Happy Halloween!

Hey ho for Halloween
When the fairies all are seen;
Some black and some green,
Hey ho for Halloween!

 

We hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Halloween this year!

Love,

The Guerra Family

Pumpkin Patch Adventures

Every year Sybilla's daycare goes to a local pumpkin patch and every year, without fail, something has prevented me from going.  The first year I had a big meeting at work.  The next year was rained out.  Not this year!  I was taking the day off and we were going to go to the pumpkin patch!

Of course, Friday dawned gloomy and drizzly and our daycare lady called to tell us that she was cancelling the trip.  No way, I said.  We are going, RAIN OR SHINE!  Besides, it was only drizzling and intermittently at that.  We got to the patch just as it opened and already there were tons of kids.  The kids normally wear their costumes and things being financially tight this year, I put her in some stripey Halloween pants and her bat shirt from last year.  She however, decided to let her inner fashionista shine and added the skirt and boots all on her own!  I kid you not, scout's honor!

Billa in her get up. Add some wings and sparkly makeup and she'll be the cutest Halloween fairy ever!

"Mama! I run!"

We ran around the haybale maze several times and then went inside the main building for the "haunted house" and The Great Pumpkin.  It's all pretty tame since it's for little kids, but they love it nonetheless.

The Great Pumpkin, Jack. There's someone hidden behind a screen who will sing songs and talk to the kids as the pumpkin when people come into the room.

The "gross-ary" - like I said, it's pretty tame, but the kids love it any way!

Admiring all of the decor hanging from the ceiling. I swear, these people must have stockpiled Halloween decorations from the last thirty years...some of them are quite old!

Billa enjoyed riding on Daddy's shoulders to get a closer peek at the stuff hanging on the ceiling!

As we were leaving, daycare lady called and said they were going to come after all.  It was Billa's lucky day.  We ran around some more until her friends arrived and picture taking commenced.   The kids all ran around through the maze together, we revisited the haunted house and The Great Pumpkin, took more pictures, and finally ended our trip by picking pumpkins for the kids to take home.

Billa's class. She's the only girl. It explains a lot about my child's personality and behaviour!

Running through the maze with her buddies!

The perfect "puh-kin!"

Billa had a blast and I am happy to say that third time's the charm on this one.  I finally made it to the pumpkin patch!  Her outfit was such a success that I've decided we're going to skip the owl idea for another time and do a Halloween fairy instead.  I'll borrow some wings and do some cute makeup on her and we'll be good to go.

Halloween is my favorite holiday and I think it is quickly becoming Billa's favorite too.  Now every time Billa sees Halloween decorations, she now calls them "puh-kin patch!"  Even her little pumpkin that she brought home. I still haven't decided if we'll carve it or just leave it be.  Either way, this will be a Halloween to be remembered!

Cheers,
Kelly

A Little Bit of Crazy

Part of being sane, is being a little bit crazy. - Janet Long

The above was one of my quotes for the day and I laughed out loud when I read it.    The last couple of weeks have been a lot of crazy for me.  I'm hoping that makes me very sane, because right now, I sure don't feel that way.

I've had a sinus infection since the Sunday before last which has completely colored my world in every shade of green and yellow.  I haven't been this sick in a long time and it's really wearing me down.  My mornings are spent getting cereal and chocolate milk for Billa and then hacking up my lungs and clearing my sinuses of all the gunk that's collected there during the night.  I spent an entire week working from home because I felt so yucky and I had to bail on baking a birthday cake for a friend's son.  I thought I'd recovered enough, but I was just too worn down.  Earlier this week I thought I was getting better, but now I think it's turned into bronchitis or something similar.  My coughing at night has become so bad that I had to spend last night on the couch to keep from waking everyone up.  I can't speak half the time which is really frustrating.  Sometimes answering a question with a simple yes or no is even too much at times. 

I'm trying to remain upbeat about it all though.  I'm grateful I have a job that allows me to work from home, so I didn't have to miss any work, although in hindsight I probably should have taken a day off to rest.  Things financially have been terribly hard lately and by not going to work, I saved considerably on gas since I didn't have to go anywhere except daycare and back.  It also enabled me to get a bit of cleaning done around the house that desperately needed to be done.  That meant more time with Billa and Michael.  It also meant enjoying the view outside my window and being able to sit in my pajamas while orking.  That's always a plus, right?  I don't know about this one, but my pal Wendi says that all my coughing is giving me a workout and rock hard abs.  I'll give her the benefit of the doubt on that one, lol!

I'm hoping that this will all pass soon.  I'm ready to climb back in the saddle and have some sense of normality, whatever that looks like.  I'm taking the day off tomorrow to go to the pumpkin patch with Billa's daycare and I think spending the rest of the day lounging and doing nothing is just what the doctor ordered. 

