Life Lately

I'm in a constant state of hunger these days.  It's really getting ridiculous.  I feel like all I do is eat, and it's starting to show.  I ate an entire box of grasshopper cookies the other day all.by.myself.  It was a low point for sure.  Although this snack of bread, cheese, and salami isn't much better. 
But it's what sounds good right now..

John and I are so in love with our Ivy right now.  It's no secret that she's been a tough baby but lately she is so much fun.  She is all smiles and kisses.  It only took almost 18 months but this girl, as it turns out, has the most pleasant and happy personality I've ever seen.  Love her.

Toilet paper in our house, always...

Jack had Daddy Doughnut Day last week.  It was the most adorable thing ever, from what I understand.  They colored together, read books, made paper airplanes and then flew them at recess, and of course, ate doughnuts.  I'm so grateful my kids have such a cool dad and that he really values things like Daddy Doughnut Day. 

They even learned a song for their dad's.  Here it is.  (love the nose picking in the middle)
MVI 7489 from brielle wollenzien on Vimeo.

We're having a real issue with Charlie's sleep right now.  Everyday at about 4:00 or so he is so dead tired.  So tired that sometimes he passes out on the floor.  He won't be awoken for anything.  Not nudging, not loud music, not candy or cookies or dinner, not putting him into a sitting position on the couch, nothing.  The problem though is he'll sleep for about an hour and then want to party it up until about 10 or 11 at night.  Not cool. 

Ivy is slowing becoming addicted to the computer just like all the other kids.  It's so funny though because she'll put up a pretty good fight to get her hands on the ipod or ipad or whatever but then once she's got it she has no idea what to do with it.  She only knows that it's worth fighting for.

Sometimes the babies and I have a nice morning while the bigger ones are at school.  Usually they just scream and fight with each other but sometimes they each find their own toy in the playroom and it's perfectly lovely until lunch.

We had our annual Rocktober Party this week and the kids where super duper excited to get out all our Halloween decorations while we listened to John Denver on the record player.  I don't know why but John Denver feels like fall to me.  Also, I like how my kids know all the words to almost every song.  I must be doing something right.

After we put everything up though I realized I don't have very many Halloween decorations.  Jack was disappointed by the lack of gory and terrifying things in the house.  I told him it's because we're a house of little kids and we don't want the them to get scared.  He thought that was pretty lame and said that our house could stand to get a lot scarier.  Later that night he was in my room complaining about a nightmare involving that very spider and his cotton batting web. 
 (told you so Jack)

We watched "The Great Pumpkin" which my kids love every single year. 
I'm not looking forward to the Halloween when they decide they are too old for Charlie Brown.

I also made these little puff things from a Rachel Ray recipe I found. 
Normally I don't trust Rachel Ray recipes at all, but this one was pretty good and easy.  Here's the recipe.

 Happy October!