Little Chicken...or Chicken Little

Mommy Farmer and her little chick on Max's first Halloween!

We went to see Daddy (who doesn't believe in costume apparel) at work

In true chicken form, he is scouring the ground for foodMax liked all the excitement at Daddy's work

A quick family photo before we headed off to Aunt Jolea's for the annual Halloween Ham Dinner!

PRACTICING FOR HALLOWEEN!

The Witches are Out

Halloween Preview

So I finally got my husband to commit having a Family Night at Gardner Village yesterday. We took Uncle Mark with us and met up with Jolea and her family as well as my good friends Elizabeth and Sarah (and her family) from Texas.

Max really liked it. I wasn't for sure if he would even notice the giant witches all throughout the village, but he seemed to take note of them.

Although he really was more into the straw and pumpkins and all the lights more than anything else.

I of course loved it. I had never been before. I was so into seeing all the witches and getting some pics of Max that I didn't even get a chance to go into all the cute shops. Which now means I have a great excuse for going back. Dinner was less than desireable as it was luke warm when we finally got it, but the company was good.

All in all it was a fun family night and my husband and brother in law were great sports to come along.

Today I reminded Ryan that Max turned 10 months old on Wednesday. He said "Oh, my...10 months already. I've been telling everyone that he is 9 months." Just goes to show how fast they really do grow. He is doing all sorts of fun new things and he really is at a stage where he likes to play "Boo!" Speaking of Boo--Max got his own piece of mail today, from Grandma and Grandpa Loveless. It was a Halloween card with a coupon book full of Free Frosty coupons. So cute.

Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow

It's here. The white stuff. Ryan called me over to the window for a peek before church. It just sneaks up on you like a thief in the night and leaves you with a perfect blanket of white...well almost perfect. There were some mystery animal tracks in our snow. We don't have a pet...hence the mystery.

WHY DID I DO THIS...AGAIN?

In the past week and a half I have planned and somehow managed to pull off a three course dinner and a full on brunch for two different groups of about 30 people each. I am always excited when I first get the notion to do such parties. The excitement escalates as I dream up a fabulous menu and fun party ideas and favors. Then suddenly it begins it's dramatic decent into a black hole of stress and frustration as party time draws nigh and I go shopping for for supplies, try to find fridge space to store it all, find myself cutting fruit for over an hour, and am left with an accumulation of good for nothing odds and ends from the left over favors along with a big pile of trash. "Morning Of" stress is sure to sneak up on me the night before the event as I lay awake in bed for hours, (hours I don't have to give up because I already went to bed late as the fruit cutting and goody bag stuffing went longer than anticipated), thinking to myself "I don't know if I bought enough food". This is enevitably followed by yet another stop at the store the "morning of" to grab some needless bananas and other "just in case" edibles. The stop puts me even further behind schedule. Of course I woke up late due to the insomnia for the first 3 hours of my night and I surrender to my thrown together outfit (some jeans I wore yesterday and a track jacket) and 2nd day hair--no time for a shower on party day...I have to get my baby to my sister's before I leave. Good thing my husband has volunteered his Saturday morning to help me lift things I would normally strain myself doing, set up and flip pancakes. The whole way there he is mourning the fact that he is not on the deer hunt, and I pretend to lend a sympathetic ear but I'm thinking "Did I grab that tablecloth for the kids table?" He notices and reiterates his own thoughts for the past 3 weeks--"Honey, you need to learn how to say no". Then I feel guilty for being so obvious. However, it never fails that as soon as the tables are up, the food is displayed in it's perfect spread and the guests arrive...the excitement returns. I'm left feeling like I did a good thing and all the work and stress are worth it. I will forget about the mess, the sliced fingers, the endless shopping lists, the no sleep and worry...until next year when I volunteer to do it all again.

ADDICTIONS

THE UNIT

Tuesday night must see. It's intense. It's dangerous. We love it.

THE BIGGEST LOSER. Another Tuesday night watch. I don't know why Ryan and I find watching 18 overweight people try to lose weight so facinating, every week, but we do.

THE OFFICE: Thursday night must see. Steve Carrell is hilarious. The writers are witty.

