Happy Halloween

Today was Halloween! At least that's what we told our kids. (David knew better, but he's a compliant kid, and as long as we kept the day exciting enough, he kept his mouth shut about it.)

Guess what. It was a very happy Halloween! What a pleasant surprise. (More like a shock!)

This morning the kids and I returned to Sutter's Ridge. We met up there with some kids from Mary's class. It was a fun time. Mary is in a multi-age class, which includes kindergarten age kids, so there was a nice group of boys that David hooked up with. We thoroughly enjoyed the bright, crisp fall day.

There is a picture with no faces in it. But, trust me, there were big smiles on those faces!

In the afternoon Greg left his studies early to carve jack-o-lanterns with the kids.

David designed his first.

And then he gave Greg careful instructions. It was a Lego Power Miner Rock Monster jack-o-lantern. Pretty awesome!

Mary, too, designed hers.

And she adjusted the design as Greg carved her pumpkin.

Here are the finished products, positioned in the car all ready for the church party and trunk-or-treat.

(Oh, I love these kids so much! They are fun and enthusiastic--now I remember why holidays are so enjoyable with kids!)

We also had fun decorating cupcakes for tonight's cake walk, and we delivered Happy Halloween cookies to our neighbors.

Then it was time to get dressed for the party!

You are definitely getting the obligatory costumed-children pictures.

Lookie here: Captain Fox and Fairy Princess.

My little boy looks so grown up these days.

Mary was loving the fairy princess thing.

Then we went to the Halloween party at the church. (Don't worry, I didn't take any pictures.) It was great fun! The food was yummy (and kid-friendly) and the company warm and friendly. David marched in the costume parade, and Mary watched. Then we headed out into the cold for some "trunk-or-treating." Mary was ADORABLE. I explained to her that if she said, "Trick or treat," she would get candy. Every time she got candy (after saying "trick or treat," of course), Mary would look at me and say in wonder, "It worked!!" It was like magic.

We came home and lit the jack-o-lanterns.

Happy Halloween!

Whatever.

I decided not to work on that project this weekend. Nothing like infinite procrastination. Speaking of infinity, David prefers to work on counting to infinity rather than counting to 30 without skipping 16. Whenever I bring up the poor lost number 16, David's response is, "Whatever."

"Whatever" is David's response to just about everything. (I suppose I should be freaking out about how he already has an attitude problem, but, to be perfectly honest, I prefer whatevers and eye rolls to drop-down-and-out-full-on temper tantrums. It's hard to miss the toddler years. Besides, he's gotta be the most compliant kid I know. He still does what I ask, and if it makes him feel better to mutter "whatever" as he cleans up his Legos, so be it.)

Speaking of "whatever," that's basically how I feel about Halloween. I'm not sure if it's generally speaking, or just this year. But when I sit here thinking about Halloween, I see a big, fat, eye-rolling WHATEVER flashing before my eyes. So the whole Halloween being on Sunday this year pretty much sucks. And I'm not a big fan of what my kids chose to be. And I'm growing weary of the non-stop sugar and I love sugar so that's saying a lot. And I'm not quite sure what we're celebrating anyway, other than sugar.

And I'm feeling sorry for myself that the kids have all this time off right now and Greg doesn't.

Fortunately, this weekend (which is SIX days long) hasn't been completely lame so far. (Though my children and I have watched a few too many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress together, and if that isn't the depths of lameness, I don't know what it is.)

I have the pictures to prove our moments of non-lameness.

Wednesday morning while Mary was at school, David and I went to the Madison Children's Museum.

(Have I mentioned I am absolutely in love with my kindergartner?!)

In what may have been the one festive moment this weekend, Mary and I decorated Halloween cookies. (Full disclosure: The frosting was from-scratch homemade. The cookies were NOT.)

Greg has an exam late tonight, so he wasn't coming home after classes. We decided to meet him downtown for dinner. David wanted to eat his dinner on the stools looking out at State Street.

These may be my most festive pictures from this weekend. So savor them. I can't even guarantee the obligatory costumed-children photos.

To Halloween this year, I say, "Bah humbug."

Or, as David would say,

"Whatever."

Whatever.

Which is better than a drop-down-and-out-full-on temper tantrum.

