Fall Festivities

Last year at this time I was regretting that I was so busy with my business (interesting word, isn't it?) that I didn't have a lot of family time. Thanks to the economy, my wish has been granted and I've had much more time this year. :) We've been to the pumpkin patch 3 times, Grants Farm, Boo at the Zoo, and the Family Fall Fun Fest (that might be in the wrong order, but it's definitely 4 F--somethings in a row). The girls chose to be Laura and Mary Ingalls (not Holly Hobby, not Little Bo Peep, not Amish girls--just to be clear). Little Buddy was Scooby Doo for part of the festivities and a pirate for the rest.

This year they've been much more aware of all the "creepy" things around. They are very sensitive to it and prone to nightmares, so I try to limit their exposure. It can't always be helped, though, as was the case at Grant's Farm. I was very surprised they were willing to get their picture made with this guy. Notice that the weather was freakishly warm just a few weeks ago. Now we have our coats out.

Here they are at the FFFF. Their dolls are Baby Carrie and Baby Grace.

Boo at the Zoo. I hated to cover up the calico dress, but it was quite chilly! Those animals can sure produce the candy!

One of our days at the pumpkin patch. Sadly, Big Sissy was at school. :(

Isn't she just wicked cute??

A couple of funny stories from the season, because you know how I love to tell stories. First, Big Sissy read the Donald Duck version of "A Christmas Carol" at school. There is a part where Scrooge has died and there is a picture of the tombstone, which says R.I.P. She wanted to know if that meant "Rich Icky Person." It made me giggle thinking of all the rich icky people in the cemeteries.

Then we were planning to carve our pumpkin (which we still haven't done). I said out loud that I would have to do a google search to find out how to cook the pumpkin seeds. Little Sissy, who is always so helpful and sincere, said, "Mommy, why don't you just turn the seeds over to see how to cook them?" Perhaps we eat from a box too often? :)

Yes, Boys are Different!

When Little Buddy was a baby, people would ask me, "So is it different having a boy?" I would shake my head and laugh because he was the sweetest, cuddliest little baby who smiled all the time, slept great, ate good. But then he turned about 2 and oh my, yes. It is different. He still will play with "girl stuff" from time to time, but he just plays with it differently. He is still my most affectionate child, and I hope that never changes. But he's almost my most physically aggressive child.

Today I was reminded again of the differences when I was trying to teach letters and sounds as we were eating lunch. "What starts with F? Ffffffff....."

Little Sissy: "Fairies, fancy, fish"
Little Buddy: "Fffff....football! And FARTS!!!" (hysterical laughter)

Yep, I've got a boy. And I love it.

Setting the Birthday Bar High

I feel slightly guilty because this will probably never happen again for anyone else's birthday, BUT this year the whole family was off for Little Sissy's birthday. We celebrated all day long, and that wasn't even her party! Starting off with special birthday pancakes...

Then she opened her Samantha Doll she's been wanting ...

Next came a trip to the Magic House, where we did lots and lots of painting...

And finally finished the perfect day with a STL Cardinals game with our church. Looking back, this is even more significant since they ended up winning their 11th World Series in 2011. Happy birthday, sweet girl!!

Just Say No

We were passing the grocery store yesterday when suddenly I heard Big Sissy sort of gasp.
"Mommy, I can't believe they would sell DRUGS there. It says so right on the sign."

Thank you, public school, for giving us conversation topics that I might not have thought of with a 6-year-old. I love that it bothers her, though!

Soccer Princess

I promised pictures of the younger 2 playing soccer and then soccer started consuming our life, so now that it's over I have time to post pictures. :) Big Sissy had practice on Tuesday nights--immediately after ballet, Little Buddy had practice on Friday nights, and then Little Sissy had practice on Saturday mornings--at the same time as Big Sissy's games. Whew!

Little Sissy tells me that she loved soccer, although she tends to tire out in the middle. Water breaks are her favorite time. After the first practice, I also discovered that she had been stashing lip gloss in her shin guards. I don't know what God has planned for her, but her athleticism may lie more in the form of dance or swim. Just a guess. Either way, she had fun and got some good outdoor exercise.

You might be wondering where the pictures of Little Buddy playing soccer are. Well...I'm not going to blame the fact that he's a 3rd child as much as the fact that I am a forgetful mommy. With practices on Friday nights, we were doing good to get there on time and I could never seem to remember to also bring my camera. After a few practices we just started to forget it. Literally. We forgot to go to the last 3 practices. Oops. Luckily, he didn't love it so he didn't notice. He really thought his coach was mean because he kept saying they couldn't use their hands. Big meanie. But lest I worry that Little Buddy won't be able to find something he likes, we went to a free gymnastics class last week and he went NUTS he loved it so much. So don't worry. We won't be bored. Tumbling starts next week.

Soccer Mom

I don't think I was ever the cool kid, but the deal was sealed when we got the mini van. I really wanted to get the cute family stick people to put on the back of it, but someone told me that's what all the minivan moms did so I decided not to. But now I'm a soccer mom. I'm back to wanting the minivan decals.

Hubby couldn't be more excited to finally have a girl in the family who likes sports. In fact, 5 minutes after we arrived at her first practice he jumped in to help the coach. By the time we left he was officially the co-coach of her team. Because we needed one more responsibility this year. :) It's fun to see him excited about something though--especially something involving our kids. It's a great way for them to spend time together. So here are some pictures of Big Sissy at her first soccer practice. Little Sissy and Little Buddy will start their Rookies classes in a couple of weeks, so I'll post more pictures then.

They Told Me This Day Would Come

This week I sent my children to school. All of them. People told me this day would come, but there were times I couldn't even imagine it. Not that I'm entirely happy about it. No, I would still homeschool if anyone would let me. But they want to go, so I'm going to let them. I was most worried about Little Buddy. He's wanted to go to preschool for a year now. In fact, he has had a whole make-believe preschool going since Little Sissy started. In his pretend preschool, he had a teacher named Mulan--except when she broke her arm and he had a different teacher for a while. His friends there were named Ava and Aiden, except Ava seemed to be a bossy little pretend girl judging from the way they argued on the pretend phone. But Little Buddy is a little--well, exuberant. And I was afraid his teachers couldn't handle all that exuberance. You might detect my fear in this little pre-first day interview.



When we got there, though, it was nothing like I had pictured. I thought it would be full of quiet little girls and well-behaved boys who would make Little Buddy the target of way too much attention from the teachers. As it turns out, there are several special needs kids in his class, none of whom have their own aid, and so the teachers are too busy to notice all the quiet little kids. I think this will get better as everyone settles into a routine, but the good news is that no one thought he was noisy. At all. And no one thought he was wild. At all. Whew. I think he's going to fly right through the radar in this class. He had a great day building with blocks, riding the tricycle, doing puzzles, writing on the chalkboard. Before long I am going to stop staying all day. Then I'm going to stop peeking in the classroom every few minutes. Then I'm going to actually take that time to go get coffee or something. Baby steps.