What you will NEVER see

Because he will NEVER let me take a picture of him in it. Aaron HATES Halloween, mostly because he HATES dressing up. In fact, he will purposely work that night just to get out of it.

He got a memo last week from his office while he was in Cincinnati. All departments of the hospital have been assigned a Disney movie to dress up as. The House Staff has Peter Pan. Defenseless Aaron, who was not there, got Peter Pan (I guess it's better than Tinkerbell). Mad, he was. Not really mad, just annoyed, because this is so not up his alley. Tights were out of the question, but brown slacks will work great. So I made him a hat, a tunic, and a sash. Throw in Hayden's sword, and you have a very handsome Peter Pan.

Oreo's

Aaron is in the process of interviewing for a Pediatric Critical Care fellowship. He interviewed here (Arkansas Children's Hospital) last week, which was way nice because he knew everyone and they didn't need to be so formal. One of the Intensivists he knows very well was asking about our kids. He wanted to know about their personalities, their likes and dislikes. In the end he said, "It sounds like you have an oreo." what? "hard, yet good on the outsides and soft and sweet in the middle". Kind of funny, but true. Yes, Isaac has always been hard, but he's a good kid. He makes good choices, he just does things on his own time and own terms. Caite and Hayden are sweet (most of the time). And Halle is 2 (almost 3) and she's good at it.

It's a good thing that Oreo's are my favorite cookies. When I was pregnant with Hayden, I ate a bag a week. All by my self. Yep, gotta love Oreo's.

Jammed

We were out of jam in the fridge so I sent Isaac out to the freezer to get another container. "You have to make more, this is the last one. I don't like that other stuff," he said. Strawberries aren't exactly in season right now so I went to Sam's and bought a few big bags of frozen strawberries. That should do the trick. I finally got around to making it today.

My oh so helpful helpers.

she likes it.
13 pints of strawberry and 3 pints of mixed berry jam. I'll need to buy more bags of strawberries next time. It didn't make as much as I thought it would. But then again, there isn't any more room in the freezer.

While I was blogging

Halle was beautifying herself.

"Mom, I'm all ready now".

What I didn't take a picture of (because I was too mad) was shortly after washing her face I went back to finish my last post. I finished, looked over at the kitchen and found her sitting on the counter with the jar of peanut butter. She had peanut butter all up and down her arms, legs and in her hair. Not just on her, but covered-- like I couldn't see her skin, covered. I should have taken a picture, but I was in a mad clean-up-the-mess-mode. Never a dull moment with Halle around. She's in bed now. Maybe I can sit down for a few minutes and read. maybe.

Air Force

We weathered the 95 degree "fall" weather yesterday and went to the annual Air Show put on by the Air Force. It was awesome to say the least. The kids were fascinated with all the different types of planes. They also loved the actual air show... "those stunt planes are awesome!" said Hayden. The parachuters were my favorite.

It was also our 11th Anniversary. I can't believe it has been that long. Life is good to me. Aaron is wonderful. I really couldn't have wished for a better husband. We had a fun night out with a group of LDS Doctors. The Beheshti's and Tobler's hosted the dinner. 22 LDS doctors and their wives were invited. Who would have thought there were so many that lived so close. We had fun getting to know everyone. Aaron gave me the choice of what I wanted to do for our anniversary when we received the invitation. I'm glad we went. Next week we can celebrate with just each other. Happy Days!

Syndrome

I was talking to my friend today and she brought up the point that her 2 year old has what she and her mom describe as "If you give a mouse a cookie syndrome". That describes Halle to a tee! With everything! When she asks for something the demands never end and in the end you end up at the beginning and it starts all over again. Today I'm worn out. tired. done. I got the 2 little guys I babysit down for naps leaving just Halle. Demands started. mom said no. melt down started. she NEEDS a nap, but she doesn't think so. I have 110 things that need to get done, but I can't seem to get a second to do any of it.

I will be glad when Aaron gets home. He's been gone since last Friday. First to Utah. got home, slept. Then to New Orleans for some hospital house staff training meeting. I could really use a break from 2 year olds this weekend.

What??

Conversation while making dinner

halle: mom, what jew making for dinner?

me: hamburgers and fruit salad

halle: ooo I like hotdogs. I don't want hotdogs because my feet hurt.

me: that doesn't make sense. we're having hamburgers.

halle: yeah, I like hotdogs too.

Change

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the change of weather. I love the crisp fresh air. I love the leaves that change. I love the smell of a pumpkin spice candle burning in my house. I love changing out my everyday home decor and putting up fall. It makes me happy. With Aaron and the big kids away this weekend I took the extra time and made a few new fall crafts.

I found these pumpkin topiaries on a blog (sorry, I cant remember which one) and I knew I HAD to replicate them. I love them. They make me happy.

Last year I saw these funny pumpkins on The Idea Room. I bought the fabric, but never found the time to make them. I made them last night. I love them. They make me happy.
There's something about this time a year that makes me happy. I think it is change. Change is good, change makes us better. Change makes us stronger. If we let it.
I loves these gigantic mums. They are so vibrant and full of life. They make me happy.

Fall also means General Conference. I love listening to General Conference. Twice a year (April and Oct.) we gather together with other LDS members and listen to the Prophet and other leaders of our church. It is broadcast all around the world in many different languages, so people everywhere can here their messages. I love their wisdom. I love the truth that is taught. I love the constant reminders to stay strong and hold tight to what is right. I love that I come away wanting to be a better person and I have been given the tools to do so. I love feeling the love our leaders have for us. I know it comes from a loving Heavenly Father. I know they are called of God to lead us. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet. I know that if we don't teach our children the truth the world will teach them otherwise. I know that true joy and happiness doesn't come from the world, but comes from following God's Plan of Happiness and doing the things that bring us closer to Him.