The Girl's Got Talent

As a mother, I really can't talk enough about how great my kids are. It just comes natural. Call me biased, but I really do think that my Morgan is crazy smart and ultra talented. She's not even 3 1/2 yet and everyday she does something that makes me think "is she really only 3?"

First of all, I don't know exactly what age kids are supposed to be able to draw, so perhaps she really is "right on track". My only frame of reference is what I see other kids her age doing.

Anyway, the other night, Morgan was drawing on her Magna-Doodle. Lately she's been into drawing fish, and people with really large heads. But this time she came up with something different. Her exact words were, "Mommy look, I drew a Rhino for you!". Granted it's missing ears and two legs, but hey, a 3 year old drew it.

Here's her masterpiece, you be the judge:

HALLOWEEN

Had a blast on Halloween this year. The kids are getting big enough that they are truly enjoying it. Griffin was a pirate and Morgan was a mermaid. She initially started out to be Ariel from the Little Mermaid, but the red wig was "too itchy", so we ditched it early on.
This year, we made our typical rounds to visit Grandma Sharon at Bear Creek, and then over to Great Grandma Anne's house to show off their cuteness. At lunch time we went to a party at the Yeaman's house, which was great. The weather was just warm enough that the kids could play outside without jackets on. They engorged on cupcakes and other sugar snacks...great for the teeth! After nap time, we decided to go to Grandma and Grandpa Georgiana's house. We hung out there for a bit while Morgan and Griffin handed out candy to the trick or treaters, only getting scared a few times by the scary masks. Then we decided to attempt trick or treating ourselves for the first time. And actually the kids thought it was great when they discovered they get candy from all the houses with porch lights on. Too cute. The next few hours were spent watching Morgan cracked out on her 4 pieces of candy she had throughout the evening. Needless to say they slept like rocks that night. I uploaded some pics at the photo gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/redneckfamily

The Pumpkin Patch

Had a VERY busy past couple days, ending with yesterday going the Pumpkin Patch with some friends. All of us had a blast! Both kids rode a pony, we went on a wagon ride, got Morgan's face painted, got lost in a corn maze, and of course, picked out the perfect pumpkins to carve. I posted some pictures in our photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/redneckfamily

Also, I posted some pics of Morgan at her Dance class, which she is loving so much. Enjoy!

Another Cake

Had some fun this weekend making a friend a perverse Bachelorette Party cake. She sent me a picture of what she wanted, but I improvised a bit. Lotsa fun! The writing on the cakes says, "Welcome to the Ol' Balls-n-Chain".


NOTE: Rated R - Pictures are NOT orthodox and NOT appropriate for youngsters. :)

Updates

Been a few weeks since I last posted...here's some updates...
Morgan is officially potty-trained as of about 1 1/2 months ago!! Yay!! It's about time. For her "reward", we enrolled her in dance class, which my little princess couldn't be more excited about. The first class, as expected, she was shy, and wanted me to be out there with her. But by the second class rolled around she told me to "go in the other room with the rest of the mommies, Mommy!!".
Griffin is actually starting to talk, which is amazing. At his age Morgan was talking in full sentences, so it caught me off guard when all my 18-month said was "no", "mama" and "dada". and the always funny grunting noises. But he's really getting good now. If I had to count I would say he's up to about 30 words or so, and man is he good at the animal noises! Too cute.
Ryan is the typical Ryan. My Marine had his gear ready for hunting season 2 weeks ago and season doesn't start for another 2 weeks. Gotta love him, but man is he anal-retentive, and crazy organized!! ;) He start vacation next week, which is great. I get to see him around the house during the day, and he's always in a great mood when he's on vacation. Maybe I'll have him convinced to take the fam to a long over-due nice dinner.
As for me, I officially decided that I was sick of being fat and I no longer have an excuse to have a muffin-top, so I started up my "own" Weight Watchers plan. I love that diet! Before I got pregnant with Morgan I went to the meetings and followed it to the tee, and I lost 12 lbs. in 6 weeks. This time around I felt like I could save myself the money and do it on my own. So far so good! It's been 2 weeks and I've lost 4 lbs. I've been "elipticating" on my eliptal as well, which is fun. My goal is to lose a total of 20 lbs by the time I turn 30, and ultimately I would love to lose 30 lbs and be smokin hot. Baby steps!
I look forward to Fall, my favorite season. Can't wait to go to the Pumpkin Patch and carve pumpkins with BOTH kids this year (Griff is old enough now). Halloween is so much fun too.
That's about it for now! Toodle-doo Kangaroo!

Busy Weekend with Mamma

We just got back, well on Tuesday, from a great weekend in Denver. Chantry, the kids and I flew to Denver to see my mom last Friday. It's only a 2 1/2 hour flight so not too bad for the kids. Both Griffin and Morgan seem to be good little travelers. We hung out most of Friday and then met up with Karl (Opa) that night at Tequila's, a Mexican restaurant. The next day was pretty rainy and cold so we decided to hang out at the mall and do some shopping. It's always funny to see my mom shop for her grandkids, especially Morgan (after all girl clothes are way better than boys). She spoils them rotten and likes to buy them everything under the sun. On Sunday the weather was shaping up quite well so we took a trip to the Denver Zoo. The kiddos had a blast there. Both of them love animals, and truely enjoyed the train and carousel. For dinner we went to PF Chang's. Oh how I wish they had one of those in Medford. Delicious! Chantry and I are thinking of taking a special trip to Eugene just to eat there again (it's the nearest one). On Monday we had to make a must stop at the Coors Brewery to buy souvenoirs, and then chilled the rest of the day. Tuesday was also mellow. We went to Clive Cussler's car museum, which was awesome. Then flew home later that evening.
It was a great trip. Really good to see my mom, whom I miss dearly. Can't wait for her to retire and move back to Oregon. It was also good to be home. The kids and I all missed Ryan, believe it or not. And I'm fairly certain he missed all of us. Short trips like that are a necessity, I think. They make you re-align your thoughts about the people you spend the most time with, and really just get an appreciation for home and family.
Just posted an album of some pics. Check it out: http://picasaweb.google.com/redneckfamily

Fun with Fondant

I made a cake for my good friend Tawny's baby shower over the weekend. It was so much fun to make. I went to a different baby shower a few weeks ago, and they had a gorgeous cake, which inspired me to try making one myself. So here it is! The ironic part is Tawny's last name is "Wine", so the phrase at the top "Baby Wine" does NOT necessarily refer to the voluptuous objects below. Kinda funny though, eh? I think I could really get into this cake-making thing!

Side shot

Beautiful Tawny, due in just a few weeks!