"Oh, The Lord is Good to Me...

My "angel" on a GREAT day at school!

...and so I thank the Lord,

For giving me the things I need,

The sun and the rain

And the apple seed.

The Lord is good to me.”

Amen

I heard this song for the first time at Jack's preschool class Halloween Party.  Ms. Priss, his teacher, sings it each day before snack as their blessing song.  I've decided I want to incorporate it into The McQ Zoo as a blessing song too b/c I just love the words and the little tune.  Plus, even during the many days of tears, Jack sang some version of an "apple seed" song, so I know it had a positive impact on him right away!  

The last week of October was jam packed with Halloween madness.  Jack and I were up late on the Wednesday night before his class party making white chocolate dipped mini pretzels and drizzling them with orange melting chocolate and seasonal sprinkles.  Earlier that day GRandi and Jack made "Toasty Ghosties" for all the kids in his class by wrapping 2 graham cracker squares, 2 fun-size Hershey Bars and a ghost shaped Peeps marshmallow in a clear plastic baggie and tying it with pretty ribbon.  I made personalized labels for each bag with the child's name and instructions for this unique and festive S'mores.  GRandi is brilliant b/c it was an awesome twist to a plain old goody bag, and everyone loved it!  

Jack's whole class made it through their first performance!  They sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and a Halloween song to the tune of "Wheels on the Bus."  Some of the kids did the little hand movements, but Jack was too busy holding his football helmet (his costume was obviously a QB!) and staring into the sea of faces in front of him to remember what to do.  Still, we were so proud of him!  After his show, he sat on the floor with the other children while the rest of the classes performed, and he just looked back at us and waved...

...but he was so confident and totally cool the whole time!  During the class party he showed us his artwork and lots of toys, and he seemed very much at ease with us there.  It was nice to see him act like himself, since most of what we have heard about him at school does not represent his normal behavior at all.  We were glad the teachers got to see a little bit of what we see.  Honestly, Mr. McQ and I believe that us going to the class party actually helped Jack to adjust b/c both school days the next week were GREAT!

On Saturday, the Georgia/Florida game was on the afternoon agenda.  Jack took a great nap and we made it over to the Stokes Family house just in time for kick off.  We ate popcorn and grilled burgers and watched an awesome game that ended with UGA WINNING!!!!  Jack and his pal Braeden played outside and in Braeden's room, and they were having a grand time, now old enough for short bouts of minimal supervision; but in a moment of too much silence, I went to check on them, and this is what I found!

They were in the master bathroom, having tossed around the contents of Ann's make-up bag, and using the mascara on the door, on the mirror, on the wall, and on their faces!  When I asked Jack what they were doing he replied "eye black!"  What a funny and smart dude b/c we had been using my mascara to draw the eye black lines on his face as part of his football player costume!

Sunday we met up with the Stokes Family again for our 2nd year of Boo at the Zoo.  It was a gorgeous day, but it was also very crowded; we actually had to park on the street b/c the lot was full.  No worries for us though since we are regulars; we don't have to see everything in one visit! The boys enjoyed the craft stations and of course all the trick-or-treat candy booths.  We ate lunch together and went into the Halloween Pavilion where the kids got to dance and run through a hay maze and meet special PBS characters like The Cat in the Hat and Curious George.  Jack was unsure about these guys, just like last year, so he preferred to wave at them from a distance! Still it was lots of fun! When we finished in there we ventured over to the train, but Jack got side tracked by the gigantic pumpkin shaped bounce house, so we pit stopped there for him while Braeden went to the playground.  Afterwards Ann and I met up in the train line while the daddies took the boys to ride the carousel.  The train line was long, but it moved quickly enough, and finally we were aboard the Candy Express!  Braeden wasn't gonna make it much longer, so the train was literally his last stop, but we took Jack to the playground before we made our way home.

  My boys walking in and Jack collecting a "treat!"

Jack "shooting" with an Atlanta Hawks player!

Seriously, check out his jump shot!  The kid's got a 5 inch vertical already!

 Is that tootsie roll stuck in your teeth, Jack?

Super cute boys and a pose I always like to get at the zoo!

 Just goofing off in the wagon before lunch time...

 More "treats" (his 1st Pixie Stix) and posing with Mommy in the nest!

 Trying to figure this thing out...

 Oh!  That's how it works!  WOW!  That's good stuff!

After all these trick-or-treat booths, Jack burns off some of his sugar high on the dance floor!

 Jack found a little witch in the hay maze!

 Classic train screams and a new tunnel lights shot...

 Sight-seeing from "The Candy Express."

 Last Stop: The Playground!  Always a zoo favorite!

Monday was a very fun Halloween day!  Jack and I went to gymnastics and then met up with his new bike buddy, Aiden and his mom.  We went to lunch at Chik-Fil-A and the boys played for about 2 hours!  I had hoped Jack would fall asleep for a good nap on the way home, but no such luck. It was torture trying to get him down but eventually I succeeded, although much later than planned.  None the less, we made it over to Aunt Christie's house in time to eat some quick dinner before heading out to trick-or-treat.  Jack loved riding in his wagon and going up to the houses with his cousins and his Daddy and Uncle Jeff.  Grandma was cold, but she powered through it all, and Jack gave her lots of Whoppers candy to help!  As we were beginning we ran into my co-worker and her 13 year old son who was with some school friends.  She let the boys go off by themselves while she tagged along with us.  It was a great night!  Back at Aunt Christie's we raided and traded the boys' candy while we visited a bit longer with the fam...

