Ellen Leading Singing

Halloween

Happy Halloween

Our Favorite Halloween Candy

Candy Corn

Milk Duds

Kit Kat

Twizzlers

Gummi Lifesavers

Butterfinger

Butterfinger Crisp

Snickers

M&M's

Reese's

Skittles

Award Winning Chili

We had a chili cook-off at work today and I won 1st place out of 16 entries. I don't typically win things so I was very surprised to hear my name called. In fact, I don't usually enter contests (could that be why I never win?). I do not like attention, especially the kind where a lot of people are looking at you and you didn't blow dry your hair so it is unruly and you have a big red blemish on your chin and it is casual Friday and it has been a long week and you look a little frazzled and then you get your picture taken and you know it is going to show up in the newsletter and people are congratulating you in passing... that is exactly the kind of attention that makes me very uncomfortable!

By the way, Phillip doesn't eat my chili. He claims it is because he doesn't really like chili. Maybe he will think twice the next time I make it. (probably not)

I think my chili may have won because it had a kick to it. I don't always use the hot chili packet (usually use the "original" packet). I seem to make it a little different each time, but here are the ingredients I used in the award winning chili:

1 pound ground beef (the package I used was 1.22 lbs)
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of Rotel
1 can of kidney beans (I like the light red)
1 can of chili beans in medium sauce
1 hot chili spice packet (I used McCormick)
1 medium white onion (chopped and sauteed with the ground beef)
Approx 1/2 cup of water from rinsing out the cans of sauce and crushed tomatoes

Nothing fancy but I think the key is to simmer for a long time to let all of the flavors blend together.

Trunk-Or-Treat

We had a lot of fun at Trunk-Or-Treat. There were some great costumes as usual - Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Hershey's Kiss, Indiana Jones (we saw a few of these), Dopey and Madeline were a few of our favorites. Ellen enjoyed watching all of the kids and even though she gave a lot of blank stares, we know she was as happy as can be. She didn't go to every car but still managed to get quite a bit of candy. On the ride home she kept asking for her pumpkin bag. I have a feeling that is the first thing she is going to want in the morning. Hope she doesn't notice that a Butterfinger is missing.

Before getting in the car - wish it wasn't blurry!

Where am I? Who am I?

What is going on here?

Ok, I am starting to catch on

Getting a closer look at her stash

Off for round 2 with Daddy - we took turns walking with her and giving out candy

Dinner time... hot dogs and chips. Mostly chips.

The Halloween fun starts tonight

Our pumpkin is still waiting at home for us. Ellen has been a little under the weather so we have not carved it yet. She has been in bed and asleep right at 7:00 the past few nights and has even been asking to go to bed. That is when you know they really don't feel good. The evening meltdowns are also a sign that she is not quite herself.

We have trunk or treat tonight before church. Ellen is going to be Super Girl (Super Ellen). We borrowed Ashling's costume from last year. I think she will have a lot of fun. We will definitely have to hide the candy and ration it out since she has a major sweet tooth. On Friday she has a Halloween party and costume parade at school. Can we say sugar overload?!

Phillip's mom and brother are coming to visit this weekend. They should be here sometime tomorrow afternoon. There was a rock slide in the North Carolina mountains, a few miles from the Tennessee state line, so they will have to take a detour. Nancy said it is going to add about 2 hours to their trip - Ugh! Friday is David's birthday. I can't believe he will be 18 years old! We are glad we will all be together to celebrate his special day.

Besides Halloween festivities, not much is happening around here. We have been Christmas shopping like mad and have most of it done. This is a first for us. But since we are not getting bonuses at work this year (very sad), we are starting early to offset the cost. I wasn't going to mention that I have also wrapped all of the presents, but I guess there is no reason not to. I accept the fact that I am weird.

Waiting at home for us...

It's going to get crazy (and messy) at our house tonight

Backyard Shenanigans

We have a screamer

Tracking a grasshopper

"I'll find it"

"Where'd it go Daddy?"

Build-A-Bear

Happy 3rd Birthday Savannah!

Hooray for Ellen

Ellen peed in the potty for the first time this morning and we are so excited! She has peed at school 5 or 6 times but never at home. She woke up dry so we sat her on the potty with high hopes. She wasn't interested in being on the potty because it meant getting out of our bed where she was lazily drinking milk. She kept saying "all done" like she does when she is finished eating. But with some encouragement and the promise of candy corn, she did it. She likes the process of going to the bathroom (which is a step in the right direction): opening the lid, putting her Dora potty seat on the toilet seat, sitting on the seat (just sitting, no peeing), getting paper towels off the roll, wiping, removing her Dora potty seat, closing the lid to the toilet and then the grand finale... flushing. She then washes her hands and goes about her merry way. I once made the mistake of taking her to the bathroom with me at church and giving her some lotion after we washed our hands (they keep some in the bathroom). She doesn't forget these things.

This is just the beginning, but we are optimistic it will continue to go well.

Ahhhhh

Hibernation Mode

A few things associated with colder weather and this time of year that I am not looking forward to (and some that are already happening which prompted this post):

Driving home from work in the dark - makes 5:00 feel so much later and traffic is worse

Our gas heat - warm but very dry (humidifiers don't seem to help)

Waiting for the sink/shower water to heat up

Cold hands and feet. More specifically, Phillip's cold hands and feet. He has horrible circulation!

