what are you gonna be on Halloween night?

A ghost or a goblin or a ghoul?

{mom, we so need to find these songs for Carly and Shay}

~

When I was a kid, we were all about the "homemade" Halloween costume.

I remember one year my oldest brother going as a "tourist".

Put sunscreen on his nose, Hawaiian shirt, camera around his neck.

Classic.

I also remember an old Giants baseball jersey that we all seemed to wear multiple times.

And I remember a Power Rangers costume my little brother refused to take off until it was nothing but rags.

But my most vivid costume memory was when I went as a witch.

Wore a black dress and a witch hat.

Then my mom painted my face green.

That was the itchiest face paint ever.

I just remember my face itching so bad all night all I wanted to do was go home and wash it off.

Good times.

~

On Monday I decided I should probably figure out what Carly was going to be.

We headed to babiesRus to see if there was anything on sale.

No luck.

So I talked to a friend in our ward and she said she had one that would probably fit.

A candy corn.

Ok, Carly looked seriously adorable.

The problem?

Carly doesn't like things on her head.

And apparently she also does not like bulky things on her body.

The costume was held on by Velcro, and in no time she was ripping it off every time I put it on.

I mourned, as she was a seriously cute candy corn.

~

Friday night I pondered long and hard what she could wear.

It had to be a costume without feeling like a costume.

It couldn't cost anything.

It had to be quick, as the trunk-or-treat was the following night.

~

Oh, the light bulb went on.

When Carly was a wee baby, Chris's dad went to China and brought her back a pair of Chinese pajamas.

They were huge at the time, but now she is huge, so they fit.

I wanted to put chopsticks in her hair, but the only ones I could find were full-sized, and looked more like spears on her little head then chopsticks, so I googled "oriental princess costume" (weird, I know) and saw lots had flowers in their hair. No doubt, this was inspired by the Japanese geisha, and I wasn't exactly wanting to model my one-year-old's costume after a geisha, but we did have matching flower clips, so I went with it.

And voila, our China Doll:

How many kids can say their grandpa bought their Halloween costume in China?

~

It did not take our doll long to figure out how much fun candy was.

Little things that make crackling noises that you can spread all over and put in your pumpkin purse? Is this heaven?

She loved the candy before she found out how yummy it was to eat.

You can imagine her affection for it upon first taste.

{caught in the act, little chocolate-chin}

Our Ward's Trunk-or-Treat/Chili Cook-Off was a success.

Chris got back from a conference about half-way through.

We were very excited to see our man.

{reminding Daddy where her nose is after a long absence}

We didn't have Carly go collecting candy.

No one in this house needs that candy.

So instead she wandered around saying "Hi!" to monsters and princesses and superheros.

And I gave out all our candy except the Almond Joys.

I may have saved a few for personal enjoyment.

~

And today for Church Carly looked a bit festive:

Wearing her purple tutu-esqe skirt (yay, Target clearance!)

and a Halloween bow from my aunt, Dore.

~

We closed off the night without a single Trick-or-Treater.

That's ok, though.

That means I didn't have to give up my few remaining Almond Joys.

~

Hope your Halloween was a spooky one.

xoxo.

fourteen.

I don't think I've mentioned yet how I've been a sicky for the last week.

Coughing up a lung.

Sneezing up a storm.

All sorts of stuff.

I'm not a fan.

But luckily, all my handwashing and coughing into my shirt sleeves have spared Carly from the worst.

I seem to be a bit better today.

I didn't feel like dying.

But being sick when you're the mom really is no fun.

Cuz the Shmarly doesn't stop.

~

Anyway, to celebrate all sorts of things, from Carly reaching 14 months of life, to Chris coming home before 7, to me being taken off the disabled list and labeled day-to-day, we had date night.

How do you do date night when you are poor?

1-Bring the baby.

2-Eat dinner at home beforehand.

3-Order just small fries and milk shakes.

4-Watch the [free] MLB playoffs as your entertainment.

Bam. Date night.

~

{very serious about her cheese fries. see her new Frankenstein bib peeking through?}

{happy family date night.}

~

~

Did you notice I mentioned Carly is a whopping 14 months old?

At 14 months, our Wild Thing . . .

loves, loves, loves brushing her teeth.

I have to limit her to 3 times a day.

gets into everything.

She loves to empty things and disperse the contents.

Cupboards, drawers, purses, you name it.

loves Elmo.

Elmo's World is the only TV she watches.

And she points to him and squeals and says "hi!".

Then she just sits/stands and watches.

It is the only 20 minutes during the day where she is awake and still.

As long as she is sitting on my lap and I'm watching with her.

is still a generally lousy eater.

And a loud eater.

Screams a lot during meal time.

