Happy Halloween!

Though tomorrow is officially Halloween, we at the Smith household are ready to move on to the next holiday. Ames declared Friday, October 29th as the official trick-or-treating night because of ISU Homecoming on Saturday. They are predicting an increased number of cars and higher traffic and wanted the kids to trick-or-treat safely before this influx occured.
The past two years, we have trick-or-treated in Lake Mills so it was fun for the girls to visit our neighbors and friends on this fun night. They really got into it this year. They ran from door to door (after we talked about the fact that we only go to homes with the lights on) so fast that this pregnant mama couldn't quite keep up :)
The Dragonfly Fairy (Maysen) and Butterfly Fairy (Myah) ready to head out!
On our way to the first neighbor's house. Maysen pointing "I want to go to that house!"
Another neighbor just down the street.
Myah turning back to say her 'Thank you!"
Starting to get dark, but we had to make one last stop to Jess and Steve's!
After trick-or-treating, our friends Mario and Luigi (aka Bryce and Jacob) stopped by for a visit.

Saturday called for an early morning (nothing atypical at our house) for ISU tailgating! It was a bit cool in the morning but ended up being a beautiful day around 65 degrees!
Cousin Caden was down to tailgate with us!!

They really are the Three Muskateers!
We weren't lucky enough to see the 'real' Cy today so a bronze statue will have to do.
Maysen just chillin' in the rocks.
The Braided Beauties (thanks, Jess!) enjoyed the Marching Band once again!

B's Quality

I'm not trying to give you 6 loyal readers whiplash today by posting more than once :)
Heidi is starting a 'Talk to me Tuesday" portion of her blog, and she posted the following question:

TTMT#1:

What's your spouse's best quality?
My response:

B is a great communicator. I feel that many relationships struggle because communication is not a top priority. We have a very open (in many senses of the word) household and it functions because I'm organized and B communicates his needs. Seems corny to put it in writing it really is the quality that keeps our family sane and functioning as smoothly as possible :)

Of course, there are 1,000 other things I could have put, like: he's a GREAT dad (especially for daughters-not all dad's are!), he loves me unconditionally, he's patient (most of the time), he works hard, he's supportive, he let's me run the household! :)
Love you, Babe!

Tagged

Hickstionary tagged me in their blog to answer seven questions. Then I'm to come up with 7 questions and tag a few others to answer them.

1. Do you prefer email, texting, phone calls, or face to face interaction? Why?
It depends on who I'm talking to. With my friends and family, I definitely prefer face-to-face interaction especially when it's been way too long since I've spoken to them. With parental interaction (regarding my students) give me email anyday!

2. What are your favorite blogs?
You will find them all linked in this post except for Clayberg Chronicles (she tagged me). Check out Snappy Casual, Cubs Cuties Kelle Hampton and Hickstionary for sure!

3. If you could go anywhere, where would you go and who would you take with you?
I'm an avid Nicholas Sparks reader and all of his books are set on the coasts of North Carolina. I don't really know what the climate is there, but I've had so many 'escapes' there by reading his books, that I'd want to experience it myself. I'd like for just Brandon and I to go, but he may not appreciate it like me. In that case, I'd take my mom and/or friend Anne because they've read all of his books, too. If I didn't take my kids, I couldn't stay very long because I feel so very guility every minute that's not spent with them, but Jon and Kate took their kids to a beach house in North Carolina so I could see us doing that several years down the road.

4. Have you and your husband created any traditions for your family? If so, what are they?
I feel our children are just getting to the age where they'd get into a tradition. We've started things like going to the pumpkin patch each fall to choose their own pumpkins. This year we painted them. My goal for a tradition would be that someday/someyear, my children get to wake up in our own home on Christmas morning. We have yet to be able to give gifts to our children on Christmas day because we want it to be done at a time where it's just our immediate family in our jammies. We have so many gatherings to go to and family members to please (don't take that the wrong way) that we don't get to do that. Someday (very soon) I want to make that happen for my children.

5. What's on the menu for your favorite meal? (Recipes optional....) :)
Chicken Hotdish, Biscuits or Breadsticks, some kind of fruit and a cold glass of milk!

6. What is your favorite date night?
Date night? Um......I usually fall asleep during movies because I'm so tired. I think my favorite dates right now at this point in my life are contained in the hour and a half after the girls go to bed and Brandon and I watch a show that we've DVR'd (we never watch a show at it's actual aired time). It's our time together to cuddle, laugh, and talk. In the comfort of our own home, nonetheless.

7. What's your goal right now?
I'm experiencing a lot of 'mommy guilt' right now with another baby on the way. I want my girls to know how much they mean to me and how much I love them. I've always been a working mom so their time with me is limited to the evenings (and glorious summers!). My goal right now is to finish up my grad class in the next week and a half so we have all winter (while daddy is at basketball) to snuggle, play games, and make memories. We do talk about the baby a lot and I know they will be big helpers, but I never want them to feel that their time with me is jeopardized because of another child.

I'm tagging Snappy Casual, Nate Z Blog, Cubs Cuties and The McCollum's.
Here are your 7 questions.
1. I'm buying your ticket to anywhere. You leave tomorrow. Where do you want to go and why?
2. What is your favorite family tradition? Who started it (your grandmother, your mother, you)?
3. If you could 'quick fix' one of the nation's/world's problems, what would it be?
4. The holidays are quickly approaching. What are you most looking forward to?
5. What is your greatest tip in keeping your family organized and running smoothly?
6. If you could tell your teenage self anything, what would it be? (Thank you Kelle Hampton)
7. Who is your hero?

