Halloween 2008

I am having a horrible allergy attack, I guess from being outside trick or treating...so tonight's post is just enough to get the pictures from tonight out there. We have a fun, filled weekend planned, so I hope to have lots of pictures from Russell and Melissa's wedding.

Special Thanks to Jonathan and Sassy. They came by to trick or treat with us. Jonathan used my camera and took lots of great shots....that is why you might actually see me in a few pictures this time.

Halloween at the Office

Some of us here at our office enjoy dressing up for Halloween. It doesn't hurt that vacation time is up from grabs.

Her is Krystal with her Awesome impression of the Caddyshack Gopher. (click through links to see video)



Here is a slide show with the rest of us who dresses up.

Bedtime

I asked Christian if he wanted Archer to spend the night with him. He quickly said yes. I snapped these pictures before he changed his mind....Archer is a noisy sleeper.

New Word

Christian has learned a new word. "Stupid" He told me "You're stupid" yesterday. Lucky it didn't appear to be used in the correct context because I really don't think I was doing anything "stupid" at the time. He said it while we were playing in his room. So that means he really isn't sure what the word means. But I had to quickly think about how to deal with this. I got a very serious (but not mad) face and said "That's not a nice word, we don't call people that."

Then later after Chris was home he said it again, so he heard it too. Then we did our best tag team parenting and both got the serious face and again told him we don't say that word and we don't call people that...then we used the big "T" word...We said that word would get him in timeout. That put an end to the word for the night.

Now I know this isn't the worst word he will ever say, but I don't want him getting into the habit of using this word.

After I had time to think about it, this entire situation reminded me of the first bad word Stacy (aka Aunt Sassy) said. I happen to be present when she said hers and I think she was about the same age. Her word was a little worse and I won't type it out here, but it was a similar situation. She was chasing after me and a friend and she called this friend of mine a bad word. My friend and I both stopped in out tracks and thought...OOOOOO she is in trouble, because that is a BAD word, because we were about 11 years old and we knew we would get in trouble if we said it.

Then we heard Sheri say from the living room say "Stacy Renee, what did you just say?!?!?" Then she knew she was in trouble.

There is nothing like having a child in your life to make you pay more attention to your words and how you use them. So watch out...little eyes watch and little ears hear...and repeat.

What a weekend.

Man was it a busy weekend! FUN, but busy. So much to blog about. I will start at the beginning and see how far I can get! Luckily I took some pictures.

First things first. Aunt Debbie finally was able to meet Archer. They bonded over their love of UT and each other.



Aunt Debbie, Uncle Jack, Abigail and Emilie all came to town to see Archer's dedication...oh yeah and A UT FOOTBALL GAME. Hook 'em!!! Way to go horns!

Jack and Debbie went to the game while the girls stayed at the house with Us, Memaw & Dodaddy. There were lots of games of "I'm gonna get you!" with Abby and Christian. There were lots of movies. 101 Dalmatians, Little Mermaid...
Everyone was dressed in their finest burnt orange to cheer on Texas. I'm sure that is why they won!

When Christian work up Sunday morning he was chanting " Go Texas!". He grab some marachas and started shaking them saying "Go Texas!"..then gave one to Chris and said "Shake it Daddy! Go Texas, Daddy! Where's Texas Daddy?!" Uncle Jack gave all the kids Longhorn stickers to wear too. They loved them.

Chris and I left the kids with Memaw and Dodaddy and headed off to Cory and Jordan's wedding. It was at this amazing place on the river.



It was beautiful ceremony right on the river. We ran into some of Chris' friends from Kingwood...Chris and Amber, Darrin and Denise. We all had a great time visiting. Cory and Jordan had a great band called the Gourds play their wedding. And to quote Cory (the groom) the reception was "BAD A$$". We all had a great time. We both have sore feet from tapping out feet to the music and dancing..yes we even danced....and if you know Chris well...you know he really must have liked the band.
It was a long night for us, but so worth being able to hang out with old friends for Chris and new friends for me!

Sunday was just as busy as Saturday. We had Archer and Lily's dedication at church, then everyone came over for a BBQ lunch.


It was a special day for both our families. Presenting out littlest ones to God. Pastor Wyles always gives the best speeches at this time. I looked at him while was talking about what a special gift we have been given as parents and what an important job we have. As I held my youngest son and looked at my oldest, I know this will be my most important job ever! This was a special day for Grama Nita too. Lily is her 11th great-grand child and Archer makes an even dozen.

After lunch we were lucky that everyone at our house had a chance to take a nice nap. Christian was the only one that protested on taking a nap, but his was much needed too.

Well that is our weekend wrap up. Now off to get ready for an equally busy Halloween week. And another wedding this weekend....

Memaw

Memaw was here with us this week. She came to spend a week taking care of Archer. They had lots of fun. They went for walks and spent lots of quality time together. WE LOVE YOU MEMAW!!!!!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we went out to the local pumpkin patch. Christian had a great time picking out pumpkings for each of us.


I had a little fun today playing with my camera lense.

