Sunday night ramblings...

Two posts in one weekend!  Look out!  I'm on a roll...

We are not off to a good start for this year's cold and flu season.  I was hopeful that since the kids are getting older that we'd be less inclined to get every.single.germ that daycare encompasses.  Wrong-o.  

Two weeks ago we all came down with strep throat.  Oddly enough, none of us had fevers.  Just really sore throats.  The boys and I enjoyed our antibiotics, while Scott "toughed it out".  To each their own...

Now, a mere two weeks later, poor Evan has hand, foot, and mouth disease.  I swore I would die if this struck our family again after Sean had it a year and a half ago.  But, we're in the thick of it and now our biggest challenge is making sure Sean doesn't get it again.  I'm not liking our chances.  I'm amazed at how well Evan has handled it.  The poor thing looks miserable with blisters and open sores on his hands, but you'd never know otherwise.  His demeanor is bright and cheery with a few extra hugs.  I can't complain.

I took him to urgent care this morning to get it in writing in the event we are out of work this week.  I'm anxious to see what daycare says about when he can return.  In the meantime, I didn't let that stop us from enjoying a nice weekend. 

My parents were nice enough to watch Evan while we went to Brielle's first birthday party on Saturday.  I was totally bummed he had to miss the party.  I wanted to see the two of them interact.  But, Sean had a good time after his mid-nap meltdown.  

Today, we just hung out at home.  Even though it was a bit chilly outside, it was such a beautiful, sunny day.  We bundled the kids up and headed outside for some fresh air hoping that would keep the germs from Sean.

We've been so busy on the weekends that I forgot how much the kids are entertained by things like leaves and sticks.  Seriously.

I also forgot how much I love my 50mm lens.

I'm sure it's going to be one of those crazy weeks trying to figure out who will stay home with Evan and scrambling to make lesson plans and get caught up at work.  But, for now, my babies are fast asleep, I have a stack of coupons and sales papers to go through, and everything is ready to go for our work week.  I need to look at the bright side of things...

Happy Halloween!

Yay!!  Halloween is over!  I think it's because it's the first "big" holiday since...the fourth of July?  But, we always over-do it.  To the point where I'm Halloween-ed out before the actual night of trick-or-treating.

I survived though.  I found someone to cover my 3rd hour so I could go to their Halloween party at daycare.  I mean, what's the point of having kids if you have to miss moments like this?

Could these two be any more alike?

After work we rushed over to my sister-in-law's house for our annual tradition of chili, cornbread, and mummy dogs (hot dogs with crescent rolls to look like a mummy - thanks Pinterest!).  We quickly ate, dressed the kids, and headed out for some candy.  Rainy weather didn't stop us!

The cutest penguins, fireman, and fire dog if I may say so myself.

And now with Halloween behind us, the most wonderful time of the year officially begins.  The "holiday season".  Squeee!!!  Christmas music on Pandora, shopping for gifts, pinning things on Pinterest to make for Thanksgiving, family, cooler weather, the first snowfall, jack frost nipping at your nose, need I go on?

I.can't.wait.

"A hint of grapes"

It was one of those gorgeous fall weekends in Michigan.  And that even includes a crazy storm early Saturday morning that woke everyone in the house up.  It was all so fitting considering it was the weekend before Halloween.  10 of us packed up and headed up to Traverse City for Kristen's bachelorette wine weekend getaway.  

After a week full of rapid strep tests, urgent care visits, and two days off of work, I made a last minute decision to stick with my plans to go up north.  I had been on meds for 24 hours, was feeling much better, and was surprised to get my blessing from Scott to leave him with the boys for the whole weekend.  I figured chances like this don't come around too often, grabbed my belongings, and got on the road as soon as possible.  6.5 hours later (rush hour + stopping for food + a 4.5 hour drive normally) and we arrived.  Mind you it was 11:30pm, crazy windy outside, and the house was set back in the woods on a lake.  Perfect setting for a horror movie.  #iwatchtoomanyscarymovies

We wasted no time dropping the bags off in our rooms and cracking open a few more bottles of wine.  We had some catching up to do to the other 6 girls who arrived earlier that day.  A dance party in the kitchen, a few rounds of Ellen's "Heads Up" game, and several empty bottles of wine later, we called it a night at 2am.

Saturday morning we were all awoken by the vicious storm.  But, the clouds parted and we were graced with some sporadic bouts of sunshine.  We all bundled up in some warm sweaters and boots, ate a quick breakfast, and hopped in the party bus to hit the wineries on Leelanau Penninsula.

