Wordless Wednesday {#31days}

It's The Hangry Preschoolers {#31days}

Note: I had a lot going yesterday so no pictures were actually taken. But here's an idea of what that witching hour is like at the House. Enjoy

Why are Mondays ALWAYS insane? I do everything possible to get ready for the week and it never fails...Mondays are the worst!

Have you heard of The Hangry?

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Come on... You know the Hangry. For, us mamas is usually worse around this time of year when you just gotta get into that Halloween candy. And you gotta be sneaky about it in your closet or laundry room....

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For kids, though... This is something that starts around that Witching Hour that any parent knows quite well. Ugh, that hour... Getting dinner ready, the house semi-picked up so you don't have to do it later, and maybe remembering to switch that laundry all while the boys all of a sudden want to start fighting about the piece of random fuzz found under the sofa that CLEARLY belongs to him not him. And, if you don't quickly solve whatever issue it is with a small morsel of something... That sweet boy will turn into The Hangry Preschooler. You just don't want that.

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And, because it is a Monday... that dinner that you put together like a champ with one child on your hip, another behind you every. single. time. you turn around, and the other screaming about goodness knows what this time. That dinner will be whined about, complained about, spit out, thrown out, and dumped out. It doesn't matter if is their favorite dinner or something new. It's doesn't matter one bit. It's Monday and they are HANGRY PRESCHOOLERS.

And, sadly, that turns you into mean mommy and sometimes...also a preschooler.

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But, sometimes you just gotta do what is needed to be done while making dinner. Even it that means making a fool of yourself for the sake of sanity. Just turn on some music and drop it like it's hot while giving that sauce a stir.

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Eventually, the Hanger fades because they realize that food is actually on the table. Food that they do enjoy. Food that isn't yucky or disgussin' (how Andrew says disgusting). Food that turns them back into the sweet children I knew before 4 pm.

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Once dinner has come to it's glorious finale, you glance at the clock in hopes of seeing that blessed bedtime hour approaching. And, when you take that double take, becuase it says "6:45" you break out to bust some more moves!

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Hope your Monday was better than mine! And, keep those Hangry Preschoolers fed!!

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Boo at the Zoo 2014!! {#31days}

What a super busy, crazy fun Saturday we had!

Here's a quick run down of the events:

Car maintenance to van - Thanks goodness for the AWESOME Honda Lounge complete with goodies...and coffee!
Grocery run to Costco - this time for stocking up madness!
Home for lunch, naps, and some Cutthroat Kitchen marathon and playtime.
Dinner
Costumes
Boo at the Zoo time!!! Yay!!

I love it!! Let's walk down memory lane a bit, shall we?
 
Boo at the Zoo 2010

I know, ok. You are ready for this year! And, let me just tell you - this was also STAR WARS NIGHT!!! Hello?! I was so excited!!! And SO excited that the boys were excited. I seriously cannot wait for them to see the movies!!

Ok, to the pictures!!

Oh,the lines... WOW. When the announcer guy said that they opened a cash-only line... You should have seen the people....herds!! running to that one. I mean, wow. Knocking over the line markers, people. Didn't matter. They needed to get their boo on.

BUT! While we were patiently waiting (after we moved over to the shortest line semi-calmly), another dad handed Jason 2 ride/activity tickets and an "unlimited ride/activity wristband. Nice. Those things are expensive. Apparently his kids were OVER it. Thank you, Random Dad. You just saved us $20!

 Oh, yes, I did get my picture with a Storm Trooper!! Andrew thought he was cool, but a little nervous about him as he got closer. He is awesome. Andrew will come around. They have already started watching the Lego Star Wars DisneyXD (and, Disney...stop it. Oh, please don't ruin it. Just stop it NOW). So, it's only a matter of time!

Family Photo Fail #1 - The "Oh, I forgot to take a pic of us!" photo in the Trick or Treat Trail line. And...one of these days we will all be the same comics brand. Marvel (yuck!) and DC (yay!) just don't mix. (Can you tell I don't have any sisters and that I LOVE being a boy mom?!)
 

Oh, that star. Captain America has quite the serious star on his costume. Perfect for late night trick-or-treating though!

