Happy Halloween!

I was bummed Halloween was on a Sunday this year! I felt like we were all rushing the kids to eat fast and even trick or treat quickly. We kept our same Halloween routine... dinner at the Gallahue's then off to the trunk or treat and the church up the street. It is literally a God send, seems silly cause it is only Halloween, but there are very few young families in our neighborhood (this year someone actually put up a sign that said "no treats here,"... if you can believe that) so that is were they get all their loot. They also have face painting, popcorn, pizza, several games and jumpers, so all the kids have a great time! Hope everyone is in a candy fill haze and had a wonderful night. I feel like this time of year goes by so quickly, when October hits I feels as if Christmas is literally right around the corner! We will post more soon!

Brown Park festival

This year the festival was out of control. We have been the last four years and it is steadily becoming a fast growing tradition for many families. The girls did great and waited 45 minutes to trick or treat through the park. After all that, they played a couple of games and jump on a couple jump jumps and we headed of to McDonald's for lunch...in the words of Sophia "I wish every day could be like this!"

Huber's 2010

Uncle Lucas is special so he rides in the back!

The girls are obsessed with animals...I am not a fan. Therefore as of yet we have no pets at home, but that will soon change!

Sophia loves the mountain and slide and rode it several times while her poor aunt Amber stood and watched being 8 months pregnant... she was a trooper! Little Ashlyn still needs daddy still to go with her down the long slide.



Next year Baby Brock will join us, but this is his first official trip.

Ashlyn has the cutest smile... she makes me laugh! We all had a long day. Between the hayride, pumpkin picking, eating, the discovery center, petting zoo and all the little slides and things we were all exhausted. Needless to say I am thankful Ashlyn still takes a nap!

Halloween at the Zoo

Here is the zoo the crew! It was an unusually hot October night so the kids wear all overheated and needed water breaks just to trick or treat...ridiculous. The characters at the zoo are hysterical, but this year the Harry Potter gang took the cake as you can see in the pic above.

The Mustangs

Sophia did more goal chatting then tending this year. Toby was at her side to tell her when it was time to pay attention.
Ashlyn spent the soccer season eating gum and gummies from the sideline.


Sophia along with her other fellow kindergarten's played soccer for the St. Margaret Mary Mustangs. Don't let the pics fool you...she spent most of her time complaining about being sweaty and wondering "how much longer" she had to play. She did manage to kick the ball midway into the season and it was after Toby gave her a speech about letting the soccer monster come out!

It's official ...Sophia is in Kindergarten!

We have prepared for this day all summer. I felt like I was always thinking of things I needed to do for her before Kindergarten. New shoes, backpack, lunch box, school supplies, doctor's appointment....the list could go on forever and not to mention, Toby and I have attended atleast 6 hours of parent, student and catholic archdiocese orientation. After all that, the day was upon us...we started early bedtime the week before and then it was Wednesday. I must have checked the clock 6 times through the night to make sure we would wake up...we have to get up at 6:45am and it is very painful. She resisted the first day, but was excited to wear her uniform and her new shoes. (Ashlyn slept in thank goodness, because I think the morning would have gone a little worse than it did.) Sophia has always been so brave and excited to do anything new. We told her about the school bus and Toby gave her a quick pep talk on his expectations because she is after all a daddy's girl and then it was time. We did the prerequisite from door pics and the bus arrived right on schedule. Toby walked her to the bus and the wave of panic hit me again...what if no on let's her sit down. The scene from Forrest Gump popped in my head when all the kids say "seat taken!"...what if someone is mean to her, what if she does not know where to go after she gets off the bus? All these questions and no answers then again the tears started to flow. I think Toby was almost shocked to see me cry... he was supportive and little more logical than me...imagine that! He reassured me she would be fine, but my heart just ached at all the unknown out there...all the what if's with no answers. I heard someone once say "parenthood isn't for sissies" and I think they are right. Poor Ashlyn is lonely with out her and all day says to me "I need my Sophie." It is so cute and crazy because the minute Sophia gets off the school bus they are fighting! Mother's day out as helped fill her void, but not mine. I will say I have accomplished so much in the last week as far as errands and pampering myself. I wonder if the newness of it all will wear off and I will miss my girls and my time with them...I suppose I will cherish the weekends and the breaks they get!

Ashlyn and Mother's day out

Ashlyn started Mother's day out a week before Sophia started school and goodness it was so hard to send them both off at once. I had a mental breakdown at work when I talked about having alone time without them. It would be weird...I thought, because I always have atleast one of them with me at all times. What would I do?
Sophia and I dropped her off the first day and lets just say horrible would be putting it lightly. Only family has watched until this point and she has severe stranger anxiety. I took Sophia to the same Mother's day out program at the same age and it was a breeze, she just walked in and waved bye to me...Ashlyn, on the other hand, decided to become a spider monkey. When I went to put her down in her classroom she had a Kung Fu grip around my neck and waist...once I freed her arms her legs would tighten around me. All at once I felt hot, started to sweat and then it was all down hill from there.... a wave of panic rushed over me... I felt so guilty, sad, and then my tears started flowing. I was almost ashamed of myself...I rarely show emotion in public, but, she is my baby and I rarely make her do things against her will and it felt so wrong. I knew she needed to go and it was good for her no matter how difficult the day was for the both of us...so, I managed to pull her off of me and handed her to a teacher...I grabbed Sophia's hand and we ran out of there. I picked her up an hour early and was relieved to see her running around playing ball with "my friends" as she calls them. I still miss her, but it is nice to get my first mani-pedi that I have had in months!

The girls new pics

This is Sophia in my wedding dress...I plan to put each of them in it every 5 years to see the change and someday I will hang them somewhere. She was absolutely stunning!

Sophia is 5 and Ashlyn is 2!

It's official...Sophia is 5 and Ashlyn is 2! How do they grow up so fast? I can't believe Sophia is 5...I remember being pregnant with her, I remember her delivery, our first week...first steps and words. All of these memories seem to rush to me at every birthday. And little Ashlyn...my baby... is not so baby any more! She has turned into this wonderful little girl that tries so desperately to keep up with her big sissy. She is impossible to be mad at and a joy to be around...I swear I have felt my heart stop and that lump in my throat form to let me know soon I will have to let them go...and I wondered if I could do it!
I will try to keep this balloon tradition going as long as possible they seem to love it! I love the screech of happiness and they amazement when they awake to a room full of balloons!

Here is the skinny on the chocolate teddy bears. I ordered some from etsy and needless to say chocolate packaged in a regular box melts ...therefore I had to pull out all of my creativity to make the bears...Toby and I were hard at work for two days to make these little bears...they didn't turn out too bad!
We ended up throwing their birthday parties together this year...thank goodness neither of them seemed to care! I thought for sure Sophia would have a fit, but she always seems to surprise me. I did do something special for each on "their day" which I think made a little difference. Plus there birthday drug out for a weekend. We celebrated a "friend" party and Build a Bear followed by a "family" party at Chucky Cheese. Toby and I were exhausted by the end of the day and I am grateful birthday's only come around once a year!