Halloween Prep

The kids and I have been preparing for Halloween all week with spooky parties and events.

Maggie wore her first costume to gym on Monday for a fashion show. She planned a theme with her teammate, Lily, and surprised everyone with her life size peach outfit. She is definitely our little Georgia peach!

Maggie and I organized Jacob's preschool party on Tuesday. I love searching for sweet, festive ideas because it is such a short time that I can actually participate in school parties.

Jacob's Firefly Class is just the cutest! I enjoyed meeting all the parents and watching the kids interact. There are so many new friends this year!

Our final Halloween event was this morning at the big kids' school. It was the annual book character parade. Maggie wore her second costume of Fern from Charlotte's Web, complete with a Wilber sidekick. Tuttle wore his actual Halloween costume. He is currently obsessed with the Beatles, so I searched the internet for costume ideas. It might be my favorite costume any of my children have worn!

Jacob made it his mission to point out every Spiderman, Star Wars character, and Harry Potter in the parade. You could hear Tuttle before he was actually seen since he played his guitar throughout the school. Maggie was her typical shy self, but she made the best Fern.

We are thrilled to add another pumpkin to our patch this year with Rosie. Despite the cold and rain, all four Thorne babies are ready to rack up in candy tonight!

Fall Frenzy

The rain thankfully held off for the fall fair at the kids' school this past Saturday. Since I was in charge of raffle baskets again, I needed everything to run smoothly, so I would not have 23 baskets living in my dining room anymore. :)

I NEVER take photos during the fall fair because I am so busy with the baskets, but everyone had a great time, and Daddy handled the three kids plus a soccer game with ease. In true Maggie fashion, she won a raffle basket called "Dog Lovers" for Rosie. 

I hurried home to get ready for Matt and Anne's engagement party only to discover our babysitter cancelled 30 minutes before she was supposed to arrive due to sickness. We are thankful for good friends that let us dump our kids on them last minute, so we could make the celebration in time!

We competed in the annual pumpkin carving contest yesterday. The votes are still out, but I appear to be taking home the trophy again with my puppy pumpkin. Jay insists I am just getting sympathy votes....

I organized the activities for the week last night. It is a FULL week of parties, snacks, costumes, sports practices, projects, and trick-or-treating. I have zero clue how working moms get it all done!

Jacob is finally snack bringer/ line leader/ calendar helper this week at preschool. I could not do normal snacks during a holiday week. Maggie is the biggest help with my ideas!

Ms. Maggie Independent can handle her book character pumpkin book report almost all my herself. (Except for cleaning up the red paint she tracked throughout the house...)

It is Red Ribbon Week at school, so the big kids have a different dress up theme each day. We started with "I mustache you to make good choices." Tuttle was the only one who wanted to sport my homemade mustache this morning.

I am feeling Jacob's mood right now. Life with three kids is EXHAUSTING! But I will keep them around. :)

Rosie Thorne

We are proud to introduce the newest member of our family, Rosie Thorne.

Jay and I had been discussing getting a puppy for a while now, and during Jay's staycation this week he found the perfect chocolate lab for our family. It was a quick decision to go for it, but we are so glad we took the plunge. She is the sweetest!

Jay surprised Tuttle at school and picked him up early to go on an adventure. Tuttle had absolutely no idea what was in store for him. I was anxiously waiting at home for updates. I knew this would be the surprise of a lifetime!

Tuttle was a little emotional about the idea of a new dog after his beloved Smelly, but Rosie is irresistible, and she already stolen our hearts.

Tuttle is primarily responsible for Rosie and is taking his role very seriously. He did not hesitate to get up at 6am this morning to take her out. I hope this excitement lasts! :)

I guess we should rename the blog to A Tale of Six Thornes now.

Rainy Weekend with a Win

While Daddy went hunting in South Georgia for the weekend, the kids and I made the best of a rainy weekend. Since soccer was cancelled, we headed to a matinee movie that the kids had been asking to see, The Addams Family.

