Just some pics

AARGH

So I just want to preface this by saying I LOVE MY DAUGHTER, but sometimes I want to strangle her!!!  She is getting to that stage where the questions start coming.  And ALL THE LIVE LONG DAY I hear "what are you doing?"  Tonight Roxy and I were making sugar cookies and rolling them out and using cookie cutters and ever half step I made "what are you doing?" "what are you doing"  And I try to be a good mommy and I answer her almost everytime.  But sometimes I just want her to stop talking.  Remember a few months ago when I was so excited that she was starting to put together sentences.  Well I'm no longer excited.

ANIMAL ADVENTURE

When we had some family in town this week, we went over to the Armand Bayou WildLife Park.  This is a 86 acres animal park.  It has rhinos, lemur, goats, zebras, buffalo, giraffe, deer, ostrich, emu, all kinds of wild animals and they take you on a tram through the habitat and you get to feed the animals.  Rich and step-dad love this place, they have both been three times.  Unfortunately for me, Roxy loves it too.  (It does not smell very good in there)

Here are Roxy and Roscoe feeding the camels

How often do you get to pet a water buffalo

Hook'em Horns

That Ostrich got out bucket

How pretty

Roxy loved feeding the animals and had a great time. Check out our http://youtube.com/hammfamily to see the kids feeding the wild life.

pumpkin Patch

We went to local church to pick out our pumpkins

this year and had a pretty good time.  It it no Bishops 

Pumpkin farm, but the kids enjoyed looking at all the 

pumpkins.  Roxy was very proud of herself when she 

finally found one she could lift.

Roxy liked playing the drums on the pumpkins.

It was impossible to get a picture of the two of them 

looking at the camera at the same time

AAHHHH

So today when I was grocery shopping with the fam, there in the freezer section was the thing I look forward to all year, the thing that lets me know christmas is around the corner.  Peppermint ice cream.  This is by far my favorite ice cream and just tasting it lets me know I need to start getting my shopping done and thinking about cards to send and fun activities to do with the kids this year.  Just wanted to let everyone know that Christmas is officially here!!!

A Bobbing good time

On Monday my friend Babbi, had a little get together at her house to make halloween cookies with all of our kids.  So we went and the kids got dressed up and we had so much fun.  We were going to make carmel apples that night as well,  BUT I forgot the carmel was on the stove and burnt it.  So Babbi suggested that we bob for apple with the apples we were going to use.  I honestly thought it was not a great idea because I did not think that two year olds would bob for apples.  Man was I was wrong.  They had the best time.  Roxy actually stuck her face in there and really tried to get that apple.  There is a video on http://youtube.com/hammfamily  if you are interested, but you should totally check it out.  I was so proud of her.

He can crawl

So roscoe has been crawling for about 6-8 weeks BUT he has only been able to move backwards.  Well ladies and gentlemen the kid can move forwards!!!!!  Yesterday during daycare he started making a move for another kids lunch and moved forward 2 crawls.  Then when daddy got home Roxy was eating a cupcake and left it on the floor, and Boulder made 3 crawls toward the cup cake.  So Rich got a video this morning of him crawling towards some Puffs (baby cheetohs).  Now do you sense a pattern here.  Food.  Next we will work on him crawling with no food involved.  Wish us luck.

Liar Liar pants on Fire

So it has happened.  Roxy has started telling lies.  Oh it used to be little cute things like when we were mad at her or sending her to timeout she would say "ouchie" so that we would kiss her and not be mad anymore.   But now she is taking it a step further.  We are trying to get in the habit of sitting as a family for dinner and eating together.  Well yesterday she was done and wanted to get down, but she had not eaten anything and Rich and I were not done so we told her no.  She starts crying and saying "done, done, done"  and making the sign language sign for finished.  We don't let her down and then she says "poop" to get us to get her down and go change her.  She was not poopy she just wanted down.  Shysty charachter.   How do they know to manipulate and tell fibs this earlier.  Is it innate or when I say the backyard is broken because I think it is too hot to go, does she understand that mommy is lying.  What do you think?

Home Owners Beware

So as you get older and get your first real job and get married and have kids you dream of owning your first home.  Well ladies and gents it is not all that its cracked up to be.   Rich and I bought our first home almost two years ago and love it.  We also got a home warranty for the first twelve months that we were there.  But that is the thing with warranties right, you have just long enough that as soon as they expire is when things go wrong.  Like car warranties.  Your car should not break down the first few years you own it, right.  But good luck finding a warranty for the miles between 50,000-150,000.  So in the past year (since the warranty expired) we have had to replace our air conditioner (7,000), replace our fridge (700), rewire two light sockets (father in law did that one), fix a toilet that I am still not sure what was wrong with it (father in law did that one two), replace the faucets in the guest bathroom because they were leaking (My handy husband did that one) and now we had to fix the hot water heater.  Where are the good old days of landlords who had to fix everything for me and it did not cost me a dime.  Sometimes I wish we weren't responsible adults with a mortgage and building equity (still not quite sure what that is).  I miss my carefree days of not worrying about insurance, bills, and property taxes.  

I hate life

Roscoe has another tooth coming in.

Swingers

My kids could stay in their swings all day long.   When we were cleaning up from the hurricane we would put the kids in the swings so that we could watch them but them not be in the way.  I love to watch the two of them and see how much fun they have and that nothing I do on the swing can scare them.  no matter how high, fast, twisty or backwards I push they have no fear and complete trust in me that they are going to be fine.  ah to be a kid again.

Here comes Halloween

The Holiday season is upon once again.  yes, for me the holidays start with Halloween, my favorite time of the year.  Ever since I was little my family has always been the halloween house. We would go to Bishops pumpkin farm and get our pumpkins (I was able to take Roxy there last Halloween)  My mom would make home made rootbeer and cinnamon rolls, all kinds of goodies.  We would decorate and all the kids would go trick or treating in our neighborhoods.  As we got older there was less trick or treating but the parties kept getting bigger and more elaborate, with themes!!!  My little brothers would make a haunted house with their school buddies and everyone form the neighborhood would come and go through the house.  One year I got to be the girl screaming bloody murder!  I was quite good.

The root beer and cinnamon rolls never change but the themes do.  One year we were disney Princesses (I was Arial). One year we did Snow White and my six sisters and I were the seven dwarfs and my mom was snow white and my dad was prince charming.  One year we did christmas and went all out.  Christmas lights, flocking, we dresses up in old time carolers outfits and my parents were Santa and Mrs Claus.

So understandably this is my favorite time of year.  Not just because of the great child and adult hood memories, but it really is the best time of year.  Let me tell you why:

-It is the perfect weather.  It is cool in the day and cooler at night.

-Candy

-School is back in full swing and kids are in routine again.

-Candy

-It is before the "real" holiday season so no is too busy and they haven't started stressing out yet. 

-Candy 

-You get to have fun and wear silly things.

-Candy

-The colors of fall are the most flattering to my skin tone.

-and yes maam I LOVE candy and can eat it all month long and not feel guilty (kind of).

Emily and jeff

Hey Jeff and emily,  I am not sure how else to get ahold of you but our email address is hamms2002@yahoo.com.