May The Force Be With You

We had a lot of fun getting ready for and celebrating Halloween last week. The kids have had their costumes for a month or so. Jeffrey picked this year's theme when he said he wanted to be Luke Skywalker. Erin was perfectly happy to go along with the idea and dress up as Princess Leia. Noni found some adorable costumes online and ordered them for the kids. Erin's even came with a wig.

We started on Sunday the 25th at a pumpkin carving party with some friends. Unfortunately, the pumpkins I bought for the kids turned out to be hard as rocks and about 3 inches thick. It was just completely impossible for them to carve. Turns out they were baking pumpkins.

Tom and I bought some tools that came with some patterns. I've never done anything like this, but they looked cool. We picked out this neat design that was a ghost flying through the word "Boo". Although the kids couldn't really help, they were perfectly happy running around outside with their friends.

Tuesday Jeffrey and I bought some more pumpkins so the kids could carve them. We got them all ready after dinner that evening. Problem was, the kids liked the "Boo" pumpkin so much they just wanted mommy and daddy to carve their designs in. They did get to help scoop out the goo (something Jeffrey was willing to do for the first time ever). Erin made sure all the seeds got separated out so we could roast them.

We ended up with the "Boo", a witch, a bat, and a kid in bed hiding from a monster outside his window. I think they all turned out pretty cool. Especially the witch.


Friday Jeffrey had his party at school. They get to wear their costumes but can't bring any weapons (so the lightsaber had to stay home). Unfortunately even the teachers didn't really get who he was. He knew it though and was perfectly happy to tell them. He enjoyed playing the games with his friends, especially beating up on the pinata.

Saturday night came and we got the kids all layered into the costumes. Rain had been threatening all day, but was still holding off. We decided to head into town for a friend's annual Halloween Lawn party. We made a quick stop at another friends to show them the kids costumes. Their teenage daughter offered to take the kids trick-or-treating around her block. They were so excited to go out with Izzy (thanks hun).






We continued in to visit our other friends. We took the kids trick-or-treating down their street a little. Unfortunately while we were there, Erin started complaining of a headache. After about an hour, the poor girl was in tears and asking to go home. My little princess Leia just couldn't take the fun any more.

No matter, we still had a great time celebrating together.

Something's Changed Here....

I took this picture 2 days ago.

And now today.



That's right. Something has definitely changed here. Something's missing. I can't quite tell what it is. What could it be?

Yep, the tooth is gone. After wiggling her "loose" tooth for almost 4 months it finally came out. I sent her to school with a fully intact, although somewhat loose, tooth. She returned with a wad of Kleenex in her mouth, more Kleenex crumpled in a baggie and one VERY loose tooth. She said it started bleeding after PE. I asked if she knocked it, but nope. Just something finally came loose.

We came inside and I gave it a little tug. Still pretty firmly in there, I sent her off to play. She continued to mess with it for the next several hours. She came running downstairs to show me she could push it pretty far forward with her tongue. I asked her if it could twist or turn at all. She shrugged and ran off.

A few minutes later she was hollering at me. I found her in the bathroom standing in front of the mirror. "Yep mom. It can twist. See?" She had managed to "twist" it 180 degrees and it was still in her mouth, but backwards. Let me tell you, that's really freaky. I tried to give it another tug, but was disturbed by the oddly twisted tooth. "Put it back please," I explained. When I said twist I meant did it turn a little, not all the way around.

A few minutes later she had righted the tooth and I decided if it could turn like that, it was time for some tugging love. I grabbed a Kleenex and had her open wide. A few gentle tugs, and "pop" out it came. She was so excited. She almost dropped the tooth down the heat register on the floor she was so excited.

We quickly called daddy, Noni and Grandma (sorry folks, the cel phone battery died, will call more people tomorrow). She spent the rest of the evening playing with the new hole in her mouth. She has discovered several things.

1 - Thumbkin fits perfectly into the hole.
2 - Your tongue can also fit cool in the hole.
3 - Brushing your teeth tickles.

So now she's tucked in bed. Her little tooth is in an old ring box lined with velvet. She told me she hopes the tooth fairy brings her a nickel. (Wow, I figured the going rate was more like $5.) We'll just have to see what awaits her in the morning.

