Trick-or-Treat

I was given a task this year for Halloween costumes. Chloe wanted to be a dragon. She even went so far as to draw me what it need to look like.

Then there were the color requirements green and pink. Here is how it all came together as we headed out tonight.

I can't explain the pose... but here is the back view. We ended up pinning the tail up so it wouldn't drag on the ground. She did mention to me that she really should have a flame to show people as they answered the door. Sigh.

Alexa wanted to be a kitty. Her colors were to be pink and purple. You know all those girly kitties in the world. We did have to wear rain boots with the costumes as we where hit with a horrible rain storm at about 5 PM. Luckily the rain stopped for trick-or-treating. Just leaving puddles to walk through.

They had a great time and collected a new pile of candy. If we stretch it far enough they might make it to Valentines Day on the pile.

Preschool Halloween Performance

Alexa's preschool had a Halloween party tonight. The kids got to wear their costumes. Alexa requested to be a purple and pink kitty this year.

The four years olds decorated as section of the room like a haunted house. Lexa was not a fan of the "haunted house" even if it was really a few pumpkins and skeleton toys. She gazed from the door clutching Mommy's hand.

The night also included the kids performing three songs that they had been rehearsing. I, of course, brought my camera and video camera. Here they are performing their songs. I have the entire thing on video so I can make sure all of my house guests get the viewing pleasure.

A Glimmer of Hope

Sometimes you catch a glimpse of who your kids really are, and it doesn't make you run from the house in horror. On the contrary you think, "My God what a great kid." You begin to dream in a far off fantasy kind of way of way of reasonable conversations and even tempers.

A couple of nights ago I had just such an experience with Chloe. Now, since then, about twelve things have happened that have made me press my head to the kitchen counter and almost surrender the battle, but for that one fleeting moment I saw her in her most pure form.

I always hope and dream that buried beneath all that attitude and drama there lies the kindest of all people. That when it really counts man she will actually... wait for it... small drum roll...DO THE RIGHT THING! I know it seems hard to believe that the same kid who called her sister a poopy head at dinner and threw herself backwards onto the couch screaming , "NO!" in dramatic fashion at the words, "OK it is time for bath." could be this, but I tell you it is true.

Two days ago Chloe came home and mentioned that each morning her class goes over the calendar. She said that in two days it was Kyle's birthday. She headed up to her room and said, "I have been saving up some things for him." Back in kindergarten her teacher had a prize box the kids got to pick from. Chloe selected some Pokemon cards for a few weeks. I was surprised at the time because as far as I knew she knew nothing about them. She pulled them out of her treasure pile on top of her dresser and said she was giving them to Kyle because he really liked Pokemon. She also gathered up one of her toy alligators, and dug some wrapping paper out of the office closet and wrapped it all up herself. She then got to work on making him a card. She spent about 45 minutes cutting and decorating pop out parts for his card. Then put everything in her backpack to take to school.

I should mention that this little boy and Chloe had a rough start in kindergarten. They locked heads, so to speak, early in the year, but did eventually work through it- mostly. While Chloe was working on her card I was making dinner and she told me that she wanted to make sure Kyle felt special since it was his birthday. She was worried because she didn't think Kyle had a very nice mommy. When I asked why she didn't think his mommy was nice she said, "I saw her with him one morning and she didn't seem very nice." Now I did tell her that maybe she didn't know the whole story and maybe he was being unsafe or naughty. But in her mind she is convinced that he needed extra attention. To be fair I really don't know what she saw since I wasn't there. I do know that she was worried that he wouldn't have a mommy to give him a nice birthday, and that she wanted to make sure he had one. For that I will hold out my glimmer of hope that some of the lessons I teach in life are actually sinking in.

