A little late but.....

It's late and I have notes to finish so I will update you more on our day later this weekend. Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!!

Stress relief coming our way....

Seeing as it is 10:00 at night and I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow, I'll make this quick.

Some of you may already know but for those of you who haven't heard yet, I have been a little stressed out lately. The reason for this is because I don't get a paycheck from my new job until November. That means I will work for two and a half months without a paycheck. Not fun. Especially since Christmas is just around the corner. So, I have decided to do something about it and get myself another job. Yep, you heard me right, I now have two jobs. Where is this other job you ask? I'll give you three guesses, but you'll probably only need one.

I went back to the only other place I feel comfortable working.....Sears. Ten hours a week I will be a photographer at the portrait studio. It's the least I can do to get my family back on our feet and give my son a Christmas he deserves. I know, Grandparents are there to give Jack anything and everything he needs, but what kind of mother am I if I can't even buy a few presents for my son? And I know everyone may be thinking that this job will stress me out even more and I won't have much time at home...but it's only 10 hours a week and there is no reason for me to get stressed out doing this job. I'm just a photographer...not a manager this time. Getting this job has actually de-stressed me a little this week and I'm looking forward to getting behind the camera again, even if it's just for a short time.

As for Jack, he has been wonderful. He has now started saying "thank-you" and "papa" as well as quite a few other words that we don't quite understand. He also loves saying "Diego" and throwing his hands up in the air while looking at the TV. Yeah, my kid loves TV....shoot me. We also had a great weekend visiting with family and enjoying some quality time together as a family. My dad also fixed my car that has been squeaking at me for weeks....thank-you so much, dad!!

We have a very busy week ahead of us, so I may not be able to post again until after Halloween. Look for lots and lots of pictures!!

Also, as a side note, I have to send my camera to Canon because it is malfuntioning *sniff, sniff*. What this means is that I will be without a camera for approximately 10 days after Halloween. I have no idea what I'm going to do!! I'll have to just post old pictures of our monkey for everyone to enjoy!

Okay, I think I'm done my rambling so here are some pictures from this weekend for your enjoyment.

These are just in case anyone ever wondered what it would look like if Mark and I had a little girl....she would be just as cute as Jack =)


And last but not least...my kid watching the Backyardigans at Grammy's....

Happy Birthday Kasey!!

This post is one that I'd like to dedicate to Jack's best buddy, Kasey. He is two years old today and having a grand ol' time in Disney World with mommy and daddy. Lucky family, they missed the snow!! Anyway, I was there the day that Kasey was born and he's always been very special to our family. I remember that morning like it was yesterday. If you know Kasey, you know his story and the fact that he is quite the fighter. We love this little man and hope he had a fabulous day with his family. Below are just a few pictures of Kasey over the past two years...he has grown up to be quite the handsome little man. He is going to be quite the ladies man in a couple years....

The first time I got to baby-sit...he was about two months old
Fourth of July parade....7 months oldWayward Fest...8 months old...
I think this was also 8 months old...the Reyell's Anniversary...After his baptism...8 months again...
Pumpkin patch day...11 months old....
In his PJ's after the pumpkin patch...First birthday!!!
About 16 months old...helping mommy make dinner...What a handsome little boy...
Fourth of July with Jack...What a good helper...mowing our lawn...
At the fair with his fire hat...
Playing "Lego Star Wars" with daddy and Mark...
The day of his birthday party....what a cutie!!

Happy Birthday little man!!!

Long overdue post....

I first want to apologize for not posting at all this week. It has been a pretty stressful week for all of us so I haven't had much time to be on the computer. We actually haven't had too much going on outside the house, but it's still been a busy week.

Monday we headed over to Vermont to have dinner with some of Mark's old co-workers. We did a little bit of shopping and then went to the Outback for dinner. Jack was great at dinner, as always, and we all had a nice time out.

We also carved one of our pumpkins this weekend. Jack enjoyed eating the pumpkin guts and playing around with the seeds more than I thought he would. (see pictures below)

Eating some of the insides of the pumpkin...
Making a goofy face while eating pumpkin seeds...
Showing off the seeds in his mouth...

It was also Kasey's birthday party this weekend, he turns 2 on the 22nd. I can't believe how fast these kids grow. We were a little late to the party because Jack slept until 2 and the party was at 2. Kasey got lots of presents and was much less messy with his cake this year than last year. We hung out with Keith, Erika and Kasey after the party for a little while because we probably won't see them again until Halloween. They are on their way to Disney as we speak to have a well deserved vacation. Thanks so much guys for dinner and a great time yesterday. We had a wonderful time and will miss you. You truly are wonderful friends =)

Here are a few pictures of the boys from yesterday...
Getting their shoes on before we leave...
Kasey really did enjoy the hug, I think Jack just enjoyed it more...
All smiles after giving each other a hug...

Hopefully things get a little less stressful around the house, but I highly doubt that will happen until after Christmas. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoy the beautiful weather!!

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!!

We decided to take our second trip to the pumpkin patch today, this time with our friends and Jack's bestest buddy Kasey as well as Auntie Katie. We got there around 10, but realized the wagon rides don't start until 11. We kept the kids somewhat entertained by looking at all the animals, playing in the pumpkins, "picking apples" and running around. Jack again enjoyed the animals, this time being a little more brave and attempting to pet them. We also wanted to go pick some apples, but apparently apple picking is over and we were left with a bucket of apples to pick from. Jack still enjoyed putting the apples in the bag and we got quite a few for me to make an apple pie with....and apple crisp....and applesauce....you get the point.

