Halloween - GRRRR

Halloween has never been my fav day of the year and I don't consider it a holiday. I wait until it passes and then start decorating for my FAVORITE holiday - Christmas!

So, Bug is Obi Wan from Star Wars - $39.99, E is Optimus Prime from Transformers -$12.88 and R WAS going to be Bumblebee from Transformers - $12.88 but decided that Bumblebee isn't cool so now he's Iron Man from, well, Iron Man - $12.88. BTW, he has no idea what or who Iron Man is because it's PG13 and as far as I know, Daddy hasn't let them see it - YET. I lost Bumblebee's receipt so I'm out $12.88 plus tax! We bought 3 pumpkins from Laganor Farms - $15 and while we were there bought loads of tickets for games and then bought ice cream and a baked apple for me :) $60. I need to buy treats for school parties and no doubt H will decide at the last minute that she will go to the "stupid Marion Halloween party" after all...

When all is said and done, the Walters will have spent around $200+ on my least favorite day of the year...That's a lot of Christmas decorations!!! GRRR

As I type this, I remember the first Hallowen I dressed the twins. They were 1 and they were twin Frankensteins and they were so cute. They hated the costumes, would NOT wear the hats and cried - they cried ALOT, they had their sippie cups in their mouths just SOBBING...

I bought them big so that they could wear them again the following year and guess what - SOBBING with cups in their mouths!!! At least they wore the hats...We'll see what this year brings...

The money pit

So, you'd think with the world economy going down the drain, the Walters family might tighten their purse strings...not a chance. "We have to finish the pole barn..." (This is E - not me). So, we bought 1 acre of property to the North of us in 2006 for the new pole barn. It was a totally wooded slope. No problem - we had it excavated.

The pole barn went up and we're thrilled. Now it needs a floor. Not just any floor - a radiant heated floor. The difference is about $10k. Then we need an office, a bathroom and a mezzanine. That's right - a mezzanine, for storage.

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to move the office to the pole barn and I'm even more excited to have the bathroom out there too. The bathroom means 2 things; no more muddy boots doing a potty dance throughout the house and no more public peeing. They can use the bathroom in the pole barn! That's VERY cool. Drawback - I have to clean a 3rd bathroom!!!

Here are 3 pictures, all taken in the month of August - 2006, 2007 and 2008, the pole barn transformation!

My first post

I'm new at blogging, but it seems everyone is doing it. I love to stay in touch with people via their blogs, it helps me feel connected.

E and I have been married for 12 years~I can't believe it! We have 4 kids, an awesome house in Marion set on 12 beautiful acres with a NEW POLE BARN :) (That's a whole other post - stay tuned...) That's our waterfall feature above, it's right outside the kitchen! I love it...

I have a step-daughter, H - she's pretty awesome. She's 17 and a Sr. She's been living with us since September 07 and, as is with all teenagers, things are either EXCELLENT or CRAPPY. There is nothing in between. I love having another girl in the house. Hopefully she loves being with us. :)

I have 3 boys - Bug is 8, R and E are 6. They're a handful as you can see in the picture :) When I'm not tearing the house apart looking for the missing leaf green Pokemon game or the game boy itself I'm your everyday SUPER MOM. Okay, super is a bit over the top but hey, there are days I should wear a cape!!!

I can't wait to share stories - I crack my parents up all the time with funny things the boys do and say. My Mom is always telling me I should write it down - so I'm writing it down. Stay tuned for funny stories, sad stories and generally crazy ones too!