"All Aboard!!!"

Located in Glencoe, MO (Tim's and my old stomping grounds until we moved into Ballwin) is the WF&P Railroad. A 12 inch gauge railway, the trains (both steam and gasoline powered) run along the banks of the Meramec River taking children (and their parents) for a 30 minute ride. The railroad is run completely by volunteers and are dressed the part in their dungarees and railway hats. There's even a conductor who shouts "All Aboard"! as the trains ready to leave the station.



Since Tim and I spent many Falls hearing the whistles of the trains from our old home, we decided that it was time to take the boys for a ride. It was once again a beautiful Fall day (the last one for awhile according to the weather forcast) and we enjoyed ourselves to the fullest! I don't know who enjoyed it more, the boys or Tim and I.






"All Aboard!!!!"

Life Through The Eyes Of A Three Year Old

None of us really remember what it's like to be three...how we looked at the world with amazement. How everything was BIGGER than we were since we were so small. Jack received a digital camera for his third birthday and would like to share some of his first pictures that we are titling "Life Through The Eyes Of A Three Year Old" Enjoy!

In case you are wondering (from left to right, top to bottom) - balloons from Jack's party, a shot from the car, Mason saying "cheese", Jack's new Lightnening McQueen Car, a close up of Quack Quack in a purple snack cup, Jack's-eye-view of the train today, and the family room - all works of art!!!

In Honor Of My 3rd Anniversary Of Becoming a Mom

Before I was a Mom……..

Before I was a Mom
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about
how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday

Before I was a Mom
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on,
Chewed on, peed on,
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child
so that doctors could do tests.
Or give shots

Before I was a Mom
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom

Before I was a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.



Happy 3rd Birthday, Jack Henry!
I love you more than you will ever understand!
- Mommy

The Great Pumpkin

A childhood memory of mine is our annual trip to Rombach's Pumpkin Farm in Chesterfield, MO to pick out THE BIGGEST pumpkin that we could find. My Dad is an awesome free-hand pumpkin carver and he'd make us the BEST Jack-o-lantern in the neighborhood for Halloween.

Well, we can't say that we've carried on the entire tradition by finding THE BIGGEST pumpkin but can't let October pass without a trip to Rombachs so that Jack and Mason can pick out their pumpkins. So it was off to the Pumpkin Patch this morning with Moots (Jack & Mason's Grandmother who is visiting from South Carolina).


Not only did Jack and Mason find ONE pumpkin that they thought was the best one in the pumpkin patch but we came home with EIGHT -Yes, EIGHT pumpkins. They just couldn't make up their minds.



We worked up such an appetite finding our pumpkins that next it was time for a snack....yummy Funnel Cakes! Mason thought that it was such a good treat that he actually sat and "guarded" the one he claimed as his and wouldn't let ANYONE touch it and if you did, he'd scream at the top of his lungs at you (it was quite funny). Jack on the other hand decided that a funnel cake wasn't what he needed but instead he wanted a lollypop!






The boys had such a blast and all I can do is hope that as the years pass they will start to develop the same fond memories of Halloween and "The Great Pumpkin" at the pumpkin patch as I did when I was a little girl.

"They Say It's Your Birthday..."

Your Birthdate: October 17

You tend to find yourself lucky - both in business and in life. And while being wealthy is nice, you enjoy sharing your abundance with others. You put your luck to good use: you are very ambitious and goal oriented. Often times, you get over excited and take on more than you can manage. Your strength: Your ability to make your own luck Your weakness: Thinking you can do it all Your power color: Bronze Your power symbol: Half Moon Your power month: August

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Grant's Farm

Saturday the boys and I ventured to Grant's Farm to meet some of my friends from the Mom's Chat Board that I frequent (Okay....live on). It was HOT HOT HOT for a Saturday in October but all the kids (all 7 of them under the age of three) had a great time. They loved seeing all of the animals from on the tram ride and then even up closer as we walked around the rest of Grant's Farm.



Jack's favorite part....the llama that sneezed grass all over his nose (NOT!) - it was quite humourous but Jack was none too pleased.




Thanks Amber, Dave, Perry, Ella & Luca as well as Lisa, Bob, Addison & Lucas! The boys and I had a BLAST! We'll have to do it again sometime soon!

