Winding down

Since we did Trick or Treating last night in our subdivision, today has been a nice way to wind down the weekend. We went to church and took pictures outside with a pumpkin before we left. We didn't end up doing a pumpkin patch this year! Just as well I guess :) The boys got to eat a special cookie as their Halloween treat after lunch and then we opened the cards that family and friends so lovingly sent. If only every child was as loved as ours are the world would be a wonderful place. Makes us feel so very blessed and thankful.

Now, on to November! I've already flipped the calendar and will be putting out the cornucopia later today :)

Trick or Treat!

Our neighborhood held Halloween tonight since the Saints play tomorrow evening. Football over Halloween here in Mandeville...... Anyhow, the kids were wound UP today from Trunk or Treat this morning and then trick or treating at night. It was all a bit much but we rallied :) Our friends Sara, Betsy and Travis came over with their kids to hit the neighborhood streets. Scott was Superman, Juliet was originally a cowgirl but made a game time switch to a Spiderman we had here (sorry Betsy!), Erik was a dinosaur and baby Mark was just cute :) Jack was in heaven and loved TOT this year. I had to repeatedly ask him to slow down and wait for his brother since Theo was always holding us up. He liked to linger at the door, maybe trying to get more candy, who knows. We went to way more houses this year than any previous year though. Every year gets more and more fun! Dave stayed back and manned the candy dish. Not an easy job when kids come in packs of 20 in our subdivision! Happy Halloween everyone!

Trunk or Treat

We hauled out some decorations for my Mom's club annual Trunk or Treat this morning. It was the first time to have it on a Saturday morning vs. weekday afternoon and I must say that it was awesome! I didn't have to deal with half crazed boys on a sugar high. There were professional face painters there and Jack had his face painted like a tiger. Theo opted out of waiting in line :) The boys both made crafts and then had a great time going from trunk to trunk to get candy. Theo donned Jack's old Batman costume (remember Batman and Robin from 2 years ago?) and Jack was The Hulk, complete with battery operated muscles. We enjoyed seeing all of the kids in their cute costumes and had a great time. I'll be sad when they outgrow this fun tradition one day.

Costume party

Dave and I went to a costume party last night at our friend's Matt and Sarah's house. He wore his loudest cowboy shirt and hat (he's been dying to wear that shirt ever since he got it almost 2 years ago) and I wore a sari that Dada got for me in India a few years back. We had to You Tube how to wrap the sari and it was an ordeal! We learned that there are several different techniques and apparently lots of women complain about the pleating process. Our friends Betsy and Travis were Don and Betty Draper and then Pat and Theresa were the couple from Avatar. Matt and Sarah were the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkey :) Jen and Bob were masked revelers. My friend Marlow was a clown and then Connie was an Elvis adorer (her husband was an awesome Elvis.... wish I would have gotten their picture together!).

Halloween kick off

This is going to be a whirlwind of Halloween activities.... we're bracing ourselves for two hyped up kids! Jack got to dress up in a costume to school today. He decided to wear last year's costume (Transformer) since 3 kids were going as Batman. He'll be the Hulk this year but the costume is pretty involved (you'll see tomorrow). All of his classmates were so cute and quiet when I got there and then the sugar treats kicked in and it got rowdy :) I was very happy to check Jack out early and leave about an hour before school ended. God bless Ms. Waldrip!

Theo also had his school party today so I enlisted Gigi and Dada to attend with him. Good thing I did since they reported all the other parents came. I'm the co-room mom for Jack's class though so I kind of have to choose his parties if they happen to coincide like they did today.

Theo got to eat lots of savory snacks and then did a craft with a small pumpkin :) All of those kids are so well behaved for his teacher and just LOVE Mrs. Angerdina. Even Gigi and Dada could tell today while they were there.

Picasso painting

Picasso's birthday was yesterday so we celebrated it (a day late) by having an art class for some of the kids in my Moms club. The instructor had outlined the sketch for us but as you can see, Theo went outside of the lines, just a little bit :) He had a great time and that's all I care about! He learned how to swirl the brush to clean it in between colors and hot to "pat pat" to paint to control the strokes a little bit. I think he did a great job and think this is the start of something he'll really enjoy doing! Go Theo.

Best friends

Juliet came over to play today and Theo showed her all around the computer. He's pretty good at the mouse now and can navigate and click with ease (whew). They built snowmen and jack o lanterns on Starfall.com. That site is great for this age group :)

Swim strokes

Jack started up swim lessons today to learn various swim strokes. He loves to swim and we'd like to do swim team with him next summer. Here he is in the bubble to keep the pool nice and toasty. He did great today, learning how to do the breast stroke, back stroke, butterfly and freestyle. He's also working on turning his head to breathe. Go Jack!

"Aunt" Christy visits

Dave's cousin's wife, Christy, came to visit me yesterday and we just had the BEST time together. The boys loved having her around (she has 2 boys herself so she makes for good company here) as much as I did. In fact, they surprised us by having this fun arts and crafts project going on when we woke up this morning (7 am, mind you). I calmly explained to Jack that he can not paint (!!!) when mommy or daddy aren't around or even awake yet. He told me that he set up on the placemat so it was ok... nevermind the paint on the granite and all over his hands. Theo had paint in his hair.... and this was all before I had even made coffee. I don't even like too much talking before I've had my coffee. Oh dear.