Happy Halloween!!

Here are a couple of photos of my favorite Pumpkins! I have many pumpkins around my house, even in the kitchen and bathroom.

We are having some friends over for homemade chili and hot dogs, then we'll take the kids trick-or-treating. Nathan does NOT like to dress up, never has. So, we're still not sure what his costume will be...Kyle and Ryan (our neighbor) are going to spray paint their hair green and spray glow-in-the-dark paint on their shirts and scare the little kids coming to the door to get candy...so mean!! Be safe!

"Home" Sign...Cheap!

I bought this "Home" sign last week at Big Lots, formerly Pic-N-Save. I had not been there in a LONG while and stopped in to get Halloween favors for my class. They had some nice stuff...even furniture! This sign is metal and beautifully distressed, I didn't do anything to it, just sat it in the window sill. Guess how much it cost? $14.

Wordless Wednesday #10 ~ Simple and YUMMY!!

Gluten-Free, only 3-Ingredients, and YUMMY!

Typical Saturday Morning

10:00 on a Saturday morning. Kyle is sleeping...typical teenager...although he does have to get up soon to go to the gym for his training session.

Me, doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen, catching up on the computer, looking through the boys' school work, making beds...you know, the normal Mom stuff!

Darrell is washing the cars while Molly supervises! Nathan did help him...for about 2 minutes!

Nathan is watching some mindless cartoon and eating cookies. Nice...whatever! I don't feel like arguing this morning. He did already eat some waffles.

SO, now you've seen a typical Saturday at our house. What's wrong with this picture...stinkin' kids!! What's happening at YOUR house?

Nathan's Violin Class

Nathan had his first violin "performance" today. Let's just say it was very cute, but they need practice...and I mean THEY NEED PRACTICE. They actually did very well for only being in the class for a few weeks. The second picture is of Nathan and his good buddy Blake. We wish Blake lived closer...like next door!! Luckily, we already own a violin from Kyle's violin days. If you ever want to listen to a practice, just call and we'll turn on speaker phone! I bet the improvement over the school year will be remarkable...hopefully!!!

By the way, Nathan's Grammy works at Orange County High School of the Arts...maybe he can go there when he's older!

MAMMOGRAM~

I went to the Dr. this morning, and on the way out of her office she said, "Oh, and by the way, now that you're 40, you need a mammogram. Stop by and get one on your way out TODAY!!" WHAT? She knows I hate stuff like that, but I did it anyway. Guess what? It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be...really, I wouldn't lie to you!! I've had 3 good friends recently diagnosed with breast cancer. They are all in different stages of treatment. Anyway, no picture today, just words. I didn't wanna take a picture of my...well you know what I mean. So, if you're due for a mammogram, GO GET IT!! It was way easier than having blood drawn. Early detection is key...

Wordless Wednesday #9 ~ Gluten-Free Food

$98 at Whole Foods. YIKES!

Red Ribbon Walk Against Drugs

This past Saturday Darrell took Nathan to the City of Mission Viejo Walk Against Drugs. I'm not sure how far they walked, but they were gone all morning. There were thousands of people in attendance. I think they had fun, although they were both hot and tired when I picked them up. Aren't they cute??

Whole Lotta Puppy Food!

Molly cannot eat "regular" puppy food like most dogs. She has food "issues." Those of you who know our family will not be at all surprised by this. The food she eats, for dogs with sensitive digestive systems, comes in 20 pound bags. Holy cow, Molly only weighs 9 pounds...and she eats about a cup of food per day. If we have a big earthquake, we could feed all the dogs in the neighborhood depending on where she is in her bag of food. Check out the picture...pretty funny and a visual image of this craziness.

Kansas Girl Allergic To WHEAT!!??

How can it be?? The girl from Kansas (that's me) is allergic to wheat! I don't really get how, at 40 years old, they can finally diagnose an allergy. It is not a itchy eye, stuffy nose kind of allergy. It affects your small intestines and doesn't let your body absorb vitamins, nutrients, iron, calcium...and so on. Who knew?? SO...no more wheat for me. No bread. No pasta. No tortillas. No muffins. No donuts. I have been shopping at the organic markets for Gluten-Free products. Some of them taste okay, but they're expensive. Anyone have any good Gluten-Free recipes???

Fall Centerpiece

SO...I decorated my house for fall a couple of days ago, however I was not happy with the dining room table. I had removed the placemats and put a couple of pumpkins there, but it didn't look "right." I went to JoAnn Fabrics and bought some fabric, put it under the pumpkins (didn't even sew the edges), and sprayed the small pumpkins a cream color (oh how I love spray paint), and moved stuff around a bit. Much better now! By the way, the big pumpkin is real, that's why it doesn't sit straight on the pedestal! NOW it looks "right."

