Funny Little Days

 

An un-ordinary ordinary day around here.  Made a Honeydukes Harry Potter treat box for a friend, almost burning my finger off, an eerie spider visited and my kids grabbed the camera (letting the little feller wander off to do his thing after they were done doing theirs), a little girl who kept calling candy corns "acorns" and wanted them close, very close, until she has had something healthy in order to qualify for an "acorn" to eat, and a little boy who looks down at his shirt and says "truck," even when there are none, so the sucker of a momma bought him another truck shirt (got another great deal!).  (When he plays ring around the rosies, for ashes, ashes, he sings "tractor, tractor.....truck!" (for all fall down)

What did you do today?  I tried to make sense of my dusty study and put some books on my new shelves.  So exciting!  I had some helpers, some dancers, and a little boy who has learned how to say "Hold Nee [me]!  HURRY!"  (I'm discovering I must say that word a little too much)

He is such a copy cat when I was looking at some women's clothes while I waited for one of my girls to try on a shirt for her Halloween costume, he leaned over just like a little woman and pulled a shirt barely aside and said "cute!"  WHAT IS THIS BOY LEARNING FROM ME?  It is downright scary!  Did you see his toenails?  What do you think?  Good mom or bad one?  He would emit a high pitched squeak and put his foot right next to Ava's when I did hers.  One toe was not enough to stop the squeaking noise.  After his toes were done he was so proud!

We rarely kill insects in our house, we usually take them outside in a cup, maybe you think this is weird or gross, but I swear it has helped my kids to be more empathetic and respectful of life.  I try REALLY hard not to say "ick" even though I'm often thinking it!  Even then, we don't quite take it to this extreme.  Kind of funny, don't you think?  What do you do with bugs at your house?  Do you have a certified bug remover-- a certain member of the family designated for this task? 

Three Favorite Halloween Books

I had some photos without the little pointing finger, but isn't that little finger just adorable?  Every day I pinch myself when I realize that while my kids are growing faster than I can possibly fathom these days, I still have a chubby little baby to snuggle and a toddler who says cute little things and a six year old who can't bite an apple because she is missing so many front teeth and a nine year-old who still loves my hugs and an eleven year old who still cries when he doesn't understand his homework.  :)

Off the subject.

Here are some favorite Halloween books. 

1.  Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, Illustrated by Rick Allen. 

It seems unusual, but this picture book is a Newberry Honor Book.  There is a good reason.  It is full of gorgeous poems about moths and spiders and owls.  Gorgeous.  Made me realize I really don't know how to write.  These will be better understood by older kids (9 and up), but I read them to my little ones in small doses and drink in all those luscious words, hoping to expose them young to such a beautiful art.  There are little scientific facts written in the margins about the particular animal or creature in each poem.  This is not technically a Halloween book, but I think this is the perfect time of year for such a book!

2.  The Ghost's Dinner, by Jacques Duquennoy.

This is one of our family favorites.  Simple, not tons of words, cute illustrations about ghosts who have a dinner party.  You will be surprised to see what ghosts look like when they have certain foods to eat!  This one is always a delight.

3.  Room on the Broom, by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

Another year-round favorite.  This one is about a witch who loses various articles as she flies through the air, such as her hat, and the creatures who help her find them and join her on her broom.  A cute story about friendship, it is written in a lyrical rhyming style and while it has a minor scary part, the scary turns comic quickly to the delight of my children.

What are your favorite Halloween books?  See here for a link to 10 Halloween books reviewed by Amy Hackworth via Design Mom (incidentally, Room on the Broom is one of them). 

Spooky Cute

 

(More about this little girl and her outfit toward the bottom of the post) :)

We are big Harry Potter fans around here.  Especially one of my girls.

For some movies that may be too scary for older kids, we've started having occasional (very occasional) "movie dates" with our older kids.  Any time those dates involve Harry Potter, said girl will dress up like Hermoine and we have chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans.  I bought a case of these last year because who knows when they will stop making them (they stopped once before, and you could only find them under the label "Beanboozled.")  So this time I stocked up and they are a special treat we save for nights like these. 


This night we watched the first one, so the little kids could participate too (we always forward the Voldemort parts with the littlest ones).

