Creativity, Carving and Calamity

Well, "calamity" (which means an event resulting in great loss and misfortune), may be a bit strong, but turning pumpkins into Jack-o-lanterns with the Six Dream Weavers was (as always) an adventure!  I mean, you can  picture it, right?  3 "big" kids eager to to get started, but not all that interested in cleaning out the pumpkin guts, a six year old DETERMINED to save the seeds for roasting, and a 2 year old, doing all his 2 year old things, right in the middle of all of it.  I only freaked out for a second, then I was reminded by my husband that they are just kids, everything is washable, and as long as we keep the knives from the toddler all is well.

(Interesting sidebar: my kids (the big three) are not the best at choosing something and sticking to it.  The Twisters went back and forth a dozen times on whether or not they wanted costumes to go TorT'ing, then once we agreed that they WERE dressing up, they couldn't come up with a costume choice.  As of Monday of this week, we still had nothing.  I make a decision for them.  And Jake - same way!  We've been asking him since September what we wanted to be for Halloween.  He was a ninja last year, and for a long time he wanted to wear last year's customer (which would never fit, and I doubt we have all the pieces to).  FINALLY got him to pick by taking him shopping one hour before a carnival he was going to last Friday night!  I picked Finn's costume, so that was easy!)  This trend translates to jack-o-lantern design as well.  Pick a design.  Anytime now.  Just pick.  Sketch something out.  Triangle eyes.  A nose.  A mouth.  Or pick form the designs dad printed off.  FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS CREEPY AND SPOOKY, PICK SOMETHING!)

So, let's start with the annual trek to Grider's Farm to pick the pumpkins.  This has been an INSANE month for us, so it almost didn't happen.  But, as luck had it, we were all in the same place with no pressing commitments last Sunday afternoon, so off we went!  We came home with about a dozen pumpkins of various sizes.

So, Monday night, after a quick dinner and clean up, the TIME HAD COME!  Each child went outside and picked up "their" pumpkin, Dad broke out the "carving tool kits" and I got the good knives.  We put plastic down on the kitchen floor, and got to work.  I had 3 large bowls, too.  I was in charge of cleaning out the 3 big kids pumpkins 0 Britt did his own.  I just kept putting guts in a bowl, and had the big kids picking out seeds.  Finn, well, he was playing with spoons and guts, tasted some, and loved squishing his hands in the wet seed.  Oh, and while this was going on, they were supposed to be deciding on designs.  WOWza!  Emma and Lara completely carved their own last year, so I let them go at it again this year.  Jake picked a "vampire face" to be like his costume, and I carved it for him.  Then, he decided he wanted to cut one himself.  YIKES!  So, he got another pumpkin, helped me clean it out, and I let him cut the eyes and nose, I did the mouth...

And, while the 5 of us were trying to wrestle Finn, four jack-o-lanterns, countless pokers, carvers, saw tooth tools and knives - as well as piles of guts, seeds, and discarded parts, Britt was sitting calmly at the dining room table working his skills on his masterpiece!  I think he got the better deal here! LOL!  But it was fun, and so worth it.  The kids even helped clean up!  I will let the rest of our night speak in pictures.

trying to keep Finn busy

Lara

Emma

Jake

Dad

Working so well together!  Even if the plastic is now all wadded up under them...

All the seeds they managed to get!

SOMEONE had my camera!  LOVE finding pics like this!  :)

The kids' finished products

Lights on, lights off!

Another Jack-o-Lantern carving party is in the book.  Makin' Memories!

I love Halloween with these kids:

On top of the hay stack at the pumpkin patch

October! You're here!

It's my favorite month!  My birthday, autumn colors, pumpkin flavored everything, Jack-o-lanterns, HALLOWEEN!  And, this weekend, miracle baby FINN WILL BE TWO YEARS OLD!  How in the world did that 2 years go by so very quickly?  Seems like yesterday we brought him home from the NICU!  And now he's a healthy, happy, walking, talking, CRAZY toddler!  We couldn't be more blessed!

The end of September here in Oklahoma was a HOT one, but the cool down has started and should stay it sounds like.  We took time this past weekend to thoroughly clean out both boys' closets.  Made them try on every pair of pants we owned!  Did this about 2 months ago, in preparation for the Fall Adorable Affordables consignment sale, but they have both grown since then!  It was time to do it again!  Needless to say, I have a GREAT start on next year's fall sale!  We also took out all the summer stuff that was too stained to keep, or too small to wear.  So, the Spring sale has a good starting point as well. 

