Happy Halloween 2011!

Halloween is getting more and more fun for the kids as they get older.  Both Colin and Evan love getting dressed up.  I have caught Evan a couple times during his naps asleep wearing his spiderman costume.  Similarly, when Colin was little I checked on him during nap time and he was standing on his bed in full spiderman costume and mask.

So this year they of course jumped at the chance to dress up.  And of course they chose super hero's.  Evan chose his favorite, Thor, and Colin chose Captain America.  And because we have 3 boys we took advantage of hand me downs and Logan wore one of Evan's old costumes, a dog.  Unfortunately, that costume will be going in the trash after this years Halloween due to the zipper being broken.  But, with a safety pin, Logan was good to go and nobody noticed.

Colin and I showed up early to pick up Evan from school, so that we could go to his Halloween party.  Evan was obviously hyped up for the evening festivities and was acting very crazy, but I think he liked having us there.

After picking up the two younger boys it was off to home to get everyone dressed in their costumes.  As soon as Logan saw the older boys get their costumes on, he grabbed his and brought it over to me, he loves being part of the action.  Dennis got home just in time for us to walk over to a neighbors for a Halloween pre-trick or treating party.  We had this tradition at our old house in Virginia.  So, it was nice to see that one of the neighbors here does the same thing.

One big difference between Virginia and Indiana is that it stays light longer here.  So, instead of darkness being a sign that it is time to start trick or treating, their trick or treating ends about the time it starts to get dark.  Evan even noticed and asked "Why are we trick or treating if it is light outside?"

We decided Dennis would go home with Logan to hand out candy while I stayed with Colin and Evan to trick or treat.  A large group of us that were all at the party all went together.  This made for a fun time for the boys.  They were running from house to house with the other kids.  I was happy we chose not to have Logan trick or treat because there is no way he would have been able to keep up.  I think the trick or treating at his school was probably enough for his age.  Evan got tired half way through, so when we hit our house he stayed home with Dennis and I took Colin to another section of the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, handing out candy wasn't too fun for Dennis this year.  We bought a ton of candy anticipating all the kids in the neighborhood.  However, because our small strip of road still has a lot of empty lots and is sandwiched between two circles, it seems that most of the trick or treaters didn't venture our way.  So, not only do we have Evan and Colin's huge buckets of candy we also have all the candy we bought.  Dennis is taking a lot to work with him to give away, but that still leaves us with a ton.  I guess that 5-10lbs I want to loose will have to wait...

Evan supposedly asked Dennis if smarties make you smart and he was dead serious!  If only all this candy made us all smart....

A Spooky Weekend...

Saturday, Logan still had a nasty cough and seemed to be crying out in his sleep, so we took him to see the doctor to make sure it was nothing serious.  Luckily, his ears look great and there are no signs of pneumonia or bronchitis, so looks like it just has to run its course.

While I was at the doctors and the store, Dennis took Colin and Evan to see the movie Puss and Boots.  Evan especially has been asking to see this for a long time.  So as soon as it came out we knew we needed to take them.  The boys then spent a lot of the afternoon playing outside.  Colin went over to a friends house to play, so Evan ended up outside with two older girls (2nd and 3rd grade), but that didn't seem to phase him at all.  He jumped right in playing with them.  They were playing on our neighbors play set and Evan yelled "Hey guys you want to play with my sidewalk chalk?"  Later the girls were riding their bikes and I heard Evan say, "Ok, the first one to get to me wins."  It is funny how he jumps right in and doesn't even care that they are girls or older than him.  He is so fun to watch.

Even though I don't like Halloween, I do love Fall and baking with pumpkin.  Since Evan has been asking me daily when I am going to make a pumpkin pie, I decided to pick up some pumpkin at the store and do some baking.  I told him he will have to wait until Thanksgiving for pumpkin pie, but I did make a batch of chocolate chips pumpkin muffins (because everything in my mind is better with chocolate) and a loaf of pumpkin bread.  The house smelling like pumpkin just has to put anyone in a good mood.

Dennis and the boys spent the evening carving pumpkins.  I gladly step back and let Dennis do this each year because he is creative and artistic.  He also seems to enjoy it.  Of course the boys wanted super hero pumpkins and Evan made his own design on one of them, which I thought was really cool.

On Left Evan's design, middle is Hulk and right is Wolverine.

Sunday, Dennis spent most of the day (it was a long process) cleaning and cooking pumpkin seeds.  They tasted really yummy despite Dennis dirtying up every dish in the kitchen!

