Pumpkin Carving

Here's one of those somewhat-cookie-cutter posts... you have to follow up the trip to the Pumpkin Patch with a post from pumpkin carving, right?

Do you remember this picture?

Hannah was so proud of this pumpkin and so excited to pick it out. It looked good. Thursday night we went to get the pumpkins to carve, and it was rotting. Gross gross. We knew she'd be upset about her little pumpkin, so I ran and stole one off of Grandma and Grandpa's front porch. Crisis averted (kinda like the time a few months ago when MAtt got home and saw that Brooke's sucker fish had died. He ran to walmart and got a new one before she got home from school!).

Started to carve the pumpkins. Brooke's was like rotting inside? It was liquidy, and it STUNK. STINK STANK STUNK. It was so gross. Gag. We proceeded with cleaning it out (which partly included pouring it out. Gag). I worked on Hannah's replacement pumpkin and got the design put on the third pumpkin. Do you think the fact that we kept them in the garage for a week is what caused them to rot?

Hannah was a tired girl!

I thought Hannah would be totally grossed out cleaning out the pumpkin but she dove right in! She was very very interested in the whole process. The next morning she woke up and was very upset she could not find her pumpkin. They are currently on the backporch since someone already stole two of them a few weeks ago.

We always make them take their shirts off so they don't get pumpkin crap all over them. I had pumpkin crap all over me, Matt looked at my pumpkin-y leg, and then at me and said "you are taking a shower before bed tonight, right?" :)

Happy Halloween. Oh and guess what I'm handing out. Candy Canes. Ain't no joke. I have always thought that would be totally hysterical, and I bought some at Walgreens. HoHoHallow!

Mommy Monday

It's Monday...which means for a few weeks, this blog is going to share a pic of a Mommy in FRONT of the camera instead of always behind it! This week we have Jodi... mommy of Olivia and angel Logan. We are blog buddies but have had a few chances to get together, including going to the New Kids on the Block concert together. Wayyy fun.

She sent me this picture of she and Olivia on a slide recently at a pumpkin patch... and confessed that she's scared of slides. (She- the mom!). I think that's a little crazy but I guess we are all a little crazy sometimes right? :) Thanks Jodi for sending me the pic...

Now which one of you dedicated blog readers is going to be the star of next week's Mommy Monday? Tap tap tap.... McFly...anyone in there?

Have a great day!

The Annual Trek to the Pumpkin Patch...

The annual trek to the Pumpkin Patch could also be known as "one of my favorite days of the year."

I love going to the pumpkin patch. I don't recall doing it as a kid...not really many pumpkin patches in rural Iowa that I can remember. It has become a tradition around here for the past 4 or 5 years, and I think I might be dragging the girls to the Pumpkin Patch when they are in High School. I love it.

Fall is my favorite season. The weather is perfect...differing from Spring in that it means winter is coming. I much prefer "winter is coming" to "summer is coming" because I hate hot weather. Fall is perfect. Jeans and tshirts. Shorts and hoodies. No profuse sweating. Mums. (Have you locals noticed how fabulous some of the mums are looking around here this year? makes up for the lack of vibrancy in the trees I guess?!).

Anyways I'm getting off track. We went to the Pumpkin Patch last week and as always, had a wonderful time. We went on a Thursday evening and there was no crowd at all, which is the way we like it! Here are some pics from the outing, not in pumpkin-patch-touring order.

This is the one we like to go to. It's wonderful.

The annual picture by the measuring stick. These will be great if I ever get back into scrapbooking every year of their lives. Right now I just want to get the Disney trip from 2009 scrapbooked before our Disney cruise in 2011. Off subject, again, I know.

We could have saved $7/per person and just gone to the pet store. The girls were most happy to play with the farm dogs and cats. These girls need a dog. It just ain't right for two little girls to love dogs as much as they do and not have one. I'm getting off subject again, aren't I. You can read more about the dog debate here anyways. On with the Pumpkin Patch.

This sweet dog has apparently given birth to a zillion litters, because her nipples were seriously dragging. My girls loved her. There was another one who rode out to the patch with us too. Screw the pumpkins, let's pet the dog!

They also loved the slide. This was Hannah's first time down it. Matt was not in the mood to go on it with her, so he sent her down alone. A little caddywompous coming out the first time, but she was ready to go again. and again. and again.

