GOOD friends

Today was crazy. Actually, I'm not sure crazy covers it. It was NUTS. I had to work, and Brian had to be out of town for a hockey game. We'd lined up a sitter, but that didn't work out as planned, so at the last, stressful minute, my dear friend Mary agreed to watch C for the day. Her and her hubby had a day of errands planned, as well as a (much needed I'm sure) mommy-daddy date night planned. But she cancelled, rescheduled, moved and shifted EVERYTHING for us. I cannot say how much this meant to me. She is truly a lifesaver. I can count on her for anything. I hope that someday, I can return a favor this huge for her. For now, lunch will have to do. Along with a babysitter for their next date night.

Mary has a daughter. ONLY a daughter. So, the stuff for kids at Mary's house is prominently pink. Hence Carson's pink "Cutest Cowgirl" bib in this picture. And the pinker than pink highchair you see him sitting in.
And yes. The pink blanket he clutched as he slept, in Mary's arms I might add, because he cried every time she tried to put him down.
Here is Carson and Mary's daughter Amelia, playing nicely together. Mary has two HUGE but very friendly boxers, which Carson adored and snuggled a bunch while he was there too.
And lastly, this is Carson with Mary's husband, Mikey. Mikey was telling him about the fire being HOT as he was safely being held back by the "keep babies away from a hot fire" fence built lovingly by Mary's step dad.
All of these pictures were emailed to me by Mary while I was at work. It made a really hectic day feel better. I am so thankful for friends like Mary & Mikey.

Hair Cut Day

Today the Schienbein kids had an appointment to get hair cuts. But, this wasn't just any hair cut appointment. Tayler's Grandma Gwen gave her a gift certificate for her birthday to a place called Monkey Dooz. It's a hair salon for kids where they have movies playing while you get your hair cut, they have chocolate scented shampoo, you sit in a toy car or a cool glittery pink chair during your cut, and when you're all done, they'll put glitter in your hair if you'd like. So, it's a pretty special place. Tayler has been there several times. She even had her birthday party there one year. But, today was Carson's first time. Not his first hair cut though, since as you probably read in a previous post, Brian and I tried our hand at haircutting a few weeks ago. We decided to let a professional spruce it up a bit for us.Tayler was first to get her haircut. She's been begging us to let her get her hair cut short, to her chin short, and to let her get bangs cut. Now, that might not seem like too big a deal to most people. But, in our house, where sometimes dad is the hair stylist before school, it is very important that Tot's hair is long enough for a pony tail. Pony tails are what Brian does. Only pony tails. So, that was important. Also, Tayler has a bit of wave in her hair, so I was worried that if she got bangs, they wouldn't

lay well. I think she has an idea of what bangs should look like, and that is what she wanted. I was just worried they wouldn't be what she thought, and she'd be upset. But, the stylist did a

little playing around with her hair and said that she thought bangs would actually work okay with her hair type. And, she cut her hair as short as she possibly could, while still allowing enough length for a pony tail. It turned out SO CUTE! She looks so grown up! Unfortunately, after her haircut she was being a teeny bit crabby, so the only shot Brian got was a grumpy one, but it still looks great! We're really excited to do it for school tomorrow!

Carson sat in one of the toy cars while he waited for his haircut, and was basically having the time of his life. He thought it was so fun to turn the wheel back and forth, and to twist the buttons on the dashboard. He did have to get out for a little while because he would not sit on his bottom, and was scaring his mom to death. I really did NOT want the hair cut day to turn into an ER visit with a cracked head! When it was finally his turn, I told the stylist that I wanted him to still have a "baby" haircut, but it needed to be cleaned up. I didn't want to sound like a naggy mom, but I was just worried that he'd come out of there with a buzz cut, and he'd look like an 8 year old. The stylist was VERY understanding, and very nice about the whole situation. He was a wiggle worm the whole time she was snipping away, but she said

he was doing great. And she just kept adjusting her angle, depending on what he was doing. I think she did a fantastic job making him look so very handsome, but still like my sweet little guy. I couldn't be happier about the way the haircuts turned out!

Happy Birthday Tayler!

Today, our little Tater Tot is SEVEN years old. I can hardly believe it! It seems like it was just the other day that she was running around in a diaper, telling Brian and I when we got her up in the morning "I soaked!" She's grown up so fast! She's such a responsible, caring, kind, beautiful person. We could not be prouder of the young lady she's growing up to be.

