Tonight my family and I celebrated Halloween which is one of my most FAVORITE times of the year. I absolutely love it. I love the fact that it is fall first and foremost. Fall is my season. I was born in the fall. I love the weather, I love the leaves, I love the smells, I love the tastes, I love the clothes, the temperatures EVERYTHING. I love pumpkin spice everything, and apple cider everything. I love soup season and bon fires, football games and just well anything that is fall. I love it.
To me fall starts the day the kids go back to school. That to me is the official day of fall. I don't care what the calendar says.
My daughters birthday usually falls right on the first day of fall, and if her actual birthday doesn't then her party usually does or super close to it (the official first day of fall not MY official first day of fall, but the one the calendar says is correct). This year my daughters birthday was a hot mess. I generally pride myself in amazing birthday parties. I love parties too. If my husband would let me spend the amount I'd LIKE to spend on birthday parties (well we'd probably be broke...so it's a good thing he sets a limit and that's what I begrudgingly stick to). This year was chaos though. I was not prepared, at all. I was just so busy with life. Working all the time, trying to keep up with house work, scouts, kids being in sports (practices and games aaaah!) that I just completely lost track of all time and didn't get my butt in gear for my daughters party stuff. She only asked for a Monster High birthday. Which it should have been amazing, but it wasn't. IT. WAS. LAME. (By my standards). By my daughters standards...she loved it. She didn't care that it wasn't the party Mom USUALLY gives her. She was just happy friends showed up, there was cake, and she got a few presents, and they had fun games, and everyone got party favors when it was all over. Bam. She was happy. So why wasn't I? I felt like I had royally screwed up and let my daughter down (which I hadn't, she was perfectly happy and satisfied with her special day). Why I let myself get so worked up over it...I have no idea. However, that will not stop me from trying to do my most awesome on her next birthday! I just love to see her face when everything comes together for her special day that's all about her. It isn't every day I buy my kids presents, so when it comes to their birthday or Christmas I try to make it special.
Not only did my daughter have a birthday in September, but so did her father, who is the official 31 now. We didn't really do anything for his birthday, we went out to eat as a family, but then the first weekend of October we had a little bonfire and had a couple of friends over after the kids were asleep and we just hung out and visited. It was relaxing, and it was nice. Nothing fancy. The bonfire was to celebrate my husband's birthday in September, and then mine a month later in October, I'm also the big 31 now. Fun times.
Thirty one really isn't all that bad cept I'd be happy if my gal bladder wasn't being an A HOLE right now. Apparently...I have gal stones. Fun times. I still need to get in to see a surgeon to see what they want to do. While they were checking out the pains I was having (hello gall stones) they did an ultra sound on my abdominal area as well. They found a spot they want to rescan again sometime in November. That has me super worried. I don't know what it is, but they wanted to keep an eye on it. I haven't really talked about that much, been trying to kind of keep it out of my mind actually, but yeh...there that is. They will be doing that in a couple of weeks probably. Prayers it is nothing scary.
The kids have finished up their fall sports. Circus Son #2 loved flag football and declared his coach the best coach ever and that he could play football with him all day. Circus Son #1 finished up another season of Soccer and says that he still loves soccer and wants to keep on playing. He played with an older league this year because they felt his skill level was good enough that he could and that it would push him to try harder. It did push him and he did do good. A few times out there he looked a little lost, but it didn't take him long to be right back on track. He too had a really good soccer coach this year and that makes a difference. I don't think Coaches realize how important they are, and I don't think many parents realize how important a good coach is either! First of all, it isn't easy to coach! I coach Ragball one summer and yeesh, I thought I was going to lose my mind. It was fun, challenging, and the kids were the greatest! The kids that I coached still see me around the school and still refer to me as "coach" even though I haven't coached them in forever, ha!
Nor do I have any plans of coaching a sport again. I need to keep my sanity thank you very much, haha. ASSISTING a coach, maybe. Being the actual coach? I will pass, but I do have crazy respect for coaches (and teachers), especially the ones that have to work with my kids, my sons especially. Bless you. We are also always sure to give a little gift to both teachers and coaches, because, well THANK YOU for investing YOUR time into not only MY child but all of the other children too. That's pretty darn special.
