Jumping on Beds..........

Pumpkin Patch

Could today be any more beautiful????

What an awesome day and so lucky that it was a short day for the kids. Also lucky that Mannie was home....which meant we all headed out to my favorite pumpkin patch at Irvine Regional Park.

It was so perfect....so Fallish, so Halloweenish!! (yes I am making up my own words!)

Another bonus was that is was not crowded!!!! Yippee! Crowds always put a little bit of a damper on this sort of fun, don't you agree?

So, we picked out pumpkins....

Went in the haunted house....which sorta looks more like a general store...but inside it was SCARY!!;)

Drove the little deers....have I ever mentioned how much Cami loves to drive....don't be surprised if you see her on the news one day .."8 year old takes parents car joy riding!"

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saw lots of spooky decorations...

Very spooky, spooky decorations...

ran thru the haystack maze and got boo'd by Mannie...

saw lots of pumpkins.....

went on a tractor ride....

Beautiful Fall Day!!!   I was in Fall Heaven!!

Webkinz Birthday!

Well, I would say Cami's birthday was a big success!

She requested a Webkinz birthday.

So, here's what we did....

Set the table as best I could to make it look like a Webkinz party....

they don't sell Webkinz party stuff at any of our party stores nearby....I think maybe not at all...so I found some general "animal" paper plates for the party.  I printed Webkinz print and characters for some little additional decorations like the little embellishment for our flowers....the red crepe paper circle thing was made by Candice Carpenter....it was in a holiday kit I got from her shop a few years  back....I hope she makes more of these...i think they are pretty and would come in handy for any occasion.

The kids had some centers to go to....each center had a project related to Webkinz World....the kids could earn "Kinz cash" at each station.....they could purchase items at the "W store" after all the centers were completed and they had earned lots of $$$....so first order was to make a Webkinz headband...worth 5 kinz.....Cara too cool to pose for a pic with it on....(I don't blame her ;)

Next up......Dr. Quack's Clinic....they had to check on the health of their Webkin.....all healthy and they got a lolli and 10 kinz for that visit.

Then they went on "The Secret Chef" t.v. show....it is a little cooking show that comes on one of the t.v.'s that Charlie has purchased in Webkinz World from the W Shop......when Charlie "cooks" for his Webkinz on Webkinz World, he always makes "Gunk"....so kids were to make food for their Webkin...preferably not Gunk!  Worth 14 kinz. Their Webkin pets are watching them make the food.

Next stop.....The Curio Shop......they had to hunt for gems

...each gem was worth 1 kinz except the "special" gem of the day which was "Pink Cupcake Gem"....those were worth 5 kinz....funny, yet gross, thing happened....they were collecting their gems in the "dangerous thorn cave" and Cara found a dead mouse that was decomposing!!! How disgusting is that?????  Gotta love the mice issue over here!

 

Then we all went inside to the "W Store" so the kids could buy stuff!!!! 

 

They counted out all the correct change and re evaluated how much money they had left to buy other things....it was fun.  Mannie was in charge of the money (of course! LOL).

  Cara ran out of kinz cash and she wanted to buy some candy so Mannie gave her a "loan".....she had to do the dishes to pay him back!! ;) just kidding, we aren't that mean!     Actually, it cracks me up that Mannie will get on the computer and play games for them to win them more money!  I have done the same but the only game I will play is the one where the pig eats all the food....kinda like Pacman. 

 

Well, we had dinner and are now awaiting cupcake time and time to sing happy birthday to my sweet birthday girl who I'd say, had a pretty darn great day!   We are having a "big party" with friends at the end of October as a double party for Cam and Charlie....and as much as I love getting all our friends together, I have to say, this little party with just the 3 of them was so wonderful....lots of fun stuff just without all the craziness that comes with a big group!  I really enjoyed it, just being able to really watch them have fun!  

Now I need to figure out what to do for Charlie's mini birthday party!!

I {Heart} Cami!

Today started at 12 am.....of course, right?  Well, what I mean is that at 12 am, a little sweet angel came walking into our room to climb into bed.....I thought that was a neat coincidence since today is her birthday!!!!  So I got to wish her a happy birthday at the very beginning of her day and give her hugs and kisses!!

Miss Cami came into my life a complete surprise as Charlie was just 2 months old when we found out we were having another mini Adams!!!  So, I then spent nine months nuturing 2 babies at once....one in my arms, one in my uterus.  She has kept me on my toes ever since day 1!!! 

