The Best Thing About Halloween...

I dislike Halloween with a passion. I'm just not a fan. I loved it when I was little, but now it just doesn't appeal to me. Carving pumpkins is a chore, making treat bags for school is a nuisance, and listening to the kids argue about costumes is a nightmare. But I survived Halloween 2010, and my kids had a blast.


The only things I like about Halloween are "The Great Pumpkin" and the fact that once it's over it's November! Not only is it time to start getting ready for Christmas (yep - I start decorating and getting all festive early), but the leftover Halloween junk? Is 90% off!! While I could care less about the candy and the random clutter for houses, I am all about getting cheap costumes. I usually don't bother, but this year I stocked up! See?

There are 14 different costumes piled there (there's only 1 repeat - I got both girls an Ironette costume to match Gabe's Ironman suit). I spent $28 and change. Each costume originally sold for $19. How freaking awesome is my haul? My kids LOVE to play dress-up, so I thought these were a good investment. Some will be Christmas presents (Gabriel is getting Hiccup and Toothless to go with his "How To Train Your Dragon" movie; Elliott is getting Astrid and SpiderGirl, and Janna is getting Pink SpiderGirl and Wonder Woman), some will be birthday presents, and the rest will be stored in a closet to be brought out as needed (like on snowy or rainy days when it's too cold/wet to go outside). So....hooray for Halloween!!

Fishy Monkeys

When Jon was smallish, his family used to joke that he was 50% monkey, 50% fish. The kid loved to climb. And when he wasn't climbing, he was swimming. He still loves to climb and swim - only now he refers to it as "ripping and tearing".

Our kids inherited those loves. I'm not much of a climber (I have a very sporadic fear of heights - sometimes I'm afraid, sometimes I'm not.)...and I prefer to sit next to bodies/pools of water (I also have a very sporadic fear of drowning). Over the summer, we did a lot of climbing and swimming. It was hard to take pictures since I was absolutely petrified that one of them (or myself) was going to fall or drown.

The only decent (ish) picture I got of the kids swimming this summer is this one taken with my phone.

Swimming at Nana's. When we were "home", the kids spent at least 6 hours a day in this pool.

We spent last weekend in PA enjoying some Gramma time. The kids would not stay out of the gigantic maple tree in her backyard. When I got over my semi-irrational fear that we were going to have to make an emergency trip to the ER, I managed to take some really cute pictures.

My little Monkey Man sitting in a tree. Look closely...you can just see his face peeking out.

Elliott sitting pretty.

Janna: "I'm bein' a gecko, Mommy! Just like in Florida!"

The sweetest monkey kids in the world!

We ♥ School!!

The first week of school for the Big Kids was a success!! No hassles, no problems, no phone calls from teachers...it was all kinds of good. Week 2? EVEN BETTER! My children adore school. Which is just so awesome. There are no fights about getting ready, no tantrums about homework...it's just great. (I know that this will change as they get older, but for right now I am loving it!!)

Gabriel is loving first grade. I was a little unsure of how things would progress - his teacher is very "seasoned" and strict. I had heard a few things about her that made me nervous. I discussed my concerns with the school, and they assured me that she was a good match for The Boy. After seeing how Gabe has responded to her (and after hearing some really great things about her from Janna's preschool teachers), I realize that my fears were completely unfounded. Mrs. T. is absolutely perfect for my guy. He's thriving!!


Kindergarten is apparently Elliott's version of heaven. She gets up every morning and wants to immediately go see Mrs. C. She loves everything about school. The first full day was a little rough - she didn't want to eat lunch in front of strangers and she was afraid to go to the bathroom - but now she's totally confident. She runs off the bus every afternoon, flies through the house, launches herself into my arms, and gives me a rapid-fire explanation of everything she did. She couldn't be happier!!


The Smallish started school this week, too. And...she LOVES it!! Her first "official" day (meaning Mommy wasn't there) was Thursday, and she pretty much ordered me to leave. She wanted no hugs or kisses...all she wanted was the playdoh and the sand table!


So...all three of my little lovies are in school. While it's a little weird not having them here all day, it's also really, really nice!

First Day of School!!

So call me a PPE (piss poor excuse) for a parent, but around here? The first day of school is nothing for me to cry about. It's not even something worth sniveling over.

Not a single tear has been shed over any of the first days of school my kidlets have had. When I sent Gabriel to preschool on that very first day in 2007 - there were no tears. My precious bay-bee (can you hear my sarcastic whine?) was growing up. And when I sent his little butt to UPK...then to Kindergarten...and then this year to first grade...no tears. He's growing into such an independent little man...how could I cry about that?


There were no tears when I sent Elliott to preschool...or to UPK. And when I put her on the bus this morning for her first official day of Kindergarten, there wasn't even a small sniff of sadness. She was so excited to get on the bus. And (as a 4th generation college graduate who loved school) how could I be sad when school is the only thing she talks about?


Next week Janna goes to preschool. And I already know that no tears will be shed. She is more excited about going to preschool than the other two were - which is pretty excited!! (I'll post her first day of school pic next week!!)

As far as I'm concerned, sending my kids to school isn't a sad occasion. Sure it's bittersweet, but when I had kids I knew that they were going to grow up. Sure I'm going to get all weepy-eyed when I look back over old pictures, or reminisce about when they were small. But right now? Watching them grow up into beautiful, intelligent, independent, strong-willed, opinionated, and loving mini-adults makes me beam from ear-to-ear.

600 Minutes

That's the goal we (the kids and I) set for our Summer Reading Goal. And...WE MADE IT! I'm so excited! Maybe a little too excited. Maybe more excited than I should be. But I can't help it!

Our local library is fantastic. Totally underutilized, but still fantastic. I signed the kids up for the reading program on June 23, and we went in to get our last weeks' prizes today. The kids met - even exceeded - their goal!! And the entire 6 weeks isn't even up yet!

I figured Gabriel would be the kid to beat because he loves to read...but he wanted nothing to do with it. Or rather, he wanted nothing to do with me. I had to beg and plead with him to read (or be read to), but he finally finished. His total? 605 minutes.

Janna loves being read to. She brings me books all day long. Her total: 666 minutes.

Elliott was a girl possessed this summer! All she wanted to do was read - and her books of choice have been by Laura Ingalls Wilder! I had to pry her nose out of books so she could play/eat/sleep. I am so proud of her!! Her total? 753 minutes!!

The main reason I'm so stoked about this is that I love to read (and I've read almost 60 books this year). The kids see someone reading an actual book all the time. And I think that's so important. Reading has always been such a huge part of my life, and I love that my kids seem to love it just as much as I do. And I am beyond thrilled that they beg each and every day to go to the library.