It's back...& I have partaken.

Oh sweet Heavenly goodness.

Does life get any better than a planet-sized Costco Pumpkin Pie?

Especially when each slice is topped with half a can of this deliciousness?

I think not.

An Autumnal Chill is in the Air.

We finally made our annual trek to Half Moon Bay for our pumpkins. 

A full-bladdered pregnant lady, a car-sick uncle in the back seat, a Dad driver who kept questioning if this is really a tradition or if I'm just making it up, a 2 year-old cheerfully yelling,

"Pumpkin patch...Where are you???"

& an hour & a half later

...thank you traffic...

we arrived.

OH HOW I LOVE FALL!

Is it breaking the Sabbath...

...if I attend the North Valley Baptist Church this Sunday in place of my usual house of worship?

Satan knows he can't get me to commit the doozie sins, but he may have found a method to get me.

Here goes:

A nice young fella knocked on my door yesterday.

He handed me a pamphlet & invited me to their Church services this Sunday.

I never read those things, but this caught my eye:

So I read it.

Every adult who attends in the congregation will be given a

$10 Target gift card!!!

WHAT???

Can this be true?

I asked the youngin' & he said,

"It's a special promotion we're doing."

I thought,

"Your church does promotions?"

S.W.E.E.T.N.E.S.S.

Do I go where I get free Target bucks, or do I go where I hand over a check from my own bank account?

This could possibly be the greatest debacle I've ever been in.

ps- I can seat 8 so if anyone's interested in carpooling...

One man's trash....you know the rest.

Actually, it's not trash I'm speaking of.

It's the lovely tree that Tat & Avy brought home for me the other day from their walk

(see previous post).

Anywho, my freaking genius friend Ashley suggested in her comment that I make a Halloween ditty out of it.

Thanks for the suggestion, Ash!

So this has been our project all morning:

I give you...

The Spooky Halloween Tree

My cup runneth over.

Charity. Acts of kindness. Pure love.

This is what I've been surrounded with lately:

Exhibit A:

Dear friend Kaari knew just how to brighten my day.

I went to my car & found a little gifty on the windshield.

It was a pair of Troy Bolton socks.

Nothing says "I care about you" more than the gift of Zac E caressing my feet every night as I sleep.

Thank you, KJ.

Exhibit B:

The YM/YW of our ward were out doing a service scavenger hunt last week.

They stopped by our house.

They handed my a list of service suggestions, which I quickly handed back to them.

I told them,

"The greatest thing you could do for me right now would be to paint my toenails."

So they did.

If you've ever been 35 weeks pregnant, had a muffin top or a spare tire, you know painting your own toes is a thing of the past.

Bless you youth of Zion, bless you.

Exhibit C:

Tat & Avy set out for a jaunt yesterday afternoon around the neighborhood.

Upon their return, the dazzling duo brought me back all sorts of fond treasures from nature.

How sweet of them to be thinking of me while on their adventure.

My personal favorite is the love token of the branch that's twice my height.

When I saw the 2 approach the house with half a tree slung over Tat's shoulder, I knew I was in for some goodness.

Thanks to everyone who cares about me.

What's in a name?

Well, considering it's the final countdown

...5 weeks & counting...

we decided we should probably get serious about a name for

Tat Jr.

Call us crazy, but making him put "Baby Brudda" on the top of his college applications & resume in the future just seemed like rude parenting.

So we think we've officially agreed on:

...drumroll please...

Lincoln

Penny for your thoughts?

I won't really pay you.

Remember when...

...your birthday was like the MOST EXCITING THING EVER

& you celebrated for weeks & weeks?

Ms. Red has full understanding of this concept.

In fact, I caught her singing the Happy Birthday ditty to herself twice yesterday.

(for the record...I am having serious issues with the settings on my computer, thus leaving me no way of moving my pics around, & not allowing me to de-underline my text. Deepest apologies for the out of order pics on this post, but at least you can catch a lil glimpse of the b-day fun)

CK swiping a kiss from the B-day Princess

(can't blame him, she's pretty hot)

A & Tat in the bouncey house...a crowd FAVORITE.
Party-goers, expect one of these babies every year.
It makes my job as the entertainer very simple.


The after-party girl.
It was a HOT day with lots of sun in the backyard.


Trying on one of her new gifts after the party.
LOVED the princess dress (thank you, Maddie) & did quite the modeling session in it after the crowds dispersed.



As every true party girl knows,
the guest of honor must change clothes multiple times during the soiree. Special shout-out to young friend Reese for this skirt/legging combo. She LOVES it!



The royal, exhausted, sweaty, largely pregnant family.

The party cake - made with love & elegance by Great Grandma Griffin.


The party favors...
wands for girls, swords for boys.

The pinata-
such a strange tradition.

Lovely guests, J & K, at the crown-making station.

Clearly CK can't keep his hands off Ms. A.

Tat, you may need to have a discussion with the young fella.

Avy was such a helper when it came to making the swords the week before the party.

Glitter is her middle name.

In addition, she loved scattering the jewels for the favors all throughout the house. They are still appearing in unwanted hiding spots.

Birthday present opening on the morning of her actual B-day.

Crown cake scarfing on the night of her B-day.

Hats & blowers: the cheaper entertainment.

The foodie spread.

The bevvie spread.

The crown-making table.

The other crafty stations.

The princess coloring station.

And that's a wrap folks.

All pics can be seen at www.theatwoods.smugmug.com

Do's & Do Not's of Pregnancy

I've tried to refrain from too many annoying pregnancy posts, but I feel this list will aide someone out there in blog land.

Feel free to add or subtract to your liking.

Do drink In-N-Out milkshakes in excess.

Do NOT drink McDonald's McFlurries in excess.

Do use a cart while shopping at Ikea.

Do NOT try to be a tough lady & haul a rolled 5'x7' hefty rug through the ENTIRE store over the right shoulder of your 7.5 month pregnant body.

Speaking of Ikea:

Do run errands secretively without your husband knowing.

Do NOT give him any idea that you are nesting.

When he sees multiple charges (& returns) for Ikea & Target on this month's Discover bill...

he will find out.

Forgiveness is easier than permission.

Do nap while your other child (children) are sleeping.

Do NOT try to be overly productive & make a million fairy princess wands & knight swords in the precious 2 hours that are yours & only yours.

Do eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch in excess.

Do NOT eat Froot Loops in excess.

Do munch on pretzels in excess.

Do NOT munch on hand-fulls of Jelly Bellies in excess (ralph).