Pumpkin Painting

There is a very small grass -triangle shall we say? Across the street from Chloe's school. On Tuesdays there is a small farmer's market there. Today after I picked the girls up we stopped on our way home to purchase two pumpkins to paint for Halloween. Alexa picked a small "baby" pumpkin and Chloe a larger one because, "I have plans, and I am going to need space." We arrived home and they girls were set to get right to work. I situated them on the floor in the living room (gotta love wood floors) because look at this...

Grammie Sharon was busy making dinner! I can not tell you what a treat it is to get home from work and smell dinner already cooking! Yummy!

At any rate dinner was yummy. Alexa developed a love of feta cheese and tah da... decorated pumpkins!

Alexa's...

and Chloe's...

They of course went on to paint many pictures after because once the paints are out it is hard to stop.

The Halloween Sweat Shop

I always feel like Halloween just appears. I don't know. I mean I know it is coming, but every year I feel like I am madly making costumes at some endless pace. It may come from this odd belief that I am suppose to make the costumes. I blame my mom for this. She did it for us so I guess I feel like that is how it should be done. Or maybe it is just that my kids come up with the oddest requests. I would never have a prayer of finding them pre-made anywhere. I mean in the past years I have made a pink T-Rex (with white polka dots), a yellow pteranadon (with pink polka dots), and a pink archeopteryx (with so many assorted feathers I thought I had tendinitis from working on them all). It is crazy. Where does she come up with these ideas?

Needless to say I have been working away at this year's costumes. Countless hours thrown in here and there to get them all together before Friday's parties and Saturday's trick-or-treating. It did my heart good for Chloe to announce yesterday, "Mommy you make the best Halloween costumes." Ah thanks. They have even been really good sports about trying things on. So this morning as Alexa patiently tested out her head with ears attached (for the third time) and didn't want to take them off. I found it too cute not to snap the picture. Plus the fact that well... she looks an awful lot like the dog here...

is it just me?

Thank You Grammie

Grammie Eva was given a request and once again she rose to the challenge. Alexa received a package in the mail yesterday containing one pink hat with a purple flower. She also gained a new pair of pink mittens to match. Pretty cute don't you think?

She was very excited! She also removed all the stickers and stamps off the package and stuck them through out the pages of her doodle pad. A big thank you to Grammie, and don't worry Chloe will be heading out soon yarn shopping for that sweater she would like so rest up those knitting needles.

Costume Box

There is a box in my closet. A large Rubbermaid box containing the Halloween costumes of years gone by, old dresses their Grammie Sharon picked up at a thrift shop, as well as a few other random items gathered from who knows where. Every now and then the girls ask for it to come out so they can play dress up. I usually cringe because it means that my living room will now begin to look like a bad day at the Goodwill drop off with bits of clothing thrown everywhere.

It is comical, though, how different the girls are and how they make their play connect together. Alexa always wants to dig out the dresses and be a Princess. Chloe usually mixes it up but frequently becomes an animal of one kind or another. They always manage to combine their costumes and work together toward a common goal.

I present to you Princess Alexa...

and her pet Archeopteryx (costume from Halloween last year).

I sort of lost track of the story line but it involved something with a drum, a boat (also known as the couch)

a bad guy you were suppose to hide from,

and there was definitely hot lava.

Conversations with Chloe

The girls came home at noon today from a weekend with their dad. I made the most of my morning and (prompted by the really cold temperatures) decided it was time to put the deck furniture away. You see (for those of you in the more moderate climates) if I don't, huge (I mean HUGE) chunks of ice build up over the winter and slide off the roof onto the deck. This little event scared the heck out of me the first winter I lived here as the sound is absolutely deafening. Now, I am a seasoned veteran and know to pack away all the deck furniture into the shed lest it become kindling. At any rate to put it all in the shed I also have to dig out the sleds and shovels that will be needed in the next few months. I don't really need them yet (I hope), but if I don't take them out they get buried when the rest of the stuff gets loaded in there.

