Happy Halloween!

 

We escaped for two whole hours

 

Yesterday Ryan and I went out to eat at a restaurant we wanted to try.

Without kids.

To say this is rare is an understatement.

There was a nice view from our window table.

 

The dinner was yummy.

And I had crème brûlée for desert.

I’d go back today if I could.  If only all of the town’s the potential babysitters were not walking H1N1 time bombs.

I’m actually going to be leaving the house without kids again tomorrow night.  Shocking, I know. 

 

Sounds like a blast!  Click and RSVP if you too are able to escape.

This child cracks us up on a regular basis.

 

Meghan’s preschool has the kids playing outside before pick up time.  So, usually, the parents retrieve their kids right at the gate of the play yard.  Meghan never comes to the gate when her name is called.  She is always not listening and in her own little world.  Most days she is crouched down staring at the grass.

I was explaining this to Ryan the other night as we all were sitting at the table.

Ryan:  Meghan, why don’t you hear the teacher call your name?  What are you doing?

Meghan: I’m looking for clovers.

Ryan:  You’re looking for clovers?

Meghan:  Yeah, I’m looking for clovers.  That’s my thing.

Starting at the bottom of the to-do list.

 

I am sitting here writing this even though there are about 500 other things I should be doing instead.  Like laundry, or vacuuming, or, I don’t know, last night’s dishes maybe?  But right now I have a massive headache and I’d rather sit here wrapped in a blanket not moving.  So that means you get an update.  Lucky you.

Let’s see…we’ve had bizarre weather around here.  After a summer of maybe 1 month of summer-like weather, we have had a fall with early snow and freezing temperatures.  (Kinda makes you want to more here doesn’t it?)  Today might actually be warm enough to open the windows so the goal is to try and get outside at some point.

All this odd weather has left us with unused passes to zoos and farms.  I did squeeze in a trip to the zoo last week.  It was a bit chilly but that turned out to be a good thing.  I’ve never seen the animals so active.  Lions were roaring.  Tigers and leopards were pacing back and forth right in front of the fences.  Monkeys were swinging and leaping from trees.  It was great.  The kids loved it.

I’ll admit taking both of them myself was a bit challenging.  Meghan walks like she is on a mission and is always waaaay ahead of me.  If I didn’t slow her down we would have made it through the zoo in about 25 minutes.  But Sean was soaking everything in.  He stayed behind me.  The challenge was keeping them close enough together so I could see both of them.  Oh, and Sean?  He wanted to get as close as possible to the animals.  That meant climbing on top of rock walls, trying to open gates or climb over fences and crawling under wooden fences.  That kid has no fear whatsoever.

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Wordless Wednesday – Big Sister, Little Brother

The (Belated) Birthday Post

 

On October 1st, Meghan turned five.  5.  F.I.V.E. Five.

She was very much looking forward to her birthday.  Last year she was invited to many birthday parties for her friends.  They did crafts or gymnastics or lots of other things that were way more exciting than the parties with which she was familiar.  But, there was one location that stood out.  And, for almost a year now, she’s wanted her party to be at Pump It Up. 

This year was the first year she was going to have a “real” party.  With her friends.  And, although a bit pricey, I welcomed the idea of having 20 kids someplace other than our house.

She was very excited.  I wish I had pictures but although we were only responsible for remembering the kids, cupcakes and camera, I managed to forget the batteries.  I did, however, remember the flip and the 2 batteries required for that to operate.

Here is just a taste of the fun.

 

M 5th Birthday: Slide from Dorene on Vimeo.

Of course we sang Happy Birthday.

 

M 5th Birthday: Birthday Song from Dorene on Vimeo.

And there was cake were cupcakes.

I was not planning on making milk-free cupcakes because I figured I could just give Sean something different.  However, after learning that one of the other children also had a milk allergy I decided to look into it.

I found this bakery that makes cakes and cupcakes dairy free.

They looked great and were yummy. Meghan requested the butterflies.

 

Next up.  Thank you cards.

Happy Birthday Princess!