Halloween happenings

We have been a costume partying, parading, pumkin carving family!

Enjoy!

Long Day.......

I'm not sure if it is the middle child thing.....but man this girl is giving me a run for my money....

Twice this week we have had issues with behavior......at preschool and then at the gym...

Apparently at school she was mad that the kindergarten boys would not let her play football....so she spit at them....and then at the gym she went after Aly.  She scratched her face, they say it was unprovoked but I don't know if I buy that.  Aly is pretty darn good about pushing her buttons.

We talked at dinner about good and bad behavior - honestly a conversation we have almost EVERY day.

She will be three next Saturday....oh I sooo hope this is a phase

A little sleep goes a long way.....

Jackson is making progress....I am not sure if it is the solid foods or the lack of daytime sleep but he is FINALLY going longer stretches at night.

For the most part I pulled his morning nap.  Since he comes with me to the gym, when I work or workout he is not sleeping then.  The other mornings I seem to have more than enough errands to keep us busy while the girls are in school.  If he falls asleep while on the go that is fine but I am not longer putting him down for a nap.

Jackson learned that the dogs love him, especially when he is done eating.  He is playing with his rival in the weight department....Moose.

Tonight we start the first of several Halloween parties....let the SUGAR begin!

You can take the boy out of the midwest.....but you can take the midwest out of the boy

These are old pictures.....I think when Ryan came back from one of his trips this summer.

Its amazing sometimes that we are married....it is a long standing joke that for someone as smart as Ryan (he is really smart and he doesn't read this which is another post in itself) he can just says things that make you want to go..... REALLY did you just say that.

Tonight was one of those nights.....Ryan wanted meat - like the midwest meat - pulled pork, ribs, you name it.

I don't do beef or midwest meat, we agreed a long time ago that I cook 99% of the meals at our house so I pick the menu.  So when he wants it we go out. 

 So off we went on a Friday night with the kids in search of a good steakhouse.  We were loading the car and he says - if they wear there jackets they won't fit in the car seats. Huh?  Are you kidding me?  ADJUST the straps.....its cold here.  Well nothing compares to Iowa cold...I agree that it gets cold there but seriously our kids need jackets here too.

I respond...people are not going to think your smart when I post that story on my blog.  He laughs and says I will have to pay him to use his thoughts...oh man is he on a roll

We find a place that will fulfill his burning desire for meat.....Chili, then ribs and then pulled pork, with mashed potatoes and garlic bread as sides.  After all he tells me - it takes work to look this good.

Thankful Thursday

Thankful that I got 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night - Go Jack!  We are busy getting ready for Fall!

Ryan weighed him tonight and he was a whopping 21.5 lbs. 

I spent the afternoon peeling apples, to make and freeze applesauce and cinnamon apples for the winter.  Sadly, I forgot who I was married too and it disappeared at dinner...well most of it. 

A little sneak peak of whats to come.....

Hayrides and Pumpkins

This morning Jackson and I chaperoned the preschool trip to Merrymead Farm.  The kids did a corn maze, hayride and picked pumpkins.  There were about 50 3,4,and 5 year olds.  The kids had a blast. 

Brianna came into the kitchen telling me she could not get this "stuff"  off of her hands....it was bike grease...

Turns out she told me she was "pedaling my bike" for me....

Fall

I love Fall in New England.  I really miss being here.  When we left PA on Friday am it had been in the 70s all week.  I still have not put away all of our summer clothes.  Wow - what a different in temperature. 

When I ran in CT this morning, it was in pants and two layers of shirts - it was COLD!!!  We headed to NH early this morning and checked out the apples and pumpkins.

I was sad that there were no Macs left on the trees, so we only picked a few and then bought a bunch to take back home.

Check out this guy!  The kids loved him

Check out our newest addition

This afternoon, I took all three kids to REI to get a bike trainer.....yep that was fun in the pouring rain.  I am super excited to ride indoors all winter, especially during naptime. 

When we got home, I put Jackson and Brianna down and the Aly and I set it up.  It was easy and before long I was off.  The funny thing about this room, it has sat empty since we moved in here.  Ryan calls it a waste of space....well no longer ( I think I might be able to fit a treadmill too ;))). 

Too bad that the TV doesn't work.  We hadn't used it since we moved a year ago and when I tried to today there is no picture.  Aly thought it was great that I was riding my bike in the house.  She kept bringing me water - it was soo cute.

Well we are off to CT, MA, and NH tomorrow for a whirlwind trip.

Home Sweet Home

And proof that the newest member of our family is seriously not STARVING!

We arrived home yesterday.....tired but glad to be home.  Jackson is KILLING me....seriously people keep telling me is is because he is a boy, but the kid will not go longer than 3 hours without eating.  We are approaching 5 LONG months of serious sleep deprivation.  I don't know what to do.....we did start solids so we will see but he needs to start sleeping more!

