A lumberjack, a firefighter & Minnie Mouse walk into a zoo...

BOO at the ZOO!!  (more on this later, my pics are out of order)

Because I love the 4 major holidays (Halloween, Election Day, Thanksgiving & Christmas) and, even more, I LOVE all of the festivities leading up to them, we have really been embracing some celebrations around here to get us in the holiday mood. We started with a pumpkin patch. (This place is the best for little kids-cheap-Anderson is still free, self contained & you get to keep a pumpkin)

Lily pretty much lives here now.

Tried to get a cute pic of the "Best Day", as it was getting cold out and there was running past the tractor ride,  but Anderson fell right at that moment.

And, proceeded to throw a gigantic fit on the actual tractor ride. GI.GAN.TIC. People were staring. Heck, I was staring. He was mad because we didn't get to sit in the front on the way back.

Noni always is with us, too, of course. Here she is helping him scare the daylights out of me as he scaled this net thing.

Back to BOO at the ZOO, which I also love for the price, fun atmosphere and the fact that I feel like I am helping to feed the animals by attending. After much deliberation, Anderson decided to be a firefighter at the zoo. Thanks to Bobble Cole for the $3 outfit! Love this kid!!

We met up with LumberJACK! How awesome is this costume?

Love this treat bag (thanks for Bobble Cole, again) because who is the giant eye bag made for if not an ikid??

Legit.

I'm in love

Next stop: trick or treating at the park, which was totally free (and CROWDED!). He was placed in charge of patrolling the fire truck beat. He took it very seriously.

He really was torn between firefighter and police officer for Halloween & I was going to make him choose one, but Bobble Cole came through with one, so it worked out ok. One day he is going to want to be lame, big kid things, so I am pretty happy to embrace it now. 

 GG went with us and together we figured out the best way to navigate the hundreds of people!

We fit in some park playtime, too, of course!

Cookie decorating with Jack! Clare had all of the necessities: different colors of icing, sprinkles and lots of extra cookies for us to eat!

Halloween party at church! This was pretty fun because it was raining so not that many people showed up, which meant more prizes, candy and activities for us :)

Chloe was a "grape" sport to help us get in the Halloween spirit!

Toddler Road Trip!

Clare, Jack, Anderson & I drove to Blountville over the weekend to hang out (and, most importantly, find out that I am having a new NIECE!). We had SO much fun and one of the best moments was the 3 of them at their own table. The kids' table!! Have we reached this point? I love it. 

 Cupcakes at 9pm. They had pink icing for MY NIECE! (both of them, I guess!)

 They were obsessed with this ghost hanging in the living room. Also, Anderson raided Lily's closet a bit.

 We fit in a Lowe's Build to Grow project-Ghoul Buses!!

 There was an awesome park that had all kinds of fun stuff and ducks!

 Playing a little soccer at Lily's game. Jack looks like such a professional! Anderson has a bit of a football preference right now, so we had to play a tackling version of soccer.

 The soccer star herself. Just having a snack.

 Hughes took us out on the boat! This is a definite senior friends yearbook ad pic!

Hughes is so great & really convinced Anderson that he was driving. 

TOO much!

 And...did I mention I am going to get another niece? 2 nephews, 2 nieces. I have the perfect life!

This was from our birthday, but it was during my non-friendship days with Blogger and it would not let me upload it. I think it is the only pic of the 4 of us that we have.

Fires, silly string, Fun & Pappaw

 Safety day at a random place (I will find all of them. They are all the same, but free and fire trucks are our kind of Saturday!) **AND....there was 1 prize, a year subscription to Rural Metro (our fire service, we have to pay for it separately) and I WON IT!!!! I was literally giddy; this is big stuff. I love when my kid's obsessions save me money.

A clearance can of Silly String went really, really wrong. We thought it would be hilarious to surprise him with his first experience...he did not find it funny. We did let him get revenge on daddy, so it worked out ok.

  Fall festival with GG & JPa! I really try to stick to my rule about finding an inflatable every weekend.

 I love how close Brandon & his mom are because it makes me so excited about Anderson as an adult!

I love their similar expressions here. And, the awesome hand painted spider.

 Why, you might be asking, is there a rug in your garage? Oh, yes. That is a good question. Our washing machine was leaking under our floorboards and ruined our floors/ability to do laundry at our house/sleep at our house because of the mold/hope to have any kind of resemblance to a normal life for awhile. More in a later post on this latest adventure!

Anderson is really, really into football lately and insists on playing tackle with everyone. No time for flag or touch around here!

We celebrated Pappaw's 88th birthday last week! He looks better every year, doesn't he? Anderson is only a little bit spoiled rotten that he gets to blow out everyone's candles. It's not about him all the time or anything, so that's good. 

 GG's famous chocolate cake!!

Pappaw's medals from WWII!

LOVE this one:)

EYE think it's time for an update.

Ha ha.

Seriously, where are the EYE posts?? I know you have been wondering this, too.

I cannot believe we have made it to a point in this EYE journey where I have to force myself to do an update on progress/life with an eyepatch. Literally cannot believe it. I feel like we are so far removed from the blubbering/terrified/overwhelmed/exhausted mess that I was for basically the first year of the EYE.

I'm just going to take a moment to pat myself on the back. Way to not cry for a few months, Melissa. Way to go.

Anyway, the patch is still with us,of course. It still consumes our daily lives. It is still the first thing we do every morning, the thing we do about more than anything else during the day. The thing we ask about first thing from Noni, GG, his school or each other. "How was he?" will never mean anything in our world unrelated to the patch. When Brandon asks that I know he doesn't mean how did he eat/sleep/feel/play/read/attack other children. He only means the patch. It is the sun and everything else revolves around it.

I still get a little sad when I get to see his face during bath time because I miss it during the rest of the day. I miss the idea of raising a baby whose face you get to see all of the time. I see blue plastic. If that doesn't sound like a big deal to you then you are not an imom. It is just hard to explain. It is very petty, but it still bothers me.

I still get a bit anxious when I hear kids say, "What's wrong with him? or" Why does that kid only have one eye?" I worry about the days when Anderson is old enough to really understand them. (Mostly I am worried about my reaction. I am serious. I have a small tendency to "respond" to people when they are rude. Just ask Nicole about the rude woman at Chick Fil A. I literally was not involved, but heard her talk to Nicole and was ready to thrown down in the parking lot. I won. She had crunchy hair. But, seriously, I am going to really have to hold back to not lose it on some 6 year old one day.)

I still feel just a bit of tingle when I see Crayon Pirate hanging on my kitchen wall & I realize how this pirate boy was really supposed to be mine all along.

I still worry about the patching not working, of course. That is just a part of it.

However, I no longer think about the patch all day, every day. I don't have to stalk him anymore. If he takes it off in the car I let him. I LET HIM! Did you hear me? This is huge. It is the greatest feeling to know I don't have to freak out and almost wreck trying to keep it on him in the back seat. I just know that will come from his total hours off at the end of the night.

The 4 hours off was huge. I honestly don't know if anything will ever have that much of an impact on the EYE journey as when Dr. Cogen said, 4 hours. The 4 hours has brought me some peace of mind that it is working, it has literally returned my sanity.

My bug continues to amaze me. He truly is an inspiration with his ability to do so much with one eye. Think about what he does with ONE eye. He is a climber, a runner, a tackler, a jumper, etc. He is awesome.

So, that is where we are right now. The patch is very much a part of our daily lives, but so much so that I almost forget about it. Can you believe it?? imoms who have younger kids-IT WILL GET EASIER!! Anderson had to get those first 2 years under his belt and now it is almost routine. Hang in there, the good times are coming your way, too!

A NIECE!!!

I am going to have a new NIECE in February!!!!  I am SO excited & cannot wait to wait to meet her!!

Still here! *I think the video is working now!*

I am sitting for just a few minutes and it is nice.

To say the last 2 months have been kicking my butt would be a huge understatement. (Big. Huge!...I really can never say "Huge" without thinking of Julia Roberts). Anyway, I think I was a teeny bit unprepared for the career change that I am currently in the process of undergoing. I say "career" change because even though I am most definitely still in education , there is not one tiny part, not one minute of my day that even slightly resembles my past life.

 Being an assistant principal is not harder than teaching, it is just different. I am really enjoying my new home at PHS and learning A TON, which is nice. It is just difficult trying to process so many new things/roles/responsibilities. My hours are longer and my drive is about 4 times longer than it used to be, so I am definitely feeling some effects at home, as well. Luckily for me, I have the most awesome husband, parents and in-laws in the world. I think I am averaging around 60+ hours a week right now being away from home and without their support (my mother seriously cooks us dinner more than just periodically), my life would have just stopped 6 weeks ago. I am figuring out what our "new normal" looks like and ways to make our lives even more efficient.

I will say that without realizing it, I have been sort of training for this time in my life. Being annoyingly energetic and never actually sitting down has made my transition to non-stop day pretty easy. Being an imom, I can multi-task and prioritize with the best of them. I wasn't exactly a 8-4 teacher, so I am used to long nights on the ball field. I was raised by a mom who told me I could do whatever I wanted when I grew up and I believed her. She is pretty much making this happen for me right now.

** SIDE NOTE: This is in reference to the fact that numerous people feel the need to project their rudeness on me in the form of some variation of this phrase, "I could never do your job. You know, you just don't get this time with your kids back."  Rude. Every single mom knows that mom guilt is a real thing, so why (WHY??) would anyone say this to me? And, it is a lot of people, not just anyone. Despite the fact that I previously mentioned that my mom has sent food home on occasion, I am NOT neglecting my kid. Actually, it is the opposite. I see this job as an opportunity to create a life for him and be a model to him of setting goals and reaching them. We spend a lot of time together. Mostly, because he takes a nap at MDO, so bedtime is after 9. (Don't think to judge me on that one, too. If you are thinking it should be closer to 7, I will congratulate you once again on the vacation that you enjoyed during your child's toddler years) I am ranting during my rant, I need to get a grip. My point is that my mom told me to pursue my dreams, so I chose to be a working mom who balances my career with my home life. It is difficult, but I (we) are making it work. Also, is it wrong that I don't want this time back? Don't get me wrong, Anderson is the. best. thing.ever and makes me laugh/smile/pause in wonder multiple times a day, but I love him more every day, so I can't imagine ever just wishing away who he is for who he was. Right?? I also hate, "It doesn't get easier", but that is a rant for a later post.**

So, to prove just how much wonderful, amazing, quality time we are having, here are some pics from the last few weeks...

 Shaving cream and paint party in the backyard.

 We made fire trucks with Jack at Lowe's! You MUST check out the Lowe's Build & Grow clinics. The finished products are so cute. And, if you need any help, Clare & I are becoming experts at making things with wheels:) **Speaking of Clare, Jack is going to have a little sister!! We found that out a few weeks ago & are SO excited. She will join us some time in Feb (or maybe Jan?)!

 We found a random safety day on the way home & had to stop for snow cones and ambulance sightings. With this regard, boys are way easier to entertain! I can't wait to see how Lucy Brimer fits in with all of our boy activities!

 Bobble Cole hooked us up with a $3 Halloween costume! (Well, it is between firefighter and police officer, as of now.) My mom made him a yarn hose. LOTS of fires everywhere we go.

 All firefighters only wear underwear in real life, of course.

 Our front porch. I love fall and I think it is because Halloween & Thanksgiving are my favorite holidays. I am PUMPED about Halloween festivities this year. Having a kid is the best around fun holidays because it gives you an excuse to do fun stuff. We have a pretty epic October planned with Jack & Lily, so we will keep you posted.

 Trying to get a final shot of a few of our summer clothes. I know I say it all the time, but thank you Kohls for making (& GG for buying) so many patch/eye shirts!! Someone high up in design at Kohl's has a kid in an eyepatch, I just know it.

 Speaking of GG, look at this awesome new toy she got him! He can actually ride it, which is precious.

 Nicole got him these sandwich cutters and one is an airplane, which means he will eat peanut butter sandwiches at school!! So fun.

I discovered a mini size shake from Sonic that is perfect for him (and, usually he doesn't finish it, so I get mine and a bit of his, which is nice:) Thanks, Cousin Shae for creating these! I credit her with everything Sonic does right. 

 Playing at a park with Jack-an ambulance was spotted! Jack is hidden back there, but it was the best pic I could get.

I try, but I am just not as much fun as Brandon at games like this.

First Powell game! Anderson had a blast playing with Bop, having snacks, running all over the track "playing football" AND one of my former students was a firefighter there, so he let us climb all over the fire truck & ambulance! Powell is pretty good at football, so I have a feeling that our season is going to go for awhile. This will probably not be his last game!

 LOTS of Lily time over the past few weeks. We celebrated her 3 1/2 birthday! The first thing she said to me when she saw me was, "Hi, Sissa! It's my birthday." We are really big on not spoiling our kids around here.

 Playing with this snake that Anderson had to have at Michael's (Note: Taking two 2 year olds to Michaels' will entertain/exhaust you- a lesson that Clare & I learned!)

Anderson's school had Open House & it was great to see his room & hear all about him. I was so proud of this post it note! That little sticky note took us  A LONG TIME, so I had to snap a pic!  A direct quote from his teacher, "If only all kids were like him, our jobs would be so easy." I am a little sad that she clearly doesn't recognize her kids yet, because she got him confused with someone else, clearly. She said he knows all of his shapes, letters, numbers and colors and is so kind. I agree with that part, but I am not sure we always see the non-tantrum throwing, sharing boy that she sees!

 I was lucky enough to spend a night in Chattanooga with Emily & Nicole a few weeks ago. We had an AWESOME time...going to Target, talking, eating free breakfast, eating at a delicious pizza place, eating yummy dessert and just hanging out! All of the planning was done by our very own travel agent, Emily Hortina. Also, big shout out to Noni who kept Anderson, since Brandon was working. Looking forward to our next trip!

 Lily & Bug at the Powell Soccer game where I was ridiculously thankful to the middle school kids who entertained them, while I acted official as the administrator at the game. (This did not actually require any work, but it was nice to have them entertained anyway)

 We made blueberry muffins

and cupcakes!!

And, a video for your viewing pleasure! Thank you, Incredibles, for promoting the fact that wearing glasses makes you a superhero!!