Post-Halloween Craze

The spookable holiday was the real deal this year for the kids...even though the trick-or-treating isn't quite like it was when I was a kid, they still had a good time. My favorite moments?
Sean, walking down the street, yelling out "People! Turn on your lights! I want to trick-or-treat!!!" I, of course, immediately told him that it isn't polite to yell out things like that. His response? "But they won't hear me if I whisper!"
Another memorable kid-quote came from Christian, when one of Neil's co-workers took out his gross fake monster teeth...all wide-eyed, Christian said "OH. You have gum disease." Where does my three year old learn about gum disease? I have no idea.
And, of course, the morning after...I found Christian with his candy bag. He had taken all of the suckers out and unwrapped each one, making a small mountain of Blow-Pops and Dum-Dums and Tootsie-pops. I was all, "Christian! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He calmly reached over, picked up a Dum-Dum, and said "Here, Mommy. Try a blue one. They're really good." Like the gum disease has taught him nothing! Geez!
So, fun was had by all...including Kailey, who played the role of the sleeping baby with great skill. Personally, I just love a holiday that gives me permission to dress my kids up in cute costumes, show them off, and pays with bags of treats for me...

Hanging Out With The Scarecrow...

Are we off to see the wizard? Nah...just having a weekend fall-fest at Nana and Papa's house!

Most Likely to Scheme With Ashton Kutcher

So the boys were having one of those nights where they just didn't want to fall asleep. I put them into bed, turned out the light, and went to get Kailey ready for sleepy-time. Sean and Christian kept alternating their calls - "Mommy! I can't sleep!" "Mommy, Sean threw a pillow down!" "Mommy! I want water!" "Mommy! Mommy! Moooommmmmyyyy!"

This can get very annoying. I try to ignore them for the most part, lest I get sucked into an endless back-and-forth exchange, which is so not the point of bedtime.

But, finally, Sean said "Mommy! I'm scared! I think there's a monster in the closet!"
I started walking back to their room, yelling out across the house (I'm soooo ladylike sometimes) "THERE'S NOT A MONSTER IN THE CLOSET!" I got to their room and looked up at Sean on the top bunk. "Sean, there's nothing to be scared of. I promise, there is not a monster in the closet. Monsters are not real."
"Actually, Mommy, I think it's a small dinosaur."
"There isn't a monster and there isn't a dinosaur, either. There's nothing in the closet!" I turned to the closet, reached out to open the doors, and RRROOOOAAAAARRRR!!!!
Christian jumped out of the closet.
I nearly jumped right out of my fuzzy pink socks and let out a totally sincere scream.
They were so pleased with themselves for scaring me that it was all they talked about the next day.
Here's what really scares me - if they're coming up with pranks to pull on me now, at the sweet innocent ages of 3 and 5, what are they going to do to me when they're teenagers???

Reason #8,987,346,219 Why Kids Are More Entertaining Than Houseplants

This goes right up to the top of the "Weird Things Accomplished By My Kids" list.





A foreign object was taken from Christian's nose this morning. It was one of these:

That's right. A small piece of liquid ice. Is it liquid? Is it ice? Who knows? The funny thing is, while I was getting him ready for bed last night, I kept thinking that he smelled minty and that he must have had some candy in his class at church.

Apparently, to Christian, it was more like a teensy tiny fun ball that needed to be stored in a very safe spot for a later playdate.

The moment Christian decided to do what his aunts and uncles were telling him to do:That's right. Forget forks. Forget civilized behavior. Teeth are made for birthday cake consumption, are they not?

When he says he's gonna' do something, he's gonna' do it. He bit out of that cake from one end to the other, much to the delight of my siblings. I blame them.
But I didn't stop him. At least not for a while. You only turn three once, right?
And, honestly....don't you want to eat your next birthday cake just like that?

p.s. photography by the ever-lovely Carrie

Sometimes it's All I Can do to Not Fall Over

Neil took his four day motorcycle course this past weekend, which means that he's finally able to ride the bike that has been sitting in the garage for a few months now and that I am finally able to have the (predicted) cold sweats when he decides to zoom away with nothing around his body except air. It didn't help that when he bought the thing, pretty much everyone I told (including his own father) immediately said - he has life insurance, right? Yeah. Thanks for the reassurance.
So yesterday he decided that he wanted the boys and me to watch as he rode down the street and back...Christian is absolutely fascinated by anything that has wheels and moves, so he was ecstatic. However...Sean is a different sort of child - the kind that is leery of anything too loud or too fast. (In other words, he's just like me.)
We were all about 'hey, watch Daddy on the motorcycle!' and, once the engine was turned off, 'hey, watch Christian sit on the bike with Daddy!'
This is when Sean walked up to the motorcycle and said : "Hey, I've got a great idea! Watch me leave it alone!" And he walked back into the garage.
Three years old and a developed sense of sarcasm. My work here, good people of the blogosphere, is obviously done.

Yummylicious

There is nothing quite like devouring a bowl of strawberries...with cool whip, with chocolate, with a light sprinkle of sugar...if people had official fruits and trees and flowers and such, like states, the strawberry would be my official fruit. (And while we're on the fruit thing, you should click http://humaninspired.blogspot.com/2007/04/would-you-like-to-sample-our-avocado.html to learn a little fruit trivia fresh from California...)

I have officially taught Christian the joy in this deliciousness. He ate so many strawberries for dessert tonight that I think his fingertips and his chin may be permanently dyed red. Literally, strawberry after strawberry after strawberry...going "mmmmm" the entire time. (I think I may have heard a mumbled version of "delicioso" in there, too. Thanks, Dora the Explorer.) So I have handed down the strawberry obsession.

At times like these, I feel that I am fulfilling my duty as his guide in this big ol' world.