Our Halloween dress rehersal

Technically it's called Trunk or Treat but for me I like think of it as my dress rehearsal for Halloween. I am happy to report that Kobe and Tehani (and their costumes) both made it through the night unscathed. Our church held it's annual Trunk or Treat on Thursday night. The kids liked it because they get a head start on building up their candy stockpile for the next year (just don't tell them that every time the came back to the car, I took candy out of their buckets and passed it back out!)

I was also glad that Kobe and Tehani didn't have any complaints about their costumes. Being the cheap mom that I am, I put my sales skills to work and somehow managed to convince both of them on using "free" costumes this year. Kobe's Christmas present costume came from an old box in the crawlspace (I only posted pics of Norm in the box but it was really Kobe's costume.) And Tehani used a clown costume that could be classified as an antique as it is almost as old as I am. The bozo gear comes compliments of the queen of all pack rats--my mom. The Jungle Lady (aka Auntie Bernadette) is the one that actully sewed this get up which has been worn by my cousins Diane and Monica and my sister (and probably many other unsuspecting youth over the years.) And I'll be sure to put the costume away for Charlotte to wear--we'll just have to wait and see if Cynthia has the sales skills to pull it off...

The Big Race

Well today was the "BIG DAY" for Meridian's 5K Fun Run. As you can see from the photo, I don't have my running gear on since it was back to work for me after the race. (That's my excuse for not running--and I'm sticking to it!) Anyway, I think all of the kids had a great time. The lower school kids ran laps in the parking lot (pictured behind us) while the upper school had a police escort for most of their run since all of the roads around the school are just too busy. No one got run over (which was the main worry I had helping with the run) and Kobe even managed to finish 3rd place with the lower school. Tehani opted to take is easy and didn't do the whole 5K but had fun running none the less. And the school has done well for the event and is almost up to $7,000 so far. This is definaltey my kind of 5K--one where I don't have to run!!

Thanks again to everyone who donated for the 5K--Kobe and Tehani both met their fundraising goal of $100 each (so we will think of you when they use the miniature golf passes they got for meeting their goals.) Which means they will be bugging me about this until I take them there. So if you're in the mood for miniature golf just let me know--I've got some kids you can borrow...

You're fired

I've decided that if my full time job was as a blogger...I would definitely be fired! (though I supposed if this WAS really my job, ideally I would actually have time set aside each day to "work.") Anyway, I'm always feeling bad that I don't do a better job of updating my blog. I mean, its not like I don't have stuff to post about...so luckily the kids are in bed and I'm done watching Desperate Housewives so I figured I would squeeze out a few minutes for an update.

One job I have not been fired from is chaperon and field trip driver for Kobe and Tehani's school. Tehani's class took a field trip to the Red Barn on Friday so I took some time off from work to go for the fun. The kids learned all about apples and we got to pick a pumpkin. You can see Tehani's choice in the picture--though she was a little disappointed that we couldn't find a "smaller" pumpkin (I think that is why she is not looking in the photo--she is still trying to scan the pumpkin patch to make sure that we didn't miss a smaller one somewhere along the way.) And it's a good thing that she did get a pumpkin from there since the ones we were growing at home are still green. We'll see if we actually get around to carving it (I'm not a fan of carving pumpkins.) I know, what kind of mom doesn't have their kids carve pumpkins. I don't know if it is the smell or just the mess. I also don't eat pumpkin pie...so I don't think the kids have ever had pumpkin pie either--which means I should definitely be fired from Halloween as well! Good thing I have my day job.

PS--Thanks to everyone that has donated for Kobe & Tehani's fundraiser for their school. They are both very close to the goal and we will all be running on Wednesday for the 5K --thank goodness it is still supposed to be relatively warm. Wish me (and the kids) good luck!!

Kobe & Tehani and their upcoming 5K

Before you think that this must be some crazy form of cruel and unusal punishment, I should let you all know that both of them ran in this 5K last year at their school. Meridian does this as a fundraiser each year and you know me, I'm the fundraising queen so here are your two options...

• Come out on Wed, Oct 29 at 2pm and run 3 miles with 200+ kids at Meridian school or...
• Cough up a few bucks and get a free pass from running (along with a tax deductible donation and the good feeling that comes from knowing you've made a difference for...oh sorry, I thought I was at work there for a minute!)

Anyway, if you're a fan of Kobe, you can donate to help his class: http://www.firstgiving.com/meridianschoolclass3

If you like Tehani the best: http://www.firstgiving.com/meridianschoolclass2

Or if you're like me and you can't decide, you can donate a little to each. :)

I'm still trying to figure out if I will run the race with them this year. I know I should, but I just don't know if I'm up to being out run by a 7 year old and a soon-to-be 9 year old. Oh well, at least I know I'll always beat them when it comes to fundraising.

PS--I also wanted to report that after much debating WE HAVE NAMED THE CAT. I liked the name Mozart but I was outvoted by the kids with Neko (which means cat in Japanese). Now if I could just figure out a way to get the cat to donate to the 5K...

The newest member of the Tevaga Family!!

Well, it's nothing as exciting as us having a baby...but we did finally break down and let the kids get a pet. I guess I should correct that and point out that my brother and his wife are the ones that got the kitty for the kids. Either way, Kobe and Tehani were very excited. They've been bugging us forever about getting something--and being that I had my golden retriever growing up, I really wanted them to have a pet too. And since we don't have a fenced yard the cat was really our only option. There were a million cats at the shelter so it was hard to pick just one but after bringing her home and seeing her with the kids, I think we made the right decision. We are still in the process of choosing a name. I told the kids they would have to write what name they wanted and why. So I am sure there will be some debating for the next day or two so stay tuned. And thanks again to Uncle Raymond and Auntie Kelly for the kitten (if she rips up our furniture, I'll just send you the bill :)

Who won the Battle of the Alamo?

It apparently takes a trip to San Antonio for me to get around to updating my blog. I mean, it's only been over TWO WEEKS since I've last posted. And it's not that I haven't had stuff to write about--I've just been too busy! So luckily for me (and my blog) I had a trip for work to San Antonio. And just in case any of you are wondering, here are some things I've learned...

• Even with the bad economy and everything else, overall philanthropy is still at an all time high--I realize that most of you could care a less but these are the things I worry about for work :)
• Do not buy new shoes right before leaving on a trip--I have blisters on both feet to prove it. I'm almost tempted to go barefoot tomorrow...
• Karaoke + Laura = BAD IDEA--I've never sung karaoke before (and at least now I know never to do it again.) The group from my station went out for dinner last night after our flight got in and the next thing I know, I'm at a microphone singing "The Love Shack" with two of my co-workers. Which leads to my next point of...
• Don't let your waitress pick what song you are going to sing. I HATE the B-52's!!

Well, that's about it so far (unless you want me to go on more about giving and fundraising stuff.) And since I still have a ton of work to do before I can go to bed, that's it from the Alamo!