Our Favorite Time To Play

Our favorite time to play lately is definitely dusk... we get home and unpack our days' lunches, purses, toys, get out of any uncomfy clothes we've been wearing, and then we inevitably start to hear the kids outside pushing toys around, and our new neighbors (who we've become fast friends with lately) son is outside our window screeching in his playful little boy laugh and yelling "Ee-yana? Ee-yana?" That's how we know it's time to go out and play.

It's wonderful when the sun starts to set, the days' heat starts to settle down, and the temperature is just right for running and dancing... And, while the bugs are out, we rarely notice due to the mad infestation of white spiders with creepy black stripes on their legs that has inhabited our porch. This is not my first choice of bug repellant, but we keep trying to get rid of the suckers and they just procreate more. We vacuumed them, then we squished them, and now, I think I'm starting to accept them since I don't know what else to do. I suppose if there comes a point that I can't walk outside without having one land on me, something will have to be done for good. Here are some of the latest photos of the Bend from one of our wonderful summer dusk evenings:

 

Dancing in the dusk...

 

This is her "pose" haha

Smooches for Momma :o)

Sometimes I feel like I just couldn't be any luckier... <3 xo

Catching Up! Halloween 2009 :)

I am so far behind on blogging right now it's not even funny!

With all of the Christmas shopping, decorating, visiting, partying, and general merry-making I just haven't had a lot of extra time lately, and to be frank, I haven't really been in the writing mode... I absolutely love the holiday season and I have really been enjoying it and putting some energy into it this year. Being able to combine my new hobby- couponing and deal seeking- with the holiday preparations like SHOPPING and cooking is so much fun! Plus, what little extra bits of time I have found here and there have been totally eaten up by trying to keep my house clean- (HA! yeah right, every time I clean up one mess another one sprouts in a different location, it seems) and spending quality time with my amazing little Ruggle. But I am really trying to get back into the swing of things now and my goal is to be all caught up with major event posts (ie, Halloween, Thanksgiving, tree decorating, and Christmas itself) by New Years.

So, without further adieu, here are the photos from Halloween this year! Bendy wanted to go as a bumblebee at first, but we agreed on a spider costume, since her two middle names mean "spider fairy" :) That is a long story in itself, which I'm not sure if I've told on here or not, but will have to wait for another day if not.

Later, as we were explaining to her the meaning of her names, she decided she actually wanted to go as a spider fairy! I told her she could wear her light-up wings and bring her wand, and she'd be the only little spider fairy trick-or-treating in town... So she started off as a spider fairy, in the beginning of the night:

At home just after getting dressed!

Full look at the costume. I am absolutely in LOVE with Old Navy's Halloween costumes. They are made of fleece, so they're nice and warm- awesome for those of us in climates where snow on Halloween is really possible- are very reasonably priced, and super cute to boot. See the little baby spider sticking out of her pocket?

Before we even left our house, though, she had shed the wings and wand. Which was fine by me- fewer questions about what she was going as meant less explanation, which meant? More. CANDY! ;) Oh and also less for her to carry, which turned out to be a very good thing.

We started out our trick or treating at the Powerhouse Mall. We did the same last year because they start their trick-or-treat earlier than most of the other places in our area, and it's also nice because it's sort of small (each store has a couple of employees sitting out front handing out candy)... So it's a good place for the kiddos to get a feel for how the whole trick-or-treat deal works, in case they don't remember, it doesn't take a long time to get through, and is inside, so if there is questionable weather, which there was this year (we ended up finishing trick or treat in a drizzle) you don't have to worry about it!

Here are some pics from the Powerhouse:


In the parking lot with Daddio waiting to go in...

One of her first stops in the mall! She wasn't sure if she wanted to grab that candy or not... But after a couple minutes, she really started getting the hang of it :)

Walking through the mall holding Daddy's hand.

