Should I dress up my 1-year-old for Halloween?

Some of my friends & family are giving me a hard time about not dressing up Bailey for Halloween...she's only 1 remember! She's has no clue what Halloween is and would probably not appreciate us putting a costume on her...especially anything on her head! They're having a little Halloween party at her sitter's today and she's got a little Trick or Treat shirt on...adorable! Maybe next year, when she actually knows what Halloween is, we'll get her a costume! Dave says it's all about the pictures, but I'll get those pics next year or the year after!

What do you think? Did you dress up your babies?

It was a good shopping day!

You may have seen my post on facebook yesterday about how excited I was over having a super-successful day (well, half-hour) of shopping. I didn't have any "in-between" clothes...I have summer clothes and I have winter clothes, but no clothes for in-between! You know, when it's a little chilly in the morning, and then warmer in the afternoon. I don't know about you, but, clothes shopping for me can be very hit or miss...sometimes I'll find nothing, then go home feeling like crap, but other times, like yesterday, I'll go home with a whole bag of stuff! That puts you in the best mood, doesn't it? YAY! I did it in record time too....I only had about a half hour before I had to pick up Bailey from the sitter, so I tore around the store like a maniac...lol! I even had time to try everything on! I walked to the register with this huge pile of clothes, in a messy ball, and asked her if I could just put the stuff there (there was one more thing I wanted to grab in another color) and she shot me this look...I think she thought that was all the stuff that I wasn't buying and I was leaving her with the mess! I told her, with a big smile, that I was buying all of it, 'cause for once, everything fit! So, of course, now I have all of these cool-weather clothes and it's 75 degress outside! Figures! :)

World's Worst World Record!

OMG...GROSS! Did you hear us talking about this guy from Australia who started collecting his own belly button when he was 19-yrs-old? Twenty six years later, he's made his way into the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest collection of it! YUCK! He has it stored in glass jars. Why you ask does he collect belly button lint? He says it just became a part of his routine while waiting for the shower to warm up in the morning...I can think of better things to do while the shower warms up...brush my teeth perhaps! Get this...he even organized it by color & year...there's something wrong with this guy! LOL!

Toni Ryan & I are in the studio right trying to figure out what record we would like to beat.

Toni's...Most continuous days sitting on the couch watching soap operas!

Mine...hmmm...would probably be shopping related...most $ saved with coupons?

What record could you break??????????????


Let's hear 'em!

Should you schedule an appointment for you know what?

Life is busy...work, kids, kids' sports, the things you have to do & the things you want to do...there never seems to be enough hours in the day! In my house, October has been an especially busy month...ugh! You parents know that's it's really hard to get some "alone time" with you sweetie, but I keep reading in the parents magazines, and saw it on The Nate Show the other day, that you have to have some alone time regularly in order to stay connected to each other and not lose your bond. I agree. But, I think it's easier said then done. Last night at around 11pm, exhausted, I went into the bathroom to get ready for bed and John had just gotten out of the shower....he looked HOT! Yes, he does still make me feel giddy...especially when he's naked! LOL! We both looked at each other and said, "If it weren't 11pm...(and my alarm goes off at 4:45am)" But, agreed to make some time for some "alone time" tonight...earlier...so we could get to bed at a decent time...you know, after the kids are fed, bathed, read to, put to bed, lunches made for the next day, the house picked up after the day of chaos, the latest hwood gossip researched, email checked, etc. I'm sure you've got the same stuff going on at your house!

Here's my question...should we be scheduling "alone time" or is that killing the spontaneity of the romance? I'm thinking it's necessary sometimes! Remember, we have a 1 yr old & a 5 yr old who, along with our jobs, keep us extremely busy & leave us very tired...haha!

Be honest! I know there are a lot of you who can probably relate to us!

What was your fav Halloween costume as a kid?

My parents came for a visit on Monday, and my mom brought some old pics from the family albums of me in different costumes on Halloween. Oh my! LOL! You'll see some on the PST website as we get closer to Halloween. I was Scooby Doo one year, a bunny rabbit one year, a witch, there were a bunch! Brady loved looking at the pics of his mommy in costumes, so he asked if he could try on his Iron Man costume. Sure! He loves it! It fits him well too...he didn't want to take it off! he's been some cute things too...a policeman, Batman, and now Iron Man. I already took pics of him in it, incase he's too Halloween crazy that night to pose! LOL! I think my fav Halloween costume as a kid was when my friend, Jenny, and I were a pair of dice! We wore cardboard boxes that we had cut head, arm, and leg holes in, and we painted all the dots on them...just like a pair of dice. I think we won a prize too at the Cranbury Lions Club costume contest! Ahhh, the memories!

What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?


Let's hear 'em!

What is it about Chicken Noodle Soup?

I've had this lingering, annoying cold for the last week or so...can't get rid of the congestion! Funny, how you really want soup when you're sick! I've been absolutely craving Chicken Noodle soup since getting sick. Just typing about it makes me want to go home and eat some! But, when I'm not sick, I don't even think about it! Why? It's just a coincidence, isn't it or do we just want it because everyone tells you to eat it when you're sick? Weird! Is there some medical reason why we crave soup when we're sick? By the way, I hate all soup except Chicken Noodle...I actually really don't like any other hot liquid except Chicken Noodle soup...well maybe hot chocolate every now & then! ;)

Wrong number...again!

