trick-or-treat

Charlie Brown had a wonderful Halloween.

 Heading out around the neighborhood.

It was so fun to watch him stand at the door - just waiting.

Waiting for the candy of course.

What else could make a 2 year old stand perfectly still?

 

Happy Halloween!

happy fall friday

 Ben and I made a quick stop at the park this morning.

It was beautiful!

 

 

Have a great weekend!

favorite (crib)

Another one of our current transitions with Ben is moving him out of his crib, and to a twin mattress.  So far he's really liking his new bed and usually chooses to sleep in the bed and not the crib.  He does have both in his room, because I do better with a gentle transition to new things.

But just like the binky - this is a little hard for me.  Watching him sleep in his new bed and knowing we are going to be storing away his crib (hopefully to be used again) is another big step away from our baby days.

Then...

Now...

I'm also wanted to write about this because I adore Ben's crib.  It was made for him by my Dad (Grandpa).  My Dad has always been incredibly talented with diy projects - from building a treehouse to hanging Christmas lights.  And because he's an engineer he's also quite the perfectionist. 

When we first told my Dad and Stepmom we were pregnant with Ben, I asked if he would make the crib and of course he said yes.  Jake and I began to look for plans and designs and eventually settled on one we loved.  Dad made sure it turned out beautifully. (and so did my Stepmom - she helped keep him on schedule!)

It's my favorite crib. ever.

it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown

Every year I look forward to the Charlie Brown holiday shows.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown & A Charlie Brown Christmas are my favorites.
I feel like a kid again.  :)

This year I went a step further...

It was so easy to make this! 
Great if you're short on time and wanting to save money.
I spent less than $5 on the shirt and black fabric, and Ben is carrying his football.
There is no hat, no make-up and it is easily adaptable to changing Kansas weather conditions - shorts, jeans, undershirt, etc.

Are you making a costume? Please share - I'd love to see.
Ben was Super Ben last year.
 
And just in case you were wondering, you can watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Thursday, October 28, at 7pm CST on ABC. 

Trick-or-Treat!

bye bye binky

Not sure why it's so hard for me to let go of the "baby" things sometimes - but it is.
Especially lately - I feel like we're changing from baby to boy overnight.
And even though I'm a proud Mama, I'm never totally ready for the change in my heart.

As of today, Ben hasn't used his binky in over a week.  Hooray!
But I keep it sitting on the kitchen counter - just in case.
This afternoon I took a picture of it and it will be tossed out tonight.

And if you think this is a little much,
I also took a picture of the last bottle I gave him.
Just a little sentimental.  :)

As much as I love watching him grow, I will always treasure my "Baby Ben".

sunday evening

Did you have a good weekend?

We sure did.

Friday - fun night at the nearby elementary school

Saturday - garage sales, yard work, playing outside, riding the "spooky" train (as Ben calls it), visiting friends, and movie night

Sunday - church, sewing, a visit from Grandpa & Mima, paying bills (not so fun), and now - just relaxing and trying to put off the inevitable... tomorrow is Monday and the weekend is over.

But that's okay.  I've got lots planned for around the house, and the shop.  
Including a trip to the post office to send these on their way tomorrow.

And Halloween is just a week away.  Better get to work on someone's costume.  :)
Hope your week is full of treats!

saturday morning

Ben has a new fascination with pretending to drive.

In fact, he spent quite a bit of time in the car this morning.

Mama's not quite ready.

14 more years - right?

Ben and I also went to several garage sales this morning.

(Don't worry - I did all the driving.)

We had fun, but only made one purchase - for Ben of course.

Aren't they great?
And only $2 - with a little room to grow.

Happy Saturday!

change

Things are really starting to change around here...

Hope your weekend is beautiful and relaxing.

this caught my eye

As I was picking up toys in the yard last night, I saw this leaf.

It was standing up - not just lying on the ground.

I thought it was pretty interesting so I grabbed the camera and took several photos.

I love stumbling across beautiful little things.

favorite (travel mug)

It's been a long time since I posted about a favorite, but I was inspired today.
I love coffee! 
But you probably already guessed that if you read my favorite (coffee).

One of the essentials when it comes to coffee - it must stay hot! 
Unless it's an iced coffee - of course.
This is easier for me now that I'm home during the day and can use the speedy microwave, but when I worked in the "big city" and spent quite a lot of time driving around for my job having a great travel mug was super important.  I also spent a pretty good amount of time outside - on the job site - and I despised drinking cold coffee.

Until I received my Thermos Raya Stainless Steel Tumbler for Christmas a few years ago, I had no idea coffee could taste good and stay hot all morning. 
It's the best travel mug ever!

And the reason I had to write about my favorite travel mug today is because it's also become my husband's favorite travel mug.  He usually takes a large stainless steel thermos of his own to work, but when he's on the road he "borrows" my travel mug.  That arrangement was working pretty well.

But two weekends ago we traveled to visit Jake's parents, took the travel mug with us on the way to their house, and came home without it.  Bummer!  Not to mention Jake had to travel last week and was without a travel mug.  He went shopping, but couldn't seem to find anything to compare to our Thermos Raya.

So last Saturday I was able to do a little shopping in the "big city" and found the Thermos Raya travel mugs at Target.  I decided that Jake really deserved his own (or that I would really like mine for myself).  Our original mug is stainless steel so I chose a nice blue for Jake.  

He was very happy with his gift. 
Me too!

The old, original mug is still away from home, but it's okay.
I "borrowed" the new mug this morning and I enjoyed running errands with hot coffee.

stripes

Sunday afternoon I found stripes around the house.

New bedding for Ben's "big" bed.
Jake's shirts hanging in the closet.
Ben's shirts hanging in the closet.
My woven bag on a rug.
Pillow in our green chair.
Table.
Spider plant.
Blinds
Coffee mug.
Ben's bib.

This was fun!
You can see more stripes by visiting the sunshine chronicles.
Welcome to the new week.