Gritt's Farm

 We went to Gritt's Farm today and had a great time.  Kirk loved the playground, and I loved picking a pumpkin right off the vine!  We walked around in the 10 acre corn maze for a LONG time (Kirk was our fearless leader!) and Jeremy finally found us a way out!  I love everything about fall....the beautiful weather, blue skies, pumpkins, mums, and crunchy leaves.  The farm was beautiful, and a perfect way to end our weekend.

Kirk climbed a rope up the hay bale stacks.  I am amazed at his strength and coordination!

Kirk loved digging in the corn!

We rode the tractor to the corn maze.

Kirk is leading the way....

Kirk & Mama in the corn maze

On our way through the pumpkin patch

Kirk found a great one!

We chose another one, too.  Kirk protected them in the wagon ride down the hill.

Kirk liked the mums I picked out, too.

Isn't fall beautiful?  I love the colors, textures, and the cooler temperatures.  I am so excited about Halloween, and I think Kirk will have so much fun this year.  Jeremy and I are so lucky to be parents to such an amazing kid!  He definitely makes our lives so much better and everything so much more fun.  We are looking forward to more fall fun in the upcoming weeks!

Birchbox, bummers and birthdays

My September Birchbox came!  I love the Kate Spade "Twirl" perfume sample and the awesome bright cobalt blue nail polish (which I am rocking RIGHT now!) and I am excited to try the "fashion tape" samples as well.  The tape is kind of like a very thin double stick tape that apparently the fashion industry uses to secure clothing so it doesn't gap or pull.  Genius!  I may be ordering that superb invention!  I also got a soy body cream sample (it's quite large!), another hair tie (for someone else) and a tinted moisturizer, which is great for days I don't want to put on make up.  I love all my samples, and my perfume sample collection is growing so much that I may never have to buy a whole bottle of anything again!

We went to the Chilifest on Saturday, and Kirk wanted his face painted like a "kitty."  I think he pretty much ended up looking like he has a spider on his nose (I would have painted it much differently....I know, control issues).  I guess that's what you get when high school kids paint for free!  He liked it though, and he had a good time.  No chili for him, but Jeremy and I ate plenty!  

Kirk played some pretty tough football at our tailgate Saturday afternoon.  He is so funny playing with those boys, and of course his favorite thing to do is "TACKLE!"  He had a great time and no matter what happens, he still cheers on the HERD!

This was one of Kirk's last smiles I enjoyed before the HERD blew their lead over OU.  I was really bummed to watch them lose.  I know we need to hold our heads high, but it sure stinks to lose!!!  On the bright side, Kirk learned to say, "BOO BOBCATS!"  Ha!

Princess Bella had her birthday party yesterday at Pump Up the Fun.  We had a good time, and Kirk climbed and jumped his guts out, of course. Every birthday party we attend inspires Kirk to talk about "his next 4 year old birthday party..."  he has big plans, and they change everyday.  How wonderful it must be to plan your next party everyday!  

Look at these super cute cupcakes!  I love them and they were delicious!  I ate one and it made me sad that I decided to make the cupcakes for Kirk's party myself (to save some $$).  I miss Pat Bias's cupcakes so much.  The Italian creme was amazing!  Look at those little edible crowns...I love them!  I need to remember how yummy they are next year and fit them in the party budget!

Happy birthday, Bella!

Happy birthday to ME this Friday!  I don't care how old I am getting (I'll be 34!) I still love my birthday.  It has always been my favorite day of the year, and even though I don't celebrate much anymore or get big presents, I still love it.  I think growing up as the oldest of three girls, my birthday just seemed to be a special day for only me.  I remember my roller skating party when I was seven, and I remember my first sleepover with two of my friends when I was ten.  My mom bought us Lee press on nails and we spent hours trying to get them to stick.  She always let us choose what our birthday dinner was, and since we didn't have many restaurants, that meant she cooked something. I always chose pinto beans and cornbread (yummy!).  Times have changed, and although I still love pinto beans and cornbread,  I think this year I'll choose Rocco's.  HA!  Birthdays are great, and I think even though the parties die down as you get older, they are even more special because we have so much more to be thankful for.  This will be the 12th birthday I've celebrated with Jeremy by my side. I am a lucky girl.  I am happy to grow another year older with my family and I welcome all the birthdays to come.  Happy birthday to me!!

