'The Great Pumpkin Rescue'

((needed a little change. new title--new layout))

Fall is in the air ladies and gents. The leaves are slowly changing. The morning air smells different. WalMart had a great deal on their larger jar candles, and I bought a pumpkin pie scented one.

Last night, Jaren and I ventured out to WalMart to pick up some things for dinner, when I realized, Jaren doesn't know what a pumpkin is. He has never touched one or anything. WalMart had them on sale $0.78 lb. We walked up to the box and I picked out a small pumpkin and handed it to Jaren. He said orange ball. I told him no baby, that's a pumpkin. 'PUMPKIN?' He asked with a smile on his face... "yes baby, a pumpkin". He was so excited. Anytime we got close enough to someone he would hold up the pumpkin and confidently tell them what it was.

When we got home, I got him out of the car and handed him his pumpkin to carry inside. I walked around to the other side of the car to get the groceries out and Jaren followed me. As I was getting all the bags out of the car, Jaren saw something in the car floor that he wanted and sat his pumpkin down. A few seconds later I heard him say uh oh. The pumpkin was gone. We ran around to the other side of the car and I didn't see it. So I got down on all fours and looked under the car. I didn't think there was ANY WAY that it could have rolled all the way under the car. I turned around and I see the pumpkin had rolled down the hill and right in front of our eyes, it jumps the ditch, rolls across 119 (the highway where we live), under the guardrail and disappeared. Jaren screamed PUMPKIN in the most horrifying, traumatized voice EVER! I was heartbroken for him :(

We came inside the house and he was still crying and screaming for the long lost pumpkin. But of course Daddy came to the rescue. We all walked down to the end of the drive way and Jaren and I patiently waited as Jesse ran across the road and jumped the guardrail. He couldn't find the pumpkin at first and I told him it only cost $1.70 so he didn't need to worry about it, I would find Jaren another one. But he insisted. He walked a little ways along the guardrail and then I saw him go down over the hill. When he popped his head back up, he was holding the pumpkin. Jaren smiled so big and started screaming pumpkin again. He was so excited!!

If I got to give an award Jesse would get Daddy of the year for simply rescuing the pumpkin. It's the simple things right?!?!
Jaren with his prize winning pumpkin :)

BOGUS!!!!

Yep! I just used the word BOGUS, because that is exactly how I feel about ReliOn thermometers right now!

Before I left the hospital after having Brady, our pediatrician told us to by a temple thermometer for taking the boys temperature because it was quicker and easier than rectally. We found an awesome steal of a ReliOn Temple Thermometer for $9.96 at WalMart.
We thought it was so great, we'd be able to take the boys temperature within a few seconds and wouldn't have to worry about getting pooped on or making them uncomfortable. WELLL.....yesterday, Jaren was acting like he didn't feel very well, and he seemed a little warm when he got up from his nap. I took his temperature using the device shown above and the temperature read 98 degrees. I didn't believe it, just to be sure I went ahead and took the rectal and it read 102. WOW HUGE DIFFERENCE RIGHT? I went ahead and tried the temple again and it read 97. Its not even consistent. There is a life time warranty on the thing, so I went ahead and wrote the company because I think that there are probably some Mommas out there that would take the temperature and then not give it a second thought.

It's been almost 24 hours that Jaren's temperature has fluctuated between 99.8 and 102. I am going to take him with me to Brady's 2 month well baby checkup tomorrow and have Dr. Bowlin give him a once over because alot of my friends are suggesting possible ear infection, because he's got symptoms like their children have had. I've never dealt with an ear infection before so I chalked it up to teething :( Definitely not getting Mom of the year award.... :( I feel awful that I let it go without thinking about it. But once he sees Dr. B tomorrow I know he'll be feeling much better.

Anyway, I had some talked about plans of going to visit Lacy and the girls this week as well as Heidi and her little chickies, but I think we'll have to postpone all that until Jaren is feeling better!

I hope everyone is having a great Thursday. Jesse was requested to stay all day tomorrow to work the Black Caucus, so he won't be home until Saturday now.

