the pumking patch

again we headed to the farm to pick pumpkins from the patch (mostly so mama could take some pictures in our fall outfits)
we had lots of fun trying to pick the perfect pumpkins and trying to get some nice pictures...
Daisy thought this was a nice smile!

and she was distracted by the hayride and tractor...
we tried to get some shots at the barn but they were done at this point...
then we saw the tractor in the play ground and they could not help but jump on it....after this shot we were were very cold and decided to head in and catch the Red Sox.... hey they didn't go down without a fight and now we watch the Phillies try to tackle these kids...

a harvest of hope....

recently I have been totally ignoring our garden.... with the thought that it was a failure lingering in my mind (most of our big tomatoes and our pumpkin vines rotted with all the rain in August, same with the last of the beloved summer squash and zucchini)... we did enjoy the bounty of others gardens (thanks Papa and Amanda!)... but I feel like I just lost the oomph after that to even walk out to the garden.... until today.... we were loving reminded by Daddy over the weekend that the carrots were still green and maybe ready to be pulled... remembering that I planted the carrots for the kids mainly we headed out in the fall evening air to find...

some tiny....

some longer...

some short and fat resembling a sweet potato...

the kids loved it! and in the end we had a basket full and a feast of carrots....

I am now finding my self dreaming of planting a garden in the spring... I think I may have to check out a good gardening book to get the wheels turning... and figure out how to tear this jungle apart for the winter and prepare for the spring.... any advice? I am more than willing to learn!

Friday night lights....

we took Carter on a date (just Kevin, Carter and I) to see the Wachusett homecoming football game... it was kind of fun to be just with him... and to see Papa at work... here are some fun pictures....
needless to say I had fun watching the under dressed teenagers in there "I am oblivious to everyone except myself" state of mind.... kind of funny to observe and yes I do remember those days.... I also think I live with a three year old who sometimes has the same state of mind... needless to say it was a nice free evening (thanks to Papa) and Carter LOVED it!!! talked about it all day and the next... I think in the futre as our family grows we need to make sure we spend "date time" with each kid... it is nice to focus just on them since they seem to need that from time to time..... don't we all?

clueless...

I have been driving around lately in the "mama bus" catching this tune on the radio that sticks with me for most of the day.... I am usually caught at the dinner table singing "Think about you in the summertime..." (and yes Mom and Dad you can sing at the dinner table at this house)... Kevin has been curious about this song that I serenade our children with daily... he gave me a weird look and said "Who sings that song?"... I having no clue, just shrugged my shoulders only to have him say.... "I think it my be the new New Kids on the Block song"... me being clueless when it comes to most pop music these days gasped and said "If that's the new kids all shoot myself!"... I then got up and ran to the computer to check out Rhapsody and.... sure enough my summertime serenade is the New Kids!!!!! Donnie, Joey, Danny, Jordan and Jon?... a blast from the past but I was never a huge fan until now!... (just kidding!)

Book Club Weekend

I enjoyed joining my Book Club for a nice weekend on the Cape (only one night away but had great sleep and some peace and quiet)... my friend Erin and I drove down and got to know each other better (since we are both expecting winter babies the conversasion mostly revolved around that... our friend Jennifer and her husband have a lovely house where we crashed.... talked girl talk, did a little shopping, ate wonderful fall food, discussed our book from last month, started some crocheting, went for two walks... it was just such a nice time to get away and relax.

sometimes....

"when Daddy dresses me.....

I look like Punky Brewster....

and I kinda like it!"


-Daisy"cakes"

the joys of imaginative play...

yesterday I was asked to get out of the road as I stood in front of the "car" taking these pictures of them playing cars in the "car"...

I woke up in bed to a warning that I should not move or I will knock over my birthday cake (just a stuffed frog)...

today we had a little kitty in the office bathing in the sun.... I woke her up and was in big trouble with the "vegetarian" (what we fondly call a veterinarian)...



and I was just asked to leave the library(playroom) because Carter (the library girl) was reading books to the baby and I was too loud on the phone with Mimi...

Ooooopppps!.... so sorry to interrupt!

my birthday celebration...