The Big Move

We've been in a transition phase for the past two weeks. The weekend of the 16th, the couch got moved out of M&M's bedroom. This was a saving grace for nursing twins, and got a lot of use the past 3 and a half years. With it being moved out, M&M and daddy had some good wrestling matches with all the extra space.

This past weekend, we put the girls' twin beds together. Their Princess Beds as they call them, for they are so high that they need to use a step stool to get up into them:) With a few slight changes to the wall decor and a little shifting of the furniture, M&M are official Big Girls and LOVE their "new" room!

18 Weeks.....and Ultrasound

Here I am at 18 weeks (you can definitely see the baby bump now!). I had an ultrasound today, and we are pleased to share that we are going to have another little girl.

Nickelodeon Universe

We were busy again this weekend! Friday, we ventured up to Lake Mills to see Nana and Papa. Making a pile of leaves to jump in is always fun! We also walked down to watch the marching band at halftime of the football game (see older post about ISU marching band infatuation :) ).

Saturday, we were up-and-at-em and headed to Minneapolis. My mom and I had been trying to plan a trip to the Mall of America all summer to take the girls to Nickelodeon Universe. The summer got away from us, but in early September, we made a plan to go this past weekend. It was AWESOME! The girls loved every minute of it. No 3 year old needs to go to Disney World because they would never appreciate it, remember it, or be able to handle the long lines. This amusement park is so cool, your 3 year old will think they are at Disney World! We really lucked out here....especially on a Saturday. We never had to wait in line and there were several rides the girls could go on. Each ride has a height requirement, and if they didn't meet the height requirement, then a chaperone could go with them (without paying nonetheless) to allow them to ride. I will definitely take them back when I'm not pregnant so that I can go one some of the rides with them. Thankfully, we had plenty of willing people with us. It was great....they really have things figured out at this place to make things run smoothly!

The Backyardigans were there. Their ride was a swing, but we didn't try that one....too fast for my girls!
Blue's Skidoo ride
Big Rigs (at the top of the favorites list)

Wonder Pets Flyboat Ride
Barnyard Hayride Roller Coaster
Carousel

Dora and Boots
Diego's Rescue Ride
Azul the Train (from Dora the Explorer)
The Great Balloon Race
Meet and Greet with Dora and Boots. The girls talked about this for days, hours, and minutes leading up to the event. However, when it really happened, they got a little scared. We still got a cute picture, though!!
Aunt Kiki chose the Rainforest Cafe for lunch as a celebration of her recently passed birthday. What a cool place! We got to sit by this eel (kind of creepy).
If you have young kids, and are looking for a mini vacation....definitely take them to the MOA to Nickelodeon Universe!!!

When I grow up....

Brandon and I have noticed lately that M&M make many references to teachers. They are aware that Brandon and I are both teachers 1) because when we leave in the morning, we talk about how all of us are going to school and 2) because they have been to my classroom several times to help me get things ready for the next day/week/etc. However, what we didn't realize until recently is that they think everyone is a teacher when they grow up. Additionally, they have teachers at school, whom they LOVE!
Last week, during a car ride, Myah asked me about Aunt Kiki and where she goes to school. I explained to her that Kiki doesn't go to school and that she is grown-up and works. So, puzzled, Myah says....'she's not a teacher yet.' I replied, 'no, Kiki chose a different job, she's not a teacher, and she never will be.' Obviously it will be a few years before she can actually grasp the concept, but for now I think she still thinks that all grown-ups are teachers.
The girls' book order from school came in yesterday, and I had purchased a set of four books with accompanying CDs for them from the book order. Two are fall themed and the other two are 'everyday' titles. They refer to these as "teacher books," and these types of books are often their choices when we go to the bookmobile, so they are thrilled to have some of their very own at home. Last night, Brandon and I walked down the hall to find this:
Here, you see Myah being the teacher (see how she has the book turned outwards) and Maysen is being the student. When the CD made it's "brrrinnnggg" noise, Myah would turn the page. Then, they'd switch rolls for the next book, it was too sweet!
Our girls are very well behaved, but when we hear nothing (silence) we tend to get worried as they are usually up to mess making. Not this time! For at least 25 minutes, they sat and 'read' books to eachother. That was before showers, and they did it for another 15 minutes after their shower.
I think we have a couple of future teachers on our hands! Hopefully there's not such a surplus/budget crisis in 18 years!!!

Followup on Fall

This post is a piggy-back to the last one.
For the Smith family, fall still means football and pumpkins!

Last Sunday, we went to the pumpkin patch.....today, we painted! The girls had asked everyday this week when we were going to paint pumpkins! I kept telling them "Sunday after Church." Well, after church, turned into 'after lunch,' which turned into 'after we run to a few stores,' which turned into 'after nap.' And after nap, it did happen! The girls came out groggy, but ready to paint pumpkins. Daddy got in on the action, too. He usually steers clear whenever we do something artsy (he's just scared of the mess). We may not have the scariest pumpkins on the block, but we sure do have the prettiest!!




Yesterday, we enjoyed the beautiful weather while tailgating before the ISU game. Surrounded by friends, the sun, and good food, a great time was had by all!
Myah and Maysen hanging out in the back of Kim and Kevin's car....sorry about the glitter, Kev!
Kari, Jess, Kim, Angie
Most of the kids piled in the back of Kim and Kevin's car.....what a great way to keep them corraled!
M&M and Bryce waiting for the marching band to go by.
Here they come! By far, the favorite part for these three! They waited all day for the band to march by.

Next weekend, we're taking a trip up north....all the way to Minnesota! :) Stay tuned for some fun adventures!