Here Comes Colton

Colton is crawling more everyday and getting better at it, his access is limitless. Of course, to Katie this is completely unacceptable. I say this because Katie can no longer bring her toys (Polly Pocket and Barbie) into the Living Room, without me worrying if Colton will get a hold of them. She has left a few of her favorite Disney Dolls and stuffed animals either on the couch or floor in the Living Room, which she has quickly found out isn't a good idea. As soon as Colton sets his eyes on her most precious possessions, he quickly sets in motion to take a closer look at these grand toys. As soon as Katie notices him playing with her best friends, she begins screaming "mom, he has my stuff!" Again, I will remind her that if she doesn't want Colton to play with her toys, don't bring into the same room as he.

Another problem I'm experiencing with my two most precious children is Katie playing keep away from Colton. She'll grab either her or his toy, act like she's going to give it to him and then quickly snatch it away from him. There have been times where I see her actually dangle the toy over his head. Poor baby, he'll try his best to grab it.

The bumps and bruises have begun with Colton. We've been catching him pulling up on anything he can get his hands a hold of, table, chairs and toy boxes. I try to remind him that he is not old enough to be doing this, but he doesn't listen to me. I think he likes to scare mommy and sissy just a little bit. As I was getting Katie ready for ballet yesterday, he banged his head against one of our chairs in the Living Room. I didn't see what happened, but I knew he hit the back of his head. As soon as I was able to sit down with him at the studio, I checked out his head. Poor baby, I found a goose egg on the top of his head. Later that afternoon, Katie was playing with him. She was trying to open her cabinet that contains more toys. I knew Colton was too close and I tried to get her to not open the door, but I couldn't get there fast enough. {Whomp!} The door opened and hit Colton on the forehead. Poor Katie, she felt terrible. She told him that she was sorry along with a kiss on his forehead and a big hug.

Colton has been trying out the BIG tub for the past few bathtimes. He loves it! He likes to chase after his ducky all around the tubby. He's battling a cold, so it's been convenient for us give him a Vick's bath. I've even leaned over a time or two, breathing in the vapors. With the cool mornings and warm afternoons, the Mason's have tried to fight off the head colds. Luckily, Katie is the only healthy person right now. LOL! Doug claims that Colton is the one that shared his cold with us. Ha!

What Are You Thankful For This Year?
I believe I did this last year, but wanted to bring it back in honor of the upcoming "Thanksgiving" holiday. Please let me know 5 things you are grateful for.

1. I'm grateful for God's Grace in my life
2. For God granting me peace and my cup is overflowing with the love (loved ones) in my life.
3. God blessing me with a beautiful and caring family and friends.
4. Doug's job, so I may be able to stay home with the children.
5. Healthy living parents and other family members.
   

Christmas Season Is Approaching
You can tell that the season is almost upon us because on the store selves, you'll find your favorite Christmas holiday treats. I found these the other day and it just put me in a great Christmas spirit. I absolutely love Christmas and what it does to my childlike heart.

I like hot tea, as long as it is strong and with a good flavor. I never have been the "green tea" type because it's so mild. I do like peppermint hot chocolate, so I thought I would try the Candy Cane Lane tea. I did like the hint of fresh peppermint taste; unfortunately, it still had that mild green tea flavor. My mom likes green tea, so I'll be passing this down to her. I think she'll like it better than I.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and we have lots to do. This weekend, me and my family will be going to Portrait Innovations for our family portrait. I'll be posting those as soon as possible. The following weekend will be used as preparations for Thanksgiving weekend. We are having a huge Thanksgiving celebration this year with lots of out of state family members. I have a cousin from Texas, I haven't seen since I got married, 14 years ago. So, it will be exciting to see him and his family. Thanksgiving will be at my sister, Maryann, this year. Allen, cousin, likes fried turkeys. So, we are deep frying two this year, in his honor. Honestly, I've gotten to where that's the only way I like to eat a turkey. Any other way, it just seems so dry tasting. I've told Maryann that I was thinking about bringing out some old recipes to make for the dinner. I make really good dips, spinach and artichoke dip(below) and Doug's famous Buffalo Chicken Dip.

