GOBBLE GOBBLE!!

We are settling into a ROUTINE!! YAY!!

everyone but molly, that is...who has found new and more interesting ways to upset her teaching staff...more on that later.
(after i get over it) UGH!

Mom and Dad are settled in...are getting active in church and mostly this first two weeks...all of us have put together new "schedules" and are helping them recover from such a long move! I cannot believe their spunk! In their 80's and so driven to get everything moved in, set up, and comfy! They seem to have more energy than me!

I think i've been late or nearly late to work everyday....because things are so different at home! It's nice to be able to have coffee with your mom before work...we get to gabbing too much! Molly has already added their names to her vocabulary, which although I'm happy for them, it does hack me off a little, that she still calls me "EYE" yet has no trouble calling gramma "MOM MOM" GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I've waited 8 years to hear her call ME mom mom!!

*sigh* sometimes i think she knows that, but just loves to jerk my chain! She is so cut from daddy's genes.

Mom and I shopped for my bedroom furniture all week last week (pooped us both out) and still NOTHING!! Larry and I have been living out of bins for 2 weeks, as i've been dragging my feet on making a furniture decision, but what i liked for what i wanted to pay??? NOT HAPPENING!

WHO KNEW furnishing your bedroom was more expensive than the rest of your HOUSE???

We got a tip on a store in Mtn Home (thanx deedee from work) so on Saturday Mom & Dad...& me and molly kate took a road trip (about an hour south, and over Norfolk Lake) to the big city, and actually BOUGHT the whole set! (locally and budget conscience they way i am, i was going to start piecing one together...the dressers here were almost 4 grand! unbelievable!!)

This set is Mahogany, well priced and will be delivered here tuesday!! YAY!

Mom had a birthday on the 15th, and dad's is tomorrow...and then? THANKSGIVING!! all my kids are coming home, and ALL of us are psyched about that, too! We have one little purple baby sock on the coffee table, and every morning molly picks it up and says "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeebee"

Yes, molly....Aubrey Jo will be here for TURKEY DAY!! and so will SHAUNA!! I'm trying not to get too excited around her,
as that doesn't transfer well to school, and i imagine her week is going to be hard with all the festivities there....but it's been really hard not to! ALL MY KIDS IN ONE PLACE! a rarity i just CHERISH!





So off i go to further ready the house, all the groceries are bought but the turkeys, which i'll pick up tomorrow night...give them a couple of days to thawwwwwwwwwwww...it's been SO COLD HERE, i don't think they will! I cannot believe i've been extolling the wonderfully warm winters we have in Missouri to my parents all these years...just to have them finally come, and have it be COLDER than it is in COLORADO!! go figure!

I did get my C.E.'s finished today, which im expired the end of the month, and THAT monkey on my back was getting heavier by the day....so now off to find the last DVD i rented. Molly evidently didn't like the choice and has hidden it from me....always another project!

Hope this finds you all aglow with the anticipation of upcoming holiday seasons....Nothing better than being with family!


e & molly kate




May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner Stay off your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Deer Season!!

We have been SOOOOOOOOO busy!

Last weekend both my sisters and their husbands caravanned down here and moved my parents. That's 8 adults and molly all in one house,
and it sounds crazy, but the house is laid out well, and i really didn't stress about it at all. Turned out fine and it was good to visit with my sisters...they have never been here!

Mom and Dad are all moved in...kind of....they brought a little trailer and it's coming in a piece at a time....and we're a little short dresser space.

I would have gone and fixed that, as well as picking up a new office chair (i am currently sitting on an organ bench, in front of a rolltop computer desk...with the keyboard on top, instead of in it's tray...as i'm sitting too tall!)
but this weekend? opening day of deer season! Besides the holiday...it means I'M BABYSITTING!!