An Austin Institution

Dirty Martin's Kum Bak Place is an Austin Institution....and one that my husband had never been to. He has lived here for 9 years and has never been. Well we corrected that Friday night.

From Dirty's

Christian just had to wear his "yeehaw" hat to Dirty's.

From Dirty's

From Dirty's

I had a cheese burger and onion rings...a Classic! It was yummy.

Chris had a chilicheese burger, he said it was good too.

Pop would be proud that we were carrying on an Austin tradition, burgers at Dirty's.

Crazy day and Peaceful Night (I hope)

Well today was my official last day off from work for maternity leave and boy was it a crazy one. First off, Christian's daycare was off today so I had both boys at home. This isn't so bad, but takes some getting used to. Christian has been coughing more and more. We really noticed it last night while he slept. Also, this morning when I woke him up he felt warm, not hot, just warm. I took his temp and he had a 99.0 temp, not a fever techinically, but still not the norm.

Then Archer seemed to have a stuffy nose too. I took him temp and it was 99.5.

So I call the Dr. office to see if we need to start giving Christian 2 treatments a day. The Dr. hasn't seen him since June so they tell us to come in. I call again about Archer and the Dr. says she can see both of them.

Since Christian wasn't feeling well, this meant lots of his favorite shows and movies during the day. Then when he went down for nap, he coughed the entire time.

As soon as we got to the Dr. office and she listened to his chest, she said he needed the fast acting meds. Hmm, glad I came in. So we are back to 2 treatments a day and now Christian gets to stay home with Daddy tomorrow.

Having to take both boys into the Dr. was quite a chore for me. I had my handsful to say the least.

Archer also has a cold. We are supposed to keep an eye on his temp and anything over 102 means a trip to the ER. OH FUN! Our favorite place. The Dr. called Archer's cold the 2nd child syndrom...meaning big brother brought home the cold from school.

I am hoping of a peaceful night because tomorrow is my 1st day back to work and Chris 1st day to stay home alone. He will have both boys too...that should be fun.
But because he stays home, that means he takes the night shift...which should mean a peaceful night for Mommy!!!

Keeping the balance

As my friend Deena is good to remind me, you can't do one thing for one son and not do something similar for the other son. Well today Archer had his 1st portrait session. Here are the results. Pretty cute!

Bits and pieces from this weekend and week

Apparently we have an owl in our house...take a look.

From Owl in the house video

(Click this to go directly to the video)

This week we put up some Halloween decorations. Christian was a big helper with everything, but the string. We also walked to the park on Saturday morning and have some fun on the swings.

National Night Out

Last night our little street had a National Night Out Block Party. It was lots of fun getting to know our neighbors better (as well as we could holding and feeding an infant and chasing after a 2 year old). Our neighbor Anissa does a wonderful job coordinating our Tyhurst Block Parties. Not that she doesn't have her hands full with 3 active boys. She is so good, she even turned in a special request and an Austin Fire truck stopped by the party. Can you tell the kids enjoyed that!?!?!?

Budget

I have been thinking for a while about writing a post about the Budget. With all the news today on the financial crisis the US is in, it seems like the perfect time. When the news analysts are saying you have to cut back and take responsiblity for your actions and your spending, they always go to the "create a budget and live by it" line. Oprah did a show today on being Thrifty. She had the thriftiest family in America on helping out a family that was in crisis. Very interesting stuff.

Now, if you chat with me much or know my husband well, you have heard about the Budget. The Budget is a separate entity in our house, ever watchful, ever present. Whenever I ask about buying something the response I get is "Let me check the Budget". So when I hear on the news gloom and doom, I take pride in the Wenck Family Budget and I give all the credit to the Man I Married almost 5 years ago. Oh yes, you read that right...I give him ALL the credit.

It all starts with a Feasablity Budget. This is done annually, around the end of the year (after we know if we will be getting raises for that year). This budget takes all our income and all our expenses and makes sure we are only spending or saving what we make. I also like to refer to this as the negotiation period. Chris wants to cut and I want to spend/save, so we take to bargaining. We also take everything we can think of into account. Pet expense, eating out, personal allowance $ (this goes for me, chris and each of the boys, yes the 7 week old has a budget too). We plan for gifts thru out the year...pretty much, you name it, we plan for it. Now of course something get missed, but that is to be expected.

Once the terms are agreed on Chris sets up the 365 day cash flow budget..oh yes, you read that right too, 365 DAY!! This shows all $$ coming in and all $$ that is expected to go out. Another key to the Budget is automatic bill paying and automatic spending. The majority of our household expenses are set up on an automatic payment systems. All of our savings is automated too. We save for property taxes, insurance, long-term household repairs, car repairs...you get the idea. ING is wonderful for this because ING allows me to set up numerous accounts....that is a dream set up for a nerdy accountant type like myself. Each savings catergory has its own account.

Another one of our tricks is to use our solo credit card to our advantage. We have a rewards plan that pays us cash back once a year. In years past we have received over $800. The Budget likes that!!!

So, what are the results of our Budget.

