Countdown to Christmas!!!

So, in case there is any confusion, four and six are the BY FAR most fun ages ever! The kids are sooooo excited about Christmas! We count houses decorated in lights every time we drive anywhere and the kids turn lights off as fast as I can turn them on so that the house is dark (so as to enjoy the full effects of the Christmas tree and Christmas village). I braved Walmart on Black Friday and have already made Christmas wreathes and planned out this years baking agenda...so I guess the apple doesn't fall far....
Just a cute random shot of the kids reenacting trick-or-treating (why they are tied together by a jump rope is anyone's guess!)
Eli had taken a looooongggg nap at daycare on this particular day...so (at 930pm) he was up holding a dinosaur meeting. He assured me that it was highly important that he empty the game closet, toy box, and his sister's underwear drawer in order to do this.
Yet he was full of, um, something by 630 am the next morning. Mommy's little insomniac! Kids sure are exhaustingly delightful, huh?

More Birthday Treats

Well, snakes and all the kids had great birthdays!! And of course the gifts didn't end with the reptilian fiesta. As I am sure Ness did, I had a special "less ordinary" present for them! Both children got the opportunity to paint a section of their bedroom wall. And as always, it wouldn't be a Conderman blog with the pics in order!

One of the benefits of living in the country. Gorgeous sunsets just about every night.
Ava - ever the expert climber - has a resting place in this tree. It is so perfect for her that she can practially take naps up there. But on this particular night she seemed content to enjoy the sunset as well.
We have had an Indian Summer this week. And so we had a last fire outside. Marshmellows eaten and yet the sugared up kids managed to stay relatively calm. Except all the stick throwing. Oh well ...
Here is the picture of their art area before the paint was flung. I would be lying if I said I was completely confident that it would work without a hitch. And yet it did. Yeah :)

This is Eli's masterpiece. He calls it his rocket. As he finished it, he declared (and I quote) "Oh this is SO AWESOME!" On the abstract art market I'm sure it would fetch a large prize. And as for the rocket ... I see it Little Man. Oh yes, I see it.

And here is Ava's masterpiece. It has everything she thinks is important. A T-Rex, flowers and a sunrise, and love. Well done sweetie.

Note the detail on the T-rex. Monet would be proud.

And so the kids are now officially 4 and 6. I don't know where the time goes, but if everyone is telling the truth, they will be 14 and 16 before we all blink our eyes. Sigh ...

Snakes alive! Birthday kids!

Last week we raked up the "worlds biggest pile of leaves". The kids in true Tasmanian devil form were very quick to "redistribute" them around the yard!
Kinda forgot to post Halloween pictures. So, for those of you who don't have a little girl, Halloween is really just an excuse to get another princess costume. So, for the 3rd year in a row, Ava went as a pretty princess. Eli is a dragon. He insisted trick-or-treating in dragon speak. RRRRRAAWWWRRR he would growl at each door, startling old ladies and scaring small children. Darling aren't they?
So....on Saturday we had a joint birthday party for my birthday kiddos...Because I only have to have one birthday party a year, I try to make it good! The kids are enthralled by snakes right now and begged for a snake-themed birthday party. I combed websites, newspapers, and picked my friends' brains to come up with ideas....
Ok, so the yellow python that may or may not have slight facial deformities was not my plan A...not really my plan B either. But, through a combination of unfortunate events, this is what we ended up with. Thankfully my kids aren't too harsh of critics!
Anything with candles and frosting is okay in their book! Whew...praying Ava doesn't ask for a Hannah Montana cake next year....
So, I found the MOST AMAZING entertainment for my group of 3-7 year olds. This guy brought 7 snakes, a baby alligator, a funny bird, rabbit, albino skunk, sticky frog, and lizard for the kids to play with. And I do mean play with! Yes that is my daughter convincing my step-mom to hold a little snake...and she did!
I just adored the little crocodile (or maybe alligator?) that would let you hold him on his back like a baby!
Ava, Aunt Ellen, and one of the snakes!
Daddy helps Eli keep his hands on a bull python. That was Eli's favorite animal!
Grammy sits behind Ava to learn about some of the snakes.
Karyn and I not to freak out when one kid drops the big black rat snake on my garage floor. It was amazing how good all of the animals were with the kids. No one got bitten, but the bird did leave a nasty gift on my garage floor...
This guy was hysterical. If he thought he was being left out, he would hop up and down on his perch yelling HELLO HELLO PRETTY BIRD PRETTY BIRD!
So creepy!
I wanted to steal this little guy...so cute!
All of the kids with their eyes on the snakes!
Ava's favorite animal turned out to be the bunny...but Eli loved the ball python! Don't get any ideas little man!
Sweet Ava with her favorite snake. Happy Birthday Babies! I can't believe how old you are...seems like just the other day we were having our "one is fun" parties...sniff....sniff....