My Family

As expected Erin has spent much time in her room the past two days. She'll play on the floor with her pets (and then even put them away!!!). She has also really enjoyed having a "work" area. Tom's old desk has been in her room for a long time but it's just been a place where we set stuffed animals, books and other clutter. Now it's near her door and set up as a place where she can sit and "work". Yesterday she did some drawing and copied a few books, something she really enjoys doing. This morning I found this on her desk.


It's a list of Erin's family. Written in what I call Erinese. She sounded out everyone's names phonetically and wrote them down on one sheet of paper. Some I was really impressed with. I was able to figure out all of them without her reading it to me first.

Here's a translation for you.
Erin, Jeffrey, Mom
Dad, Noni, Grandpa
Jonathan, Aunt Katie
Grandma, Grandpa W
Rylie, Avery
Aunt Robyn, Uncle Jeff
Aunt Katie (again), Uncle Bill
Baby Will

I'm pretty impressed. More because she tried to sound out the names, rather than memorize them. "Jonuthin" I found particularly impressive. I think "Ant Cadee" is pretty darned cute (and so must she, because Aunt Katie made the list twice). She still gets her lower case "b" and "d" mixed up. This is a recurring issue that we're working on. It's also very clear that the long E sound is EE. The very last two I think she was getting tired. Sorry Uncle Bill and Baby Will.

Maybe it's just a mommy thing, but I'd say she's a pretty smart cookie.

Time for a change

I realized last week that Erin's room has been essentially the same since she got her bed. That was when she was 18 months old. Aside from removing the crib and moving a desk in for her, her room has looked the same for close to 5 years.

I remember as a kid how exciting it could be to move things around. Heck, I still get a kick out of it and am envisioning a redo of the living room area too. So, Tom and I asked Erin if she'd like to have her room changed around. She was so excited. She even volunteered to "help". I explained that was not an option, "help" was a requirement.

Of course this also gave me the opportunity to cull the amazing amount of stuff that a 6-year old has managed to acquire. Especially the stuffed animal collection. We also got rid of LOTS of papers, crafts etc that she had done in preschool. Sure they're adorable. Sure they're special. But if I held onto EVERY special and adorable piece of paper, I'd have NO room for anything else.

Erin made most of the decisions as to where we would put the furniture. She was given some ground rules. The most important being that her bed was NOT allowed to go next to a window. Also the new teddy bear net could only hang from one corner because of the placement of ceiling vents.

So here are some pictures of her room pre move. As you can see, clutter is the name of the game, but it gives you a sense of how it's set up.



Here is the new set up. We put a fish net in the corner over where her bed used to be and tossed a bunch of animals into it. Then we shifted her bed to come off the wall next to her closet. The bookcase is between the bed and the wall with the window. Her dresser took a 90 degree turn and faces against the window looking out over the hill. Finally we cleared off the desk and moved it over near the door. I hope that eventually it will make a nice homework area for her.

She spent most of the afternoon in her room. Playing on her bed. Sitting at her desk reading or drawing. I cleaned out her closet as well and put all her dress-up clothes in there. Easy access for playing, but out of the way when she's not using them. That really made the clutter a lot better.

I'm so glad she really loves having her new room and hope she keeps excited about it.

Apples, Sunshine and More Mountains

This morning was Jeffrey's annual field trip to the apple orchard. It's one of our favorite places to visit and I'm sure we'll head back a few more times this year.

We woke to a dreary morning with predictions of a high of 72. We crossed our fingers that it would clear up in time for the trip. So both mom and boy dressed in layers, since the orchard is at the top of a "mountain" (that's what we call big hills in VA). I scrounged around until I found some rain gear for the two of us also. As we left the house we could see the sky clearing.

On the drive into town the sky continued to clear. By the time we arrived at the top of the mountain it was a gorgeous early fall morning. Except it wasn't 70. It was closer to 80 and climbing. Here we both were in jeans and layered shirts. I couldn't get him to take his undershirt off for anything.

