The Mask

We went to one of those Halloween stores this weekend that magically appears in a previously unoccupied building once October rolls around. The kids were already pretty settled on their costumes for this year (this was the first year they actually cared about picking their own costumes) but we still needed to accessorize if you know what I mean.

I've never really frequented these Halloween stores and I have been missing out! They have everything you could ever imagine or want in a costume. I'm serious, I was really debating whether or not I should dress up myself this year with some of the stuff they had. We got what we needed, but not without sampling a bit of everything in the store.

I about died from laughing when I came around the corner to find all four of them wearing these masks. They thought it was hilarious and we spent the next half hour trying on different masks and checking ourselves out in the mirror. I'm sure the shop owner was glad to see us finally leave.

And in case you're wondering, the masks are not indicative of our costumes this year. You'll just have to wait and see I guess. Here's a little preview of what the girls are planning to be ...

I know what you're thinking ... "how original." Don't worry, there are some details that I'll wait to reveal, but I think it must be a requirement of every 3 year old girl that a crown or tiara is part of her costume!

New Post on 25 Hours A Day

Check out my newest post on 25 Hours A Day HERE!

Picture of the Week - October 9

I love visitors. There's always more hands to hold.

New Blog

I have a great new blog you all need to read. 

(And I promise that's it's NOT because I'm one of the writers for it).

It's called 25 Hours A Day and it's a parenting blog with posts from bloggers with all different points of view on parenting. These parents have kids of all different ages and there are many varying points of view. The one thing that they all have in common is that they are awesome bloggers who bring unique and varying perspectives to their posts.

(Again, their total awesomeness has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'm one of the contributing bloggers to the site).

Go and check it out when you have a chance. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Kidspeak

My boys are obsessed with any type of moving vehicle. Obsessed. Schools buses, motorcycles, bikes, garbage trucks, everything that moves. But their true guilty pleasure is  any type of construction vehicle. I never thought I'd be able to tell (or care about) the differences between a bulldozer, a front end loader, or an excavator, but I can now differentiate between the three in a heartbeat. We have been know to park our car at constructions sites, roll the windows down, and watch the activity for hours. Not exactly my idea of a good time, but the quiet that it brings is intoxicating.

So, as you could probably discern, the boys have become experts at identifying and then screaming out the name of every vehicle (including it's accessories) as we pass by. Sam has recently become interested in all of the paraphernalia that hangs on the sides of a fire truck. He was flabbergasted to discover that the firetruck (one of his great loves) actually has a hose (another of his greatest loves) attached to it. He now looks for the hoses on the firetruck every time we see one. The following conversation happened the other day as we passed the fire station by the kids' preschool ...

Me: "Sam, there's the fire station."

Sam: "I know Mom. The fire truck is still there so there must not be a fire."

Me: "That's good. Can you see all hoses on the truck?"

Sam: "Yeah, Mom. I can see it. But Mom???"

Me: "What, buddy?"

Sam: "Mom ... where can I find some hoes hose?"

I'm thinking we're going to postpone any trips for Sam to Las Vegas in the next 30 years.

Sam and Luke also have the unique ability to make up names for trucks that they can't identify or that they haven't seen before. For example, the truck that the men sit in to work on the power lines has been dubbed a "liffer" (I think they're trying to say "lifter"). It makes sense, I guess. It's a truck that lifts people. My kids get straight to the point.

This summer, Sam saw a truck while we were at the beach. He'd never seen one like it before, so he wasn't sure what to call it. When this happens, they tend to name the truck after it's most obvious or dominant feature. For example, on this day Sam exclaimed ...

"Look, Mommy!! It's a hooker!"

Try explaining that one to the people sitting near us at the beach.

If I Were A Pumpkin

For the last two weeks the kids have been asking me when it will be October. Their little brains have figured out that this is the month when the magic begins to happen. From now until the New Year it's an endless jumble of apple festivals, pumpkin spice candles, candy, turkeys, pilgrims, sweet potato casseroles, mistletoe, reindeer, snow, advent calendars, nativity scenes, and that jolly ol' St. Nick. They can hardly contain themselves.

So we started out the best three months of a child's year with our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. Lucky for us, it's right down the street. The weather cooperated for us as well and we got a great fall weekend of cool temperatures and sunny skies.

How do kids innately know what to do at a pumpkin patch? I have a working theory that the pumpkins emit an odorless gas that causes children to light up and run around with boundless and joyful energy. Kinda like what the annual re-introduction of the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks does for my soul.

We always let the kids choose one small pumpkin of their own and together we choose a couple of  larger "family" pumpkins that we carve on Halloween.

However, this pumpkin selection method has caused the kids to make a direct correlation between the pumpkins and themselves. They assume that since they are little, they pick a little pumpkin (somehow as a representation of themselves). So you know what this means about the other pumpkins that get picked ...

Yup, those pumpkins (according to them) are meant to represent Matt and me. So how did we fare this year??

Well, Daddy's pumpkin is tall and proportionate without many blemishes. And mine? Well, mine is squat, mottled, and ridden with bumps and imperfections. I guess you can't hide your true self from your children! But how did Daddy manage to pull the wool over their eyes???

Happy Pumpkin Picking!

Picture of the Week - October 2

This weekend we broke out the jackets and broke in the pumpkin patch.