Deer Season here is just as big as Christmas! The Walmart was packed all day and nights Wed and Thursday...Friday it started to rain, so all the supplies being met...all the men travel into the woods and set up camp. First the boys stopped by and showed off some new tricks:




Friday night was the coldest it's been all year, and the winds were whipping hard...we even saw some snow flakes saturday afternoon! brrrrrrrr i am so glad I am not in a tent in the woods!

My boys are part of this huge ritual (i kid you not, some of the schools in the area are closed next week so the kids can hunt properly) so THIS weekend I HAVE AUBREY JO!!

Gabe and Bill...have met up with their cousin, dad, Uncle Art from Texas and big brother Josh...and deer camp set up! 3 tags were filled opening day, and rumor has it that Gabriel has FINALLY got a deer! His first NON-SKUNK opening week!

I really needed to work on cleaning and organizing...but Aubrey Jo is in the houseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! and that leaves little time to do anything! My danged BATH go cut short this morning! (thanks for waking her up, molly!) she gets a pass...since she was key in putting her to sleep last night:




So, as i say at work, because I've been late getting there 3 of 4 days...I'm really
adjusting to my new schedule this week....i like to chat with mom in the morning! nottttt working out for me! ha!

Molly LOVESSSSSSSSSS having her g-parents around! AND the baby!! She is the best aunt in the world! She is so gentle with the baby, shares her toys, and even little bear:



Aubrey was 5 months old on the 7th...is talking up a storm...rolling around....playing with her toes...and drooling POOLS!! (little teefers are starting to work their way out):



She just had some rice cereal with bananas...and
opens her little mouth like a baby bird! she LIKES dat food...as you can tell by her little michelin man legs!

She also has mastered the batting of the lashes at the men, whom she seems to just light up for....and lifts her hands and arches her back when she's ready to be spoiled.




She is all eyes, and soaking up every last detail around her! She will sit for EVER and self-entertain, but when that's over...it's over NOW!

So, if I'm not on the blog thing for a little bit, know that I miss you all...but life has just BLOWN UP here! and im loving every second!



On the prayer front...please go visit http://www.carepages.com/
and look up ColemanScott. He is one of a set of 3 yr old twins, and has had a major cancer relapse. He can't take anymore chemo or radiation, so the farm family from Iowa, currently at Sloan Ketteling in NYC...is scrambling to get on a pill-form test-study, that can be administered at home. They are a lovely family,and the boys are ADORABLE!! They are so undeserving of this tragedy...and VERY deserving of all our time and prayers. We pray for a miracle.

Big hugs to BenTheBrave (also on carepages)...who continues to struggle with the aftermath of treatment....but gets to do it at home also. We pray for his continued improvement,and for Peace for his family.

Scary danged ole nasty beast of a &)*&#@&&* disease.....it needs to be eradicated! I can't look at my babies here...and even IMAGINE the fear these parents face. Please offer up some prayers for them!


love ya!
e

I'M BACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!

wow..i have so much to update on...i LOVE these kind of weeks!

First, my sis jeri, was in Springfield with her hubby attending his work stuff...her and ally and i got to sneak off to the new "Branson's Landing" for some shopping! It was SO GREAT to see her, and have that reversion to teenagerdom in the photo booth!




and then on to vegas, where the temperature was perfect..and the pool water was the same! I got a hot stone massage one day (when i was feeling a little draggy) and then spent most of our time touring the city and being friends! WHAT A CITY!! I can't wait to go back!

No Details..as you know the Vegas rule but will leave you with three thoughts:\

1) What you bet in Vegas, is REALLY what stays in Vegas!

2) However you can, take a weekend with some girlfriends. It will be hard the first time, but YOU NEED IT! Especially moms with kids with SN's! I am revitalized for the year, and am prone to bust out laughing at the simplest of things! THANKS LADIES!!

3 If you ever get the chance to see the Beatles "Love" by Cirque de Soleil??...DO IT! no matter what the cost..JUST DO IT!! THE most amazing thing i have ever seen in my LIFE!