Gems

I might not be around here much the next week or so.

Well, I shouldn't be around here much the next week or so...I'm trying to finish up a project by Monday. I also should be spending the next few days entertaining my children during their Fall Break (which unhappily corresponds with Greg's midterms), but I have a feeling "entertaining my children" will mean feeding them unlimited sugar cookies and letting them watch old Jimmy Neutron episodes all day. Just setting the bar high.

In the meantime, here are a few gems to enjoy (or not) until I return next week.

• Upon learning that she's three, Mary started to cry and asked, "When am I going to be two again?"
• David: "I don't like beautiful things. I only like scientific things."
• When I asked Mary to clear her dishes, she said, "I'll do it after Christmas."
• I sense I can't always believe what David tells me about school. For instance, when I asked him what they did in P.E., he said, "All of the boys played football. But the girls weren't allowed to play football. They had to stand on the sidelines and cheer for us." Maybe if this were 1964...
• I'm sure everyone in the congregation on Sunday appreciated seeing Mary sprawled out in the aisle with her coloring books, skirt pulled up, and butt cheek hanging out. (By the way, her "wedgie-free guaranteed" panties are NOT wedgie-free--as every Mormon on this side of town now knows.)
• David went to his first Brick Buddies meeting. It's a local Lego club. He loved it: He cried all the way home.
• David and Mary love my mom's new dog. This is like the most exciting thing that's happened since we went to Disneyland. Wait, we've never been to Disneyland. So this makes my mom's new dog the most exciting thing ever. Never mind the fact that all they've seen is a few mediocre pictures of her. David and Mary insisted on printing out said pictures of Jewels to put on their walls. I'm really glad I spent all that time thoughtfully arranging the framed artwork on their walls. (Yes, we move out and my mom gets a new dog. The house was too quiet, I guess, now that we're gone. Though I think this is technically a replacement for the dead cat. So my mom can thank me for the joy little Jewels bring into her life.)

Now we'll see if I stay away like I should. (I have a habit of not doing what I should...)

Mary's Montessori birthday

The joy of being the Birthday Girl reached all the way to Monday, when Mary's class celebrated her birthday at school. It was special, sweet, and meaningful. (How I wish I hadn't forgotten my camera--but without it I was free to soak in everything.)

At the end of their morning work cycle, the children gathered together on the floor in a circle for group time. Mary was seated in a chair, in a position of prominence, and there was a chair next to her waiting for me. In the center of the circle there was a table with a lit candle, a small globe, and a card with the number 3 printed on it. Mary introduced me to each child in the circle. She was quiet and shy about it--her teacher helped a little bit--but I was impressed that she knew all 25 or so names.

First, I was invited to share stories about Mary. I brought lots of pictures, and Mary held them up at the appropriate times, as I talked to the children all about Mary. (Anna, Mary's teacher, was impressed with how well I was able to hold the attention of the class, and she asked if I was a teacher by training. I responded in the affirmative, but I think Anna was seeing the fruits of having spent many a Sunday with toddlers and preschoolers at church.)

After I finished, the children were asked if they had anything they wanted to share with Mary. Hands shot up in the air. They said things like, "Mary, I hope you have a happy birthday," or "Mary, I have a bike too," or "Mary, I like it when you eat snack with me," or "I like to play on the playground with you." My favorite was when a little girl said, "Mary, I love it when you come to school with a big smile on your face because I love your smile." Some of the littlest ones simply said, "I love you, Mary." Trust me, I was choking back the tears. There was sincere caring and respect among the children.

Next Mary was invited the center of the circle. She held up the number three to show us all how old she was. Then she took the earth and walked three times around the candle, which represented the sun, to commemorate the three years she has been with us on earth. I thought this was marvelous! As she walked, the children sang her a song. After her journey around the sun, the children sang her "What a Wonderful World" (accompanied by Louis Armstrong). It was so cute!

Then Mary helped me pass out her treat. (I made my mom's yummy fudge bars.) After all of the children had been served, Mary was invited to sit at the table in the center to eat hers. The class sang "Happy Birthday" to Mary and then counted to three in Spanish. All of the children waited to eat until Mary took her first bite. As they were eating, they discussed the things they had learned about Mary from the pictures and stories I shared.