While at the orchard the kids got to go to Apple School and learn about apples. Then we got a nice hayride and saw a 100-year old tree. It still bears fruit. Very cool. After that we were given some bags and went off to pick apples. The area open for picking had been pretty well picked over. There were not many lower apples (this place does a TON of field trips). Jeff and I walked a bit and finally I got him up on my shoulders where he reached a few. We decided to venture down the hill a bit to find some lower apples. After 5 minutes of walking I picked a row and decided that would be it. We found a couple of trees where he could reach several apples while on my shoulders. I wish someone had gotten a picture of it. We must have been quite the sight.

Afterward we settled in for a picnic with a view of the "mountains" that was to die for. Both of us were totally soaked in sweat so it was nice to sit for a few minutes. The teachers brought each of the kids apple donuts and some cider to go with their lunch. These apple donuts are totally to die for...mmmmmm.

After some play time with his friends, we picked out a few more apples and a gallon of cider. We also grabbed a cider slushy (half frozen cider). And to think when we got up in the morning I was looking forward to getting a cup of hot cider.

September in the Mountains

We awoke to a gorgeous morning here today. With nothing aside from soccer planned for the weekend, we decided to take off for the afternoon and head for the mountains. So after Jeffrey's soccer game we headed home, threw together a picnic lunch and hopped into the van.

We decided to head south to a hike that we'd never taken that was listed as a "family friendly" hike in our hiking book. We stopped on the way to the parking area to have our lunch. We found a great overlook with some gorgeous views. We hopped up onto the ledge and munched away. After a few minutes I realized it was the same overlook that I took these pictures 3 years ago. My how things have changed. But the day was the same gorgeous sunny day.




After we finished up lunch we continued South to the Wayside and headed out for our hike. We followed a fire path up the mountain (a rare thing in the Shenandoah, a hike that starts out up and ends coming down). The kids were very intrigued by a spring we passed by. They'd found some walking sticks and enjoyed sticking their sticks in the water.



Erin led for most of the hike up. Once we got to the top, it leveled out and followed the ridge for a while. We came out to an overlook with some amazing views. It was pretty steep so the kids had to be very careful. The views were amazing though. The hike continued on for another 1/4 mile or so before we came to another outcropping and overlook. This one was just pure perfection. The view of the valley was gorgeous. There was quite a bit more room so the kids could walk around a little. We all enjoyed this stop.



From there it was pretty quick down the mountain. We walked under another big outcropping that was almost like walking through half a cave. The kids thought it was really cool. As always down was quicker than up, although more stressful. Jeffrey's still not the most agile and had a few "leaps" where he almost rolled down the whole mountain. After a discussion of "safe hiking" practices he calmed down a little.

We all really enjoyed our hike and are looking forward to heading back into the mountains next weekend for some extended camping with some friends.

Oh yeah, and the green shirts thing...both kids are on the green team for soccer (although on different teams) so I wore my green in support. Then we rushed out so quick after soccer, no one took time to change.

Fully Dressed Without A Smile

Last weekend Jeffrey made his theater debut. Apparently he was so excited about it, he got bored and walked of the stage half way through the show. There were parts that he really loved. The summer show is all music and musical revues. There was a part from Annie that he really enjoyed. Erin fell in love with the section from Bye Bye Birdie. I was certainly a proud mommy watching them both sing their hearts out.





This is also the show where the kids get a chance to sing and prepare a solo. Erin picked "Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile" from Annie. It was the perfect song for her. She worked and worked on it over the summer. There were probably a few hundred people in the auditorium, but she got up there in front of the mic and sang her little heart out. She was so excited. And mommy was sitting in the back of the auditorium with tears in her eyes. Daddy was emceeing the event and was able to go up to her and give her a big hug when she was done. A moment we'll treasure forever.

Back to Preschool

Jeffrey has been back to preschool for a week now. He LOVES being at school and has been asking when he'll get to go back since Erin's first days back in August. He's going 3 mornings a week now and been having a great time. There are a few new friends in his class, but also most of his friends from last year are there as well. We've got a field trip coming up next week where we will visit the apple orchard. Today he had his first time at show-and-tell. He decided to bring our "pet" caterpillars (apparently named Strawberry and Raspberry). He was so proud to bring them in to school in his jar.

I've used my mornings to get some errands done or take care of housework stuff. Three mornings a week without my little guy is going to take some getting used to.

