This is only a test....

This is a blog test for Suzanne, Tricia and Jeana....just to make sure they are indeed keeping up with my blog. This is only a test. We will return to your regularly scheduled posting at a later time. Thank you for your cooperation.

Honey Bunches of Toes

Kaelan delights in picking out a special cereal each time we go to the grocery store. I find it quite comical that her parents sneak "healthy" boxes of Captain Crunch and Honey Smacks into the cart, while she is limited (and thrilled) to choose from items that actually contain some form nutritional supplement. A treat cereal to Kaelan is one with the word fiber in it....yuck. However, lately we have allowed her to get things such as Natural Oats or Honey Bunches of Oats. She is in hog heaven! We do tell her that when she grows up, she can get grown up cereal like us. Good parenting.





Recently, I left Kaelan to enjoy a heaping helping of her new box of Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds....(I guess the big almond change up came as a walk on the wild side). After leaving the kitchen for few minutes, I came back to find her eating a way, but stopping every few bites to remove something from her mouth. She had that disgusted "qrissle in your meat" look as she pulled the foreign object from her mouth and placed it on the table, but she continued to eat. When I approached her, she immediately gave me the serious eyes.


"Mom, " she with the most concerning voice, "I have to talk to you about this cereal. We are NOT getting this again!"


Looking down, I noticed a little pile of almonds on the side of her dish.


"Mom.....they put toenails in this cereal!



Funny? Yes. But very disturbing to me that she continued to eat the cereal despite thinking this.

When You Wish Upon a Star

The other day Kaelan and I were playing games and lying around on the carpet listening to kid music. "When You Wish Upon A Star" began playing, and Kaelan sang along in her cute, little mousy voice.

"Mom", she asked, "Why do they say you should 'wish upon a star'? What does that mean?"

I went on to explain to here about how some say stars are lucky and that when you profess your heart's desire to them, some say those wishes come true. It sounded just as quacky to her. She made a tssk sound and seemed like she didn't buy that nonsense.

Later that evening, we were out on a sunset stroll when Kaelan noticed what appeared to be the first star of evening.

"Look! A very bright star!", she said pointing excitedly. I didn't have the heart to tell her it was Venus.

"I am going to wish," she said with a smile.

"Go for it!", I told her.

Kaelan went into a tangent of hopes, wishes, dreams.....some of which included candy, a baby sister, a cat that actually liked her, and future trips to Disneyland. But one reached its way clear up to heaven.
"I wish to have a beautiful garden and farm someday where Daddy can work with me to make pretty plants grow. And I wish my pumpkins would grow big a beautiful!"

There's need for a little back story here. I think I told you before that last year, during our Pumpkin Day carving, Kaelan took it upon herself to plant each and every seed she pulled from the inside of her pumpkins in our front yard. I joked that the following Halloween we would have our own pumpkin patch. The pumpkins actually DID grow, and in August, we found ourselves with a little patch of yellow balls happily growing around our trees. Kaelan was beyond thrilled, but then devastated when a possum or bird or some other hungry critter came and killed her patch in one foul swoop. The pumpkins never made it to the ripened stage, and being a novice pumpkin farmer, I figured that was our one shot at having pumpkins. This Halloween, Kaelan once again threw a few seeds in the ground, but she seemed a bit less hopeful that her patch would return and thrive. The vines from last year had shriveled to brown tangles, as the weather has cooled. That is, until this last week. It seemed the magic seeds Kaelan had placed in the ground revived the vines and they started to grow again...at a rapid rate. And then.........just days after the wish......this:

Have YOU ever seen a pumpkin plant do this? Me either.......but then, I never bought all that "wishing on a star" hogwash.....until now. I am expecting some pumpkins soon. Perhaps next year you can pick your pumpkin from our patch....you never know. Wishes can come true.

Oh the Places you will go....in Austin

In continuing with a series I have long forgotten to continue......

This Saturday was a most fabulous day spent with even the more fabulous of company. Our little family headed down to Town Lake for leisurely boat ride around on the lake.

Our tour guide plans our route and fuels up on granola.

And we are off.....launched out and set afloat.

Now this is how to spend a Saturday!

We took a little trip over to nearby docks to see the geese, swans and turtles. That is where we met our new BFF "Geeder". Kaelan gave Geeder a little of her trail mix, and he quickly devoted his life to following her to the ends of the earth....or at least the span of Town Lake.

Oh the places we will go in Austin.....the adventure continues!

HalloWEEK

What a week! This week is still a blur of parties, festivals, costumes and races, but somehow, we made it through. We started the week off with a visit from mom's oldest sister, Aunt Mandy, who fares all the way from Roswell, NM. Aunt Mandy usually comes to visit for Thanksgiving, but this year she is ditching us to go visit the other Seester in Las Vegas. We all know the food will not taste nearly as great there, but whatever...no love lost. Anyhow...she decided to come and visit us in October in lue of her November visit. Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong race was going on downtown, so we made our way there for a quick (very quick for Mandy!) 5K.

