trick or treat

This year is Everly's first Halloween

and I'm pretty excited for all things Halloween today

because of crazy schedules, the Mr. and I will probably be fitting

all the pre-Halloween activities into the actual day

so, we will be carving pumpkins, watching hocus pocus

and of course trick-or-treating

and I have a new little baby to take some photos who was born in the wee hours

of Halloween, yay for new squishy babes!

now I just need to survive Halloween with 1000+ middle schoolers

and then I'm back to hanging with my little witch

Happy Halloween!

changing times

This morning, I woke up at realized something.  Last night was the Saturday before Halloween.  The night we have thrown a Halloween party for the last five years.  Normally, I'm waking up to very dirty floors, too many party cups, and a good amount of recycling to take outside [and a few years, people still sleeping on said floors].  But not this morning.  Today, I'm waking up to a very snuggly baby girl who is all cozy in her Jack-o-Latern pajamas from Old Navy.  Yesterday was very busy getting ready for Everly's first birthday next weekend, and I'm so focused on that big event, I already packed up my interior Halloween decor to start party decorating [no worries, the porch is still very trick-or-treat ready!].  I also realized that baby girl was born just a tad too close to one of my favorite holidays, because trying to enjoy first Halloween and first birthday is making my head spin a tad. 

So now I'm flipping through my instagram feed that is filled with costume-laden fun, and I will not let myself feel like I am missing out.  I think that when you first become a parent, there is always going to be the adjustment period.  Not saying we had to adjust to Everly, but we are having to create new traditions that include all three of us.  For us, it is also the transition of realizing that all of our friends are in very different places.  We have the newlyweds, the married with no children, the dating, and single crowd, and just now beginning, friends with kids.  I had always heard that once you have kids, you gravitate towards other people who have kids, and I can now say that I get that [so before mentioned people, we will love when you have kids, and I'll try to be patient!].  So there may not be a crazy weekend before Halloween party, but we still have Halloween.  We get the chance to trick-or-treat around our neighborhood with our baby girl, who is now loving walking so much, I have a feeling she will be wanting to go door to door like a big girl.  And with that thought, I'm now pretty giddy, and ready to enjoy my Sunday.

the pumpkin farm

I love fall, not new news.  I love fall with my baby girl, probably not a stretch for anyone reading this blog.  A few weeks ago the mr. and I decided to squeeze in a quick trip to a pumpkin farm before going to my school's pasta feed.  I'm still not sure if the pumpkin farm changed, or if I was picturing a different location all together, because where we ended up was not exactly what I had in mind.  Even so, it made for a perfect quick visit, and some fun photos, and I think we plan on hitting up "the big farm" tomorrow while I still have Everly's daddy on vacation.  Even though the farm was limited, it didn't stop Everly from enjoying it, and even eating her first clump of dirt.  Oh good.

Thanks for putting up with us and our camera E, even at a fifteen minute trip to the pumpkin farm!

ten on ten [october 2013]

Today was non-stop, and I really tried to capture some moments from throughout the day. Unfortunately, they are kind of clumped together, and missing the hours in the middle when I was in crazy teacher mode!  This month Rebekah from A Bit of Sunshine introduced a theme into the photo challenge, pumpkin spice.  After participating in the project for several years, the theme was a breath of fresh air.  It is amazing how a simple theme can refresh things!  Lucky for me, I've been decorated for quite some time now, and even had a trip to the pumpkin farm already planned for this afternoon.  So, here is a little extra pumpkin lovin' for this month's ten on ten.