Cami is an interesting kid.....she loves life and speaks her mind.  She loves to laugh and have fun!  I love her laugh, even when it is the mischievous cackle, I still love it!!   She loves art, kitties, lizards, dinosaurs, really any animal but those are her top faves...she loves to curl up and read books with me, loves gum and candy, the littlest pet shop animals, playing with her brother and sister, going to the pool or anywhere to swim for that matter....and most of all, she loves her binkie (yes, you heard me.....Cami still sucks on a bink, pacifier, at night at 5 years old!!!)....but the "binkie fairy" is coming to take them away now that she has turned 5!!!  Funny, the binkie fairy came when Cara was 3, Charlie was 4 and now at 5 for Cami.....funny how that works!Mommy gets progressively lazier about the whole thing as time goes on )  The truth is that all in the world is at peace when Cami has her binks and it is going to be a rough week giving them up.....she is one determined little girl so hopefully that will work in her favor rather than the other way.    

Anyway, just wanted to write a little something about my Cami in honor of her today.

Funny how your path in life is so unknown....going from infertility to surprise babies!!!  My friend helped start an infertility site......I thought I would link in honor of today....a special day for my baby and a day to thank God for the gifts He has given me.....a baby that is a testament to determination and the body overcoming obstacles and ....if you have any fertility issues the link may give you some answers.

I LOVE you Cami!!!  You add so much spice and happiness to our lives!!!

I {heart} Sunday Part 2

I {Heart} Sunday was the title from last week and again, today it has been on mind ALL day....how much I LOVE Sunday!!!  I do, I love that we can all hang out as a family all day!!!! It has been such a wonderful day and we have not left the house!!

A friend of mine posted a video on Facebook titled, "What Matters Most"......such a sweet, quick message about how important it is to recognize and appreciate those who we LOVE.....how important it is to spend quality time together.....well, today I got to spend quality time with 4 people that are very special to me.....4 people that I love with all my heart.

We did nothing extraordinary.....I made a really nice breakfast for us of pancakes, eggs, bacon and these yummy cinnamon rolls from Trader Joe's (frozen section), and strawberry protein smoothies.....Mannie watched football and folded laundry.....I cleaned the kitchen (shocker!).... I also finished that darn book that haunted me all week.....don't recommend....we played on the science table....now Pumpkin life cycle....

we played little games like this pattern clothes line game that I had from teaching...

.the kids worked together to clean the playroom and other various messes around the house....since they worked together, they got to pick a card from the "Happy Box"....picture to show so you know what I mean....the box....

the card.....

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a treasure hunt was picked....ugh....but that is okay, it is Sunday and surely I have time to get something ready as well as some fun goodies to throw around the house....I didn't feel like doing the tradition treasure hunt where I use masking tape and make arrows on the ground for the kids to follow and find goodies along the way.......too much work for today....instead I decided on clues with prizes....they had to solve the clue to find the next location....it was great, they loved it....although I think Charlie likes the original way since it always involves tunnels made from pillows in the family room...again, too much work for today.....

Anyway.....here are some of the clues....

that is toy + let  .......get it?  toilet...

.so they had another clue and a prize in the bathroom on the toilet (seat down of course :)

Here is another clue....tea + V.....t.v.....

.their first clue was hidden next to the t.v. with the next clue....

and so on.....

Anyway.....I could go on and on about our day.....a FULL day of playing, making stuff, reading, watching sports and hanging out  together....it seriously DOES NOT get any better for ME!!!! Love hanging out with these guys....love using my imagination to come up with fun stuff to do at home too!!  

But mostly, just appreciating WHAT MATTERS MOST....TIME with the ones I LOVE!!  So thankful for them.

Off to figure out a quick easy dinner.....it is late for us....5:15 right now.

Hope you had a nice day with someone you love!

Happy Sunday!

Transformation

Soccer today......HOT, scorching hot!!!!

Cami went from this........

to this........

She scored her first goal and it definitely sparked a good feeling about the game for the Camster.....she was much more aggressive and the complaining ended immediately.

We shall see if she remembers how it felt next weekend....of course I don't blame her one bit....I would not want to be out there on the field in this heat!!!

I am almost done with the Lost Symbol....I can't wait to finish....tonight I will finish.....the book is wearing on me, my last Dan Brown book for sure....too similiar to his others and too much unneccessary info.....I still want to go to D.C. though and I want to bring the book and check some of the places out.   

I wrote some other stuff......but Oh, never mind!  

Have a fun weekend.....stay safe.

I am a Good Citizen!

or a servant depending upon how you want to look at it.....

This is a picture that Charlie drew at school yesterday.....that is me getting him a drink.....and that is a bowl of mac and cheese with a fork in it!  Wow, I have got some BIG hands, no?  I guess that is why we have pitchforks as silverware!!! :)  I would love to be able to hear his thoughts and wondered how the teacher described what makes a good citizen and how that translated into "My mom gets me drinks".....I think it is cute and I appreciate that he thinks I am a good citizen but it cracked me up a little.  Maybe he was thirsty when they were making this?  He is such a cutie and he loves his Mamma.....all I ask for.

I finally got the two messiest rooms under control.....the family room and kitchen (they are the center of my house) so I always feel relieved to have those room clean even if the rest of the house is a disaster.

