Halloween Hayride

Up in Ohio, at least in our neck of the woods, they trick or treat a bit differently than what we're used to.  I'm still not sure why they do it this way, and I don't ask.  Different townships and towns trick or treat on different days the week of Halloween.  We are in Granger township and our designated day this year is the 27th.  That fell on a Sunday, and normally we don't do anything but church on Sundays, we try and keep the Sabbath day holy, but to a kid, trick or treating is kind of a big deal so we made an exception this year.  

Our neighbors, the Williams, volunteered to take all the neighbor kids around trick or treating on a hayride and it was so much fun.  I overheard Addyson telling one of her friends, "this is TONS of fun!"  Loved that.  It was a fun time with great weather and great friends.

39 going on 9

So we got Ryan your usual dad birthday presents this year.  Some ties, some cologne, an ice cream cake, just sort of blah.  But then a week before his birthday my neighbor is talking about her son's Rip Stick that he got for Christmas that's too big for him, so the wheels in my head start turning.  Ryan would be all over this thing.  My nephew Bailey has one that Ryan rode a few years ago and I'm pretty sure loved it.  He was definitely reliving those pre-teen years!  I ask my neighbor if she'd be willing to sell her son's Rip Stick and she said she would.  Done.  A favorite birthday present had been bought.  Score!

Rainbow Loom Bracelets

There's this little(I mean HUGE) trend the kids love called Rainbow Looms.  

Back in march, I get a call from brandy and she tells me if I have not heard of rainbow looms I'm missing out.  She says that Addy would love them, etc.  I jump online and get Addyson a loom kit.  It came in the mail a few days later and the rest was history.  No one around here in medina knew what these looms were so it was fun to discover something new and show friends.  By August the trend had really exploded and now these kiddos breathe, eat, sleep and play these bracelets.  Ryan has even gotten in on the action and the girls love that.  It's a fun thing to do instead of playing a computer game or watching TV.  I see even more of this going on once the snow starts falling!

FHE with friends

So I have this sweet friend, Kathryn, that I love, and love her kids too.  They moved into our ward just a few months after we did, we were paired together as visiting teaching companions, and have been good friends ever since.  We have a lot in common, and she's just plain funny.  I have such a blast when we hang out.

Our husbands both travel quite a bit so this past Monday, she and her kiddos invited the girls and me over for family home evening.  We had sushi, Mac and cheese and fruit for dinner, a great lesson followed by some games for the kiddos, and strawberry shortcake and sundaes for dessert.  FHE is great anyway, but when you get to spend it with friends it can be even better.  We love the Millers!

Fiestaware Tent Sale

On Friday, my sweet neighbor Joan and I took a road trip to West Virgina to check out the twice a year tent sale at the Homer Laughlin outlet.  They're the people that make Fiestaware.  Before I met Joan I had no idea what Fiestaware is.  It's basically bright colored, oven safe, lead free dishes and serving ware.  I'm not a big color person when it comes to my dishes, I think my next set will be white, but I thought it would be fun to add some colorful serving pieces to my kitchen.  And color I found!  We arrived in Newell, WV at about 10 am, about a 2.5 hour drive from Medina, and we stood in line until noon when we got in the tent.  Fiestaware isn't cheap stuff, so when they have their big tent sales in June and October, people come out in droves.  The prices are rediculously cheap.  And, the pieces they sell are their "seconds", which means they're not 100% perfect to sell in the store, there might be a bubble, small chip, discoloration, etc.  I got a beautiful platter, in flamingo(pink) for $15 that retails for $90., score!  I got some pitchers, some spoon rests, baking dish, chip and dip set, and a crock to put my kitchen utensils in.  I'm pretty happy with my loot!  It was so fun hanging out with Joan.  She's a great lady and all we do is laugh when we're together.  A great day for sure.

The Beginning of Braces

In September the girls had dentist appointments and after they had their teeth cleaned the dentist came in to evaluate.  She pointed out to me that Addyson has a cross bite, and you can definitely see it.  I'd never noticed it before, but I tend to not look at my kids bites that often;). Dentist said Addyson should see an orthodontist, so we did.  Ortho determined she needed first, an expander for 6 months to a year, then braces on her top teeth after that.  I thought all of this was happening at a younger than normal age, but the ortho assured me the younger we can start, the easier it is to correct the problem.  So we started the process this past Tuesday.  We took little one in to get x rays taken, impressions made and spacers put in.  The hygienist told us Addyson would be pretty sore from the spacers and she really is.  We've been keeping up on Advil as needed but it's still painful for her.  Luckily the pain is only supposed to last 3-4 days.  We are on day 3 now.  Next week she gets her expander put in.  She's been a trooper, but for a kid that's pretty sensitive to pain and anything different it hasn't been all that fun.  Proud of her.