They trudged up that hill about 20 times I think. Hannah always wanted to do it herself. Which was pretty much fine with me. I think they are ready to go sledding at Chatauqua Park in my hometown if they could handle going up this sledding hill!


I have a serious thing about pictures of people walking away over a bridge. I just love the shot.

Children of the Corn...and I am not talking about Cornhuskers. Poohpooh on Nebraska, regardless of their mascot, I will always think of Iowa as the corn state.... hence why I had to snap some pics in the corn pit.

The jumping pillow. I LOVE this thing. I want one in my backyard.

Hey look! It's a cat! If Brooke wasn't allergic, that might solve our pet problems. bummer.

On the trailer/tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch in their matching witch shirts made by Grandma.

"I got one! I don't need help!"


The girls and their goofy papa.

The girls and grandma!

The obligatory forced family picture of the four of us. For the record, Matt did survive being forced to take this.

z girls.

and there ends the 2010 Pumpkin Patch Report. Bring on the Christmas trees!

Spray this!

I told you I had an uncanny itch to spray paint something... I found a victim!

Hello ugly chair. Leftover from an old, donated-to-me-when-I-moved-to-Great Bend-to-be-a-youth-director-right out-of-college, dining room set. I gave the dining set and four chairs away years ago, but we kept two chairs for random purposes. One would be to stick at a desk in the spare bedroom for scrapbooking.

That would be this chair. Yuck.


We've been in the midst of a furniture switcherrooney the last few days because we bought a bedroom set from the neighbors for when Hannah moves to a big girl bedroom. Had to stick some of it in the spare/scrapbooking room. To make some space, we moved my little scrapbook desk and chair into the corner of our bedroom, where it will sit for a few months.

I love my bedroom and could not stand to have so much ugliness sitting in it.

Hello Krylon.


I sanded the chair down (a little bit, I didn't know we had a sander and my arm got tired).
Then I went to town with the spray paint. I did about two coats. Then I had to wait for it to dry so I could sand some spots and make it look a little "aged."

The fine print on the top of the can, if you can't read it, says it dries in 10 minutes or less.

Beautiful day so I sat on the patio.

I noticed how ridiculously dirty my feet got from being in the wet yard. Our neighbor waters way too much! Anyways, look at my gross toes. (I hate feet on anyone older than about 6 yrs old. Feet are gross.)

Apparently I was bored in the 10 minutes that I sat there. About 4 minutes into it, nearly 100 birds flew over. I thought for sure one of them was going to dump on my nice white chair. "Hey look Fred, A bullseye!!!"

fortunately none of the birdies did that. I snagged a picture of the stragglers, just to prove that I did indeed have this thought during the ten minutes.

Then I had "a moment." A reminiscent moment. Where I remembered what I used to do with spray paint in my hands.

bridge. south of town. a bunch of good girls late on a weekend. spraying the bridge (it was underneath RR tracks) with "I love _____" statements as well as "Jesus Loves You!". Graffitti for our guys and God. A bunch of good girls doing something illegal, we were jumpy as heck when we saw headlights! Ahhhh but the memories. Erin, Kristen?

Anyways! Spray paint. Graffitti. I had to take advantage. of course, hannah was napping and I'm not ballsy enough to do anything illegal anymore, so I had to settle for an "I Love MC" sprayed on the grass in the backyard. :) First time I've graffitti'd anything regarding Matt. and we've been married 11 years!

Finally my 10 minutes were up. I sanded the edges a little, and here is my completed chair. Now I kinda think I should do the desk to match!

No telling what my next project will be, but this was fun and it scratched the itch for a few minutes.

Don't forget to send me your pics of YOU in FRONT of the camera this week! :)

Mommy Monday!

I'm on a blogging roll, folks, a blogging roll. Enjoy it while it lasts, because you know it's feast or famine around here!

I've got a little idea I want to do for at least the next few Mondays if I can remember to do so.

I want to get some pics of the mommy's up for the world to see.

We are usually behind the camera, are we not? I try to make a point of, on days I think I look alright, saying "take our picture!" because I want to be commemorated too! :)

I also try to hand the camera off and say "take our picture!" (of Matt and I or the four of us). Matt is usually grumbling "why do we have to do this all the time" and I sit there and wonder how does he think pictures of all four of us are going to happen otherwise? Duh.

