Happy Halloween

Grama Mary came down this year for Halloween. Izzy already had her costume, but Grama Mary helped Maison and Libby assemble their costumes for the big night. I think Maison would have just gone in anything, however Libby had something else in mind. She picked the whole thing out herself! I would have never guessed she would want to be a cheetah!

Here Kitty, Free Kitty

Okay, so we have a tiny mouse problem. A tiny, disgusting, nasty rodent problem! The problem was brought to our attention a few weeks ago when Gracie notified me of some strange goings on in our cold air return in the basement. She was pretty much freaking out! Not knowing what she was freaking out about, I stuck my face by the vent to get a look, when a ginormous rat hand reached out and almost grabbed my face! Seriously, it tried to rip it clean off!

So naturally I calmly notified Jason at work of this huge dirty rat problem! He tried to reassure me, but I tried to reiterate how important it was for him to come home immediately for fear it would eat me and the kids! Jason showed up with Ed, his coworker, and Ed came prepared with his hammer! They didn't want to take the vent off for fear it would escape, so Jason went to the garage and got a needle nosed pliers. Ed waited patiently for a rat hand to come out of the vent and when it did...snap! He grabbed it. While Ed held the dirty rat hand, Jason unscrewed the vent and grabbed it with another pliers. I love how my husband tries to make me feel better! He's holding this puny tiny mouse and says..."it sounded way bigger than it looks!" They put it in a sack and Ed sent it on to Jesus!

My dad suggest we look at the furnace filter to see if they were getting in from the outside. When we opened the door to the storage room we were greeting with the unfortunate stench of dead rotting mouse carcass! Jason pulled out the filter and sure enough it was shredded, and there was a dead mouse in the bottom of the furnace! Can you say NASTY!

We put screen over all the pipe holes and steel wool in every little whole we could find, not to mention broke out the poison and the mouse traps! Gracie spotted another mouse in the same duct a few days later, which takes our total up to 5 caught one dead!

So you're probably wondering about the title to this post, well, we're almost there! So Maison goes to school and shares his dirty rat problems with his teacher. So our dilemma goes on the class prayer list that the kids pray over every day!

A few days after the initial capture, Jason asks, do you suppose mice make sounds like a cat when they are ripping their limbs off trying to escape a glue trap? I had never thought about that, but I really hoped not! Later that day Libby and I heard the same sound, we looked all over the house and all of the traps were empty. After Maison got home for school, I sent him and Libby on a mission to find out where that noise was coming from.

They come running back to the house telling me they found a tiny baby kitty in a bush. Can you see where this is going? So we grab it and of course it looks exactly like our old cat Puskers that died right before we moved here! We get it cleaned up and I tell the kids we need to find it a home. Maison says..."Mom, we can't throw an answered prayer away! We were praying about our mouse problem and God gave us a cat!" What could I possibly say to that?

Jason came home for lunch and we were discussing our new cat problem. He whips out a penny and says, heads we keep it, tails we don't. He flips this penny out of the truck into the air and it rolls around before coming to a stop. I walk over to pick it up...heads! I handed it back saying, best two out of three. Needless to say, it went like that eight times in a row! Statistically speaking, that just isn't possible! Jason says, when are we just going to admit we have a new cat?

ISU vs Baylor

We took 2 of the 3 kids to the game this weekend because it was homecoming. We thought it would be a great idea to take the kids to have some lunch and tour the campus.

We decided to take the kids to Hickory Park in Ames. This is where Jason took me on our first date. Jason and I shared a little about our first date and how their father tried to kill their mother by running a red light, etc. Maison ordered a root beer float for dessert, and of course Little Miss Hallow Leg ordered a banana split, which Jason only got a couple of small bites! Man that girl can put it away!

Next we drove over to campus and Daddy showed them around the Design Center. The kids thought it was pretty cool. We then headed over the the Campenile, and told them what "Campeniling" was/is. For those of you that don't know, to become a true Iowa Stater, one has to share a kiss with a beloved one under the Campenile at midnight. This of course is where Jason and I shared our first kiss during Veshia (Veshia is a student run celebration every spring). The kids really got a kick out of Lance-a-Lot and Elaine, the campus swans. We concluded our tour with a ride on the Cyride bus back to the Design Center.

The kids really enjoyed the game. Libby fell asleep on me during most of the 3rd quarter, but I managed to cheer the Cyclones on to their victory over Baylor! We all left Ames tired, cold, and happy!

Honey Creek Acres

Maison's school went on a field trip to Honey Creek Acres in Swisher today to get a tour of the orchard and working bee hives. It was very interesting.

Did you know...

1. There are many many different kinds of pumpkins?

2. Gourds are not for eating?

3, There is an apple gourd that looks like an apple but is the color of a watermelon rind?

4. Bees carry pollen on their back legs?

Each student took a hay rack ride, toured the orchard, picked their own apple to eat, and received their very own gourd! It was way awesome!

12 Months Old

Click Play to Get a Little Cake in Your Face

Hard to believe our Izzy McSquizzy in 1 year old today! It almost seems impossible! I just can't believe a year ago today my husband was slamming the wheelchair I was riding in, into a wall by the elevator! With the economy the way it is, our baby factory went out of business, but I'm wondering if and when the economy turns around if that factory will reopen for business?

Squiz still isn't walking on her own yet, and still isn't saying anything recognizable to anyone outside of our immediate family, and when I say immediate, I mean Maison and Libby only! I don't even understand her yet!

Unfortunately her vampire teeth have been accompanied with her two front teeth, so we will have to fore go the vampire bat idea. Her teeth seem so big to me, but then again, Maison still has some pretty big chompers!

She is definitely the most strong willed of the three! Just absolutely relentless at times! She definitely gives Libs a run for her money when the bottom lip pops out! That must be a girl thing because Maison never stuck his bottom lip out when he pouted! And believe me, he can still pout with the best of them!

Thank you for all the gifts and cards! They are most appreciated!

Libby's First Field Trip

Today Libby's preschool took their first field trip to the North Liberty Fire Department. The kids had a wonderful time. Here are some important facts that Libby thought would very important to share with family and friends.

Did you know...

1. that the fireman's gear weighs about 70lbs! "Whoa, that's what you weigh mom!"

2. that firemen leave their boots in their pants? "Mom, I need to do that! Then I wouldn't have to get up so early for school!"

3. that most fire houses no longer have fire poles? Firemen sustain more injuries per year from sliding down the pole than from fighting fires! "Maybe they could just get a slide instead!"

Open House

Hillside had their annual Open House tonight. Maison was pretty excited to show us some of the projects they have been working on at school. The kids have spent quite a bit of time observing, studying, and releasing insects. Lots of creatures on display at the school.

Maison has been selected as a self-manager at school, which means he is a "go-to" person in the classroom. He helps his teacher as well as other students! Great Job!

This year Maison is in a grade of his own, 2nd and a half grade! The 3rd grade is made up of all girls and most of those girls are old enough to be in the 4th grade, with one old enough to be in the 5th! So not only are they girls but all are a full year older than he! Poor boy didn't stand a chance! So the consensus was for him to work mostly with the 2nd graders because they are the same age as Maison and there are also a couple of boys, which Maison really likes his all boy group! He has the same privileges as the 3rd graders, like learning cursive! Maison is super excited about school and things are coming to him much easier which makes all of us happier!

This situation is just one of the many reasons we love Hillside! With the one room school house, the kids aren't limited to a specific grade and it removes the stigma of "pull-out" programs the public schools offer!