimerlesu at Ransom Made

The good thing today: because I cleaned this room and locked the door it actually STAYED clean for a few hours! YAY!

Teresa

The girl's room

I was very anti pink and swore if I had a girl her room wouldn't be too girly.

Well . . .

I think something happened the day I found out I was having a girl. I went kinda nuts on pink!

The cherry tree branch was bought on Amazon here

Her blessing dress and a picture of her in it hang next to her bed.

Tutu is draped over her lamp. The fairy sitting on her dresser is from TaiPan

and the paper fairies strung across her curtains is from Anastasia's attic!

Vinyl letters placed on plates. Done by Kimberlesu at Ransom Made!

Rug bought at Walmart because I couldn't help myself ;)

The good thing today: She lets me girl her up for now, although I'm not sure for how much longer.

Teresa

The case of the missing check card!

In an attempt to hurry and pick up some jeans for my sprouting 5 year old I loaded the kids into the car and headed to Walmart, sans purse. That means stuffing my check card into my pocket.

We headed to the clothes section which looks like this:

A sea of racks, clothes and shelves!

After about 30 minutes of bargain hunting I noticed my card was gone.

AHHHHHH!!!!!!!! seriously?!

I retraced my steps through the maze of clothes and no sign of the card.

Until . . .

Jinkies! (if you have children you know that's what Velma says when she finds a clue)

I found my old receipt on the ground near a rack just like this one. The receipt was with the card. My oldest boy (who's 7) starting whining . . . can't we just go look at costumes?

I try to not freak out and tell him I'm looking for my gold money card. At this point I'm ready to call security. I turn around and there he is pulling my card out of his pocket. My jaw hit the ground.

WHERE DID YOU FIND THAT?!

no where . . .

DID YOU PICK IT UP OFF THE GROUND AND STICK IT IN YOUR POCKET?!

no . . . I just found it

WHAT MADE YOU THINK YOU COULD TAKE IT?!

I just wanted it

We had a nice long (mostly one way) discussion about stealing and lying and skipped the costumes. My son . . . the thief.

The good thing today: I didn't go to security and make a stink . . . that would have been humiliating!

Teresa

Sleeping kids

If you are a parent you know this is true:

"Parents everywhere realize that the most powerful combination of emotions in the world is not called out by any grand cosmic event, nor is it found in novels or history books, but merely by a parent gazing down upon a sleeping child."

Thomas S. Monson

No matter how frusterated I am with my kids at the end of the day, all I have to do is look in on them at night and it's all okay.

Disheveled hair, clutching their crumpled blanket with a stuffed snake poking out of their arms and drool dripping onto the pillow . . . LOVE it!!!

The good thing today: I can't help but giggle when they twitch!

Teresa

Sacrifice

In October LDS General Conference 2010 Elder Holland gave a beautiful talk titled

"Because of your faith"

Here is an excerpt that I found to speak directly to me.

"When I was called to serve a mission back before the dawn of time, there was no equalization of missionary costs. Each had to bear the full expense of the mission to which he or she was sent. Some missions were very expensive, and as it turned out, mine was one of those.

As we encourage missionaries to do, I had saved money and sold personal belongings to pay my own way as best I could. I thought I had enough money, but I wasn’t sure how it would be in the final months of my mission. With that question on my mind, I nevertheless blissfully left my family for the greatest experience anyone could hope to have. I loved my mission as I am sure no young man has ever loved one before or since.

Then I returned home just as my parents were called to serve a mission of their own. What would I do now? How in the world could I pay for a college education? How could I possibly pay for board and room? And how could I realize the great dream of my heart, to marry the breathtakingly perfect Patricia Terry? I don’t mind admitting that I was discouraged and frightened.

Hesitantly I went to the local bank and asked the manager, a family friend, how much was in my account. He looked surprised and said, “Why, Jeff, it’s all in your account. Didn’t they tell you? Your parents wanted to do what little they could to help you get started when you got home. They didn’t withdraw a cent during your mission. I supposed that you knew.”

Well, I didn’t know. What I do know is that my dad, a self-educated accountant, a “bookkeeper” as they were called in our little town, with very few clients, probably never wore a new suit or a new shirt or a new pair of shoes for two years so his son could have all of those for his mission. Furthermore, what I did not know but then came to know was that my mother, who had never worked out of the home in her married life, took a job at a local department store so that my mission expenses could be met. And not one word of that was ever conveyed to me on my mission. Not a single word was said regarding any of it. How many fathers in this Church have done exactly what my father did? And how many mothers, in these difficult economic times, are still doing what my mother did?

To you, Mom and Dad, and to all the moms and dads and families and faithful people everywhere, I thank you for sacrificing for your children (and for other people’s children!), for wanting so much to give them advantages you never had, for wanting so much to give them the happiest life you could provide."

I am a working mother, I love my job and am grateful for the opportunity I had to get an education. I have 3 beautiful children who are the center of my world and because they need a roof over their heads and clothes on their backs I work.

Some mothers can stay at home full time, but that is a luxury I don't yet have. I want my children to know how to work, that sacrifices MUST be made and that I will do anything for their happiness and wellbeing.

The good thing today: I had less guilt clocking in for work this week.

Teresa

Float Pool

I am a float pool nurse. That means I work:

Med/Surg

Cardiac

ICU

ER

OB

Nursery

NICU

Rehab

and I have the privilege of maintaining the huge amount of certifications and eduction hours to work these floors. Needless to say: I don't get bored!

My Sunday night as a Float Pool Nurse:

1900 arrive at work and assigned to rehab.

Because I'm the float nurse I get the patient's the other nurses don't want or are just tired of.

My glasses fall off my face into a bunch of urine . . . gross!

(Guess I won't be using those the rest of the night!)

2300 transfered to ER because they are getting slammed and REALLY need me

(at least that's what I'm told)

I run for 45 minutes before getting transfered to ICU

2345 Clock in at ICU

Deal with a drug overdose

Called a Mother F$%#@r exactly 36 times

Spit at and nearly bit.

I actually had to use the line "you can pull on those restraints all you want, but in the end I WILL win!"

0730 clock out and head for home, VERY grateful my replacement was on time ;)

While it was a bit more exhausting than usual it still was a typical night! Yikes right?!

The good thing today: the only red liquid I got on my scrubs was Crystal Lite!

Teresa

Kindergarten

My children will tell you how smart they are, and I will agree with them!

I love that my boys get to go to school together this year, partly because I have only 1 kid for a few hours but also so:

they can go to bed on time together

get ready together

do homework together

run to the bus stop together

and all that other stuff that is menial but important!

Kindergarteners are the best. So innocent and everything is so new!

This is my youngest boy on his first day.

As a mom it's hard to send my boys some days because kids are ruthless and a lot of parents don't care. They get their feelings hurt, learn naughty words and see the world unfiltered.

However, I also don't want the kid who greats the world for the first time at 18. Yikes!

The good thing today: My son called me sexy . . . that was before I explained to him what it meant ;) He was a bit embarressed!

Teresa