Before:

Before shot taken yesterday morning...when I neglected it and let the kids decorate b/c I wasn't feeling well and couldn't put down The Symbol!

After:

There are still dishes in the sink......always dishes in the sink!!!! Picture taken this morning....even with the dishes, I still feel way more stress FREE seeing it look this way!!!!

So happy it is Friday and even happier that I remembered Picture Day!!!!....do you remember the time I forgot picture day? That is when Cara was in kindergarten "Goth Girl".....I can't believe I was blogging then and still am....and if you remember the story, it means you have been reading for a long time now.

Well, off to get dressed and get Charlie boy, fellow good citizen, to school.

Are you a good citizen?  If you are not sure, just get someone a drink of water today and join the "Good citizens Club"!!!! 

Happy Weekend!

Notes to me!

Notes to me for today!

1. tomorrow is picture day!

2. tomorrow is picture day!

3. tomorrow is picture day!

4. Set out clothes for the kids that are not black with bats! 

5. clean the house TODAY!

Lights from last nights official Adams Family Halloween tree lighting ceremony!

Yahoo! 

Off for a date with hubby!!!!!!!!! yay!!! 

Have a fun day!

Halloween Time!

It is not even October and we are in full Halloween mode over here!

The kids all have their costumes now and we are currently decorating...and by "we" I mean the kids.  I am not feeling well today.  Unfortunately I didn't know I was going to feel sick this morning when I told the kids we could decorate.  Once you tell the kids something fun like that, you have to follow thru.  

The house is a mess....I never like to start decorating for a holiday with a messy house...the Halloween boxes are everywhere.  I am going to let them have their fun and put things were they want and then later when I feel better, I will clean and put the decorations in their usual spots.  

I love seeing how excited the kids are for the holidays.  Love to see it all thru their eyes and remember my own childhood memories.  

We are going to hang lights outside but Mannie is in charge of anything electrical and he is busy working right now so the kids are just chomping at the bit....he told them after dinner. 

Dinner?  I hate thinking about dinner when I don't feel well......and we have sausages of all things.....I can barely type the word......I think Mannie will BBQ them(that is another one of his "jobs" - he is the head BBQ expert of the family).  He is a good guy...walking the kids to school for me this morning b/c my foot hurt....different story.....now I know he will get dinner ready for us all since I don't feel well.  Thankful for him.

I am enjoying the book(The Lost Symbol in case you haven't read the latest posts)....it is predictably unpredictable....very similiar framework as the Da Vinci Code but the little symbolisms and mysterious riddles so to speak are different so it is holding my attention.....not wanting to put it down but I think it is 500 pages so I can't just read and read and read and ignore the kids...maybe that is why my house is a disaster right now.....that and the Halloween explosion.

Oh well....all in good time, order will be restored and I will have finished the book and can move on with life.....I could see this one becoming a movie for sure....I never did see the Da Vinci Code, just read the book.  I sort of don't see Tom Hanks as the main character which is maybe why I never went to see the DaVinci Code.....but one thing is for sure.....I can't wait to go to Washington D.C. and check out the Capitol building.

Alright, I will go survey the Halloween damage, move  things around a bit and then back to bed to read!  Is it bedtime yet??  I see it is almost time to get dinner going......bleach!

Have a good night.

P.S.....can you read this or is the font too small?....I usually like to make the font bigger but the new Typepad is annoying about increasing the font size.    

Happy Fall!

Fall in California = Fire and Heat!

It is so hot here!  And it is going to be this way all week!

On my mind:

1. Planning an after { school }  Halloween scrapbook class.

2. Planning a Halloween/birthday party for Cami and Charlie

3. Planning a family only birthday for Cam for next week.

4. Reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and thinking it is very similiar to the DaVinci Code...not sure if that is good or bad yet.

5. Hoping the heat chills a bit.

6. Enjoyed hanging with Susan and Suzy today.

7. Excited for a possible visit from my parents!

8. Thankful for family and friends.

9. Thankful the kids are going to bed early each night! 

10. Looking forward to a spinach salad and pizza for dinner! 

11. Calling Sheela back ( I am blogging as you are leaving me a message!! :)  

12. Not enjoying the new little quirks of Typepad.

That is on my mind on this 22nd day of September 2009!! 

Me and Cam today

Today is overcast.

Cam has a cough.

We are hanging out in my scraproom.

Cami is drawing a big elaborate story, telling me the story as she goes.

They are doggies...mean doggies.

Cami has a dark side....have you ever seen When Harry Met Sally?  I always think of that scene when Sally and Harry were discussing having a dark side.

Cam and I will be staying at home and snuggling and resting today.

Hopefully I can sneak some reading in during the resting time. 

The book is good, but speaking of dark sides....the book is full of dark stuff.

Hope you are having a good Monday!