When they were finished with their treat, Mary got to choose a song the whole class would dance to for fun. Mary chose the "Wiggle Worm" song. It was great fun--and Mary insisted that I join in too.

Afterwards, Mary dismissed each child one by one. As her classmates left the room, they each shook her hand and wished her a happy birthday.

Mary felt so special!! I loved seeing her feel proud and appreciated. I guess I'm so used to the idea of the mom showing up at school, throwing cupcakes at the class, and singing a quick happy birthday, that it never really occurred to me that a school birthday celebration could be so meaningful. Their entire group time that day was devoted to Mary. It was wonderful! I had really wanted Mary to feel special as we celebrated her birthday this year, and her classroom celebration was the perfect way to top off our festivities.

(I still wish I'd brought my camera!)

A birthday deserves a thousand more pictures

After all that hard work of opening presents, it was time for some birthday "nourishment."

What a happy birthday girl!

(And, oh yes, that is a store-bought cake. And it was awesome! I had five different events to bake for last weekend, and five is about four too many for my kitchen and me. When I was wandering past the bakery at Target, I spotted 24 darling cupcakes. I had an epiphany! I did not have to BAKE cupcakes for the last soccer game. I could BUY them. This had honestly never crossed my mind before. What a revelation!! And a relief! The cupcakes had lots of yummy frosting on top, and they came in this plastic contraption perfect for transporting all that adorable frosting to a soccer field. It was wonderful! So the next day, when the thought of pulling out my mixing bowls again made me ill, Mary and I stopped by our local grocery store, where she picked out her cake. She was very proud of her choice. I may never bake again...)

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Mary, and, again, she was pleased and embarrassed and thrilled all at once. So cute.

After the candles were successfully extinguished, Mary and David carefully removed the candles and plastic balloons.

Oh, Mary, how we love you so!

Time to eat that yummy cake.

I could eat up this adorable little girl.

After filling our tummies with cake and ice cream, it was time to take the bike for a test ride.

An important feature on Mary's bike is the basket. She found a use for it right away.

It took Mary about 5 seconds to figure out how to pedal her new bike.

There she goes!

Going...

going...

gone!

Happy birthday, Mary!

A birthday deserves a thousand pictures

Sunday was Mary's 3rd birthday. It was hard to believe she was turning three--because it seems as if she has been three already for a long time. Mary has always exuded a certain maturity. She hasn't been my baby for ages. But every so often, she'll let me cuddle her close, as if she were that beautiful doll baby newborn she was three years ago.

We love our Mary, and we were excited to celebrate her birthday. It was a happy little family celebration.

This is Mary emerging from her Sunday afternoon nap to find something special...

And what was putting that smile on her face?

Why this, of course...

A bike! (We hadn't planned to get her a bike. But that girl is a beast on her trike, which she has totally outgrown. Plus, a couple of weeks ago she started talking about her birthday bike, as if it were a fact. We figured she was onto something.)

David immediately jumped in to explain the intricacies of having a two-wheeler with training wheels.

Mary parked her bike, and sat down at the table for the happy business of opening presents.

As usual, David came through for Mary. He is always thoughtful and OPINIONATED about what he wants to give her...and it's usually her favorite gift. The Dora mermaid from her last birthday is still a huge hit at our house--and I thought it was the stupidest thing ever. (I think kids just get kids better than we adults do.) David chose a small Disney princess castle for her. She loved it.

It was fun to open up so many new puzzles from Grandma Evie! (If only she were here to do them with Mary!)

It was not so fun when your brother tried to help open a present. (Sometimes being the Birthday Girl is hard.)

Mary was excited about a special present from Grammy.

What could it be?

A doll!

Love at first sight!

(Since the name "dolly" is already taken, Mary really had to turn on those creative juices. She named the doll Mary.)

Here Mary displays some stickers she received. (Does she have a future on the Price is Right?)

Last, was THE BIG ONE. David got to work helping her.

At last, the contents were revealed. This is how Mary felt...

What was it?

A shopping cart! (Much thanks to David for extracting it.)

And here David lectures Mary on the importance of sharing...

What fun!

And that's only the beginning. More pictures coming....