Candy Suicide

I've been eating way more of the kids' Halloween candy than I should. I'm trying to lose weight, for goodness' sake. Why do they throw all these FOOD holidays at us right when it gets so bloody cold outside that all I want to do is stay inside and nibble all day? It's just mean and inconsiderate. They don't have any sort of salad or crisp veggie holidays. No, it's got to be holidays were we focus first on candy (Halloween); then on turkey, potatoes & gravy, and PIE (Thanksgiving); then there's more candy, cakes, and cookies, cookies, COOKIES (Christmas)! Top it off with New Year's, where I'm tempted to drink myself into oblivion--those empty calories in booze are such a waste, and then I'm punished with a hangover?!? Forget it!

I've got to make a change. I had placed all of the girls' candy into a gallon Ziploc bag (which it filled, even after a week of all of us--minus Donovan--snarking away at it every chance we get), with the intention of hiding it somewhere, so it's out of my sight. The girls can still eat it, I just don't want it sitting out anymore. However, I did have to pull out a few pieces that I know the girls won't eat: Twizzlers, Butterfingers, Snickers, Baby Ruths, etc. Those, I hid in a different spot. And I ask myself, why? I mean, it's not like I won't know where THOSE are! Why bother hiding them? In fact, why don't I just eat them right now? In FACT, why don't I just eat it ALL right now! Just open the hatch and dump ALL of the candy in, barely take time to even chew it. Eat all of the stuff in one sitting, so that I get so completely sick, barf my guts out, and then I'll never want to touch a single piece of candy again. It's the perfect plan! Of course, I may die doing it, but is Candy Suicide such a bad way to go?

I am way behind on blogging now. I can't even believe it. I'm hoping I'll add an entry today and then maybe do some catch-up entries in the next couple of days

Let's see.....

Lindsay just wrapped up her season of Girls on the Run. It was two months of training, finishing up Sunday with a 5K. She ran in the Pumpkin Run a few weeks before, and that was 1 mile, which was the furthest she'd ever run. So Sunday, doing a 5K (3.1 miles, I believe), it was a huge deal. Yes, she did walk a bit, but she ran a good chunk of it, finished and got an awesome medal! Jim ran with her, and I'm glad he did! We're both so proud of her!!!

Girls on the Run

Pumpkin Run
Josie is almost catching up to Lindsay already in the reading department. She reads everything she can get her hands on, provided the words aren't longer than four letters! It's especially nice when she reads Donovan's board books to him, like "Baby, Come to Church" and "How Do Dinasaours Clean Their Rooms?" We just got done with Fall Break, and Josie was lucky enough to have TWO playdates with her friend Olivia! She's a great friend! We also decorated pumpkins, did our annual Boo at the Zoo, and went to Vala's Pumpkin Patch, near Omaha.

Lindsay, Josie & Olivia

Lindsay & Josie with their Jack-o-Lanterns

Josie (vampiress), cousin Corbin (ninja), Donovan (vampire), cousin Sara (pirate), and Lindsay (demon)

At the Pumpkin Patch--the girls love these faceless frame things!

Donovan, my 10-month-old boy (can you believe he's that old already?) is now walking, as of last week -- when he was still only 9-months-old. It's a Tibbels Family Record! (At least, for THIS Tibbels family!) He's got four teeth showing through very well, and there are about three or four more trying to poke through. I weaned him to formula about two months ago, which was great for both of us! He weaned himself off the pacifier not long after, as it bothered his sore gums. (Great--one less task for Mommy and Daddy!) Aside from walking all over the house and chewing on everything, our latest challenge is dealing with severe diaper rash. Josie had problems with it when she was a baby, and we discovered it was because she could only handle a certain brand of diapers. I'm thinking that's the same problem with D--so far, it seems to be better if we stick with Pampers Cruisers (no Luvs, no Huggies, no Pampers Baby Dry, NO Target brand, which is what started the whole problem!). Like Josie's way back then, Aquaphor won't clear it up. Neither will Desitin, Arbonne's Diaper Rash Cream, or even the all-powerful Boudreaux's Butt Paste (which we all love simply for the name). Actually, the latter three are all zinc-oxide based, and Aquaphor and Eucerin are both petrolium jelly based. The only thing I've found to work is scorched or fried flour. It worked on Josie, and it's slowly working on the boy, as well. (Baking soda baths, and then letting him air dry for a while, helps.)

Goin' commando!

Little vampire

Other than that, we're just gearing up for Halloween, then looking forward to Thanksgiving, our niece's wedding, Christmas, Donovan's 1st birthday, etc., etc. Hope this autumn is going well for you all and that it's just as beautiful where you are as it is here for us!

Game Face

I can't seem to keep up with all the pictures we've been taking lately! And I'm definitely having a hard time just keeping up on current events. The girls are enjoying school--Lindsay's in 3rd grade, which seems to be much harder, but I think she's adapting well--Josie's in 1st grade, so it's her first time going all day, every day...she seems to love it! Lindsay is in Girls on the Run this fall (she'll end up participating in a 5k road race!), and she'll be starting this year's session of Brownies soon. Josie just got signed up for her own Brownie troop earlier this week, so hopefully, she'll start going to her own meetings soon! Keep us in mind when you're looking for Girl Scout cookies!!! Both girls also got to be "cheerleaders for a day" when they participated in a Booster Bash for Southeast High School (where they'll eventually go).

Lindsay is standing, 2nd from left.

Josie's sitting, far right.

Meanwhile, Donovan is growing, as they say, like a weed! He's only got two teeth right now, but I believe he's got a couple more coming in--he drools absolute buckets every day, and when he eats, he sometimes has a hard time with it, though I can tell he's hungry. Poor guy! He crawls very quickly--he's into everything--and he is already trying to walk along by holding onto furniture or someone's hands. He's long and (cough) full of muscles! We haven't decided yet if he's going to play football for the Huskers, or if he'll go off to Chicago to play baseball for the Cubs! Either way, he's a winner in our book!

First Day of School

Donovan and the girls, ready for the first day of school! Lindsay's going into 3rd Grade and Josie's going into 1st Grade. They're so excited--and Donovan's excited about 'alone time' with Mommy!

New Hairdo's

Here are a couple of pictures, in the last days of summer, with the girls in their long hair. They're both sporting some new outfits, as well. While they couldn't wait for school to begin, they were more excited about chopping off their long hair and going "short". I made an appointment with my hairdresser of about fifteen years, Wendy. The girls have gone with me several times when I've gotten my own hair done--Wendy's salon is in her house. So the girls got ready.....

...and off we went to their first hair appointment....

The result..... Simply STUNNING!!!

Thanks, Wendy! You did a great job, as always!!!