Then, on to Halloween! Molly has a parade at school in the morning, then a party in her classroom, they let out at noon and we're off to Springfield to trick or treat with Aubrey Jo! Her mom and dad need to work the Halloween pub crawl....so the sarge, molly, and I went up to babysit the night, too!

So first thing in the gym..Molly was separated from her boyfriend, Robert, cuz she was sitting with me.



She fixes that problem in a hurry, and i watched as they shared a moment and a language that all that know them are amazed by. I watch as she reaches up and fixes a stray red hair...




Now, Molly is not a big party girl. Usually the gym packed full of costumes is enough to frazzle her, and then the 'more compact' 2nd grade room will finish her off...so i try to make each party, and we make a quick exit if i see a meltdown coming.
It just seems too loud for her, AND she gets frustrated at not being able to comprehend what everyone is doing.
This party was different! I'm so psyched to share this story!
At the party, Molly enjoyed the snacks and seeing miss Stephanie, but didn't seem thrilled with halloween storytime or the following game...at first



They would take one child out into the hall, hide another under a sheet, all the remaining children would switch seats, and then the hall kid would come in and try to guess which 'ghost' was under the blanket.

Molly, acting bored, wouldn't switch seats but instead pulls her social studies book out from her desk and starts flipping through it. This can be a form of stemming for her (to relax) but I notice something different this time...she is not focused on the book OR the stemming.

What she is doing I call her "side eye" or "slight of eye" It's when she is acting like she's reading, but sneaking peeks at the other activity and committing them to memory. (not a good thing when she is watching the way the keys fit into the ignition...kwim?)

Then I her move to the bean bag to "read" some more...a stratigic move on her part...i could see she seemed to want to get a closer view of the action.



From the bean bag, she watched about three more kids do the hide...and when they were picking another ghost...she jumps up out of the chair, runs to the center of the reading rug, and much to the surprise of everyone..squats down to be covered up!! YAY MOLLY!!

So she likes tents and hiding and did a good job of staying under....the poor little guy trying to guess who was under it NEVER STOOD A CHANCE! NO ONE would dare believe she was participating!

So now, it's her turn to go to the hall...i start to nay-say it...cuz i KNOW she isn't going to 'get' this part...but her aide waves me off and scoots her out, leaving instruction for the teacher to put Robert under the blanket. Robert is not thrilled about participating alot, either...but jumps at this chance! After all, if Molly can do it...HE can do it!

Sure enough...they bring her in, she's a little confused...and then they show her a little of Robert's red hair...



BOBBERT!!! is what she yelled, then threw off the sheet AND SHE HUGS HIM!!




yep...it was the BEST PARTY EVER!! Everyone was beyond happy about the involvement...and everyone 'GOT IT!' This is why inclusion is so important! You might not think the 'unique' kids are paying attention...then again, they just might surprise you!

We had a good time tricker treating in Springfield, and Molly scored a TON of candy! She doesn't like it too much, so I'll probably take it to work where everyone will hate me for doing so....but diet time is on at my house...and i need no tempations.

Molly was a flamingo dancer, but i found out fast, she would have MUCH rather been a monkey! I messed up on this one! Next year? for sure twin outfits for aunt and neice!



Allyson, baby AJ and molly tore up the doorbells! Then we found a faboulous trick or trunk put on by the Lutheren Church! THEY WERE AMAZING!! What a Fab Group of People!



Aubrey Jo is growing so fast! She'll be 5 months next week, and is SQUEALING when she sees you, wants to stand up constantly...and has "michelin man' legs!! WHAT A BIG GIRL! She also likes to pull molly's hair, and squeeze grammy's cheeks and lips until her little fingernails PIERCE THEM!! hahahahah we have learned to watch and dodge those pesky fingers!

I'm uploading the squeal...it's TOO SWEET!!

Hope your last few weeks were as good as mine.

Next week? My folks move in for the winter...if you don't see alot of me...I'M CLEANING!!

*beam*