She kept on grabbing Dum-Dums out of every basket in the mall... I was trying to hint to her to grab the Reese's and Snickers, but she loves lollipops so much she wasn't listening... Kind of stinks cuz Dum-Dums cost what, like a buck a bag or something?! lol... I would have happily bought her a bag of Dum-Dums to trade for a bag full of Reese's, Snickers and Starburst ;) Although in a way I'm glad she went for the lollipops, then I wasn't as tempted by her stuff, and my thighs don't need more chocolate! lol

While we were at the Powerhouse, we ran into one of her friends from daycare, whose Mom also happens to be a coworker and friend of mine. I wasn't too surprised, because she's the one who tipped me off to start at the Powerhouse, so I knew she'd be heading there too at some point! Here's Illy bug and her friend, "M" posing for the other camera! I couldn't manage to get one with the both of them looking at me and smiling, so this was the best shot I could find:


And this was the other one I tried getting before they ran away, but I was just a second too late, Illy was already done posing and pointing in another direction... At some candy? I think. lol.

Then it was time to head back home to Enfield and do our town's trick or treat. We went out with our neighbors and their kids, "K" and "B", who were dressed up as a princess and a cowboy. The pictures of the three of them together are just precious:

Hmm.. Take 1: B's hat is missing, Illy is zoning out and playing with her face... Nobody is looking.

Take 2: B's hat is on, but I got his Dad's hands in the pic! Only Illy is looking. Let's try this one last time...

Take 3: Cheese! I think this is the best of the three... I think? lol. B has his hands on his face... Illy is looking up but not at the camera. But K has a great big smile and everyone's costume is on and complete. I call that a win :)

We thought the rain might just miss us, because as we were getting ready to go, it seemed like it was holding off, but as soon as we started walking down our road, the drizzle began. Luckily for us, it was pretty warm out, and the rain stayed at a light drizzle all night, so we were able to finish our trick or treating comfortably, with some minor adjustments:

This was the "cumbrella" (as she called it) that Illy carried around all night. It's K's, but they were nice enough to let us borrow it because we don't have one (whoops!). Even when it would stop drizzling for a while, she needed to have it. To be carrying it at ALL times when she wasn't gathering candy. Definitely prolonged the trick or treating a bit! lol.

Ilyana also made up a little ditty to sing as we walked in between all the houses, and soon all three kids (okay, okay, me and Will too!) were singing it: "We're on our way to trick or treat, trick or treat, trick or treat, we're on our way to trick or treat..." It was so cute listening to them sing and being so excited about the night! I think it made Illy feel pretty cool too, that she made up a song that K was singing, since she looks up to K as the bigger girl. :)

So we walked around a couple of neighborhoods in our area, gathered a good amount of sugar booty, and then headed down to the Fire Station. They were giving out candy and cider and doing some crafts with the kids... But the coolest reason we were headed down there had nothing to do with the events that they were holding for everyone... We went down there for THIS, in particular:



The pictures aren't great (I was trying to take them through a rainy windshield in the dark... gimme a break! lol) but they are of Illy and B sitting in the firetruck! Yes, our neighbors happen to know one of the firemen, and he was nice enough to let our little pumpkins sit in the big red seat and pretend they were driving! They loved it, and it was the perfect topper to a wonderful Halloween night.

We had a blast this year- it was so much fun watching the girl get the hang of trick or treating and actually understand it fully- she was really too young last year to totally grasp what was going on. Even with the drizzle, it was a great night out in warm weather with friends and my wonderful family, and it won't soon be forgotten. :)

Challenge to Kick-Start My Bloggy Blues :)

I went to visit Angela over at This Woman's Beautiful Life (click it, you won't be sorry! She takes AMAZING photos. And I'm reading her book right now, which is also fantastic!) and saw that she was doing this challenge- The One Word Challenge put on by the Shutter Sisters. I wrote in my comment to her that I totally admire her ability to commit- I always want to participate in fun photo challenges like this, but then my nerves get the best of me, I start worrying mine will suck, and I flake. I hate flaking.