We are also gearing up for my cousin's wedding in just a few weeks!  We are all looking through our closets trying to find wedding clothes to wear!  Emma and Lara have it easy - they are candle lighters in the ceremony, so they have dresses all set to go.  (Although, come to think of it, Emma's is still at the alterations shop...  I need to check on that!).  Finn's birthday is this weekend; I'm hoping he gets something suitable to wear as a gift.  Jake got a nice dress shirt at the consignment sale, and we bought him slacks this weekend.  He wants to wear a tie.  A neck tie.  A "REAL" one!  Gotta do some searching for that.  And I have a black dress.  That should work.  Britt has a few shirts to pick from - we will look FABULOUS! LOL!

Someone in my office today asked how the Weaver's were doing it up big for Halloween this year.  Sadly, I don't think we are.  The girls are past dressing up, and Jake doesn't want to "play my game" and dress in a theme with his baby brother, so I think we'll just wing it.  I don't want to spend a lot of money on it, either.  October is an expensive month around here!  In my dreams, I had Jake dressed as Sully and Finn as Mike from Monsters U.  Then, Emma and Lara were going to dress up as some of the sorority monsters from the movie as well.  Again, no one wants to play along. *sad face*

But, we can still have some Halloween fun!  Dream Weaver Prints is getting in on the deal, too!  Have you ever Boo'd someone?  Ever been boo'd?  Well, here's your chance!

 

Over in the Dream Weaver Prints ETSY shop, there is a new item!  All the information and templates you need to start a "Boo-ing" craze in your neighborhood!  Or, in your place of work!  Check it out. and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Where in the World are the Weavers?

Short Answer: BUSY!  But FIRST!

Did you know November is PREMATURITY AWARENESS MONTH?  November 17 is World Prematurity Awareness Day.  Click on the purple picture to the right of this post and learn how we are going to Shine our Light at the State Capitol of Oklahoma that evening.  We would love to have you join us!  The Six Dream Weavers and March of Dimes want YOU to be included in the effort to prevent the premature birth of babies. 

• In the United States, 1 in 8 babies is born prematurely.
• Worldwide, 15 million babies are born too soon each year.
• We’re working to address the crisis at home and abroad.

You can click on this link to a calender that will show you ways to get involved everyday this month.  We are already on November 5, so there is some catching up to do!

In the meantime, the Weavers have been up to illness, volleyball (now over for the season!), dance (1 month until Nutcracker Dream!),  Alpha Delta Pi board and committee meetings, March of Dimes volunteer training and recognition, Red Ribbon week at the elementary school (hats, crazy socks, wear red, team spirit all had to be coordinated), jack-o-lantern carving, Halloween (2 cops, a robber and a ninja - and no they DID NOT walk into a bar...), Fall pictures at school (which OF COURSE required new clothes), college football, Fall Back for the end of Daylight Savings, and Upward Basketball evaluations (Jake may just have mad skills).  WHEW!

A few pictures to help summarize:

Jake and his Vampire

The girls working diligently on their jack-o-lanterns

2 cops, a robber and a Ninja

Ninja Warrior

Under Arrest!

This week is book fair week at the big kids' school.  That means Nana gets to continue her yearly tradition of going with each kid to the book fair with their class!  She is excited, but the thought of taking Finn with her is a bit daunting.  He has arms that are 10 times longer than they look!  Plus, she has to go on 2 different days - 5th grade goes one day and Kindy the next!  And on Friday night Britt and I get our own date night - of sorts!  He has agreed to help me chaperone the ADPi Date Party!  Sounds, fun, right?  We shall see!   The theme is "Decades" and each couple is supposed to dress up in outfits from their favorite decade.  At least that part will be entertaining.  I know my sweet husband is thinking - HOW does she get me into these things?!?  And, since my calendar now says November, it means I need to start scheming and dreaming on my Christmas cards.  Britt has taken it upon himself to update the address list, so I guess that leaves staging, pictures and card selection to me.  I'd better get busy!  Anyone want to take our picture (for free)?

And today is election day.  We voted early by going to the the county election board on Friday to avoid any lines today, but we are just glad we took the time to vote.  It is your RIGHT.  And one fought hard for if you are a woman.  Please use your voice, VOTE.

SQUIRREL!

My ADD kicks in and I realize I haven’t gotten done anything I had planned on doing.  Hence, the blog has not been updated in almost 2 weeks.  And a LOT had has happened!   I just can’t seem to keep it all straight some days!  I have had it on my “To Do” list more than once, but, it just slips away…

Here we are, 2 weeks since Finn’s first birthday and the weekend of epic events, and I thought my season of busy would be over.  I was wrong.  While we are not knee deep in event planning like we were, this week we are knee deep in the sickies.  But, more on that later!  First, let’s get caught up on the past two weeks!

• ·         Finn: had a cold, went to the Dr – checked out fine (we still worry about those fragile lungs!).  2 days later, went back to the Dr for his 1 year well check.  He weighed in at 16 pounds 13 ounces and 28 inches tall.  Long and Lean!  He is right on track for between 9 and 12 months developmentally.  Got 6 injections – including the first half of his flu shot.  (I got my flu shot that morning as well!)  Our pediatrician recommended taking him off formula and starting whole milk – and a sippy cup.  2 weeks later we are all systems go on the milk, and about 50/50 on the cup.  Biggest stumbling block?  He refuses to HOLD the cup.  Or the bottle!  Silly baby!

