Halloween Pre-Party

You read that right.... Pre-Party. I was so busy with entertaining the kids that I didn't get any pictures during the actual party. Luckily, Sheila took pictures for me! So, when I get those, I'll post the party pictures, but for right now, you get the pre-party pics. Woo-hoo for YOU!

So I don't really feel like writing much, so here is a picture summary of the pre-party:

Party Decorations:

It was crazy cool~ for about $20, the entire downstairs looked totally pimped out!

Party Food:

Mummy Wrapped Lil' Smokies with eyes

Pumpkin Pinwheels

Halloween Chocolate Pretzels

Everyone's Favorite: Earwax!

Rice Krispies Skulls and Frankensteins

Mummy Wrapped Twinkies

Eyeball Donuts

Eyes of Newt Jelly Belly's (and yes, I made the containers!)

Party Animals:

Papa and Ian the Dinosaur

Nolan the Monkey

Dr. Brennan

Pumpkin Patch 2009

*Warning: Picture Overload*

If there is anything I truly love, it would be fall. The crisp air and colorful trees make me just want to run around and giggle. (on a side note here: SOOO very grateful that I only have 2 very, very small trees in my yard- no leaves to rake up!)

I like to think we have a family tradition in going to the pumpkin patch and picking out pumpkins and playing on the farm. In Texas, we went to a local one held at a tiny church. In Illinois, we went to the Apple Orchard (and we miss it TERRIBLY). Last year, we went in Little Rock, but this year we decided to go to a bigger farm than usual. Honeysuckle Hill Farm. And man was it big!

What started out as a quick drive through some beautiful Tennessee hills turned into the premise of Gilligan's Island. The address we got off of Google took us to the middle of a tiny subdivision not a 30+ acre farm. Ahhhhh!! Luckily, Don just looked up directions on his phone (what would we do without wireless Internet?) and we were on our way. Soooo, instead of taking 30 minutes, it was more like an hour to the farm. Smart one Jan....

I don't think I realized exactly how popular this farm was. When we pulled in, there were so many cars there and the line was nearly a block long just to pay and get in! So we waited and waited and waited to pay, but I did get some cute pictures of the boys, so I guess it was okay.

After paying, it's all I can do to keep up with the boys. First it's the tire playground, which reminded me of the one's at Park School when I was growing up. Then it was off to the Giant Slides. Nolan couldn't contain his excitement. It was up and down, up and down for a while. I didn't think we could get him on anything else!

Nolan loved crawling across the tires

He wanted to be so big and go up the ladder himself

The slides were big and fast. They shot Nolan out of them like a cannon every time!

While the boys played and played, Ian was so content to just sit and watch them. I can just see what kind of trouble we are in for next year chasing all of them around!

Ian is the most content baby I've ever seen. Just happy to watch his brothers

Don't you just love his little smile? Melts my heart every time

The slides were followed by the petting zoo, lunch and the corn maze. Sorry, I didn't get any pictures because it was a madhouse in the maze. We actually got lost and ended up going out the in. Ah, what are you going to do? Bend the rules a little or have two little ones have a total melt down in the maze? Yep~ you'd pick the same thing too!

After the corn maze, we ended up in a little hut that was dedicated to corn education. It had signs up detailing everything you would ever want to know about corn. Do you think anyone was reading it? No. They were too focused on the coolest thing ever~ The big cage of corn in the middle. Think of a sand box with dried corn kernels instead of sand and that's exactly what it was like. The boys had a blast in it!

Nolan was just a little nervous at first. He didn't really like the hardness of the corn

Brennan made a "Corn Angel"

It's raining corn!

A little corn never hurt anyone. When he took off the hoodie at TGI Fridays, his hoodie was so full that corn went everywhere!

Don kept picking up Nolan and dropping him in the corn. Nolan kept coming back for more!

Happy Baby! Don't you just want to eat up those sweet eyes and chubby little fingers?!?

After the insane amount of fun the boys had endured, Don decided that it was time to get our mini-pumpkins and head home. Brennan walked to the edge of the patch to find his perfect pumpkin, while Nolan thought they were all balls and proceeded to pick one up and toss it to the ground in typical Nolan fashion. We couldn't get him to hold on to one to take home. He's such a crazy kid!

His new favorite thing is somersaults and he wanted to do one right in the middle of the patch

Trying to figure out where to head next. Such deep thought!