• we don't have a car payment,
• we only have 1 credit card that doesn't carry a large balance,
• we save up and pay cash for something or we don't get it
• we don't lose sleep at night wondering if our house will be foreclosed on
• we don't worry about paying off our multiple credit card bills

Now we didn't get to this point alone. At one time we both had credit card debt and we also had student loans. Through some fortunate situations we were able to pay all those off early in our marriage.

And if you wonder if we are raising our children in the Budget Doctrine, just look at this picture

From seton shower

I am the "Budget", and I approved this message. (editor's note: Chris wrote this line)

My words coming back at me

There are several phrases that have been said by Chris and I that have found new life in our house:

1) There, is that better?
2) Ok (this comes after almost everything)..."Chocolate milk, ok." "No, bath, read books, ok."
3) That's enough!
4) Goodness Gracious
5) Eat what's on your plate
6) Yeah
7) This is the right foot

These are Christian's favorite phrases on the week and month. It is funny to hear your words repeated back to you. You don't realize how often you say something until a 2 years repeats it to you numerous times a day.

Sling Thing Part II

I wore my sling again today. This time in Big Lots! and then again to HEB. In Big Lots, the aisle are so small it is hard to get around. At one almost run in with another cart another women politely smiled at me and then saw my sling and gave a loud "AAAwwww", as if to say, oh how cute, there is a baby in there. It was funny, because she didn't say anything else to me, just "AAwww."

Then it was on to HEB again, it seems like I always forget something from the last trip, forcing another trip...and I live in a house full of monkey it seems...Bananas don't stand a chance in my house. So there I was at HEB again with my sling. This time I see lots of Moms with babies, in those quilted cart protectors and baby carries. Archer isn't big enough to hold himself up yet, to those cart protector covers are out.

On the juice aisle a man was moving his cart to stock the shelves and I just happened to be standing exactly where he needed to be. After I noticed that I was the reason he was waiting I apologize. He said no problem...and can I ask you where you got your thing you are holding your baby in. We then have about a 2 minute conversation about slings and where to purchase one. I suggested a resale shop because they are much cheaper there and a better investment if you decide you really don't like the sling thing.

I moved on to the rest of my shopping. Then is comes time for me to check out. As I am putting all my items on the belt the woman behind me asks how old my baby is, she also says he is cute...and even mentions "well his little head looks cute, because that is all I can see". She tells me she never used a sling or carrier because she never found one that she thought felt safe. I show her how this sling works and we chat for a few more seconds.

I think it is really funny how many people comment on the sling...oh well...everyone is nice that does.

Sling Thing

I recently said I didn't think I was a "Sling Momma". Ya know the type. The Moms that cruise around the shops wearing their babies with their hands free. Kind of like my neighbor of 3 boys across the street. She is an amazing Sling Momma. She is a pro and has used it with all of her sons. She was even the one that told me about the particular sling I ended up with. (not to slight her husband...he is a great Sling Daddy too)

I tried to use the sling a few time unsuccessfully with Christian. I just never got the hang of it. So it sat there in his closet collecting dust until Archer came along. This time I thought I would give the Baby Bjorn a try. My plan was to sell my sling at the resale shop and then use the money to buy a used Baby Bjorn. Well today I took my sling in to sell. They turned it down!! I was very surprised since I have barely touched the thing. Their reason was because it had some marks on it...mainly from sitting around in the closet collecting dust and then sitting in the back of the car waiting for me to get it to the resale shop.

I was a little peeved to be honest...not taking my sling..the nerve. Well it is really my own fault for not looking at it closer before I took it in.

After my rejection at the resale shop I thought, what the heck??!! I will give this sling another shot. This time it wasn't a practice run around the house. It was a full on trip to HEB.

IT WAS GREAT!!! I remembered just enough of how to place the baby in the sling and Archer didn't complain. On a recent shopping trip to HEB I noticed many parents (Moms and Dads) wearing their kids. They came in all types...some slings, some baby bjorns, some other ones I don't know the name of.....I thought WOW, that seems so much easier than hauling around the heavy baby carrier.

Today I was one of those Moms and happily so. I even had a 5 minute conversation with a former Sling Momma in the frozen foods aisle. She told me all about how she loved her sling with her two daughters. She even suggested another type of carrier when they get bigger. With this one she mentioned, you can carry your child on your hip or piggy back. She also preached the benefit of the sling and said it keeps people from touching your baby when you may not what them too. She said she once had a checker at Wal-mart come around from the other side of the register and "grope" her baby (her words, not mine).

Archer did start to wiggle some at the end of our shopping trip, but all and all it went really well. So I will give this sling another try.

Signed,
Second Chance Sling Momma

Dancing with the Stars here we come

If you click thru the pics fast enough, he looks like he is dancing.

"Smile and the whole world smiles with you"

Can you tell who is who?

I will admit they are looking more and more a like.

Keep in mind I'm not Steven Spielberg

pirate movie

(click on this picture to take you to picasa, this is a video..keep clicking until it plays)

Arrggg Matey...this here is a dress rehearsal for our halloween this year...shiver me timbers he makes a good pirate.