• ·         Big Kids: Emma is in the middle of fall volleyball – practices and Saturday games keep us hopping!  Lara has her regular dance classes and Nutcracker rehearsals to keep her going, too.  Jake signed up to play Upward Basketball with Eagle Heights Baptist Church,  and we are looking forward to stating that soon.  All 3 kids got their first 9 week report cards and we had conferences with all of their teachers.  They are doing GREAT!  Emma and Lara are on the straight A Train, and Jake even got one of the highest grades for a Kindergartener in MUSIC!  Britt and I are rubbing off on him!  YAY!

• ·         Fall break for our school was last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  The girls spent part of that time with their Other Dad, and we got to take Jake and Finn to the OSU Homecoming Harvest carnival to play games and gather up candy.  NEWSFLASH: Jake Weaver is an ACE at carnival games! LOL!  He had the time of his life out there!

And speaking of Homecoming, “America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration” was in Stillwater this past weekend!  We started by wearing orange every day last week, as it a tradition for Britt and I!  We enjoying seeing the Library Fountain run orange, the sign competition on Library Lawn, the Residence Halls lit up in orange on Thursday night, and of course, WalkAround on Friday night!  We took the 4 kids, and along with my parents walked the entire route – even stopped for pictures with Pistol Pete!  Finn is such a relaxed baby – he did great being carted around in the Baby Bjorn carrier.  We even stopped at the Alpha Delta Pi house for refreshments.  We tried to go early to get out of there early, since the Sea of Orange Parade was to start at 8:00am on Saturday!  We got up and out the door early for that one – and really enjoyed that, too.  But for us, the best part was snuggling in at home as a family with some pizza to watch the game in our cozy living room.  What a great day for our family to watch OSU beat the Iowa State Cyclones!  SUCH a better feeling than homecoming last year when things were so unsettled for our family!  And to top off a fun day - Britt loaded us all up after the game and we went to the pumpkin patch!  SO MUCH FUN!

Which bring me back to the sickies at my house.  3 of 4 kids have had SOMETHING to deal with the last couple of weeks.  Lara ended up in the ER in the middle of the night several days ago with her first ever full blown asthma attack!  Her rescue inhaler didn’t change a thing, so I took her in to get a breathing treatment.  The whole experience was less than stellar, but I won’t go into that here.  Her follow up with our pediatrician was today, and I now have a script for the nebulizer machine and the meds to administer breathing treatments at home should the need arise, and she has been authorized by her doctor and her school to self-carry her rescue inhaler at all times.  We may have to see an allergy/asthma specialist in the future.  Emma has been diagnosed with strep throat.  AGAIN.  2^nd time since school started – 2^nd time in 8 weeks.  Not even 2 full months!  UGH!  She has always been my “susceptible” one, but never has it enough (5 times in 12 months) to get her tonsils removed by the ENT here in town.  Not that I want her to be sick, but I would really love to get to that point so we can remove them!  And poor baby Finn.  He was getting over that cold, and then it just came back and knocked him down again.  He had a rough weekend, a bad night last night, and I took him with us to see the doctor today.  He has the baby equivalent of a sinus infection.  This is his 2^nd round of antibiotics in 2 months.  I really just need to get everyone well and to STAY well!  Our nurse said something about how she hadn’t seen Jake in quite a while, and I told her to bite her tongue!  She knocked on wood so we would not have him get sick soon, too!  LOL!

Halloween is quickly approaching!  The 3 big kids are set – accessories and all.  Emma and Lara are going to be the most beautiful police women you have ever seen, and Jake is a ninja.  Finn was to be an adorable baby convict, but his costume is on back order- with no release date set.  After I panicked (and cried – this is a big deal to me!) last week, I bought a convict costume that would fit Jake, and I think my friend Gabi is going to help me make something work – in case the other one never shows up!  Emma and Lara are bummed, too!  They were looking forward to carting around their little prisoner!  We’ll find a way to make it work, I’m sure!

And remember this super fun Gender Reveal Party we went to over the summer?  Well, Baby B made his appearace this weekend!  Braxton Wayne was born on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 7:46pm weighing in at 7 pounds 11 ounces.  3 weeks early, but doing very well!  So happy for our friends Jenny and Brian!

I am happy to say that after today, this week is a slow one.  We need it!  Of course with Halloween in the middle of next week, it will be a doozie!  Happy Spooking!

