Nightmare on Halloween

Wow, what a busy night!!! Layton and I have been going non-stop since he got home from Daycare!! He had such a busy day!! Of course he had a party at daycare, he came home with 2 pumpkin (punpin) tattoos on his check and a BAG full of candy and treats! From there, I thought it would be cool to get one of those papa murphy's pumpkin shaped pizza, so we ate and then were off to the neighbors. Layton held out his bag and the neighbor lady put the treat in there and Layton dropped his bag and looked at her as though he was scared! After that we went to another place and he is slowly starting to understand the concept of trick or treating. Then we were off to the nursing home here in Winthrop. All the residents sat in a big circle and the kids just went around and got their candy, Layton was a little scared at first but finally got the hang of it. I turned my back for a minute and when I look back at Layton I see him going around to all the residents again, getting candy and putting it in his bag. Little stinker caught on fast!!! We walked around the neighborhood a little bit before heading over to Gaylord, thats where the night got interesting. We stop at Brenda's and I was running all the treats out to the car and I hear this hissing coming from the tire, I look around and I see a nail, sure enough, I ran over a nail and now my tire is leaking fast! Now what?? I have more places to take Layton and I have a flat tired!! Well Brenda was kind enough to let me take her car to finish our work. Then I had to get a hold of my dad (who DOES NOT have a cell phone) so he could come in from the field to see Layton. so 20 minutes later he shows up and we are hanging out, some kids come on the deck and dad is outside talking and Layton is inside playing by the door, well, Layton had a hold of the door handle when Dad swung open the door. Layton goes flying outside hitting his head on the way out. Tears are flowing, kids are piling on the deck and Keena isn't listening!!!!! It was a heckic couple of minutes but we quickly turned off the light before any one else could come..(Dad wasn't planning on handing out candy since he was suppose to be in the field!!), after that we made a few more stops then it was home to BED!! Wow.. that was fun but boy is that work!! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!! We sure did, and we even got to see Lane's cousins all dressed up!!

Also Keep praying for the Bjorklunds!!!!

Blogging from my bedroom

Isn't technology awesome. Boys are sleeping and I can blog...FROM MY BED!!! Ha, I sure am enjoying this laptop stuff. Now I can spend more time with the boys because now I can sit in bed and enjoy a little computer time!:) Ok enough about that lets get on to new business..okay, there isn't a whole lot of new things but here I go anyways. Layton is a talking machine!!! We really really have to watch what we say now!! He repeats everything. So I read in Parents magazine that you are suppose to use "real" words with your kids, not slang. So I said, Layton that is your penis and he says something that kinda sounds like that, so now he looks at it and says penis.. What a smart boy!! Good thing you can't really understand him yet. He also learned how to spit after you brush he is done brushing his teeth. He also grabbed the washcloth in the bath today and started scrubing himself. Man, my job is getting easier. He also can undress himself..kinda..lets just say that one is a work in progress, but he understands what he needs to do!! I can't believe how much he learns in just one day! I just love that about him!!! And Lane, well he is starting to laugh.. IT'S SOO CUTE!:) He can roll over as long as he can push off of something with his legs, he is sleeping a lot longer at night too!! That's amazing for me!! Ok enough about my kids...

I do want to mention something on the sadder side..(is that even a word)

Please PLEASE pray for the Bjorklund Family. Dale has lymphnode cancer. His 2nd oldest daughter, Jenny, is one of my very good friends!! They need our love, support, and prayers!!!!
www.caringbridge.org/visit/dalebjorklund

Well thats it for now, I better get to bed!!

New Discoveries

All three of us have discovered something new in the last couple of days! Lane can roll over as long as he is on his side already!! Yay for Lane!!!

Layton just discovered that he can stick his finger in his nose, and better yet, that something comes out of it too!!! He knows where his nose is but just last night he learned you can stick your finger in there!! How cool.. and today he learned that if you stick your finger in there sometimes something is stuck to your finger! Sweet..I will just have to keep a closer eye on him now so he doesn't stick anything else in his nose!!

