Our family as the Mario Bros. family

Halloween as the Mario Bros. Family

Happy Halloween!!

Introducing our Mario Bros. family:


Dallin as MARIO


Alexa as PRINCESS DAISY

Lance as himself TOAD


Awwwwww! What a sweetie! Kiera as PRINCESS PEACH

The whole family minus me (since I took the photo). I was a "?" block with a power-up star coming out of it. I sewed Kiera's dress (my 2nd time using a pattern!) and Lance's vest (1st time using a pattern) and Lance's hat (made up my own design for it) and made the crowns for both princesses in addition to finding the other items for the rest of the family's costumes. I started this undertaking in July....and it was well worth the endless hours spent on them. :)

We had a blast Trick-or-Treating a very nice neighborhood. Kiera even learned two new words during the evening: "Thank you!" :) She totally got into getting the candy and LOVED it. Dallin went Trick-or-Treating with his friend, Stephen B. It was such a fun evening with 70 degree Texas weather!

No more monkeys jumping on the bed...

We really needed to go grocery shopping Thursday night but the kids weren't having it. There were many meltdowns and then an accident. Alexa, our resident monkey, loves to sit on tables instead of chairs. She decided to jump down from the table but her right arm hit a folding chair on the way down. For the rest of the evening, she was crying and in tears. I didn't even know until at least two hours later that she had jumped from the table (I thought she was sitting on the chair). I wrapped her arm in an Ace bandage for the night and decided to wait until the next day. Friday came and went without much complaint.


Then Saturday morning, I unwrapped the Ace bandage and noticed that her little arm was swollen. I made phone calls and was sent to the hospital for x-rays. We went immediately and had several x-rays done. Then we went to the peditrician's office and saw Sabrina, a nurse practitioner. We got the x-ray results from the radiologist which said that she had broken two arm bones (radius & ulna) by the wrist and her elbow was quite swollen too. So they made a splint around her arm (basically a half of a cast). Now we are instructed to make an appointment with a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon to get a cast put on her right arm. Rumor has it that they make waterproof casts now too.






We went to an Orthopedic Surgeon on Monday and Alexa got her pink WATERPROOF cast put on. She was a perfect patient and didn't cry at all. Brave girl, I'd say! :)

Slurped my blog on Blurb.com

I never thought I would print out my blog. It just didn't sound like a fun project. However, I found a great deal on Groupon.com. I paid $20 for a $45 gift certificate to Blurb.com. I started early enough and got 40 - 50 pages in....then the program (called BookSmart) didn't work any more. It wouldn't open for me. After corresponding via email though Tech Support, I decided to not waste my time any more (they weren't much help) and started all over on a newer computer (a laptop). In one week, I compiled my ENTIRE BLOG into a 200 page book. Here's the link if you want to check it out: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/1786634/463ba25d51669209a08437452c05324a?utm_source=TellAFriend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2273013

Oh, and I did spend more than the initial $20 but it is worth every penny! :)

Professional pictures of my kiddos

I got professional pictures taken of each of the kids this month (in two separate sessions) and am so happy with how they turned out. Kiera was crying and clingy the entire time but somehow the photographer got a picture of her split-second smiles. :) I added text to some of the photos. I love my kiddos!!

The price you pay to be a girl

Alexa modeling my new boots. They are super cute and comfortable for only a few minutes. But that's the price you pay to look good! :)

Bringing the wild side out of a plain white dresser

Lance has a Jungle Room and this white dresser has always needed a wild touch to it. I collaborated with my vinyl lady and she helped me figure out how to change this boring, white dresser into a ZEBRA dresser!

Carefully put the vinyl and rub it so as to avoid getting bubbles in it.

Pull the top layer off.

Cut the overlap off.

And hours and hours later, it is complete! TADA! It totally finishes off the "Wild About Lance" room. For the full effect, come see for yourself!