Herd Hero

So Kirk has decided that his new favorite super hero is Iron Man.  Too bad he has about 50 Spiderman toys to play with until Christmas.  He did choose an Iron Man toy when we made a "trade" for a duplicate gift he got for his birthday.  He tells me daily that Iron Man is the "leader of the Super Hero Squad, and that's why he's the best."  I told him he could tell Santa Claus that.  Ha!

We had our first MU tailgate on Saturday, September 8th (Jeremy's birthday!).  We had a great time at our tailgate and it was good to be back there cheering on the HERD.  Kirk had a GREAT time, and I think it will be an awesome season.  He loves running around playing.  Our bag of tailgating supplies keeps getting bigger...footballs, helmet, rain boots....haha!  He is too funny!

Kirk let the "parrot man" put his parrot Frances on his head for a picture.  He tried to get Frances to say, "Go HERD!"...but no luck.  He laughed the whole time and said, "Look, Mama, I'm a pirate.....ARRGH, Matey!" (PS:  Look at his super cute shirt that Cortney made!  Check out her shop on Facebook, Little Tweets Boutique!  She is working on Kirk's Halloween costume now! :) )

This picture is featured in the Herald Dispatch photo gallery from the game.  Isn't this a great shot of Kirk in action?  We had a great time, even if we only made it to half time before Kirk got really sleepy....so we headed home to bed.  Jeremy had a great birthday and the best present he got was a HERD win.  We will head back again this Saturday to cheer on our HERD!

It means so much to Jeremy and I that we can share our love for Marshall with Kirk.  He loves going to games, he really loves his "own seat" (we got him his OWN season ticket this year!), and he always says "WOW" when the players take the field.  Marshall gave Jeremy and I our best friends, amazing experiences, and each other.  We are so thankful to still be able to head into the stadium each game day.  Marshall University helped make us into the people we are today, and we are so thankful.  Granted, I do want Kirk to go off to school to become a doctor or lawyer, but I hope he will always "bleed green" like his Mama and Daddy.  Our basketball season ticket renewal letter came in the mail today...we will soon be gearing up for HERD hoops as well!  

It's time to HERO UP!

     So this weekend was supposed to be full of rest, catching up on housework and homework, and maybe a little shopping.....most of this I was able to do.  It seems that whenever I have a few weeks that make me feel like I kind of have my life under control, something happens to remind me to ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, stay on my toes.  Something strange happened to my son on Sunday afternoon in church near the end of mass.  He did not want to walk down the communion isle with me, he wanted me to "carry him."  I refused, and the amazing, mind blowing tantrum ensued.  

     He sat down in the middle of the isle first, crossing his arms.  The people behind us laughed.  I walked on like I didn't know him.  I looked back again, and he was laying face down, spread eagle on the cold marble floor....in the middle of two slowly moving lines of gawking people....some were laughing.  I kept walking, and I wanted to melt into the floor.  I still did not pick him up.  We got to the front, and Father Dean blessed him and said, "I hope you have a better day, buddy"  and he chuckled.  We went back to our pew, and several people pointed and laughed.  I think I will have to change religions.

     He kept it up to the car, kicking and screaming about just everything.  It took us 20 minutes to just get in the car.  He stiffened out, screaming and yelling, and refused to let me buckle him in.  I screamed some, which I am not proud of, and I spanked him, which I'm sure in his fit of rage he didn't even feel it.  He lost his DVD player in the car.  I took it off right then, and put it in the trunk, along with his new Iron Man toy that he   says he "loves so much."  He simmered down to a sniffle by the time we got home, and he went straight to bed for a nap.  

      He woke up back to his normal self, apparently his nap was a sort of exorcism (which I had pondered asking Father Dean to perform while I waited for his head to spin around in the car), and I had my little boy back.  I had no idea he was capable of such madness.  I was reminded of the bipolar craziness of little kiddos and how I must always make sure my "toolbox" (for dealing with behaviors) is full at school and at home.  As parents, we must be super heroes as well, and remember to keep it together when they are falling apart.  I lived through it and I learned a lot.  Expect the unexpected.  Look for the signs (I should have just quickly exited church after communion....maybe I could have saved the total breakdown from happening?) and make sure to keep tabs on sleep, meals, routines, etc.  Behavior is communication, and I still don't know exactly what Kirk was trying to tell me yesterday besides...."Mommy....HERO UP!"  Haha!  Hopefully, next time, I will.