Tagged..7 things and 8 things

I've been tagged by my sister and sister-in -law. First I'm supposed to list 7 quirky things about myself. Stuff like this is so hard for me because I feel like I am so boring. I really have to think hard, so here goes...

1) I have to check every door and window in the house to make sure they are locked before I can go to bed. I also check in every closet to make sure no one is in there. I also won't sleep with any windows in the house open, Ray and I have gotten in more than one argument over this. He told me that my paranoia was starting to scare him. This all may be residual child protection worker PTSD. I know, it sounds like I am borderline insane and slightly OCD...

2) I can't emphasize how much I HATE pictures of myself. I avoid the camera like the plague and usually erase any picture of myself that I can. I know I need to get over this, I know it is important of me to have pictures with my kids...maybe after the baby is born and I have lost 30 pounds!!

3) I used to watch Days of our Lives every day. I stopped watching soaps all together about 2 years ago and now whenever I pass by one while flipping through the channels I feel sick to my stomach, I can't even stand to watch for 2 seconds.

4) I haven't seen a rated R movie for about 7 years. I also rarely watch PG-13 movies anymore.

5) I can't go to sleep if there are dishes in the sink. The rest of the house may be a disaster, but the kitchen has to be clean.

6) I am extremely political and extremely patriotic. I used to be an emotional, bleeding-heart liberal but have evolved into a pretty conservative person. The TV in my room is usually on fox news all day (of course, I can't turn the TV off because it's so old that it takes about 45 minutes for the picture to come on again!).

7) I LOVE CANDY!!! I think I have the biggest sweet tooth in the entire world-it is my biggest downfall in the continual weight loss saga...

Now 8 Things...

8 Shows I Love to Watch:
The Office
The Biggest Loser
Medium
American Idol
Amazing Race
Fringe
The Closer
Wheel of Fortune, 24, Family Fued, America's Funniest Home Videos....

8 Things That Happened Today:
Went to the gym
Fed the kids breakfast
Made all the beds
Got Grace ready for school
Voted (see below)
Sorted the Laundry
Started the Laundry
Did a blog post

8 Places I Love to Eat:
Anywhere I don't have to cook
Costco
Wendy's
Blake's Lota-Burger (Albuquerque)
That Mexican Restaurant by our house in Boise (what was the name Dana?)
Jack in the Box (love the stuffed jalapenos!!)
Red Robin has been really good the last couple times I have eaten there
Big Juds

8 Things I am Looking Forward to:
November 5th
Baby girl (I think she will be Naomi) being born
Losing all my baby weight once and for all!!!
Going to mom and dad's cabin in Cascade, ID in a couple weeks (if mom and dad can make it)
Going home for Thanksgiving
Elliot being potty trained
Going back to school someday
Getting rid of all the Halloween candy (it's a love/hate thing)

8 Things on my Wish List:
Moving back to southern ID someday
A house I really love
Travel the world
A family reunion with all the family there (good one Dana!)
More money
A pedicure
Kids who all sleep all night (three down, one to go-I am anticipating life in a couple months)
Elliot being potty trained

8 People I Tag:
I tag everyone on my sidebar (if you haven't already done it), I know it's more than 8...

And Last of All....
I voted today. Like I said before, I don't love John McCain, but I voted for him for a few reasons. Most importantly, I think he can better keep us safe. I think this issue has been lost with the recent financial meltdown in our country, but it continues to be a major issue for me. Not that my vote makes much of a difference on the national level- Washington will go to Obama, but maybe I can make a difference in the local elections. Go Dino Rossi!! I have 2 brothers, a sister, and 2 sisters-in-law living in battleground states. YOU have a chance to actually make a difference- please, please, please, vote. There, I'm done!!

Happy Halloween!!

We had a very fun and crazy Halloween!  Grace was so excited, I was in my room when she woke up that morning (Maggie was already up) and I hear her say (through the monitor) "It's Halloween!".  She was very excited!  We managed to make it through 2 school parties, a doctors appt (why I scheduled it on Halloween I will never understand!), trunk-or-treating at church and trick or treating in the neighborhood.  I was so glad when everyone was finally in bed, especially after Maggie's inevitable sugar-induced, sleep-deprived meltdown 1 hour before her usual bed time! Enjoy!

