Halloween preview

 This little butterfly...

 And this little gypsy....

Had a very, very full day!

So... this little mama is hitting the hay too.  I'll post a more thorough Halloween update tomorrow.
Can you believe it's already November?!

Mo

A year ago today.

 Looking back a year ago... my how time is flying!  Gabbi is a really big Tinkerbell fan, so her costume was a no-brainer!  But Ellie... I don't know if she has ever even re-watched Toy Story, so her choice of being Jessie was a shocker to me.  But, I was glad, nonetheless.  She had all her "parts" covered, so I was in favor!

 We made a very homemade headband with all the flower clips we could find.  And I also recall Gabbi not being in a very good mood as we headed out that night.

 She perked up when the mention of candy was made!   This girl LIKES her some candy!!

 I also recall walking with the girls up every driveway, while my buddies just hung out in the back of the trailer, laughing and carrying on, as their older children were all self sufficient by now.  Mama Mel was knocking on those doors!

 Oh, and Mama Mel was also decked out in costume, being an 80's girl!

 and as we always do, we loaded down the trailer and hit the neighborhood!  Ellie coughing all the way.  I suppose we'll see tomorrow night whether or not it's the hay she is allergic to!  I'll have the puffer ready just in case!

This year, I have a gypsy and a butterfly!  And I'll be Batgirl!  Once again, Todd refuses to let me help him get a costume together.  As long as he gets our hayride together and helps with our annual hotdog boil, I suppose we'll be ok.  Pictures to follow!!  (Tell me about your costumes, or the funniest ones you've seen this year!)

MO

My funny Ellie Sue

First of all, I am always amazed at my kid's drawing ability. 

When I empty her bag every day, I love to see what all she's drawn on the back of her papers.  And I continue to be so proud that she can do "bubble letters".  I mean, most kids don't figure out how to do the centers of letters (like that "B" below) for a long time.  I think I learned it in junior high.  And here she is a big ol' 5 years old and is rocking her fonts like a beast!

As for her handwriting, well.... she needs to remember that she is NOT supposed to be writing in cursive.  The more I tell her, the stronger the urge hits her!

So, first off, I have the whole deal with cursive vs. print.  But that's not the biggest issue.  NO.  The biggest issue is that she continues to toy with WHICH name she actually prefers! 

When she started kindergarten, I told her that as she was just starting her school journey, she would need to make the decision if she wanted to be "Ellie" or "Ellie Sue".  She said, "I think I'll be Ellia".  I tried to explain that that was not an option. Nor was "Alli" which she also tries from time to time.

And although I agree with her that the curly tail on the lower case "a" is cute, it is not acceptable in kindergarten!

THERE it is!  That's the way Mrs. Gaskin prefers we write the lower case "a".

So, little missy is making just about perfect grades.  But.... check out the name line.  Seems she is a little conflicted. It reads, "Name Ellie  Name Alli".

And on the second page, thank goodness for Mrs. Gaskin, who just crosses right through this crazy kid's imaginary name! 

I couldn't make this stuff up!

She's a piece of work!!  But definitely makes life exciting!

MO

Todd the Bod turns 43.

 Hey, I mean, what do you get a guy who has everything?!

And besides, you KNOW I don't cook.  And I couldn't exactly ask him to cook his own birthday meal!  Soooooo....

 THANK YOU, Hooter girls!

 The bar was prepped and  ready.  LSU was playing at 11:00 am last Saturday, so Todd the Bod's birthday bash was planned for 10:30 AM.  How's THAT for party-hardy?!

 They started showing up slowly but surely. 

 and each man just found themselves a seat under the outside patio and started cheering on the Tigers.

 I took a picture of Todd's Birthday banner, JUST as Les Miles picked his nose!  I couldn't stand it... I HAD to keep it! I mean, what's the likelihood of my clicking my camera exactly when this happened.  And all I was really trying to do was take a snap of his banner.

 Even the youngsters came over to celebrate Todd.  Actually, the teenagers only show up for the free food!

 Tashia's oldest, Taylor, was back in town for the weekend.  And now she has a vested interest in the games!  Funny.  I remember those days!

 I have a vested interest in THESE nowadays!  Dude.  I do love a bloody mary!

 This was Todd's gift from Ellie.  She wrapped up an ET bluray disc (from his own collection!), the top of a broken spatula, and the comb part of a crown, which had lost all of its rhinestones.  Nice gift, huh!? Of course, being the good daddy he is, he went on and on about how much he loved it!

 Of course, she had to be a part of every gift opening! 

 Our buddy, Sam, is always cold.  So, for him, the warm sun at Todd's 10:30 am party was just right!

I must admit, for an early morning party, we had a pretty good turnout!

 And talk about a lot of candles!  WHEW!  43 of those puppies.

 So many that he pretended to keep warm by the fire!

 And Mary Allison thought she was just hysterical by buying him the candles that keep relighting.  I had to take a video of that for her.  She left before she got to see her prank played out!

 Such a nice party for such a nice guy!

 and as usual, the girls migrated to the art room where we made purple and gold earrings to wear to all the gameday festivities.  WHAT did I do before I had an art room?!

 Pops showed up a little later to celebrate.

 He had to help me pick out Todd's gift.  We've been having an issue with a skunk (or "snuck" as Gabbe calls it!), and Todd has been wanting a .22 to use on that little sucker.  He sprayed Earl once, and it was a nightmare!

 I think he liked it.  Daddy found a really cool rifle that had all kinds of gold trim on it.  I would've never known what in the world to look for.  So, I am glad he helped me with that.  And he had another thing to surprise us with.

 He'd just come in from the woods and had a 10 point in the back of the truck.

 And that's all I have to say about that.  I used to hunt myself, with dad, but now, and especially since I watched Bambi, I cannot think about killing a deer.  It actually grossed me out even when I used to hunt with Dad.  But now, it really, really makes me kind of gaggish when I see a dead deer.

 Didn't seem to bother this one too much though!  She was just hanging on the back of that truck like it was no big thing! I'm not sure how I feel about that.

 So, Happy Birthday to our daddy.  43 years young!  With a 4 and 5 year old, you don't have an option, but to keep on feeling and acting young.

 Oh, and then JinJin came by.  She bought Todd a day planner.  We'd had a time management course at the office two days before, and I knew he'd never buy his own! 

 Pretty nice, huh?!  We'll see how it goes.  I got myself one too! 

Have a good Monday!  Make your day a masterpiece!

MO