Ahh Halloween

So I left work an hour early and busted my butt to get dinner on the table by 5 & homework done so that the kids could be out trick or treating by 6 only to have Amelia last halfway down the street and Charlie last about ten minutes after that, because he peed his pants, err, Ninja costume... Ahh Halloween! Thank goodness for the bottle of pumpkin liquor a friend gave me this morning! Here is Charlie with his loot, totally unfazed by the experience.

Back To Normal

Our power went back on at about 10am this morning. I can safely report that I have never been more thankful to be able to make a cup of coffee in my life! With Charlie back in school today we are back to our usual routine save for this being Amelia's first night in her big girl bed (but no pictures until her room is done!) So far she has been doing pretty well with it-- at least that is to say, 2 hours in there has only been one minor meltdown and no thuds (the bedrail is among the many items purchased and supposedly shipped last week, now MIA due to Hurricane Sandy.)

Both kids are looking forward to trick or treating tomorrow night, here's hoping the weather cooperates!

Hour Number 16 With No Power

Peanut butter and jelly by flashlight for breakfast

Power Outage

So of course the power went out right when I put the meatloaf in the oven. Since the worst of the winds aren't supposed to hit til 8pm tonight I don't expect it to go back on any time soon.

Here we are playing Uno in the semi - darkness:

Frankenstorm

Despite the fact that the brunt of this storm is supposed to hit the New Jersey/New York area, Quincy public schools are canceled for tomorrow as is pretty much every school in the state per the Governor's request. Mike is working from home assuming we don't lose power, and we have dutifully dug out the flashlights, charged the iPad and portable DVD player, taken everything off the back porch, have plenty of bottled water & moved the car from its usual under-a-tree parking space. The only oversight is that the kids haven't had a bath in 3 days, thanks to Mike & I being out last night and being out again late tonight at Phil and Sue's. So hopefully I can get them in the tub tomorrow morning before the worst of the storm hits...(Apparently it is important that my children be clean before a natural disaster? Or I'm supposed to bathe them because we might have to turn the water off or something? But for some reason they need to be bathed :-))

So the first "snow day" of Charlie's school career is for a hurricane. I'll update tomorrow & I hope everyone in PA is staying safe and hunkering down too!

Hello Kitty Car

Amelia: "Mom, I need a Hello Kitty car. Not a bike, a car!"
Me: "Why do you need a car?"
Amelia: "Because I need to drive it!"
Me: "But why do you need to drive a car?"
Amelia: "Because I need to go to the store to buy shoes!"

Potty Training Update

Well, maybe it'll happen by osmosis...

What Could Be Better?

Than home made sugar cookie pumpkin ice cream sandwiches, yum!

Weekend Update

We had a nice day up in New Hampshire with Grammy and Grampy today , despite the fact that the fish are no longer biting ;-) The kids were spoiled with early Halloween treats and home made chicken pot pie, yum!

On tap this week: painting Amelia's bedroom and finally getting her a bedroom set next weekend! It's time for a big girl room!!

Hotel Du Glace

Thanks to a Groupon and to the fact that at least one of us is certifiably crazy, my friend Jessica and I will be staying at the Hotel Du Glace for a night in March. Yes, it is a hotel made entirely of ice and snow. Brrr!!!

Ewww

Trust Charlie to discover this gigantic slug on the way to the bus stop. I never had to be bothered with seeing these kinds of things til Charlie came along - yuck!!

Pretty As A Flower

How Amelia Takes Her Temperature

Post Flu Vaccination Reward

Nothing Left To Do But...

Bake an apple pie with my littler helper!

Apple Picking

We went to our favorite apple orchard today and as usual had a great time! We even managed to get our apple cider donuts before the lines got too long.

Here are some pictures:

Fall Pictures

Sunday Football & Other Random Updates

We had a fairly busy /productive weekend this weekend. Aside from the usual work & swim lessons we not only bought the kids' Halloween costumes last night but also took advantage of a $1 per gallon sale at PetCo and got Goggles a new much bigger aquarium for 70% off the regular price.

I have gotten most of my cards replaced -- finally got my debit cards in the mail on Friday, in addition to a new state ID. I might actually have enough ID on me now to apply for a replacement social security card! I also bought a new wallet yesterday and although my purse is still suspiciously empty, things are starting to get back to normal.

This afternoon Anthony babysat while Mike and I watched the football game at a sports bar down the street, a much needed break.

Tomorrow both Mike & Charlie have off for Columbus Day so we are going to take advantage and go apple picking. Get ready for some apple pies!

Halloween Costume Preview

After a whirlwind trip down the costume aisle at Target the kids settled on their Halloween costumes: Charlie is a Ninja for the 2nd year in a row (I swear it is just an excuse for another toy sword!) and Amelia is a fluffy pink owl (so much for princesses or kitty cats which were previously her top choices.)

Here they are!

Picture Day

Hopefully he'll ditch the blue rubber dinosaur before its time to actually take his picture.

New Hair Cut

Amelia got a hair cut today, her first "real" one. She was probably one of the only 2 year olds on the planet who not only enjoyed getting her hair cut, but actually asked me 2 days ago if she could have a hair cut, prompting me to schedule the appointment.

Here she is with her layered curls.

The Best Part of Home Made Brownies

The Boy Who Brought Salamanders To School

That is what Charlie will be known as at least until 6th grade, thanks to his teacher who told us he could bring a salamander to school if it was in a container with air holes and thanks to me for figuring a Tupperware container was secure enough (I hope I hope).

Charlie, for his part, decided that one salamander was simply not good enough, so dug up not one but FIVE to take with him.

The bus driver just laughed when he asked to bring them on the bus, and I am keeping my fingers crossed for no phone calls from school this morning. Escaped salamanders would guarantee that Charlie is known as Salamander Boy until graduation...

Amelia's Sense of Style

Urban grunge?