Halloween Night

And just like that it was FINALLY Halloween night.  

We've been mighty busy counting down the days of October to the culminating event.  And what an absolute SCREAM it was...

Post naps, a bus ride, and snacks, I dressed up my kiddos early so we could hit the neighborhood parties {and who am I kidding?...get some front yard pictures.}

Jack was Emmet from The Lego Movie.  We all saw that coming.  And can I just give myself a pat on the back?  I made those hands.  It was quite the labor of love. 

It was totally worth it until we got ready to leave and I saw the pair sitting in Jack's cubby in the mudroom.  "Um...why are you leaving your hands?".  Only to be answered with, "I don't think I want to wear them tonight".  What?!?!  Do you know how long I worked on those?

I had no choice but to Let It Go...and that leads me to my darling Frozen princesses.  Yes, I could hardly believe it when Lucy chose her Anna costume.  I had to stifle my cheers in fear that she would change her mind last minute. It did certainly help to lessen the blow of the Lego hand debacle.

I couldn't get enough of my Queen Elsa and Princess Anna.  And even though I see Maggie dressed like this on a daily basis something about it being Halloween night made it all that much sweeter.  Not to mention, that sweet little Anna by her side didn't hurt.

I snagged one more front porch picture of the gang before we headed down the road.  I had to get those pumpkins in before I toss the "patch" we've accumulated over the past 31 days.

We set some candy out for any early trick or treaters.  We had a few parties to get to that couldn't be missed.  Jack found this to be an opportune moment to reveal his comedic side.  He had his sisters rolling.

We party hopped up until 5:30 or so and then headed out to get some candy.  Grandma came over straight from work.  She was just in time to help me with the little sisters.  Jack and Daddy took off with the big boys.  I'm still trying to get used to Jack growing up.  Long gone are the days of him sauntering from house to house by his Mama's side. {sigh}

Oh, how I adored having Grandma's help.  And Anna loved having her own personal escort.

My most fave memory of the evening {because there's always at least one} was Lucy's response when I asked, "what do we say?".  I was totally expecting 'trick-or-treat' or at least that's what I thought I had taught her.  Instead she held up her bag and squealed "candy!".  She can only get away with that {and look adorable doing it} because she's 2.  It seems there are some perks to toddlerhood after all.

We made it down to the end of our road and then back up the other side.  Just enough to wear out Arendelle's royalty.

We topped off the evening with the girl's passing out candy on our front porch.  Our newest most favorite tradition.  I could watch Maggie methodically count out each handful of candy all night.  She is absolutely a divine little gal.

When the unexpected rain {and the chill} rolled in we packed it up and headed inside for an early close to Halloween night.  Jack came home soaked to the bone but with a bag of loot despite it all.

He happily gathered it up with a note to the Switch Witch and ran off to bed anticipating what she and her Fat Cat would leave.  As you can imagine he was hoping for a Lego.  He has a lot of faith in that Witch.

The girls opted for a sleep over at Grandma's instead. But, Maggie reminded me she would be leaving her candy for the Switch Witch the next night.  We assume she will make two stops to our house???

And just like that Halloween Night was over.

It looks like I best be getting to bed so the Switch Witch can make her rounds tonight.

Happy Halloween Friends!

Party Day

The girls had their Halloween parties at school today.  To say they were excited would be an understatement.

Something about those costumes hanging on their closet doors for the day's outfits got those sisters giddy this morning.

As expected Maggie was Elsa.  I only had to use about 20 safety pins in the back to try to restore what she has done to that poor gown in the last month.  It is beyond stretched out and I'm at a loss as to how to repair Disney store mesh.  It's certainly been loved on.

But when it came to Lucy and her costume, nothing was expected.  Back at costume picking out time, she chose Anna.  {per Maggie's suggestion}  So...we got an Anna costume.  Here recently Lucy has been telling everyone she is going to be Minnie.  Only to follow it the next day saying she's "Anna".  What was I to do, but buy a back up, of course.

It pained me to buy this pre-made Minnie costume back at Costco a week ago, but I did it...just in case.  Oh, how much fun it would have been to put together a homemade Minnie dress {if I had only known}.  But, what will be will be and today for party day, Lucy chose Minnie.

The question is what will she choose tomorrow night?!?!

I loaded these party going gals up for school and did my best to buckle them in without all that tulle drowning them.

I was party mom for Lucy.  I had a tinge of guilt, as I knew Maggie would be wondering why I wasn't doing her party.  But...I was just her Mystery Reader and I did sign up for two parties in her class this year, so I think all is fair.  Agree?

