Fright Night, the Finale

Although it rained tonight... and although we had more than our fair share of meltdowns tonight... we did make it out. With our cousins. And the girls did have a blast.



Biggest surprise of the evening: Anna. She was a machine. She VERY quickly caught on to the concept, and boy did she keep up with Lily and big cousin, Camilla. Her basket of treats might have outweighed the older girls' by the time we got back from Trick 'or Treating. I don't know if it was the costume, or those big blue eyes, or the totally adorable "ta too" (her version of thank you) that followed every deposit of sugar into her basket. Somehow, though, Anna scored the most treats tonight. And even though her ghost weighed a ton (esp. in proportion to her body), she wouldn't let us carry it. And she insisted on walking. An entrepreneur in the making!

Boo Boo Chicken

If you don't have Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fans around, you won't understand the reference. But if your kids are anything like mine, Mickey and pals are a regular feature on the boob tube. I've got to admit that I haven't seen the "boo boo chicken" episode, but it's a phrase that Lily started uttering almost as soon as she could talk.

Amazingly as we were packing up the house pre-move, I found Lily's first Halloween costume. The dress was from Paris, a gift from our aunt extraordinaire, Lois Anne. And while it worked perfectly for Halloween, it's actually just a great dress. Period!

Since Anna's a tad bit smaller than Lily, I was hopeful that the dress would still fit; Lily was just shy of a year at Halloween and Anna's just north of 18 months. And, bingo, it fit perfectly! Of course, after making this discovery I promptly lost the dress amid boxes. I have NO idea which box. I fear that I may not even find it in time for next year's Halloween. So two nights ago I broke down an ordered a costume for Anna. Overnight shipping was more expensive than the actual get-up....serves me right for losing that darn dress during the move!

In the end, it all worked out. The new costume arrived in time for Anna's school's Halloween party tonight. Boo boo chicken saved the day!




(Crazy cute costumed babies to boot... Anna's goth look was the work of a cookie...given to her by her, ahem, father.)

Boo...um...Achoo!

Although Halloween is quickly approaching, the scariest thing in our house of late has been H1N1. Anna is most likely the culprit, although in the land of germs it's always a guess. One thing is for sure, Lily bore the brunt of it. High fever. Vomiting. Coughing...coughing...and more coughing. The nose. The works. I'm knocking on wood -- ANY wood that I can find -- that Noah and I don't fall prey. It's a nasty flu, and neither one of us has the "luxury" of getting hit. Perhaps if I held my breath, that might help too. The increasingly sore throat I have, though, is causing my optimism to dim. Boo hoo.

Lily's return to school happened to coincide with the annual Halloween parade. As much fun as it was... And as cute as all the kiddies were... I was amazed by the number of children absent. They're probably all sitting in the waiting room at our pediatrician's office. Our beloved doctors have been beyond inundated by sick children and worried parents.

Lily was torn this year but finally decided to be "Mulan." I talked in her to a pretty legit kimono as a costume...while I love Disney movies, I'm not a big fan of their costumes.

Normally a class of 20...H1N1 GO AWAY!

Boo!

A little preview today of coming Halloween attractions. Since Lily has become part Devil of late, she apparently felt the need to dress in spooky-inspired attire today. And, of course, she needed her "mini-me" to follow suit.








More later on the devilish behavior (which everyone tells me is completely age appropriate but LORD-O-ME please let this phase pass quickly!!). Since our house isn't going to pack itself..and since Noah's pile of boxes is growing at a much faster rate than mine...I'm just going to give you some pictures of my "little monsters." For now. Boo!!

Monkey Mania

Dear Internet --

I am so, so sorry that I've seemingly abandoned you. You're not alone. Apparently Lily was feeling a little dissed too. See, between my new job, finding a rental house, packing up our current house, and trying to finalize new house plans, I have apparently let a few things slip.

A few friends have emailed their complaints. "The blog it static!" they say. Since I'm the queen complainer when others don't update their blogs regularly, my tail has been between my legs.

Lily has been even less subtle. In no uncertain terms she told me that I would be driving her to school today (I normally take Anna). And then when we got there, she dragged her feet and whimpered about not wanting me to leave.

In other words, she broke my heart.

So I decided that we'd have a mother-daughter-dinner-date tonight. And just to really stick it to me, she close a little Mexican restaurant close to our house. The restaurant that she knows I'm totally sick of...but that she totally loves.

She did treat me to a little monkey bar performance when I picked her up at school. Thanks to the handy blackberry video camera, I was able to capture it to share with you too. Yes, kill two birds with one stone...have some much needed one on one time with my elder daughter AND get a little blog fodder to boot.

So enjoy my little money. I did tonight. Truly.

A Tale of Two Toads

This weekend, against my better judgement, our family grew by two.

No, I'm not expecting twins. THANK GOD!

Somehow, though, Lily convinced me to buy her two frogs. When we were out shopping for rain boots. Not sure how the two are at all connected. Or how I got hoodwinked. But we are now the proud owners of "Mulan" and "Clementine" aka "Clemmy."*

PS -- I'm sure Lily would take offense if I didn't disclose that this isn't a photo of OUR frogs (too hard to photograph) and that her aquarium has rainbow colored stones on the bottom.

