Mason has a new word for getting our attention. It is "HEY!" One night this week after putting him in bed I walked by his room. We leave his door cracked open so he heard/saw me walk by and said "HEY! I want covers." Then one morning while I was in the shower Kevin said he started saying "HEY!...HEY!...HEY! I'M HUNGRY!!!...HEY! I'M HUNGRY!!!" So now when he wants something he starts it with "hey" instead of "mommy" or "daddy". He says some of the funniest things. Sometimes after our bedtime ritual he will say "I wan a kiss an hug" even though we've already done them. One night this week he said "I wan a kiss an hug an five." So we again kissed and hugged and then I gave him a high five. Where does he come up with these things??!!
Since Anna had a great week, she got to do something that was scheduled for last weekend but we canceled due to her behavior. This afternoon we took her to our friends house to ride a pony. I thought she'd be a little scared but she did great. Kevin lead the pony for a few minutes but then Anna was ready to go on her own. (She was in a round pen so the pony couldn't go far. Not to mention it's around 20 years old and very broken in. Plus Kevin never got very far from them.) 
Mason on the other hand was a nervous wreck. He didn't want anything to do with the pony. While in the barn getting the pony saddled up other horses were naying, a chicken bocking and a lamb baaing...his head was turning every direction and he was soon in my arms. He said "I cared (scared)!" He was even scared of a barn cat that was harmless. All it wanted to do was rub against him and be petted. But as you can see, he wanted no part in the cat...he's running from it.
Mason finally warmed up to the cat (a little). Kevin kept asking if he wanted to ride the pony. One time he said "yes" but then backed out when it came time to get on. Finally Kevin put him (unwillingly) on the pony with Anna. Within a few seconds he was saying "This is fun!" 
Mason seems to be thinking "this pony riding isn't so bad after all!"
Harlon & Kevin (on the gray horse).
Curious Mason
She giggled and thought it looked funny.
Between the eye shadow, blush and lipstick, she looked about 10 years older. I had been concerned that her hair wouldn't turn out very good, but thanks to a tip from Mrs. Heather, it was perfect. We decided that Anna's natural hair made better Taylor Swift hair than any wig we could have bought.
Kevin made her an acoustic guitar from wood and painted it. I made the guitar strap that says "Taylor" from ribbon and glitter glue. She already had the microphone from last Halloween. I bought the dress at Target and earrings at Claire's. She already had black boots. We pulled out the tights and black t-shirt since it was cool. We think she made a wonderful Taylor Swift. She seemed very pleased with her Taylor Swift look.
Anna kept asking what I was going to be for Halloween. I didn't intend to be anything other than myself. At the last minute I went to the shop and dug out my camo. So I became a hunter. I laughed and said I was a "monkey hunter" trying to keep up with Monkey Mason.
This was Red Ribbon Week at Anna's school. Every day the kids were able to dress up. The dress up days were headband/bandana day, dress like a rocker or wear your clothes inside out/backwards day, sunglasses day, P.J.s & slippers day, and Red & Black or Orange & Black or Halloween shirt day. (I was a bad Mama and didn't take a single picture of Anna dressed up.) Not only does Anna's school use Red Ribbon Week to "Just say no to drugs", the school also chooses a charity/cause to raise money for a donation. This year Arkansas Children's Hospital will be the receipient of the money. Our family thinks this is a great organization to donate to based on our personal experiences with ACH.
Although we had an overall good week, it didn't go without some bumps along the way. Mason has been having some difficulties with his behavior at daycare. His sheet has been saying he was "fussy" a lot. Then Tuesday he kicked his teacher because he was mad. He got in BIG trouble for that!! Hopefully we made an impression on him that kicking will not be tolerated. It wasn't just Mason that had some issues this week. Anna's teacher sent a note home one day that some kids were complaining that Anna pushed and hit them. Of course Anna said she didn't do it and the teacher didn't see it happen, so she just wanted us to have a talk with Anna. So hopefully we came through loud & clear to Anna too. I don't know what it was about this week that seemed to make the kids act out. A few weeks ago one of the planet's gravitational pull made brooms stand up without assistance, maybe there was some other kind of force at work this week on my children??? I just pray that it is long gone now!
