The pumpkins used to be orange.

We had so much fun painting pumpkins this year. Becca painted for a long time before she tried to eat the paint brush!Man, we are serious about our painting...look at that concentration.Mara put the cutest little smiley face on hers.

Oh and I almost forgot, here's a picture of the finished product.....Now, as long as it doesn't rain and wash off all of the washable paint, we're good!

Worms and Blood Work for Me

This is the perfect Halloween lunch (even though we just happen to have it for supper last night)...Worms with a side of blood! You just take hotdogs and cut them in strips and then they get all curly when you boil them. It was super easy and the girls LOVED it!

Check it out....eeeeewwwww!

Mara said, "Momma, the blood tastes like ketchup, and the worms taste like hotdogs!" Who knew worms taste like hotdogs!

So for a perfect Halloween lunch or dinner, worms and blood work for me!

For more Works for Me Wednesday, go here.

Wordless Wednesday #17

My three Pumpkin Princesses!

Why do we buy them toys?

All I really need to buy is just more toilet paper!This was a full roll, but now it looks like this....
...and she had SO much fun!

My favorite thing....

...about hand-me-downs....Yep, the first pic is Mara at about 15 months, the middle one is Emily at 10 months, and the last one is Becca just today at 13 months. I LOVE it!

Fall, Y'all Giveaway! ***Updated with winner***

***Update***
Thanks to random.org, the winner is commenter #106.
Congratulations, Sue!

It's time for a REALLY big giveaway. I mean it's HUGE! Go here to check out everyone participating...and maybe win you something too! ("win you something"? Wow, that sounds so country. Guess I can't pretend to be anything else!)

Anyway, I'm giving away this cute little baby hat hand-knit by yours truly. It's the pink paper bag hat from the cover of Itty-Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson. (That's the book I learned to knit from.)It's a size 6-12 months. Oh, and the adorable baby does not come with it!

All you have to do is leave a comment and I'll draw a winner on Friday night. And don't forget to check out all of the other giveaways.

Good Luck!

Pancake PJ Party on the Porch

Happy Birthday , Frannie! I might have to steal your momma's party idea sometime cause we had a blast!My niece, Frannie, is in the blue. Doesn't she look just like Emily?

Thank you,

Thank you, thank you very much! I'd like to thank my children and my husband...oh yes, and my parents too. And thank you God for giving me all of these.

Oh wait, I don't get to give an acceptance speech for this award. Oops, sorry. Guess I'll just say thanks Brandi!

We lived just down the street from Mark and Brandi in Memphis (btw Brandi, we drove through the old neighborhood last weekend and almost got lost...it's changed so much!). It's really cool to reconnect with them via bloggityville!

Guess I'm supposed to pass the award on, so here goes....

First, Ginny at 4 Texans. She has two gorgeous girls and another baby on the way. They are moving back to Texas and I'm praying for a smooth move and adjustment for the family. Oh, and Ginny, I still can't believe that you're not finding out the gender of baby #3. My money is on another girl!

And second, Jennifer for the snake story the other day....oh wait, you don't have a blog. Ok, Heidi for the stroller with baby rolling down the huge hill at riverfront...oh wait, you don't have a blog either. I really need to talk my real life friends into starting blogs cause there are lots of great stories out there going untold! Come on you guys, every one's doing it!

I'm not embarassed to claim him...

...but some days I say that with a little less confidence! I love you honey but I'd love to get inside that head of yours sometimes. What were you thinking when you took this picture? Ok, so maybe I don't want to get inside of your head. I still love you though!

Throwback Thursday #1

I've not participated in Throwback Thursday before because I keep meaning to take some pictures of some great old pictures at Mom and Dad's house but keep forgetting.

So anyway, I saw this post at Deb's blog and decided to go searching for Halloween pics of my girls. Then I had a good cry because I'm hormonal and they are growing up SO fast!

Here's Mara at 10 months old , her first Halloween.... oh I miss that serious little chunky face!Here's my M&Ms from 2 years ago. Mara's almost two and Emily is 6 months old. I'll never forget that Halloween. They were both just getting over the croup. I can tell in that picture that Emily doesn't feel good at all.
And here's my bumble bees from last year. Mara's almost three. Emily's 18 months, and Becca is 5 weeks. I think it only took us about two hours just to get around our little block while trick-or-treating.I'm getting so excited for next week now!

