365:Day 273 ~ Happy Halloween!

Hope you had as much fun as we did this Halloween!

Trick-r-Treat!!!

365:Day 272 ~ Deja Vu

Two...

blankie snuggling,

jammie wearing,

American Girl holding,

anywhere chair sitting,

cozy snuggly,

little movie-watching sisters.

I know this is deja vu...I've posted about movie night on several occasions! But, I just can't get enough of these cutie cuddly girlies! I so love this family time!

365:Day 271 ~ Academic Night & Book Fair

First of all…please excuse this lame-o picture. Tonight was Academic Night at Macy’s school and when I pulled my camera out of my purse, I discovered that the battery was dead. FOO! Macy and I went by ourselves – Carly had a random fever at through the night last night and has been totally fine all day, but we thought it would be best for her to hang out at home with Daddy instead of being around a bunch of kiddos.

Macy had fun participating in Academic Night … first grade had math games set up, the kids were able to show off some of their computer skills, and they even got to go on a treasure hunt throughout the school using geographical clues!

AND, the fall book fair was set up in the library, which is always a treat! Macy brought home her wish list {which was the best pic I could get to represent tonight’s events…sorry again that it’s LAME}. So, she chose two books for herself and two books for Carly! I thought it was really sweet because when her class went down to preview the book fair and make their wish lists, Macy spotted a book that she knew that Carly would love. And we also chose a book off of her teacher’s wish list! {Once again, leaving me purchasing FIVE books…addicted, I tell ya!}

I had lots of fun with my big girl, and Daddy had fun reading the girls their new books at bedtime!

365:Day 270 ~ Yard Art!

When we were at the pumpkin patch place on Monday, I spotted these cute little candy corn for our yard and my genius hubby came up with the idea to put the girl's names on them! So today, I got black paint pen from Hobby Lobby and jazzed up these candy corn a bit with my two favorite girly names {I mighta picked up a couple cute wooden pumpkins for my kitchen for 50% off too…just sayin’}!

I think they turned out pretty cute and Macy and Carly absolutely LOVED them! Daddy is going to put a coat of poly on them tomorrow and then they’re going straight to the front yard!

Have I mentioned that I SO love fall?

365:Day 269 ~ Pumpkin Carving, Part 2

After our rainy and wet trip to get pumpkins last night, we grabbed some dinner, and the Daddies carved the big girl's pumpkins. Since it was a school night, Bill and Bobby only had time to carve one pumpkin each, so the little girls had to wait until tonight!

Carly didn't mind {much} and was very excited to help her daddy scoop out the seeds for a second night in a row! This is another one of my favorite fall traditions! I love that Bill always carves a pumpkin for each of our girls, and I love that we have a pumpkin carving party with the Bryces every year.

I SO love fall!

365:Day 268 ~ Compromise...

Every year we go to the pumpkin patch with the Bryce's and the Scheers. It's something we all look forward to! So at the beginning of the month, we quickly marked a date on our calendar! Unfortunately, Ashton got sick, so we decided to reschedule. Then it was like a domino effect...each of the kids got the funk and it has not stopped raining for 75% of the month of October. We've had a heckova time trying to find a day that worked for all of us, but TODAY was that day!

Well, you can imagine when we discovered the forecast last night of non-stop rain ALL DAY LONG, we were more than a little disappointed.

But oh no...a little rain can't stop this tradition! We came up with a back-up plan! A compromise, if you will. We headed to a near-by covered pumpkin stand {keyword being COVERED} to find our 6 favorite kiddos the perfect pumpkins! And much to our surprise, this little pumpkin stand had more than just pumpkins! There were bunnies, ducklings, and chicks for the kiddos to pet and feed!

P.O.U.R.I.N.G.
Rain coats.
Rain boots.
Umbrellas.
Mud.
Pumpkins.
Gourds.
Hay.
Animals.
Pictures.
Happy munchkins.

I'd say that our compromise worked out just fine.

365:Day 267 ~ My Best Duds!

For the last several weeks, Erin and Bobby have been painting the main living areas in their house from stark white to warm, yummy khaki {you may remember when we did just that last September}. Today, we had the pleasure of spending the entire day with the Bryce fam - we met for breakfast this morning and then went over to their house for a little painting party! There wasn't much left - we knocked it out in no time!

