Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

It's been a fun day full of treats! Here are a few photo highlights from Kate's second Halloween (ex-utero, at least) ...

We started off the day with music class--Kate went as a skunk.


The little stinker loves to look out the window.


Skunks love music!


Group photo before the party commenced!


All napped up and ready for trick-or-treating!
Kate wore her chick costume--or is it a duck? (Here we go again ... LOL!) A few people actually asked me if I made it--hahaha!


At 6 o'clock it was time for trick-or-treaters. In our building, if you want to hand out candy, you place an orange flyer on your door (supplied by management). That way, the kids know which doors to knock on. Here's Kate with some of our neighbors. They're always so nice, and their kids are very well-behaved.


They took a family pic for us. I wore the skeleton shirt again, and Kate wore her skeleton PJs to bed.

After a little while, we took Kate trick-or-treating to a few neighbors' places. She was really getting into it!

Some folks decorated their doors for the big night.

Look at this great big hairy spider!

This decor was particularly scary.


Loved seeing all the costumes!

A few more trick-or-treaters. We don't get many, but we sure enjoy seeing everyone! Did you see Sarah Palin standing in the back?

Even trick-or-treaters need to eat! Did you know that chicks like yogurt?

Happy Halloweeeeeeeeen! Hope you all had a fun night!

The Pink Pig: It's Almost Time!

Opening Day 2007

Tomorrow is a special day here in Atlanta! It's opening day for The Pink Pig! The Pink Pig is a holiday tradition here, and all city residents are required to participate. Just kidding. The Pink Pig is a lot of fun, though. It's basically a little train ride that takes kids (and their parents) through a story. Oh yeah, the train is a pig!


Last year, Priscilla herself was there to greet the kiddos. Maybe we'll see her again tomorrow ...

Here's how the official Web site describes this Atlanta tradition: "Since 1953, The Pink Pig has been delighting generations of Atlantans. Come ride Priscilla, the Pink Pig, on train tracks through a life-sized storybook that includes the original Pink Pig and her friends."

Here's my brother Johnny holding Anna-Claire next to The Pink Pig. You can see the older version of the train in the background.

Back in the old days, The Pink Pig was located downtown at Rich's department store. It is now a Macy's gig and is located at Lenox Square Mall in Buckhead--you can find it outside under the big white tent in the upper-level parking deck. Tickets are $3 and can be purchased at the booth right inside the mall entrance near the tent. What's nice is that a portion of proceeds are donated to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Here's a great article about the history of The Pink Pig.

Johnny and me with Abigail, Anna-Claire and Kate. Aren't Abba's boots the cutest!?

Last year, Kate rode The Pink Pig twice. We went on opening day when her cousins Abigail and Anna-Claire were visiting from Tennessee. What fun we had! We bought a Christmas tree ornament to commemorate the occasion. A week or so later, we rode again with Kate's friend Amelia and her parents. It was fun dressing the kiddos up in pig-themed attire. And you can bet I have another piggie outfit for Kate to wear this year. LOL! I hope it fits. Although ... I just read here that on opening day (tomorrow, Nov. 1), kids who wear their Halloween costumes can ride for free. So we may have to get costumed up again for that. Too bad we don't have a full-on pig costume. Maybe next year!

Kate & Ah-Pah

Kate & Mommy

We plan to ride The Pink Pig a few times this year--hope to see you there! Here are some more photos from last year ...

All dressed up and ready for another ride ...

Amelia with her Mommy & Daddy--she is wearing a fun piggy outfit, too!

Look how small the girls are! We hope Amelia visits again this season so we can make it an annual tradition.

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P.S. For some reason, as of this posting, The Pink Pig Web site has not been updated with the 2008 info--but it does start tomorrow. (The attraction is usually open the first Saturday in November through New Year's Day or somewhere around Jan. 1. This season, it looks like it's going to be open through Jan. 4, 2009.)

P.P.S. In years past, Goodwill has given out free tickets to The Pink Pig to folks who drop off donations. They didn't have any last year when I dropped things off, but perhaps they just hadn't received them yet.