Madrid

It has been good and it has been bad........

The bad...our camera is MIA...BooHoo..more so that I did not back up the 3000 pictures I have taken since Jan of this year.  I know, my bad but I am still sad.  Somewhere between the airport and the cab ride (which was a complete CLUSTER &%^#) it went missing.  I should have known....3 kids, 4 bags, 5 carry ons and 3 taxi drivers that insisted they knew where they were going.

We literally were lost in Madrid for at least an hour before our arrival to the condo......and then they wanted cab fare for that hour.....hmmmmm.

The good...we took the tour Madrid bus all around town.  We have used our Spanish and the kids are still having a blast.  Great food, we ate the BEST indian tonight.  Great fun...they ran their hearts content in the Plaza Mayor this afternoon. 

Tomorrow is our last day...we plan to do a little sightseeing and then head in early.  We have not been eating dinner until 9 or 10 and everyone has just kind of adjusted.....even Jack...although nursing has been a challenge through all the time changes....

We booked a shuttle for the return trip home!

See you on the other side...

Madrid Bound......

Can you tell we are having no FUN.....these are some of the pictures from the disco...

The girls have learned a few Spanish dances the past week and have had a great time dancing at night.

This morning we seemed to be water logged....so we headed to the Kids Club here.  It is common when people come on holiday to drop their kids here at the Kids Club for the day.

They have a huge indoor play structure and the kids painted shirts.  We headed down to the beach before lunch since they decided that they had not been swimming in forever.  I swam my last laps across the little inlet.

I love this picture of Jackson....totally exploring the sand

Teguise

Do you see the mountains in the background....if you click the picture might get bigger...it depends on how blogger uploaded it.  

Today we headed to Teguise to the market.  Once a week on Sunday they have the largest market in Lanzarote, where people can get everything they need for the week. 

In order to get there we took a bus....yep Lanzarote is not so flat.  The entire time we were driving away from the coast up and up and up.  All I could think about was the Ironman that is here is May.  People ride this on a bike....it was hot, really hot, and the wind as you go inland seems to disappear.  Good thing I was in the air conditioned bus :)

The market was good, soo crowded.  However, it was not like America.  People were not pushing, or shoving, you were paranoid that your kid was going to get knocked over.  The Spanish love babies....yep we brought Jack in the Bjorn...he fell asleep soon after our arrival and slept the whole time we were there.  Man 20lbs on your front in the heat was hard. 

I love Europe....and we have been a lot of places.....this might come close to my favorite.  Sienna Italy still probably takes the cake.  I remember walking with Ryan down the cobblestone streets there and saying ....if you get relocated here I would say yes....it is just a different way of life.  The immediate nature to go go go and get things done just is not here. 

I love this picture of my dad and Brianna, it is like he is telling her - you got the world in front of you kid....

Soooo we head to Madrid in two days.  I will be sad to leave the island, the people have been great and we have just had a really nice time.   This is our pool off the back...it is the only "sweet" water pool here, the other two are salt water.  Our kids pretty much had it to themselves, which they thought was grand.  In the afternoons I would take Aly and swim laps while the little ones napped.

Tidbits

Isn't this the life???  I nursed Jackson this morning before I went out for a run.  My mom stayed with him under the umbrella and this was how I found him when I returned.  Nothing like passing out from the milk coma. 

The outdoor bar has ice cream....all day! 

The girls have made quite a few friends here.  Everyone is so suprised that they are here from America...Most of the visitors are from the UK, Scotland and Spain.  We have yet to meet another American family,  I am sure we might see some in Madrid.  While it is their quiet season here at the resort, there are still quite a few families with smaller children. 

It makes me a little sad that this is our last year of "free" traveling.  Most people look forward to their kids going to school, and next year Aly will be in kindergarten.  So this is officially our last year of not being bound by a school schedule. 

Tomorrow we head to the Teguise Market.  The largest market here in Lanzarote.  Let the shopping begin!

Spain does it right...

So this is the walkway along the coast....it is soo pretty.  Check out what they have....exercise equipment.  It was super cool.  This is about 1/2 mile from out hotel.  My dad and I found it while running one afternoon.  We have yet to see how far it goes as we have only gone out and back, but this morning we took the kids there.

This is what the other side looks like...the coast is really rocky...dark lava rocks.

Future runner???  These were at the playground...it was like they were saying don't be lazy while you watch your kids play.

• And the playgrounds.....they are everywhere.  Across the sidewalk from the cafes, along the walkways.  We played on at least two or three different ones while we were on our way.  It has been great for the kids and for our sanity!