November

It's been a busy month...surprise, surprise. The only thing is, I can't tell you exactly what we did all month. Darren was on jury duty for the whole month. But he only had to go in a few times and was never chosen to serve on a jury.

Becca's school did something cool for the kids called Pizza & Pages. They did a reading night where they gave tips and ideas for helping your child read. Then you went to your classroom while the teacher gave you a few specifics. Everyone went to the cafeteria to get a piece of pizza and a free book for their age. We all enjoyed it.

Thanksgiving was fun this year. Most years, we have spent Thanksgiving with the 3 of us.(of course now there is 4 of us) Darren always works Thanksgiving morning so we never travel. One of our families has sometimes come to us or we have been invited to friends houses occasionally. This year, our friends, the Morgans, decided to invite the game night group (who meet monthly) and a few others to their house. There were 17 adults, 5 teenagers, and 8 kids. It was a lot of fun. We had 3 turkeys: oven-baked, fried and smoked. We got there around 1:00 and everyone left at different times. Some of us stayed until almost 10:00. We ate, played some games, watched some football, ate some more, played some more, ate some more, etc. We're talking about doing it again for New Years Eve.

One sad thing is Barrett got his first haircut. He had such beautiful blond hair. It was a little long but I was hoping for just a trim up around the ears and neck. Darren didn't like the fact that many people called him a girl. It never bothered me because he's a baby but, I still agreed it needed to be trimmed. He took him to the barber and came back with short hair all over. At first, I was sad but I like it and he's still as cute as ever. Someone said that before he still looked like a baby and his cut made him look like a big boy. Maybe that's why I was so sad...he's getting big; 1 year old in 19 days!

Before with his beautiful blond locks

After, with his cute big boy cut

October

Having a part-time job really is time-consuming. I'll catch you up on some of what's happened in the last month.

I had my eye surgery again. My mother-in-law came and helped out again and she was a big help...again. My eye didn't swell as much but it hurt a little more. It was a little harder to follow the rules this time around now that Barrett is bigger and more mobile. I wasn't able to bend over and had to have ice on my eyes most of the first 48 hours. I then wasn't allowed to lift more than 10 pounds for a week. It was difficult not to pick up Barrett at times. But Donna did put him in my lap some so we could get some cuddle time. Luckily, I have a happy-go-lucky kid who goes with the flow quite a bit; He was great for his grandma.

Most of the month was consumed with getting ready for trunk or treat at church. I was so consumed with the big details, the little details stressed me out in the end. Even though we had to move it inside because of the rain, we had a good time. The bad thing was, Darren and I were both stuck running different games so I didn't get any pictures. The next night which was actually Halloween, we had some friends over, I made much too spicy chili, went around our neighborhood and got WAY too much candy.

One of Becca's favorite friends is Thomas. I used to watch him at my house and now they're in school together. Normally, they're waving to each other as she gets off the bus to get in one last goodbye. The other day when getting off the bus, she's saying something to Thomas and the bus driver is as well. Thomas is waving out the window as usual to which Becca just flips her head and walks inside. She told me he was calling her, "Rebecca Rodriguez" or something like that and she didn't like it. About 10 minutes later, I get a phone call from his mom saying that Thomas told her he needed to call Becca to apologize...he wouldn't let it go, so she called. I tried to listen to the conversation because I thought it would be funny to hear two 4-year-olds talk.

Becca: So, what did you want to say?

Thoams: (something about Rebecca Rodriguez)

Becca: (with a sigh)I know, but I just don't like that name

Thomas: I won't say it again

Becca: What's the next word? (????)

Thoams: I'm sorry

Becca: What else did you want to say?

Thomas: (obviously done with the conversation he says something about talking to his mom and says bye)

Kids really do crack me up. The next day, her class had a Halloween party and they were sitting at the table. Some of the kids started calling a little girl, "Rylea Banana". Now, who knows where kids come up with these names..nobody was dressed as a banana, nobody was eating a banana...Anyway, I watched Becca to see if she would join in the name calling thinking I could use it as a teachable moment later on. She looked around at the kids saying it and said, "Stop it, stop it, don't call her that, she doesn't like it." Needless to say, I was very proud for her standing up for her friend. Now, I'm sure I can't expect the same all the time, but she did the right thing at least once. I will say, I don't worry about anybody pushing Becca around. This has been a long post so I will end with some pictures of my cuties.

Aren't they so cute?

Eyeing that cupcake