P.P.P.S. I recommend going earlier in the season, as opposed to later. The closer to Christmas it gets, the crazier the crowds get. I couldn't believe some of the long lines last year--especially on Saturdays. There are field trips during the week, too, so you may want to plan accordingly. Enjoy and take lots of pictures!

... And Even More Scrapbook Pages

OK. I think this completes the challenge. Some of these pages I just finished up a few minutes ago, and others I completed a few weeks ago. I just never got around to photographing and posting them.

These all are pre-made pages, which are sometimes frowned upon in the scrapbooking community? Why? Because with these, you just add your photos, which takes some of the fun out of it--although I sometimes change up the layouts on pre-made pages. Also, some people think scrapbookers should be coming up with their own designs. Whatev. I like to design my own pages as much as the next gal, but I also like to have completed pages in my scrapbook--and not just a huge collection of scrapbooking supplies and photos gathering dust (which has been the case, thus the need for this challenge).

Anywhooooo ... my friend Kristi gave me this first batch of pre-made pages, which I just love. They were perfect for scrapbooking some of our photos from last month's photo shoot with Jody. Thanks again, Jody, for the great pictures--we love them!

Here we go ... sorry some of these photos of the pages aren't the best ...








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Here are some pages I recently completed for Kate's Hallmark scrapbook. (By the way, I am loving all of Hallmark's scrapbooking merchandise.) This is a pre-made album that I bought when Kate was just a few days old. I have many pages finished in it, but it's still not quite complete. I am getting there, though. Here are the latest ...











Page Count: 32
September/October Goal: 30

Another Scrapbooking Update

Hi, all! The new scrapbooking challenge deadline is fast approaching (as in ... it's tomorrow!), so I have been finishing up several pages I started a while back. I think I will be surpassing my goal of 30 pages ... but I didn't reach it in 30 days. Oh well ... better late than never!

I just ordered three 12x12 pages from Shutterfly. Not the most creative designs, but I was finally able to put multiple photos on one page. Shutterfly would not let me copy the pages at any decent size, so this is the best I can do until I actually receive my order. I'm not holding my breath on that one--I have had many problems with delayed shipping/receiving and a couple of lost orders from Shutterfly. Crazy! But I still wanted to see what their scrapbook pages looked like IRL.

Anyway, here they are:

This page features several photos of Kate from last November in one of her Barnyard Cuties outfits.

These next two pages show how Kate grew from month to month. They feature the photos I took of her on her birthday each month during her first year.

The first page is months 1-6, and the second page is months 7-12. The captions read: "Month to month ... watch me grow!" and "I'm changing so fast ... and on the go!" (I tried to think of something a little more creative, but this is the best I could do at the time.)

I suppose I could take a photo of the monitor with the pages up on the screen. But I guess this will do for now. Happy Scrapping!

Page Count: 22
September/October Goal: 30

Beefalo Balls! Oh, Mercy!

I have been meaning to post about these fantastic beefalo balls for over a month now! When we were in Tennessee last month, my sister and I went out with my friend Jennifer to celebrate her birthday. It was a Sunday night in downtown Kingsport, so we did it up right! We hit the Kingsport Grocery Co., a relatively new restaurant located in an old building. From the Web site: "Kingsport Grocery Co. was originally a wholesale grocery supplier in the 1920s. As a result of the building and company's history in the community, we chose to name our restaurant Kingsport Grocery Company in homage to this history." So there you go. A little history lesson.

Anyway, Jennifer said that KGC is known for its beefalo items. "What is beefalo?" you may ask (or at least I did). As you can probably guess by the name, it is a special breed of cattle and bison; I think the meat is supposed to be better health-wise than other types of beef. You can read more about it here on Wikipedia. Gotta love the Internets.

Back to dinner. So we sit down at the table and peruse the menu. There it is, right there for everyone (even children!) to see: Beefalo Balls! What kind of restaurant is this? They are serving Beefalo balls to the general dining public--is that even legal? You can imagine all of the jokes that were flying. We were cracking up pretty hard, but in between laughs, I managed to order a set of these balls. Yes, I was feeling quite ballsy, and I wanted to see if they were as big as I imagined. (They were.)