So now my son are done with their fall sports and they are taking a break until spring when they will both sign up for soccer again. However, my daughter is all geared up to play basketball! She sat out this fall and did not play any sport. She isn't a fan of cheerleading (she says they are too loud and they annoy her and she just cannot do cheer leading, but she is glad her friends like it want to do it, it's just not for her, and she knows that's ok). She had wanted to play flag football but then she backed out, and then regretted it when she realized she wouldn't have been the only girl playing. However, she seems pretty hooked on basketball so she's not regretting waiting to sign up and play basketball instead. For her birthday she got a basketball hoop and ball. She has enjoyed practicing! She did really good at her first practice the other day so that made me happy! She had a big smile on her face the entire time, which is what I love to see!
I love to watch the coaches interact with the kids and how they teach them. We've been lucky and have had great coaches (mostly). Coaches in little league sports are important. They lay the ground work. They help kids learn to love the sport they are playing. They help encourage them and teach them. They are as important as your child's teacher in my opinion. They have a lot to teach your kiddos.
The boys are also now in Boy Scouts. I am hoping this goes well. Getting them to sit through meetings may be difficult but we shall see. You really have to keep those two engaged in what's going on to hold their focus. I think Boy Scouts could be really good for them and a great activity for them to do with their dad, who was almost an Eagle Scout.
My daughter is officially a Brownie in Girl Scouts and she looooves it. Coming up they will be in the Veterans Parade to show thanks to the local vets for all they have done for our country, AND they will get to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the VFW Banquet Hall after the parade. I am very proud of the girls in the troop, they work hard.
Recently the Girl Scout troop got to travel to a Renaissance Fair that wasn't too far from home. The kids had a really great time. Frankly, my family didn't want to leave. It was great that not just the Girl Scouts got to attend, but their families could come too. We threatened to runaway with the Renaissance Fair (forget running away to the circus, I know where I'm going!) My daughter dressed in character (as Robin Hood). She had a BLAST. My sons enjoyed the pirate and knight activities and wanted to stay. In fact, son #2 wanted to stay so badly that we nearly went off and left him there!! I didn't realize he had stopped to watch a sword fight going on in the arena area. We kept walking and he was left behind (one second he was with us, and the next I couldn't find him!) We were at the doors of the 'castle' getting ready to leave and I stopped to get ONE MORE PHOTO of the kids together. I did a quick head count "1...2...ummm we are missing one??" So I left the other two with Dad and I back tracked right back where we had been, and alas...there he was. Poor kid, he was sad, and mad, and scared. He gave me a dirty look and said "you lost me". He even growled at me. I felt awful. But hey, he was in good hands! A King and Queen that worked with the Renaissance Faire had found him and were helping him look for his mom, we all kind of got to him at the same time. Crisis averted. We left and they did nothing but talk about how much fun they had all the way home.
Above: This was taken right after we found the missing child (he's the one in the middle) can you tell he was still a little upset with Mom??
My kids were bedecked in their Halloween finest tonight and we went out and about Trick or Treating and having a fun time. I let my kids pick out my costume, and they turned me into a little devil with horns and a tail. I'm not quite sure how to take that, but hey, it was fun. I wore my costume to work on Friday, since I wasn't going to be there today. That was all fun and not a problem. However, after work I went to the school to pick up their Pizza's that came in that were part of a school fundraiser. My husband forgot to remind me to take my devil tail off of my jeans. I had taken off the horns, earlier, but had totally forgotten the tail. Apparently I was getting some really odd looks at the school (my husband was behind me the whole time just chuckling to himself and acting like he didn't have a CLUE why I had a tail) Meanwhile...I was oblivious. Of course I realized that I had left the stupid tail on once I got back to the car. I about died of humiliation, and I realize I can not show my face at their school again. Thanks husband. It's ok, because paybacks...
Everyone kept asking my daughter if she was Katniss Everdeen from "The Hunger Games" That irritated her. She kept saying "NO! I'm ROBIN HOOD!" Poor kid. It reminded her of the year she dressed up as her favorite book character Fancy Nancy and everyone thought she was a ballerina or something.
