Happy Halloween

I think that I made a vow when I was pregnant that I wasn't going to waste money on Halloween costumes for Lucan when he was still little and didn't care. Little did I realize that Halloween costumes for little kids are the best because they are so adorable! Last year a pumpkin, this year a scarecrow. I haven't spent more than $7 combined, so I think that it's okay :)
This year I took Lu to a couple of our friends' houses to trick or treat at. He didn't seem to care. We had a record low of 2 trick or treaters this year that stopped by our house. Sad life. I guess we need to live in a trendier, newer neighborhood. Oh well, more candy for me!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner: Tiny Prints Giveaway

I'm sure that everyone has been waiting with abated breaths, but the winner of my Tiny Prints $50 giveaway is Adrian N! Adrian left a comment on my facebook wall that she loves to send out Christmas cards the old fashioned way and has already started thinking about what to do for this year's. Adrian has two adorable little boys and another wee little baby girl on the way. No wonder she has already started mentally planning this year's Christmas card :) 

How cute is this card from Tiny Prints? Tiny Prints really does have the best designs!

I wrote down everyone names on slips of paper and made Lance draw one. He felt pressured and took his role very seriously. My husband, if you ever want to ensure something is done with consideration and fairness, he's your man. We had fifteen total entrants, so congrats Adrian! You'll get your promo code for $50 soon.

We've finally wrapped up all of our photo sessions for the fall. Since the beginning of October, we've had our photos taken for our church directory, for a family wedding, a mini-session with just the three of us with my talented neighbor Amanda, and then group photos with my parents this past weekend. I think that our smiles are broken. At least if you ask Lance, his smile is broken. Or on temporary hiatus.

Lucan: 16 months

I can't believe that I've done 16 of these updates. They've forced me to really think about Lucan's growth and development on a monthly basis. While I have no intentions of extending these past his second birthday, they have definitely forced me to reflect.

• At Lucan's 15th month check-up (which was actually done at 16 months), he weighed in at 24 lbs and 6 ounces. He feels a lot heavier than that most days. For height and weight, he measured at the 61% percentiles and for head size - 94% percentile. Lu Lu has a big noggin. He did so well with his shots too, just a few tears and then he was fine. The two things that were most comical is having one of the nurses ask Lance and I if Lucan would be brought up bilingually (does elementary Spanish 1 count?) and the older, icky nurse saying that Lu was just such a sweetheart and then sneaking in a kiss. A little strange, but my baby boy does elicit kisses.
• Lu's favorite foods now include scrambled eggs. Weird. I hate scrambled eggs. But Lance and I both watched an episode of Martha Stewart's Cooking School on eggs so we could learn how to "properly" cook eggs. In Martha's world scrambled eggs do not include milk. Oh well, in my world, they do.
• I am valiantly holding onto the 2x nap a day schedule. I'm pretty sure that Lu could probably transition to a single nap, but I'm not ready for it. Truth be told, I'm praying against all odds that I will find a job before that transition has to be made.
• Could Lucan have any more teeth? Probably not. He has them all. He's such a trooper when it comes to teething.
• I've been trying to socialize Lu more by taking him to the library for storytime and to one of the local churches for a gathering called "Praise and Play." At Praise and Play we sing kiddo bible songs, play with some musical instruments, have a bible story, snacks and the ocassional craft. Lucan is definitely enjoying it and gaining a better understanding of what's expected. Gotta love local mom/baby outings!

Lu Lu for your 16th month birthday, we celebrated by taking a trip to the zoo. Daddy took the day off and we celebrated one of the last days of summer sunshine.

Tiny Prints: $50 giveaway!

I love Tinyprints.com for their layouts and designs. They have some of the cutest cards on the market. And me, being me, have started thinking about Christmas cards already. It's the end of October, so I feel like it's justified. We have had a slew of family pictures taken recently - church directory pictures, wedding pictures for Lance's brother, us and Lu pictures and this weekend we are having more pictures taken with my parents. It's been hectic. I'm really looking forward to seeing the outakes from our pictures with my talented neighbor/photographer Amanda. Especially the angry reindeer photos. And here's a hint: the angry reindeer is not Lance.

