Halloween Top 10

#10:  Enlightenment

Watching Keira enjoy her first 

experience trick-or-treating.

It's a parents joy to see the look of

SHOCK

that crosses over a child's face

when they realize people are giving

them candy!!

 #9:  Friends

We would be lost without our dear friends

that fill our neighborhood and

our church.

It seems that each of the families here

takes on a different holiday to

invite others to their home so we can

celebrate together.

This year it was chili at the Thompson's

for dinner and the traditional

movie in the drive-way at the Brown's.

 (Emma, Madison & Mason)

 #8:  Candy Obsession

Keira do you want help

carrying your 10 lb bag of candy?

"Ahhhhh!!!"

Ok then.  I guess not.

#7:  Fall Carnival

It was really nice to give the kids

a full evening of fun with games,

treats, dinner and friends

since we knew it would be a short

trip out for the "official" Halloween

due to it falling on Sunday this year.

 (I *heart* cake walks)

 #6  Degrees of Difficulty

Ben was very ecstatic that he could

"play golf"!

If only it was that easy.

 #5 Games That Teach

Larry is all for getting the kids

sufficiently trained in any sports

that rewards them with pricey endorsements

like golf or tennis!

#4 Neighborhoods

Some might not like being in a

neighborhood that have car loads

of people driving in to have their

kids trick-or-treat here,

but I love it.

It's a compliment.

And thankfully there are a few streets

that have about every house decorated
and offering up sugary treats!

 (Larry took all 4 kids on his own,

stroller-less,

while I stayed at the "movie"

keeping Dan happy!

What a DAD!!!)

#3 Sugar Overdose

Sometimes I think the candy

from Halloween is like

the movie "Gremlins",

with some sort of exponential

multiplying ability.

#2 Jack O Lanterns

My memory of pumpkin carving

is watching my dad use a

homemade contraption resembling 

some sort of wrench and serrated razor blade.

Thankfully we've moved away from such

brutal finger decapitating instruments

and now, even I enjoyed helping the kids

put their requested pictures on the pumpkins.

(note: remove all ridiculously hard

patterns from carving idea book

before we let the kids choose a picture!)

#1 Safety First

Every holiday we get the kids these

simple glow sticks to keep them safe.

But what I love most is watching them

cuddle into their beds at the end of

long sidewalk march

to use their neon lights to read a book

before they crash for the night.

Thankfully this holiday is only
ONCE
a year,
because mom & dad are pooped.

All Dressed Up

 We make Halloween look gooooood!!

 The "spider" witch

 Unfortunately there is absolutely NO

reasoning with a 2yr old,

so we passed on the witch hat.

 The "good witch"

 Even though Em hasn't been feeling

very good with a case of the "nasties"

for the past week,

she was a trooper.

(we'll be hitting the dr's office monday morning)

 Spiderman

 Look at those muscles!

 I'd love to be saved by this 

cute superhero.

 Dorothy and her little dog

 This costume was a little daunting at first,

but I refused to spend $30 on a store

costume or $20 on the wizard of oz

pattern, so I improvised an easy pattern

into my own version of Dorothy's dress!!

 Sweet Pea

(drool and all)

 My costume?

Either the Dairy Queen or

a Human Pacifier!

Take your pick.

This is what Dan thinks of his costume!!

Candy Time

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Have a SPOOK-tacular weekend!

ALERT!!

Not only do I need eyes in the back of my head,

but on the sides too.

As of this weekend, Keira can open doors.

Which means snacks that she wants to eat

are spread all over the house,

my make-up drawer is a new favorite past time,

if Dan is up from his nap Keira is the first 

to find him, and trying out ALL of her siblings

toothbrushes is some serious fun.

And once again, Keira is using the 2 story

house to her advantage.

Many times when I'm chained down to the

couch I can hear her opening the pantry door,

or running around my bedroom

because this smart little lady knows

that mom isn't getting up for at least

15 mins.

This is proof of one new naughty activity

of Keira's.

And now that I think about it,

I should have made her lick it up!!

Maybe then she'll think twice about

doing it again.

Riding The Emotional Train

As previously mentioned,

Keira Jane

has many facial expressions

to go along with her mood.

(which changes every 5 seconds)

And even though it's been a year

since we discovered

her skills as an actress,

she's still providing us with

some great photo opportunities!

 HAPPY Keira

 SAD Keira

 MAD Keira

I'M DONE WITH YOU Keira

Mama's Boys

 ...are sharing a room!!

Why?

The reason is two-fold.