Dry, cracked hands

Chapped lips

Getting in a cold car

Getting out of the warm, cozy bed in the morning

Getting out of the shower

Pumping gas - almost brutal at times

Declined productivity

Cold toilet seats

Convincing 2 dogs to drop trou when there is frost on the ground

Going outside for any reason

Phillip x 2

It is no secret that I want the Fisher-Price Loving Family Grand Dollhouse for myself. I might let Ellen play with it, I might not. I bought the Grandma and brother to see if Ellen was interested and she has had a lot of fun playing with them. We asked her what the little boys name was and she said Phillip. We are still laughing about this!

She was telling Phillip and Grandma to smile for the camera

Super Fun at Super Target

Ellen and Pooh goofing off in Target

First time sitting in the basket part of the cart - she loved it

Her good mood from yesterday spilled over into today

An All Around Good Day

We decided to make the trek to Opry Mills today for some shopping. We really only go in a few stores - Gap, Carter's, Stride Rite, Old Navy, The Children's Place, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor Loft - but it is usually worth the trip. Ellen rode the carousel twice and also rode in a green train on a small merry-go-round. We got Ellen 2 pairs of corduroy pants, one pair of leggings, a pair of jeans and a winter hat with matching gloves. Our big purchase was lunch. It is ridiculous, at least to me, how much they jack up the food prices at that mall. Phillip discovered the Blue Coast Burrito Express does not measure up to the real thing.

Ellen really wanted to go to Toys R Us. She overheard us talking about it and from then on, it was all we heard about. So after her nap we headed to Cool Springs. We met up with Laurie at Costco (to get diapers) and then headed to Ellen's favorite store. We had fun playing with her and enjoyed shopping for Savannah's birthday present. She did okay when it was time to leave. I think Laurie being with us really helped.

Ellen is just now going to bed. Late night for her. She was in such a good mood today. It was fun being out and about as a family. Sometimes shopping is a little depressing for me because of our financial situation. The light at the end of the tunnel burnt out long ago. But today felt like old times and that gives me something to smile about.

My Loves

Well Rounded

Helping

Meddling

Showing Off

(Phillip's ID badge for work)

Now Really Showing Off

What We Like

Just some of our favorites... in no particular order

Favorite Places to Eat - Both
1. Blue Coast Burrito
2. McDougal's
3. Chick-Fil-A
4. PF Changs
5. Macaroni Grill

Alaina
1. Whole Foods
2. Bread & Co
3. Dalton's
4. City Limits
5. Cracker Barrel

Phillip
1. Pizza Perfect
2. Chicago Style Gyro
3. Ronnie's
4. San Antonio Taco Co
5. El Palenque

Favorite Music - Both
1. Cake
2. Pete Yorn
3. Moth
4. Weezer
5. Cowboy Mouth

Alaina
1. James Taylor
2. Billy Joel
3. Bruce Springsteen
4. Semisonic
5. Dixie Chicks

Phillip
1. Dave Matthews
2. 30 Seconds to Mars
3. Rise Against
4. Breaking Benjamin
5. Chevelle

Favorite Movies - Both
1. The Fugitive
2. Die Hard movies
3. Garden State
4. Indiana Jones movies
5. Sideways

Alaina
1. While You Were Sleeping
2. When Harry Met Sally
3. Sleepless in Seattle
4. Sense and Sensibility/Emma/Pride & Prejudice/Becoming Jane/etc
5. Sideways

Phillip
1. Wedding Crashers
2. Blazing Saddles
3. Star Wars (the old ones)
4. Saving Private Ryan
5. The Departed

Favorite Actresses - Alaina
1. Laura Linney
2. Catherine Keener
3. Kate Winslet
4. Claire Danes
5. Emily Mortimer

Phillip
1. Julianne Moore
2. Rachel McAdams
3. Julia Roberts
4. Kate Winslet
5. Kate Beckinsale

Favorite Actors - Alaina
1. Colin Firth
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman
3. Mark Ruffalo
4. Matt Damon
5. James McAvoy

Phillip
1. Harrison Ford
2. Sylvester Stallone
3. Tom Hanks
4. Bruce Willis
5. Michael C. Hall

Favorite Teams - Combined
1. Chicago Cubs
2. Duke Blue Devils
3. Carolina Panthers
4. Indianapolis Colts
5. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Favorite TV Shows - Both
1. Survivor
2. The Office
3. 30 Rock
4. Biggest Loser
5. Seinfeld

Alaina
1. Amazing Race
2. What Not to Wear
3. House Hunters
4. TLC's A Baby Story and Bringing Home Baby
5. Gilmore Girls

Phillip
1. Dexter
2. Fringe
3. Entourage
4. Curb Your Enthusiasm
5. Sportscenter

Aren't Daddy's Wonderful?

Conversation I overheard this morning while Phillip was getting Ellen dressed...she wanted to wear her new shoes (new to her, thanks Sara Jo). So as Phillip is putting the tennis shoes on, he was asking Ellen if she liked her new shoes. She was saying "yes" and "pretty". Phillip, in true competitive spirit said, "You're going to be able to run so fast in these shoes. Faster than all your friends." She was eating this up because she loves to run. Then he went on to name some of the kids in her class, "You're going to run faster than Charlie and Logan and all of the biters." It has been a couple weeks since the last incident, but there was a time she was getting bit almost every day.

Nothing like a good pep talk in the morning to get you ready to take on the day... even if you're only 2 years old. I have a feeling she won't get bit today :)

Sunday Smile