Cold and early, but we had a good time. Look how Mandy glistens....

Later that weekend, we all went to the Boo Run in Georgetown. There was another 5K and Family Run going on, and then a kiddie festival following. Kaelan rocked the Kid K. She came in first in her heat (4 and 5 year olds). We ran with her, and at times had trouble keeping up! She did such an awesome job, and even though she was racing, she took the time to point our the changing trees and pretty pond around us!

The week was full of other parties and fall festivals at school, church, the rec center, the park, the post office....you name it....wherever we went, there seemed to be a jumper and free candy abundantly available. Kaelan refused to wear THE COSTUME until is was actually Halloween, so each event, she donned something different from the dress-up box. I didn't get photos of all the get-ups, but this week she was a cat, Captain Hook (for story character day at school), Fire Girl, Super Girl, Cowgirl, and finally the big one.....well, you will just have to wait until the end of the post for THE HALLOWEEN COSTUME reveal.
Mid-week, our good buddies the Boyds came over for our annual Pumpkin Day. We carved our pumpkins, ate some pumpkin yums, and watched our Charlie Brown movie. The kids were less than thrilled about the pumpkin guts, and dad did not help the situation much by drilling holes and reenacting a Gallagher concert. Let's just say Kaelan had pumpkin in her belly button and ears!

Trunk or Treat at a friend's church proved to be a lot of fun for these two. Darian ran into a few walls with his Transformer costume, but he was also very valiant in defending Kaelan's honor and correcting anyone who called her a cowboy. He actually threatened to "transform" all over one boy who kept teasing Kaelan. So sweet.

And now....without further ado, I present THE HALLOWEEN COSTUME.......drum roll, please:

Snow White. I know, I am shocked, too! My little non princessy princess has totally changed her mind regarding the whole anti Disney Princess attitude. You too can intervene on your child's distaste for Cinderella by simply taking her to Disneyland to meet the princess in person. Apparently, this was the turning point, because since our return from California, she once again adores all things princess. FYI: there is still a rubber snake or plastic bug under all those ruffles, so no worries the old Kaelan is fading.

Kaelan interrupted dad's basketball game to request a dance with the king before trick or treating.

Some of the 'hood kid crew

Mom as Balloon Boy's Balloon (see it?)

Love this photo...Kaelan lost her wig mid trick or treating and Darian attempted to help her out. This wig was backwards, and oddly enough made Kaelan looks just like my high school history teacher.

We ended our fabulous week with our annual Halloween in the 'Hood potluck at our house. It was a great evening.....looking forward to next year.

"Punkins"

Pumpkins
When you see me in the fields,

My orange glowing in the sun,

It's time to say goodbye to summer

And hello to autumn fun!!

Our annual trek to the Pumpkin Patch with our friends from the 'Hood was the usual success. The kids were plum worn out after a day of hayrides, petting zoos, tractor fun, games, pumpkin treats, pony rides and numerous other attractions. Fall....my favorite time of year for so many reasons, and the pumpkin patch visit tops the list.

Look at how our little pumpkin has grown here.

Why Tylenol PM is bad.

So, I'm backstage at the Texas State Fair about to perform, and I know it is the Texas State Fair, because somewhere in the distance I see that really tall cowboy guy and a Ferris wheel. Anyhow, there I am with a couple of other gals and Beyonce...YES, that Beyonce! And we are all getting ready to go on stage and Beyonce is trying to shove my head into this GINORMOUS wig and I keep telling her how hot my head is and how uncomfortable the wig is making me, but she just keeps on shoving it on my head but in a nice way, with a warm Beyonce smile.

Then, I am on the stage, with Beyonce and the other gals and we are doing our thing and singing, "All the Single Ladies, All the Single Ladies...." And I am doing my best to sing and dance, but that wig....that WIG! It is so hot! Suddenly, I hear this rrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrr sound and I look up and see this big helicopter moving closer and closer to the stage! I begin to scream in a panic and grab for the large mass of hair my head. "My wig! My wig! The helicopter is going to get tangled in my wig!", I cry out the Beyonce. She just keeps on dancing and singing and the helicopter gets louder and closer....RRRRRRRRR......RRRRRRRRRRRR.

"Girl!", I hear Beyonce say. "Everything is fine." She just keeps on grooving and I slump further and further down on the stage in a furor. RRRRRRRRRRR.....RRRRRRRR. I grab my head and scream..............

Suddenly, I jolt awake and reach up to grab my scalp in a fit of terror, only to find a very happy, slobbering, PURRRRRRRING, cat asleep on top of my head. My tresses were drenched in sweat and cat saliva....hence the whole wig/copter drama.

Man, my one chance to perform with Beyonce, and my cat blew it for me.