She was accepting and seems to have had a fabulous halloween celebration even without me there.

Lucy and her little friends came in off the playground to a halloween snack, games, crafts, and SURPRISE! her Mommy.

My little Minnie had to be shell shocked to find me in her classroom before dismissal.  Anyway, that's how I'm explaining her indifference to my presence.  Unlike her sister, she didn't feel the need to climb back in the womb.  She went on like it was any other day and participated in all we had in store for that group of 2 year olds.

And let me add my disclaimer here...I could never teach 12 two year olds.  Some days I can hardly handle one. 

However, knowing it was only for an hour, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  And just loved seeing Lucy in her element.  And she let me know she loved having me there too {especially come story time}.

Tomorrow we will have three costumed kiddos.  I'm only hoping the pins in Maggie's dress hold up and Lucy makes a final decision.  Halloween night is only hours away...

Happy Halloween Eve!

Three Days & Three Pumpkins

With only three days until HaLlOwEeN it was high time we got busy carving three pumpkins.  I had intentions of only doing two of them, but the littlest was having none of that.

And so we set out to the front lawn this afternoon with all of our carving tools, designs swimming around in our heads and three pumpkins.  I guess I knew the big 3 was coming, but I wasn't expecting it quite so soon.

Jack wanted something spooky.  I could have predicted that one.  Maggie wanted a cat.  That was certainly a tall order.  I let out a sigh of relief when she changed her mind and requested "a real jack-o-lantern face".  Totally do able.

And Lucy didn't have a clue.  She only knew that if the bigs were doing one she better be too.  I found out sooner than later that the stickers I brought out for her to decorate with were not going to cut it {no pun intended}.

I was prepared for the daunting task of hollowing out the pulp and seeds of all the pumpkins while the kids "ooohed" and "yucked" {as they have in the past}.  To my pleasant surprise they all dug right in and scooped away.  However, don't even think for a second they didn't continue their tradition of "ooooh"ing and "yuck"ing right along with it.

Once that slimy task was complete, we went straight to the drawing board.  Jack knew exactly what he wanted.  He had found a picture in one of his National Geographic For Kids magazines and got busy right away transferring the design.  And he even added a couple of ears.  I so adore his creativity.

I put a few dots on Maggie's pumpkin and had her connect them.  She thought she was a regular Picasso {as she should}.  And can I just tell you how wonderful it was to cut out triangles as opposed to a cat's face?

And Lucy basically scribbled all over hers.  Because anytime we offered help it was met with a resounding "Me Do It!".

Somehow I managed to talk her into letting me do the cutting.  She ended up with a star.  And only because she made it very clear that that is what she had drawn.  Uh...obviously.

Jack and Maggie were both thrilled with their final products.  I had to do a little damage control on Jack's.  One of the neighborhood big boys came over and "helped" Jack.  Trust me it looks much better lit up in the dark {and with the black Sharpie lines removed}.

And as for Lucy's final product...well, have I mentioned she's two years old?  She can cooperate for only so long.  Who know's where she and her star pumpkin had scooted off to at this point.

I'll aim to grab that picture in three nights.

Until then...our front porch is ready.  Looking forward to lots of trick or treaters.

Harvest Festival & Other "Fall"icious News

Jack's school hosted their first annual Harvest Festival this Saturday.  Another event.  Another weekend.  It's been a busy month.

We arrived bundled up only to shed layers as the event wore on.  The sun was absolutely glorious.  I soaked it in knowing all too well that it won't last.

The girls stayed very busy.  I'm assuming Jack did as well.  For as soon as we arrived he was off with his buddies and only graced us with a check in on occasion.

So as you can imagine I was hardly given the opportunity to snag a picture of him, but when I did I took advantage of it.

Like when we checked out the class scarecrow contest.  Jack's class did Emett and Wildstyle from The Lego Movie.  It couldn't have been a better fit for my Lego loving dude.

Maggie immediately spotted the Olaf Scarecrow {although he doesn't look much like a scarecrow}, but she was absolutely smitten.

From Olaf to sand art, her day couldn't have gotten much better.

The manicure station didn't hurt either.  Wait...was this festival for Jack?!?!

Speaking of, here he is...another short check in and a little pumpkin decorating with his littles.  We added these to the other thousand we have adorning our front porch right now.  Pumpkins For Sale!