When eating out, I am not one to stray from my beloved chicken dishes, but those beefalo balls were pretty darn good! They're covered in marinara sauce, smothered in cheese, and served as a sandwich--though I still ate mine with a fork. If you find yourself in Kingsport, check out KGC and order a set of beefalo balls for me. And try to keep a straight face when you do.

P.S. I had more jokes, but I was trying to keep this somewhat clean. You know, for the kids.

Kate's Halloween Fashion Show

I've been having to stay on top of the laundry the last week or two due to Kate's Halloween attire. See, we have to get as much wear out of it as possible, so we're washing and re-wearing and washing again. Last year, Kate had a few Halloween outfits that I'd picked up on super clearance (we are talking, like, $2 an outfit!). I did get made fun of a bit, but I didn't care. LOL!

Well, after Halloween last year, I bought some of Target's Halloween shirts and a pair of pants on clearance for Kate to wear this year. Oh, and then we got some PJs at Belk for, like, $3. Not to mention the Hanna Andersson shirt I bought at the outlet in Kittery a few weeks ago--only $5 (a steal for Hanna). Anyway, we've been trying to get as much wear as possible out of our seasonal clothing. By the way, these things (along with Halloween candy!) will be 50% off starting Saturday--if not before. I've noticed in recent years that some stores are starting to discount holiday merchandise before the actual holiday. (For example, Pottery Barn Kids marked its Halloween stuff to 75% off yesterday!)

Here's a little fashion show for you ...

This shirt reads, "Ghouls just wanna have fun!!!"
Here, we are layering it with a black bodysuit underneath. It is paired with jeans and fun striped socks. (See above photo.)


The same shirt, earlier in the season--so no layering necessary. Kate is accessorizing with a purple necklace (with adult supervision, of course). She is also wearing the coordinating knit pants, also from Target. In her hair is a classic black bow, which is so versatile.

Here Kate pairs a black T-shirt with the same Halloween-colored pants. The shirt features a little kitty cat and reads "peek-a-boo!" She wore this to music class a few weeks ago, and it was a big hit. (They sing a "peek-a-boo" song.)

Kate has gotten--and will continue to get--lots of wear out of these Carter's pumpkin/cat PJs. This photo was actually taken last month, just before we left for Tennessee. I left right at bedtime, so she would sleep on the way. We saw a baby wearing these at Boo at the Zoo--so cute!


Speaking of PJs, I also bought these for super cheap, too. I am ordinarily not a fan of things with witches on them, but I didn't think these were too bad. Kate is wearing these in Maine, which I think is appropriate, given how folks up there say "wicked" a lot. haha! We had a wicked good time on our trip, that's for sure!

Kate's Hanna Andersson pumpkin outfit. This is one of Hanna's costumes, but I bought it on major markdowns last year for her to wear around as an outfit or a costume. LOL! She wore it to Boo at the Zoo.

Another "Hannaween" piece. Here's Kate modeling her Hanna cat shirt. This was one of my outlet purchases. Kate's been wearing this with black pants.

Another Target shirt--this one has a jack-o-lantern on the front. So cute! Speaking of jack-o-lanterns, Kate LOVES the one she received at Jasper's birthday party earlier this month. She carries it around all over the place and loves putting various sundries and such inside--and then taking them out. LOL!

P.S. If you think this is bad, just wait for the Christmas clothes! hahaha! I stumbled upon Target's 90% percent off clearance the very day they were marking things down. Yes, you read that right--90% off! They still had tons of their holiday wear for kids, too--at least, before I checked out, they did. hahaha!

Halloween Get-Together

***Warning: Lots of pictures***

Yesterday we got together with some of our friends for a Halloween get-together up in Roswell. All of the kiddos were sooooo cute in their costumes. Kate wore her chick costume--the one I bought last year that is too little. Remember that one? Well, I figured out that if I don't snap it at the bottom, then it works just fine. So yay! I took a bunch of photos, and I tried to be selective on what to post. But with so many adorable children, it's hard to narrow it down. (I borrowed a few pics from some of the other Mommies, too.) I was going to attempt to do one of those slideshows, but I didn't have the patience to figure out how to set it up. Anyway, we had a great time meeting everyone! Happy Halloween!

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Afterward, we ran into another friend at the mall! Here's Kate and Danielle chatting it up in the food court. ha!