Trick or Treat

Getting ready for Halloween this year has been a lot of fun. We've been gearing up for a while with getting the kids costumes, carving pumpkins, and reading It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown every night. 

Sunday night, we went ahead and carved our pumpkins so we could enjoy our creations throughout the week.  The kids did a great job scooping out the pumpkin seeds, and they didn't even make a huge mess.  Audrey chose to have a pumpkin with a scary face, and Barrett wanted one with a happy face.  It made Barrett's night when Billy got out the jigsaw to make the process of carving go a little more quickly.  In the end, we had some awesome looking jack-o-lanterns on our porch.

 

 

Audrey, like every other girl in the world this year, wanted to be Elsa from Frozen.  We found a costume that looked very Elsa-ish, but isn't actually an Elsa costume.  Audrey calls it a Snow Queen.  Thank goodness it came with a cape, because it is cold and windy tonight!

Initially, I was going to dress up Barrett like Olaf, the snowman from Frozen, but every other little sibling of a young girl was going to be Olaf too.  So, we let Barrett pick out his own costume.  The result was better than I'd hoped too.  He chose a monkey costume that he absolutely loves to wear.  I have no doubt that both kids will be wearing their costumes even after Halloween is over. 

When we went trick-or-treating tonight, the kids did great, despite the cold.  Barrett loved pushing doorbells, and Audrey told her joke a couple of times.  Audrey got a little intimidated by some bigger kids that were basically on the same route as us.  When we got home, they ended up coming to our door, and she gave them candy.  Audrey also saw several other Westchester kindergarteners, which she is really excited about.  I am so glad she is starting to build her new community here around our house! 

Barrett's Imagination

Barrett likes to get up early.  During the week, I am usually out of the shower and drying my hair when he comes charging into my bathroom to greet me.  Because we want Audrey to be able to sleep as long as possible, I let him stay with me in the bathroom and try to keep him quiet.  As you can imagine, that is not the easiest task, especially when I need to get myself ready at the same time.  To keep Barrett entertained, I give him access to a couple of drawers in the bathroom that hold items that he won't break or hurt himself with.  One of those drawers is the one that holds my hair dryer, brushes, flat iron, and curling iron. 

A couple of weeks ago, Barrett decided to take my curling iron out of the drawer and started carrying it around the bathroom.  Subsequently, he found the attachments for my hair dryer that I don't use.  He really liked the one that had the comb on it, and I soon found out why.  He took the cord to the iron and put the plug end into the middle of the hair dryer attachment.  Then, he started walking the curling iron around the bathroom holding it with the "hot" end down.  As he started to swing it side to side, he began making an "errrrrrrrrr" sound.  I observed for a few minutes trying to figure out what he was doing, and then he stopped.  He walked over to the vanity, and I thought for sure he'd lost interest in whatever game he was playing in his mind.  I was wrong.  He grabbed a plastic bottle of foot cream and took it to the curling iron where he pretended to dumb some on it.  Then, he resumed his activity swinging the iron back and forth as he walked across the floor. 

At that point, I had to know what he was imagining, so I asked.  Barrett's reply was, "I mow."  Now, every morning while I get ready, Barrett mows the bathroom. I think it's pretty cute, and I like the fact that he's entertaining himself.  Billy, however, is usually trying to get a few extra moments of sleep while I am getting ready.  So now, thanks to Barrett, his last dreams are always interrupted by "errrrrrrrrrr."

Running Man

Yesterday, Billy finished his first half marathon.  I have to admit that when he first told me he was going to do it, I wondered if he actually would.  He's worked very hard over the past few months to get ready, so his accomplishment is well deserved.  The kids and I met up with his parents and greeted him at a couple of places along the race route.  After he was done, we met up with him downtown.  We missed him actually crossing the finish line, but we got to meet up with him and walk around for a bit. 

When we were looking for him, Audrey saw someone with a medal.  Then, she became very concerned about whether or not daddy got a medal.  I informed her that he would get one as long as he finished, so then as we looked around, she was insisting that he should be easy to find because he was the guy with a medal and orange sunglasses.  When we found him, he looked surprisingly good for just having run 13.1 miles, and he killed his target time of 2.5 hours by finishing in 2 hours 14 minutes.  That time even includes time for a quick kiss for each of our kids when he first saw us at the 6 mile mark halfway through the run.  After Billy ran off, Bill was like "oh, man, he didn't give you a kiss," to which I replied, "I didn't want one!"   He also managed to finish a beer and piece of licorice around the 9.5 mile mark. 

I am so proud of my husband and his accomplishment!   

 

The Joys of Autumn

Yes, it's that time.  It's time for my annual post to celebrate the joys of fall.   Even though it is a little past the official start of fall, it is just now really starting to feel like fall.  There are pumpkins on our porch, candy corn in the kitchen, and leaves lying in the grass.  I made an apple pie yesterday. Oh, and the weather has cooled off too.  I am not sure why I like fall so much.  There are so many wonderful things about fall that it must be the combination of them that makes it such a perfect season.

Fall is a welcome break from the heat of the summer.  As much as I love open toed shoes, dawning boots on a cold, rainy day is so comforting.  It is also nice to just stay inside and snuggle with my puppies.

