HAPPY HALLOWEEN

We love Halloween at our house. I think the reason is that it's one of the few holidays that doesn't have a "TRUE MEANING" that you have to remind the kids of. I'm sure there's one out there, but for the most part it's all about the fun, costumes and candy. Our holiday started out with a costume parade at the girls school and a carnival on Friday night (all I can say is THANK HEAVEN that is over!).

This is Shelby's teacher and her husband at the costume parade. How cute are they????? We absolutely love both of them. The school custodian put this out. I couldn't believe how many kids actually fell for it. Their little faces were hilarious as they walked by!!

Saturday, we started our celebrations by going to a Trunk or Treat. If you've never been to one, it's where everyone meets in a parking lot and brings candy. The kids walk from car to car picking up their candy. You get TONS in a LITTLE bit of time!!!! NICE!!! Then we went home and Chris walked around our neighborhood with them, while I stayed at home to pass out candy. We had a whopping 10 kids show up!!! Half of them were TERRIFIED of the 6ft. animated monster on my front porch. HA! (For the life of me, I can't get this stupid thing to rotate. Sorry. You're just going to have to turn your head!)

We got several comments on being "Like the Incredibles" because all of the kids were dressed as Super Heros. I thought it was kind of funny.

Don't even ask how long it took to curl her hair. Let's just say it took 3 times as long as the curls actually held!!

She really is quite a super little girl!!

She's definitely my feisty one! This was as girly as she was willing to go. haha

So cute!

At one point Preston closed a door that I honestly didn't think he had the strength to close and I said, "Good job I didn't think you could do that by yourself" he said, "Yeah, it's cause my costume has big muscles" hahahahaha Here he's straining to show the muscles on his costume.

Improvise

This week was Red Ribbon week at the girls' school, which means that they dress up for a different theme each day. Today was "Sports Day". Of course the girls wanted to wear Gator stuff, but good luck finding Florida Gator apparel at 9pm on a Thursday night in Cedar City, UT. Not gonna happen. So, we had to improvise. I made a mad dash into Wal-Mart on my way to work and got sweatshirts and iron on transfers. Then, I found a Gator graphic online, printed it off and made our own shirts. Yes, I realize that I broke every copyright law in the book, but oh well.. I had two happy girls this morning!!!! I have to admit though, I think Morgan was more excited about the fact that she got to wear her cleats to school than anything. I swear, she's all boy with a ponytail!

We've been making interchangeable watch bands a lot lately. The girls love them and we have so much fun making them together. These are the ones that I made for sports day. Shelby's is the basketball one and Morgan's is soccer.

Field Trip

Shelby had her first field trip for the year. We went to the Shakespearean Festival for a backstage tour and then to an art gallery. I was amazed how well the kids behaved in the art gallery. We were more than a little nervous about it lol. I love doing stuff like this with my kids. Shelby still likes having me at the school all the time and being very "hands on". I have a feeling that won't last much longer, so I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can, while I can.

My 2 favorite 2nd graders! (Shelby and Chloe)

Shelby and I in her classroom

I think they're both keepers! So cute!!!

H1N1

This week has been an adventure. One that I never really want to repeat, but an adventure none the less. We've spent a combined total of 9 hours and 15 minutes in the Dr.'s office. Morgan is feeling much better. She STILL gets sleepy several times a day, but when she's awake she goes full force. Shelby is feeling perfectly fine. Chris is sick, but ignoring it (imagine that). I think Preston is starting to come down with something. Not sure if it's actually H1N1, but we're giving him the girls Tamiflu until we can get him in on Monday, just to be safe. (Yes the Dr. said this is ok) The kids FINALLY get to leave the house tomorrow!!!! It feels like we've been on "House Arrest" since Monday. lol
We have a busy week ahead- Red Ribbon week, field trips, PTA meetings, school, work.........
I'll post pictures later.

Dress Up

Living Room

The living room is finally done..... for now. lol

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Eight years ago, I had the biggest "Oh Crap" moment of my life. I'll never forget it. I was sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, holding the most perfect 6lb (5 lbs 15.9 oz) baby I had ever seen, when it suddenly hit me that not only were "They" going to LET me take her home, but they were going to MAKE me take her home. I was officially responsible for raising another human being. That's a pretty overwhelming feeling, but a task that Chris and I both welcomed.

It seems like just yesterday that I went shopping for her tiny little blessing dress. Today, I began shopping for her baptism dress. That's just crazy to me. Shelby is truly a joy to raise. She was a great baby. Even through reflux and food intolerance's, she was always happy and pretty easy going. Today, she's still happy and for the most part pretty easy going (although she has her moments).

I love her little sense of humor. A while back, she started laughing about something. Well, her laugh was really loud and obnoxious and quite frankly sounded a little bit like she belonged in the Special Olympics. I said, "Shelby, do not laugh like that." Without missing a beat she said, "Oh, ok. Would you rather me laugh like this?... Or maybe I could do this one..." and went through an entire list of different laughs. I seriously thought I was going to pass out from laughing so hard. Even though she currently has the gnarly toothed 8 year old smile I LOVE to see it. Her smile is contagious and it brightens my day!

Shelby is also the sweetest and most tenderhearted little girl I've ever met. She shows so much compassion for those around her and will do everything she can to help someone. A couple of weeks ago, she came home from school so upset because a Teachers Aid in her classroom was having car trouble and had been crying about it when she got to work. Shelby overheard her telling the teacher that she couldn't afford to fix it. All on her own, she told the T.A. not to worry and that everything would be ok. Of course, she came home that night and asked her Daddy to help the lady out. She even offered to do extra chores around the house as trade for Chris working on her car. How sweet is that?????

