Happy "White Bread Rolls" Day!

Some people think Thanksgiving is about turkey or being grateful or some other such nonsense.  My kids have it all figured it.  It's the rolls!  Fluffy white bread with butter: mmm, mmm, mmm!

Food Friends

Some days I'm amazed at how easy it is to entertain my children.  We picked up our Bountiful Basket this morning, and as usual there were some questions over just what the food was.  Fennel was the mystery object this time.  Owen was so excited about the watermelon, and claimed it as his so I drew his face on it.  Then of course, all the other fruits and veggies wanted to join in.  

It's Halloween!!

Halloween is always such a busy day.  Between partying, pumpkins and ToT, it's hard to do anything else.

Ella and Owen on their way to school.

Baby in a pumpkin.  Everybody say, "awwww."  He was so not happy to be put in there, but his face is hysterical.  I think this will be a classic that we pull out every Halloween.  He eventually got fascinated and was having a great time checking out his pumpkin and the leaves.

Princess, Dragon and Knight

All five kids on their way to trick or treat.

Cousins and Shelly

We were so excited to have Shelly and Kevin in town with the twinsies this week.  Bryn was head over heels about these little girls and couldn't believe how much they'd grown up since we last saw them.

Crazy Hair Day

Did you know that it's crazy to do drugs?   Owen and Ella got in on the drug education with their Halloween styled hair.  Owen was a ghost and Ella wore a spider.  These were super quick hairdos, because as usual I had great aspirations and then forgot about crazy hair day until the morning and had to go with what worked in 15 minutes.  Colored hair glue and googly eyes can do wonders.

Claire did not want to be left out of the action and also wanted a spider on her head.  Hers was a teeny little bun with only two legs, but she was happy with it.  Poor bald Max didn't even get a chance to participate.

Halloween Carnival

We went to the 4H Halloween Carnival tonight.  The kids had a great time, and I liked have one more chance to take Halloween pictures and see the kids dressed up. Max was a party pooper and wore his Halloween clothes instead of a costume.

Silly Face

Owen is trying hard to be the funny man lately.  I think it's working for him.

Great Wide Wonderful World

I love it when my kids are happy.  Big O had a tough day at school and came home a serious grumpy pants.  A hot shower, Wii time, pizza and some time outdoors made him a much happier boy!

And a few more shots of the day: weedy flowers, Claire in the ripped out hostas and the view.  Life is good.

Last Minute Homework

In an attempt to turn Owen into my clone and teach him how to procrastinate until the last minute, I had him do all his homework for the previous week on Sunday night at 8 pm.  That's practically midnight in five year old time.  It's probably bad that I find this method more practical and easier on all of us.  Guess it's time to Mom up and teach proper study habits and obedience to teachers.  (Eyeroll, eyeroll, crabbiness, etc from me.)

King of Kindergarten

Today was my first day volunteering in Owen's Kindergarten class, and he was chosen as King for the day, and the letter of the day was O.  You wouldn't think the day could get any better, but then Nana and Grampa picked him up after school and he got to spend the afternoon at their house.  While there he got to pick giant pumpkins from the garden to bring home.  Then Ella let him wrestle and win.  Practically a perfect day for the big O.

Kindergarten Kid

Owen comes home from school with the best kindergarten stories.  There was the bad guy who came into his class and threw pans at his teacher.  O caught the pan, rescued the teacher and chased the bad guy away.  He got paid a dime for this service.  His class also has half time outs.  That's where you put your hand in a box and it magically opens up and sucks you in down a hole.  Then you stay in the bottom of the hole for half an hour.  Half an hour--that's why it's half a time out.  Clearly, we can't quite trust his version of events, so I never know exactly what happened at school. I love the imagination and how interesting he makes things, but I can't wait for volunteer time to start next week so I can get the real scoop on K.

