Lessons Learned ...

Oh my, what a jam-packed weekend! Thank goodness, things finally slowed down a little bit by Sunday evening! This weekend included: a date night for Corey and I, a farm tour with some good and patient friends, cooking, shopping, chores, and eventually a little relaxing = )

Here are some of the valuable lessons that I learned along the way:

Lesson 1. Corey and I definitely need to find a way to schedule a date night more often than every 3 months or so. It is so wonderful to just enjoy each other once in a while without interruption and allow ourselves to be more than just mommy and daddy. Not that we don't cherish those roles, but it was lovely to get out and just have fun for a little while, too.

Lesson 2. On future date nights, I will implement a 2 drink maximum for myself. As much fun as it was to let myself go, the price my children, my husband, my friends and I had to pay the next 2 days was not quite worth it. I am not the best person, wife, mom, or friend I can be while feeling nauseous with a pounding headache during recovery time!

Lesson 3. During a long outing with the kids, take the few extra minutes to pack a cooler with healthy snack options such as fruit, veggies and cheese. Even though the convenience and portability of the pre-packaged graham crackers, rice krispie bars, and cheesey crackers is awesome ... after several hours they just leave you with carbo-loaded, sugared-up children who are still hungry and are now dealing with the comedown of the sugar high. Not so fun for anyone ... especially the still recovering momma = )~

Lesson 4. This is more of a note to self ... quit beating yourself up so bad. It's only a blip. We're not all perfect all the time!

Lesson 5. When preparing to make caramel apples (yes, yes, I know ... more sugar!) it may not be the best idea to enlist the help of your 2 year old sugar baby to unwrap the caramels. Several, might somehow mysteriously disappear!

Lesson 6. Even though he can be extremely ornery and testy, remember how good of a helper your oldest child can be. Keeping him occupied and positive praise does wonders for your relationship and his attitude!

Lesson 7. When making caramel apples, don't expect the little red-headed foodie of the house to leave the apples to set up. It is more than he can resist to have a taste "right now, momma!"

Lesson 8. Just because Mother Nature presents an opportunity to talk to your children about the birds and the bees, doesn't mean you have to go there. It opens up a whole can of worms that you might not be ready to deal with yet.

Lesson 9. There is not much cuter in this world than a wild-haired redheaded boy holding flowers. The picture says it all = )

Lesson 10. Nature is resilient - thank goodness! This poor sapling is on it's 3rd planting. SOMEHOW, it keeps getting bent over, ran over, tackled over, etc. and snapping at the ground level. But amazingly, by just putting it in a bucket of water for a couple of weeks, the roots keep on growing right back. Hopefully, we are teaching our kids that even though accidents happen, if we keep at it and have patience, we can fix what we have broken.

Lesson 11. No matter how dirty or grubby our little guys get, there's not much that a good warm bath can't wash away. Stress included!

Sweet Grace ...

First off, I apologize in advance if this post loses it's way at times. I am very emotional while writing this. Our sweet, sweet, Gracie girl has been diagnosed with cancer. It's in her bones. It sucks and she will not be with us for much longer. She has been my best friend for almost 8 years now. She is my girl. Just ask my dad and my husband -- she's ruined as a bird dog if I'm along as all she wants to do is hang by my side. Just try to get her to retrieve a ball to you if I'm in the backyard -- no matter who throws it, she'll bring it to me every time. Even more than that, she's my loving, snuggling, vibrant, always ready to play, loves everyone, doesn't have a mean bone in her body dog. She's the kind of dog that no matter how hard my kids hug her, how many times they steal her bone or get into her food, or turn her water tank into an impromptu swimming hole, she'll never even think of growling or getting gruff. She's a roll with the punches, love you as you are, let's have fun kind of gal. She's not just a dog, she's a member of the family. And I love her. We all love her. And we'll miss her dearly.

Me and My Girl.

Look at that face - pure sweetness.


Always wanting to be in on the action.


Hey guys can I play, too?

Always up for fun, fun, fun.

The cancer is spreading fast and she is starting to have difficulty eating. Please pray with me that she will go peacefully in her sleep. If not, we'll have to do the humane thing and euthanize her soon as the pain medication is less effective each day. I hate to even think of this, but we must do what's best for her. I love you Gracie!

How do you keep two toddlers completely entertained? You ...