LOVE YOU ALL!

While I have a moment....

Jaren and Brady are both napping, and I've managed to get a shower! YAY! I now have a moment to just sit and do something I WANT to do!! I thought I'd just update a little...

Next Tuesday, Brady Hunter will be 2 months old. He is growing so quickly and changing everyday right before my eyes. Next Thursday, Jaren will be 23 months old and the wonderful party planning of a 2nd birthday party will begin. Jesse and I have already decided on the WOW! WOW! Wubbzy! Theme because basically he rocks Jarens life. I have a feeling its going to turn into a big cluster of WOW WOW!, Diego, and Cars; because he loves all of those. HAHA!

Jesse is on week number 4 of his job. I'm not really sure exactly how much information I am allowed to divulge right now, but I can tell you he is working for the Department of Veteran's Affairs for the VET Center and he is loving every minute of it. He has been traveling a lot the last few weeks, but that means work, and with work means stable employment, so I am not complaining at all. (I'll blog more info later)

As for me, I am officially 8 weeks postpartum today! AMAZING HOW QUICK THESE 8 WEEKS WENT. I am really wanting to start a good workout regiment, but being completely honest, I just can't find the will or the motivation. If I could make myself workout even 20 minutes in the morning before the boys get up, Id be in better shape than I am right now sitting on the couch. Any suggestions workout friends?!?!?! I absolutely refuse to give up foods that I love, REFUSE, but there is no reason I cant learn to eat in moderation and not deprive myself.

I was watching a Joyce Meyer special the other morning and she was talking about moderation saying how she loves whip cream in her coffee, but she allows herself whip cream in 1 cup of coffee 1 day a week. Why can't I do that?!?!?! WHY CANT I HAVE 1 COKE A WEEK? Or only drink a pop whenever we go out to dinner, which I would like to cut out the majority of doing as well. Jesse stopped drinking pop and now he thinks it tastes sooooo weird, he'd much rather have water. AHHH HELP ME!

Anyway, I've been wanting some fresh bi-color corn on the cob and my mom found some from a local farm, so I will be enjoying that for dinner tonight YAY!! Hmmm maybe I can be disciplined with the butter and salt....YIKES!

Capturing life's moments so I always remember....

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away. ~Eudora Welty

Last night, I took a hilarious picture of Jesse and Jaren, which I will share with you in a minute. We found ourselves laughing hysterically and Jaren following behind us, mimicking us like a little parrot.

After I showed Jesse the picture, he asked me to please upload it onto his Facebook page, while he finished getting Jaren ready for bed. I decided I'd go ahead and upload all the pictures from the month of September to share with our family and friends, when I came to realize that only a handful or two of pictures have been taken this month! How Sad!!! So many cute, funny, interesting things have occurred this month and now at this point, I can't really recall many of them except for the ones I actually do have pictures of.

At this point, I am challenging myself. I know that in the everyday hustle and bustle that I'm going to have to really get onto myself to make sure this happens. But I am going to make sure that I take at least 1 picture a day of my boys. I'd really like to challenge myself to at least 5 photos a day, but right now I'm going to start out small and realistic and then if I go above and beyond that then YAY me!

It's amazing the way things change so suddenly. I still remember bringing the teeny tiny little miracle that Jesse and I waited so patiently for God to bless us with (Jaren Robert) home from the hospital, and now in less than 2 months, the wild man will be 2. Next Tuesday, our newest little blessing Brady, will be 2 months old. It seems like I have tons of pictures when we lived in NC, and once we moved here I just stopped taking pictures. I don't want it to be like that ANYMORE.

I've created an account on Shutterfly.com and once I have the pictures loaded on there, I will share that with you all. I have lots of pictures from '08 and when we first moved back to West Virginia stored on the desktop and I hope in the next week or so I am able to get it moved over here from my parents house and all of those photos uploaded to Shutterfly as well as saved onto a disk and stored in the firesafe.

I hope you all will enjoy all the interesting photos I'm sure I'll have to share!

And so the photo stories begin......