We kind of celebrated her birthday all weekend long. Friday we picked up Tayler's cousin Maddy. (she's the girl in the middle above pic, and to Tayler's right below) I took Tayler and Maddy to the mall where they got to pick out matching earrings to wear. Then we went to dinner at Tony Romas. There were grandparents, aunts, and friends galore! And a special treat....one of the teachers from Tayler's class was our server! (As she so sweetly explained to Tayler, she doesn't get paid when she's a student teacher, so she works at Tony Romas so she can pay her bills!) Tayler of course got that "I can't believe my teacher actually has a life outside of the classroom" look on her face, but was very excited to see her outside of school!

After dinner, AND dessert, we went over to the Toyota Center for a little birthday surprise....Disney On Ice!! I have to be honest, I wasn't terribly excited to go, but it turned out being a great show! The choreography was amazing, and the costumes were beautiful. We all had a great time.

We came back home and the girls giggled until the wee hours of the night. Note to self....no more slumber parties the night before a busy day!

Tonight we had some family over for BBQ'd hamburgers (Birthday Girl's pick) and cake. It's basically been a party all weekend. Tayler got some great gifts, and got to see a lot of family and friends. We're all exhausted, but I think we all had fun!

Happy Halloween!

This year, we went to the Uptown shopping center with some friends and family to trick-or-treat. The store owners hand out candy every year, and it's nice because the kids don't have to cross any streets and they get a good amount of candy in a short amount of time. Plus, it starts at 3pm when it's still light out! Perfect! Tayler and her cousins Maddy & Addy (and no they are not twins) had a great time running from store to store, collecting treats. Tayler went as a Vampire Cheerleader, and can I just say, she looked ADORABLE! And I'm not just saying that because I made her costume and did her hair and make up! She was darling. It really turned out to be a great costume.
Carson went as a cowboy this year....although he wouldn't keep his hat on, and his boots kept coming off so he ended up wearing his Vans when we went out. He still looked SO HANDSOME!

And lastly was my sisters darling little dog, Lulubell who went as Ariel from the Little Mermaid. She was a hit with everyone. Her little mermaid tail was shaking all over the place because of all of the attention!

After the Uptown trick or treating, we came home and had a big chili feed at our house. My step-dad's parents live in Arizona during the winter, and are leaving tomorrow, so this was also a bit of a "farewell" party for them too. It was great to have so many people I love at our house, laughing and having a good time. We didn't get very many trick or treaters to the house, but Tayler, Brian and I did go out and hit the houses on our street. So, we're pretty well stocked in the candy department for the next few months!

Vote for Carson!

A friend of mine showed me this "cute baby contest" being held by GAP. I thought, why not!? So I entered a few pics of Carson (you could enter 5 total) So, if you have a minute, go HERE and give him your vote! And, if you're feeling saucy, put your cute baby in the contest too!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

The Schienbein family, and Grandma Shanna, went to the Pumpkin Patch today. Every year, (except last year because Tayler's class went to Job's nursery instead) we go out to the Country Mercantile to climb the hay pyramid, to get lost in the hay maze, to pet the animals at the petting zoo, and to take a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch.

We've been taking Tayler for years, but this year was Carson's first. And boy did he have a good time! We did learn that he doesn't LOVE the feel of straw on his skin, and prefers NOT sitting next to scarecrows. And for some unknown reason, he thinks that a llama eating a piece of corn stalk is about the funniest thing he's ever seen in his life.

Tayler climbed clear to the top of the hay pyramid several times, and even noted that from up at the top, I looked like a mere ant on the ground. =) She ran around the hay maze several times, and had a great time watching the little bunnies in the petting zoo. She carefully selected a pumpkin, and although we told her she needed to pick one she could carry, she found one that was a bit too heavy, but too perfect to pass up. So, we brought it home.

I will never get sick of our Country Mercantile tradition. Every year I leave that place with the feeling that fall is really here. I love this time of year, and cannot wait for the pumpkin carving tomorrow!

My girl

Reason number 2,254,825

why I absolutely adore Tayler.

This was on the door to our bedroom last night when I got home from work. She is such a sweet girl. I love her so much!