 

At one point I looked and the kids had all snuggled together under a blanket on the floor.

On Sunday, after a beautiful afternoon enjoying our church's general conference on TV, we went to Great Grandma's for dinner.  On the way out the door I noticed that my three year old had changed into her Halloween PJ top and had a trick-or-treat bag slung over her shoulder like a purse (she has been lugging it around a lot, it has mandarin oranges, a Rapunzel wig, and battery powered candles inside, you know, just in case).  :)  She was so dang cute I had to take a picture.  Unbeknownst to me, other kids were queueing up, sidling in, smiling, waiting for their turn!  So cute.

 

How was your weekend?  My husband spent much of the weekend putting our tomatoes up before it is too late.  He made some yummy tomato sauce and froze it.  We can't seem to eat normal tomato sauce any more.  What do you do with your tomatoes?

We had a really great experience this weekend.  Can't wait to blog about it tomorrow. 
 

Sort of Horrifically Funny

(Got this whoopee pie mix from Target.  Too bad my mad domestic skills turned out frosting that looked a lot like curdled milk.  But it tasted good-- like butter with a bit of vanilla flavoring. :)  And this spider looks more like a black crab.) 

Some funnies that have happened here lately.

My six year old daughter came home from school while I was changing baby's diaper.  She sat down on the floor next to me in her bright turquoise polka dot shirt, with her yellow hair in wispy curls around her face, like she'd been playing hard at recess that day.  She looked at me with her big gray-ish green eyes and told me all about her day with breathless excitement, the gap in her bottom teeth revealing a short one trying to wriggle its way in.  She said she "was-in-the-library-and-did-you-know-that-Avery-picked-out-a-book-about-a-girl-with-a-green-ribbon-around-her-neck-and, [big eyed pause] if-you-took-the-ribbon-off-her-neck-her-head-would-fall-off?  [sort of horrified look]  Then, as I'm taking it in during her pause, thinking she would think that was scary or weird or disgusting, she said, with an expectant sigh, her eyes widening further, "I wanna get that book."  "Avery-said-I-can-have-it-when-she-is-done-and-I-think-she-is-almost-done-and-do-you-think-she'll-turn-it-in-tomorrow?"

We were talking about dislocations and broken bones while at the dinner table (yum), when the same girl asked  in all seriousness if one can dislocate his/her bum crack.

We've been having little ones get up in the night since school started.  For a while it was both the littlest, getting up in little relays all night long.  (the three year old is now sleeping through the night, since we moved her bed into the nursery next to our room) 

On the night a month ago when I only had my nine year-old and the baby, I let them both sleep with me.  I had crazy delusions that after they were in bed I'd go watch a movie.  But the baby was NOT tired.  While I was getting ready for bed, my nine year old was teaching the baby to lie down on the bed when she said "asleep."  Then she'd say "awake!"  And they'd sit bolt upright and giggle.  Well, after more than two hours I could not get him to sleep!  I finally resorted to lying down with both of them, in a sleepy cloudy stupor as the minutes ticked on and on.  Around 11:30 he stopped just wiggling and started sitting bolt upright and saying "awake!"  over and over.  It made us laugh.  Good, so I didn't cry.

Last night Ava (three years old) said, when it was time to go upstairs "I'm scared of the night.  That the monsters will gobble me.  I'll have to die if they gobble me up and then I'll have dinosaur spit on me."   Sad she is scared.  But cute little saying.

Baby came toddling up to me sans diaper, actually holding his diaper in one of his hands.  Then he said "spill."  I said "show me?"  And he bent his knees and craned his neck over his prodtruding belly and looked right at the offending party in the "spill."  Then I got it. :)

Happy weekend!  I'm super excited for one of my favorite times of year in church, when the prophet/apostles speak.  Anyone can watch, not just Mormons.  See here.

I've worked on my organization this week, but I'm a bit behind!  I'm hoping to wrap up my planning by the end of the weekend; when I'm done I'll let you know how it went.  Until then, I'll miss you, friends!

An Ordinary Day Goes From Good to Bad and Back Again

Today we drove to my mom's to help her clean her house after some local construction made her house very dusty.  I was worried about leaving my own mess behind, but we enjoyed the car ride so much-- the leaves this year are breathtaking, the most beautiful we've had in a few years.

