I YA U ME

M has been a talking machine lately. She never ceases to amaze us with the things she picks up and then repeats at the perfect time. She can hold a full-on conversation that will quickly make you forget that she's only a little over two. And that's why it's so cute when she reverts back to her toddler speak.

The other day we were sitting on the couch before bed. She climbed in next to J and began the usual rubbing of his head. She then inched her face into his and said, "I ya you, J." He ignored her. She tried again. Without taking his eyes off of the television set, he acknowledged her with an "Okay" that sounded more like a grunt. Not one to be easily discouraged, she went for it once again:

M: I ya you, J.
J: (Silence).
M: (Continues to stare at him in anticipation of a response ~ there is none.)

And then finally:

M: I ya you me, J?
J: (Silence).
M: I YA YOU ME, J!!!!
J: Okay, M. Yeah, I love you.
M: Okay.

The girl knows what she wants and she's going after it even if she has to beat it out of you!

And, since we're in the "loving" sort of mood: Today is Valentines Day, so I'll throw in a couple of pictures of the kids with their Valentines cards:





A picture of the cards with their kids would be a more accurate description, but whatever. They loved their new shirts: a TS3 one for J (of course), and an Olivia for M.

D even got me a new coffee mug in my favorite yellow color. I ya you, D!

Happy Heart's Day!

'Hood Crawl

Like a kid-friendly version of a pub crawl that included an eclectic cast of characters:

Jesse & Buzz,

Jaws & Casper,


Wolverine & Spider Girl,

a spider-observing dragon,

And Princess Leah,

they went from house to house;

five in all.

For there were crafts to be made,

games like Pumpkin Bowling,

and Skittles Toss to be played,

A pinata to crush,

cupcakes,

worm-infested dirt,

and candy to be eaten.

Not to mention a Haunted House scary enough

to have the Defender of the Universe

biting his nails!

It was the Woodtrails

1st Annual Halloween

'Hood Crawl!

This to That

It was right around this time last year that I told myself I was going to take a sewing class. While I don't aspire to stitch together haute couture, I do think that it's helpful to know your way around a sewing machine for certain things. On top of that list would be Halloween costumes. There's always the stuff at the store, but there seems to be two categories for those, cheap and ugly or decent and expensive.

When I decided M was going to be Jesse this year I looked to see what I could find. There was plenty that fell into both of the slots above but nothing in her size. So I went to JoAnns and bought the fabric. After some cutting and trimming, stitches were added to this,

along with a hat,

and she ended up with that:

You'll notice the after buying the fabric, the word "I" was never used in the above step by step. That's because "I" didn't do anything but buy the fabric. I haven't even taken the sewing class yet. My mom gets all the credit for her costume. She did it all by hand. She's amazing at doing stuff like that. When I was young I would show her a dress I liked and she'd go home and make it without a pattern. She made the mattress for the kids' bassinet and more recently she stitched a place mat into a pillow.
Intimidating? Yeah, a little. I should have learned from the best when I had the chance to do so. (Sigh).

Anyway, once M's costume was all done, I started to look for something J could wear. There was NO way I was going to put my mom through making a Buzz Lightyear costume without a sewing machine. Although she probably could have if given some time.
Instead I resorted to the store variety. The cheap-and-ugly store variety to be exact.
I couldn't bring myself to spend $50 bucks for the Disney Store version.
Did I mention it was the Wal-Mart-cheap-and-ugly store variety?

But when I added these

to the polyester, one piece, painted on, no muscle
Buzz Lightyear, he had this:

A much more respectable Space Ranger if I do say so myself.


Our trip to the pumpkin patch was late this year
and it was slim pickins once there:

But we did manage to get a decent one.

With a little bit of this

and a little bit of that

we had a scary Jack 'o Lantern in no time.

And so the day finally came.

The sun was out and the rain stayed away.

The candy, the kiddos, and the house were ready.

And just like that, it went.

The candy bowl is empty; the costumes, piled on the floor;

and the sun has been replaced by wind and rain causing the

pretty looking porch to go from that to this

in less than 24 hours.

Happy November Everyone!

The Invasion Continues

This is one of those entries that was supposed to happen back at the start of summer; back when I thought Toy Story 3 Mania was at its peak around our house. The paraphernalia had been out for months in anticipation of the June 18 opening.

June 18 was also J's last day of Kindergarten. I decided to go with an all TS3 theme for his celebration. I bought him a shirt; got up early to get the tickets for his and Daddy's movie date that evening; and because I couldn't find the perfect TS card, made him one.

My mom sent him TS2 a week or so earlier, and after watching it to his heart's content, he was ready to tackle the 3-D experience.

Summer got off to a good start and quickly other things to blog about upstaged the Toy Story story. The kids were still interested, but I figured I'd throw it into the "To Scrap" file and get to it in about 10 years.

But those toys -- oh, those toys. They're nonstop, those toys.

They're gigantic with expanding wings and a voice...

They're medium-sized and they're tiny.

And they're everywhere! On any given day at any given time, no matter how many times I pick them up, one will always show up again.

I told this to D the other day and he said the folks over at Pixar must be onto something. He's making a believer out of me. Now, if only the same folks over at Pixar would make a toy that cleaned house or did laundry while I'm not looking.....

M's caught the bug too. She calls anything Toy Story Bize (Buzz), except for Jesse, who is Sesy. She has a soft Buzz; a Buzz cup, which is the only cup worthy of her milk; the Alien (A-Yen) pictured above is hers; and although she has her own t-shirt, an adorable pink one with Jesse on it, she prefers to wear her brother's.

School starts next week. We've checked off all the items on the supply list. And it looks like we'll be joined by the same friends we started summer with.

In addition to all that he's also coerced me to buy him a new t-shirt as part of his back-to-school gear. M did too ~ and she ain't going nowhere!

Those toys -- oh, those toys.

I'll be picking them up To Infinity and Beyond.