-5:15 wake-up call, not working for me-

-trying to survive the afternoon grading/end of quarter slump-

-realizing I need to get my pumpkin baking back on, these pieces are my favorite for the season-

-this truck just makes me want to wear a scarf-

-in the dirt, in love-

-um mom, this thing isn't moving-

-this particular farm was small, but made for a great first pumpkin experience for E-

-our yard needs attention-

-but at least some of the leaves are pretty-

-but most are just dead on the ground, which is okay with Everly-

happy ten on ten!

happy halloween - goodbye october

today was a very unconventional Halloween for me

first off, I wasn't in the classroom, obviously, so that was new for me

secondly, I am kind of in that mode where baby could come any day

and I realize that putting things off isn't a good idea

so yesterday was a major clean out of some closets with the mr.

and today, well today was for taking down Halloween decorations

the only catch

when I take down Halloween decorations, I put Christmas ones up

now to try to balance things out I did have on Edward Scissor Hands 

in the background while decorating

and yes, you have pictured it correctly

I am sitting here Halloween evening

completely surrounded by my own winter wonderland

it is even sprinkling outside a bit

and since we did our celebrating last weekend for Halloween

and I watched my obligatory October movie - Hocus Pocus

I am very ready to welcome in November

but for now I wish everyone a happy Halloween

no matter what the day may have brought you, I hope you made the best of it

display via Scout Living

we keep things low key

last night we enjoyed a very simple halloween celebration

this year we kept things very last minute and simple

mostly because we had no real way of knowing if we were going to be up for celebrating

or at the hospital in labor

and since Everly is still hanging in there for me as of the moment

we had the opportunity to do some celebrating

I loved our night of pumpkin carving and decorating

of playing games and enjoying sweet treats

and above all

spending the time with friends who also loved this kind of night

and as we get closer to the little lady's due date

it is amazing to know we have people around us who are so excited for her arrival

and where our little group is heading

and in case it wasn't clear, we took advantage of me being 

9 months pregnant for halloween

and dressed up as Juno and Paulie Bleeker

37 weeks is officially in the books

maternity leave is for...

many things getting checked off the to-do list

and I've been off for a week now and I am amazed how I got anything done before

when working full time

because man, I've been busy, everyday

so here's what maternity leave has been for lately:

-catching up on masters homework

-spending time with Luna who now apparently likes me a lot more

 now that I'm not working

-decorating treat cups for our little halloween get-together tomorrow

-watching Everly move around like crazy

-learning that taking laundry out of the dryer is an art form when 

we are talking baby clothes

[my first attempt left a pretty crazy trail of little things through the house]

-having time to realize that your friends are obsessed with Skittles 

[and actually remembering to stock up for the weekend]

-picking out the perfect pumpkins

-realizing that lunch is now my main meal because by dinner 

there just doesn't seem to be any more room for a "real meal"

-taking mini road trips to see some important people before E arrives

-getting used to people saying "this is the last time I'll see you before baby time"

[which is crazy to me for some reason]

-learning that I am really picky when it comes to buying clothes for Everly

[like super picky]

there has been some resting

there has been a LOT of good sleeping

and a ton of enjoying fall

and getting so excited that our little one is coming during my favorite time of year

a disney halloween good time

a little over a week ago the mr. and I took our last little road trip

as just mr. and mrs.

and we took advantage of our annual passes to disneyland

we finally got to see the park decorated for halloween

so since I had a lot of time in the park to take pictures

due to the fact that most of my favorite "big rides" 

aren't exactly friendly to pregnant women

here is what I did

 and to celebrate the fact that we were in disneyland exactly

 one month before my due date

we bought one of these AMAZING carmel apples

we split the one on the bottom right hand corner

apple, carmel, oreo crumbles, white chocolate drizzle and gummy worms

we took it back to the hotel, chilled it for a bit [my preference]

and then enjoyed every last bite, yum, I now want another one

it's halloween time at disneyland

and the mr. and I got to experience it this past weekend

for years now we have talked about going to Disneyland for Halloween

but it just never seemed to happen

so when October rolled around this year we figured we had two really great reasons to 

make sure the trip happened this year:

