Happy Halloween!

We had two great days of Halloween! Last night we had a trunk or treat/chili cook-off at the church that was a lot of fun. I took a crock pot of my chili, and while it didn't win any awards, it was all gone very quickly, so I'm ok with that. Chili should not be judged on how spicy it is!

Then this morning we got up early and got ready for family pictures. We figured it was about time to add Liliana to the mix :) Pictures went well and then we looked around the mall for a bit. Naps were then in order and some down time before the festivities began. I am ashamed to say that we never did carve pumpkins. But, on the upside, we now have more pumpkin for pies! I'm gonna try to make pumpkin pie from scratch this year. Should be fun!

Some of our new friends from Grace's school up the street hold an annual Halloween parade which we joined around 4:30. Then we went to a get together at one of their houses. Moira was losing it after awhile though, so we took off and hit the streets for some candy. Liliana really got the concept of trick or treating this year, which made it more fun. She does have an attitude, though, so at one house where no one answered the door she knocked rudely, yelled trick or treat, and when the door remained closed she blew a raspberry at it!

We now have entirely too much candy and I do not want to eat it and ruin my weight loss to this point. Oh well, maybe we'll send half of it to work with Kaylon... anyways, here are the pictures from tonight...

Bumpits and Cash For Gold

Yesterday I couldn't remember the funny story that Grace's teacher told me- but now I do! So here it goes...

Grace's class was talking about leaves last week. Everyone was able to raise their hands and say something they knew about leaves. Grace raises her hand, she's called on, and instead of talking about leaf colors or shapes, she tells her teacher, "I really want a bumpit so that my hair can be fancy!"

If you'd like to know what she's talking about, here's the link: https://www.bumpits.com/2/?MID=538369

The other infomercial that has pulled her in is the Cash for Gold programs going on. She got really excited one day and told me that she was going to trade in all her jewelry for money! Kaylon later informed her that "they rip you off and don't give you much money," which she now repeats whenever she sees the infomercial.

First Parent-Teacher Conference

I got to go in and talk to Ms.Scheufele, Grace's teacher, today. She is so sweet- I really like her. She told me how much they enjoy Grace- how respectful, sweet, and funny she is. She was having trouble in the beginning of the year when told that she couldn't do whatever it was she was doing, but has improved since then (ie she doesn't start crying when she's told no). She is also having trouble staying on topic- she's easily distracted, but Ms. Scheufele said that was developmentally normal. They start assessing her academics soon and then put her in a reading group depending on her reading level. We laughed about some of the things Grace says and talked about what a wonderful girl she is. Overall, it was a great meeting and it's so nice to know that someone else enjoys her as much as we do!

Storybook Pumpkin

Grace's school doesn't do Halloween parties, but to make up for it they did a really cool thing for the library. The kids are allowed to bring in a pumpkin small than their heads decorated (but not carved) as a book character. I suggested Charlotte, from Charlotte's Web, and Grace loved the idea. So we got the paint out this morning and went to town. Here's the finished product :)

Haircut

We tried growing out Liliana's hair, but it just wasn't her. Here's her new do- just in time to be Dora for Halloween :D

Grace's Video

I felt bad that Grace didn't have a video so here she is talking about her favorite person.

Liliana Playing the Piano

Moira Waving/ Riding her Car

Moira loves this car- especially getting pushed around. This video also shows off her new talent of waving. Enjoy!

I Love Fall!

Fall is my favorite season. The view as we walk Grace to school is beautiful now with the street lined with trees changing to orange and yellow. The heat is gone and more importantly, the mosquitoes! Of course the spiders and nasty crickets are finding their way into the house, but Kaylon is good at killing them for me.

I also love the start of the holidays. We usually got to a pumpkin patch in October, but this year we got rained out. Luckily we found a roadside pumpkin stand with a small activity area that we were able to visit last Saturday when there was a lull in the rain.

Flashback Friday

Because I'm missing them all right now, a picture of some of my MV friends at the Smith open house when they moved to Woodbridge.


Can't wait for girls night out November 20th 12:30am, Tyson's Corner... New Moon premiere :D

Proof of Mobility

Fresh Fruit Friday

Grace's kindergarten class has fresh fruit or veggies as a snack every friday- the parents have all picked a week to bring it in. Today was my day, so I cut up 2 bags of apples and 15 bananas, not quite knowing how much the kids were going to eat. I checked with Grace's teacher, and she said that it was fine that I brought the other girls with me, which relieved me from finding a babysitter (cuz we have yet to find someone to exchange babysitting with). Anyways, we arrive and I helped the assistant teacher clean the tables and set out the food. The class was still practicing rhyming on the rug. I heard the teacher call on Grace for an answer. Grace says, "I want to say something so everyone can hear... (long pause). My mom is over there with my sisters." The teacher allowed them to wave to me, but then brought them back to finish the lesson. It was so Grace. I'm sure she stopped listening as soon as I walked in, too excited to concentrate.