But if its something she likes (like cheese) she will stuff it all in her mouth at once.

I've been quite impressed with how much banana she can fit in that little mouth.

is still happiest outside.

Loves to push her stroller.

And go down the slide.

And meet doggies.

And say "hi" to strangers.

She can also identify her head and stomach:

And she is really good at saying "hi":

Though, she seems to think "hi", "da da", and "doggie" are the only words a girl really needs.

I can't get her to expand her vocabulary at this point.

She snuggles with dish towels.

I don't know why.

I'm planning on making her a small snuggle blankie.

She likes giving my stomach raspberries.

She likes playing soccer.

We kick her ball around our big kitchen.

She loves animals.

At the library there is this giant stuffed alligator.

She ran right up to him and said "HI!".

Like they were old friends who hadn't seen each other in forever.

She is ticklish on the back of her thighs.

Just like her daddy.

Every morning at breakfast she points to where the Rice Krispies are.

Her mean mommy never lets her have one, though.

She runs to her daddy and gives him hugs when he gets home.

And then makes him hold her for an extended period.

She gives the juiciest kisses.

She takes her sleep seriously.

When I try to kiss or give her snuggles she pushes me away like,

"just let me sleep!"

She is really, really, cool.

Yay for 14.

4 months until nursery.

morse code.

Yesterday, we put a little Halloween package together for Carly's Uncle Brady.

Halloween treats and pictures of his favorite niece and cups with spiders on them and a sparkly pen with a pumpkin on top.

And the cutest Halloween dish towels.

{I heart Target's dollar section}

"You got him dish towels?" Chris asked.

"Well its not like he can walk around in Halloween socks" I reply.

~

Then I sat Carly down and told her to draw a picture for Uncle Brady.

Her picture was a series of dashes and dots.

I hope Elder T can read Morse code.

twenty four.

I turned 24 yesterday.

It was a nice day.

~

We had a picnic at the park with lots of friends.

It was warm and sunny.

And there were lots of bees.

But it was fun to spend the afternoon with friends.

~

{picnic time . . . decked out in our baseball gear for the playoffs . . .

her bow has baseballs on it. thanks Dore!}

 One friend brought me flowers.

I was sitting at the picnic table and she said "I brought you something. Let me go get it."

Her 3 year old daughter came and sat next to me and said, "My mommy got you flowers."

It was funny.

And sweet.

I'm grateful for the wonderful friends we have made here so quickly.

My birthday afternoon was a lazy one.

When Carly went down, I watched my guilty pleasure (Teen Mom, anyone?), and laid around and read Mockingjay when the UPS delivery man brought it to my doorstep (thanks again, Jenny!).

Of course, this left the house in ruins, but it was my birthday, after all.

~

Chris came home and brought me my fav, Jimmy Johns.

Then we scooted the couches back and played with lots of toys.

And built a fort.

And cheered wildly for the Twins.

Who almost won.

But lost.

Thanks for spoiling my perfect birthday, stupid Yankees.

~

{wild child}

 {just another day in paradise}

 {birthday fort}

I got cards in the mail, texts, emails, and, of course, the Facebook well wishes.

I felt well-loved all day. 

It was a relaxed {perfect} birthday.

~

~

P.S. Today I finally got Carly to sit long enough to let me put piggies in her hair.

Only took a cell phone, 3 pencils, mascara tube, and a blow dryer.

But, it makes her look all grown up, does it not?

the things we learn.

1. Busy toddlers and busy sports stadiums don't mix for more than half a game. We went to our first MSU football game last weekend. It seemed like an idyllic thing, all dressed in green with our sweet beauty. She was rather enamoured for the first . . . 15 minutes. Then we kept her busy with snacks and hot chocolate and grandma's Sprite (oh, yes, we even had Chris's parents with us as backup). Chris and I kept finding ourselves saying "Oh man I missed it!" after particularly exciting plays. It was just a bit hard to relax and enjoy. At half time we decided to head out. Carly really was a great sport, way better than I expected her to be, and we did have a lot of fun, but I think I will be limiting the amount of sporting events we take her to that we have to pay to get in.

2. When you are one year old, the best part of a MSU game is the puppy that does tricks in the endzone after each touchdown. Seriously, the guys running around hitting each other? Unnecessary. Just have that doggie catch that Frisbee over and over. Now that's entertainment.

3. General Conference is filled with talks just for me. Every time. A few things that stuck out this time around:

• 
  
  Slow down and enjoy. You don't have to be going 100 mph to be worthwhile. This was especially good to hear as a stay at home mom, who spends many days doing nothing more that playing with blocks, picking up socks, tossing rocks, and going on walks.
• 
  
  Teach your children by example. This one has been on the forefront of my mind, as I watch Carly mimic everything I do. Its scary to see how she does exactly what we do, from shrugging to dancing to wiping the floor with a rag. She will learn best by watching what I do, so I better be doing good things.
• 
  
  Stand by the Church, listen to the Prophet, hold to the doctrine, cling to the values. No matter what the world says.