Here are some examples of my efforts to get in front of the camera lately:

Matt came down for church the other night wearing the exact same color as me. I said "ooh! Take our pic, we're so cute!" He took our picture, and then promptly went upstairs to change his shirt!

Forced family pic at the Pumpkin Patch the other day!

Stinkerbell and I at the Pumpkin Patch!

So, I want to see some pics of you! My readers. I want you to hand the camera off to hubby and say "take my picture!" or "take a pic of the kids and me!". You don't have to be beautimous. Just smile for the camera! And if you are a hubby who reads this, well then, don't run from the camera! Give your wife a big ol "CHEESE" and then email the pic to me.

On Mondays for the next few weeks, I'm going to share these pics here on Worthwhile Moments. It will be fun. A peek into the life of some of my friends!

So. Get yourself in some pictures. (No this does not mean digging out last year's Christmas picture! Get in front of the camera this week!!!). Email me a pic or two, tell me a little about it! Then I will share them with the world, or my 25 readers...whatever, right!?

You can email me at abcangie87@yahoo.com

In the meantime, guess what I did today? I spray painted something. Whoohoo!! Stay tuned!

Redecorating Bug

Did you notice I changed the background on my blog?

I have the redecorating bug. That was one project that was actually within my budget :)

I have plans to do the girls' bathroom in a ladybug theme.


Hannah's future big girl room is going to be green and purple, with monkeys. This weekend we got a great deal on a bedroom set for her room from some neighbors. I had planned on letting her use Brooke's old stuff...which was my old stuff.... and it really had lived its life in this house. Now her new set is (almost) nicer than the new stuff we bought Brooke a few months ago..but oh well! Anyways, I've been slowly acquiring things for her room.

We really are feeling like we don't like our 650 thread count brushed cotton sheets. I'm thinking about selling them or turning them into curtains. Do you think you can turn sheets into curtains?

Ever since I saw this post I have had an uncanny urge to spray paint something. It's making me crazy. I even told the lady at the pumpkin patch the other day that next year they should paint their cat black for the season. Really I said they should put some semi-permanent hair dye on it...but I was thinking about spray paint :)

dude, i need an intervention, or some money to indulge in these projects!

I like our kitchen, but I even have an itch to redecorate it. It's so not in the budget with all the other things we have to do around here. And I'm not into antiques, but watching "American Pickers" is making me want to do something vintage in the kitchen! I have a vision of fun vintage "food" signs, etc. I got an uppercase living quote that says "A messy kitchen is a happy kitchen" and I keep envisioning putting it on a piece of glass that has a distressed wood frame (thinking old window-type look) to hang over our window.

If I can just hold on...maybe doing Christmas decorations in a few weeks will help cure the itch for now!? :)

Fall Photos-near Fail

Little miss Hannah is a cute little thing, isn't she?
Her personality is bigger than she is.
She gives big hugs, big smiles, big laughs, big entertainment, big fits.
She knows all about cameras and how to pose like her sister.

Do you think she would be so inclined to do that when I took her out to do fall pics?
No.
I do pics of the girls in October every year because it is their 1/2 birthday.

You're thinking, "So, she's 2.5? What did you expect?"

Yeah yeah. Apparently too much.

Here's what I got on that gorgeous day.

Mommy! Don't stand so far from me!

NO. That is exactly what she is saying here.

Giggle Giggle Giggle

Get Me Down! That is exactly what she is saying here.

Uh huh.

Another Mommy! Come closer! I scared! moment.

Clinginess strikes at the most inopportune times.

So I decided to pack it and try some pics at home. Certainly she'd cooperate with some pumpkins from Dillons to sit with, right?

Wrong. This kid likes to play in the dirt.


Notice she is long done with her shoes.


Were there any successes you wonder? A few I think. Very few.

If she hadn't ditched the shoes and insisted on putting her feet on the pumpkins, I would not have gotten this shot. Cropped out the uncooperative upper half of said 2 yr old.

This one is almost good if her grin wasn't so cheesey.

This one is almost good too.

This one is super sweet.

This one is the essence of Hannah, captured in a picture.

This one is a keeper.

I would bet money I'll have much better luck with Brooke. Stay tuned.