Pumpkin Carving

We had our annual Pumpkin Carving Party last weekend and a good time was had by all! 1st Place went to Joe for his McCain Pumpkin. 2nd went to my sister-in-law Jill for her Obabma Pumpkin and our neice Erin got 3rd for the Grim Reaper.

Love this....

The 10 Laws of Stuff...
1. Stuff breeds, the more you have, the more you need.
2. Useless stuff crowds out the good stuff.
3. Dust loves stuff. Bugs love stuff. Rodents love stuff. Moisture loves stuff.
4. Stuff loves to stay where it lands.
5. Stuff expands to fill the space available.
6. Over time, stuff becomes invisible.
7. Stuff costs you money.
8. Stuff has a powerful effect on your state of mind.
9. Stuff takes on value only when it is used.
10.Stuff doesn’t make you happy, you do.
-Georgene Lockwood

Halloween Costumes

It's almost that time of year....and I'm so excited to be getting ready for Jax's 2nd Halloween! A question was posted on the Fiskateer board about favorite Halloween costumes from years past. I didn't have to even think about it. It was Halloween 2006, I was 6 months pregnant with Jax and I couldn't resist painting my big swollen belly and calling it my "Jax-O-Lantern"! I even won a contest that year :-) Last year, was Jax's 1st Halloween....so of course I HAD to make him a little "Jax-O-Lantern" (again)!
Here are the pics from 2006 & 2007:

Joe says I have to stop w/ the play on words...no more Jax-o-"stuff" for awhile. I'm not done yet though....I still have plans to make him a Jax-in-the-Box someday!!!

Saying Goodbye

After the year we've been through I've learned to expect sadness at every turn. In a strange way I think it keeps me strong. We had to say goodbye to Sassy last week. It is difficult for me to reflect on my life and not have a memory of her there by my side. She was 5 wks, 2 days young when she peeped out of a jacket pocket and jumped into my heart. At 12 years, 8 months and 20 days old I held her in my arms and said goodbye. In true Sassy style she kept giving her "kisses" until the very end. Her absence feels heavy now but it gives me peace to remember she is no longer in pain. It hurts a little less to imagine she just might be hanging out under a shade tree somewhere with her "Nana".

My Five Factor Personality Profile

This fun little profile was just a short series of questions. The resulting analysis was amazingly accurate for me!
Extroversion: You have high extroversion.You are outgoing and engaging, with both strangers and friends. You truly enjoy being with people and bring energy into any situation.Enthusiastic and fun, you're the first to say "let's go!"

Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done.But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it.

Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair.

Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure.

Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.
The Five Factor Personality Test - see what it says about you!

New Job X 2

This has been an interesting week. Joe started his new job Monday. So far, so good. Lately, I've been working really hard on my new "job" too. Jeni & I are just about ready to make our big announcement! Starting a business is hard enough, but WOW....when you have a toddler hanging on your leg it makes everything a challenge! What seems like a simple task, never really is. That is something she & I both have come to realize lately. We are both really excited about our little business venture, but I'm already wondering...when is my vacation? Oh yeah, and when do we get paid?!? I guess for now I'll have to settle for those little payments of cookie crumb kisses from Jax ;-)

Whoa! Time OUT!

The discussion in our house this week has been about discipline. We have an 18month old who is very busy and primarily interested in testing his boundaries lately. My husband & mother-in-law think he's ready to be introduced to the concept of "Time Out". What?!? My baby? No way! A few days ago I adamantly refused to even consider it. Then...well....then came the cell phone smashing tirade, the cheese up the nose trick (yes, I have pictures), the "let's pull the dog's ear off" challenge, the run from mommy into the street and then laugh hysterically incident and the new fun game of ripping the phone/internet cord out of the wall and whipping the dog with it repeatedly! I know you mothers out there are thinking "redirect him", "give him something else to focus on" (besides the poor dogs) yeah, yeah, I hear you, you're preaching to the choir here! My professional background includes a few years as an educator for early childhood development professionals. So, why all of a sudden am I questioning the teachings of most ECH experts & years of research clearly stating that the earliest age "Time Out" can be effective is 2 yrs? Well, #1 The experts haven't met my son & #2 I'm not sure how much more the dogs are willing to take!
Seriously, though I'm still not convinced he's ready for Time Out, my resolve is quickly weakening. I found myself Googling Time Out chairs today and I've got my eye on one shaped like a dog (appropriate don't you think?)