Ian's favorite part of the day? Having Daddy pull him backward up the hill. He was laughing so hard it made people stop and see where it was coming from. (FYI~ Pushing a stroller through gravel is like pushing a stroller through sand. Hard!)

After spending the afternoon at the Farm, the boys were ready to take a long nap. The drive home was so peaceful. It was an awesome outing!

My Mad Scientist

Imagine walking into this scene:

What would you think was going on?

Apparently, Brennan was trying to get just the right color of purple in the beaker by adding drops of red and blue Gatorade (because he knew I would never let him use food coloring). Notice how he's holding the straw and measuring just enough. Too Funny!

I'll never doubt that this is my child!

And so it begins....

Ian is now not only crawling EVERYWHERE... he is now starting to pull himself up on EVERYTHING! Hide everything that is near and dear because nothing is safe. And if he gets a hold of it, I would bet the house that it will end up in his mouth. What is a mother to do (other than love the heck out of him)?

"Uh-oh...she's going to be mad because I want to taste this sooo bad!"

"Getting ready to stand... 1"

2

3... and I'm up!

"Should I eat this cardboard?"

Yummy!

Orange Belt

Last month, Brennan took the belt exam for his Orange Belt and PASSED!!

Way to go B!

Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

Sorry this post is so late~ You can see what we've been dealing with at the Borchert House!

Nearly two weeks ago, Brennan got his tonsils and adenoids out. We've been debating the idea for a couple of years, but we didn't want to put Brennan through the pain. BUT after the last two years of having Strep 5+ times a winter, we decided to do a preemptive strike and get them taken out. Take that nasty germs!

Watching Scooby while trying to hide from the camera

We were a little nervous about the operation, but the nurses and Dr Demoville were amazing. In pre-op, they had Brennan watch Scooby-Doo and laugh at their silly jokes. When they gave him the liquid Valium, he went NuTs! I don't know how else to put it. One minute he was standing on the bed, pretending to fly, giggling hysterically and then next minute he was slurring his words and totally out of it. When they wheeled him into surgery, he was as high as a kite. It was so comical to watch!

Pretending he was flying through the bars on the bed. Totally out of it!

The surgery only lasted about 45 minutes, but we were in post-op for a few hours to let the anaesthesia wear off. By the time Brennan finally woke up, he was groggy but happy and not in much pain. He even told me he didn't remember anything, not even Scooby. Yippie for Medicine!!!

Post-op passed out

Brennan's recovery has gone extremely well. He's been able to eat pretty much anything and has only been a little sick when he takes his loratab. The only bad thing about the entire situation is the smell of his breath! It's killer... makes me ill just thinking about it. The good news is that it's finally starting to go away. Thank Heavens!

Brennan will be able to go back to school on Wednesday after he is cleared by the Dr. Since we had it done over Fall Break, he only missed 3 days instead of 10. Aren't we good parents?

Thoughts from a Mother

Warning: Not for the faint of heart... aka: I cried while I wrote this

Over the past few years, I've come to to realize that your mind is so tuned in to others and their plights. A thought of someone you haven't seen in a long time tells you to call them. A sweet smell reminds you of a special friends from years ago. A dream about your own mortality and the mortality of your kids. That's the one that's hit home this week.

I don't know why, but when I let my mind wander, my mind goes to the worst possible things that could happen to my children and I make myself ill thinking about it. My children are perfectly healthy and happy, yet I can't get out of my mind the types of accidents or diseases that could befall them. I'm not really a praying person (ask any of my family) but I always find myself saying prayers for safety and guidance for me and my family. I can not imagine what it would actually feel like to have something of that magnitude fall on my children.

When it comes to being my hero, my big sister Stephanie takes the prize. Stephanie has had to think about things more differently since Nathan was born. She's had to do things that I couldn't possibly even think of and worry more than anyone I've ever known. All of her thoughts and prayers and pleadings have been heard and felt by those of us close to her and by people she's never met and may never meet. From my experience with Steph, I know that just thinking and praying for another can help.

Which leads us to the reason for my post this morning. My sister-in-law Paula posted this link to a blog called A Dash of Season (http://adashofseason.blogspot.com) where Kylene wrote about the story of Taylie (http://tayliebug.com). I suggest that everyone read their blogs and help in anyway they can, even if it's just getting the story out.