We had about 100 (we lost track after 50 ) of our family and friends over on the weekend for our annual pig roast and it was terrific.

Vegetarians ........please don't scroll down any further ............

While the food, drinks and conversations flowed ..... the kids played and played and played some more .........

The weather was great ..........the company even better ........

Miss Aly enjoyed her first ever piggie roast ....and was the bell of the ball !!

Bugsy climbed anything and everything that moved and then "crashed" from fatigue in the evening on an air mattress surrounded by his cousins .......

When he woke up the next day .....he said it was the best party ever !!

Mommy and Daddy and Alycat agree .....

Oh dear, we have another dare devil on our hands ....

I know exactly what she is thinking ...

It's this ....

" Now, IF I stand on this crib ornament than I might be able to stick my leg up over the railing to get out of here ....".

That is , if Mommy doesn't see me doing it ......

If I get 'busted" than I'll have to grow a few more inches before I'm tall enough to do this again ...

Tsk ....Tsk .......Tsk ......

Guess what Miss Alycat ???

The crib ornament is history ...

Love , Your Mommy :)

Fall is in the air .....

and we love it !!!!

The kidz and I ventured out in search of pumpkins, corn stalks and cattails this week and enjoyed the crispness and beauty of fall.

We even headed into the corn field maze and got lost! Thank goodness Ben is better at direction than I am ....:)

Here are a few pics of our off road cornfield, pumpkin searching adventure !!







By the way, this was Alyana's FIRST time ever seeing and touching a pumpkin !

Gee, I wonder if they have pumpkins in China ?

I know they have Salsa ....*hehe*

So, what's new in OUR zoo ??

Aly and I got together with her China Sisters yesterday.

Four and a half hours later we emerged, babes in arm, tummies filled with yummy goodies from the home of our most gracious host , Krista, and her lovely daughter Lily ( http://www.parentingcubed.blogspot.com/)

As you can see from the pictures below, we came , we saw, we conquered and we had so much fun doing it!

It was terrific to see you all again.

I am sad that I am going to miss the regular playgroup dates.

Miss Alycat will too !!!

PS: I'll be over sometime with a truckload of eggs Krista .....( don't laugh ......cause' they are coming ...lol)



Now onto other news ..........

Ben's big ,brown and beautiful eyes have developed a hint of a different shade in the last 24 hours .....

Can you guess what color that could be ??

Random pics ....

topped off with icecream pictures ....

Alyana At Her Daycare

Our Date At The Icecream Shoppe Today !

Thing are going well for both kids .....

After a week I am finally able to get the kids up, fed, dressed and out the door on time (and I even remember to comb my own hair too !! *hehe*).

Hey, not bad ... I've never done this with two kiddies before .....

I'm kinda proud of myself .....:)

I'm back in the working world .....and Miss Aly survived the entire day without her Mommy ......although Mommy had pangs of the " I miss you's" ...

It'll get better , I'm sure ...

Both kids are enjoying the daycare and their new routines ....

Phew .....

It feels good knowing that both of our kiddies are in the hands of really great people.

Gosh, it's been awhile since I posted a video so to make up for it , I'll post two.

The first is Ben and Aly scrubbing their "buckies" !

Big brothers are great at teaching new things ( even if they have to share their toothbrushes).

I know ....it's a bit yucky ...

The second is the ongoing battle in the house between the cat and Aly over anything remotely wicker .....

I'm not quite sure who actually has the upper hand ( or paw, so to speak ....)

By the way, see the coutndown at the top. ??

Not pretty is it ??

It's over babee ....so so sooooo over.

It's been a great ride ....

The next batter is up ( somewhere out there).

I hope she enjoys her maternity leave as much as I did !!

Andrea

Whadda Day ...

Aly and I accompanied Bugsy to his classroom today.

After a tour of a tour of the homeroom and a good look at his desk, he was ready to bid us farewell ( he's a big boy after all !!).

So without further adieu, we gave Ben a big hug and left him in the capable hands of his wonderful teacher and started the much dreaded ride to the daycare.

Alyana walked into the place like she owned it and then proceeded to take over the room
and when it was time for Mommy to leave, the tears began ....

and there were lots of them ..... but from only one person ......

Me !

I felt like a blubbering idiot ....and once I gained some sort of composure I gave Miss Aly a kiss and grabbed my coat .....

She didn't cry, she didn't look upset , she simply smiled at me and waved bye bye and toddled off to get to know her new friends .....

Whadda a big girl .......

Whadda a day ....

Ok ....it has officially sunk in ....

I'm heading back to work in a few days and my kids are off experiencing another world that I'm not 100 percent apart.

Man, that is tough ....

Here are a few pics and the lady in the multicolored top, that's Kay. She will be looking after my precious little girl ( and between you and me, I think Alyana has her in the palm of her hand already .....ssshhhhhh ).

Can you hear that ????

THAT, my friends, is the sound of QUIET on the eve of a very important day.

What day is that you ask ???

Why ...it's BACK TO SCHOOL tomorrow for the kiddies ....

and .....

it's Miss Aly's first day at daycare ............sniff sniff ....

It begs the question ....

Where has the summer gone ?

Better yet, where did the last 9 and a half months go ???

Goodbye summer ........my favorite pal ......

Goodbye maternity leave ..........my sweet sweet friend ....

I have enjoyed our precious moments together ....

All Ready To Go

Miss Aly modeling her new backpack ....

All shined up and ready for bed ...