We topped off our day with face painting.  I never knew how long these lines could get until I had a girl.  Geez!  Maggie asked for a bunny and this was the final product.  I can't lie, I was a little stunned {and confused}.  But, we all smiled and told her how beautiful she looked.

I'm pretty sure when she asked for the "bunny" she was thinking something a little more along these lines.  {Or at least I was}.  I had to mask the shock on my face with an over dose of compliments.  Lucy, meanwhile, came out looking like what I would expect from a face painting booth at a festival.  Look at that adorable mermaid loving toddler.

And in other "Fall"icious news, we've had more than festivals going on around here.  90% of which pertains to Jack.

Last weekend Jack earned his Bobcat Badge in Cub Scouts.  They gave the awards away at the Spooky Camp Out.  I was sorely disappointed that I didn't get to see the ceremony-it was just the boys on the trip.  But I did get this sweet little image sent to my inbox.

And as if that weren't enough, Jack received the Breakfast of Champions Award at school.  I mean this kid was literally beaming when he got off the bus last week.  He couldn't wait to tell me.  I couldn't be more proud of him if I tried.  This kid just keeps exceeding my all expectations.

And last but not least, we baked our spooky Ghost Pizza to welcome the upcoming holiday.  I thought I'd get CrAzY and have the kids roll out and shape real dough this year.

Okay...not so sure I'll do that again.  It was tough for those little hands.  Who am I kidding,  it was tough for mine.  We tried everything from a rolling pin, tossing it in the air, and practically beating it.  Needless to say you could most definitely call our final product "pan pizza".  No thin and crispy here.

Regardless the kids had fun.  Jack and Lucy even ventured to use black olives for the eyes.  Only to pull them off as soon as they were ready to eat it.

We used ghost cookie cutters and sliced mozzarella cheese for the ghost.  When they melt on the pizza they look even spookier.

Here's a before shot.  I dare not show an "after the oven" image.  The crust had risen nearly 5 inches high...I do not lie.  We all got a big kick out of it.  Lesson learned.

And for those who don't know my middle child's eating habits...that's Maggie's in the middle.  There was no way I was talking her in to letting a black olive touch her meal.

So...that's whats been happening around here.  It's hard to believe only 5 more days until Halloween.  We've still got pumpkins to carve and my littles have candy up and down the lane calling their name.

We are looking forward to the culminating October event.  HALLOWEEN!

Fall Festival & Family

If December is the most wonderful time of the year, than October is the busiest.

We came straight off of our Frozen On Ice high to welcome Grammy and cousin Larkin into town.  Luckily they had no intentions of taking it easy this past weekend, because we did just the opposite.

On Saturday we headed over to the girl's Pre-School Fall Festival.  This an annual tradition for us. We've been for the past five years and with Lucy bringing up the rear, it looks like we will be attending for another three.

The weather has been all together weird this month.  Last weekend we were chilled to the bone at the Pumpkin Patch and this weekend we nearly melted between the humidity and intermittent rain showers.  It's certainly kept our wardrobe on it's toes.

In addition to our "must do" entrance photo, I persuaded Grammy and Larkin to join in for one.  So glad I did.  And if that wasn't enough, I had Larkin signed up to work Lucy's class Pony Rides.  She was much obliged to help and I know her helping hands were greatly appreciated.

We spent the rest of the festival bouncing around from booth to booth.  Occasionally we hid under a tent to dodge a passing rain shower.

But in between we were able to decorate more pumpkins to add to our front porch.  Geez...we look like we are running our own pumpkin patch right here on the lane.

Maggie has been anticipating the Sand Art since she first got wind that the festival was coming to town.  She worked intently on her pumpkin necklace making sure it was just so.  She is a sand art loving gal.  Actually an art anything loving gal.

We grabbed lunch {and a few family photos} just before the bottom fell out of the sky.  Then we made a zippy bee line to the car with more festival loot than you could imagine.

We returned home pretty damp and very worn out.  But another great day celebrating Fall and all the festivities it has to offer.

The rest of the weekend was filled with valuable family time.  Dear Grammy must have played at least 15 rounds of Sorry! among every other board game we own.

And sweet Larkin was kept busy in Maggie's room playing "animals" and "princesses".  Maggie needed all the help she could get to bathe them and dress them up because, of course, "they were having a party".

And somehow in the midst of all this, we managed to sneak in a family photo shoot with Andrea Wood.  I'm just itching to get my hands on those pictures.  She is such a talented gal and I can only imagine how happy I'l be with the final images.

Another fabulous October weekend {and this one with family}!

And to think there is, oh, so much more to come this month...