Oktoberfest

Fall season brings a variety of family outings...pumpkin patches, festivals, craft fairs and Oktoberfest. This morning we went to the St. Charles Oktoberfest. The festival was along the banks of the Mississippi River at Frontier Park and it was a nice morning to spend outdoors. Plenty of food and crafts to keep us entertained. Only a block away is Main Street St. Charles which is a wonderful area of town with the cutest shops and restaurants. If you live STL, have you been to this area? We made a wonderful purchase today, which I am so excited about. I will be sure to post this week with pictures. I just need to keep all my blog readers in suspense for a few days. (Ha-Ha-I'm sure it won't be as exciting to all of you though, so don't get to excited.)

There was an antique car show on Main Street today, so Kyle was absolutely in heaven. I'm not sure which car he liked the best...I'm thinking all of them! I know it's been a while since I've posted any pictures of Kyle so I am including a couple taken today!

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend!

Welcome Fall - Part Two

Fall has officially arrived at our house, since the decorations are complete...inside and out. I don't do much inside...just enough to spice things up! It is amazing that summer has come to end and we are quickly approaching my favorite season of the year...winter (insert the sarcasm here). For now, I will live in the moment and enjoy what fall has to offer...cooler temperatures and the beautiful scenery, compliments of the leaves changing.

Dining Room Table Mantle in the Family Room

Underwater Adventures

Finally, after almost three years Kyle has his very own bathroom. We have always given him baths in our master bathroom and since we are such creatures of habit we didn't think to do things any different. That is until now!

We searched and searched for the perfect theme for his bathroom. We saw plenty of transportation themes (which Kyle would absolutely love), but since we will probably decorate his big boy room in this theme (hopefully this winter), we wanted something different. We decided on Sealife and the room is too cute! Kyle LOVES the bathroom and is constantly going to check out his new digs. He has so many bath toys from fish, whales, sea horses, octupus, numbers, letters, ducks, and trains, but his all time favorite is the cup we use to rinse his hair. He could spend hours on end filling the cup with water and dumping it out. It amazes me how many children enjoy playing with items that aren't even "toys". Hey, whatever works, as long as it is safe!

Kyle apologizes to CC and Poppy for taking over their bathroom and hope they don't mind sharing when they come to visit.

Welcome Fall

Today is the First Day of Fall...Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

Sunday we set up our outdoor fall display. Usually, I wait until the beginning of October to put the Fall/Halloween decorations out, but I was anxious to get things together. I really enjoy decorating for holidays/seasons and fall is no exception. We have pumpkins, a hay bale, scarecrows, and mums. Below are a few pictures of our display. I haven't completed our decorations inside, but I will post a few pictures when it is complete.

Do you decorate for fall? If so, are you finished?

Welcome Fall Stake near front entrance.

Display next to the front door.

Front view of our house.

Mailbox.

Homemade Gourmet Winner

Since this is mainly Kyle's blog, he wanted to participate, so he picked the winner of the Homemade Gourmet giveaway!

The winner is Jen!

Congratulations!

For everyone who entered the giveaway, if you would like to place a Homemade Gourmet order, please contact Jennifer by Friday and receive 10% off your order.

Thank you to everyone who entered to win!

Gift Suggestions

In two weeks, it will be time to say "Thank You" and "Good Bye", to several wonderful ladies who have worked with Kyle. He doesn't really understand the changes which will be taking place, but it is a very bittersweet time for me. On one hand, Kyle is "graduating", which is a milestone and I am very excited. On the flip side, his therapists have been such a part of our everyday life and they are genuinely interested in Kyle, so it will be a change to not see them and have them involved in Kyle's development anymore.

I would like to give a gift to each of his therapists and wonder if any of you have any great suggestions. In the past, I've always given a gift certificate, but for this occasion I'm thinking of any actual gift. I know they all love having pictures of the children, so I am planning to make a special card for each of them with various pictures of Kyle.

Thanks in advance for the ideas and suggestions! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Happy Birthday

TO MY DAD

Happy Birthday, Daddy! Hope you are enjoying your special day! Wish we were able to celebrate with you!

Kyle would like to say, Happy Birthday, Poppy!!

Homemade Gourmet Giveaway

Have you tried Homemade Gourmet? If not, here is an awesome opportunity for you. Jennifer, a friend and fellow blogger, has offered a giveaway via my blog. Just by leaving a comment regarding Homemade Gourmet you will be entered into a drawing to win a $5 Homemade Gourmet gift certificate or a free mix! The winner will be announced on Sunday, September 21st, so please enter soon!