My heart did break for these two little guys, who were sitting by the register at the toy store. In fact, I sort of can't look at them because I get a little knot in my stomach. Just doesn't seem fair that they live in such a tiny space without any rocks to snooze upon. But the toy store owner assured me that, like Beta fish, these frogs don't need any more space...or rocks for that matter. Just feed them twice a week. Clean the water four times a year. And, in theory, Mulan and Clemmy should thrive.

Here's hoping that our "tale" is a long one. I don't exactly have the best track record, though, when it comes to keeping swimming things alive. Shhhh..... Don't tell Lily.

PS -- if you're dying to join us as frog owners, you too can. Wild Creations or Doodlehoppers in Falls Church, VA will, I'm sure, be more than happy to help you!

*All names bestowed by a four year old are subject to change. Again. And again. And again.

Score!

Unbeknownst to Lily, I signed her up for soccer this fall. I've been meaning to enroll her for awhile. But every time I made the mistake of asking, she chose art. Or swimming. Or dance. But never soccer. Call me crazy, but I think that every child should learn to play soccer. To run around on a field. To get great exercise. To play a team sport.

Operating under the premise that sometimes it's better to ask forgiveness than permission -- and, um, hello I'm the mom and dammit that means I get to make SOME of the decisions around here! -- I signed her up. Weeks in advance. And told her about it the night before it began.

She wasn't exactly thrilled with the initiative that I'd taken. But after realizing that it meant she got to go to shopping, and that she'd get to buy her own soccer ball, shin guards and a new "soccer shirt," she agreed it give it a try.

Lily is amazing at nearly everything she tries. She was super fast to pick up language. And writing. She's a pretty darn impressive artist. And I even think she's got talent when it comes to ballet. Even though she complains bitterly about going.

Soccer on the other hand... Well, she's got a lot to learn. There were definitely tiny tikes on the field who "got it." There are pre-k kids in her group who are naturally athletic and quick studies when it comes to the skills and the game. Lily was much more interested in her new pink ball and in trying to show off for Coach Bob.





Anna, on the other hand, couldn't get enough. She screamed as she tried to wrestle out of Noah's arms in a desperate attempt to join the others on the field. When we found a spare #3 ball for her, she was in hog heaven. And, um, my little girl has quite the arm when it comes to throwing out of bound balls back in to play!

Junior Year at Last

Another year older.

A new notch on her belt of life.

Lily is now, officially, a "junior." Junior Kindergartener, aka "JK," that is.

BOY. IS. SHE. PROUD!

My little darling misses the county-imposed cut-off for kindergarten by 5 lousy weeks. So off she went on 09/08 to another year of $$$Montessori$$$. She may be able to teach kindergarten by the time she gets there. And oh-so-many of her best buds did pack it in for the public schools in the sky the day after labor day. But she's now the big woman on campus at $$$pre-school$$$, so she's not complaining about the technicality in the least.

Even though she didn't head off to a building full of big, big kids on her first day (which could not have been colder or more dreary), she looked so, so B.I.G. to me. Hard to believe how much she has grown, and matured, (and perfected the art of the whine) since last year. Another year older indeed.

Where's Waldo?

This past week Lily attended the back-up daycare at Noah's office since her camp had ended but school had yet to begin (that's tomorrow!). While this center is an amazing benefit that we greatly appreciate, the one downside is that it closes for lunch. Every day. No, they don't take infants less than 6 months old and, apparently, they don't do food. Well real food that is. I recently found out that Lily had eaten her first pop tart there. Way to go with healthy snack food!

Although Lily has attended this center, on and off, for the past few years, she's never been there for one solid week. Thankfully she loved it!

Each day she and Noah would email me a photo of them at lunch with a "Where Today?" subject line. I had to guess. It turned in to a fun adventure for all of us!

Can you guess?

Monday: Ruby Tuesday's

Tuesday: Open City

Wednesday: Cactus Cantina

Thursday: McDonald's (yuck -- yet, not surprisingly, the "restaurant" where they ran in to the most other parents/kids on lunch break from the back-up daycare center)

Friday: Two Amys

Considering the scarcity of restaurant options in Noah's work neighborhood, I think that they did great. No repeats, and they kept me on my toes all week!

Trip Trifecta

To round out our trio of trips during the month of August, and to visit our friends and family in the Bluegrass State, the girls and I flew out to Lexington, KY on the heels of the Roseola ridiculousness...it was a game day decision as to whether or not Anna would be healthy enough to go, but in the end our plans were green-lighted and we hit the friendly skies.

Two children.

One parent.

Not a ratio that I would necessarily recommend for the faint at heart. Especially when the return trip required a change of planes en-route. Two take-offs + two landings + two VERY cranky kids = total disaster!

But we had a WONDERFUL time in Kentucky. We got to meet our two newest cousins (of the dog variety), Zuzu and Tootie, and see my two aunts and cousin...plus lots of friends to boot. I may have to put my kids in straight jackets the next time that we go, but, LAP, I promise that we'll be back!!

Anna with her newest cousin, 4 month old baby Tootie!

Fun times at Boyd's, an awesome orchard complete with an AMAZING playground!

Anna making sure that no one was going to try to take her precious peach smoothie away!

Lily trekking to the top of the monster slide. All was great until the final run, which ended in a wipe-out and a mean case of plastic "burn" on her arm. Buh-mer! Hey, it's not a party until someone cries. Right?!?

Lily's new Fancy Nancy doll!

Anna taking a splash in Lois Anne's fancy claw foot tub!