Go to the "dollar" section at Target. Purchase 2 Halloween flashlights that have interchangable end caps with various Halloween designs (that are also easy for little fingers to manipulate on their own.) Sit back and enjoy the giggles and the light show.
Total cost? $4 and some change. Total worth? Priceless = )

Good Friends, Good Food, Good Times ...

Things have been crazy busy around here as usual, but not too busy to take a little time out to enjoy the finer things in life - friends, food, and fun = ) Our dear friends, Corey and Jen (yes, they have the same names as my hubby and myself) came to visit for the weekend and brought their kiddos. Their little daughter Maylin is such a cutie! She has such a big grin you can't help but smile when you look at her. The boys had a great time making her giggle =) They boys also enjoyed playing with her big brother, Cooper. Although, it was mentioned more than once that it is probably a good thing there are several miles between us, because Riley and Cooper together are quite the pair. They had so much fun running the gamut of all crazy things little boys can do and thoroughly relished all of the mischief they could create! Much like their fathers in their heyday, I'm sure. Ahhh, boys!

Maylin and her million $$ smile = )

Random pic of Riley and his crazy eyes - fun, fun, fun!

Gage hamming it up in the backyard -- he loved showing off for all the ladies!

Later Saturday afternoon some more good friends joined us for some bbq and brews. It was so good to just relax and enjoy everyone's company. As the sun and temps wound down and the mosquitoes came out, the idea of a having a fire was mentioned. No sooner were the words in the air than Corey was on a mission. The next thing we know he is wheeling his trusty wheelbarrow out of the shed and returns with tons of rocks. He is definitely a "go big or go home" kind of fella! Thus, the construction of the impromptu firepit was abreast. The backyard campfire really made for an awesome evening = )

Erecting the firewood teepee.

Insert your "how many men ... " joke here!

Success!

I am so looking forward to more weekends like this! We will also now need to make good on our promise to the kiddos to "camp out" in the backyard. The combination of the cooler fall temps and the warmth of the fire should be perfect for this. Can't hardly wait!

Welcome Home Mr. Fireball Pickles!

Here is the newest addition to the Huber Household: Mr. Fireball Pickles. He is a multi-colored Betta and already much loved by Riley and Gage. The boys both agreed to keep the Pickles name alive. And, after vetoing all of my name suggestions, Riley came up with Fireball all by himself (and is pretty proud of it!) He is certainly my son as the fish he picked out closely resembles the Betta fish my sister and I had as kids that I named Starfire. Is it coincidence that the colors are eerily the same and both have/had "fire" in the name? Probably. But, I'd like to think that maybe somewhere in there we have a little bit of connection -- an internal knowing that only family can share -- that helped lead him to his choices = ) Regardless, Mr. Fireball Pickles will never replace Mr. Indigo Pickles, but for Riley, his presence sure is taking the sting out of losing his first pet. I pray that we all get to enjoy each other's company for a great long while = )

Good Bye Mr. Indigo Pickles ... We'll Miss You!

Well, our Betta fish, Mr. Indigo Pickles has passed. It is a sad day. Riley is taking it especially hard and has shed many tears = ( Gage doesn't quite grasp the concept of death just yet -- either that or he is handling this amazingly well. We gave Mr. Pickles a proper send off with a flush down the toilet and reminded the boys how the fish in Finding Nemo said all drains lead to the ocean. This was good enough for Gage, he said, "Bye Pickles!" and was off. Riley had the honor of flushing the little fellow away and cried the whole time saying he didn't want Indigo Pickles to die. Sigh. Tomorrow we will visit the pet store on the way home and pick out another fish. Hopefully this one will last longer than 4 months. Let's hope this helps heal Riley's poor broken little heart.

Cooper's Cause Run is a Success!

Saturday turned out to be a perfect day for a run! The rain held off and the temperature was pleasant. We had a great turnout and things seemed to go pretty smoothely thanks to a lot of planning and hard work from everyone involved. I am so happy to be a part of something so great that will truly make a difference in people's lives. Here are a few pictures from the event ...

Balloon release to honor the little ones...

The race is on ...

Riley and his buddy Raelynn being goofy.
Little Cooper and his aunt ... he's the foundation's namesake. What a cutie, too!

Riley and daddy clowning around after the event.

Thank you to all of you that helped out, volunteered, ran or walked in the event, and support the cause. You all helped make it a success!