{she kept waving at the brethren, like she waves at her grandparents on the webcam}

4. When you are one year old, the best part of General Conference is the hymns. Because the Tab can't do it without you.

5. A long walk in a crisp fall evening, warm gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, and a Penguins game are the best ways to end a Conference weekend. In case you were wondering.

mornings with Carly.

most of the action around here takes place in the mornings.

Carly naps most of the afternoon, so we make sure to get our partying in early.

{sorry, all pictures from my phone. my camera had a stroke.}

~

Sometimes there is morning mirror time (closely supervised) while mommy tries to pull herself together and not look like death.

Often there is morning playing in the car time. Carly gets cabin fever easily, so we walk outside. She knows exactly which car is ours and loves nothing more than playing in the front seat. She will walk over to the car and pull on the door handle and scream until I let her in. Obviously a very good habit.

But she is all smiles once we're up there.

 If she is good in a store, I reward her with some front seat time in the parking lot, though that often leads to lots of screaming when its time for her to get strapped in her carseat.

One morning there was even a park adventure. It was supposed to be a workout for yours truly, but Carly prefers to push rather than to be pushed. And I didn't get much of a workout at her pace. Though she did, pushing her stroller up a grassy hill.

 Windy morning. REALLY windy morning. Carly wasn't sure what to make of it.

 Play group mornings! Our favorite. Though this week we were the only ones to show up. A little rain didn't scare us away. (See how desperate we are to get out?)

 Play group is held in the backyard of some older ward members, who built a wonderland for their grandkids. Its fabulous.

 Morning time on the front step with Little Red Riding Hood. I always sit on the step, and lately she has been mimicking me. Only so much better. She will walk toward the step, then about 3 feet away she stops, turns around and slowly walks backward until she reaches it. Then she takes a seat right next to me.

Cutest thing on earth.

 This morning we had two firsts: Carly's first bleeding wound. A scrape on her elbow.

And her first temper tantrum in public.

Being the mean mom that I am, I wouldn't let her pull all the greeting cards out of the holders at Target. She was really not happy about it, so she threw herself on the floor face down and kicked her legs and screamed. So what is a good mom to do but whip out her phone and take a picture?

It was hilarious.

I know it won't always be, but today it was.

I said, "Ok, Shmarly, get up now."

And walked away.

And she went quiet and got up and followed me.

What are the chances that will work every time?

I sure love my mornings with my girl.

some stuff.

Its only Tuesday.

We have already had quite the week.

~

As I pulled into Church on Sunday, a fellow ward member informed me that I was sporting a very flat tire.

Indeed, it was tres flat.

Thanks to a large and not-so-lovely nail.

Did I mention this tire was a whole 9 days old?

Annoying.

So Monday morning Carly and I head to Sams Club nice and early to give us plenty of time before our Visiting Teaching appointment. I packed her breakfast and everything. Good thing, because we were there for a whopping 2 hours. And were 30 minutes late for our appointment.

At least the new new tire was free under the warranty.

Then we visited our elderly visiting teachee . . . where Carly promptly threw dominoes all over the place.

Good times.

{hanging in Sams . . . forever.}

Monday evening for our FHE activity we went shopping for Spartans shirts in preparation for the football game we will be attending this coming Saturday.

We all look much better in green than we did in orange.

This morning Carly and I went to playgroup.

I do enjoy playgroup.

Its nice to socialize.

And its really nice how much it wears Carly out.

I can count on a good Tuesday afternoon nap.

Knock on wood.

I spent today's nearly 3 hour napping folding a million loads of laundry and watching my new TLC fav, Quints by Surprise. I think they are cute. Fingers crossed they don't end up like Jon and Kate.

{barely surviving after another exhausting playgroup.}

This one is just cute.

I would take a picture, then show it to her on the camera.

She found it highly amusing.

Ok, that's it.

But want to see how crafty I am?

Chris keeps teasing me about how keep painting things.

But on Saturday our ward had "Super Saturday".

One of the projects were these photo blocks where you paint them black/brown/white and put pictures on them. Well, we aren't in need of anymore pictures of ourselves around here, so I decided to bring the purple paint I've been using for things in Carly's new room and make family blocks.

Now she has blocks for all of my family and Chris's family.

Its a little way for her to know her grandparents, aunts, and uncles even though they are so far away.

She already loves playing with them and pointing at each face.

That's all.

Bring on Wednesday.