Wordless Wednesday #8a ~ No More Bumper!!

Darrell was taking Kyle to guitar lesson tonight and, according to Kyle, "a 90 year old geezer who couldn't even walk smashed into the back of them without even braking!!" They are all okay, but the Honda Civic Hybrid...uh, not so okay. By the way, they had to tape the bumper together with athletic tape from Kyle's baseball bag to drive home. I know this is supposed to be "wordless", but it needed a couple of words.

Wordless Wednesday #8 ~ Under the Weather

I have not been feeling well lately, so this is where Molly and I have been spending our time...

Fall Is In The Air...

I LOVE FALL!! The weather cools down (although it is about 95 degrees today), the kids are back into the routine of school, and I get to decorate with gorgeous colors! The past 2 days I have been arranging and re-arranging all of my Fall and Halloween stuff. Most of it will stay up until after Thanksgiving, I will put away all the Jack-O-Lantern and get out the turkeys and pilgrims. By the way, I do have a ton of Fall decorations, many of them were gifts from my dear friend Barbie. She is moving back to CA from North Carolina...we are so happy!!

Uh-oh...Kyle's Ankle

Kyle and Nathan get SO beat up playing baseball. They both play so hard, and skateboard and bike and play football in the street...you get the point. Their arms and legs (and sometimes other body parts) always look like they've been in a terrible bar brawl...and lost!! Today Kyle fouled a ball off of his ankle...OUCH! You know it's bad when all of the spectators, from both sides, let out a big sigh...all at the same time. After that happened, he "jacked one over center!!" Baseball slang for "hit a huge homerun over center field!!" Nathan was playing in Hacienda Heights (about 45 minutes away) today. Both teams won...hooray!!

AND, it's not even noon yet and we're finished with baseball. Okay, I'm off to the market and Darrell is taking the boys to pizza with the team.

Y'All have a great week.

Jalapeno Peppers

Did you know that these dried red peppers??
Looked like this a few months ago???
I think it is so cool. The Jalapeno Peppers go on sale for 99 cents per pound. That's cheap! So, when they're on sale I buy a half a dozen or so and put them on my countertop. They look so pretty and they stay there for months and months. They finally disintegrate into seeds and red dust, but for awhile they are nice. First, they are green and smooth and plump. Then, they start to turn orange and shrivel up a bit. Finally, they look like the ones in the green dish...crisp and shriveled up with no water left in them. Hey, just thought you might like to know.

Before and After ~ Molly's Space

This is Molly's area in the kitchen. She also has a bed in our room, the bonus room, and the family room. She is so spoiled...who would do that for a DOG?? She is a messy girl. She takes her toys out of the basket, ALL OF THEM, everytime I pick them up. By the way, she also has a basket full of toys upstairs. She has not chewed up anything she's not supposed to, so I guess the toys are working.

What's A Guy To Do??!!

Poor Darrell. Poor, poor Darrell. The Angels baseball game and the Saints football game are on at the same exact time. They are flipping back and forth, yelling about foul balls and field goals, and trying not to miss a play on each game. You know these athletic organizations should get together and talk about game times. My Dear husband is so confused...football or baseball...baseball or football.

Is It RAINING??

We have had such a dry, hot, LONG summer! I could not keep my flowers from wilting, Kyle was sneezing his head off, and they tell us not to water our lawns because we are in a drought. Rain was predicted for early this morning and we woke up to sunshine. Yes, sunshine is good, but we want rain. Guess what? I was trimming palm trees in the backyard, and it started sprinkling. Enough to get the ground wet. Should I do my rain dance?? We could really use some rain. More. Rain. Please...

Molly's In Kindergarten

Okay, so let's just say she was NOT the star student. She was doing great at first. Walking on the leash, sitting when I told her to "sit", not barking. Then, she got tired and was done...we still had 40 minutes of class left!! The instructor was trying to help me get her to walk and heel, but she just wanted to sit and lay down. She has a birth defect in her front leg, and she tires very easily. I was trying to force her to walk, and I think she just was too fatigued. I talked to the instructor after the class, and we agreed not to push her too much, because of her "special needs." The photos were taken by Nathan...the first and second photo are Molly "walking", the third photo is the instructor "talking" to her, and the last photo is the car ride home. We had one very pooped puppy.