Weekend Pics

School Halloween Parade Pics

No, the bathroom isn't finished. We had some down time while we waited for some floor trim to come in. Next week it will be finished! *fingers crossed*

Here are some progress pictures:



Like the color?!?!?

How many days until Christmas, Mommy?

Yes, that is the first question that Georgia asks me every morning now that Christmas decorations are. I decided that after Thanksgiving we would make a paper ring chain with the number of days left until Christmas so that Georgia has a visual and will stop asking me!! As annoying as the question is, I know that for my sweet little four year old this season holds an unlimited amount of wonder and excitement. She literally squeals with glee every time we walk into a store and she sees Christmas decorations. "Mommy, it's CHRISTMAS!!!"

Hughie is transitioning into tantrum mode. It's rare that we have a diaper change or clothes change without some protest. This morning in my office when Hughie got his treat (a mini Krackel bar) he screamed and cried when I handed him the candy. How dare I unwrap it when HE wanted to? It's alot easier this time around though because I know what to expect. That and the fact that Hughie is a million times easier going than Georgia. When he throws a fit I remind him that he's got NOTHING on his sister. ;)

Hughie's new favorite word is, "Ruby." We watch an episode of 'Max and Ruby' before bed. So when we head upstairs to watch it after bath - Hugh points to the tv and says, "Ruby!!" Ruby also happens to be my grandmother's name, so I love to hear him say it.

And let me just say again that DVR is the best thing that has ever happened to television. I really hate commercials and being able to skim right over them is heaven. That and the fact that we can watch DIFFERENT episodes of 'Max and Ruby' and not the same one over and over and over on demand. Sigh.

Barack Obama

Last night I was watching the election coverage with Georgia (flipping back and forth between that and Georgia's favorite "adult" show 'Ripley's Believe it or Not') and trying to convey her what a hugely historical moment we were witnessing. The glass ceiling was about to be shattered!! All Georgia knew was that she liked Barack Obama's commercials and she even voted for him during her class vote at school yesterday (Obama won 9 - 6). I didn't even think she was really paying attention to it all until this morning when she crawled into bed with me this morning first thing and whispered, "Did Barack Obama win?" :)

Halloween 2008

On Friday evening after visiting Daddy at work (so the ladies in the athletic department could make a fuss over my little Halloween Princess Witch and L'il Frankie), we headed to Riley's house for some pizza and trick or treat. The girls were pretty much pros with their candy collection techniques, but Hughie had some learning to do. At first he was confused, but that didn't last long. By the third house he was sprinting to the door with his hand outstretched. We did coax him to say, "Ti oh tee" a couple of times and it was quite adorable. he still can't say thank you, but he signed it. We then spent the rest of the weekend gorging on candy like the rest of America. Ugh. I brought the rest into work with me today!

And now that she is "officially" 12 weeks, I would like to announce that my sister-in-law Andrea is pregnant! And Andrea's due date is May 17th, so she's planning to schedule a c-section on May 19th, a VERY SPECIAL DAY! That would make three generations of Anstines with that birthday (me, dad and baby Anstine)!! Cool, huh? Let's just hope that baby cooperates and doesn't try to sneak out early.

With the good news is the bad. Mom-mom (my mom's mom) fell and broke her hip last week. She made it through hip surgery today, so keep her in your prayers. The statistics for 87 year olds recovering from broken hips are not good. :(

And the bathroom will probably be finished THIS WEEK. I picked a color, Tranquility by Benjamin Moore (blue/green/gray) and it rocks my world. Chris put it on over the weekend and it's perfect! "We" (read: Chris) still have to rip up carpet, refinish the hardwood floors and paint the bedroom, closet and powder room, but I'm sincerely hoping that we are back in our own room by the end of this month. I can't wait!

Talented Friends

One of my best friends from high school, Emily, has a photography website and she truly does some great work! Check it out. If you happen to be in Boise, Idaho and need some family photos - SCORE!

http://mkayphoto.blogspot.com/

Why can't I take photos like that??????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another great fall weekend . . .

We had another busy, but fabulous weekend. On Friday night we had our hayride and it was a blast despite the fact that it took me 50 minutes to get to Funk's Farm (normal time 15 minutes)and the fact that I organized the hayride and was the LAST person to arrive (10 minutes late). The weather was perfect and no small children were impaled on the giant roasting skewers, so I view that as a win/win. I was smart this year and brought glow necklaces so we could see the kids running in the dark. One very entrepreneurial youngster (KIMON) even tried to sell the necklaces and bracelets he had acquired for a dollar each! Ha! And a big thanks to Papa for watching Hughie for me and introducing Georgia to female pirate heroines. He got us sucked into this pirate movie starting Geena Davis and now Georgia wants to be a girl pirate. Well, at least it's not Ariel, right?








Saturday was the pumpkin party at the Dietrich's. The weather was horrible, but we managed to have fun and stuff ourselves with chili and apple pie. I made my "famous" apple pie for the apple pie contest and it was gorgeous, but somehow my tweaking of the recipe resulted in apple pie soup. I still managed to win the taste portion of the competition, but I placed second in presentation due to the soup factor. Have no worries, a turkey baster saved the day and the pie was still really yummy (and eaten).







Sunday was the York Halloween parade and the kids loved it. Nothing like marching bands, monster floats and free candy to really bring on the holiday spirit! Hughie insisted on wearing my bat headband for the parade.







The bathrooms are almost finished. Jerry is grouting the tile, finishing the wainscoting and framing the windows this week. He claims by next week they will be completely finished! Chris has the pleasure of painting everything, so he's been priming this weekend.Here's a preview (and no, that's not a bar it's the shower wall, the rest will be glass).