It was so relaxing to be out, to spend time with my mom and little ones, and to do something for someone who has helped me so much!  It felt really good.  She kept getting the little ones snacks, toys, hugs, and movies while I wiped blinds clean with a green-gloved hand.  She put a white Tupperware bowl filled with water in the kitchen on a towel and put tub toys in it.  The kids loved it. 

By the time I got home, though, it was time to run my son to soccer.  Mentally, I had a little breakdown as I thought about all the millions of things I wasn't getting done.  I let the little ones out of the car while I sat next to a cement wall and sullenly scrolled through my phone, NOT remembering things I've learned recently about making the most of busy days and not to panic on busy days (didn't I learn that on day one?).

But the kids were having such a great time, running and squealing with little feet slapping the pavement in pattering-rain fashion; it was infectious.  After a few minutes I ran around with them a bit, and they made me laugh, and I remembered how much I can do with a few minutes if I choose to, and that time with them is the biggest mood lifter of all. 

Aren't these little faces just so worth it?  SO cute.

(The only way I could get this little one to hold still for some pictures was to ask him "where is your nose?  Where are your ears?" etc.)

What do you think of the new hair cut?  (it looks a little better when dry)

Halloweening With the Littles

 

(After school snack all planned, pumpkin eggnog, yum, super healthy :) )

The littlest ones and I put out the Halloween decorations today to the tune of some vintage 80's Halloween songs that issued tinnily from my propped-up, fingerprinty phone. 

My three year old helped me place the decorations enthusiastically before she got distracted by a play dough craft from last year and went in the kitchen to get busy.  Later I found little snips of plastic and black and blue play dough snipped in a little dustbucket pile on a kitchen chair. 

The baby was good at taking things out of the orange and black plastic bins and placing them in various random arrangements on the floor.   After thirty minutes, he decided it was time to nurse instead.  So we snuggled up on the couch with the sun filtering through the window, the sound of "Thriller" in the background, and little three year-old crafty noises wafting in from the kitchen.  Baby looked at me with his big brown eyes, periodically trying to "dance," as he wiggled his shoulders to the music.

I realized.  In a few years, I'll be able to do this on my own time frame, no interruptions, in an already clean house.  But I'll miss the little busy hands and the interruptions.  They are the sunshine in this autumn day.

(This given to me by a friend when I was a missionary in Texas, experience here.)

The little play dough clippings I found reminded me of another time I found something in little bits scattered in a winding trail toward the front door.  It was a praying mantis.  It looked eerily---- snipped. yess, it was snipped.  by the same three year-old.  at least it was a quick death, but it was not funny to older brother, who cried.

What is your favorite thing about fall?  When we lived in England, no one called autumn "fall."  Also, our friends in England were not as into Halloween as we are here in America-- most of them thought it to be a pagan and evil-ish holiday.  But how can it be evil-ish with "Thriller" playing in the background? Love. That. Song.

Weekend Round-up

My husband built me this gorgeous bookcase/bench.  It has been in the works a long time.  And the study is a big dust ball.  But isn't it pretty?  I think he did a great job.  We went out on a limb a little with the pendant lights but I love them.

 My kiddos love to have "sleepovers" with eachother on the weekend.  Even when I say no, I'll find someone asleep on someone else's floor or in their bed.  I love that they like eachother so much.  These two are special buds.

Cut baby's hair!  Sniff, sniff!  I have been putting it off because I was so sad and couldn't bring myself to do it, but he actually looks really super darling with his new little haircut.  More later.

How to Train Your Dragon (one of our favorites) in the park!  I love outdoor movies.  It was so fun to snuggle with the family on the blanket while eating donuts on a string. 

Rocket launch for my oldest, who built 2/3 of his rocket himself.  This was quite fun!  I was amazed at how high some of the rockets went.   Baby would jump every time one was launched, but still loved it.

 I got to see this gorgeous building twice on Saturday, once for a wedding, and once on my way to this.  I got to go with my aunt who I haven't seen for 16 years.  Then go see my sister's place.  It was a "me" date.  And I loved it.  So refreshing in so many ways.  And made me want to be better.