Poor guy. Yes, he did get a few candies thrown into his bucket. But, Andrew was on "babywatch" - anything that got thrown in there was put into the boo bag on the stroller. He did get a few bites of some Twix bars. But, he was not impressed...
 

Family Photo Fail #2 - I just want to point out that this was NOT my fault.

VENT WARNING

First of all, I do try hard to teach my boys that if you see someone holding up a camera/phone to take a picture, FREEZE! Someone is CLEARLY trying to get a picture of their little ones, just like YOU wanted to take a picture of your little ones just moments ago. I took about 5 of these before the whining started. And This was the only winner. The other 4 had these 2 little girls running all over the place. WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS?! There were, like, a million people here! (That could be true...the parking was like never before. We parked in a parking lot that I didn't even know existed at the Zoo.)

Halloween Plinko! I'm glad someone still loves The Price is Right! And, let's just say...The Hulk was quite please to smash something! He just kept on hitting! Oh, dear....

Alex was my brave little superhero! He is still a little nervous, but he DID get his picture taken with the TIE Pilot!!

Awesome.

Even though it was crowded, it was such a great night!

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Sabotage!! {#31days}

Please tell me that y'all have seen Cutthroat Kitchen?! Seriously my new favorite Foot Network Show. It is awesome. (Go ahead - watch here and come back)

See??

I just love the sabotages!! And guess who else does?

The boys. Andrew and Alex love it so much that they PLAY Cutthroat Kitchen! Hilarious!!

Now, if you didn't take the time to watch even a glimpse of the show here's the rundown:

Basically, it's like the everyday kitchen cook-off show. Three awesome chefs, three dishes to make, and one is cut each round - leaving, of course, the winner. Only Alton Brown, the best host ever, throw in some CRAZY sabotages that the chefs can bid on to mess up the other ones. The fist time I ever watched this, one of the chef's bid on chopsticks. No biggie, right? WRONG! He gave those chopsticks to his opponent to use as their ONLY cooking utensil for that round!! Mmmmwuhahaha!

Hilarious! I love it. Go, Alton!

Anyway, back to the boys.

I shall set the scene....

Andrew is Alton (because he is the oldest and that's apparently the rule)
Alex is the Chef Guy (I'm assuming he meant Guy Fieri because that's his favorite..ahem, guy!)
Mama is Chef Mommy (wait!? why am I playing?! Andrew says, I mean Alton, says that I'm already making dinner so I should just play)

No one has any money. There is just a bunch of yelling about "dollars!" and Alton going around telling me how much time I have. No matter that the kitchen timer says that it's ready when it's ready. Alton says I have 10 minutes. Alex Chef Guy starts to go nuts.

Because he has be...SABOTAGED!

He must bake all of his food together and put his pots away for 5 minutes.But I didn't do it.

Alton did it. 

Alex said it was ok because he didn't know what he was making. Yep, that looks quite questionable to me, too...

But, don't you worry. I got sabotaged, too. Ouch.

I had to throw always of my "shake spices" and use the toy spices instead.

Those stuffed bell peppers are going to be quite bland, eh?

Oh, goodness! What a fiasco making dinner turned out to be...

Kidding...the dinner-making hour is ALWAYS a fiasco. But at least this time it was entertaining. Maybe we should play Cutthroat Kitchen all the time!

But with no sabotages (of any kind!) to mama! I need as few of those as possible!

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7 Quick Takes {#31days}

I know. It's been a bit since the last 7 Quick Takes... But, here we go!

1. How we do it: The Plague

Yes, the plague. In motherhood, that is what you call it. Anything is the plague because if mama gets it the entire house WILL fall. Who is going to take care of the laundry? The meals? The questionable spot on the floor?!

"You will turn another boy show" ~ Jedi Apprentice Alex

Fortunately, the only ones afflicted with the sickness were just Andrew and Alex. And, thankfully, it only lasted a day. WHEW! Ain't nobody got time for that!

But, we had to make whatever time we had with bug decent. So, there was way too much TV, a never-ending supply of liquid refreshment, and enough Cheerios to build a life-size version of the Empire State Building (which, of course, were crushed into the carpet that I hate by a certain little one who had the quarantine lifted...)

2. SHOCKING NEWS: Superheroes beat anything in the end!

It is true. Somehow the supers always do it! Even the smaller ones.