Today was the first treasure box day where they traded in tokens for prizes.  Here's O with his haul, his apple glasses and a pose ("Mom, did you get my elbow in the picture?  Make sure you have my elbow.")

Mini Golf

I totally won even though I had a wiggling 17 pound handicap on the first eight holes and a sleeping-so-don't wiggle-too-much handicap on the back eight.  Owen was a little disappointed, but he did beat Bryn.  (Shhh!  Bryn doesn't want that one broadcast to the world.) 

The School Carnival

My kids love these things.  I have to admit it's good cheap entertainment and goes toward a great cause. The popular items of the day were hair dos, candy, bounce houses and pizza.  And Max even behaved, which made all the difference for me.  It's so weird to think that last year I didn't know I was pregnant.

Double Take, Take Two

So after yesterday's double cuteness, I guess Owen and I decided to take it to a new level.  We wore matching shirts today.  I have to laugh since it was not at all purposeful, but it totally made Owen's day.  Sadly, I did not have a little bear on my pocket, but Owen still thought it was close enough for us to be twins for the day.  He's even talking about saving up his money so he can buy me some shorts just like his.

In keeping with a double, double, here's Mr Max doing a drool and stare routine on Ella during dinner.  Drool is one of his major talents these days, and it looks like dinner might be next on his list of accomplishments.

Twice as Cute

Owen walked up to me today while holding his two stuffed giraffes and said, "Look, Mom, when I do this I get twice as cute! We should take a picture."

While I do think Owen is adorably cute, my version of twice as cute means seeing both my boys.  Max is having some super cutie-pants moments these days.  His giant screaming fits are getting further apart, he smiles more easily and is just generally more fun as we watch him figure out the world.

Lego Mania

I love Legos. I only love them because all of the kids love them.  Then they all play together and are quiet and nice.  Life is peaceful for me.  Lego should pay attention to this and start marketing with this in mind.  I'm pretty sure their sales would skyrocket.

The day Max gains a pincer grasp will be a sad day for me indeed.

Nana/Grampa/Nerd Day

Wednesdays have a long tradition of being Nana and Grampa day.  It's kind of strange right now to just be sending Claire off with them. When they bring Claire back, we have to try and get all the visiting in since the kids are used to seeing them all day during the summer.  It's crazy, but a good kind of crazy.

Today was also nerd day at the Jr High.  Check out Bryn's nerdalicious specs.

Why NOT to have 5 Kids

Grocery shopping is so not fun.  Neither is unloading the car. Nuff said.

Pudding Pops

Do you remember the good ole days of Bill Cosby and Jello Pudding Pops commercials?  I do, and I miss them.  My favorite were the vanilla and chocolate swirled, but I loved the plain chocolate, too.  I've seen some recipes floating around the web and decided to give them a try in hopes of recreating a much missed childhood treat.  Basically, you make pudding and when it's not too hot (but still liquidy) you add in some cool whip.  Not too complicated, so definitely worth a shot. The kids had a great time making them and the swirly ones looked cute in their little cups.  Taste?  Well, not like a real Jello Pupping Pop, but the kids enjoyed them.  I still wish they'd bring the real ones back.

The Dentist

It's a big bad word around here.  I think my children are crazy as I loved going to the dentist when I was a kid.  Of course, the dentist and his family were our friends.  We swam in their pool and went to their house on Christmas Eve and did art projects together and all sorts of stuff.  And then there's the convenient fact that I never once had a cavity.  Bryn has had cavities.  Lots of cavities, with sleepy medicine, and crowns and all the anxiety that goes with it.  Ella hasn't had a cavity, but Bryn makes her nervous.  Owen's only been a few times, and never had an issue, but he still worries.

Silly children!  None of them had any cavities and they all did really well.  Owen did raise his hand in the middle to tell the hygienist, "I don't think I'm very comfortable with what you're doing.  Maybe you should stop."  It made me laugh, but then we still made him finish.

The giant toothbrush was the coolest part.  Just ask Owen.