Sunday was pretty low key.  Church, Church class, Football, and Colin playing at a neighbors again.  Now the kids are all tucked in bed and looking forward to Halloween tomorrow.  Me, I'm trying to figure out how I am going to get through the next few weeks with all this candy in the house (especially Reese's peanut butter cups, my favorite).  I'm not sure why I decided I need to loose 5-10lbs right before the holidays are starting.  I must like to torture myself, but at least if I eat well for the next few weeks I can better rationalize eating two Thanksgiving meals like we do each year!

Spooktacular!

I have to admit Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays.  I don't think of myself as very creative and the thought of planning a costume always stresses me out (hence why my boys have been in store bought costumes).  However, this year I seem to be enjoying Halloween more than usual.

Friday I went to Logan's class for his Halloween party.  I was amazed when I got to his classroom to see 8 little toddlers all sitting nicely at the table and quiet as can be.  I barely heard a peep the whole time I was there.  Logan did love the snacks.  Amazingly, he ate the fruit first and then the other snacks and ate the cookie last (and that was the only thing he didn't finish).

Then it was a mad rush home to get dinner together and costumes on so that we could go back to Logan and Evan's school for their "Spooktacular" Party.  Basically, the kids got to decorate bags and then go trick or treating at each classroom and ended the evening with cookies and punch.  Of course the boys loved trick or treating, even Logan!  He did a great job holding out his bag at each room and was acting so much older than his age.  His costume was also the hit of the Party.  Lots of people commented on him.

A Recap of The Last Week...

Well, now that I finally have my camera charged again, I can post what we did the past week....

Last weekend was pretty uneventful, just a lot of errands, watching football, playing games, throwing the ball with Daddy and hanging out as a family.

Despite Dennis being home from work for 4 days, I was still sad to see Monday get here so soon.  Monday Colin had his first day of Advanced Math.  Because they will be working on the 2nd grade workbook, he got to bring home the 1st grade one.  His new math teacher gave them the option of finishing the whole 1st grade notebook in exchange for a prize.  Well, Colin loves a challenge and loves a prize even more, so he said he was going to finish the whole book that night.  Well, it took him a little longer than he expected.  But, it is now Thursday and he is done!  He should be the first one done when he turns it in tomorrow!

Tuesday was Colin's first indoor soccer experience.  His season starts with 2 weeks of just practice and then he has games the remaining 8 weeks.  When Colin got there he ran on to the field and I kid you not, that boy did not stop running until 1 hour later when practice ended.  In fact when it was time for a water break he said he didn't want water he wanted to keep playing.  I made him drink a little, but he got right back in to it.  He had a huge smile the whole time and LOVED it!!!  That boy of mine loves sports.  And, soccer really seems to be his favorite.

Wednesday, when I picked up Logan from class he ran straight to the counter and pointed to a little pumpkin he had painted.  His teachers couldn't get over that he remembered it and that he even cared.  But, he was super proud of himself.  He carried it the whole way to the car.

This morning, I woke up not being able to open my eye.  Ugh...pink eye!  So, my awesome husband worked from home today so I could get to the doctor without 2 kids (which ended up taking forever).  And, Dennis took Evan to his final swim lesson of this session.  Evan did great, he can now float briefly on his back and swim a very short distance without help, underwater.  He graduated to level 3!  He was waiting at the door when I got home to tell me "Mommy, I did awesome in swimming today!"

Unfortunately, Logan seems to be getting progressively more sick.  Him and Evan have both had a cough this week and Logan also has a runny nose.  I am hoping he doesn't have an ear infection or bronchitis.  He has been more cranky than normal and sleeping in every morning until 7:45, which is very late for him.  Hopefully, it just passes, we will see....

Because of my pink eye, I had to stay home from my monthly ladies night Bunco tonight.  I am a bit bummed, but am also feeling a little lazy.  It has been cold and rainy all day, so I am ready to snuggle up to my husband and watch a movie, as soon as I get 3 little rugrats off to bed...

Colin Day.

Every once in a while Dennis and I have just one kid home with us, for whatever reason, and we are reminded how quiet a house can be with just one kid.  Today, Evan and Logan went to preschool as usual, but Colin stayed home for his fall break.

We started the day playing battleship and getting Colin's haircut.  Then it was off to bowling.  For the record Dennis won, but embarrassingly, him and I were both saved once or twice by the bumpers.  Just shows how little bowling practice we get!