Here is a picture of the 3 boys during movie night at Grandma's. Doesn't it look fun!!!:)

and I discovered I can bake!!:) I made my very first pumpkin pie the other night and it turned out great!! I spilled a little so that's why the crust burnt but otherwise I think it tasted pretty good!!! Yay for MOMMY!!!:)
Well Lane needs me now, until next time..

New Vocab

Layton is starting to take after his mother, talking a lot!! I remember when I was little my older cousins would always remind me to be quiet because I talked so much. Although I am not telling layton to be quiet I am enjoying everything he is learning. Here are a few examples of his new ablility.
Lanner= Lane
Puppa= Puppy
Papa= Grandpa
BAAAAAAAAA= Sheep
Go way= Go Away
madma= Grandma
Aaaion= Allison
Momma= Mommy
WaaWaa= Water
Baba= Bottle
Malk= Milkbaak= Book
and there are many more wordsHe amazes me everyday. He copies about everything I say so I really need to watch what I say.He is such a joy (most of the time), he is also starting the tatrum business. Things should start getting interesting now. But honestly, I feel so blessed to have him, he brings so much joy to my life along with little Lanner. I'm having a hard time accepting Chad's death because of all the joy my children are bringing me. I know he would be having a ball with these kids. He had taken Layton as his own and when he was about to have a Child of his own his life was cut short. I know everyday he is with us though. I can just tell by Lane's actions that he is around. So anyways, Saturday we went to Mn Harvest by Jordan with Chad's family. (that too was hard) but we had a good time, we ate dinner there, well most of us, Layton choose to climb up and down the steps instead of eating. Lane just slept. Then we went on a Wagon ride to pick apples. The kids really enjoyed this!!! A lot of apples were ate during the picking:) Then we played on the play ground but one of Chad's nieces got pretty upset when she couldn't go down the slide with Layton first, after 10 minutes of pouting she finally was ready for her turn. Then it was off to the putting zoo. That was an experience, you pay for a cup of food then they send you in with the bears.. haha, No they open the gate and it's just an open pen with all different kinds of small farm animals (Deer, cows, sheep, goats, ponies) As soon as you walk in the gate the animals attack!!! The kids cups went flying or they were being chased by animals. Layton opted for me to hold him most of the time as it was a bit overwhelming. I can't imagine what it was like for the little kids having to be face to face with these hunger animals, no wonder they were running away most of the time. I feel so blessed that the Wingen's have accepted Layton and I into their family! Now if Chad were only here to experience all of these joys with me. Well i'm off to get Layton, Today was his first day with his Dad alone. That's a whole different story! I am so excited to pick of my baby!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just half of the Wingen Cousins
Layton Appleseed
one of the HUNGER goats!

I still love my Twins!!
Layton and Josie on the wagon ride!
enjoying his apple!
Papa Wingen and Layton on the pony
Max and Lane (6 months apart) sleeping!

The Joys of Fall!!

Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins!! I have been taking full advantage of some fall fun! Last Saturday Myranda, Heather, Myself, and the 4 kids headed to Burnsville to Chucky Cheese for Myranda's 17th Birthday. She had never been there so I had to make sure you had the experience. The kids were a bit of a handful and Myranda only heard "Our we there yet" about a million times. I think she was a tad bit annoyed on her Birthday!! but we all survived and I managed to buy myself a pair of jeans while doing a LITTLE shopping. Sunday Layton was suppose to go to a birthday party but we had to cancel because we took some Great Grandchildren pictures for my Grandpa and Grandma Bauer. The 5 year old and 2 babies did the best job of sitting! the 1 1/2 year olds were a little more energized. We got some good shots and are hopeing to get a nice picture frame made for them!:) I also enjoyed another round of pumpkin carving. Last year I did a friendly ghost and this year I tried a frankenstein and a scarecrow, and I will soon be carving out a MN Twins Pumkin.