Bandaids Make Everything Better - An Observation

Why is it that a simple adhesive strip with a cool picture on it makes all things better? Does it have magic healing powers that we as adults don't know about?

Jack has now found that a bandaid makes the world all better. It makes a scraped knee better, a bumped finger better and amazingly an upset stomach at 3am better! But it's not just your standard "pink" bandaid that does the trick, it has to have a picture on it. Cars, Little Einsteins or Dora applied with a little TLC to a pinpointed spot and the world is a better place.

Mason has yet to understand that the magic powers only last if the bandaid is left sticking to the place that it is orignally applied to and not removed and repeatedly reapplied to various body parts or even furniture.

Oh well....as a Mom....I just keep buying the magical bandaids because I know that that little plastic strip and a kiss will make life happy again in a pinch.

Play Hard, Eat Hard

Typical weekend for us here in St. Louis. The boys and I took advantage of a beautiful Fall Saturday and headed out to the Zoo for a date while Daddy stayed behind to get some long over-due office work done. We had so much fun! We saw a baby elephant named Jade, the sea lion show, some zebras, lots of monkeys (one was even eating popcorn and "salad") and a big brown bear.




Sunday was another equally beautiful day so we spent lots of time outside just playing and having fun. We opened up the sand and water table and had fun making sand molds and playing with cars on the roads and bridge on the water side of the table. After a hard morning playing outside and a nice long afternoon nap, it was time to quench an appetite fit for two Kings. Corn on the cob was devoured by Mason and Jack enjoyed the "finishing touch" on his dinner which was pig pen pudding (vanilla pudding with pink pig sprinkles and chocolate powder that turned the vanilla pudding brown like mud).




All in all a great weekend. Nothing spectacular....just the norm.....but all in all enjoyable.

We have a busy month ahead of us with a trip to Grant's Farm, a visit to the pumpkin patch, a 3rd Birthday and a birthday party and Halloween! It's going to be lots of fun!!! Make sure you check back with us!!!!!

A SPECIAL NOTE - Please keep our friend Storm Carl in your thoughts and prayers. Our Hero, Storm, will become a kidney donor to his cousin on October 10th. We are so proud to say we have a friend who is an organ donor and know that he will be in safe hands during his procedure. We love you Storm and Kerry!!!!

Golden Delicious

Today was Summer's last hurrah before the first day of Fall tomorrow. We decided to celebrate by taking a trip out to Eckert's Milstadt Orchard for some apple picking. "Bear" was in town so he was able to come with us before he headed back home to Mississippi.

First we visited some of the animals in the petting zoo and fed them some yummy food. Jack and Mason weren't too sure about feeding them but they loved seeing the animals. There were 4 horned sheep, a Mommy antelope of some sort and a baby who was busy nursing, 2 camels, some donkeys and a cow!




Then it was up into the tractor wagon for a trip out to the orchards. We went to the Golden Delicious apples because there were still lots of them and they need to be picked soon. Jack and Mason LOVED picking the apples and putting them into our bags. Daddy, Jack and Bear even sampled some of the apples that we picked. They were YUMMY! After we were finished picking our apples we got back into the wagon and headed back to the Fun Farm.







We said goodbye to Bear and then headed into the Fun Farm to see what was all there. We saw ponies, but didn't want to ride them, and instead found ourselves an ice cream store! We took a break and had a snack of ice cream (before lunch)! It was so delicious and cooled us off.



We had such a good time! It was so much fun to pick our own apples. Now we have apples for snack for weeks! Jack and Mason are going to take some to their teachers at school and we even sent Bear home with some for Belle.

Here Comes Trouble!

Well....we have a climber (or should I say MONKEY) on our hands! Mason has figured out how leave ground level and does it with ease! He recently surprised Tim and I one night last week by joining us at the dinner table with the biggest grin and those big brown saucer eyes! We could only laugh - what else can you do? Oh the joys..........

Saturday Night Fever

As you can hear - Tim and I were killing ourselves watching the boys dance. It's their new fascination and is quite hysterical. Unfortunately, you can't hear the music so the clip looses some of it's "funny" but how can it not bring a smile to your face?


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting