Blowing in from the west

It is SOOO windy out today!! I can hear the winds still roaring tonight. I can only imagine what the waves are like on the lakes, especially Lake Superior. Steve said that it is record atmospheric pressure lows and the last time it was this low was when the Edmund Fitzgerald sunk on Lake Superior. I wouldn't want to be a boat on the lake tonight! :/

Olivia's two year old switch has officially turned on and what a high power switch it has been. Yesterday we had reached an all time high (or low?!) on the shananagins of 2 year old Livy. Let's see in a snippet what Livy could do in one day....undress herself several times after I dress her several times, pee on the entryway rug cause she was mad, dump powder on the bathroom floor and all over herself when I was giving her "Go away, I need privacy please", throw food on the floor, hit at me, flop herself down on the floor and last but not least, crawl out of her car seat while the truck was in motion. How to stop that?! Sigh. I have a little trick called the "chip clip". When I told Grace I was getting the chip clip out her face was shocked and scared, she told Livy she never wants the chip clip, it's BAD! What is it you might ask?! It is the plastic chip clips that clip to the side from Pampered Chef. Getting out of the car seat is dangerous so when Grace started throwing fits in the car seat, I had to try something and this worked. Never had a car seat problem again. I busted it out for Livy after one fit and it worked like a charm. She was spazzing in the seat so I just put the chip clip under the chest snap so she couldn't move it down. She flipped out and begged for me to take it off. When we got to the school, I took it off and she said, "no more chip clip momma!" She has ridden like a trooper ever since. Mind you, it's only been a day but this morning I just held it up in the air at her and the fit was hushed in an instant. Thank you Pampered Chef for chip clips. Now, if there was something like that to keep her clothes on....She is so, so cute, but oh so challenging right now. Steve called yesterday morning, mid melt downs and I think I took him off guard cause I just broke down! He was like, "What's going on? What do you need me to do? How can I help you?" There was nothing he could do at the moment, but poor guy, he got the wrath of a Mom of a 2 year old having a bad day. :( I have to say she was 100 times better today. She stayed dressed, only dumped one bowl of grapes, and stayed on the potty chair and left all perfumes, lotions and powders alone! Thank God for showing us His ultimate kindness, blessedness and forgiveness daily. Without that I would be dreading what could be to come. Tomorrow is another new day.

Just Livy and Momma made fall cake batter cookies. Can you guess which one she decorated?!;)

Livy was having a serious conversation with Mimi on the phone

Joseph and his new baby cousin, Graham

Joseph is so hyped for Halloween, he can't wait to dress up as snake eyes and to go trick or treating, he is at such a fun age for it all. He is starting to really get into what he is wearing and some mornings it is funny to see him walking into school all cool. Yesterday he was walking in and it looked like he quick remembered to put on his sunglasses. He was oh so cool on the overcast day in his shades...;)He is easy to dress, so far, but if he likes something he wants to wear it a lot. He likes to wear belts and shirts with eagles on it. :)

Grace with her Preschool teachers Mrs. Tammy(L) and Mrs. Debbie(R)

(Here's a second picture of Grace just for you Brianna and Bridget!:))

Grace getting her first haircut from our friend Emily

Grace was great going into school yesterday and she has so much fun. She often says that she would love to go all day! I don't know if that would go over good yet! :) The other night I went out for a drink with Amy after the kids went to bed.  We hadn't ever done that because I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding for years! ;) We had just stuck to the grocery shopping, kids' clothes shopping or Christmas shopping...come to think of it, we have spent a lot of money together! :) Steve called me at 1 am asking when I would be home...that 4 little kids were screaming for me and he didn't know what to do. sigh. Luckily I was leaving at the time, but really?! Can't a Momma go out for once?! ;) I came home and they were fine, Grace just said she missed me. The other 2 had passed out by the time I got home, 5 minutes later. lol.

The dynamic baby duo: Emmy and Connor

Emily is so funny. Mimi called her a kissing machine and that pretty much sums her up lately! :) She kisses the air until you give her a kiss and she will go on from person to person giving kisses out. Today she was in the nursery with Connor and they were so happy to see each other and loved to play. Grandma Emily, who watched them said, "they really like each other!" after watching them. They do and they are funny to watch together. Today, Emily had a little wet patch on the top of her head from Connor kissing her. They kept going after each other to kiss and/or hug.