Princeton's Spinach Dip Recipe
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach thawed & drained
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 pkg. KNORR Vegetable Soup, Dip & Recipe Mix
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained & chopped
1 can (5-6) artichoke squeezed dry & crumb
1 pkg. shredded mozzerella

Medium bowl stir spinach, sour cream, mayo, artichoke, cheese, soup mix & chestnuts until well mixed.

Cover, chill for 2 hours to blend flavors

Stir well. Serve with chips, vegetables or (my favorite) Hawaiian bread.

Note: I like to cut a hole out in the center of a loaf of Hawaiian bread & set a bowl of dip in it. Take the cut out bread and cut into dipping pieces and set them around the edge of the platter.

Go Colton!

I wanted to let y'all know that Colton officially took a couple of steps, crawling, this afternoon. We've all been working with him now for about a week. He finally did it! Poor baby is battling a cold, so he was in no mood to celebrate like Katie and myself. All he wanted was his mom to hold and cuddle him. He seemed to have a hard time drinking out of a bottle. I don't know if it might be drainage in his ear or difficulty breathing while sucking a bottle. So, I mixed his milk up with some rice cereal and applesauce and fed it to him. He liked it much better. He didn't like me getting after him with the suction bulb and qutip, but loved the Vick's bath. I just hope it will help him. I have misplaced my humidifier. I think it's in the storage building some where. I guess I'll have to buy another one, if I can't find it.

This morning, Peggy and I took both children to the doctor's office for flu shots. Colton needed a flu vaccination booster and I wanted to see if they needed the H1N1Flu shot. I had heard reports of the H1N1 containing mercury, so I asked the nurse if they had the shot or mist without mercury. They didn't. So, I asked her what Dr. Lunsford is saying about this. According to her, he feels that patients whom are more at risk (health problems) should be the only ones to take this vaccine. On the news, doctors and scientist are telling people to go get their H1N1 shots, especially babies and elderly. I trust my doctor's decision and turned down the H1N1vaccinations for my children. I'll have to risk them getting the Swine Flu then fear them becoming Autistic.

After leaving the doctor's office, we headed to Walmart because I promised Katie that I would let her get a Polly Pocket car for being good at the doctor's office. Everytime I visit Walmart's toy section, I've been looking over the Leapster 2 gaming system, Bugsby, and Tag learning systems. I'm real interested in Leapster 2. It looks like it would be good to take along on trips, waiting at restaurants, and any where that will require a long wait. Moms, I need your help. Katie likes to play video games on the computer from Disney, Barbie and Noggin. Should I spend money on a Leapster 2 for Katie in hopes that it will teach her, letters, addition, substraction, patterns and early reading skills? Does your child have this? Do they enjoy it? Have they learned anything from it? Please let me know in a comment. I would greatly appreciate it.

Oh, on a side note. I am going to try to make Cranberry Pudding. I'm probably crazy, but it looked so good on television and I like cranberries in dishes. Martha Stewart had her "Thanksgiving Special" on FLN (Fining Living Network) this morning at around 2:30 a.m. (Colton woke up). She made this Cranberry Pudding by steaming it in a pudding mold. The batter, Martha said, was similar to a cake. Doesn't that sound delicious? I would love to play with the recipe. Now, to find a pudding mold. Doug and I will be close to the Summit tomorrow, so I can check out Williams and Sonoma. If anyone's going to have a pudding mold, it would be them. Wish me luck!

I've been waiting for the big moment and Lord willingly, it will happen tomorrow. Our Christmas tree is 14 years old and is looking a little rough (wear from setting and packing it up). Well, Hobby Lobby has their Christmas trees 50% off this week. I would like to get one that is a little fuller than the one we have, you can practically see the pole on the inside. I'd be interested in getting one that's pre-lit, but Doug perfers one with LED lights instead of regular Christmas lights. Ugh! Pray for me!

Il Divo - "Amazing Grace"

My father-in-law sent this to me and I had to share them with you. What a blessing!



The four guys performed "Amazing Grace" in the beautiful arena in Pula , Croatia . There is also a city with the same name in Sardinia where there are also some marvelous archeological sites. But this coliseum (smaller but better preserved than the one in Rome ) where the concert and recording were done is one of the most well-preserved Roman coliseums in the world.

