Saturday musings

Today we took the kids on a hike at the greenbelt. It was absolutely beautiful! The leaves on the trees are starting to change color, it was cool but not cold outside, and due to the recent rains there was actually water in the creek. Enough to make waterfalls even! Too bad we didn't think to bring a camera with us.

We instituted a new behavior/reward chart around here a few weeks ago to encourage/bribe the kids to do the things we expect them to do. They get a sticker if we see them being proactive or kind or obedient or super helpful or if they don't whine all day. So far, they each have several stickers under the proactive, kind and super helpful columns. They have a couple stickers under the obedient category. And they have exactly zero stickers under the "I was not a whiner" category.

As per the usual, the kids did really well on the walk out but commenced to whining and complaining on the way back to the car. Jake even lamented that it was not fair that our car Big Red was not a helicopter so it could come pick us up when we feel tired of walking. And all I could think about was that it's not fair that we just spent $130 to replace a broken tail light on Big Red and it still needs two new tires and a new power steering pump and, oh yeah, it doesn't have a working heater. Jeez. I wonder where those two get their whining abilities from? Anyhow, today was not the day that they were going to be successful in the "I was not a whiner" category.

After we got home my friend Jenny brought our beloved Sydney and Lila over to play for awhile. Jake and Sydney had a few tense moments because I think they were both overly tired but the day ended on a positive note with all four munchkins getting along and Sydney chasing Jake around trying to give him a goodbye kiss. Which he really did not whine about. Emma did a face plant off of our monkey bar out back and did deservedly whine about that for a few minutes. But it was nothing a bowl of yogurt and some homemade graham crackers couldn't cure.

We ended the day with squeals of laughter from a brother and sister who obviously adore each other when they are not getting on the other's last nerve. They serenaded me with Pat Benatar's "Hit me with your best shot" for a good ten minutes. And now they are tucked safely away in their beds with still no sticker for "I was not a whiner" on their behavior charts.

Halloween 2013

This year for Halloween we went over to our friends house for hot dogs and general rambunctiousness before taking the kids trick or treating. We all had such a great time. The evening started off a little rough considering Jake couldn't find his Hulk mask and he had been planning for weeks to be Hulk. But after a few tense moments he decided that Captain America is even cooler than Hulk because he has a mask AND a shield-both of which we could find in Jake's closet. Emma Mae chose to be Ariel of  The Little Mermaid fame. So did her BFF Lila. And Jake's friend (future wife) Sydney was dazzling as Wonder Woman. I decided to bring back my famous tired, frumpy middle aged housewife costume. Totally nailed it. Here are some pics of the kids.

Aren't they cute?

 

Aren't they creepy?

Good thing Jake had to be Captain America instead of Hulk. He totally needed that shield to fight off this bad guy. Hulk wouldn't have known what to do with that guy. Let's call it destiny.

Our cute little neighbor boys. Emma Mae has her eyes on the older one. Even if he is a zombie. Speaking of Emma Mae, she was such a trooper all through trick or treating. At one point all of the kiddos were complaining about their feet hurting. We had to push His Majesty (AKA Jake) around in the stroller half the night. But Emma said and I quote: "My feet hurt but I am NOT letting that get in the way of my candy." Preach it sister. Preach. It.

Her tune changed a little bit though when we ended up at the last stop of the night. It was a house that the kids and I have walked/driven by all month. They have a yardful of creepy skeletons, scarecrows, zombies. You name it. They also do a haunted house every Halloween and the kiddos could not wait to go inside. Until we took them inside. Then they screamed and ran out. So Mike and I went in alone and I screamed a lot. And when we came out my poor little girl was crying real little tears because she was afraid we were getting hurt inside. I felt so bad! So I gave her some candy and have a therapist on stand by in case we did some real damage. We walked by the house today and they have removed all of the scary decorations. So my brave little girl declared that NEXT year she will be ready for that house and she will go inside and walk through the entire thing. Because I'm guessing she's not going to let a haunted house get in the way of her getting more candy.