The kids played ... we had a little lunch ... the kids napped/rested ... the mamas chatted ... the daddies watched some football ... we finished the touch-ups ... the kids played some more and did a craft or two ... we ate a little dinner ... and headed home for bath, stories, and bed. A full Bryce-Leonard family day!!! :)

Oh, and I wore my best duds for this occasion. My painting shirt {as shown above} and my painting pants. Cute, huh? Now...try not to be jealous.

365:Day 266 ~ BOO!

We were thrilled to discover when Macy woke up this morning that she was COMPLETELY FINE ... because that meant that we didn’t have to miss the Halloween party with {most of} our crew at the Decker’s casa tonight!

I will, of course, have mass details and lots more pics on our family blog, but let me just say that the food was delish…the costumes were OUTSTANDING…the Decker’s were the hostesses with the mostesses…the kids had a ball…and we laughed until our tummies hurt!

Pure
Greatness.

365:Day 265 ~ Gettin' Our Craft On!

You may recall my mentioning a few days ago that our germ-free streak had come to an end. Well. Macy caught Carly’s little virus…no school for our big girl today. We dropped her little sister off at school and headed home for some one on one craft time before it was time to head back and pick her up…and then go to see the pediatrician for the second time this week, of course!

Anywhoooooo…Macy and I spent the morning gettin' our craft on! She got a ton of fun artsy stuff for her birthday and she’s been chomping at the bit to do a mosaic jewelry box she got from one of her little friends. We both had a great time designing, placing, and gluing the colored glass plastic. It was nice to have a little quality alone time with my favorite big girl…I’m just sorry that it was because she wasn’t feeling so hot!

{Oh, and P.S. The doctor did both a flu and strep test on MG too, and both were negative. Just a little virus. KNOCK.ON.WOOD that nothing else germs-up our life!!!}

365:Day 264 ~ One of My Weaknesses

Another rainy day. So, Carly Anne and I spent it lounging around in our jammies, playing games, doing puzzles, and giggling. When the rain slowed down, we decided to run out and pick up a birthday present for my sweet niece, Celia {who turned SIX yesterday, btw}. We swung by the book store to get Celia the book Junie B. First Grader: BOO...and I MEAN It!

I would say that I have an addiction to children's books. I can never have enough of them...adore reading them to my kiddos...adore giving them as gifts...and adore going to the bookstore ANYtime! Soooo....once I started looking at this Junie B. book for Celia and saw how adorable it was, I just had to grab it for Macy too.

And a Halloween book for Carly. It's only fair, right? :)

Oh, and one more book for each of them. Just because I can't resist. ADDICTED I tell ya!!! {Did I mention that I've passed this addiction on to my kids?}

So, all in all I'd call today's trip to the book store a success. I went in for one book and left with five. Doesn't that sound like a success to you?

365:Day 263 ~ Now This is How to Enjoy the Rain...

Tonight I had bunco {girl's night out} and we decided that since it was cold and rainy we'd just come in our comfy sweats for a little wine, some yummy snacks, and some good ole' chit chat! I was all to happy to throw on some sweats and NO make-up! It was just 4 of us this month and we had a ball! I brought edamame {hence the pic of sea salt}. We had potato soup, wheat thins and dip, and Chili's chips with salsa and ranch! Oh...and wine. With lots of chatting and laughing, of course. Sure do wish I could spend every rainy day like that!

365:Day 262 ~ Our Itty Bitty Organizer

Carly cracks us up! She is the most organized little player! And she's been doing it for as long as I can remember. She lines things up...separates them with a variety of different characteristics {sometimes color, size, object, etc}. It really is hilarious. And the whole time she's doing that she's in a world of pretend all her own! It's pretty adorable to watch AND listen to! All I know is this kid is a complete hoot! Now, if only we could get her to be that organized when she's cleaning up! :)

365:Day 261 ~ Looks Like Our Streak Has Come to an End.

Remember our 24+ hour date last weekend? Well, when we were on the way home from the football game, my mom called and informed me that Carly had a fever. OOF! The germs have finally hit! We've escaped it so far, but I guess it was bound to happen eventually. Anyway, Carly had a fever of 104 in the middle of the night and threw up twice. But then on Sunday, the fever broke and she's had no symptoms since. Until tonight after dinner. We noticed that her throat was all kinds of red! I'm thinking that it's strep and I'm hoping like crazy that it's not the swine! So, I'll be taking her to the doctor tomorrow to find out for sure! No school today and looks like no school on Wednesday! I'm going to have one unhappy toddler on my hands! GO AWAY YUCKY GERMS!


....................

