Fall Festival pics

What a Great Idea This Was!!!

Amelia's pumpkin...the biggest one she could pick up by herself!

Hannah riding "Oreo" (she chose this name for him herself).

Amelia on her pony that she decided to call "Buttercup"

This morning we woke up to perfect weather, so we headed out to the Fall Festival at the local Methodist Church. We took Chloe (our next door neighbor/honorary Lefave) with us. The girls all had a great time doing crafts, playing games, riding ponies and getting buzzed on sugar and caffiene. One of the booths there was one where you could get your hair "painted". That was a very popular booth. I don't know who decided it would be a good idea to paint your hair, but I will bet that they have never had to scrub that stuff off of the car seats afterwards! While we were there we went to the Pumpkin Patch to pick out our halloween pumpkins. Of course Amelia wanted to biggest one there, but finally settled on one that she could actually pick up by herself. They had pumpkins of every size and a variety of colors. I guess I am a little behind the times, but I think it will take me a year or two to get used to the white pumpkins. There were also lots of "warty" pumpkins. Hannah decided she did not want a pumpkin with pimples, tho. Once all was said a done, a decision was reached and everyone, amazingly, left satisfied. Now all that is left is to decide how to carve it. Should it be cute, silly, or scary? I am sure they will change their minds many times between now and then.
Once we got home, I decided to take the rat cage apart and give it a good scrubbing, so the girls took the rats, Sally and Dumbo, for a walk. The rats actully seemed to really enjoy it! They did not mind the leash at all, and were very excited to explore every inch of the neighborhood they could. They were very hungry and exhausted when it was over. I'll bet we don't even hear the excercise wheel going in their cage tonight!! I added a few photos of the afternoon for you to see. Now all that is left is for the girls to get their baths so we can wash all that beautiful paint out of their hair before they fall asleep on my sheets. We are all tired, so maybe we can get to bed early tonight. That would be awesome!!

Meet Mulligan. He is our little foster kitty. Our neighbor found him in his car engine after he left from work and drove a bit while trying to figure out the strange noise he was hearing. Once he pulled over and began looking, he found this little guy. They really did not know how to take care of him, and he is a little dehydrated, but otherwise looks pretty good. He is a very sweet kitten. Luckily I have a friend that has a rescue organization, so she can help us place him in a good home. Hannah is having a great time playing "mommy" to him. She picked out the name from a story about a dog called "Mulligan Gets a Second Chance". We have had the talk that he will just be with us for a few days, but she has already cried about him leaving. But she has told me more than once that she wants to foster animals in need, so this is project no. 1. We will see how it goes. If anyone feels the need to adopt a really cute, loving kitten, look no further. We will deliver!!

Gosh, it has been a while since I posted anything on my blog. One of my friends from work, Angela, talked me into setting up an account on Facebook, so I have been playing around with that instead. I have gotten in touch with a couple of long lost friends through that account. Jane, it has been so much fun catching up with you!! I know you are writing to me only because you feel sorry for me, but anyway..... So the girls have picked out their costumes for Halloween. Hannah is going to be a "U.S. Diva", which is basically a really sparkly, groovy camouflage outfit with a nifty hat. I know what you are thinking, but it is what she wanted. And of course Amelia is going to be a princess. A snow princess to be exact. She has a long white dress with a "fur" hand warmer. We are now praying for an extreme cold front to move in by Halloween, or we might just spend the evening in the ER being treated for heat stroke. Don't really think we will snow for the princess. But one can hope. Of course they have worn the outfits numerous times already. Amelia has already dropped an entire plate of waffles and syrup on top of her dress. Luckily for all of us, it did not fall apart in the washing machine. If it had, she would have gone as the raggedy snow queen for Halloween. I think we will get our pumpkin either this Saturday, or Steve will take them to get one on Tuesday. He is usually the one to do the pumpkin buying and carving. I just see the pictures. But he is the "artsy" one, so he enjoys the actual carving of the pumpkin much more than I do. I will definitely have to post pictures of the girls carving the pumpkin, and all dressed in their costumes. Then the next day I can post pics of them in their sugar comas. And this year, with Steve living in Orlando, the girls might actually get to eat their own candy!!
I am signing up for a course to get my certification to teach in the state of Florida. There is a program called Teach and Inspire that seems like it will be a good fit for me, so hopefully by this time next year I can have that completed and already be teaching in a school near you. It will be a huge change from zoo work, but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do what you have to do.
Ok, that is really all for now. I will be back sooner rather than later, I think. Until then, take care.

Playing catch-up

Well, I have not been doing very well keeping up with entries for my blog. The toad houses are done, and now Dimples seems to have found a new patio to hang out on, cuz we haven't seen him on ours lately. Maybe Otis just got to be too much for him. The weather has cooled in the evenings, so that may have something to do with it.
I have been so busy lately with the girls, work, trying to sell my car, etc. Daddy came down a couple of weeks ago and brought me a "new" car. It is a 2007 Chevy Cobalt. It is a cute little car that gets pretty good gas mileage, which we all know how important that is right now! Daddy only stayed a couple of days, but it was nice to have him here. The girls really enjoyed having Daddy Hawk come to their house for a change.
Steve has moved to Orlando. He starts his new job at Disney's Animal Kingdom tomorrow. I am not sure if he is "Mouse Material" but it will be a big relief for him just to be away from Lowry Park. Hannah and Amelia are very excited about the free Disney passes he will be getting! That has made them forget about everything else for the time being. Daddy is the greatest-at least until the new wears off!
Things have been a bit hard for me lately, dealing with all the changes in my life. I never expected to be facing life as a single parent, and that has been a tough pill to swallow. But I think the girls and I are going to be ok, and we are trying to get excited about the possibility of moving to a new neighborhood in a new town soon. I am currently scouring the internet for job possibilities in Jaksonville and Melbourne, since I have family in each of those cities to help me with the girls. Steve is still a hands on Dad, but he is not going to be around nearly as much as before, so I think I am going to have to cry "Uncle" and ask for help. It's been a bit hard on my pride and self-esteem, but as they say, "That which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". I should be pretty darn strong when I get through all of this. Right now I am just trying to figure out how people do this parenting thing on their own. Where do they find the time to get everything done?