Weekend Update

WOW!  What a weekend!  This is always my favorite time of the year, and I was really sad just a few short weeks ago when I thought I would be missing out on the the excitement!  Little did I know I would have a WHOLE BUNCH of my own excitement to add to it!  This past weekend was OSU Homecoming, as well as the weekend of Halloween!  2 black and orange clad events that always make October (my birth month, and Finn's too!) such a fun month to celebrate and do fun things!  This weekend was no different!  I have been home since Wednesday night, though, so I have to admit, I am getting a little bit "homesick" for Finn and the NICU...

Friday, Finn would have been at a gestational age of 30 weeks (one of my goals), and that night was also Walkaround (no "S" at the end) for the OSU Homecoming celebration.   After a quick trip to the City late that afternoon with my mom to peek in on Mr. Finn and to drop Emma and Lara off at a friend's house for a carnival and sleepover, it was time to celebrate the OSU Cowboys being 3rd in the nation, and America's Greatest Homecoming!!!  My mom and I were sure happy to see Finn!  His hair is getting SO LONG!  And it had been almost 2 weeks since she had seen him, so of course she thought he had grown!  The twins opted out of Homecoming this year to hang with their friend at her school carnival, so when Mom and I got back to Stillwater, the boys (Grandpa, Britt and Jake) were ready to hit the Greek Neighborhood and see the HUGE house decorations!  One of my favorite family traditions.  It was fun to have Jake just by himself and to see how he reacted, and we all talked about how great it will be next year when Finn gets to join us!  We left Walkaround about 9, and went to Mexico Joe's to grab some dinner.  We even sat on the patio (Emma and Lara would be jealous), since they had the heaters on!  Such a fun night!

Saturday morning we were up BRIGHT and EARLY for the OSU Homecoming "Sea of Orange" Parade!  Again this year, we sat at the front of the parade route in order to take advantage of all the candy being thrown, and to be one of the first people OUT of the parade area when it was over - we had a BABY to go see!  The parade was really fun this year!  Smaller than some years, but the weather was pretty good!  Some years we FREEZE, and this year, while it was cold when we got there, it was a nice day for a parade!  We left Stillwater about 11 to go pick up Emma and Lara from their friend's house and to see Mr. Finn.  When we got to his room in the NICU at Mercy, one of his neonatologists, his nurse, and several other people at his suite-mate's isolette were in his room.  ALL of the overhead florescent lights were on (this is odd - it is usually pretty dark in there), and, it was QUIET!  The doctor looked at me and said I looked scared.  I said, "No, not scared, just confused!"  It was quiet - too quiet!  And then I figured it out!  The oscillator (while still at his bedside) was off!  No more "Chugga Chugga Chugga!"  When she saw me staring at the machines (the traditional ventilator was right beside the old oscillator) she said "Oh! Yes!  We just finished switching him over!"  Britt and I were THRILLED to say the least!  We were a bit concerned about the lights and the extra people, but we learned that they were in the room for Finn's suite-mate, not for Finn, so it was less confusing, then.  He was doing great with the new machinery, and after all the kids got a chance to love on him, we decided to go to lunch at  Mutt's!  (You have to check it out if you are down that way), then get the kids haircuts.  Lara even decided to (finally) cut off her super long hair -and it was long enough to donate to Locks of Love:

 

We ended the trip by going back up to the hospital where Britt and I took one last look at our boy, but we didn't stay long and didn't let the kids go back in as they were doing some work on Finn's suite-mate and we didn't want to be noisy or in the way!  We listened to the OSU game on the way back home, and even caught the last part at Nana and Grandpa's house before calling it a night and heading home.  What a GREAT day!

Sunday was a more lazy day.  I was WORN OUT from the last 2 days!  Emma and Lara cleaned their room with directions from Britt, while Jake and I ran some errands.  We checked on Finn, and he was doing well.  They had to turn up a couple of settings on the ventilator, but that was to be expected, and overall doing OK.  He got his 3rd blood transfusion today as well.  Later, I took a nap while the girls  finished their room and Britt took Jake to a Halloween carnival on campus.  We got ourselves together for 5 o'clock church at LifeChurch, then went to Sunnybrook for a Halloween festival there!  Another check on Finn - nothing had changed, he had tolerated the transfusion well and was back on regular feedings - and we all went to bed tired, but grateful for a fun weekend!.   A great ending to a great weekend!

So, here it is Monday.  I was hoping to take a quick trip to get back down to see Baby Finn today, but with the price of gas, Jake's classroom Halloween Party this afternoon, Trick-or-Treating, and chores I want to get done around here, there's just no way.  So, WITHOUT FAIL, I will be going to OKC tomorrow!!!!!  And I'll stay for awhile this time.  I need to be with my baby!  Plus, I am hoping since he is back on the regular ventilator, I will get to hold him and Kangaroo him again!  That is my prayer for today!  That he continues to get back on track with the new machine, and that I can Kangaroo with him this week!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!