* Update...I did take Carly to the doctor today and both the strep test AND the flu test were negative! WHOO-HOO! Turns out she just had a little virus that kind of presented itself as strep. I'm so relieved! And...she feels fine, is acting fine, and isn't even contagious anymore! So, it's off to school tomorrow for our little mama after all! :)

365:Day 260 ~ I So LOVE a Bargain!!!

On Tuesday, I decided to swing by Old Navy and check out the Happy 15th Birthday Sale that they had going on! Little did I know that I was going to find crazy bargains on tons of stuff! It turned into a mini shopping spree, which was a nice little treat! Those of you who know me well know that I rarely spend money on myself unless it's pretty necessary! So, I got a little spoiled on Tuesday! BUT...the key is that everything was INSANELY CHEAP! Like these super cute jammie pants for instance, which I'm wearing for the first time tonight. They are super duper soft and cozy...and the best part is that they were $4.99!!! I love me a good bargain!

365:Day 259 ~ Roo Crew

To continue our date extravaganza, Bill and I headed to our nephew's college football game. Kevin Jr. is a freshman at Austin College, which is less than an hour away! We had perfect weather ... sunny and breezy ... and although Kevin didn't get to play {since he's just a freshman and all}, we were so glad we got to see the game! We are officially members of the Austin College ROO CREW! And we can't wait to go see Kevin in action at another game!

365:Day 258 ~ Grown-Up Time...

...as in kid-free! :) My hubby and I had a date day today. A tandem workout this morning with a trainer. A Parent-Teacher Conference for our favorite first grader. A lazy couple of hours {I watched trashy tv while he messed around on the computer}. A quick trip to the candy store to get these delicious treats to take with us to see Couples Retreat {P.S. Are y'all aware of the fact that matinee are now $7.50??? Who else remember when a full-price movie was $7.50? Can you believe that crap?}. And we had popcorn. With butter. And coke. And then we went and had a yummo dinner with Bill's brother, Kevin, and his wife, Melissa.

It was crazy nice to spend an entire day with my hubs! And we're not done yet...we get to spend tomorrow together too...kidless...for over 24 hours!!! Do we live on the edge or what?

Thanks, Mom and Dad / Mimi and Paps for making this happen!!! :)

365:Day 257 ~ Over the River and Through the Woods!

The girls are all packed and ready for their sleepover at Mimi and Paps' house tomorrow night! They even helped me pack their suitcase! :) They chose the jammies they wanted to wear and helped me put the stuff in the suitcase! I, myself, am pretty excited to go on a date with my hubby!!! I'm sure it will be a fun weekend for ALL!

365:Day 256 ~ Knock, Knock, Knock on WOOD!

Macy and I were working on her homework right before dinner tonight and I noticed that our big girl has a stuffy nose. She said that nothing else is bothering her, but that her nose started getting stuffy today while she was at school. So, I had Daddy stop by the store on his way home and grab some Airborne for MG. I'm knocking on some major wood and praying to the Airborne gods that Macy won't get sick! Here's to hoping that I caught it in the early stages!!! Come on Airborne...don't fail me now!!!

365:Day 255 ~ Sleepless in Seattle Sunglassless in Dallas

Dear Sunglasses,

Oh how I miss you so. Remember the good old days when I would put you on every time I got in the car. I should have told you more often that I appreciated all the protection you provide from UVA and UVB rays. I never meant to take you for granted.

I hope that we get to meet up again soon ... whenever it stops all this incessant raining. For days. And days. And days.

Yep. There's a reason I don't live in Seattle. And it's because I enjoy my relationship with you.

Missing you,
Mama Leonard...Sunglassless in Dallas

365:Day 254 ~ Glowing Bones

Tonight was the first night for "winter" jammies. It's been cool for several days, so the girls have been wearing jammie sets that are pants with short-sleeved shirts. Tonight was the first time this fall they've worn pants and long-sleeved shirts!

New jammies.
Matching jammies.
GLOWING jammies.

Now doesn't that make going to bed that much more fun?!?! :) The girls sure thought so!

365:Day 253 ~ One of My Faves!

This afternoon I made one of my most favorite snacks ... Chex Party Mix! I love the homemade version SO much better than the stuff that you buy at the store! In fact, I almost never buy it from the store anymore! I just make it myself!!! And I swear it's dangerous to have around - I can't stop eating it!!! YUM!

365:Day 252 ~ The First Taste of High School!