After naps for Jacob and me, the kids competed in a haunted gingerbread house decorating contest. Maggie won by a landslide, but all three houses looked impressive!

Maggie and I were excited to head to another competition on Sunday. Our Moo had both grandmothers there to cheer her on!

This was a larger meet with very strong gymnasts, but Maggie rose to the occasion and showcased her best work on the bars with a 9.550. She placed first in her age group.

Sadly we only have two more meets this season, including state. We are loving the competition, and we will be counting down the days until Level 4 meets next year.

Daddy took a staycation this week, and he is coming along to some of the kids weekly activities that he misses while at work. The babies are treasuring their time with him! They may be in for an extra special surprise tomorrow!

Our Own Jack-O'-Lantern

Maggie's second front tooth has been loose for a while now, and it had really started to dangle the last few days. Jay and I tried to convince Maggie to let us pull it, but she would burst into tears at the thought. I find this so ironic because the girl does not bat an eye when she gets shots at the doctor's office. I finally gave up and hoped it would fall out before her meet on Sunday.

It did not take long for that to happen. Maggie's wild baby brother took care of that problem after dinner when they were playing outside. I was not there to witness the squabble, but he punched her right in the mouth, and that tooth went flying! We all searched the yard for the tooth with no success. For once we were kind of happy that Jacob had hit.... No more dangling tooth! :)

Maggie wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy to explain why her tooth was not actually under her pillow. Luckily it worked, and she woke up to one dollar in its place.

I think Maggie's jack-o'-lantern smile is the perfect accessory for Halloween this year!

Under Construction (Again)

Jay and I have plunged into another renovation after our huge project two summers ago. I asked my handy husband to renovate our guest bathroom as a birthday present. (There was no possibility of saying no to a birthday request.) While it is a small space, I have requested new tile, new bead board, wallpaper, vanity and toilet upgrades, and a smooth ceiling. I have full confidence in Jay that it will turn out perfectly. :)

Here are some before pictures of the project. It was definitely in need of an overhaul.

Jacob is in "Worker Heaven" watching Daddy demo the bathroom. He always has his toy tool box by his side in case an assistant is needed.

We did discover a small amount of water damage, but it was expected. Luckily Grumps can fix anything, so we have called in his expertise, as well. I know he is thrilled....

There is some urgency to finish this project because all five of us have to share a bathroom during the renovation. I cannot wait to see the final product!

Fall Break

The kids have been out of school since Thursday for Fall Break, and it actually feels like FALL! While all of our best friends went on mini-vacations, we knocked out our favorite traditional fall activities closer to home.

Thursday we visited the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to see the scarecrows set up throughout the gardens. It is one of our favorite times to go each year! The kids lucked out with being able to vote on the winners this year, and they took this role very seriously as they examined all the options.

Maggie and I agreed that the llama scarecrow was the best!

The weather was so perfect that we extended our visit with a walk through Piedmont Park.

We arrived home to a fun surprise. The kids had been Boo-ed! We are officially ready for Halloween now!

The fall festivities continued on Friday with our annual trip to B.J. Reece Orchards in North Georgia. While our big group of friends could not visit with us this year, we picked up Parker as a bonus child since her parents had to work. She was a great addition to our family!

We started by filling our bags (and wagon) with apples. Jacob could not stop pulling apples from the trees once he got the hang out it.

Our next stop was the petting farm. Tuttle spent most of his time with the puppies. He may be wearing me down on the idea of a new dog for our family..... 

The underground slide was our final apple orchard stop. It is a good thing I took all my photos first because the kids left filthy from the adventure down the slide over and over!

We stood in line for over 30 minutes to purchase all our apple treats, but it was worth it! We left with apple pies, apple doughnuts, apple cider, apple chips, and enough apples to feed the neighborhood! 

Our major Fall Break excitement is over now. The kids only have flu shots and cleaning out closets and dresser drawers for colder weather clothes to look forward to..... Hopefully they can hang on to the fun memories from early in the week to make it through the work. :)