Here are a few pictures from his first day back at school. He was in poser mode that morning and gave me some really cute pictures.

He's Grown Up Just A Little Since the Picture Above His Head

At the Faire

The annual trip to the Renaissance Faire was a fantastic time. Both the kids really had a blast and Tom and I always enjoy the music, folks, arts and of course the food and beer.

This year, Jeffrey decided to join Erin in the annual face painting. It was the first thing that Erin asked to do. This year Jeff wanted to get his face painted too. Erin chose to be a flower princess this year and Jeffrey wanted a spider on his cheek. They both sat so still while getting their designs. Both came out really cute.


Since it was a warmer day than last year, Erin decided not to wear her long Lucy dress. Jeffrey did wear his knight costume all day though. Erin wore her flower wreath, white leggings and a pretty blue/white "fairy" skirt. Both looked completely adorable. Jeffrey purchased a sword to adorn his costume with some money his Oma gave him.

We caught a couple of shows. The first was a St. George and the Dragon that the kids laughed and laughed at. Then our favorite Renaissance Man in the afternoon where Jeffrey got up in front of a few hundred folks and acted the total ham.

The highlight of the day, as always, were the bubble fairies. Erin and Jeff just LOVE making bubbles with the fairies. We brought the wand we purchased a few years ago, and Erin used her money from Oma to buy a second wand. Erin has gotten really good at making bubbles. Jeffrey tends to have more fun with popping the bubbles Erin makes. He did take a liking to the bubble fairy though. It was the same girl who was there last year, and she would play bubbles with the kids. Jeffrey made a big deal of making a bubble, then catching it on his wand and bringing it to her to make little bubbles inside. It was quite cute.




The day ended with a few minutes of listening to some music before a rain shower hit. We made a quick departure before the heavy rains hit. Still, we had to stop and grab a cheesecake on stick while dodging the rain drops.

What fun we can all have stepping back in time.

His Father's Son

We headed to the Renaissance Festival this weekend. It's always one of our favorite things to do. The kids had a blast. I'll put up some pictures later this week, but wanted to share this video. Jeffrey got the chance to go up on stage for one of the shows. The act is the Renaissance Man, and he's hilarious. He uses audience participation during his shows and our little man got that idea that he wanted to be part of the show. So he stood on a bench and waved his arms around. Before we knew it, there he was on stage, reciting lines and wearing a jiffy-pop hat. The video is about 3 minutes long and really worth watching. The best part is the last 10 seconds and Jeffrey's big death scene.

First Grade

Erin headed off to first grade this morning. After our long weekend, we'll see how she's doing when she gets home. But she was up when I asked, ate her whole breakfast - without fussing even, and got dressed without complaining. She asked for soup for lunch (I think because she really wanted to use her new thermos) so she got soup, grapes, pretzels and a Reeses mini cup. As well as a note from mommy packed in her lunch box.

She was all excited to ride the bus because that's where she's going to get the chance to see her friend Brandon. They aren't in the same class this year, but will get to see each other at recess and on the bus. We headed out about the same time we'd leave last year. When we got to the bus stop I went to get Erin out of the car and she screamed....."Mommy!!! We missed the bus!!!" I looked up the road, and yes, we had missed the bus. By about 30 seconds. There it was. 100 yards up the road picking up the people at the next stop.

The poor girl just lost it. She melted into a pool of tears. I made her miss the bus. I explained that she wouldn't miss school. I would drive her and Mr. Burks (the gym teacher) would help her out of the car. I did make her get out of the van and stand by the road so I could take her picture, pretending that we were waiting for the bus. As you can see, she just couldn't hide the tears.



By the time we got to school, we'd agreed that I would walk her into class. That seemed to help even things out some. We made sure she would be able to ride the bus home today. Walked to the cafeteria where all the kids were sitting in lines on the floor. Mrs. Morris came by and gave her a big welcome as well as her very own First Grade name tag.



I haven't heard anything else so I assume that the rest of the day has gone OK. This will be a busy year. A lot more work than Kindergarten seemed to be. They don't get snack, only have one recess and one Encore period (music, P.E., computers, art...) a day as opposed to two last year. I expect she'll be pretty tired for the first week or so, but will eventually get into the swing of things.