#1 we have a season pass, so the weekend was pretty inexpensive for us

#2 it was going to be our last weekend away before Everly arrives

here is just a quick glance at our trip according to my phone

and I look forward to sharing some "real photos" later this week

now the weekend didn't go off without a few little hitches

like when I cut the top of my two toes pretty bad while walking into a Taco Bell

and let me just say, bleeding in the middle of a fast food joint

 is something I could have done without

not to mention, real shoes were no longer an option for the rest of the trip

but thankfully the flip flops did the trick

the other big issue - the park was PACKED

the husband and I just tied to take it all in

and realize that we will go back in February when the experience is a little calmer

and lastly, I've developed this fun little inner leg cramp/twitch thing

that comes out of nowhere, and lasts just a few seconds

but I look like a spaz when it hits me, and yes, I think many people around me

probably thought I was going into labor

but oh well

all in all, considering I was nine months pregnant on this little trip

I would say we did pretty well!

on another note, tomorrow is my last day of work before maternity leave

and yes, I am SO ready for it!

they're back!

in the past I have posted about my love for the Etsy Shop Retro Menagerie

yes, part of my love is due to the fact that I'm great friends with the shop owner

but the second part of my love comes from the awesomeness of the prints

I have several hanging in E's nursery

but I must admit, some of my favorite prints from the shop

are the holiday designs created by Jaymee Srp

and today I noticed that the Halloween prints are back and ready for order

here are a few of my favorite designs

Mid Century Haunted House [I have this one in my house!]

Ghost in a Pirate Costume  & Ghost Print

Retro Black Cat Eye Print

So if you are feeling like you could use a new addition to your Halloween decor
check out Retro Menagerie for all her holiday prints
you will not be disappointed by the quality of prints
and the speediness in which they are delivered to you!

welcoming my favorite month

October is simply an amazing month

however, this year I haven't quite taken full advantage of it's awesomeness yet

today, it was 100 degrees here in northern california

and pretty much the worst way to welcome in this month that is supposed to be filled

with all things fall

by next week we should be in the 80's, but still, not quite tights & scarves weather

besides the weather, something else shocking has happened this October first

I am still not decorated for Halloween

for many years now, I have taken advantage of the mr. 

working all of labor day weekend to decorate for Halloween

however, pregnancy has a silly way of making you find other things to do

so hopefully this weekend I will get a few things put up

just to feel a little more like myself

[recycled image from last year, again - kind of the theme this fall, until it starts feeling like fall[
so here are a few of my goals for this month:

#1 keep miss everly mae happy enough in my tummy to not make her appearance until at least November 1st

#2 go to a pumpkin patch

#3 bake any type of pumpkin goodies I can come up with

#4 visit apple hill again this year, maybe this time during the week 

while I'm on maternity leave and the place isn't crazy

#5 get costumes - just in case we can still have a minor halloween shindig

#6 wear a scarf

#7 wear shoes that are closed-toe & have a back for that fact

#8 visit my sister meg in her new oakland apartment

#9 carve jack-o-lanterns again this year

#10 try to wrap my head around the fact that this will be the last month that the mr. & I are

"just the two of us"

sunday's "so they said"... on monday

and, happy halloween.  officially this time.

This last week the kids worked on creating their own Declaration of Independence where they included original text from the document as well as sections re-written into "their language".  I will be posting photos soon, they turned out amazing, as usual, because like I've said before, my kids rock.  Anyways, I must preface this quote by saying that this quote, as punishable as it may seem, came from one of the sweetest, quietest girls, said to again, one of the sweetest, quietest girls.  And instead of a referral, I laughed until tears welled up!

Just as I happened to be walking past the table I hear:

"Seriously, I want to jump-kick you in the face right now."

Well, hers really was THAT good.  And so, there you go, my favorite thing one of my teenagers said this week!

And, because it is Halloween, I couldn't pass up sharing my favorite Post Secret from this week.

I couldn't agree more!

image here

cupcakes, carving, and costumes

Last night was halloween celebration #1.  Here are a few peeks into the night from my actual camera.  Later on it was strictly iPhone photos, so those will be up soon.  And yes, those are my pumpkin cupcakes in ice cream cones with cream cheese icing.  yum.