Angela convinced me to give this one a go. I mean, what do I really have to lose? If I don't follow through, I'm only disappointing myself in the end. And it should be fun. Really.

Here are the rules (cut & pasted from the Shutter Sisters' post):

Here's how it works:

1. Pick a word that best represents you or your focus. Your word should inspire images throughout the month of February. If a word doesn't come immediately to mind, scan Ali's extensive list of words to inspire you.

2. Once you've selected your word, share it here in the comments or blog about it in your space and leave a permalink to your post here so we can go check it out. The project begins on Sunday, February 1, but you can join the project any time after this date.

3. On February 1, begin shooting images that visually represent your word. You can shoot, tag and share your best photographs in the Shutter Sisters flickr group every day or whenever you feel moved to do so.

4. TITLE each of your One Word Project images to include your word (e.g., Hope, Love, Courage, Peace). TAG each of your images as follows: "oneword (month)" (e.g., "oneword february", "oneword march", "oneword april", etc.). Tagging is important as it's the only way we can find and enter your images in our contest.

5. Beginning February 1, check the new One Word Project page daily within this site to see if your image is featured. The first award-winning photo of the month will be chosen by the Shutter Sisters team and announced on March 1, along with the new One Word Project for March.

We've created a discussion thread in the Shutter Sisters flickr group to manage questions and answers. If you have any questions, check for the answer or post your question here.

* * *

You can find out more about the prizes, how to enter, or any other groovy details on their post.

The word I chose for the month of February is... ::::drumroll please:::: GROWTH!

So I am going to begin taking my shots on Sunday. I will not flake. I will not flake. I will not flake. This is my mantra.

::Edited to add:: I am thinking I am going to post my pictures once a week, just so that I don't tell myself I'll do it every day. Cuz let's be honest, I won't. If I just post my seven pictures for the week at the end of the week all together, that will be best. Plus, I'm thinking I might be able to also do some kind of snifty voting thing where you all could give me feedback if you wanted and vote on your favorite for the week. Yeah, that would be cool. ::end edit::

If any of you like this challenge, please play along. I would love to see what some of my other bloggy friends would come up with. Plus, then I won't feel so alone. And that would be one MORE reason for me NOT. TO. FLAKE.

Here's me right now. I'm a little bit of this:

but even more of this:


Minus the rollers, which is a good thing for all, I think. :P

Merry SITSMAS!!!

So, there is this great bloggy commenting group called The Secret Is In The Sauce, which I have come to love! They are a great way to get to know other bloggers, find ones you love, and have people visit you. The basic idea is that each day, they feature three of the best posts from one featured blogger. You visit SITS in the morning and "roll call" (ie, pop in and say, "I'm here!"), then you go and visit those 3 posts and leave some comment love. In general, people will come back and visit you, too :) It's reciprocal bloggy love sharing, and it's great!

Today, they are having a MERRY SITSMAS party!! The grand prize is a $200 gift card to... TARGET! w00t w00t :) Tar-jay is one of my fave stores. So this is major. On top of that, EVERY SINGLE HOUR today they are giving away some fantastic prizes. So you should go. Look. Enter. Be Merry.

And now, on to the requisite Merry Sitsmas Card to all my SITStas that may swing by...

Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas From Bendy Ruggles and Her Parents!

My Christmas Wish For You
Anonymous

My Christmas wish for you, my friend
Is not a simple one
For I wish you hope and joy and peace
Days filled with warmth and sun

I wish you love and friendship too
Throughout the coming year
Lots of laughter and happiness
To fill your world with cheer

May you count your blessings, one by one
And when totaled by the lot
May you find all you've been given
To be more than what you sought

May your journeys be short, your burdens light
May your spirit never grow old
May all your clouds have silver linings
And your rainbows pots of gold

I wish this all and so much more
May all your dreams come true
May you have a Merry Christmas friend
And a happy New Year, too ..
We wish you a merry Christmas :)

And now, if you would like to visit some of the great SITStas from the site, here are a couple of linkies to posts I have found funny lately:

Ravings of a Mad Housewife- Truthful Christmas Letter

The Fam Five- Boys Best Friend

Thrifty Decor Chick- The Purdiest Christmas Tree Ever

The Fun House- Letters To All The Jerks I've Encountered Today

Crazy and Happy- Funny Stuff

Have a wonderful holiday, everyone!!