I enjoy apples, pumpkin, and all of the other edible treats we've come to associated with fall.  Last weekend we had chili and this weekend we made an apple pie. The colors of fall are also vibrant and fun.  Decorating with them makes me ridiculously happy. It makes me smile to see the wreath on our front door or the sunflowers in my kitchen. Ahh, the simple things. 

 

I also love that our summers of constant travel give way to quiet weekends at home with the family.  This weekend, Billy got out the millions of legos he owns (stacked in tubs to the left of him in this picture) for the kids to play with.  I think daddy did more playing than the kids though. 
 

Once the cool weather settles in, we also tend to spend more time with friends and extended family that we don't see at one of the lakes during the summer.  Just yesterday, we went to Litchfield to hang out with Lana's side of the family.  We had lots of yummy food, and the kids got to ride Daisy the mule.

 

Another great aspect of the season is that, because we're home on the weekends, we are able to go to church regularly again.  That is something I've been craving, and I am so thankful to have a church to go to where we are learning to live out the love of Christ. It is so easy to get caught up in all of the worldly things that surround us, and it seems like every summer I become more susceptible to those things.  So, I pray that this fall, along with all of the simple joys the season brings, that it brings the joy of spiritual revival for me and our family.  God's blessings are all around us, so let's celebrate them with praise! 

All About Audrey

Last weekend, Audrey and I went to Chicago with my mom to visit my future sister-in-law (Laurenn) and her mother (Laura).  While we were there, we found her flower girl dress for Uncle Brian and Laurenn's wedding and did some shopping.  The dress we settled on meets Laurenn's requirements (thicker straps and a big bow on the back) as well as Audrey's (it twirls well). The highlight of the trip for her was when Laura went into her storage room and got out an old McDonald's drive through play set from when Laurenn and her brother were kids.  Audrey thought it was the coolest thing, and I am pretty sure she would have played with it for hours if we'd let her. 

It was a very busy weekend, but Audrey was an awesome trooper.  With more than 10 hours of driving in one weekend, she didn't complain about being in the car and only asked a couple of times how much longer we had to go to our next destination.  Both Friday and Saturday, we were sitting down to order dinner at her normal bed time, but she didn't complain.  She waited patiently and didn't have any melt-downs.  The closest she came to a melt-down was actually Sunday morning when she first got up, but she quickly collected herself and pulled it together. 

On that note, I want to say that Audrey is adapting to school better and better each week.  She started a check-in system where her teacher fills out a sheet after every subject, and at the end of the day, if she meets a certain percentage of smiley faces, she gets to spend time with her fifth grade buddy.  She has really enjoyed that and gets so excited when she gets all smileys.  She has gotten to a point where she seems a little disappointed if she gets any frowny faces, but we try to encourage her either way.

At home, we designed our own little incentive plan to help her stay on track too.  We created a mountain out of cardboard, paper and cotton balls and printed a picture of Elsa from Frozen.  When Audrey listens the first time, Elsa moves up the mountain, and if she doesn't, Elsa moves back down.  When Elsa gets to the top of the mountain (5 steps), Audrey gets to choose a reward.  They are small things, like a piece of parade candy or playing a game on the kindle, but it works.  She does an awesome job of getting herself ready in the morning and cleaning up after dinner now, because she knows that will get her "Elsa steps," as she calls them.  I am excited that it is working, and I hope these good behaviors become habits to a point that Elsa and her mountain become a play-toy instead of an incentive chart. 

As far as actual schoolwork goes, Audrey is doing awesome.  Every day, she is learning new sight words and showings us new words and sentences she can write.  Just tonight, she saw the word "lake" on my shirt and told me it only had one letter different from the word "like."  So, we sounded it out with the "a" and she learned a new word.  She also loves going to the library and checking out books.  As much as she loves books, I have a feeling she'll be reading in no time.  It is so strange to think of her being able to read; Billy and I are going to have to find code words instead of spelling something out when we don't want her to know what we're talking about!

Audrey also likes her music class a lot too, and is learning tons of new songs that she likes to sing for us.  She also likes art and tries to make it at home all of the time using all of the markers, scissors, tape and glue you would expect a 5-year-old to use.  Audrey is learning more and more numbers as well, and can do some simple addition, but it is clear that math is not her favorite subject.  She would rather write letters and try to spell new words than write numbers and try to count things. 

Outside of school, Audrey is still the same Audrey.  She loves her brother, and she loves to "help" him.  She will often tell him what he should and shouldn't do, and he doesn't really listen.  One morning in the car, she was lecturing him about good behavior and how if he makes good choices then he will get rewards, but if he makes poor choices he will have to go to bed early.  I had to step-in and remind Audrey that she is not his parent, and that she should leave the lectures to me.  We try to teach her that she can help him the most by setting a good example and making good choices herself.  I was really glad she sits behind me in the car, because I didn't have to worry about her seeing me smile. 

Audrey still loves to sing and perform.  She especially likes to make up her own songs.  When we were driving in the car last weekend, she sang many random made-up songs, including one about fuzz from her socks getting stuck in her toes.  She also says a lot of hilarious things, and I wish I could remember all of them.  I always laugh in the moment and try to repeat what she said so I'll remember it, but I inevitably forget.  Anyone that remembers some of her one-liners, feel free to comment and share!