See that little picture?

The picture that's before the url in your browser... it's called a favicon. Wha cha think? Thanks, honey. You're my hero!

Great TV Moments

So I haven't blogged about my dvr addiction lately. I've been too busy watching tv shows on the dvr to blog about it! I'm finally caught up though, and there has been some great moments this week.

First of all, Marie Osmond passing out on Monday was priceless...and on live tv! This is the first season that I've watched Dancing with the Stars. I haven't really been into it until now. I'm totally going to watch every single episode now to see someone else pass out on national tv.

And The Bachelor... Hometown dates are next week and I can't wait. Hillary broke my heart this week though. When they start crying when they leave, I'm usually like "oh shush, grow up" but I really felt bad for Hillary this week. Maybe all of this reality tv is getting to me!

Then the Biggest Loser the other night... Oh my goodness. I still can't believe that Neil's still there after pulling a stunt like that. Uuuuu, I'm so mad! Yes, this reality tv is definitely getting to me.

I do have a new favorite show though. I'm LOVING Friday Night Lights. I know, it's not a reality show, but I'm giving it a chance!

Ok, that's all for now. I really do need to get a life...or maybe just fold laundry during nap time instead of feeding my dvr addiction!

Wordless Wednesday #16

"Faster Becca, Faster!"For more Wordless Wednesday, go here.

"Deal?" Works for Me

I think I've mentioned before how strong-willed Emily is.....yes, maybe here and here and here too....oooo, and here's even a picture of a strong-willed episode.

Ok, so we've already established that she is strong-willed and a little difficult to live with. The problem is that a lot of parents use the 'strong-willed' thing as a cop out for disobedience and disrespect. Emily is strong-willed, but she does not run our household or get away with disobedience.

We have had to be creative with consequences and requests though. For example, spanking just succeeds is making her really mad and does not discourage wrong-doing. Time-out however is magic. We also have to be careful 'telling' her to do something. If I say "Emily, pick your toys up." She says, "No." But if I say, "Emily, I bet you can pick these toys up really fast." She says, "I bet I can." Now, she doesn't get away with the "No" without some consequences, but life is so much quieter if I remember how to ask her to do things!

The thing that has been working so well lately is "Deal?" Whenever I ask any of the girls to do something (or not do something) I like a "Yes, ma'am" in response. It helps me know that they heard me, and it helps them know that I mean business. Emily hates saying 'yes, ma'am' though. So, what works great with her is "Deal?" For example.....

Me: Emily, I need you to go potty so we can go play outside. Deal?
Emily: Deal!

I'm not sure how long this will work with her but for now "Deal?" works for me! Oh ya, and it's pretty funny when she pulls a "No deal" every now and then!

For more Works for me Wednesday go here.

Messin' with Emily

I love messing with Emily. She doesn't get mad like Mara does, she just laughs at me.

Watching Dora the other day....
Me: Emmy, wha cha watchin?
Emily: Dowa.
Me: Dowa?
Emily: No, Dowa.
Me: Dowa?
Emily: No, Dowa.
Me: Dowa?
Emily: NO, DOWA.
Me: Oh, Dowa.
Emily: (laughing) Mooooooom!

Dressing up like Belle from Beauty and the Beast....
Me: Ooooo Sissy, you look gorgeous! Who are you?
Emily: Bayel.
Me: Bayel?
Emily: No, I Bayel.
Me: Bayel?
Emily: No, Bayel.
Me: Bayel?
Emily: NO, BAYEL!
Me: Oh, Bayel.
Emily: (laughing) Moooooom!

I could tell at least a dozen more but you get the picture!

I love you so much Sissy, and I love that we can have fun together. Oh, and thanks for not getting mad when I mess with you!

At the Pumpkin Patch

This is only the hundredth one that Emily decided to pick up and carry around.Mara took a long time deciding on which one she wanted.
Ok, ya'll please look at the camera...I just want one picture.
Let's try that again. Well, they ARE all looking at the camera. I guess I forgot to tell them not to look like I had just threatened them!

This one's for you, Honey!

My husband will get a kick out of these Lego ads. I think they're brilliant!