Thursday morning after I dropped Anna off at school, I took Mason to the mass flu shot clinic to get his H1N1 vaccine. I assumed there would be a long line, and I was correct. It took us an hour and 10 minutes to make our way to the shot tents. I got the seasonal flu shot and then drove to the next tent for Mason's H1N1 shot. At that point I was told Mason couldn't get the shot yet because it hadn't been 30 days since he got the seasonal flu nasal mist! Since the nasal mist is a live virus, they won't let you get the H1N1 shot until a month later. I sure wish I had known that before waiting so long. The real reason I went was for Mason, not me. But at least I did get something out of it- a shot for ME.
This leads me to another reason there must have been some "force" in motion this week. I hadn't been using the word "shot" around Mason for fear that he would go into meltdown mode. Then on the way to take Anna to school Thrusday Anna mentioned Mason getting a shot. I corrected her and said it was a "vaccination". But it was too late, Mason had already heard her. Except he had the opposite reaction than I anticipated. All the way to town he would say "I need to go to the doctor" and "I need a shot." Now most kids would be happy if they didn't have to get a shot that they were expecting. But not MASON! After he didn't get his H1N1 shot, he started kicking and screaming in his car seat saying "I WANT A SHOT!! I WANT A SHOT!!" See, there must have been something causing crazy behavior this week. However, Anna was so excited that she won't be able to get the H1N1 vaccine at school on Monday (the same reason Mason couldn't get it.)
After leaving the flu shot clinic Mason and I ran errands, he played at the mall, ate lunch with Kevin, ran more errands and then picked Anna up from school. I had intended to keep Mason with me that day because he would have gotten a shot, but I went ahead and let me stay with me even though he didn't get the shot. Aside from the temper tantrum when he didn't get his shot, he was a good boy that day. We had a great mommy & son day!
Friday I volunteered at Anna's school all morning and then met Kevin for lunch. He took the afternoon off work and we did some Christmas shopping for a couple of hours. Then it was time to go to Mason's Fall Party at daycare. He seemed to enjoy all the yummy snacks.
(Notice the little girl to the right of Mason has red hair too. There are three red heads in Mason's daycare class. It seems so strange for a class of about 9 or 10 to have three red heads.)
I have enjoyed this past week so much (other than my childrens bad behavior). I've had the opportunity to do something I've always wanted to have the time to do- volunteer. I volunteered at Anna's school every day except Thursday. Each morning I (along with other moms) worked collecting cookie dough money and t-shirt order money for the PTO, and Arkansas Children's Hospital money for Red Ribbon Week. Then one morning Anna's teacher asked me to help in the classroom when I finished with the money collections. Anna was so excited for her mommy to be helping in her classroom. I cut out the kids' handprints for them to make bats and counted pumpkin seeds they had removed from a pumpkin. There were 503 seeds...a lot more than I would have guessed. Friday morning another mother and myself worked on Box Tops for the speech pathologist. The school collects Box Tops, Campbell's Soup labels and Hays grocery store receipts to get supplies and equipment for the school. Parents send the labels to school in a wide array of techniques. We trimmed the labels to cut down on shipping costs. So if you aren't already saving these items, please save them and I'll collect them from you for Anna's school. I was amazed at what all the school has been able to get from these collections. They really add up! I was also able to volunteer my time at church one night to help wrap gift boxes to be sent oversees to children in need. Although I couldn't do a lot financially, I could give my time to help out. I pray that God will continue to bless me with the time to do the things that matter most in life. I keep reminding myself that when I die it won't matter what kind of house I lived in, what kind of car I drove or how much money I had. What will matter is how I lived my life. I thank God for every day he gives me and pray I will live it in accordance to His will.
Now, there is so much to get done today before the Trunk or Treat tonight. I'll post pictures later of my little Trick or Treaters.
Making sure Daddy does it right! 
Kevin always does an excellent job carving our pumpkins. This year's pumpkin turned out really cute. The kids love for us to light it up at night and turn the lights out (it's in the living room). I guess this is possibly Mason's first Jack-O-Lantern. We didn't do one last year, and I honestly can't remember if we did one the year he was born. He would only have been 6 months so I doubt he remembers it if we did. 
.JPG)
