Halloween...

Isn't there a rule that as long as you post pictures within a month of the event, it's OK? I realized that I have yet to share Halloween pictures with ya'll and thought I should get that done before Thanksgiving next week. Here you are:


Twerp #1 was an army guy. Twerp #2 was a cow. Twerp #3 was the Cat in the Hat.


Twerp #1 isn't too into costumes. He refused to wear the "combat helmet" and didn't want to wear the camo bandanna either. Hmmmm. He could have just gone as a Twerp. Maybe we'll do that next year.


Twerp #2 was a cow. For those of you who saw the pictures last year...yes, she was the same thing. However, it was too cold to wear the ballerina costume that she wanted to be. I'm sorry for those of you that live in cooler climates. It wasn't really that cold...about 70 and muggy when we were out getting candy at 5:30 at night. But when you don't have any fat on your body, 70 and muggy is cold - at least for Twerp #2.


Had to add this one in because I love her blue eyes!

Yeah, the diameter of the hat was just a tad bigger than the diameter of Twerp #3's head. It kept on falling down and causing much "grief!" He wore the hat for the pictures...but then it went in the car for the rest of the night.


We went to a friends house and Trick-or-Treated with a bunch of friends. We were a large group and even caused one old(er) lady to close her door. They had a lot of fun though.

From the Mouth of my Twerp...

My three twerps were watching TV this afternoon while I was doing laundry. They all had the day off of school for Veterans Day and were watching a Disney show...it was about a girl who had her dream diary stolen by her brother. Yeah, cheesy...but it had been a long day and I decided to go with it.

Anyways, Twerp #3 ran into my room and was telling me all about it. This is what he said: "Mom, sometimes I have scary dreams at night and then when I wake up I don't fall asleep anymore. But there is a book where you can write down your dreams and then they go to the scary place so you don't have to be scared anymore. Do you know what it's called? It's called a Dream Diarrhea.

!!! What!!! There were just a few things wrong with what he just said! Let's take them in order...

1. When he wakes up from a scary dream, he doesn't stay awake all night...he DOES go back to sleep.

2. He can't even write his name, much less write down his scary dreams in a diary!

3. It's a DIARY! Not, I repeat, NOT diarrhea!!!

Ugh, the things that kids hear and then repeat. I pray that this doesn't get repeated in Sunday School this weekend. I can just hear the snickering behind my back as I walk through the church campus..."did you hear that the youngest Margala kid writes in a dream diarrhea...psst...did you hear about the Margalas and their diarrhea problem...hey...did you hear that the Margala Twerps had diarrhea in Sunday School this morning..."

I didn't even laugh. I didn't want him to know what he said was funny. To be honest, it was more shocking and gross than funny. Yuck.

My kids in a nutshell

Can I just say that I love my sister! And no, this is not a bid to get a better Christmas present this year!!! I really do love her. It's because she sees things and thinks of me. Or because she'll call me and leave weird messages on my answering machine. Or, she'll teach my children how to use the inside of their shirt collar as a napkin. OK, I guess occasionally she does things and doesn't really think of me too much...

Anyways...today I got an email from her that said, "thought of you two" in the subject line. The two that she was referring to was myself and my sister-in-law Kristen. My brother and his wife have 4 kids between the ages of 2 and 7. They're busy too. If you ever want to check out their busy life, you can see their blog at http://picklesandpancakes.blogspot.com.

OK, back to the email. There was a quote in the email. That's it. One quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery. I don't know who that is, but he's brilliant. It describes my children in a nutshell. Have I got you all primed yet? OK. Here it is. You may need to sit back and re-read it a couple of times to get the full "quote experience."

"Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them." Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Good, huh? No. It's great. And it's so true for my life...especially if you know Twerp #3.

Friday after Thanksgiving…

Why does it seem like Thanksgiving goes by in a blur, but the Friday after Thanksgiving is the longest day of the year? Could it be that I get up at the darkest point of the day to get ready to shop?!?

I’m thinking about Christmas gifts now…what to get people, what to make for others…. I’m looking at our budget and seeing that we don’t have a ton of money to spend on the various gifts that we still have to buy. I HATE shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I’d rather spend the day with my family, lounging and eating leftovers, playing at the park and possibly taking a nap…but I know how much I save when I brave the lines at Target. I know that I can get most of my Christmas shopping done when I get up early and wait in countless lines. I’ve made my pros and cons list and although the cons outweigh the pros in numbers, the financial balance sheet outweighs most of the cons and I end up shopping.

I am thankful. I am thankful that we can spend the 4 day weekend together as a family. I am thankful that last year, my 6 year old son wanted to go shopping with me early in the morning to get a special gift for his dad. It was really nice to have the company. I am thankful that by noon, I’ll be done and that my husband will let me have a nap. But mostly, I’m thankful for Lowes and Home Depot. For the past couple of years, I’ve gotten Stephen his gift at one of these two stores. People, there is no one in line! It’s me and about 15 other men who are walking around the hardware store while their wife is down the street at Wal Mart! Plus, the brilliant thing is that you can find something for everyone at Lowes…or Home Depot. There is no waiting in line…no trying to find a parking spot…they’re not “out” of what you went specifically to get…it’s just a beautiful shopping experience – even if it is in the dark early morning hours.

So yes, I’ll probably be one of those crazy ladies out on “Black Friday.” And family, if you have any Home Depot or Lowes requests, let me know! Bring on Thanksgiving! (and bring on the shopping the day after).

Where do they learn these things?!?

This morning, Twerp #3 - my 4 year old, was asking if he could play with a specific toy that we have in the garage. This is what he said: "Mom, could we play with that, you know, that toy that has long brown ones and medium yellow ones and short red ones, and, you know, they are like pool noodles and are bendy and you can, you know, put them together and, you know, build human habitats and stuff?"

I was trying to follow his request. I really, really was. But then when he throws in all the "you knows" like I'm supposed to be understanding what he's saying, it kinda throws me off a little bit. But Human Habitats?!? That was the one phrase that actually put together all of the nonsense that he'd said before. He wanted his Fort Building Kit! Of course, human habitats! But where did he learn the phrase human habitat and not fort builder? I just love that kid!!!