Dear Bella,

I woke up this morning and remembered why we decided to home school you in January. As the weeks of school go by I am missing you more and more. I love your school and I know how happy you are there. You came home yesterday bubbling over the gifted and talented program and your new teacher Ms. Hollis. Although we succeeded in schooling you from home, it was difficult. We made the right choice this year. I am so proud of the person you are. You have such a big heart...

Just last night daddy heard Jude crying in your room. He got out of bed and went to your room and saw you and Jude huddled over the night light. He had a hang nail and you were trying to help him. What a great big sister you are. We love you so much.

I know you love his song, so this is for you...

For Josh and Leecy

A little preview of your belly...ENJOY!

A Camping We Went....

've been wanting to take the kids camping for awhile, but it just never seemed to fall into place. If you know us, then you know things just have to fall into place. We are bad planners. So last Saturday I had an idea. I asked husband to set my old,very old, 14 year old tent up in our backyard. He tried, but it was obvious he didn't spend too many days camping as a child so I jumped in and showed him how it was done. We then filled the mighty fortress with furniture from the playroom, sleeping bags, pillows and necessities. Bella and Jude were so excited to camp and immediately began pleading to sleep in there new home. Instead I offered a feast to be had in there new abode and they agreed. Forsaking our gluten free, veganesque diets for the evening, I slaved over the stove and made some alphabet soup (Campbell's style) and saltine crackers with vanilla soymilk. Your licking your chops, right? Well, saltine crackers were just too tempting for me, ya know, the one allergic to EVERYTHING. I just had a few nibbles.





essert was to be had so I asked the royals what they would like and they promptly said "Smores!" Hmmm... I was quickly having a "Martha Moment" and ran to the kitchen. In the cupboard (notice I said cupboard...totally slipped out too. I was not even trying to sound clever!) was a package of marshmallows, a bag of chocolate chips (right next to the vegan choco chips) and some graham cracker sticks. The following concoction was made...



here were also letters to be delivered to the young tenants and then inside for a nice warm bath and a real bed. I walked outside to retrieve the missing playhouse items today and found everything completely soaked. YUCK. There was a nice stench in there too!

In other news, I took the kids to see Where the Wild Things Are. I'll keep my opinion to myself on that one. Soundtrack is awesome!s

his October I Have Been....

Watching :: The Proposal with granny while laughing hysterically and New Moon trailers.
Reading :: Withering Heights (waiting for it).
Making :: A Newspaper Leaf Garland with my kids
Eating :: Vegan, gluten free and a little taco bell here and there ;)
Feeling :: Like curling up in a cozy blanket by a fire for a good book and a nap.
Thinking :: It would be nice if it would snow.
Hoping :: We embrace the winter months and spend that time gathering with our peeps.
Wondering :: If I will ever get that quilt started for Jude.
Hearing :: Peace and quiet...everyone is sleeping.
Liking :: The chill in the air.
Wanting :: A weekend away with the Mr. to the Terrace.
Playing :: Scrabble on my iPhone.
Wishing :: People would be more considerate when parking at B's school.
Enjoying :: Bedtime.
Coveting :: A pumpkin spice latte.

Surprise for you Amanda...

Amanda and I have been friends since we had our first babies. Bella and Kenzie did everything together. We were neighbors and friends. We spent many spring and fall evenings talking in their front yard, taking he girls for walks with strollers and bananas in tow. We saw the zoo together too many times to count. This girl got me through motherhood early on. She listened to me talk about sleepless nights with Jude and I talked her through antibiotic worries with Boog's. We swapped recipes and advice. I have watched her babies grow into beautiful little girls. It's been great, but has gone by too fast. Our babies aren't babies anymore. We don't live on the same street anymore. Not even the same part of town. But despite our busy lives we keep each other updated and I enjoy moments like these when I get to photograph them. They are the silliest bunch of people I know and I love them for it!

(The slideshow quality is not the best for some reason...the photos ARE sharp & clear!)

The Weiss Family from Aja Vaught on Vimeo.

Guess who went to work with his daddy today?

For Syd...

My friend Sydney recently had her second child. She brought her oldest, Irie, over to play with Jude so I snapped some shots of the baby. He would NOT sleep and was pretty squirmy. It's hard to get good newborn shots when they are past the two week old mark (he was 3 weeks old). We did get these though :)

For Lacy...

We kept Barker for some friends of ours a few weeks back. I took photos of him. He's a good dog. Enough said.

Weekends are for having fun...

This weekend kept us busy and left us exhausted. I think we officially started the rush Wednesday night when we got home from meeting at 10:30pm. Thursday we went to the fair with dad, Charlie and Audrey. I have to admit it was the best year yet. Dad put us all on the media list so we got in for free, had free corn dogs and other fair foods and then free rides.

Just a side note, I found out on Tuesday that I have some severe food allergies which was disheartening at first. I had my days of crying and "it's not fairs", but soon realized that life had to go on and decided to convince myself that food is fuel and nothing more. Needless to say I ate 2 corn dogs at the fair which isn't a great combo when you're allergic to wheat and corn! It was delicious and well worth it though. I avoided the cinnamon rolls and funnel cake.

On Friday I let Bella play hookie from school and we stayed home to clean for the company we would have throughout the weekend. Saturday morning we got up and went to the Utica Square Art Show to see my sister in laws art. She always does such an amazing job with presentation not to mention her artistic talents. The weather was perfect and I had mt first official chai tea latte which marks the beginning of fall for me ;) The Mr, the kids and I did a little shopping and then headed home to make lunch for Marcus (T's bro), his girlfriend (from Honduras, who he met in Germany a few months back), their friends, Donna (their sister) and a slew of cousins. My sister Sarah stopped by for a visit and we were so happy to see her.

After lunch, everyone left and then about an hour later a brother from our congregation showed up to mow. If you need your lawn mowed, let me know. He's saving up for a trip to Thailand in January! Then one of my best friends came in from out town for a girls night out. We had a blast. Then yesterday we all met at McNellies for some beers and lunch. I LOVE having a houseful of family and friends! It was a great weekend, but we are all zonked! Jude and I are hunkered down in the house for the day baking wheat free vegan pumpkin muffins and gingerbread. Hope you have a great Monday!