If you are interested in ordering any of the products, please visit Jennifer's Homemade Gourmet blog or her Homemade Gourmet website.

I haven't personally tried Homemade Gourmet, but will be placing my first order in the near future. Everything looks absolutely delicious!!

I am also including a few Homemade Gourmet recipes. With the cooler temperatures arriving, these are perfect fall recipes! Enjoy!

Garlic Lemon Chicken (Crockpot meal to be cooked in slowcooker)

6 chicken breasts (or turkey or pork)

2 TBS. Butter or margarine, melted 2 TBS. HG Garlic Lemon Seasoning Mix

1/4 cup water

Place chicken in slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on low 3 to 4 hours.

Crockpot Beef Stew (Crockpot meal to be cooked in slowcooker) 2 lbs cubed stew beef 1 baking potato, cubed 1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes 4 tbsp Grandmother’s Sunday Roast Seasoning

3 carrots, cut into chunks

1 small onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups water Combine all ingredients in a crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. Serve.

Cinnamon Rolls 1 Wheat Biscuit Mix (prepared) 1 Spiced Dip Mix 1 Basic Cheesecake Mix 2-4 Tbsp. butter 4 tsp. orange juice Preheat oven to 450. Spread butter on rolled-out dough and sprinkle with stirred spiced dip. Roll the dough up lengthwise and cut into 12-14 pieces. Place cinnamon rolls two inches apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown. Top with prepared cheesecake glaze (follow label instructions) Yields 12- 14 cinnamon rolls.

Good luck to all my readers and remember to leave your comment today for your chance to win!

Correction

It would help if I entered the correct email address in the link on my Facebook post. If anyone has attempted to email me this evening could you please resend the message? I have now entered the correct address on the link. I apologize for my mistake.

Who Is My Spouse?

After doing some more blog hopping, I came across another interesting questionaire...everything you have ever wanted to know about my wonderful husband!

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? Sports or Poker 2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Blue Cheese 3. What's one food he doesn't like? Peas 4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Bar–Beer, Restaurant Bar–red wine 5. Where did he go to high school? Clinton High in Clinton, MS. 6. What size shoe does he wear? 8 1/2 7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Baseball Cards 8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Ham and Swiss on Rye 9. What would this person eat every day if he could? White Cheddar Popcorn 10. What is his favorite cereal? Raisin Bran 11. What would he never wear? Sandals 12. What is his favorite sports team? St. Louis Cardinals 13. Who will he vote for? McCain/Palin 14. Who is his best friend? Besides his wife, the guy responsible for introducing him to his wife 15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Wear earplugs 16. How many states has he lived in? Three…Missouri, Illinois, and Mississippi 17. What is his heritage? French and English 18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? Chocolate 19. Did he play sports in high school? Tennis 20. What could he spend hours doing? Playing on-line poker

If anyone would like to play along, please leave a comment so I can view your responses.

Weekly Goals

Goals of the Week: 1. Upload and post pictures from our vacation. 2. Catch up on laundry from our vacation. 3. Decorate Kyle's bathroom. 4. Decorate for Fall. Somehow writing this down may help me accomplish my goals.

Facebook

Do you have a Facebook account?

I signed up for an account over a year ago, but didn't start to use it until a couple of months ago. Facebook must be the new rage because everyone seems to be using it. There are so many fun applications to use such as...pieces of flair, superpoke, growing gifts, and many many others. Who knew that throwing sheep and gummy bears at people, sending Coach bag gifts, smiles, hugs, etc. could be so much fun. Besides these silly games, it's also a great way to stay in touch with current friends and get in touch with old friends.

If you have a Facebook account and would like me to add you as a friend please leave me a comment or send me an email. If you haven't signed up yet, do so now, so you can join in all the fun!

My Dad's Vacation

As I mentioned my parents and aunt evacuated the New Orleans area a couple of weeks ago due to Hurricane Gustav. They decided to make the trip to Gatlinburg so they could visit with us...actually, I mean visit with Kyle!

We arrived in Gatlinburg on Saturday and they arrived on Sunday. We spent the afternoon driving through The Smoky Mountain National Park where we have no cell phone coverage. While in the park I received a voice mail. I knew it was my parents, but thought they were just letting us know they arrived. About an hour later I checked the voice mail and it was a message from my Mother saying to call back because it was important. After finally getting in touch with her, she let me know my Dad was feeling light headed, dizzy, and had passed out on the floor of the htoel room. She wanted us to pick them up and take him to the Emergency Room about twenty minutes away.