Now, the four male singers in the group called 'Il Divo' are from four different countries. Moreover, they come from four different musical disciplines but have discovered a new unity of purpose.
BTW, 'Il Divo' in Italian literally means a male (singular) 'prima donna..' They are: American tenor David Miller; Swiss tenor Urs Buhler; Spanish baritone Carlos Marin; and French pop singer Sebastien Izambard.

This group was initially brought together in 2004 by the infamous Simon Cowell after intensive worldwide auditions. The virtuoso blending of operatic techniques with both romantic and popular tradition has taken the world by storm. They have sold over 22 million albums, the first three of which were 'Il Divo', 'Ancora,' and 'Sempre,' the last two translated into English are 'Again' and 'Always.'

Lastly, the group decided to work with only one producer, a longtime collaborator named Steve McCutcheon (aka Steve Mac). A musical genius, Mac is able to create beautiful orchestrations by experimenting with differing styles and arrangements.

Jesus Party

I wanted to share this real cute Katie story.

Katie and I were looking through our new Oriental Trading magazines that I received through the mail yesterday. I told Katie that Jesus' birthday is coming soon and if we should have a birthday party for him. "Sure," she replied. "I've already had my ballerina birthday party. Now, we can have a party for Jesus." I asked her what kind of party we should throw him. "Hmmm (she was thinking). How about we have a Jesus party. I think he would like that very much and we should give him a penguin on his birthday." she said. "Ok, we will." I told her reassuring. Y'all will have to stay tuned to those pictures. Now, I've got to work in the penguin some where.

Dad and mom came over this morning. Dad helped me take Montana to the Vet. Yes, I did it. After long deliberation, I felt it was best for Montana to go ahead and put him down. He had good days and bad. I felt so bad for him during his bad days. I waited to see how long it would take Katie to notice him missing. It wasn't too long after she came in the house when she finished playing outside. "Where's Montana at mom?" she asked with this concerned expression on her face. I told her that he was real sick and he went to heaven. "No, mom! But, I miss him." she said all choked up. It was making me choked up again. As we were hugging each other, I assured her that he wasn't in pain anymore and he was with his mommy and daddy. She piped in and asked if he was with his little brother. I told her that he had lots of brothers and sisters. She seemed a little confused, so I got out the pictures. I showed her a picture of Shay, Dexter and all the puppies. Gosh! It seems like yesterday when Montana was born. I knew he was very special the first time I set eyes on him. Well, Doug and I started our life together with a dog, Dexter & Sassy, my cat. Now, look at us. We have zero animals and two beautiful children. We started with animals fulfilling our life and now children. Isn't it funny how life goes on? Oh well, back to reality. We are in no way, going to adopt any animals any time soon. I have all the responsibility that I can handle right now, the plates full if you know what I mean.

Katie's not happy with me right now. She's not mad at me, but she sure isn't happy. She made the mistake of asking me what we were going to do tomorrow. Well, we are going to Dr. Lunsford's to get H1N1 vaccinations. "What?" said a very sad little girl. "But, why am I sick?" she asked. I assured her that she wasn't sick, but we had to get some more nose spray. She absolutely hates the flu mist, but hey it beats the shot. She says it burns. I get the spray as well and it might sting a little. So, I guess for a little girl, yeah it burns. Thinking it might make her feel better, I told her that Colton would have to get a shot. Nope. It didn't help. I told her that if she cooperated and got the spray, I'd take her to Walmart and let her buy a Polly Pocket car. She's been wanting this car for a long time. Actually, I was going to get it for her for Christmas, but I guess not. Please pray for me because the last time she got the flu mist, me and nurse had to hold her down. Ugh!

Bama vs. Tigers

In honor of the upcoming game!

Geaux Bama!

