Abby's Baby Girl Shower

On November 4th, we had Abby's baby shower! This was an especially exciting shower because Abby is having the first baby girl since Charlotte's girls. There have been 10 boys in a row since then and now we're really excited to have a little baby girl again! I'm not going to lie, I have been buying this little girl a lot of outfits. The only better thing than being the Mom to a baby girl, is being the Aunt.

Abby wanted a woodland theme for this shower, so she, Ruth and I searched Pinterest for all the good ideas. Luckily, I have a friend who had done this same theme for her brother's wedding reception, so she let me borrow a ton of the wood and other decor. The rest I was able to find at Michael's with coupons! (Yay for coupons!) Ruth planned the games and favors, I was in charge of the invitations, decorations, serving stuff, and making the cakes. Abby planned out what food she wanted and the two of us hit up Costco and Sprouts to get all the food. Ruthie decided to come up from California for the shower and bring the twins, so my mom flew out with her to help her on the plane since you can't have two babies on one lap. I'm pretty sure Ruth is Super Woman.

I had spent the day before making these tiny cakes using vegan substitutions and they turned out pretty good! The cakes kept falling and the frosting kept melting, so eventually I had to put them in a dish in the fridge to keep them up while they were each assembled.

On the table, we had paper bags filled with goodies and snacks, hummus for the pretzels, cucumber sandwiches (that were both vegan and delicious...I couldn't stop eating them!), and two different salads. To drink, we had water with sliced oranges and a cold apple cider that Abby whipped it that turned out really delicious.

The games Ruth planned were really cute and fun. One of my favorites was to sculpt a baby out of Play-doh in 10 minutes, and Abby had to judge them. Mine looked like Benjamin Button (on the left in orange). I did win a prize though.

We had a pretty good turn out, which I was really happy about. Abby seemed to really be happy with how it all turned out, which was the most important. It was fun to see Ruth's babies and hang out again, even if it was only for a couple days. I completely forgot to get a picture of the cute favors Ruth put together. They were little muslin bags with a stamp of a pinecone on them, filled with spiced nuts.

Halloween

In preparation for Halloween, we of course carved pumpkins. The boys all designed theirs and Cruise both designed and carved his own: R2-D2. I was actually pretty impressed that he had the patience and attention to actually complete it and that it looked pretty good! 

Jett's on the left and Miles' on the right.

Cruise's R2D2

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Not because of the super scary stuff, because I really don't enjoy that part, but I LOVE the dressing up, the silly, creative costumes, the jack-o-lanterns, the candy...it's great. However, as a parent, it is now one of the busiest days of the year. 

Halloween morning, we got the boys ready: Cruise in his Harry Potter costume, Jett in his S.W.A.T. costume, and Miles in his Gekko PJMasks costume. Dave took Cruise and Jett to school and stayed to watch their parade. I took Miles to school and then came home and got ready in my Louise from Bob's Burgers costume.

Then Dave and I went to his preschool to watch his parade and program. They each came out individually to show their costumes, they sang a bunch of songs, Miles hit Superman in the face with his mask for being in his space, you know, the usual. They also did a little trick-or-treating to all the parents, so I brought bubbles to hand out. 4 year-olds love bubbles. 

After that, the three of us ate lunch and then I had to get everything together to do the boys' parties. First was Jett's class party. I provided a snack (Halloween trail mix) & bottled water, and read Halloween stories. I had to leave early because I then had to run to my car, swap the trail mix and books with a big bowl full of prizes and treats, and then run to Cruise's class for that party. I did a scavenger hunt which turned out to be WAY easy because a classroom full of kids with autism means a classroom full of kids who see details and notice even the slightest differences better than anyone else. So yeah, not much of a challenge. After that party, I gathered the boys' pumpkins that they had brought for Pumpkins on Parade, grabbed the boys, and we headed home. 

Once we got home, I put in an order for our usual jack-o-lantern pizzas, drove to pick them up, came home, we ate, and then the kids were ready to go! 