She's incredibly smart. She knows more about American history and the way that the U.S. Government works than a lot of adults do. Last year, the school librarian came up to me and said, "I just have to tell you, I love Shelby. She came in yesterday and said, 'Mrs. Aiken, do you have any books about the Holocaust?'" We all thought it was funny coming from a 1st grader. She loves to read!!! She's also quite the little author. She writes stories and puts together books all the time. She's a math whiz (although that's not hard with the schools math program) She's also learning to play the violin and seems to really be enjoying it.

From day one, Shelby has been a "Daddy's Girl". The two of them have certain TV shows that they will only watch together, and even though Shelby is the prissy one of the family, she loves to hang out at the auto shop and gun range with her dad.

There isn't a day that goes by that we don't thank God for the opportunity to be her parents.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHELBSTER CHECKLES

The Honest Scrap

So I don't normally participate in stuff like this, but since it was Charon that tagged me, I thought I'd give it a shot (but only cause I love ya). Here's the thing: I have to list 10 honest things about myself then tag 9 other people (not sure if I can think of 9, but I'll give it a shot) So, here we go:

1) I usually DO NOT do email forwards. They bug me. I like to receive them, but I rarely ever forward them to other people.

2)I like products. Products of all kinds. You should see the collection of hair and skin products that I have. It's truly ridiculous. Cleaning products too. I literally have 2 full cabinets of nothing but household cleaning stuff. Now, you might not always know it just by looking at my house, but it's true. I realize that most of these things that promise to eliminate frizz, make you look 5 years younger, or dissolve grime instantly are just "snake oil", but I have to try it anyway. It's a compulsion.

3)I'm a horrible driver! Yes, I admit it (but only cause Chris rarely reads this). I've had 3 accidents (1 that almost killed me) and an embarrassing number of tickets over the years. I seriously go through a set of brakes about every 6 months. Chris HATES riding with me. "I've heard him say, "BRAKE! BRAKE! DAMN IT JANA BRAKE!.... Do I need to drive?" a bazillion times. If I have to pull over for any reason at all, my kids say, "Are you getting pulled over again?" Amazingly though, I fit right in when I lived in Vegas.... Nobody can drive down there! HA!

4)When I was little I was pigeon toed. My mom had it corrected, but if I get REALLY tired or REALLY upset, my left foot turns inward.

5) I moved to UT all by myself without knowing a single soul. I moved into my apartment site unseen, had no job, no friends... NOTHING!!! But I made it work.

6) After I moved out here my mom called me every single day BEGGING me to come home. Finally, towards the end of the summer, I called her and told her I wanted to go home. Out of nowhere she told me to pray and fast about it and if I still wanted to come home then she would fly out here and then drive back with me. Well, I actually did what she told me to do and that night Chris asked me out. Later she told me that she couldn't believe what she was hearing herself say. She heard the words coming out of her mouth and just couldn't make herself shut up. hahaha Guess it was meant to be!

7) I have a VERY strong testimony of Our Savior's love for me (well all of us) and the sacrifice He made for us. Everyone knows that I'm LDS (Mormon), HOWEVER I'm not a fanatical "Kool Aid drinker". Meaning, I don't just blindly believe everything that I'm told just because that person happens to hold the Priesthood. I have some issues with some of the rules and regulations but I believe that I would have that same problem with any organized religion. For me, this is the one that suits me best.

8) Besides Chris, I have 2 best friends- Charon and Celeste. Charon and I COULD! NOT! STAND! EACH! OTHER! until the 11th grade. Don't know why and don't really know what changed that made us start liking each other either, but whatever it was, I'm glad it happened. To this day we can send a simple email that says, "UH-UH Girl!" or something equally as vague and stupid and know EXACTLY what the other is talking about! hahaha Celeste just cracks me up. She and I are polar opposites, but we work. I laugh so stinkin' hard when I'm with her. We can be brutally honest with each other, and she doesn't think too much of it when she gets a text that says, "Do you want another husband?" (Yes Chris knows that we send those messages back and forth and no he doesn't care. He thinks it's funny!)

9) I'm a bargain shopper! Now, I'm not one of those crazy coupon cutter-outers but I LOVE a good sale! I firmly believe that if you shop the sales you can get cute, name brand stuff AS CHEAP if not CHEAPER than you can get it at Wal-Mart! My favorite day of the year is Black Friday and I start planning for it months in advance. Chris and his entire family think I'm nuts, but I love it!!! (By the Way- Celeste, the ads will start coming out at the end of this month!!!!! WOOHOO!! Hellacious Target line here we come.... riding the handicapped shopping cart all the way hahahahaha!)

10) I've had LOTS of nicknames throughout my life. The most common ones were: "Jbanay"- short for "Jana Banana" (Mamma), "Fat Little Girl" (Uncle Norman-it's ok, he's still one of my fave people in the world), "Birdshot" (Grandpa), "Sissy" (Andrea), "Baby Girl" (Aunt Paula and Chris) and "Toots" (Chris)

Ok, there are my 10 honest things. Dang, you never realize how boring you are until you start trying to think of interesting things about yourself!!!!!

So here are my 9 people that I'm going to tag (per the rules):

Andrea (Seriously? Think of a more creative name for your blog lol)

C-Town Millets

Celeste's Smorgasboard

Destination Dalton

Lydia Outnumbered

The Ramblings of a Stay At Home Mom

Four Fine Smiths

Grandma Char and Homefry

Set this Circus Down

Here are the rules:

1.) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.

2.) Share "10 Honest Things" about yourself.

3.) Present this award to 9 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.

4.) Tell those 9 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving.

Ok, have fun with this.