Grace the cat, checking out all the cuties in her class!  My camera died after I took about 3 pics, so I didn't get much of the party :(

Mrs. Smith was dressed as the old woman who swallowed a fly-it was so cute!  She had all the things she swallowed in bags, hanging down in front.

Elliot, taking a break between festivities.  Ray took him to his party at preschool, so I don't have any pictures of that, but he came home with a huge haul of candy!!

Dinner...Jack-o-lantern pizza.  Gotta love Papa Murphys!!

Maggie was so adorable in her little pumpkin outfit, and she TOTALLY got in to trunk or treating.  She was so excited about all her candy in her little bucket.  (Click on these pics to get a better shot of the little pumpkin :)

She was sitting on the curb checking out the spoils.  She completely flipped when I tried to take her bag from her in the car!  I was going to have her stay with me while Ray took Grace and Elliot around the neighborhood, but she was so not having that.  Ray took her walking around the neighborhood and she had such a great time!

Meow!

ARRRRH!!

Claustrophobia and Milestones...

Lately it seems like I often find Elliot in the dryer, with the door shut.  I would be so beyond claustrophobic in there it isn't even funny.  But he really seems to like it!!  (Kind of scary, I know)

Grace reached another milestone in her little life...she learned to tie her shoes!!  We got a book, which didn't help a whole lot, but the one thing that did help was the shoelaces in the book that were different colors on each end.  That really did it for her.  So I took some extra shoelaces that came with her shoes, cut them in half, tied them together and put them in her shoes.  Now she is a pro!!  She was so excited that she called dad, grandma and grandpa.  She said, "Did you know that I can tie my shoes all by myself now?".  She was very proud of herself.

I just put this pic of Maggie in here because she is so cute!!

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

My mom and dad came to visit this last weekend.  We had so much fun!!  We kept it a secret from the kids and they were so beyond excited when they woke up on Saturday morning!  We went to a really fun pumpkin patch/apple orchard.  It was such a nice day, we didn't even need coats.  Then we went went to Cat Tales, which is a zoo for big cats that have been rescued.  Grandma and Grandpa got to see Grace in her primary program at church on Sunday, where she sang a little solo and had a line to recite.  She also gave a talk in primary that they got to see.  We were so sad to see them go on Sunday :(  But the good thing about moving back to the west is that we get to see them a lot more and we can't wait for Thanksgiving!!

I'm not sure what Elliot was doing in this picture...

We got some really yummy apples that Maggie immediately got in to.

Elliot and Grace got to ride on the ponies.  They loved it!

The big cats...

The finished product from our trip to the pumpkin patch.  I think Grace was trying to channel the jack-o-lantern!

Remember all those missing brain cells?

I TOTALLY forgot that today was snazzy shoe day at school.  I felt so bad...we got to the bus stop and saw all the other kid's decorated shoes and Grace was so sad.  I actually even thought about it yesterday when I was at the grocery store, but obviously the thought didn't stick in my mind.  I feel like such a bad mom, making my daughter so sad!!!

Nothing to Eat...

This is a picture of my fridge today...probably the emptiest it has ever been.  But we have milk and diet Dr. Pepper so we are good!  I do have ingredients for dinner tonight, old standby chicken and rice, and believe it or not we rarely go out to eat.  I just haven't been to the store in a while...I'll probably go tomorrow.  

Monday Thoughts...

Monday is laundry day, need I say more?

Elliot went potty by himself today, without me asking.  It is probably because he wanted to play on the computer and I always make him go potty first, but I didn't ask him to go!

Is it November 5th yet?

I am really amazed by all the people who stare at my belly at the gym.  Yes I know my t-shirt is tight in that area and believe it or not pregnant women do exercise!!  I may just be getting a little self-conscious about how huge my belly has gotten in the last couple of weeks...but people really do stare!!  (No, I don't wear those little tank tops to the gym, I'm actually about to switch to Ray's t-shirts :)

ANOTHER stimulus package?!?!  Are you freaking kidding me?!  Uncle Sam must be in good with the Monopoly banker...