E.R.--It's been on for like--forever. We just discovered it somehow last year. Pretty good.

Do you ever have those days where you look in your closet and you see clothes everywhere but you can't find a single thing to wear? I have had like 4 months of that now. I just want to give it all away and start over. Honestly. How is it possible to feel like nothing you have represents your style at all? Stacey & Clinton...HELP!!!

HOW DO YOU SPELL PNUEMONIA?

I suppose it doesn't matter all that much that I know how to spell it, just that I know how to treat it. Max came down with a fever of 101 on Thursday evening. I called the doctor on Friday and they wanted me to bring him in. So we did and he saw the PA on call since Max's doctor was out. He said to keep an eye on it and to watch the cough that he had as well. Well, we decided to watch him Friday night rather than going to my mom's as orginally planned. Last night he woke up with a fever of 103 and we were quite nervous. Thanks to some spiritual promptings, we decided to turn the car around and go back home just after starting out for my mom's this morning. We called the doctor again and they saw him right away this morning. After determining that it wasn't croup, and that his lungs sounded pretty normal,they wanted him to have a chest x-ray, just to rule out pnuemonia since he has been having a panting to his breathing. The x-rays confirmed that Max has the beginnings of pnuemonia. It is so hard to have your child be sick. He is so lathargic and his little eyes are all red and goopy. He doesn 't have an appetite at all and he just curls up on me and daddy and tries to get comfortable. Again, I'm just greatful for promptings and the blessings of access to doctors and modern medicine. Just another reason to be thankful...

SOME THINGS JUST GET BETTER WITH TIME

Everyone has people in their lives that no matter how long you go without seeing eachother or emailing, it's like nothing has changed. The bonds are strong because your spirits connect. So it is with my friends Rusty and Shelley. They came for a quick visit conference weekend from Arizona. We were lucky enough to have them stay with us on Saturday and to spend the day with them. Rusty and I went to high school together and we were so close, along with a few others. He married Shelley and just went from the best to the bestest. It's like she has always belonged with "us". It is always refreshing to have those people around you who really know you, who really get you, and who really get life. Like I said, it truely is a spiritual connection. It was the first time that I got to meet Anabelle. She is so darling and when she makes her mad face she looks just like a Blair! Max really liked her too! I'm pretty sure there was some binki swapping going on. Rusty, Shelley, and I caught up on what is going on with family and life in Round Valley. Mostly we talked about life now; which is refreshing. Our friendship isn't based on high school--that's just where it started. I love them and I miss not having them close by--I long for those days of Boggle wars and watching hours of baseball on the Blairs couch--just chillin'. I am truely blessed to have had such wonderful pasttimes and such lasting friendships. I can't wait for our reunion to see the rest of "us".

LIFE CHANGES...
MUCH HAS CHANGED IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS. MAX HAS BECOME REALLY MOBILE. HE'S BEEN SCOOTING AROUND FOR ABOUT 2 MONTHS, BUT ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO, HE LEARNED HOW TO GET UP THE STAIRS, HOW TO PULL HIMSELF UP ON EVERYTHING, AND HOW TO SCREAM HIS LUNGS OUT. HOWEVER, HE HAS NOT LEARNED HOW TO GET DOWN THE STAIRS SAFELY, OR OFF THE COUCH, BED...THE CHILD HAS NO FEAR. AND ONE MORE THING...HE IS TERRIFIED OF THE VACCUUM, THE LAWN MOWER, THE BLOW DRYER...HE WATCHES THEM LIKE THEY ARE ABOUT TO ATTACK.

On a Mission

I can see the topNo one can stop me

I conquered Nana's stairs! Victory!

Trip to Nana's

This weekend we headed up to Idaho to go see my mom. Max had not been to Nana's since June so we were long overdue for a visit. We had such a great time celebrating Nana's birthday. Ryan lucked out as my brother had the upgraded Dish package and was able to get the BYU game. It was really fun for us all to hang out at their home. We all learned something about Ryan--he's a closet cat lover. Tilley and Ryan got along fabulously. Lucky for me he is allergic to them.