Counting the days till Halloween!

One of my favorite memories was going to Conner Prairie for the "Haunted Hayride"...creepy noises, well placed Halloween spookiness as you ride through the woods at dusk. Would the Headless Horseman make an appearance? I prepped the kids with Disney's Ichabod Crane and really built up the whole experience. When we got to Conner Prairie, the kids made bats and, um, acquired balloons to "scare" the Headless horseman away. Fortunately, out wagon crossed the bridge just in the nick of time...and we all kept our heads:)
Ava chillin with the "scare-pros"
Eli, with his bat, is ready to check out the rest of conner prairie!
Ava prepares to scare off any "headless horses" that come her way!
Yummy s'mores after the hayride
Kettle corn for the little man
Tonight we did our annual pumpkin carving. The kids let me off easy this year, requesting only "scary faces". We dabbled in pumpkin cannabolism and appendages. I mean, they have to expect me to take some creative liberties....
Thank you Papaw for assisting with the gutting. This nurse can deal with all kinds of gross, but pumpkin guts are just so icky...

Autumn antics

Last weekend I was a little more than a little sleep deprived due to some hectic night shifts/kid shifts. At one point the kids had emptied the freezer of ALL of the ice cubes. They then stuffed them in Eli's socks and hung them all over the house....something about an ice age...and i was so tired that it almost made sense. Even the wooden sword and large stuffed monkey...
Tree full of goofballs!
Last night the kids and I decorated the front yard for Halloween, complete with "cobwebs" and pumpkins from the pumpkin patch.

So, yesterday, we visited Stoneycreek Farm to find the perfect pumpkin. We took a hayride down to the punkin patch where my own little punkins found the LARGEST pumpkins they could for their mama to drag back to the wagon. But look how happy they are!
Kiddos jumping on the giant bouncy pillow at the pumpkin patch. I still couldn't get em to sleep before 9!
Such a beautiful fall day!
Ava with her perfect pumpkin!
Me and my favorite people on the pumpkin hayride! Afterwards we went to pick out Halloween costumes. My dragon and sugar plum fairy are counting the days until Halloween!

So, never mind that the day started rough (I was forced to return our kitty to my parents house after she destroyed one too many curtains, nibbled my toes while I slept, and made my house smell like the devil's armpit. I loaded both kids and cat into the car, running late as usual, and headed to Ava's school. The cat felt that the best place for her to ride was right in front of the steering wheel like an evil little hood ornament. I kept pushing her aside so that I could see and she would go sliding down the dashboard, then wobble back down right in front of the steering wheel. Amazingly we made it to the school in one piece. Cat had attached herself to Ava's backpack, which I had accidentally buckled into Eli's seat belt. Foot hooked under the dashboard as I tried to twist myself into the backseat in a move that would make a Pilate's instructor cringe, I tried to detach the backpack, cat, and Ava from each other. Eli sneezed...and it was a "good" one. He screams for a tissue which, of course, I don't have. In a moment of pure desperation, I ripped off his shoe, pulled off his sock and hand it to him. Wipe. Holding down cat and encouraging Ava to bolt out of the car while further contorting into the backseat to keep cat at bay. Car behind me is honking. Cat has claws set into Ava's backpack. She jumps out of the car. There is a brief tug of war between her an the cat over the backpack which she wins. On the drive to my parent's house, the cat resumes her "hood ornament" position. I dropped her off, left a "Dear Oscar" note, and tried not to squeal my tires and laugh maniacally as I drove away. Our next pet will most likely be a sea monkey or imaginary unicorn. Can't decide.)...the day ended great...except for Eli overflowing the toilet in the carpeted bathroom. Why anyone would put carpet in a bathroom is beyond me...