I know this is a couple weeks late but here is how we spent my birthday...

we drove our "picked up that day" minivan (nice 27th birthday present huh?) to the North End in Boston with my family...

we all fit! that was really most exciting for my dad I think...
we ate at their favorite North End Italian restaurant , Giovanni's....
walked by ours, Giacomo's (just to small for a big group and no reservations)...
Carter LOVED the calamari... who would have thunk?...
Rebekah had her own dish... no sharing for this post-birthday girl!...
Daisy was a ham.... mistaken to be Rebekah's daughter by the hostess.... uuuuhhhh.... SCARY!
Carter ate the noodles slowly, spinning them around the fork... a hard task for him but he knows thats how you eat noodles...we then waited in line for cannolis....Carter was treated to gelato... Daisy had a pink cookie....

all in all it was a beautiful evening out... I felt we like we were pretending to be foreigners in a far off culture....the North End is just so different than my life here out in the country... but is an easy escape especially in a minivan!

a secretary I am not....

I say this at work all the time... the paper work is enough to drive me mad!!!!... to document my nursing assessment multiple times not to mention pain scales, neurologic assessments, safety assessments, restraints checks more times than I can count in one 12hour shift... and then to file it all?.... Yuck!

even in the scrap booking industry a huge look last year was office supplies showing up on your family page albums.... while sometimes appropriate it kinda erked me if you know what I mean...

the smell of white out even drives me to a tizzy...

so when my crazy busy husband asks me to do a "secretarial task" it is hard for me not to cringe...

so far I have spent this Saturday morning changing the addresses on our licenses, figuring out which hair salon his hair dresser moved to and fasting for an hour this morning so we could have a life insurance physical... needless to say I am trying to be good and not think of this as a chore but a service to my husband who has spent endless hours the last month figuring out what car we should buy, what life insurance policy is the best for us all while working 40+ hours a week/commuting 10hours, watching the children at least two nights a week so I can work and taking a masters class... it's all about the service around here but now with most of those things out of the way we now turn to renovating two bedrooms in the house so we can fit another child in!

emotionally exhausted...

(family game night a few weeks ago)

this week has been tough.... a young man(Steven) in our church (18yo) has been diagnosed with brain cancer (a very aggressive type)... he has had many symptoms over the past month or so but no one thought this tumor would be the culprit... he had exhaustive brain surgery to remove the tumor on Wednesday and I worked Wednesday night in the ICU he was staying in... his mother, father and grandmother were waiting in the waiting room... I spoke with them before they went home that night knowing that the road ahead is long, hard and grim.... his mother(Lisa) is very strong in the Lord and her faith is being stretched... his father is lovingly being drawn back to Him... our church has out poured love on this family in ways I have never seen before.... I spoke with Lisa last night in the ICU again and just was baffled by the fact that one day Steven was 3 years old, cute as a button but driving her crazy, making things difficult, making her laugh, and cry all at once.... if anything it makes me want to stop and hold my own babes a little longer, knowing that God is ultimately in control of them.... and resting in the fact that I am merely a tool in His hand to mold them, show Christ's love to them and resting in the peace that He is in control... please join me in praying for this family and Steven to be healed miraculously...

his version of sneakers...

after having high top blue chucks last fall, winter and spring (really stretch the life out of those!).... Carter seems to think these are sneakers and nothing else measures up... I have to say I agree but in an effort to by shoes better for winter (and that I don't have to tie when I am 9 months pregnant) I took him to Target and Stride Rite looking for other options... in the end these were purchased off of Ebay and we are both happy!...



what kind of kid am I raising?.... makes me wonder...

Cricut creating...

I have been having lots of fun with my new toy...
making cards, tags for gifts, titles for my pages, cute animals for the kids to play with, etc....

the creating is endless with this thing...

watch out I may be electronically die cutting anything I can get my hands on soon!

what do you do when your stuck at home?

we make bread, stay in our PJs, do laundry, try to clean, make a shopping list, play together and wait for our new minivan (coming soon)....


I am "official" now to do this mama thing!

Carter family birthday weekend

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Dawson may love balls but Daisy loves clothes...

Dawson, my nephew is apparently obsessed with balls of all kinds.... while Daisy of growing her own obsession with clothing (here she is caught with Carters "boys" on like a helmet)... she has been caught with everyone in the families clean underwear on her head at one point or another... the other day she went upstairs and came down with her blanket and monkey in her arms and Carters pajamas almost completely on over her clothes! I am not sure how she learned to dress herself but this should make things easy once the baby comes... now if only she could change her own diaper too!.... hummmm?

NE in mourning....

the nurse I was working with last night in the ED looked out the window this am and said I wonder why the flag is at half staff.... I said it must be because of our poor "Tommy boy"....