Hooray for Halloween!
There was certainly no shortage of Halloween spirit at our house this year. Tiny and Buba wore their Halloween t-shirts (store bought and hand made (but not by me)) with great excitement. It was so interesting to talk with the kids about our Halloween traditions and to hear what they had to say about them. This was the first year where there was some fear and uncertainty about seeing others dressed in costumes. And after seeing one very cool, but also very terrifying Frankenstein at a Halloween Party at T’s school, Buba and I had a very, very long talk about how everyone goes home, takes off their costume, washes away the make up, and is just a regular person underneath it all. Both Buba and Tiny repeated these words several time in the last two weeks, needing to do so to fully understand what they mean, but I’m still not sure they really get it.
Pumpkin carving was great fun once again. It’s still a lot of work for them to scoop out all the seeds and pulp, but they tried. We followed the same methods as last year. I drew shapes on a piece of paper and let Tiny and Buba choose which shapes they wanted for the eyes and nose of their jack-o’-lantern. They also got to decide how many teeth they wanted, as well as where in the mouth they should go. T and I did all the carving, but they stuck around to watch the magic unfold and were super excited to see their freshly carved pumpkins all aglow.
In the past, I’ve always chosen the outfits or costumes that Buba and Tiny would wear for Halloween, but this year, I asked the kids what they wanted to be. Tiny announced that she wanted to be a clown with no hesitation whatsoever. Buba chose to be a firefighter, but quickly changed his mind when he learned that Tiny would be a clown. At that point, he decided that he needed to be a clown too. Then, just before Halloween, he started telling everyone that he was going to be Frankenstein. But at that point, the costumes were already purchased. Fortunately, he didn’t seem too disappointed when I pulled out his clown costume for our town’s Halloween party on Saturday).
And just because it’s so much fun to see comparison photos (MandyE is the best at these kinds of posts), I pulled up photos from our previous Halloweens with Tiny and Buba.
7 months (2008)
19 months (2009)
2.5 years old (2010)
3.5 years old (2011)
Trick-or-treating was postponed until Saturday in our town due to all the down trees and power lines and numerous families still without power (we’re still on that list), but Buba and Tiny had a great time going door to door in Grammy and Grandpa’s neighborhood. We only visited six or seven houses (it’s more fun to visit our own neighbors), but it seemed to be all they needed, as they made no fuss about going back inside to help Grandpa give candy to those that visited his house. And while they were extremely excited to show Grammy all the treats they had collected, neither Tiny nor Buba made even one request to taste any of them.
I’ll admit that I was quite frustrated and disappointed to learn that we may continue to be without power for two more days. The news made me cranky, and I know I was short with the kids on more than one occasion as a result. But it’s hard to stay cranky when you’re walking around with two little clowns filled with the excitement of trick-or-treating on a crisp October night.
No Power. No Heat. No School.
They said it was coming, but I just couldn’t believe it. A Nor’easter in October? I’ve lived in New England long enough to know that when it comes to the weather, anything is possible. But this time, I just refused to believe that a major snowstorm was headed our way. Even when the first flakes started to fall yesterday afternoon, I told myself It’s just snow.
After putting the kids to bed last night, T and I settle down to watch Scream 3 (streamed from Netflix). Normally, I’m not one for scary movies (T loves a good suspense/horror film), but from what I remembered (having seen all the Scream movies when they first came out), it was more of a funny scary than a terrifying scary. So, in the spirit of Halloween, I agreed to watch the movie with him.
About 30 minutes into the movie, the power started flickering on and off. Lightening flashed outside as the heavy, wet snow fell rapidly. And then the tree branches began crashing down on all sides of our house. Suddenly, the movie seem much more terrifying than I’d bargained for. T went right to bed when it ended, but I remained awake, searching the Internet, buying Christmas gifts, trying to slow my heart rate to a normal pace. Around 11:45pm, I was finally ready to turn out the lights. Ready for a peaceful night of sleep. And just then, the power surged and every little bit of light went out.
Somehow, I managed to fall asleep, but not for long. At 4am, I woke to a beeping sound- like a smoke detector with a low battery, but that wasn’t it. T heard it too, and we both searched in the pitch black dark. We couldn’t find the source and quickly gave up and went back to bed. The sound was completely annoying, and I would have looked longer, but it was freezing in our house. No power. No heat.
Around 4:30am I heard Tiny cry and went to comfort her. She was upset that her Good Nite Lite wasn’t working, and I had to explain the whole no power situation. I told her to keep warm under her covers and try to go back to sleep. I was hopeful that she would do just that, but not too long after, I heard Tiny and Buba talking and giggling to with each other. This was a bad sign. They did not go back to sleep.
Even with all the beeping and chattering, I managed to drift in and out of sleep (having some really bizarre dreams) until 7am when the alarm clock went off (no lights were lit, but apparently the back up battery was hard at work (and was the source of the beeping- not two feet from my head!)). I went right in to let the kids know it was finally appropriate for them to be awake, and they immediately wanted to go out and play in the snow. So we did.
There wasn’t actually that much snow on the ground, but the kids had fun playing around and surveying the damage while T and I brushed snow off the cars and shoveled the drive and walk ways. We spent the day (and now the night) with T’s parents at their well lit and heated home just one town over (feeling very fortunate that we’re able to do this and are able to avoid spending the night in a shelter). After naptime, the kids and I went back home to check on the power (still out) and pick up items needed for an overnight with Grammy and Grandpa. We also snuck in another 30 minutes of playtime in our still snowy yard.
