Happy Halloween

Pumpkin time is here again, time to play Trick or Treat.

Pumpkin time is here again, our spooky friends we'll meet.

See the costumes we have on, monsters, ghosts, goblins, too.

See the costumes we have on, hear us all shout "Boo!"

This Halloween, a superhero, a princess, and a pink flamingo graced the sidewalks of U-Village. U-Village is an outdoor shopping mall next door to the University of Washington, and is loads of fun to visit with little trick or treaters. Mason and Harper remembered their last Halloween well, so they were veterans this year, and repeated "trick or treat" and "thank you" to each vendor that gave them candy. It only took a couple of stops for Georgia to quickly catch on, and before long, she was running ahead and dragging Gareth behind her, eager to get more candy. She was not smiley, giggly Georgia tonight; instead, she had her game face on, and was completely serious as she collected her loot. We only lasted about an hour and a half before we stopped at Starbucks for hot chocolate and a good rest. Then home to watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and clean throw-up off of Harper's beautiful Belle dress. Guess she ate one chocolate too many. Oh, well! Happy Halloween!

Grey Squirrel

Red and gold leaves drifting to the ground... a new crispness in the air... doesn't everyone love the arrival of Autumn? How about a lovely Autumn-themed song sung by my two oldest children to herald the arrival of this season? This treasured melody was learned one year at preschool...the lyrics are as follows, in case you need assistance in deciphering what is being sung in the video!

"Grey Squirrel"

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel,
shake your bushy tail.
Grey squirrel, grey squirrel,
shake your bushy tail.
Wrinkle up your little nose,
Stick a nut between your toes--
Grey squirrel, grey squirrel,
shake your bushy tail!

Budding Artists

Lately, the kids have been very into art time. They love to draw. I love art time, too, because it keeps them occupied for a little while, and I am always interested to see what they come up with.

Mason is a very detail-oriented artist. He likes to draw pictures of his favorite characters, and he gets upset if the tiniest detail does not match the original source. I am amazed that he remembers so much detail. I often wonder if he copies his drawings while looking at a picture, but when I go and check, he is drawing from memory.

Harper is not very detail-oriented. She is an abstract artist. While I know exactly what Mason is drawing, or can at least make an educated guess, I have to ask Harper to tell me about her picture. A lot of times, her drawing is not of something specific... it is just a "design." I wish that she would have just been drawing "designs" today while she and Georgia were at my Moms' group. A nice pair of retired grandmothers volunteer their time to watch the children of the moms at my church while we have Bible study. When I picked Harper up today, she was carrying a cut-out drawing that she had made. When I asked her what it was, she replied, "my bummy." "Bummy" is the kids' code word for their bottoms. Great! Those sweet white-haired ladies probably fainted when Harper told them she had drawn a picture of her bottom! But then she stated, "Don't worry, Mommy. I told them it was a hat."

Georgia likes to draw, too. Georgia doesn't draw on paper. She draws all over her body, her clothes, her face, her neck... Perhaps Georgia won't be the next Picasso, but she could be the next great tattoo artist!

Georgia's Top 10 Favorite Things

10. Eating freshly baked "tookies," especially of the chocolate chip variety.

9. Watching "Blue's Clues" and singing along to all of the songs, and yelling "Maaiiil!" at the top of her lungs (those of you who have seen "Blue's Clue's" will surely know the mail segment.)

8. Rubbing Mommy's ear when she is tired.

7. Hiding from Daddy. (Hiding is laying face down on the carpet in the middle of the living room, in plain view of everyone.)

6. Dancing-- to commercial jingles, the High School Musical soundtrack, Chris Tomlin, and the music that is in her head.

5. Being spun around and around by her Uncle Ryan and her Opa.

4. Tackling and wrestling her brother, who is 4 and a half years older, but only 10 pounds heavier, than her.

3. Anything that involves Daddy. Anything!

2. Idolizing her big sister-- wearing her shoes and clothes, playing with her toys, following her every instruction, no matter how much Mommy may not want her to do, depending on what the instruction may be...

1. Riding in the van with the windows down and music blaring (see video below). Probably not her true #1, but the video is pretty darn cute!

Sweet Sayings

How I wish that I had a filing system in my brain, filled to the brim with images of baby pudge and sounds of mischevious giggles and recollections of sweet sayings. And then on a sad day, or a rainy day, or a frustrating day, I could flip through my files and pull something out and my heart could be warmed by what their innocent minds once imagined.

My favorite saying of Mason's is "yesternight." As in "yesterday", but if something occured the night before, he says "yesternight" instead. He might be talking on the phone with my mom, and say, "Oma, we watched a really good movie yesternight." So cute.

And here is more cute: I was reading "Snow White" to the kids the other day, and as I got to the familiar saying involving the evil queen and her magic mirror, I thought I would test Harper's knowledge of the story. And so I started, "Mirror, mirror on the wall..." and waited for her to finish. She clearly couldn't recall what came next, so she paused for a moment, smiled, and said, "Be careful! Or you might fall!"

So many sweet little sayings, so little time to record them! I resolve at this moment to stop feeling guilty for all of the lovely, comedic utterances that have long since vanished from my mind, and set my sights on journaling from this point forward all of their childhood cuteness that I can muster. Better late than never!

Face Powder Fiasco

If your 2 daughters are supposedly playing in their room and the older of the 2 comes downstairs and says, "Mommy, could you please not check on us?" then be scared. Be very, very scared. I asked why I should not check on them while simultaneously running up the stairs, and by the time I reached the top, the distinct smell of Cody face powder hit me. (You'd recognize the brand-- the round yellow container with a vintage looking powder puff design all over it. I've used it since I was allowed to wear makeup as a young teenager.) I opened the door to the girls' room and saw Georgia sitting in the middle of the floor, playing with Mason's truck. She glanced at me with a look of annoyance, as I was interrupting her play. I couldn't help but gasp; all I saw when I looked at her face were two big blue eyes. The rest of her face-- including her lips-- was one big powdery beige blob. It looked like someone took my baby's head and dipped it into a bag of flour. I imagine that it was the artistic work of her budding makeup artist sister, as I can't imagine that she could coat her own face so evenly and completely. The powder that remained in the jar after the face application (which couldn't have been much) was in a mound on the floor. I won't describe all that happened next, the "I'm so sorry, Mommy!!" and the tears and the thick cakey liquid that washed down the drain. I did ask Harper how the face powder traveled from the downstairs bathroom cabinet to the upstairs bedroom, and she honestly answered, "in my arms, behind my back, while you were washing the plates off in the kitchen." I always dreamed of having fun with makeup when I had little girls... just thought that I might be privileged enough to be part of the application process!



*photograph taken after much of the powder had been removed*