Dave was less than enthusiastic having to take the boys trick-or-treating again. Unlike me, he is not a huge fan of Halloween. My feet hurt too bad from running around all day, so there was no way I was going trick-or-treating. So he was a trooper and took them. He was sure to bring the big wagon, some water, and a pillowcase for the boys to dump their candy into when their own buckets got full. Every year I get a phone call after a bit telling me to come pick up Miles or all of them, but they were out much longer this year, and I guess Miles was really into it. I drove to pick them all up and the amount of candy they had was insane! I quickly took them to the neighborhood haunted house and then back home. They showered and I started on the candy distribution. This is what happens when you have a socialist for a mother. I organized everything divided things up evenly, unless they didn't like a specific candy (Miles hates chocolate), and then Dave and I get the leftovers. Everyone has an equal amount, everyone has the candy they like, and everyone is happy. 

And that is how we do Halloween. 

My Birthday

I usually hate my birthday. Like, it should be completely skipped over every year. But after this year's birthday, I think I might be a little more optimistic in the future. Dave really outdid himself and completely spoiled me.

First thing in the morning, he let me sleep in and he got the kids up, dressed, fed, and off to school. Jett had come into my room to give me a really cute card, a penny, a gift card he had gotten last year for his birthday (lol!), and a Lego plaque he made that says "Mom!".

After I got ready, Dave drove me to Nails 21 on Main where I got a pedicure and didn't have to talk to anyone. It was amazing. Of course, my nail got messed up as soon as I got home, but it was still nice having pretty toes.

After he picked me up (with balloons), we went and got lunch at Zao and headed home. Dave told me I could watch the second season of Stranger Things, which also happened to come out on my birthday, but I hesitantly resisted so we could watch it together (you're welcome, Dave). So I watched Scrubs and folded laundry while he and Miles made me my birthday cake!

A few hours later, Dave sent me to University Mall to get an hour massage at Remedez, and it was heaven. It was everything I wanted. Again, no talking, and me just enjoying being pampered. After my massage, I took advantage of their amenities and showered. I got home, did my hair and makeup, and then Dave's parents came to watch the kids while we went to the Peruvian restaurant in SLC. We had the papas a la huancaina, platanos fritos, ceviche, and decided to try something different than the lomo saltado, which I kind of regret because lomo is amazing, but it was still fun trying something different. I still don't really know what it was. Ha ha ha ha!

After we got home, we had the cake Dave and Miles made me, which was my favorite: cake box German chocolate.

After Dave's parents left, the boys played me a special song and it was incredibly entertaining and hilarious. They're the best. Even if they are all tone deaf.

The boys also gave me some cute cards and sweets, as well as a coupon book! My first coupon book! And a lot of the coupons have to do with cleaning, which I'm a big fan of.

Then the Sunday after, Dave's parents had us over to once again celebrate my birthday! And Mom made me meatless enchiladas, ceviche, and some amazing bread. It was such a great meal! And to top  it off, they gave me the gift of money! Woo hoo!

It was an awesome birthday and honestly, it was the best birthday I've ever had.

Hee Haw Farms

On October 23rd, we took the boys to Hee Haw Farms. This has become our yearly fall tradition as opposed to Cornbelly's. I just can't handle the crowds and I can't justify spending an obscene amount of cash on something that really shouldn't cost that much. So Hee Haw Farms is where it's at!

The slide is always a favorite. I made the mistake of not taking my keys out of my back pocket before sliding down. That was fun.

They had a new bunny house this year and the boys were all over that. Miles especially. They kept making us go back to hold the bunnies. Those poor bunnies.

After that, we took the wagon thing (which was clearly built by a Cub Scout because the thing was going to fall apart any minute) to do the corn maze. I personally detest corn mazes. They trigger my anxiety and I'm either afraid of getting lost or one of my kids getting lost. But we stayed together for the most part and it wasn't too bad. I did, however, regret instantly dressing Miles in orange and gray.

After that, the boys rode the little animal train and rolled inside a giant tube. Because I guess that's fun.

Then we did my favorite activity: The Corn Pit! I helped them cover themselves and then Dave decided to "shower" them with corn feed. This led to the boys intentionally filling up their shirts and pants with corn, upon which hilariousness ensued.

 We had taken two cars so Dave could leave for work. He ended up leaving after the corn, so after the boys were finished, we got ice cream!

The boys rode the slide a few more times, climbed up this big hay stack, and then we went home! They had dirt in their shoes and corn in their underwear, but they had fun!