Thursday Randoms

 

The past couple of days the weather has been a lot cooler, especially in the mornings. We have gotten to break out some of the Fall clothes finally! Brooke wore the owl shirt I found her at Kohl's the other week. Green and owls.. what's not to love?!

Arnold was able to have the afternoon off yesterday, and we took the kids to a park down the road from our house. The girls love to swing as long as we will let them! They also found some kids to play with while we were there. Brooke is so social!

We celebrated my Father-in-law's birthday this week. They had us over to their house for pizza and homeade chocolate cake. The kids sang Happy Birthday to him. Then they got all sugared up (and right before bedtime, too!!) But it was a fun family get-together. Happy Birthday Pop!

Brooke and Caleb had their school check ups this week. I finally got around to making the appointments when they sent home a letter from school, oops! Their birthdays aren't until August so we don't have long to get them done. They both grew about 2 1/2 inches last year! They are going to be SO tall one day. Caleb thought it was hilarious that he had to pee in a cup, but Brooke didn't want to, and actually cried. We never could get a sample from her! Both the kids did well, and Caleb was brave through the shots he had to get. They both aced their hearing test, but Caleb didn't do too well on the vision test. The bottom few lines were blurry to him. They are wanting him to go to the eye dr now for an exam. Little buddy will probably have to wear glasses like his Mama! But we aren't surprised since I have worn them since I was around 8 years old.

Love that a Country Music Special came on this week. Kept me busy while Arnold was at band practice! I didn't even know it was on until I saw a friend's status about it on FB! So thanks! ;) I was dancing around the living room when Luke Bryan was singing, ha! Love me some country music. I am even more into it now that the band Arnold is in plays it, too.

I saw this cute idea online and knew I was going to have to try it for the kids. So the other afternoon, I made these "Spiders" for them as an afternoon snack. They actually used raisins in the ones they pictured, but my kids don't really care for them, so I substituted Reese's Pieces. They ended up looking more "Fallish" anyway! The kids really liked them. I even sent an extra batch with Arnold to band practice that night, and the guys ate them as a snack. Haha! :)

Put up a few Fall decorations around the house this week. Can't believe it is that time already! I love stores like the Mighty Dollar this time of year, because you can get some cheap decor stuff. I got the fake flowers and leaves on the right from there. And I also filled a bowl with pinecones and leaves that I put on the kitchen table, along with my Fall placemats. I already had the owls, so I put them up there. The frame on the right is the one I found brand new in box at Goodwill the other day! So cute.

I also tried a new recipe this week, I actually found it on someone's blog. It sounded easy enough, so I thought I'd try it. Everyone knows I really don't like to cook, so it is big when I actually want to try something. Anyway-- it was just a layer of penne pasta, a layer of marinara sauce, a layer of shredded mozarella cheese, a layer of veggies (I chose red and yellow peppers since my kids will eat them), sprinkled on some basil spice, and then after I baked it I sprinkled parmasean cheese on top. It turned out pretty good. And Caleb even ate it all and asked me to make it again sometime! That was quite a compliment since Caleb is usually a picky eater! ;)

This is a picture of the Butterfly costume that Rachel is going to wear for Halloween this year! Isn't it cute? Love all the pink. This is the costume I found at that kid's consignment sale last weekend for $5! What a steal! I love Old Navy costumes because they are so cute, but they are also good quality and warm material. 

One of my friends, Amanda, had her baby boy this week! His name is Gavin Oliver, and he is precious! I haven't gotten to go see him yet, but hopefully next week. She did post some pics of FB though, for everyone to see. Makes me miss mine being so little! :)

A couple of afternoons this week Rachel and I have been able to sneak in a little afternoon nap. It has been raining alot, so the perfect weather for it! Of course we don't lay there that cute and perfectly... it's more like snoring, spread out, and drooling, ha! But it's nice to get some rest when we can!

I am proud of Caleb, because he is doing so much better lately at his handwriting, and particularly writing his name. He has to practice it every night for homework. Of course he isn't writing in cursive yet, ha! ;)