I had a great visit with her. Liliana occupied herself at the kitchen station and Moira sat with me and Grace. I talked to the kids at her table and Grace showed me some of her classroom. It was nice to see her in her new element. It was also hilarious to hear the things the kids would say. I mean Grace says funny stuff, but imagine being in a room full of Graces and then you have kindergarten. Her teacher deftly fielded all the questions and comments, most of which were about a birthday party that some people didn't get an invite to. I had to laugh. They were all adorable.

I wish I could volunteer more in her class, but I just don't have the babysitting support that I used to. Just another reason I still miss MV. Oh well, someday my last child will get all my volunteer hours :D

Where does the time go???

Forgive me for the lack of posts lately. Not sure what to blame it on- just a mix of reasons I guess. Here a update on us.

Grace is loving school. She still won't give us details on her day, but we see it in the songs she sings, or when she starts rhyming random words, or explaining a rule. She loves her teachers and they like her too. I'm excited to go to her classroom for snack time today. All the parents take turns bringing in fresh fruit on friday for the class. Lucky for me they had bags of apples on sale buy one get one free. Grace has struck up a friendship with a boy down the street. His mom and I get along well as well. He's an only child, so his mom invites Grace over often to give him something to do. It works out for me as well, although I do miss her.

Liliana is a firecracker as usual. "I do it myself" is her favorite phrase, followed closely by "WHAT?" which she says at random when people are talking to her. She also likes putting people or her toys in time out and reenacting the disciple process. She knows this well, because I am cracking down on the hitting in the house- no more 2nd chances- when someone hits, they go in timeout. So Liliana has started putting herself in timeout right after she hits someone. The incident sounds something like this:

(Scream from Grace)
Liliana- I put myself in timeout.
Grace- Momma, Liliana hit me!
Liliana- I IN TIME OUT!!!

Moira is in love with standing up. She does it whenever she can. I often find her standing in her crib when I come to get her up. She is also getting proficient at climbing stairs- it's probably time to teach her how to go down them, in fact. She also loves food. She tolerates baby cereal and baby food, but she LOVES pieces of whatever we are eating, including peas, green beans, fresh fruit, stuffing, bread, cheerios, and chicken.

Hopefully the weather will warm up next week so that we can go on our annual pumpkin patch visit. We have to find a new one this year, since the one in MD is too far away. I'm having a hard time picking one, since the Frederick one was so perfect. The girls have already chosen their costumes for Halloween: Grace is going to be a fairy, Liliana will be Dora, and Moira a ladybug. They only thing I have to buy is a haircut for Liliana, which I was going to have to do anyway. Don't worry- there will be pictures :)

Hard Life Lessons

There are certain lessons that everyone has to learn- mistakes that everyone seems to make. This includes curious children who are exploring their world. Even curious 3 year olds with say... toilet paper.

As I was getting ready for bed last night, I saw that Liliana had unrolled a WHOLE roll of toilet paper into the toilet. I was so tired that I just went to bed, not knowing how to even fix that problem and hoping that Kaylon did. Sure enough, I woke up to Kaylon groaning loudly in the bathroom. Then he went and woke up Liliana. I almost went to stop him, but decided he might have the right idea (and that I wouldn't have to do it). He took her in the bathroom, asked if she did it, explained that it was bad, and then made her take most of the toilet paper out by hand and put it in a trash bag. He washed her hands and told her to never do that again, and put her back to bed.

It made me think of another 3 year old a few years ago. I had found a similar waste of toilet paper and had brought her in for a lesson. I then warned her that if she did it again that I would take away some of her money to pay for the waste. It didn't take her very long to repeat the mistake. You should have heard Grace's wails as I marched her upstairs and removed two pennies from her piggy bank. It took her a long time to forget that- sometimes even calling me mean for taking her money and demanding that I return it. But she also never emptied a whole roll of TP in the toilet again- I'm pretty sure Liliana won't either.

Cheaters Never Prosper

In between conference sessions and while the younger girls were napping, Kaylon and I decided to teach Grace how to play Stratego (one of our favorites). She watched us play a game and then she hopped onto Kaylon's team. I was getting close to getting their flag- I could tell because Grace was getting more nervous each turn. Eventually she dissolved into fits of fear, cringing behing Kaylon's back. Fear of what, you ask? Fear of losing. So like any 5 year old she came up with a strategy. She pulled Kaylon aside and told him to act like he was hurt, go behind my back to the couch to get a pillow, and peek at my set-up!!!! Holding back a smile Kaylon told her that was cheating and that he'd be happier with her if she lost than if she won by cheating (because it's not really cheating). She gave up and her tactic and continued playing.

Kaylon ended up guilting me into letting her win so that she would play again sometime. He promised I would never have to let her win again.