Oh, What A Night!

Let the fun begin!

Tayler carved most of this herself!

Last weekend, Brian completed the construction of our patio fire pit that he's been working on. So, in celebration of the season, and of the glorious pit-project completion, we decided to have a Schienbein family pumpkin carving and marshmellow roasting extravaganza! It started with a trip to the grocery store. We chose 3 very handsome pumpkins. Then we gathered all of the fixin's for....yup.....S'MORES! We then came home, and with some patterns that good ol' dad printed off of the internet, and began working on our pumpkin masterpeices. Brian spent so much time helping Tayler and I with our pumpkins, he didn't get a chance to carve his! Carson didn't do much carving, but Tayler and I made sure that he got in on the fun and that he could see exactly what we were doing for future reference. =) After the pumpkins were to our satisfaction, we ate dinner.


Carson's mommy is so mean! But this is so cute!

Cooper didn't know what to think about the mess we were making!

Carson's favorite part of the night

Then we couldn't get out to thefire pit soon enough! Brian started a little fire and Tayler and I got all of the goodies together! We had such a great time roasting the gooey goodness and smashing it between crunchy graham crackers with a little bit of Hershey's heaven inside. PURE BLISS!!! We hope to enjoy many more nights like this as a family!

Tayler was very careful around the fire. She's so responsible!

Win a handbag!

Go to this website: www.handbagplanet.com and enter to win a free handbag! What girl doesn't love handbags!!

Lunch with the Ladies (and baby C)

In celebration of my friend Juanita's (belated) birthday, she, Mary and I went to lunch today at Olive Garden. Brian is NOT a fan of Olive Garden and doesn't really like to eat there so today was a real treat. I had such a wonderful time talking with my friends and catching up. It'd been way too long since we'd gotten together. Hopefully we can start doing this more often! Carson was a very good boy and slept through the entire meal!

Lordy, Lordy look who's...

TWO MONTHS OLD!! I can't believe how quickly the time has passed! Carson is getting to be such a big boy! Holding his head up, cooing, smiling and becoming more and more aware of his surroundings!

Long Road Ahead

Today was my first day back at the gym since I was about....hmmm...let's just say the last time I was at the gym, Carson looked like a tad pole, swimming in amniotic fluid. I am not the picture of physical fitness I once was. Okay, fine. I was never the picture of physical fitness...but I did used to be in WAY better shape, and have a far lower number in the back of my jeans. One day at a time Arika, one day at a time. It just amazes me how quickly one can lose their endurance, or "fitness", or whatever it was that allowed me to be on a treadmill for more than 30 minutes at a time many months ago. But tonight, 30 minutes was about all this ol' gal was able to muster. I did also do a little bit of work with free-weights, but it was nothing to get excited about. Just checking to see if the old muscles were still there. They are. In a much weaslier form. I am going to stay positive, and try to go to the gym, or walk a few times a week, every week. I'll work back up to where I once was. It just might take another entire gestation period....just hopefully not one of an elephant.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is the birthday of one of the most important people in the world to me. My mom. The love and support I get from my mom is what makes me who I am today. She is generous almost to a fault. She is the most unselfish person I know. She is kind. She is funny. She is beautiful. She is caring and kind. She is so many things I admire. It is my sincere wish that someday my children feel about me, the way I feel about her. I love her more than words can say and am forever greatful that she is my mom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

I like this

When you marry him, love him

After you marry him, study him

If he is sad, cheer him

When he is talkative, listen to him

When he is quarrelsome, ignore him

If he is jealous, cure him

If he cares nought for society, coax him

If he favors society, accompany him

When he deserves it, KISS him

Let him think how well you under stand him

But never let him know how you manage him

I found this whilst I was blog-snooping. I can't remember what blog I was on though.....so I can't give credit to anyone. But, I will say that I didn't come up with this on my own. But, I do like it.