Hodge Podge

Baylor and Park at lunch.
Baylor and Ethan. Baylor likes to entertain the babies.
Daddy liked the french dip sandwiches.

Coop's pirate mask.

Baylor's witch turned out really cute.

Parker was busy watching all the crafting. I know he will be ready to craft with us soon.

Coop painting.

They love to do crafts.

Tuesday mornings seem to be the busiest of the entire week. This morning I was up early and got ready, both big boys showered and dressed, Parker fed and dressed, and my dinner started all before 8:20 when we left to take Baylor to school. It felt like a marathon morning but we made it. We took Baylor to school and then dropped off Cooper and then Parker and I went to church for Mops. This was Cooper's first PDO so I had to pack his lunch this morning too because he got to stay until 2:00 and was able to eat lunch at school. He was so excited to carry his lunch box and got out of the car without any tears. He also brought his teacher a package of Halloween stamps and he was quite proud. Baylor took a package to his teacher too and he was happy she used it today on the homework sheet. Mops was really good today and a personal trainer came to talk. She was great and really inspired me to work out again. I feel like I owe it to myself and my family to take care of myself, if only I could find the time and energy. It's kind of a catch 22:)! After Mops we came home and waited for Mimi to bring Baylor home. Jen and Ethan came over and Parker and Ethan played before we left. Ethan is so fast and walks all over. He loved playing with all the play food downstairs. Since Cooper was at school Baylor picked where we went to lunch and of course he picked the place with the yummy rolls. Jen and Ethan went with Parker, Baylor and I to O'Charley's and we had a good lunch. After lunch we went to Marshall's to look around before we went to pick up Coop. Cooper had a great day at preschool and loved eating lunch there. He was excited to see us and tell us about our day. When we got home we played outside for a little bit before nap. It was such a pretty day! Tonight I made French Dip sandwiches which were so good! I found the recipe at one of my new favorite sites http://www.ourbestbites.com/. I seared the meat this morning and then cooked it in the crockpot in the sauce all day long on low. Right before serving I pulled the meat apart and then made the sandwiches, added cheese, and broiled. They were so delicious. I also made apple dumplings which did not turn out quite so great. I found the recipes on http://www.allrecipes.com/. It was easy but the top of the dumplings were burning but the bottom was still doughy. I think part of the problem may have been the temperature of the oven for the fries, then using the broiler, and then putting the dumplings in at a lower temperature. I think I will look for a different recipe for this next time. We also did some Halloween crafts which turned out cute. The boys painted ceramic witches, did some foam crafts, and colored a pirate mask. They are quite proud of their work and want to use it to decorate for our Halloween party this weekend. They are so excited!