~The Little Girl Secret Friends Handshake~

Yesterday was our day to return to normal life.

Our daycare provider had been on vacation for the previous two weeks, so Illy girl had sort of been all around- the first week was at home with moi, the second week she was with her Dada on Monday (he has a 9-hour a day, 4 days a week schedule... yeah, I'm jealous too!) and then our upstairs neighbor and friend offered to babysit for us for the same rate we pay our sitter normally for Tuesday- Thursday... Thank god because I don't know what we would have done otherwise! Finally, on Friday she was with her Cey-cey and Uncle O-dizzle, who took the day off to spend some quality time with her. Of course, they went shopping... And of course, she came home with some cute suits! (See the pics in the entry from yesterday below- the dress she was wearing in the ones taken 10.18.08 was one of the outfits)

So we were anticipating that maybe she'd have a hard time going back to daycare. She's only been in daycare for about 3-4 months now, and has never before had that much time away and then gone back. We were a little worried that maybe she would forget the routine, be nervous when I dropped her off, be shy around the other kids... Or something else along the lines of screaming-crying-tantrum-toddler-bad-attitude-morningness.

Not so for my AWESOME Bendy Ruggle!

I walked through the door with her on one arm, her bag and lunch on the other... And immediately she glances down and sees her 2-year-old best friend Kaylynn. As soon as they meet eyes, she starts doing THIS lip thing! (Link leads to a vid on YouTube which is an explanation... it's hard to explain in words exactly what it is. Keep in mind in the video it's the parents doing it to the baby, but she was doing this herself)... As soon as Kaylynn sees Illy doing it, she starts doing it too, and Illy wiggle-worms her way down from me and runs over to her little friend. They both stand there doing this lip thing at eachother, and then the other little girl Katelyn joins in... And... Yeah. I wish I had my camera. It was the cutest thing ever! I've never seen such a weird secret handshake... lipshake? before in my life~

Oh, the things they do.

She must have missed her little friends... I'm so glad we've found such a great daycare provider- she feels at home there, which is more than we could have asked for!

Tail End of Bloggy Giveaway Week!!

Sooo, I just found out it's bloggy giveaway week! I'm so excited to be entering a few of these... I would have done a giveaway myself had I know about it sooner! I guess next quarter I'll just have to pay more attention :P Since I didn't catch this early enough to host a giveaway, I'm trying not to be selfish and enter too many, but it's hard not to be greedy with so many GREAT offers!

Anyway, here are some of my favorite giveaways so far- mind you, I'll be editing this as I go because there are TONS of giveaways this time (I mean, like over 900 so far) so I'm still working my way down the list as much as I can before the giveaways end!


(1) $50 Target Giveaway From Unexpected Bliss

(2) Land's End Backpack From Musings of a Housewife

(3) $20 Target gift card (the Tar-jay cards seem to be a theme... :D) at Adventures In Babywearing

(4) $50 gift card OF YOUR CHOICE!!! (How awesome is that?!?!) at Mommy of Three

(5) Kissable Lips lip balm and trial size body wash from Mambino Organics at Goodies For Mom (and baby too!)

(6) Mystery Grab Bag full of items at Monkey Giggles I loved this idea... it gives a little bit of intrigue to the whole thing!

(7) Beautiful Blue Topaz necklace at Life With Three

(8) iPod Shuffle and Target gift cards from Annie's Eyes

(9) $300 Gift Certificate to Amazon, $100 to Williams Sonoma, and $50 cash via paypal at My Wooden Spoon

(10) $100 Target gift card from Simply Amusing Blog

More to come, but I'm leaving work for the day! Enjoy these great giveaways!