I am not the Athletic Club!!! Got a call on my cell yesterday from some pest control company that has called me at least 5 times over the last few weeks to schedule my next treatment or whatever they do! The 1st time I ignored it, thinking it would work itself out. Nope...a few calls later, I called them back and told them they were calling the wrong number. Problem solved, right? Wrong! They called back with an appointment reminder this time...apparently, one had been scheduled. So why not call back the number on which the appointment was made? Honestly, it wasn't a big deal at first, it took me 2 seconds to call and tell them they had the wrong number, but now, even after that, I'm still getting calls...and it's annoyance to keep having to call them back! One call I actually caught and spoke to a woman who said she was on her way for the scheduled appointment. I told her that they may not know she's coming, 'cause you're not calling them. Finally, they had to have gotten it now...no! Yesterday I got another call! Spoke with someone new yesterday...told him that I am not the Athletic Club, and he politely said he'd take my number off the account...and thanked me for my patience. Hmmm...we'll see if that did the trick!

My next door neighbors are one digit off the number for the cable company, and get constant calls for cable service...that's gotta get old! I think I'd change my number!

Has this ever happened to you?

My "Harvest Pumpkin Brownies" recipe

I mentioned that I made Pumpkin Brownies on the show the other morning, and got so many requests for the recipe, so here you go:

1 can 15 or 16 oz pumpkin
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat pumpkin, eggs, oil, and vanilla until well mixed. Combine dry ingredients. Stir into pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour into greased 15x10x1 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min or until you do the wooden toothpick test and it comes out clean. Frost with vanilla or cream cheese frosting....or leave them plain...John doesn't like frosting on them. I do...LOL!

Enjoy! They're soooo good! They're John's favorite thing that I bake!

Let me know how they turn out!

We got our Xmas tree yesterday!

Yup...even put it up last night! LOL! Let me explain. For years now John & I have been in a debate about what to get real vs. fake. I'm for real...going out to the woods to cut it down, the smell...we always had a real one growing up. John had fake ones growing up so he prefers them plus, he swears we're all allergic to the real ones. We do always end up with respiratory problems around Xmas...I just always thought it was coincidental! I have told him that I'm ok with trying out a fake one as long as it looks real. Well, so far, we haven't found one, until this year. Last Sunday we took the kids pumpkin picking and to get mums for the house, etc & the place where we went had a little shop with decorations, etc and they had a bunch of Xmas trees. We looked and much to my surprise we found one that absolutely looks real! Although, I still had to think about it...this was a big step for me! Everyday since Sunday John's asked me if he could go buy the tree before they were gone...yesterday I finally agreed. He was so excited. I figured if we finally found one that I actually could live with and we waited too long to get it and then they were out, I'd be disappointed. It has a 7 day return policy incase it was too big or any of the lights were out, so he set it up last night, and I have to admit it was nice! Bailey was clapping when he lit it, and poor Brady was soooo disappointed when we told him we couldn't put the ornaments on yet! I guess we should have waited until after they went to bed to test it out! LOL! Bring on the holidays!

What a pain!

Yup, we have to boil our water too! Apparently, the water hasn't been filtered properly since the rainstorm the other night. Fabulous! Got the news last night, from a neighbor, right after feeding Bailey Mac & Cheese made with the dirty water...great! Of course, I had been drinking it all day too! UGH! Lots of Mercer Cty residents in Trenton, Ewing, Lawrence, Hamilton & Hopewell are affected, some schools are even closed, and they did a TERRIBLE job of quickly notifying residents! It's just hitting the news today and it's been in effect for 2 days! Thanks a lot! Some residents got an automated phone call...we never did. We got a call for a wandering bear but not dirty water that we're ingesting! Get it together people...geez! Anyway, you don't realize how much you use water until you can't use it anymore...and no date's set for when we can use it again! John went out and got a few cases of bottled water last night. I boiled as much water as we have containers for, so we could brush our teeth, cook, etc. I had to keep reminding myself to not use it...it's so natural! I have a dishwasher and now have it loaded but don't want to use the dirty water to wash our dishes, so there it sits. I'm going to be going thorough a lot of bottled water to wash the dishes! Funny how mind control works. Like I said, I had been drinking it all day, and was fine, but as soon as I found out that we shouldn't have been, I felt sick to my stomach...and I was really thirsty all of a sudden! LOL!

What a pain! Agree?

Know anyone famous?

We talked about the new Miss New Jersey this morning...she goes to The College of NJ...local girl! Cool if you go there to say that you went to school with Miss New Jersey! I did too...back when I was at Rider, one of the girls I was friendly with was also a Miss New Jersey! Jon Stewart went to my high school too...Lawrence High School. I didn't know him though...he was MUCH older than me! LOL!

Do you know anyone famous or did you go to school with anyone famous?

Kids say the funniest things!

My son, Brady, just turned 5 and says the most hilarious things sometimes! I'm sure your kids do too! I just got home from taking him the pediatrician's for his flu shot. I started talking about it a week or so ago to ease him into the idea of getting a shot. Yesterday, while we were driving home from preschool he said to me, "Mom, is that flea shot tomorrow?" The other night after getting out of the bathtub he told me that he wasn't going to breathe tonight because breathing was "boring!" LOL!

What hysterical things have your kids said?