Around dinnertime, we received the news that Tiny and Buba’s preschool will be closed tomorrow. No power. No heat. No school. Tiny was heartbroken. “Noooooooooo!” she cried. “I need to learn!” (It sounds very dramatic, but she was dead serious, which made it all the more funny.) Hopefully, power will be restored soon and we’ll still be able to trick-or-treat and return to our normal schedule and routines very soon. But in the meantime, I’m working on a plan B for how we’ll spend our day tomorrow. I’m sure I’ll think of something.
Dynamite (according to Tiny)
It’s been weeks since I’ve posted anything. Thanks for all who’ve been checking in with me through email and Facebook. Nothing major going on here. Just not enough time in the days. I’ve got lots of half written posts that I hope to finish someday soon, but for now, just a funny tidbit from today.
Tiny singing Dynamite in the bath tonight…
I throw my hands up in the air sometimes
Saying aaaaaaaa-oooooooo
Gotta Lego!
I can only imagine her interpretation of these lyrics- some cool rocker singing and building the most awesome Lego creation ever. Hee, hee, hee. As long as it makes her happy!
Getting Big
At bedtime…
Tiny: (pointing to an old bib I’d thrown in the laundry pile) Why are you washing that?
Me: Well, I need to clean it.
Tiny: And then I can wear it again?
Me: Probably not. You’re getting too big to wear that old bib.
Tiny: But you don’t want me to get big.
Me: I just don’t want you to get big too fast.
Tiny: But I want to be big as you.
Me: You will. Someday.
Tiny: Why you don’t want me to get big?
Me: Well, I guess because I know that when you grow up you’ll move away and maybe have your own family. And then I won’t see you everyday and I’ll miss you.
Tiny: And then a new family can live in this house?
Me: Why? Where will I live? Will I come and live with you?
Tiny: Yep! And then a new family can live in this house because you will live with me!
Me: (with a very big smile for my sweet, sweet girl) Thank you for saying that. I love you so much.
Tiny: And I love YOU so much!
Picking in the Rain
Last Friday night, T and I decided we’d take the kids apple picking Saturday morning rain or shine. We’ve been wanting to go for weeks, but the weekends have been busy, or the weather hasn’t been great. As it turned out, the weather wasn’t all that great on Saturday either, but we had no other plans, and the kids were super excited to go, so we threw on our raincoats and rain boots and headed up to the orchard.
Due to the soggy weather, there were no hayrides out to the fields this time. Fortunately, the walk was a short one. After picking the very first apples they could get their tiny, little hands on, Tiny and Buba began chomping away at their sweet, juicy, fresh picked apples.
They soon discovered that eating and picking at the same time was not as easy as it looked. T and I tried to encourage them to do their best to do both, but what they really wanted to to was eat their apples.
So they ate, and T and I picked. We had a 20 pound bag to fill, and I was sure Buba and Tiny would finish their apples before we filled the bag. But by the time they both got down to the core and seeds, it was pouring (prior to that it had just been a light drizzle). I headed back to the farm stand area with the kids, while T finished filling our apple bag.
This wasn’t quite what I’d had in mind when I said I was looking forward to apple picking this year, but in spite of the weather, we all still had a really good time. And now comes the best part- where we get to feast for weeks on the delicious apples that we picked ourselves!
My Morning at Preschool
Last Monday was my first parent help day at Tiny and Buba’s preschool. They’re going to a co-op preschool that follows the Reggio Emilia approach. Parental involvement and sense of community are both a huge part of the school’s philosophy, and parent help days are just one way that bring the children’s families/homes and school together.
I’ve been told that some co-ops require the parents to act as teachers or teacher’s helpers on their parent help day, but at Buba and Tiny’s school, the parents are mainly there just to experience the school day with their child(ren). It was my job to bring a snack for the class (we brought green grapes and string cheese sticks), to set up the snack while the teachers read books, and then to clean up the snack when snack time was over. All in all, my helping responsibilities took about 20 minutes. I spent the rest of the time hanging out with Tiny and Buba and letting them show me all the things they love to do at preschool.
Soon after all the kids had arrive, one of the teachers announced that they would be making gak that day, and anyone who wanted to help could do so. Both of my kids rushed to the child-sized table, but not every kid made that choice. And that was okay. It was perfectly acceptable for others to continue doing their own things. The kids who did come to the table got a little lesson about the various ingredients needed to make gak, and they all got a chance to stir the mixture, both with the big spoon…
and with their hands.
After all the mixing was done, the gak needed to sit for a bit (I think to dry up a little more, so it wouldn’t be so watery). Both Buba and Tiny went to wash their hands and then decided to stay and play at the sinks for a while.
Then Tiny did some painting while Buba made some bead necklaces with a teacher.
We also read books, sang song, checked out their caterpillars, used scissors and tape for self-directed art projects, and eventually made our way back to the gak.
The morning ended with outside playtime (the second of their two outdoor “recesses”), and I could hardly believe it when the clanging bell rang, signaling that pick-up time had begun. The day flew by even more quickly being at preschool than it does when I’m off trying to get other things done.
Because I spent three hours at preschool Monday morning, I didn’t get to my exercise class at the gym. And no shopping trips or errands were accomplished either. But on the flip side, I got to spend three whole hours being with my kids- playing with my kids!-with no phone calls, or emails, or laundry or other chores to interrupt or come between us. It was an incredible experience, and I could clearly see how we all benefited from having that kind of playtime together. It was a great morning for all of us!