Our Halloween Experience

I believe we all went sound to sleep as soon as our heads hit our pillows last night. I began getting ready for Beggar's Night as soon as I got up yesterday morning, around 7:00. Doug had to go into work for a few hours and we were expecting a few people over for supper. I wanted to make my new pizza creation, but I knew my dad and possibly Millard gets heartburn (along with me). So, I ruled out the "Tomato Style Pizza" (I've got to come up with a better name) and decided to make my "Chicken and Dumplings." Maryann and Kevin were suppose to come over and she was bringing her "Chili." Unfortunately, Maryann had been working for several hours at Zayne & Whitney's new house and was soo tired that all she wanted to do was hit the couch. I really didn't blame her. Needless to say, we had lots of food leftover.

After a thorough search for our Disney Princess Pumpkin Carving templates, leftover from last year, I finally gave up. Katie and I sat down at the table with a pencil and paper, designing our easy pumpkin face. This is the Jack-o-lantern face, we came up with. We thought he was pretty cute. We wanted to welcome our beggars, not scare them away.

Katie was so syked to go Trick or Treat. She began the "when can we go Trick or Treat at my school?" chants around 2:00 p.m. I couldn't get it through her head that we were going to try to go to church for the Fall Festival. For some reason, she was getting church and school mixed up. Here's a few pictures of Katie and Colton after I got them ready.

Will(pengin) & Katie(little mermaid) - Halloween 2009

Soon after supper, Peggy, mom, Katie, Colton and myself loaded up in our car and headed to Whitney and Zayne's new house. I couldn't wait to see inside. I've seen the outside, during construction. Oh, it is so pretty! Her Kitchen, Dining Room & Living Room's all one room, like ours. I absolutely love the colors in this room, chocolate and robin egg blue. I'm sure you've seen the dishes, and fabric with this color combination. She had beautiful blue and chocolate curtains to accent, perfect touch. Her Master Bathroom is so nice - garden tub and huge walk-in closet. They painted it with a warm rust color, so pretty. Lord willingly, they will move into their new house very soon.

We left Whitney and Zayne's place and visited Maryann and Kevin. They gave Katie a cute Halloween "Best Costume Trophy" filled with candy. Katie loves it. She is so proud of her award. We got to see Natalie and Denise for a little bit before they left for their costume party. They were dressing up as a Pilgrim and Indian. Too cute!




We spent so much time visiting Whitney & Maryann that we didn't have enough time to go to the Fall Festival. We were all bushed by the time we got home. I think Katie and Colton had a very good Halloween.

Today, I tried to explain to Katie about Thanksgiving. She wanting to know what we do for Thanksgiving. I guess for some children, Thanksgiving can be a little boring compared to Halloween and Christmas. I did tell her that Christmas was coming very soon and we needed to work on our gift list for Santa. Katie is so easy this year. She is in love with Polly Pocket, Barbies, doing simple crafts (paper, paint & glue) and dress up. She loves to rule play like pretending to be a doctor, nurse, teacher and animal doctor.

Halloween Party

I think the Halloween party was a great success. Kids running every where, candy wrappers all over the floor, hyped up children from a major sugar high, and girls upset if they were separated from their best friend.

Katie was sitting in a tot's fold up lawn chair, this is why she looks shorter than everyone else.

All parents (that could come) got to school at 9:30 for the BIG party. As soon as we arrived, Mrs. Katie had the children participate in making Pumpkin Pancakes. Every child from both Pre-K4 classes got to either pour in an ingredient or mix together. Everyone, including parents, got to have pancakes. I've never had these and I must say that they are pretty good. Katie must have liked them because she ate her's up before anyone else started eating theirs. I'll share the recipe with you a little later.

Katie pouring in the ingredients for the Pumpkin Pancakes

When it was time to Trick or Treat, all the 4 year olds sat in line on the floor. Mrs. Katie gave them loads of candy to pass out to the trick or treaters. After all the beggars left, it was our turn to go Trick or Treating around the classrooms.

First, we went out on like a little adventure walk and had a class picture taken of both Pre-K4 classes. So cute! Second, we hit the 1st Grade class and the children loved to get candy from them. Then, we headed to the Kindergarten class. This is where Katie forgot she was Trick or Treating because she was too interested in Mrs. Heather's critters (turtles & fish). I tried to get her attention, but I couldn't get to her. Finally, Mrs. Katie brought her back to reality and moved her right along.