We finally got to ride on the tractor after waiting quite a while in line and poor Kasey getting stung by a bee. He was a trooper and didn't even cry when it happened. Such a tough kid =) Jack of course loved every minute of the ride except for the waiting part. The first wagon we were on was being pulled by a John Deere tractor and Jack could not take his eyes off of it. He waved to the guy who was driving as we got on and had a hard time getting off because he wouldn't stop watching it. We then went and walked around the pumpkin patch playing with some vines and falling all over the place.

It was time to head home because by this time the boys were getting a little hungry and so were the adults. We took a little detour before heading home and went to see PaPa and Mammy's new house they are building. I got some fabulous pictures...see them below.

We are now headed off to Target and then over to PaPa and Mammy's for a Spaghetti dinner. Enjoy the beautiful weather...we all know it's too good to last!

Feeding the baby goats...
"Picking apples" from the apple bin...Watching the tractor...Mommy and jack on the wagon...Jack's still a little dazed from the tractorTrying to pick up a big pumpkin...Walking back to the wagon with Auntie Katie...
Playing with Kasey and some pumpkins...
Walking to daddy and PaPa...
Running down the driveway with Mammy...

Target!

I just had to put a quick post up because I was so excited about our outing today. As most of you know, Plattsburgh is now the newest town to add a Target to it's not so broad array of department stores. I have been waiting for the day that it opens so I can put an end to my dreaded trips to Walmart and enjoy more of a selection of baby items. Well, tonight was a ticket only admission and because my wonderful younger sister Kim works there...she gave me a ticket! I can only compare this experience to that of Charlie Bucket when he entered the chocolate factory...I was honestly that excited.

It was everything I dreamt it would be...bright colors, happy people and aisles and aisles of toys. We were there for more than two hours and only left because it was Jack's bed time. I ended up picking up a couple things for Jack and of course my kiddos that I work with. It's just so nice to have a new store and more of a variety of toys and household items. I've had my fill of Walmart and it's nice to finally have someplace new to do my shopping.

We did kill some time at the park before heading off to Target today. It was too beautiful of an autum day to sit inside cooking dinner. So Jack and I opted to play at the park and find some left-overs for dinner. Here are a couple pictures of our day...this kid just loves being outside.


As an added note...Target opens tomorrow =) Happy shopping!!

Lots to post about...

I'm going to try not to write too much and explain everything with pictures because we all know I can go off on tangents sometimes and this could end up being ten pages long.

Friday was Grammy's birthday and Gramps surprised her with a dinner at the Butcher Block and lots of family. Jack was fabulous the whole time we were there (about 2 hours) and of course enjoyed some of Grammy's birthday cake. He kept stealing the frosting off the cake and I thought for sure he wouldn't get to bed until late. Not two minutes in the car and he was passed out. Sugar apparently has no effect on my child.

Yesterday was Daddy's birthday and because I have yet to be paid we had to make it a pretty inexpensive celebration. I decided to take him to Bankers and get him some donuts, apple cider and whatever else he wanted. If you know Mark, you know that this was a perfect gift because he just loves going to the orchard in the fall. Jack also enjoyed himself, trying to pick up pumpkins, watching other kids run around and of course finding the one thing that looked like Spongebob. (We don't even watch the show with him and he loves it).

Checking out the goats and Llamas....
Running away from the goats...
Not too sure what to think...Daddy being attacked by the goats...Eating a rock...Playing in the house instead of with the goats...
We are also heading to the pumpkin patch next weekend with Jack's buddy Kasey, so we did not go on the wagon ride or get pumpkins. We really wanted the two of them to do it together. So we got our goodies and headed home. My parents then came over as well as my sisters and Mark's mom for some pizza and cake for his birthday.

I forgot to mention that while we were at Banker's I picked up some foam cylinders to put in a pool for Jack (instead of a pool of balls....you'll see the pics in a sec). He thoroughly enjoys them and I think everyone else last night enjoyed them to...

My poor kid was stuffed with foam in every spot possible....Mark even gave him a booty...he's going to kill us when he gets older.


Last but not least, I have to let everyone know about our Halloween costume dilemma. I origonally wanted Jack to go as Tyrone from the Backyardigans seeing as he loves the show so much. Have you seen what Tyron's costume looks like?

I'm not a fan. I wanted Jack to try to pick his own costume and he really liked a Diego one, so we tried to find that instead. No such luck and Mark wasn't crazy about Diego either. So we opted for a cute lion costume at the Halloween store in the mall. Wouldn't you know it, but it doesn't fit. So we go to exchange it and I spend a good 45 minutes looking for another costume. I don't like any of them and after debating for what seemed like eternity we ended up leaving the store empty handed. By this point I'm pretty frustrated and just want to put a sheet over my kid and let him go as a ghost. We have no good stores in Plattsburgh for costumes and I don't like anything I see online. One of the kids I work with, her father gave me the marvelous idea to check out Old Navy. Why didn't I think of that?? So Thursday night we headed off to Old Navy to check out their costumes. Low and behold we find a costume that everyone is satisfied with. I gave Jack a choice between a Monkey costume and Dragon costume. Here is what he chose...



Isn't that adorable? I know there will probably be a lot of kids with this costume, but I really don't care. It's warm, easy to put on and take off and Jack enjoys wearing it. What more could I ask for? So with that out of the way I am finally able to sleep at night! Okay, just kidding.

Hope everyone enjoyed the pictures and my rambling. Like I said, there was a lot to post about.