Happy Halloween

We had a fantastic Halloween celebrating with friends both morning and night. Our sweet friend Anna turned 2 and her Mommy threw her a super party with delicious cupcakes.

Then, we ate supper with The C's. Courtney made chicken tortilla soup. YUMMY!

Carl picked up a birthday cake for me and everyone enjoyed a sweet treat. What's a little more sugar on a day like Halloween. All of the kids were anxious to get busy collecting candy in our neighborhood. One little boy had a scary costume and none of our kids wre very impressed. Henry hid behind a tree perching in the grass. It was pretty hysterical!

The kiddos were excited with their loot. Henry even ate a candy bar - wrapper and all.

Evie had a ball ringing doorbells and knocking doors down waiting for handfuls of candy. Henry very quickly figured everything out and decided it was worth the work of walking up the stairs to get some candy.

We had tons of trick or treaters at our house. More than any other year! Evie took her job passing out candy very seriously carefully selecting the perfect piece of candy for each person.

I
t was impressive watching Evie strategically dig through her candy deciding which pieces to eat and which pieces to give to her parents.

It was a terrific night filled with treats. Hope y'all had a super Halloween too.

Halloween Parade and Pumpkin Carving

We have been busy preparing for Halloween. Carl carved the pumpkins with the kids yesterday. Evie wanted a "Happy" pumpkin so that's what she got and then Carl carved a "Grumpy" pumpkin too. Henry had his first opportunity to sit on the kitchen counter and he could not have cared less about the excitement. He just wanted to eat his dinner. That's one of Henry's best skills. He did add an "uh -o" in every few minutes. My job was to pick out the seeds and wash the pumpkin goop off for roasted pumpkin seeds. Evie wanted to go outside again tonight for more pictures with her Jack o' Lanterns.

Evie's school had a Halloween parade this morning. Of course, our little princess was all about this activity. I found it a little underwhelming myself - it seemed like a lot of work for about two seconds of parade time. My photography skills were impacted by the aunt standing next to me because she found it imperative to chat with me about her latest personal issues. Evie enjoyed herself and that's all that matters. She was a beautiful Cinderella. Henry thought the parade was a wonderful time to eat a few crackers. All the moms went back to the classroom to retrieve the costumes and the kids were served allergen-free cupcakes.

Halloween is celebrated in a BIG way these days! Carl says we sure have done a lot of pumpkin c***. I agree, Halloween is certainly not what it used to be with a pillowcase loot bag and some face paint. The best part is celebrating with my little treats!

Weekend Wrap-up: Pumpkin Festival

It was a delightful weekend but it sure was cold compared to the last week. Evie said it was "brr'ing" and we all agreed.

Saturday: It was my day to sleep late! We hung out at home all morning and headed to the Franklin Pumpkin Fest after Henry's nap. It was our fourth year in a row attending the festival and we really enjoyed ourselves. I really liked going in the afternoon because the crowds are much less dense. Everyone had to bundle up for the chilly weather but it was as difficult to fight the crowds. Evie had a blast riding the pony, sliding on the giant slides and of course eating delicious festival food. Henry barked at all the dogs, strolled around the petting zoo and ate his fair share of kettle corn. A sweet lady came up to chat with us about how precious Evie is and how she could tell that we just adored her. I love when people praise children for characteristics that really matter instead of just cuteness. It was so thoughtful of that lady to stop us and pump Evie with some self-confidence. She told Evie that she could tell that Evie was going grow up to be a really fabulous lady one day. Carl decided that we needed steaks for dinner since we skipped lunch to indulge at the festival. It's always fun to shop at Fresh Market so we picked up a few dinner essentials. Carl and I stayed up way too late which is always a bad idea. Let's be honest and say that way too late is not what it used to be but 10:30 seems like the middle of the night at our house.

Sunday: Evie woke up first which seems to be our trend for the last week or so. Henry woke up just in time for early church and then we woke up Carl. It's always a mad dash to get out of the house mostly because I am completely disorganized these days. Everything takes longer when nothing is in the assigned spot. Evie and Henry had time for a quick banana breakfast and then we were off. Henry is experiencing his first major bout of separation anxiety and it's pretty fierce. Even our minister commented that Henry sounded like someone had just abandoned him forever. Evie stayed with Henry in the nursery but quickly dropped her role as "protector" to play with a little girl. We sat behind a five week old baby in church and it's hard to imagine that my children were ever that size. Evie noticed that precious baby girl too and asked me if she was that little as a baby. Both kids did a fantastic job in church with no tap dancing, snacking or endless chatter. Success! We stopped for doughnuts on the way home and then the children put on a little show for us from their stage. After the encore performance, we went for a long walk through the park. Evie ran and ran but still managed to skip her nap. I took her with me to run a few errands including selecting a sweet treat for her dance party tomorrow. We had all kinds of interesting conversations including where babies come from and what it's like to live in Heaven. I need to brush up on both topics in pre-school friendly terms because Evie is quite astute. She was not one bit satisfied with my answer that babies come out of the Mama's belly at the hospital and wanted to know if we could live in a tree house in Heaven. We all headed to the fall festival at Evie's school but it was just so cold to be outdoors for any extended period of time in Halloween costumes. Evie told us that her favorite part was the hot dogs. Guess what, she did not even eat one bite of her hot dog!