Speaking of school...one of my sons received a MATH award at school the other day! I'm so stinkin' proud of that boy! He has worked so hard in math! He really wants an award for reading now, but getting him to read and practice is the problem!
So my kids finally came down from their sugar high at like eleven tonight. They are never up that late, NEEEVER. I hope and pray they sleep in...chances are they will not. So now that they are asleep I must be sure that the Tooth Fairy pays a visit to Son #1. Earlier this evening while wrestling around and playing with his brother and sister, his dear sister knocked out his other remaining loose tooth. However, before that...my daughter had already tried to knock Son #2's two loose teeth out. So when his brother's tooth DID fall out you better believe he was not a happy camper that his brother now has two missing teeth and he now has two teeth barely hanging in there that refuse to come out. He was one mad little boy. His sister that comforted him by saying "It's ok, next time we wrestle I will hit you harder and make sure I knock them out ok?" Disturbingly enough...he was ok with that plan. I however, was NOT. She's a tough kid, she can definitely lay them out flat if she isn't careful what she's doing.
Tonight before we went trick or treating we watched Curse of Chucky (yeh I know bad mom, letting my kids watch movies like THAT, well I know my kids and trust me they take after their mom who has been watching horror movies since I was FIVE and I happen to love them). Anyway, my daughter does find Chucky creepy (personally I agree that was a movie I watched close to her age and it was the time of the "My Buddy" dolls, and I had a boy My Buddy doll and after watching Chucky...that doll HAD TO GO. Scared the crap out of me. So yeh, my daughter does find that movie a little creepy but not enough to terrify her. At one point her Dad decided to grab her and go "AH!" and she jumped and screamed and ran off yelling "DAD YOU ARE SO MEAN!!" He however, was laughing so hard he wasn't paying attention to the movie, and he looked up just in time to see Chucky jump at the scream...which caused HIM to jump and scream worse than our daughter had, which caused ME to completely lose it with laughter on the other side of the room. Serves my husband right, haha.
Anyway...she's always called Chucky...Chucky Cheese. (I have mentioned this in a previous blog). Anyway tonight while trick or treating down town there was a toddler dressed as Chucky and in the middle of everything my daughter yelled "MOM It's CHUCKY CHEESE!!!" Everyone got a good chuckle out of that. Later we went to a haunted house in a neighborhood, and they had the Bride of Chucky and Chucky dolls sitting at a table. My daughter was super loud, and SUPER excited and was yelling "MOM MOM It's CHUCKY CHEEEESE!!!" I was like, no. That's CHUCKY. Not a giant rat named Chucky Cheese, though yeh that's pretty creepy too if you stop and think about it but no, his name is JUST Chucky.
Again, everyone around us got a chuckle. Didn't phase my daughter in the slightest, she still calls Chucky....Chucky Cheese. Makes me think twice about going to Chucky Cheese with my kids.
When your daughter tells you that Chucky Cheese kills people with a knife. You tend to be like oook we're going to cut the scary movies and also not go their to eat, just in case.
Gotta love eight year olds.
We did all of our usual Halloween traditions, cept we didn't get any Halloween craft projects done which didn't bother my kids any. We did bake cookies together though, we carved pumpkins, ate pumpkin seeds and popcorn, and watched scary movies (mostly kid friendly), we had hot apple cider, and hot cocoa, went costume shopping, trick or treating all that fun stuff. We never did get to go to an actual pumpkin patch this year though. We didn't go on a hay ride either. We DID rake up a ton of leaves and jump right in though, which is always a favorite thing for us to do!
Above: Ok I lied, we did do ONE craft project. We took a glass jar filled it with candy corns and wrapped cause around it and turned it into a "mummy" candy jar. Meh, it works.
Darn right I get in there on leaf pile jumping business! I love jumping in the leaves!
Now we are gearing up for Thanksgiving. Inviting the family down to have dinner with us. I love hosting the holidays! I will be starting the prep work for that tomorrow! Getting the house super cleaned and decorated for Thanksgiving! YAY!
I hope everyone had a safe, spooky, and candy filled Halloween!! Now don't forget to turn those clocks back an hour and get some sleep.
MOM CIRCUS :)
