TWITCHINGTON

This was the inspiration for our costumes this year. I had to really TWIST Jon's arm to do it but he finally relented. I think he was glad he did.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

P-JAZZ

Paige turned 7 years old on Friday! Wow, how the years have flown. Paige, my firstborn, brought all my dreams of motherhood into reality, and exceeded any hopes and expectations I had. I was in love at first sight and fell deeper and deeper as each day went by. She was such a beautiful baby. Everywhere we went people would comment on her beauty! She has always been very inquisitive and observant, loves to learn, and loves to laugh. She is a great big sister and a fabulous help to me.

We started the celebrations by checking out of school a little early with a few friends and going to Chick-fil-A for lunch. (Thanks to Marci for the idea!) Here they are in the play area after eating. Charlie was at his cousin Bentley's for the afternoon - thanks Joc!

Then we went to the newly released High School Musical 3! It was very exciting (for me as much as them!) There were some great musical numbers, my favorite being "The Boys are Back". I really do reccommend this movie to anyone. If you liked the first 2, this one follows suit and does not disappoint. That Troy Bolton has really grown on me over the series, and he sure has put on some muscle! Gabriella still bugs me. Her lines are cheesey and her singing voice is whiney. (No, I'm NOT just jealous because she is with Troy!)

That night Paige opened her gifts from Jon, Haily, Charlie, and me. Included was the HSM3 soundtrack!
The next day, we had a little "spa party" with some friends. We did pedicures...
Manicures....

and facials! Paige's friend was asking about her party the day before and asked Paige what a facial is. Paige had only heard the term "facial" in the context of facial hair so she told her friend it was a mustache and beard. Her friend was a little confused, and said, "No really, what is it?" And Paige said, "Really, that is what it means!" I can't imagine what this friend was expecting to have happen at the party!

Then we had a little Hannah Montana cake!

Overall, it was a great celebration, and a great reason to celebrate! HAPPY BIRTHDAY P-JAZZ! We love you!

La Lasagna! and other reasons for a white face...

I recently inherited a pasta maker and Haily and I decided to test it out with some old country, Italian style, from scratch, takes forever to make, worth the effort LASAGNA!

I wrote the recipe myself, except for the actual pasta which is just 2 cups and flour and 2 eggs!

We made the noodles first, which was a lot of fun and a lotta mess! I also made the sauce from scratch. I chopped up some onions, carrots, garlic, and green peppers and sauteed them in olive oil until they were tender. Then added a big can of crushed tomatoes. We let that simmer for a while. We browned some Italian sausage and layered: sauce, noodles, sausage, ricotta cheese, repeat. We sliced a tomato and put the slices on top. We cooked it for about 45 minutes. It was delicious! I was very proud of it! And there was a lot of sauce left over so I saved it in a jar and used it later in the week.

On to the other white face...
Charlie saw a dermatologist this week for his delicate skin conditions. He gets to have treatments once a month where the Dr. puts beetle juice on his spots. Seriously, the stuff is called Canthacur and it comes from a beetle in Africa! It causes a reaction on his skin, and his own immune system kicks into action. It blisters up a little and gets red at first, then it is supposed to clear up. The Doctor was really great with him. He got to wear a gown, which was his favorite part, and then she gave him a cotton swab and let him "help" her tickles his spots. He still has a steroid cream for his eczema (which is much better) that we keep on the bathroom counter so that I remember to apply it after his bath. He climbed up there the other day, and this is how I found him:

Notice the green headband! He wanted to put on some of his special "lo-lo". He earned himself an early bath that day! And his scalp was 100% eczema free...

Charlie's new BFFs

Charlie discovered the Care Bears that Paige and Haily got for Christmas several years ago. They talk and sing and he talks back and sings along. His favorite is the pink one. That is the one he sleeps with in his arms while the rest are tucked in at the end of his bed. The dance costume he is wearing is his favorite "dress". The "heart one" as he calls it because it has a heart on the front.

Alexander Mark, the 4th boy in 2 years!

My sister-in-law Allie had her baby last Monday the 29th on her mom's birthday! This BIG baby boy makes the 4th in 2 years in Jon's family. He hardly looked like a newborn. In fact, he weighed the same at birth as his cousin Luke did at 4 weeks. He is perfect and beautiful, healthy and peaceful. We are so happy to have him here. And Allie looks absolutely AMAZING, fitting into regular jeans already! I only have one picture, Charlie holding him at the hospital.
Congrats to Allie and Brian, along with Kenna, Nick, and Addy. We love you!