It was a fun-filled fall weekend. Can't believe it was our last October weekend. It went by in flash just like it always does. November is on the way!

Week in Review: Artist in Residence and Trick or Treating

Oh, what a week! I took a little blogging vacation for a few days and it felt good to have one less thing on my list. Evie was on fall break both Monday and Tuesday which meant no dance or school. I enjoyed the freedom of a break in schedule and spending some extra time with my kiddos. We spent most of the week outside soaking in this late October sunshine. However, at 4:30 this afternoon, the novelty was worn off and I was ready for my relief squad to come home. Hello Daddy! He is putting both kids to bed so that I can get this post cranked out before crashing myself.

Monday: Evie was in desperate need of some new shoes which meant a trip to the mall. My girl loves the mall and was in heaven the entire trip. We purchased shoes, played at the park, window shopped, checked out the bathrooms and ate some Chick fil A. Henry seemed exhausted so we headed home for nap time. It was a short nap day so we decided to go to Costco for some berries and Halloween candy. Carl got home in time to wash his truck with our little helpers and go for a stroll around the neighborhood before dinner.

Tuesday: Campbell and Christian came to play while Courtney had an appointment. It's really not much harder to have a few extra kids around the house especially our sweet boys. They all played in Evie's room while I folded some clothes in my bedroom. It was hysterical listening to their conversations! We broke out some craft supplies and everyone had fun making their own creations. Henry slept a really long time after playing hard all morning. I decided to try painting with the kids. It was definitely an outdoor project. Henry found it more fun to mix the colors while Evie spent over an hour creating her masterpiece. Carl came home early and took the children for a run. I made spaghetti for dinner and found out that Henry is a huge fan of spaghetti night. It was a good thing that dinner was served alfresco because Henry made a large mess.

Wednesday: We met Kristin and her kids at Whole Food's for Kid's Hour. Henry and Evie had a ball listening to Rachel Sumner. Such a fun, free, kid-friendly activity! Rachel told me after the program that she sees a lot of kids but that she can tell Henry is going to be a Smarty Pants. Oh dear! It does appear that way as he has turned into quite a little tornado in the past few days. We made a return and tried to find some princess shoes for Evie. I need to be more specific in how I explain things to Evie. The store did not have any shoes in her size which Evie took as she was not going to get any princess shoes. It was a scene for sure but she eventually figured out that crying was not the way to get new princess shoes. It was a gorgeous day so we had a picnic lunch and some playtime before nap. After nap, it was time to check out a few more stores for princess shoes. Evie finally agreed to wear her black patent church shoes  with her costume since her feet are impossible to find shoes that fit appropriately. Carl had a dinner meeting so it was a quiet night.

Thursday: My favorite day of the week! Both kids went to school. I went to vote. Be sure to take advantage of early voting if your town allows it because the lines are fairly long already. Tennessee is about as red as it gets but everyone still makes the effort to come out to the polls. I met all kinds of characters while in line to vote including an adorable 92 year old man. Impressive! It was another gorgeous day so I treated myself to a day off the clock and spent the morning walking around Downtown Franklin. It was just too pretty to be inside! I picked up a few gifts and bought myself a scarf and Henry a sweater. It was so nice to leisurely stroll through the stores without any distractions. I came home to straighten up the house a bit and then picked up the kids. Henry was sleepy since he had not napped at all even though he was up at 5. Sweet Boy crashed as soon I put him in the crib. Evie and  I played outside for a bit and then The C's came over to play too. Carl mowed the grass and I took the kids for a walk and then put them both to bed. Thursday mornings are wonderful but those afternoons are get dicey very quickly with two cranky kiddos.

Friday: We took our time getting ready and then made our way to the nursing home for trick or treating. Evie was thrilled to be Cinderella. Henry was not as impressed with his Sock Monkey costume but he certainly did not protest much at all. Evie was a Nervous Nelly in the nursing home. I had to personally escort her by hand to each resident for candy. She is not a fan of nursing homes and then loudly announced that "she was ready to go home and not get any more candy from these old ladies." Henry enjoyed it all - the costumes, the candy and most of all the dog. We made our weekly library visit for new videos and books. Cinderella made lots of new friends wearing her beautiful costume. I was exhausted after our morning chaos so Evie was promptly plopped down for a movie and lunch while I recovered from the morning. It was a long afternoon and our first chilly day of the season. Carl was a welcome sight when he walked in the door! I made comfort food for dinner - herb encrusted pork chops, mashed redskin potatoes and garden peas. Perfect for a chilly evening although this weather will seem tropical within a few short weeks.

Happy Friday, Y'all!