Pictures, Pee, & Parties

Motherhood is sometimes a roller coaster of experiences and emotion. This weeks ride seemed to have a "P" theme. It started last Friday night.

PICTURES
After posting the traditional Kolby and Rhett Halloween pictures last week I realized it was time for the yearly pilgrimage to Sears Photo studio. I called and managed to land the last appointment of the weekend, Friday night at 7:30pm. Not ideal grant it, but I thought it would be a "fun family Friday" type thing to do. So I got the kids all ready, Rob came home at 7 and we were off. Arriving 15 minutes early is usually a good thing. Not so this night. Stomachs growling, the dreaded "whine" monster reared his ugly head as we sat waiting for our turn in the studio. Sippy cups of apple juice and smarties seemed to keep all at bay. Finally at 8:15, Kolby and Rhett got to strike a pose in front of the camera...

PEE
At about 8:17 the photographer finally had them positioned. Rhett was in the "All American football squat" with one knee on the ground and one knee in front and Kolby in the classic hands on waist with pompoms stance. They looked adorable. All was well. But before the lady could punch her "magic flash button" Rhett's sweet smile contorted into a nervous grimace.
"Smile Rhett, say cheese" Rhett started to cry... Rob and I were puzzled, he was doing so well. Then I saw it. I almost laughed and cried at the same time. A small yellow puddle was pooling on the black (thankfully plastic) backdrop beneath Rhetts knee. I had forgotten that he was in big boys! The apple juice that soothed the whine monster was too much.
It took 20 minutes to clean up and go buy some spiderman underoos in the boys department. It took another 20 to convince Rhett to smile and get his picture taken, despite his soggy costume. We didn't get out of there until 9:15. But look back to last Friday to see the pictures. They actually turned out pretty cute. Instead of the promised Chucky Cheese, me drove through Mickey D's and went home for bubble bath and games. (I was amazed that we got away with that!)

PARTY
Sunday morning Rob, my Uncle, cousin, and two cousin-in-laws left before sun up for Big D. They had their own tail gate party out in the parking lot with a portable grill, sausage,tortillas and Dr Pepper before heading into that aging shrine to all things Cowboy, known as Texas Stadium. The tickets were a present from my aunt to all the guys for their birthdays, and October 31 is my uncles actual birthday. A great time was had by all as the Cowboys won. I must say I missed having "Daddy" around for church, but I love that these guys have developed such a close bond and friendship. Thanks T-sue for giving the guys such a great time together. What a perfect present!

PARTY II
The guys returned just in time for trick-or-treating. For my uncles birthday my whole family ( 14 adults and 6 kids) met at our house fora post trickor treat Spaghetti birthday dinner. It was so fun. The kids had a great time collecting candy from the neighbors and we all enjoyed passing out candy. Earlier the kids and I put orange streamers in the trees and set carved pumpkins out all along our circle drive. It was a beautiful night. Six or seven of us ended up sitting out on the drive with the kids in lawn chairs as a steady parade of trick or treaters streamed by from 6 to 7:30. We have a fun neighborhood for the most part. Down the street two retired couples filled their yards with giant blow up ghost and blared kid friendly Halloween music. It was like a street carnival. SO FUN!
The meal was fun too. The spaghetti sauce is a recipe from my cousin Ashley's in-laws, who are authentic Italians. "Martha's Meat Sauce" has become such a favorite of ours. It turned out great. I can not tell you how precious it was to see my uncle blowing out his birthday candles surrounded by six costumed kids. The kids call my Uncle Rick "Big Daddy" or sometimes "Biggy". He is amazing with them all. Such special times.
Although these family events are at times loud, messy, and exhausting, I love the fact that our kids have these great memories with their cousins. Though tired and dismayed by the messy house I had cleaned all day, my heart was full and happy at the end of the night. Rhett said it was his "funnest favorite Halloween" I think it was my favorite Halloween too! What a perfect weekend to get an extra hour of sleep!

This is getting too long. Stay tuned for the second installment of this post ..."Pink Eye, Presidents & Puke" AND have a perfectly pleasant day!