Trick or Treat Time

Mrs. Katie & Mrs. Sara's Class lined up to pass out candy

Mrs. Katie & Mrs. Sara's Class Group Picture

Ty, Katie & Olivia

Katie forgets she is Trick or Treating 'cause she is mesmerized with the fish & turtle.

Katie Trick or Treating

Back at our classroom, the children got to eat their snacks and snuck some more candy as well. Poor Mrs. Katie made me tired just watching her, bouncing around like Tigger from the classic "Winnie The Pooh." Most all the children and parents began clearing out by 11:00. We stayed until 11:20, so Katie and Claire could play a little longer.

Everyone's eating their snack - cupcakes, popcorn, cookies, apple slices, punch & Pumpkin pancakes.

The only bad thing is Katie woke up with an attitude problem and it seemed to have stayed with her most of the day today. As most of you know me, I can only have the patience of Job for just a short while before I turn into this mean mommy. I never could stand a whiner nor will I ever. It's like for some, fingernails to a chalkboard. I honestly believe that when I arrived at school, I thought Katie's attitude brightened up a little. I was mildly relieved there for a second. Yes, a second. Then, after Trick or Treating it all came tubbling down. Another little girl sat in Katie's chair. A seat right beside her best friend, Claire. The world has come to an end and therefore Katie declared that everyone in the building should know about this treachery. "Mia got my seat. Hey, get out of my seat Mia. I sit by Claire. I was sitting there. Mrs. Katie, get her out of my seat. Mommy, tell her to move!" Katie announced. Then, they came. . . the lip popped out, the eyebrows dropped down at an angle, the arms were crossed as to make an statement 'this is unacceptable' and the waterworks were turned on wide open. When it started, I tried to get Katie's attention and get her to calm down. Of course, I was on the other side of the room and couldn't get to her. I gradually made my way down the room. When she was getting out of hand, I told Breanna's mom that I was about whip somebody. She giggled and said she had one like that as well, so she understood. Ugh! Mrs. Katie brought out the crafts for all the children to make a bat. It wasn't long after that that Katie made up with Mia, they were friends again. I even made pictures of Katie, Claire and Mia playing with their finished bat project. Shoo!

Mia and Katie are friends once again, eventhough she came between her and Claire. I think what happened is Mia's close friend, Me-Me, wasn't there today. Thursday was Me-Me's birthday, so I'm sure her and her parents did something special today. Unfortunately, it made Mia out to be the third wheel and causing Katie to show her little temper.

I may not have had a lot to do today, but I am pooped. This afternoon, I found myself dragging and having to force myself to do anything. It may have been lots of fun, but I really hope we don't have too many of these type parties. I figure the next "BIG" party will be Christmas.



Pumpkin Puff Pancakes
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cooked pumpkin
1 3/4 cups Bisquick baking mix
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger
1/4 cup salad oil

Beat eggs in small mixer bowl on high speed 5 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Pour batter by tablespoonfuls onto medium-hot ungreased griddle.

Bake until puffed and bubbles begin to break. Turn and bake other side until golden brown

Yield: about 5 dozen 2" pancakes
Note: Mrs. Katie used canned pumpkin (pie filling)& Canola oil.

Maple Rum-Flavored Syrup
Heat 1 cup maple-flavored syrup and 1 tablespoon butter or margarine.
Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 teaspoon rum flavoring.
Serve warm. About 1 cup.

I hope y'all will have a fun and safe Halloween tomorrow. If the weather will cooperate with us, I will go with my original plan (visit relatives for Trick or Treating & take Katie to Fall Festival). If the rain continues all day because I think it's suppose to be 80% chance of rain, I think we'll just have a party here. Both Doug and my parents are suppose to come over for dinner (chicken & dumplings w/hot rolls & garden salad). Maryann told Doug that if the rain kept us home, for us to call them and they would come over.

Our Little Mermaid in Training

Colton was sleeping and Katie asked me if we could try on her Ariel costume. No problem! I needed to see how it would look and ways that I could fix her up tomorrow for the BIG Halloween party at school. Oh, she is sooo excited! I just hope I'll have enough time to make her up the way I think she'll look good. I'm going to have her wear her ballet leotards and tights under her costume tomorrow.