It's truly all about who you know.  It just so happened that one of the girl's on the trip's architecture firm is doing work for the Brengman Brother's winery.  So, yup, we got the hook-up.  A private wine tour inside and outside and many bottles of wine both in the bottle and in the barrels were opened and shared.  While I can't say that the wine trivia was the most fascinating to me, I enjoyed seeing things behind the scenes.

Our short stop ended up being close to a 3 hour visit at Brengman Brother's, so we boarded the bus again and headed to Chateau de Leelanau for some more tastings and lunch.  The lunch was quite the fiasco, but was much needed for many of us.  We were ready for more wine!

One last stop at L. Mawby for some sparkling wines and dressed up employees in their Halloween outfits and our time ran out with the party bus.  We headed back for some relaxation and much needed naps.  We decided to order pizza in and hang out at the house Saturday evening.  After all, we had bachelorette gifts to open and a penis cake to devour.

We ended the night with several rounds of Mad Gab and Cards Against Humanity.  Seriously, both of those games are going on my Christmas list this year.  They were so much fun!  Although...I don't think I'd play Cards Against Humanity with my family.  It's a little raunchy...

Sunday morning we hit the road anxious to get home to our families and normal Sunday funday activities like laundry and grocery shopping.  It was a great little getaway and I can finally say I saw up north in the fall.  But, man, there's nothing like pulling in the driveway and having your 3 year old run out of the house and into your arms.  Maybe I should leave more often for moments like that...

My little ham at my parents' house a few weeks ago...

Such a serious, passionate guy...

Our "Halloweekend"!

We are in full-blown Halloween celebrating mode around here!  Last Thursday night, Scott and I put the finishing touches on the firetruck wagon while listening to the Tigers on the radio during their playoff game.  And just in time considering we had two Halloween events on Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

We made the decision over the summer that Sean would be a fireman and Evan would be a dalmatian.  How cute is that?!

But, of course, since then Sean has declared he wanted to be a witch, a ghost, and a skeleton.  Fortunately, all I needed to do was show him the wagon we were making and he was easily persuaded back into being a fireman.  We'll let him be a skeleton in his skeleton PJ's from Old Navy at his daycare party since wearing a fireman coat around inside all day will be too much.  Win-win for the both of us!

Friday after work we ordered in pizza and salad for a quick dinner, packed up the wagon and all the costume parts, and headed over to Greenfield Village for a 6:30pm entrance into their Hallowe'en event.  I hadn't gone to that since I was a kid, so I had no idea what to expect.  I was hoping for anything better than the Zoo Boo (that thing is seriously lame!  Could we walk by animals at least??)

Oh my gosh - this place was decked out to the nines!  Beautiful costumes on the employees, creative things for the kids to walk by and see including the grim reaper, the headless horseman, a spooky bridge, skits being performed, a fortune teller, pirates on the pond, etc.  There was never a dull moment and everything they did appealed to all ages - not just kids!

Seriously?!  Carved pumpkins hanging in a tree.  How clever!

It was a beautiful fall evening.  Not too chilly with temps in the 50's.  The harvest autumn full moon was out.

Scott was elated to have his picture taken with the boys with Roary.  So, all in all, it was a great family night!

And the wagon stayed in one piece!

It was a good thing because we needed it again on Sunday afternoon for the Plymouth Pumpkin Palooza event downtown.  I love this event!  But, I hate the time.  It's from noon-3pm.  Hello, nap time anyone?

We headed down a little before noon and rushed over to the Creatopia store's table so the kids could do their fingerprints.  They always do fingerprints on tiny square tiles and then turn them into something for you to pick up in December.  Adorable!  We also were lucky enough to be first in line to see the firetrucks!

The "real" firemen loved the boys' costumes and even said they could join their team with their firetruck wagon.  Perfect!

A few games of pumpkin bowling, pumpkin putt-putt, and trick or treat stations, we decided to head back home for naps.  It was getting extremely crowded, as it always does.  But, we left just in time to watch a local dance studio perform Thriller.  Sean was in heaven - that boy loves some MJ!

We'll be hanging up the fireman coat and boots this weekend, as I'm off to Traverse City for a bachelorette party.  But, I'm excited to finish off our Halloween celebrations with some pumpkin carving early next week, their daycare party the morning of Halloween, and trick-or-treating later in the evening with their cousins, Sydney and Adelaide.

Happy Halloween!