Here's something fun for all of you! Tiny Prints is going to sponsor a $50 giveaway here - all you have to do is leave me a comment either here or on Facebook stating if you still send out Christmas cards the old fashioned way or if it's a tradition better left in the past. I'll draw a winner by this Friday, Oct 29 so start thinking if this is the year you're going to send me a Christmas card :) In the mean time, wander over to Tiny Prints' Christmas Cards and start imagining this year's holiday greeting. If you don't win, don't be sad: just go and see what other offers they are doing instead.

Popcorn was a bad idea ...

Yes indeed, popcorn wasn't the best idea as far as a snack for Lucan.

Happily snacking away on the couch. Content as a clam (can clams be content?)

I took this picture after I emptied the popcorn out of Lucan's shoes. I haven't said it before, but Lucan is a magpie. He's always hoarding things.

Call me a PBS geek ...

My latest and greatest obsession are the shows on PBS, specifically "Masterpiece Theater." I suppose once you've ditched Direct TV, PBS is the best one can do. Besides, I like to think that all the cool kids are watching PBS these days. I mean, don't I sound more sophisticated and smarter when in casual conversation I mention to you that my favorite programs are on PBS (and I'm not talking about Clifford, the Big Red Dog either)?

Saturday morning, 11:30 AM: "Martha Stewart's Cooking School." Last Saturday Lance I learned the proper way to make scrambled eggs. Turns out neither one of us knew what we were doing. And we weren't properly boiling hard boiled eggs too.

My latest love affair is with Sunday evening's "Masterpiece Theater. It all started off with "Downton Abbey." If you haven't watched it yet, get out from that rock you've been hiding under!

Look at the lovelies of Downton.  

How could you not love Maggie Smith? She's got some of the best one-liners of the show! I'm looking forward to the Jan 6, 2013 start of Season 3. If you are having a hard time getting ahold of the first two seasons, check out your local library. Because it's PBS, so it's education, so they carry it :)



I'm also watching "Call the Midwife" too. But there are a few too many images of women giving birth which are a bit traumatizing and bring back scary memories. Def stick to "Downton Abby", less scary.

Currently on M.P.T (Masterpiece Theater for all you cool kids), is the show "Upstairs Downstairs." This show is a updated version of the original dating back to 1971. I'm enjoying it. It's about the lives of the servants "downstairs" and their masters "upstairs." It's fun. It is set right before WWII, so there's the chance that I could get Lance to watch it with me. He's such a WWII geek.

PBS is the place to be. Eat that Mitt Romney.

Reasons why I won't be Winning a Mom of the Year Award

Below are pictorial illustrations as to why I won't be winning any Mom of the Year Awards.

1. Lucan thinks it's fun to hide in the pots and pans. My thought "why not? There are no sharp edges or knives."

2. Dirty, dirty face. Lucan like chili! Even in September when it's still hot outside. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, Lu likes anything with beans.

We've started the practice of what I call "double-bibbing" The first bib is full frontal and has sleeves. With Lucan, it should probably include pants too. I've discovered that he likes to take food off his tray and put it in his lap. Typical. The rubber bibs were great until Lucan discovered that he can rip them off on his own. Instead of allowing him to be bib-less, we double bib.

Lu - what's that you are sucking on? Oh, a 5 Hour Energy bottle. Fantastic. Well, that's how this household preps for an Iowa State game. They sell 5 Hour Energys at the checkout line at our grocery store. If I don't watch Lucan closely, he'll grab them and start throwing them into the cart. We don't actually buy these, the one Lu has I got as a sample at an event I worked at this past summer.

Child labor laws? What? Lucan shouldn't be playing with our $350 vacuum?



Bedbug and lice warriors alike will groan. I bought this hat for Lucan on consignment and let him try it on without washing it first. Like I said, I'm not winning any mom awards this year.

What this picture doesn't show is that Lu has no pants on. We typically roam around this house pants-less. Yep, we are a household full of Pants-less Petes. This picture also doesn't show that it's 80 degrees outside too. I think puffy winter coats should be worn in 80 degree weather :)

Ah, yes. The grill pictures. We were hanging out on the deck the other day and Lucan was very interested in the grill. The gas was turned off so I thought "why not?"

And one final picture. This depicts Lucan's face when he's running full speed from one place to another. This face is called "pure joy." At the end of the day, even after I've let Lu play with or get into 10+ things he probably shouldn't have, if this is the face that greets me, I'll take it.