We arrived at the hospital and my Dad was brought in for examination fairly quickly. John, my Mother, and aunt all stayed at the hospital until 4am. John took Kyle and me back to our condo around 10pm so I could put Kyle to bed.

My Dad underwent many tests including an EKG and a stress test. It was determined that he needed to undergo surgery for a pacemaker. Everything went smoothly and he was released from the hospital on Wednesday. For a few days he was able to enjoy his stay in Gatlinburg. He is feeling great and my family made it back to the New Orleans area this past Sunday with very few issues.

Since arriving home, he has followed up with his local doctors and is still feeling well. I'm sure he will continue to do well...my Dad is in really great health. He says it's because he drinks plenty of water!! If my Dad happens to read this post maybe he will leave a comment about how he is doing.

Please remember to keep all the Texas residents in Hurricane Ike's path in your thoughts. This looks like a very dangerous hurricane.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Where my Dad spent his vacation!

We even got a smile out of him in the ER.

Alumni Spirit

I wanted to personalize my new car so I ordered an LSU Alumni license plate frame from Tyger Gifts. It arrived today so now I can proudly display my Tiger spirit!! John is jealous so I'm on the hunt for a Bradley Braves frame, but they aren't very easy to locate.

Back In The Swing

We are glad to be home and are settling into our daily routines. Today was Kyle's first day back at preschool after having been gone for three weeks. (Two weeks there was no school and last week Kyle was on vacation.) His therapist said he was happy to be back. This morning, a couple of people from the school district spent an hour watching and evaluating Kyle. Hopefully they were able to learn more about Kyle by witnessing him in a classroom setting. I just hope he likes his new school as much as he likes his current school.

It was so nice to return home to the pleasant temperatures. What a nice break! I believe, the scorching heat is over for another year! Kyle and I will enjoy the cool weather since we have a couple of playdates scheduled the next day or two.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Meme Time

I found this "Meme" as I was blog hopping and thought it would be fun to add to my blog. The trick is to only use one word to answer the questions.

1. Where is your cell phone? Kitchen 2. Where is your significant other? Game 3. Your hair color? Blond 4. Your mother? Carol 5. Your father? John 6. Your favorite thing? Family 7. Your dream last night? None 8. Your dream/goal? Happiness 9. The room you’re in? Family 10 Your hobby? Reading 10. Your fear? Illness 11. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy 12. Where were you last night? Home 13. What you’re not? Hungry 14. One of your wish-list items? Travel 15. Where you grew up? Louisiana 16. The last thing you did? Laundry 17. What are you wearing? Shorts 18. Your TV? Big 19. Your pet? Chole 20. Your computer? Laptop 21. Your mood? Relaxed 22. Your car? New 23. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes 24. Favorite store? Target 25. Your summer? Fun 26. Love someone? Definitely 27. Your favorite color? Green 28. When is the last time you laughed? Today 29. Last time you cried? August 30. Who do you want to tag? Anyone

If any of my blog readers would like to play along, please leave a comment so I can view your answers. Thanks!

Grocery Shopping

Yes, another random post.

Do you ever feel like you need to explain purchases you make at the grocery store to the cashier? I do. Sometimes I don't mind explaining certain things, but others (especially purchases for Kyle) I do mind. For instance last night, I went grocery shopping and bought several jars of vegetable baby food for Kyle. The person who checked me out always asks about Kyle and how old he is. Last night she asked me how old he was as she was scanning the baby food. I felt compelled to explain that he is almost three and yes I still feed him baby food from time to time to make sure he eats vegetables. Why do I feel the need to explain? I'm not sure, but I still do.

The funny thing is I try and avoid this particular cashier. When Kyle was a baby and people we didn't know would ask how old he was I would tell them his adjusted age (his due date - Jan. '06) instead of his actual age (Oct. '05) to avoid explaining the fact he was a preemie. John always gave his actual age so this caused a few issues. This cashier at the grocery store was told one age by me and another age by John. We always tried to avoid going to her line to avoid being asked how old Kyle was and neither of us knowing what to say. Is that sad we didn't know how old our son was? We laugh about it now, but at the time it was actually stressful. Now that Kyle is older we don't use his adjusted age so it makes things a bit easier. At least in that department.

I'm Back

Did anyone miss me??? Ha Ha!

We arrived home today from our family vacation to Gatlinburg. As awesome as vacations are, it's always good to be back home. We had a pretty good trip and enjoyed our family time together. The internet connection in the condo we stayed in was down, so I was computerless for the week. I was having computer withdrawls, but it was actually quite refreshing. I will be posting pictures and details from our trip within a couple of days so please check back.

Hope all is well with my blog readers!