Our little dancer went to a Drill Team dance clinic today at one of the local high schools! No surprise...Macy had a complete ball!!! Really. She loved every minute of the 3 hours that she was there! And the performance was, well, totally adorable! Annnd I had a little glimpse of our future high schooler!!! :)

365:Day 251 ~ 3704

Today was Macy's first ever Daisys meeting! She looked so cute in her Daisy's tshirt and apron! It was crazy cold outside, but the little ladies had great meeting in spite of that! And they learned an important lesson and earned their red petal! Whoo-hoo!!! :)

365:Day 250 ~ Been Keeping Me BUSY!

Volunteering at Macy's school has been keeping me CRAZY BUSY for the last several weeks! One of the projects I've been working on was the annual school picnic! My friend, Cody, and I were in charge of the games...to include face painting and tattoos!

The picnic got moved inside due to RAIN, so our other games got canceled. But we made the most of it...we got out the hoola hoops, and the face painting and tattoos were a HUGE hit!

It was a busy and fun evening! And now things should start to calm down a little...I think. :)

365:Day 249 ~ Mini Masterpieces

Macy’s friend, Emerson, came home from school with us today. It was a fun and girly afternoon around here! Macy, Emerson, and Carly colored for 45 MINUTES STRAIGHT. Seriously…45 minutes. And they were giggling hysterically and telling stories the entire time.

Of course, by the time I got my act together and busted out the camera, they were cleaning up. {Nice one, Mom!} I did manage to capture one of Emerson’s finished masterpieces though. Next time, I’ll be more on the ball! Isn’t it amazing how long coloring can entertain little girls?!?! I remember doing the same thing when I was little! LOVE IT!

365:Day 248 ~ Let the Decorating Continue!!!

As I mentioned, I put out all of my Halloween/Fall decorations this weekend. I do believe that I also mentioned that I love decorating for fall even more than I do winter! Today, I was at Walmart doing a little grocery shopping and wanted to grab some pumpkins, gourds, and squash to put in this cutie jack-o-lantern bowl!

I normally just grab a giant mesh bag full for $4 and take what I can get. Well. I was delighted to find that at Walmart you get to choose your own! I was so happy to be able to pick out exactly the pumpkins, gourds, and squash I wanted! Not only do I love the way they look, I was able to choose the ones in the best condition!!! And all for $0.78/lb.!

I love fall.

365:Day 247 ~ Have Candy Corn. Will Eat Them.

Mmmmkay. I put out our Halloween/Fall decorations yesterday, to include this bowl of candy corn. Which was almost full. My kids have pretty much had it for dessert non-stop since lunch yesterday. I've had quite a few myself. And my poor husband is cursing me for buying them because he grabs one darn near every time he walks by. And now, it's about 1/3 less full than it was yesterday. Wonder how many more bags I'll by between now and Halloween??? :)

365:Day 246 ~ Itty Bitty Homework...

Carly had to decorate this fall leaf for school. She was so excited to have "homewort" like her big sissy! And as you can see, she got a little carried away with the glitter glue! We had to discuss not squeezing the tube too hard, which is why the dots got smaller as we went along! HA! :)

365:Day 245 ~ Sprinkles

We have a special visitor tonight! Kelly and Beth are out having a grown-up evening to celebrate their anniversary, so Merran is spending the night with us! Macy and Carly were super excited to have a sleepover with Merran … and I’m pretty sure that Merran was equally excited! :) I thought it would be fun to make cookies, soooo the girls decorated sugar cookies with HALLOWEEN sprinkles! Yep … they are as yummy as they look!

365:Day 244 ~ Girl's Night IN!

Tonight Bill was helping our friends Nathan and Jill move into their new house, which meant that I got to have a Girl’s Night with my two favorite little chickies! We had a Chick-fil-A picnic on the family room floor … AND we ditched movie night and had a Dancing With The Stars MARATHON instead!!! We hadn't seen an episode yet due to homework, activities, dinner, bath, bedtime, etc. clogging up our evenings! We managed to watch the 3-night premier in just a few short hours!

We ate French fries, giggled, oohed and aahed over the costumes, and snuggled up together on the couch. It was the perfect Girl’s Night IN!

365:Day 243 ~ Spelling Bee

Tomorrow, Macy will take her 5th spelling test of the school year ... of her life actually. Each week our big girl has 12 spelling words, and every Friday is the spelling test. So far, she has only missed one word! Hopefully tomorrow will be another good one for Macy Gwynnie! Neither Bill or I are good spellers at.all. We're keeping our fingers crossed that Macy doesn't take after us in this department! Seems like she's off to a good start! :)