Ben needed some companionship.

He has a hard time being alone in his room.

He rarely falls asleep without mom or dad

sitting next to him, which can really spread

us thin during the bedtime hours when

I'm already occupied putting Dan to sleep.

Ben also always wants a light on and his door open.

And when I say "light on" I don't mean the nightlight kind,

I mean his big, bright ceiling fan light.

As if he could really fall asleep with that thing on.

And the other reason,

well, mainly it's selfish.

I wanted my space back.

I didn't want to tiptoe around my bedroom,

brush my teeth in the dark,

use the kids bathroom for showers,

have a chance to put clothes in the closet and

carry a conversation with Larry louder then

a whisper.

Oh and having Dan get comfortable with

an extremely dark room and no sound at night

is completely unrealistic.

Plus, what better time to put them together,

then now when Dan only wakes up once a night

and goes straight back to sleep.

 It's been 3 nights and so far...

PERFECT!!

Ben never hears Dan wake up around 5am

for a morning feeding.

 I can sit with both boys while they doze off

to sleep instead of occupying both

Larry and I.

 Dan hasn't had a hard time taking

naps in a brighter environment or

been bothered by the outside street noise.

 Ben has come to terms with keeping

his room quiet and dark at night

for his baby brother.

And is even sleeping so much better.

Although I did threaten him with

taking his brother back into my room

if he got near his brother at all.

I love easy transitions.

Let's cross our fingers Keira's

potty-training is just as easy.

Can't Do Without

As many mom's have learned...

...when your kids get a certain age it's hard to keep them entertained.  They are constantly calling your name to come help them, play with them or just staying under-foot and never giving you a moments peace.

Take it from me.  I get it.

So if it wasn't for the tv, videos, computers, coloring books, playdough, and a few toys that actually keep a 3 & 4yr olds attention longer then 10 seconds I'd be tearing my hair out.

What I'm most grateful for are the learning aspect of many of these necessities.  Like these puzzles.  My mother-in-law first turned me on to them by giving them to Sydney and Emma as christmas presents.  I've used them many times while teaching preschool and as a distraction tool for the unentertainable child.  And guess what?  Santa found these four to add to our collection for $5 at Ross!!

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Chinese Food

 Daniel  is 3 months old.

He is such a good baby.

 Daniel is lucky enough to have

a caring and loving older sister.

But sometimes,

she's sweet.

And sometimes,

she's sour.

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Minute To Win It

When all was quiet in the house,

the older girls and I were

finally enjoying some alone time.

We watched one of our favorite shows...

"MINUTE TO WIN IT"!!!

We're always amazed at the stunts

the contestants can pull of in 60 seconds.

The girls wanted to try the cookie trick.

You put a cookie on your forehead,

lean back

and without your hands,

move the cookie down your face and

into your mouth.

Believe me,

it's harder then it sounds.

 Emma was as a trooper.

She kept trying and trying.

But she couldn't get the hang of it.

She was shaking her head back and forth

to wiggle the cookie.

I guess the idea of moving your facial muscles

is a little over a 6yr old head.

 She was concentrating sooo hard

on NOT using her hands.

Oh so tempting!!

 Sydney was a party-pooper.

She tried once, it fell.

And that was it.

I even had to bribe her with another

cookie to get this picture.

I think she's becoming more self-aware,

and doesn't like to do embarrassing things.

Which is a bummer,

because I thought it was

freaking hysterical to watch!!

Eventually after some side-splitting giggles,

it was time to give up without success

and eat!!

A.F.V.  here we come!

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Peek-A-Boo

I promise,

I wasn't lying

when I said...

Keira is one cute kid!!

She cracks us up!!

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Go Mustangs

 Who Can Pass Up Free Food?

 Nobody.

That's why it's so easy to find

good friends to join us at

the SMU Law School

tailgates.

 We had a blast with the Thompson's!

 The "rowdies" wasted the endless amounts

of energy on soccer, keep away, cart-wheels,

hand stands, tag...

 ...and some plain ol' wrestling!

Now I know why we attended these

tailgates so religiously in the beginning.

Without a backyard to stretch out in

and being cooped up in an tiny apt, 

we craved some open space

and fresh air.

 Keira was fasinated by this sign.

Marcus was determined to not

let Keira fool with this sign.

 Which made Keira WANT to

touch the sign even more.

It's a vicious cycle.

As for us parents...

we're just grateful to not have to

cook, clean up and entertain

the kids.

But we did ponder on the fact there

were EIGHT kids between the 2 of us!!

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