Cheers,
Kelly

About a month or so ago, we were visiting my folks and we stayed so late that Boppa (my mom) gave Billa this shirt as a nightgown.  The shirt was one my dad would use for working around the house, so it's super soft and cuddly.  Billa LOVES her "blue shirt" and she looks so stinking cute in it!  I really love it when she spreads her arms and runs around...it looks like muumuu on her, lol.

How can anyone say 'no' to this?!

Cheers,
Kelly

The Writing on the Wall

Michael was helping me hang some pictures and things on the wall over the past weekend and we didn't realize how much Billa was watching us.  Oops!  Fortunately, it's just pencil, so it was easy to clean off.  I just hope she doesn't get the same idea with marker or crayons or I'm really in trouble!

Kelly

Nature Center Trip Recap!

Back in August, Billa's daycare provider took a day off and so I took one off too.  I decided that we would spend part of our day visiting the Nature Center here in town.  The weather was hot, but not super hot and since it was a Friday, there were very few visitors.  Billa insisted on wearing sandals which are not very conducive to hiking the trails, but we still enjoyed seeing all the animal exhibits and enjoying a very short mini hike to a scenic overlook.  Here are some of our pictures from the excursion.  Yes, they're almost six weeks overdue, but whatever.  One step at a time people, one step at a time!

Billa checking out the coyotes

Most of the animals were out since they were cleaning the cages and feeding.  Here's the bobcat! 

Billa really liked looking at the animals!

See?  Proof that my brother isn't the only one with a sick sense of humor in regards to pet names.  Snack (the cat) doesn't have to feel so bad now.  I don't think she'll ever be able to find personalized pencils with her name on them, though.

Billa insisted on bringing a book with her.  When we got to the scenic overlook we took a break and did some reading.

Needless to say, the Nature Center was a hit.  Billa loved being outdoors and seeing the animals, and I loved seeing her explore.  It certainly didn't hurt that the admission is FREE.  I highly recommend taking time to check it out!

Nanowrimo 2010!

Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit!  I just completed my registration for National Novel Writing Month and I AM PUMPED!!!

The actual event doesn't begin until November 1st, but I'm taking a page from the Boy Scouts and am going into it prepared.  Last year I practiced the art of "fly by the seat of thy pants", which turned out pretty well, at least in terms of actually finishing a novel.  Whether that novel was actually readable is another matter altogether.  To be honest, I finished it and never picked it up again.  It may not be that bad, but I'm too scared to even peek.  That's why this year I am practicing the art of "having a plan a, b, and possibly even c". 

I haven't really thought about what I am going to write about, but I have several plot ideas that I've been hording on my hard drive (my mother would be so proud) that I am going to look through.  One or two of them I actually started to map out earlier in the year before The Worst Summer Ever occurred.  Whatever plot I decide to choose, it has to be something that I don't mind thinking, eating, drinking, sleeping, and breathing over for 30 days.

Drama. Intrigue. Anticipation.  Long nights and early mornings.  Laughter, crazed or otherwise.  400+ cups of coffee or black tea.  Equity screams. 30 days.  50,000 words. One novel.

BRING IT.

Kelly

Back to "Normal"

Things have settled down a bit now!  We are officially moved into the new place and I love it, love it, love it!  Because  we're on the second floor, the surrounding trees add greenery and privacy to my every day view.  I used to be all about the nighttime, but I have officially fallen in love with mid-morning thanks to the way the sunlight filters through the foliage.  It faces the north, so I get amazing cross breezes blowing through.  And since the weather has cooled off, I haven't had the AC turned on AT ALL for the last week.  If only I had a second bedroom and some quieter neighbors upstairs, I'd stay here forever!

I have no finished unpacking all of the boxes yet though, and it may be some time before I do.  I'm trying to decide how I am going to decorate in some areas and until I figure that out, I can't unpack some of the boxes.  I also have to reorganize the bedroom closet.  We just started throwing stuff in there and I need to get it to a point where it's focused and less chaotic. But for the most part, everything is a notch above livable.

For my non-Central Texas compadres, fall has arrived!  The temps at night are in the 70's and it's barely risen above 80 during the daytime.  This is the time of year I love best here in the Hill Country - cool, but not too cold, and warm enough that you don't need to break out the winter gear.  It's just so darn comfortable.  And October is definitely my favorite month...let the countdown to Halloween begin!

This month has us going to several birthday parties, baking Halloween treats, going to the pumpkin patch with school, celebrating Uncle David's birthday, and of course, my personal favorite, trick or treating!  Stay tuned for more...Now that we're moved and mostly settled, I am going to start uploading pictures again.

Happy fall,
Kelly