I wish I could type more but my oldest son is needing my attention at the moment!!:) Check out the very last picture as most of you will probably get a good laugh..:)

It was big, no it was huge!! haha

Last night I got to relive some old, but VERY good memories!! One of the greatest things in my life (right after my two very beautiful kids) was achieving a goal...a goal that consisted of a couple school records. Volleyball was basically my life in high school and I am very proud of my team and our accomplishments (beating Belle Plaine our senior year of high school to advance in the section tournament). Without my teammates I would have never set the school record in set assists, 1661 (Just cause I have heard and seen it a couple times this past week). Last night Tara Dietz and I had the honor of presenting Erin Evans with the game ball which she got her 1000th set assist. She is the 3rd personin school history to accomplish this feat! It was fun just to relive the moment and also to help someone receive this award! It's something to be proud of, and the last couple of days I have made it all fresh in my memory. As Steve Saxton said "Hopefully you will be back when you are 80 giving out the same award..and asking Brenda for a black scarf." So now that last night is over I will wait again for this great honor:):):):)

My boys ready for Daycare
Lane and his new Buddy Collin Hacker

Update

Just a little update with us. Last night Layton and I and Brenda and Abby headed to the GFW football game. I dressed Layton up because it was their homecoming!:) What a good sport!:) He sat and watched the football game for probably a total of 3 minutes. I took him down to run around. At halftime he was more than ready to go home.

I also got to enjoy my evening a little bit. A good friend of mine is moving back out to Idaho so he had a little going away thing. I had a couple of drinks talked with another friend for a while then headed home. It was nice to get away for a couple hours!!:)

Life of a single mom!

I just love this picture..check out the goat right by Layton (I wonder if he even knows it's there?)

on the way to the pumpkin farm, we had to stop at Grandparents camper first!!

Tonight I was sitting in the bath looking down at my toes, and realized they look awful. Not my toes but my toenails!! I must have painted them the night before Lane was born and they have not been touched since. They are sorta red but there isn't much nail polish left and they just look awful. That got me thinking...When do I even have time to paint my toe nails? the answer.. I don't. (now that i'm back from an hour feeding session). Also I was sitting in the bath (must be a good time to think..) And Lane was sitting next me and I can't remember the last peaceful bath I took. I either have Lane in the bouncy seat next to me or Layton in the bath w/ me, or Layton pounding on the door. Eating meals is the same way. I sit down to eat and although Layton has already ate his supper he insists on having a bite of mine. Everytime I gladly give him a bite! Sleeping is another story. I have Lane in the bed with me and Layton upstairs with my mom (most of the time), Last night I had about 1/4 of the bed to myself Lane took up most of it, I wanted to make sure he had enough room, then Layton was on the other side, and I was sandwiched in the middle. I had to protect Lane from his big brother (ok I'm gonna sit down and try writing this blog for the 3rd time tonight!!). The moral of my story is that as a single Mom of two little boys you really REALLY need to rely on help from people. If I didn't have my mom I would be crazy, my house would be a total disaster, the laundry would never get done, the dishes would be stacked ceiling high, and I would NEVER get a bath (or be able to write on this blog). I love my boys to pieces and I wouldn't trade my life for anything. Do I miss my single days? Sure, but nothing, absolutely NOTHING beats coming home to two beautiful boys who shower you with as much love as their little bodies can handle, and I give right back plus more! I would rather hear the pitter patter of little feet coming to bang on the bathroom door instead of stumbling into the house after a long night out. I would rather have 1/4 of the bed and feel the warmth of my boys next to me, than sleeping alone and waking up to nothing. And I am just grateful I have a little nailpolish on my toes, rather than none at all!! I would gladly give up my food as long as it meant we had enough food to eat and my boys were getting their needs met. Being single and a mom of two is by no means easy! It's VERY hard, and there are so many times I get frustrated, but then I look at those boys and I think to myself..Life is OKAY!!! And I CAN DO THIS!!!! and I Just have to mention The Twins are done now (I'm VERY sad about that), winter is in the near future so hopefully I can catch a movie once in a while!:)

So now that I said that I would like to share a few pictures of the boys and I the last couple of day/weeks.

Layton and the pot bellied pigs

Family photo..GO TWINS!!

Nelson Pumpkin farm

Layton and I in the corn maze.