After bowling we went out for Colin's choice...pizza.  Actually, he wanted Mac and Cheese but having just had it yesterday we made him pick something else.  On the walk to get pizza we happened to walk past a new cupcake shop so, Dennis and I resisted eating another slice of pizza and instead we took Colin for cupcakes.  I mean really, how good can this day be!

One of Colin's good friends in the neighborhood had his tonsils removed yesterday so we then went to the store and picked out a few things to make a care package for him.  Colin decorated the bag and then brought it over to his house.

Later, while Colin rested, Dennis and I worked on a photo gallery wall in our living room.  I have been wanting to put this together since we moved in, so I am sure Dennis is thrilled to not have to hear about it anymore.  Dennis did a great job putting up with all my demands about where I wanted the pictures hung and it looks awesome!

We then played the board game, Sorry, as a family.  I love playing board games as a family, but with an 18 month old we don't get the chance as often as we used to.  Colin got a call half way through to go play at his friends house, so we will have to finish the game tomorrow.

After picking up the younger boys from school we enjoyed dinner out a Mexican restaurant.  I can't think of many better ways to end a day then with a big bowl of guacamole!  It really was a wonderful day with my first born and as always I enjoyed Dennis being home with us.

Children's Museum Haunted House...

Thursday and Friday this week Colin is off from school for his fall break.  Dennis took the days off from work, so he could spend time and do some fun things with Colin.

First, we all went to Evan's swim lesson.  We were nervous that Evan would not be happy about a substitute instructor, but he hoped right in and did a great job.  It was nice for Dennis to get to see this, since he would normally be at work.

After that we hit the Children's Museum.  The boys have been looking forward to going to the latest exhibit...the haunted house.  So, after we saw some of the other exhibits and had lunch we excitedly went to the haunted house.  Prior to 3pm the haunted house has lights on and is a "happy" house for young kids.  But still, when Evan saw the huge fake vampire leading in to the entrance he was very nervous and kept saying he didn't think he was old enough for this yet.  He also said, "I'm not brave enough for this".  However, once he was in he seemed to enjoy it, as did his brothers.  They were all given bags and throughout the haunted house there were people giving out little toys, candy and coupons.

Colin and Evan digging for dinosaur bones.

Dressed up and pretending they are dinosaurs...

On the carousel.

The Children's Museum was packed with all the kids off from school, but we had a great family day.  We were also exhausted, Logan fell asleep on the way home and Evan almost did too.  It was nice to have Dennis home with us.

I am really enjoying the weekends here.  Friday, Colin was invited to our next door neighbors house for "Spooky Movie Night".  So, I took him over there and while he wasn't so sure about the movie and was a little scared, he did enjoy the pizza, popcorn and smores.  Evan who was very sad to not be invited, stayed home with Dennis and Logan.  Dennis treated him to pizza and a new movie at home so that he wouldn't feel too left out.

Movie night!

Saturday we had a great dinner out at what is becoming one of my favorite restaurants here, Pizzology, it is about as gourmet as I can find here while still being family friendly.  However, being up late the night before caught up to Evan and he was all over the place at dinner and very cranky as he gets when he is tired.  My boys definitely like their 7:45-8:00pm bed time.

Sunday, after church, we had Dennis' coworker (who lives in our neighborhood) over with his family to watch the Redskin game and eat lunch (they are Eagles fans).   They are a very nice laid back family and it was great to catch up with them.

Today we got awesome news about Colin...In his folder from school was a letter stating that based on testing and strong classroom observation the school is recommending he be placed in an advanced math class, which will be doing 2nd grade curriculum.  I had a feeling that he seemed to be grasping the concepts very quickly and looks like I was right!  He is a really smart kid and we are very proud of him.  Friday he also got his first report card for 1st grade and he seems to be doing very well so far.

It was wonderful to get some good news today after a very sad day.  My best friend Nikki's brother is in the hospital with very serious brain cancer of which they were not able to fully remove and my heart is breaking for her and her family.  He is a wonderful man and I am saying a lot of prayers for them...

Evan Swims!!

I'm not sure if I mentioned before, but Evan is the only kid that showed for this 4 week swim lesson session.  So, we are getting a private lesson for the price of a group lesson.  And it seems to be paying off because Evan swam underwater a couple feet today by himself!  He was so excited to call Dennis and tell him the news as soon as he got out of the water.