What's New In The Kitchen
I've been on a pizza making kick lately. This probably isn't good for my diet (at all), but I've been in the experimenting mood. I love to experiment with food. A while back, Doug and I came across "Mama Mary's" pizza crust (already made). We really like it and cut out on a lot of time lost, waiting for your pizza crust to cook. Well, Doug still didn't like the crust being so thick. Guess what mama found? Yes, I found the "Mama Mary's Thin Crust" and Doug likes it now. They come package with 2 already made pizza crusts in all sizes. Last month, I bought Katie a package of small (personal) size for her pizza. She loves my pizza.

Tonight, I whipped up a pizza that (according to Doug)tasted exactly like a restaurant style bruschetta. Yummy! I didn't go by any recipe, I went by what I thought I would like on it. I'm so glad I did because I will definitely be making this again very soon. If you like pizza, you've got to try my pizza. This is what I did:

Mi's Tomato Style Pizza
1 large "Mama Mary's Thin Pizza Crust"
Olive Oil
Small jar of "Classico Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto"
Small jar of Black Olives, Chopped
Small Vine Ripe Tomato, thinly sliced w/skin
1 package (1 lb.) Pizzeria Blend Cheese or you can use the Italian Blend Cheese
1 small package of Pepperoni Slices
6 slices of bacon, cooked & chopped
1/2 small green bell pepper, finely chopped & sauteed to desired texture

• Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. While it's warming, brush a little olive oil on crust.
• Spread pesto onto the crust.
• Arrange the following onto the crust: olives, peppers, tomatoes, bacon, pepperoni & cheese. Note: I didn't use the pound of cheese, but I guess you could if you really like a lot of cheese.
• Turn the heat back to 425 degrees. Put pizza in oven for 7 1/2 - 10 minutes.
• Let cool for 1 minute.
  Serves: 8 slices
  

Halloween Treats
Laura made the cutest Halloween treat for Alise's school. She made little bat candy holders. She got the idea from another blogger, who got it from another. Such a cute idea and would have loved to have made these, but there are just not enough time to make them. I really liked the mummy.

Can you believe these little treasurers are actually Hershey's Chocolate Bars? The Halloween candy holders (mummy or bat) are made out of either crepe paper or construction paper. Such a cute idea! You'll have to check out Skip To My Lou's Blog RIGHT HERE in order to get further instructions. I'll have to do these next year. Have a great Halloween Eve!


Katie Curly Locks
I bought these foam rollers a long time ago, but kept forgeting to use them. Whitney came over today to visit with us for a little bit and reminded me about them. So after Katie's bath, I rolled up her hair. I didn't do a very good job because I've never done this before. Ever! I guess it will be a trial and error for me.



Katie loved her hair rolled up. She was prissing around the house. I really didn't think Katie would keep these rollers in her hair all night, so I blowed dried it before she went to bed. It felt dry enough to take them down, but when I began unrolling them, I soon discovered that they need to dry more. Oh well. It did leave her hair with a lot of full waves. She has a lot of natural body in her hair already, this just seem to make them more full. It's cute and she likes them.

Frankenstein Cake
We went to Walmart last night and picked her up another pumpkin and a pull-a-part Frankenstein Cake/Cupcake for her Halloween party at school tomorrow. I liked the Pumpkin Cake better, but Katie insisted on Frankenstein. All the little kids are going to go home with green mouths. LOL!

Doug is going to watch Colton for me, while I meet Katie at school for her party. They are suppose to make Pumpkin Pancakes, so this will be interesting. Katie loves to cook, but she's never had homemade pancakes. Every child was to bring an ingredient for their treat, Katie had to get shortening. Later, they'll go trick or treat around to every classroom. It should be lots of fun!

I promised June, I would bring the kids to her work after picking up Katie from school. I believe other employees' children are coming by there as well. The police department moved to a new location and building, so I'd like to see what it looks like on the inside. She gave me directions to her office, so maybe I won't get lost. A little girl that Katie has ballet with, Jacy, will be there as well with her mommy and little brother, Jake. I've gotten to know Jacy's mom a little more and she seems very nice. She knew June, so we got to talking and her husband is a police officer. She's been reading a Dave Ramsey's book and I mentioned to her, me about to start reading "The Twilight" series. She's read all 4 books within a week or so. She wants us to have a girl's night out, me, her and June and go see "New Moon." I think it would be fun. I haven't had a girl's night out in forever.