3. Jinkies! You went to the zoo...again?! 

Groovy. The zoo is, of course, decked out for the annual Boo at the Zoo! Headed out there tomorrow night! Trick or treats and so much more!!

Though, of course, you would never know that we have been to the zoo EVERY WEEK since becoming members when Andrew was about a year old... These are some serious map guys...

Alex is showing where we are on the map. Andrew is pointing out the hawk around the turn. So cute.

4. What does the fox say? Get-get-get-get-me-out!! 

Kidding. Austin was the one who wanted to get him out! He FINALLY got to see HIS FOX. Oh, yes. His fox, Zookeeper Girl. When we got to this habitat and he saw that fox running around, he stretched out his little arms and made that grabbing motion with his hands. Alex told him, "That's a fox! He lives here!" Andrew was pointing out the glass (hand on the window). Austin was not at all impressed and just kept wanting to get his fox. It was pretty cool watching The Zookeeper work with the fox while we were there.

 5. What's weirder than that song??

These.

There are just really no words. But I'll try. See (stupid Target and October's Pumpkin Obsession), these were on "clearance" (just stop it Target...a 45-cent mark-down is NOT clearance...). And, hey, it's October. I love me some pumpkin. Why not?

Well, they aren't bad... But, they aren't amazing. I don't know. Alex said a very clear "YUCK!" while Andrew was just being nice by saying, "They are good, but I don't want anymore. I want to eat all my lunch." Austin, however, was the biggest fan. Of course, he hold the current title of Bottomless Pit, so what does he know? I'm not completely hating on them, but I think I'll just stick to my Pumpkin Spice Lattes and where ever I can find a gluten-free Pumpkin Pie treat.

6. Boys can play dress-up, too!

Cuteness, right??

 
But where did we get all this awesome stuff???

Well, many places. But, yes, mostly Target. The Dollar Spot this time of year ALWAYS has some great items to add to your dress-up stash. Wands for girls...swords for boys. Hats of all kinds. And accessories galore. Good stuff.

Also? The Halloween section....the week AFTER Halloween. When everything goes on clearance, I go take a peek. You never know what you may find still hanging around. We got a great fireman jacket and very durable fire hat a few years ago on clearance for around $8 or something.

Another great spot to check? The consignment and thrift shops! I have 2 army green cargo vests that the boys use for exploring and all kinds of things. Both were in the $2-4 range. Score.

7. Saved the best for last!

This guy.

 This is my youngest brother, William! Today is his birthday!! The big 13!

Let me just tell you how cool this guy is:

1. The boys ALL love him to death and always ask about him.
2. William is the only brother of mine that Jason has known almost  his whole life. (Jason and I met when the summer before he turned 2).
3. And, because of that cool fact, William was our ring bearer!! (He was about 5 and half).
4. William is SO funny!
5. He thinks he can beat me at Mario Kart
6. But really he is going to get blasted by yours truly

Kidding! We love you William! You are one awesome brother! Happy birthday!

(Now, go turn on your wii and invite me!!)

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2 Weeks & Counting {#31days}

There are exactly 2 weeks until my little...um, my biggest baby will be 1 year old. That's right. This guy:

He has developed quite the personality in the past few months.

He absolutely LOVES being outside and the swings are his favorite thing.

He is beginning to figure out how things work and loves "playing school" with the big boys.

Figured out to put the bottle in the truck and give it a ride - so cute!

Mister has dropped down to one nap now. But it is all random still. So, we are working on keeping him occupied during school time.

He loves doors. He loved opening them and closing them. But knows for sure he doesn't like getting pinched by them.

Wait...this isn't Narnia, is it?

Loves to cook, too. Well, he loves to put things in the oven and shut the door.

I think that his favorite thing to do is make a mess... Or maybe that's because he knows he will get to play in the water afterwards?

He loves to smile, too! And we DEFINITELY love seeing that super cute grin.

Such a sweet little boy he is (Who am I? Yoda? Haha! Boy mom. What can I say?) We love him bunches!! We are just doing a little something, just the 5 of us, at the house. A cake and some presents from all. A sweet day to come for a sweet little toddler!

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Wordless Wednesday {#31days}