Mother Meltdown

That would be mother as in motherboard. Tom got the news from a Dell customer-service agent in India two nights ago that our motherboard is fried. Indeed, our CPU is completely unresposive to any attempt to boot it up. No clicks. No coughs. No sputters. No smoke. Nothing. We have suspected for a while that we were in need of more memory and a new system in general, but we had no idea that we were on the brink of a meltdown. Tom has removed our memory cards, and we have our fingers crossed that we will be able to transfer them to our new computer. We are now in the market for a new computer. Shopping for electronics isn't exactly my idea of a shopping spree, but it's tough to be without a computer in the house. So, until we are up and running again, the blog posts will be on hold. Hopefully, the computer shopping will be quick and painless! Stay tuned . . .

The She Patch

Here are some shots of Marci in the patch. She was quite amused by the big, orange globes. She sat and sat while I fired away on the camera.

There were a few minutes there, where I just couldn't stop taking her picture!

I think she was getting into it, too.

Alas, she has given up the bottle, but she's holding fast on the paci!

The He Patch

Osten had a ball at the patch. If he picked up a dozen pumpkins, he picked up a hundred!

And he dropped a few, too.

This pumpkin made for the perfect stool.

And this pumpkin was just the right size for Osten to tote around all by himself. He carried this one home on his lap.

The We Patch

Here's a rare shot of the four of us. Darned sun was moving so quickly that Daddy and I got caught in it. By this point, Osten was through posing for pictures, so there was no time for a retake!

Love hurts!

Our trip to the pumpkin patch today was mostly lots of fun--until it was time for the choke-hold hug shot!

One Fish, Two Fish

On Saturdays, we've been taking the kids to a swim class at a local pool. They have both done remarkably well, and we've really enjoyed helping them learn to be comfortable in the water. Marci has especially enjoyed the pool and is a big fan of the back stroke!

Osten has learned to jump to Daddy from the side of the pool and can climb out of the pool by himself. Both kids have learned to hold their breaths, too, and we've had a good time going underwater with them.

The class is only 45-minutes in length, but we are always pooped when we leave. Usually, by about Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning, Osten is inquiring about when we can go back to the pool!

Although Osten is not such a fan of having his hair towel-dried, he gets a kick out of watching Daddy trying to convince him that it's a good idea!

Here Kitty, Kitty

A couple of weeks ago, we went to a fall festival in our neighborhood. They had activities for the kids, and Osten made this cat mask (with a little bit of help). He was very proud of his creation, and I happened to catch this picture of him the other morning wearing his mask while he was eating breakfast (in his favorite Spiderman pajamas).

Bye, Bye Bottle!

Marci is growing and changing before our very eyes. Just last week, she stood all by herself and without holding onto anything. This week, she has pretty much given up her bottle completely. Every once in a while, she seems to miss her bottle days. But for the most part, it seems like she is perfectly content to with a sippy cup. Mommy, on the other hand, dearly misses that end-of-the-day bottle, but I'm so proud of her easy transition to the sippy cup. Bye, bye bottle!

What's Cookin': A Behind-the-Scenes Peek

On Sunday, Daddy and Osten whipped up a delicious breakfast. Daddy fried up the sausage and potatoes, and Osten was in charge of the eggs . . .

and the cheese.

You can never have enough cheese!

As promised, here's a behind-the-scene peek at my favorite little chef in his favorite Spiderman underwear!

Rainy-Day Escapade

It rained. No, it POURED all day on Sunday. We were climbing the walls in no time, so we packed into Daddy's car for a family trip to the mall. We went right to the soft-play area. Marci hung out with Daddy, while Osten burned off some of his pent-up energy.

After lunch in the food court, Osten made a beeline to the notorcycles.

The ride was captivating!

As usual, Marci was Osten's best audience, and she patiently waited while Daddy and I tried to convince him that it was a good idea to go home.

Leader of the Pack

Last night, Osten and I attended the dedication ceremony for a new observation room for a wolf exhibit at a local wildlife preserve. We have visited the wolf exhibit a number of times, and it is one of Daddy's favorite places to go. There is a large pack of wolves that reside in an outdoor, fenced habitat. For a completely unexpected and unplanned change, we were one of the first people to arrive, and we jumped right in the courtesy van to go to the exhibit. It was so nice to be out of the rain, and it was just a short ride down the trail to the exhibit. Osten lead the way and even got to sit shot-gun with his two new notorcycles and was the designated lookout for the wolves.

As soon as we got out of the van, we could hear the wolves howling. The new enclosed observation room was really neat. The wolves walk by right in front of the glass, and we got to see them up close and personal!

We had dinner there, too, and as a special treat, we brought along a package of M&Ms. They kept Osten entertained during the dedication ceremony. There were lots of speakers and consequently lots of clapping, which was lots of fun for Osten.

After dinner, Osten got to pet the owl and make owl sound effects. Despite the torrential downpour on the drive home, it was a very fun night. Unfortunately, Marci turns into a pumpkin at 6:00-sharp these days, so she and Daddy stayed at home.

Double Trouble

Osten and Marci have been quite the pair lately, and I think they have both started to realize that they are in this thing called childhood together! After church on Sunday, we took them downtown to meet one of Daddy's friends and his family for pizza. Since the double-stroller is double trouble, we put each of them in their own stoller. Ah, much better for manuveuring the sidewalks and crowded pizza places!

Now that Marci's seat is facing forward, I catch the two of them holding hands during car rides quite often. Sometimes, Osten will even pass Marci a cracker or a toy.

I think Osten was trying to teach Marci how to do a "high five" here. As usual, she was quite amused by him.

Usually, holding hands is a good thing. Except when one child's hands aren't so clean. Like when he suddenly starts rubbing his nose and screaming "boo-gars!"

Giddyup!

Daddy showed Marci how to ride her horsey this weekend. She was quite proud of herself. Piper gave her this horse for her birthday, and up until now, she has only been able to chew on it and watch her brother take it for a trot. Well, she's officially in the saddle now. (Look out Osten, here she comes!)

Giddyup, little girl! The best things about this horse is the trotting sound effects that it makes and the basket in the front. All four of us are enjoying it!

Helmet Head

Osten had a trike-a-thon at school last week for a local children's hospital. They sent home information about bike safety that talked all about the importance of wearing a helmet. We had not yet had this discussion at home, and in fact, Osten's helmet was still in its packaging. We decided to break it out for the trike-a-thon. Well, it was a real hit! He held it in his lap on the ride to school and as soon as he got into his classroom, he insisted that Ms. Brandi put it on his head. Apparently, he wore his helmet until naptime!

Here's my favorite helmet head with his favorite girl!

When I picked up Marci and Osten at the end of the day, there was no way Osten was going to let me tote his trike to the car. Oh, no. He strapped that helmet back on and rode right out the door.

It took a couple of laps around the parking lot before I was able to convince him that it was time to put the trike in the trunk. You probably won't be surprised to know that he wore his helmet the whole way home!