Prayer Request
Please remember a lady, I went to school with, Marilyn. She is maybe 3-4 years older than me. She has been fighting cancer (tumor). Today, she announced that the chemo is working because the tumor shrunk from 16.9 to 10.5 ml. I know she could use all the prayers, she can. Also, if you are in the Cullman area tomorrow, please stop by Chick-fil-a and order your lunch or supper in her honor. I believe 10% of proceeds will be donated to Marilyn tomorrow only. If you can't make it to Chick-fil-a, People's Bank in Cullman are taking up donations as well. Thanks!

Zayne Smith, Whitney's (my niece) husband, is in desperate need of a job. Currently, he working with he dad at their business, but he needs something that pays a little more (got bills to pay).

Nolan and Liz still need your prayers, going on an interview out-of-state. They too are in search for another job. Nolan's current job is cutting back on hours and they have mouths to feed, so they can't afford to cut back.

Ballet

Today, Katie's ballet class was to dress up in either their Giselle Recital costumes or a non-scary costume. I was so hoping she could still fit into her costume 'cause I just had it dry cleaned along with her flower girl dress. Sure enough, it fit like a glove and I was surprised she actually wanted to wear it. I just knew I was headed for a fight over the costume because she REALLY loves her Ariel aka "The Little Mermaid" costume.

I wanted to experiment with the spray on glitter and make-up, to get an idea for Halloween night. Well, I took too much time because we barely made it to practice in time. Oops! We got there as everyone was headed up stairs to practice. Needless to say, I didn't get to take pictures. Darn! Fortunately, I was able to take a few photos before we left the house, which made us even more late. Oh well.

I didn't get to take pictures of Katie this evening with her Ariel costume, like I promised her. I hated it, but I was very limited in time today. Tomorrow is another day and Lord willing another chance.




Halloween Treat
Spider Cupcakes

These Spider Cupcakes are soo adorable! Katie & I will definitely have to try them out.

I found this recipe on Martha Stewart. What a great way to share time with your little begger than make these adorable little spider cupcakes together.

Prep Time: 20 min.
Bake Time: 18-21 min.
Decoration Time: 25 min.
Difficulty: Easy
Yield: Makes 24 cupcakes.

1 box (18.25 oz.) Devil’s Food cake mix
1 can (16 oz.) dark chocolate frosting
1 can (10.5 oz.) chocolate sprinkles
24 large marshmallows
¼ cup M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies
48 red or black licorice laces
1 toothpick

1. Prepare the cake mix according to the package instructions.
2. Line cupcake pans with paper-liners. Fill each cup with 2/3 cup of batter.
3. Bake in a preheated 350°F for 18-21 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely.
4. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the chocolate frosting in a resealable plastic bag.
5. Spread the tops of the cupcakes with the remaining frosting. Then, coat the tops with the chocolate sprinkles.
6. Cut the marshmallows in half crosswise. Using the reserved frosting, attach two marshmallow pieces to each cupcake as eyes. Dot the center of each marshmallow piece with frosting and attach M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies. Then, attach another marshmallow piece with frosting and attach M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies for the mouth.
7. Cut each licorice lace into four equal pieces. Press four holes into 2 sides of each cupcake using the toothpick. Insert a licorice piece into each hole for each spider’s legs, 8 pieces per cupcake.

Halloween Song
Katie enjoyed me singing her this song. Sing the song below to the tune of "Mary Had A Little Lamb." The part she loved was when you get to the "BOO." I would really express this word as to scare her. She'd start squealing and giggling, "do it again."

Pumpkin Time
Pumpkin time is here again,
Time to play trick or Treat.
Pumpkin time is here again,
Our Spooky friends we'll meet.

See the costumes we have on,
Monsters, ghosts, goblins too.
See the costumes we have on,
Hear us all shout "BOO!"