Questions

Here are some questions that have been asked of me in the past month or so. Life starts changing when kids start paying more attention to things around them apparently.

1 -- Mommy, is God dead?

2 -- Mommy, how does a baby get out of your tummy?

3 -- Mommy, why does daddy put nails in Andrew's hands (we're in a production of Godspell now, Tom is the Judas character)

4 -- Mommy, why does Luke's daddy disappear?


These are the things Erin thinks about in the back seat of the car apparently (when not trying to spell POOL). Jeffrey asks things like, Mommy, do you like chicken with fireworks. Or any other crazy combo he can think of.

So I guess this is the age of the deeper questions. My answers, not all that deep. I'm just not ready for a heavy theological discussion or a talk about the birds and the bees with my 6-year old. So to answer....

#1 - God isn't dead sweetie. God doesn't walk around on earth like we do. God is more of a spirit. Her response...."OK".

#2 - Well a doctor had to take you and Jeffrey out of my tummy and make a little cut. I'll show you some day. Want to listen to Wall*E? How about CARS?

3 - It's all a play, but remember the story of Jesus and the cross from church school? Daddy's helping teach that story to other people.

4 - Luke's (Skywalker) daddy (really Ben) disappears when he dies. But remember it's just a movie.

I'm a little afraid of what's going to come up next time we have to drive anywhere. Looks like we've got some interesting years ahead of us.

The P-O-O-L

When Tom joined the gym with me last month we got a free pass to the pool. I've been saving it to use during this busy two weeks as a treat for the kids. Yesterday afternoon I checked the weather and decided that today would be a good day to use it. So after rehearsal last night I figured I'll tell Tom of my plans. I wanted to keep it a secret from the inhabitants of the back seat so I said to Tom.

"I think tomorrow we'll use the pass and go to the P-O-O-L (Spelling the word)"

"We're going to the pool tomorrow?????" shouted Erin from the back seat.

I had no idea she could spell the word pool. Read it and sound it out, sure, but immediately put it together. No way. It's not even really phonetic. She's not got the "oo" sound down yet. Or so I thought.

"Well there goes that surprise."

It reminds me of when I was a kid. Mom was trying to convince dad that we needed a pet. We lived in an apartment complex at the time so options were limited. She spelled the word "parakeet". "Daddy, daddy, can we please have a parakeet??? I begged immediately." I must have been a little older than Erin, but not much. I did end up getting that parakeet. And Erin got her trip to the P-O-O-L today too.

A Week with Grandma and Grandpa

From RI we headed to NY to spend the week with Grandma and Grandpa. The kids had been counting the days until the visit. They were very excited to be there. Baby Will, Aunt Katie and Uncle Bill were there for much of the week also.

The highlight of the week was certainly hanging out by Grandma's pool. The kids have been waiting all summer to swim in the pool with Grandma. It was the first question they asked every morning..."Can we go swimming?" They did great, we didn't even bring their floats. They jumped into the pool, paddled around, played with water canons and noodles. Erin even practiced some diving.


We did get a couple of day trips in. We headed to a small amusement park that's just the right size for the kids. They spent all day running from ride to ride. Erin especially loved the Flume ride. There's also a small roller coaster that the kids could ride without adults. They would finish the ride and run around to get in line again. I think they hit 4 times in a row before we moved on. They also really enjoyed riding the car and boat ride with Baby Will (who will probably be a 20-year old linebacker and still called Baby Will). Tom and I also got a chance to ride a few of the adult rides with Aunt Katie, which was fun.

We also took a trip to the zoo. It's just the right size. They had a special exhibit of a white tiger that the kids really liked. They also spent a long time watching the sea lions and the polar bear. It was lots of fun.





Saturday morning we went for a walk to the playground at Grandma's school. They'd been asking all week to go, so we let them ride their bikes over to the school and played there for about an hour. Later that afternoon, Tom, the kids and I took a trip to take a walk down the Eerie Canal. We stopped and got some ice cream and walked along the canal for a mile or so. The kids got excited to see some boats moving along the canal.





It was great to spend time with our NY family. We can't wait to see them all again.