Enter November.  Jack had his first great week at school, and the 3rd was Grandma's birthday.  We celebrated today with a family bike ride along The Greenway and lunch at Mellow Mushroom.  We started out at the Big Creek entrance to the bike path where we let Jack ride his bike for a few laps before strapping him into the baby seat on my bike.  The kid has mad skillz!  He can ride downhill super-fast and he has NO FEAR!  Daddy and I differ on our opinion of the training wheels; I want to take them off now while he is still unafraid, but Daddy wants to wait a little longer.  I think in a few more weeks we will agree and remove them.    Jack was bummed to be riding in the baby seat.  "I want to ride MY bike.  I can't want to ride with Mommy!"    This was the phrase of the day, but in the end it was a great ride and a serious work out!  Fortunately for Mommy, Aunt Christie and Grandma took turns on my bike with Jack and gave Mommy a little relief!  He is HEAVY!!!

So here we are in the middle of fall, on our way to the holiday season, my favorite time of year.  We have 3 Falcons home games in a row as well as the UGA/GT game Thanksgiving weekend, and then December is already filling up with lots more adventures.  Even with our financial stress and daily worries our life is so full and joyful, and we always have just what we need to make it through each day...EACH OTHER!

"Oh, The Lord is Good to Me...

...and so I thank the Lord"

Fall with Our Little "Jack-Bo-Lantern"

It has been a little over a month since Jack was released from the hospital.  Things are starting to feel normal again in The McQ Zoo.  Jack has adjusted pretty much everywhere in his life EXCEPT school, but we are slowly seeing an improvement, so that is a bit of a relief.  We know the hospital set him back some, but we also know when he finally lets go of how much he misses Mommy and Daddy, he will love being in his classroom with so many new friends and such awesome teachers!

Jack can totally ride his bike now, with training wheels of course, but I think we may take them off soon just to see how he does since he currently has NO FEAR!  He has some new pals in the condo community who ride bikes with him, and that is cute to watch and makes us feel less miserable about living here!



Jack also has a favorite song he has become very much obsessed with; he loves to sing and dance to it!  Maybe you will recognize it in the clip below???  Funny - Jack thinks the guy with the red in his hair is "bleeding" in the music video!

As usual, we have been very busy!  The zoo and play dates with friends, two more Falcons Football games, camping with the Stokes Family, a Georgia Football party, a carnival birthday party, and even a Trunk or Treat event are just some of our fall adventures in just the last month!  Of course I have pics of it all, but I'm going to try my best to be a little sparing in this post... :-)

They added lights in the zoo train tunnel, so now along with our scream pics, 

we are trying to get cool colored ones!

We went camping at Tate Branch instead of Helen with the hopes we would avoid seeing any bears.  We are happy to report our trip was bear-free, but we were a little freaked out by the actual bear hunter who parked his truck across from our site! 

On the way up the mountain, Jack got to sit on the center console.  He said "Daddy, hold my hand!"  

He LOVED that adventure, but it was super bumpy!

It was a chilly weekend, that's for sure!  Jack and Braeden bundled up, both in their hoodies!  They are such cool dudes!  Jack also helped to chop wood, and of course he cooked his own hot dogs!

Rarely do we have a pic of all 3 of us, so this shot 

from the UGA Football Party we went to is a personal fave!

I love this pic of Jack helping me make cupcakes to take to the Falcons vs. Packers game tailgate!

At the tailgate we were lucky to get Jack to nap, since it was a night game!!!

Oh, you know I can't resist funny face pics!  Thanks for playing, Ann!

 Jack has a new friend from school named Lucas, and we went with him and his mommy to the zoo!

We went to the coolest carnival themed birthday party for another friend, Charlie, and they had a snow cone machine!  They also had a beer stand and a hand made wooden concession stand with home made corn dogs and funnel cakes!  There was a bounce house, lots of carnival games and Jack even participated in his very first cake walk!  It was definitely a party we'll remember!  

Pumpkin carving was a family affair, as Grandma and Grandpa came over and helped us create some Falcons themed masterpieces for the Trunk or Treat at Jack's school.  

In this pic, Della and Tug wanted in on the action too!

And here is the finished collection!

My boys "tailgate trunking" and eating their hot dogs!

Jack Trunk or Treating!

This pic really highlights our pumpkins...with "Jack-Bo-Lantern" sitting on the tailgate behind them!

Believe it or not, this cooler, was filled to the top with candy!  Of course I cheated a little bit by padding it up with blankets before I dumped in the treats, but really, there was a LOT of candy in there!!!

Another McQ Family photo!  I love this one too!  (Wow, 2 in 1 post!!!)

Trunk or Treat was especially fun tonight!  We met some really nice people and had a wonderful, positive experience at Jack's school, which will hopefully help him continue to adjust and feel good about being there...even when Mommy and Daddy are not!  Jack even won 2nd place in the costume contest.  The pic above is him posing right after accepting his prize!  The McQ Zoo had an awesome time "trunking" together!

We are looking forward to Halloween next week and all the excitement that comes with it, including a special performance and party at Jack's school, the GA/FL football game, Boo at the Zoo and trick-or-treating with Jack's cousins!  Then before we know it, the holiday season will be upon us, and of course THAT is my most wonderful time of the year!

For now though, we'll enjoy the rest of the fall with our little "Jack-Bo-Lantern!"

Happy Halloween!