He also got great news today that his class field trip (which he wasn't able to go to since it is not his school day) was cancelled due to rainy weather.  So, Evan will get to go tomorrow!  He had the hugest grin ever when he got up from his nap and I told him this news.

Not much else to talk about except some Evan words of wisdom...Evan told me today "You know dogs are a big responsibility", to which I answered, "Yes, they are.".  He then told me "And you know what?  Horses are an even bigger responsibility".

Colin also had a funny moment.  Dennis told him "I need to talk to you in private."  Colin started laughing and said "Oh no, you want to talk to me about privates!!!!"

The things that come out of these kids mouths is priceless, I wish I could record them all the time.

Oh and I must say one quick thing about Colin.  He can be such a great helper.  Last week without me asking he offered to clean all the toilets and then today he was willing to clean the entire basement (Evan and Logan were the ones who made the mess).  Granted today he was doing it so he could get ice-cream in exchange for it, but still he is a great helper and I appreciate him so much.

Evan and The Policeman...

Well, it took a couple months, but I finally have my Indiana Physical Therapy license.  I am not sure if that is a good thing or not.  Of course it will be nice to bring home some money, but I have really enjoyed being a stay at home mom.

Anyway, I hit the ground running this morning and started applying for jobs.  Unfortunately, there is not much out there that fits what I am looking for.  Most of the positions are full time or in settings I'm not interested in, but I found a couple that might work.   That pretty much took up most of my day until Colin came home from school.

Evan had a much more interesting day...when I picked him up form school he whispered in my ear that a policeman came to his school today.  He was so excited about it.  The policeman asked Evan what police do and Evan told him "You help people".  He told me that the policeman was 6 years old, but that he was bigger than Colin.  He also said that he was almost 40, so I am pretty sure the man must have said 36, but Evan insists he said he was 6!

Logan is doing great at school.  I dropped him off and just like he has been doing for Dennis, he barely glanced at me when I walked out of the room.  He definitely has gotten used to it there and seems to love his teachers.  When I picked him up I did get a big hug though.  I love when he sees me and then comes running over to hug me.

Tonight I went to the church for a planning meeting for the 1st grade retreat.  Colin has a retreat in November as part of his Religious Education class, which I volunteered to help with.  I am looking forward to the retreat as I think Colin will have a blast.

Colin is sad because he doesn't have matching jammies...

And that's about it.  Now that the Colin is in school every day and the other boys are there 3 days a week,  our days are pretty much the same every day so there isn't much to write about.  Tomorrow I have Evan and Logan home with me so it should be a little more interesting than sitting on a computer all day...

Pumpkin Patch and Weekend Fun...

The weather has been beautiful the last few days, so we have spent time outside playing, as well as putting up our fall decorations.  As much as I love summer, fall has to be my second favorite time of the year.  The house looks so nice with fall centerpieces on the table and pumpkin spice candles burning.

Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch.  Evan's class is going this week for a field trip, on a day that Evan doesn't go to school.   So, we promised him we would go as a family instead.  Actually, his school said he could switch days and come with them, but since Evan just started back up with swimming lessons we decided against it.  There are only 4 lessons in session and it would be a waste of money to not have him go.

Anyway, the boys had fun picking some more apples at the apple orchard and then picking out some pumpkins.  I don't have very many pictures of pumpkin picking because the pumpkins weren't great.  We ended up just picking some out of what the farm had picked out.

After that was a trip to the mall to replace our old laptop with an Apple one.  Nothing fancy, but our old one had gotten to the point it was unusable, it was so slow.  So, now I can do my blog without it taking an hour.  We will probably strip down the other one and then let the boys use it to play computer learning games.

Saturday evening we were invited over to a neighbors home who I had met at a ladies night.  Us and another family went over and enjoyed dinner and hanging out.  The kids also had fun, even though most the other kids were girls.  At one point all the kids went upstairs and the Mom went to check on them.  Turns out they were in the girls room with the lights off and a disco ball going and they were having a dance party and giggling!  I'm so glad the kids are having so much fun in our new neighborhood.

Today was just a lazy Sunday.  Dennis did yet another trip to goodwill (we definitely brought too much junk with us from our old house).  This trip included, among a few other things, 2 old tube TVs.  We thought maybe we could sell the big one on Craigslist.  But it is so old and heavy we figured nobody would want it.  Dennis and the boys also spent some time playing ball outside and enjoying the warm weather.

It was just a great fall weekend...