Needless to say it had been awhile since the girls have seen the sleds. I looked out to see Chloe doing this...

a bit premature to say the least. She was a bit lonely today as her sister arrived home feeling feverish and congested. So she decided Cabbie should take Alexa's place as her playmate.

Looks thrilled doesn't he?

I then looked out to see this...

Yes, she has attached him to the sled a la reindeer fashion. Sort of resembling the Grinch. I had her undo him and called them both in for dinner. Cabbie was much appreciative. Chloe told me that she was going to teach Cabbie to pull the sled this winter. I mentioned that Cabbie is a Boston Terrier (and a rather lazy one at that). I went on the instruct that she would need a big dog like a husky if she was going to get it to pull a sled. To which she said, "That is how we get famous Mommy. Everyone knows a husky can pull a sled. The surprise will be a flying, sled pulling, Boston Terrier."

"Flying?" I questioned.

"Yeah, I even built him a ramp so he can get a start."

I think Cabbie is lucky I got dinner ready when I did.

Look out world for Chloe and her flying, sled pulling, dog Cabbie.

Alexa Yoga

A couple of nights ago Alexa decided she was going to "do some yoga." I don't know where the mood struck her. I certainly don't think I have ever "done yoga." Despite the fact I, for some reason, own two yoga mats. OK that isn't entirely true. There was that postnatal yoga DVD that my sister Andrea brought me after the birth of Alexa. She dutifully tried to demonstrate the poses they were doing and encourage me. All the while I made weak attempts at doing them and basically sat on the couch and scoffed. At any rate it was long before Alexa would have ever had any memory of me attempting such things. I have since lost custody of the DVD, and, although I can not explain why my ex-husband wanted the postnatal yoga DVD, I haven't been particularly motivated to ask for it back.

Andrea, however , begins her mornings with yoga. The girls are witness to this when she comes to visit. So these, Aunt Andrea, are Alexa's attempts at some of your funky moves.

Yes... the newest yoga attire is a coduroy jumper and tights.

Chloe didn't join her sister, but rather swiped her Grammie's camera and took some pictures too. Future photojournalist?

Fall Scooter Ride

We seem to be suffering from endless amounts of rain these days. So when a day arrives with sunshine I do my best to stuff the girls out into it. Even if they must wear warm coats. We started out just playing in the backyard, but they wanted to dig out their scooters and take them for a spin. We headed around the corner to Pomeroy Park. The fresh air did us all good.

Zen Alexa

I was rushing around this morning at my usual frantic pace trying to get everyone packed up and out the door on time. Alexa found my CD player on the shelf in the kitchen and asked if she could listen to it. I popped in her Dreamtime CD and off she went. I rounded the corner from the kitchen carrying lunch boxes to stuff in the backpacks and saw this.




Here she is in the middle of the morning rush just listening to her music. I grabbed the camera and snapped the picture. She took off her earphones and said, "Hey mommy we should sit and read a story." So we did.

Picture Day

Today was picture day at Chloe's school. She dressed up in an very cute dress bought for her by Grammie Sharon at April Cornell. Grammie likes to spoil the girls as well as exploit their desire to be very girly girls by purchasing dresses at the most girly of all places. The dress came with an adorable hat. However due to the "no hat" policy of schools Chloe couldn't wear it in the pictures. So I give you the behind the scenes look at picture day.

She assures me this is her school picture smile!

Not to be left out Alexa was dressed today for the coming holiday in all her Halloween finery!

The Healing Power of A Waffle

Today started off with a lot of bumps. I usually feel like about twenty things need to line up correctly to get everyone up and off to school each day. Today some things just didn't line up. I was struggling at 6:30 AM to cover for a babysitter who cancelled. I was able to get that solved only to have to wait to ten minutes for Alexa's preschool teacher to arrive. I ended up laughing to myself on the way to work. Not knowing whether this was some kind of sign that I should just stay home, or to be amazed that every thing worked its way out.

It was a stressful start for everyone and left me feeling badly about the crazy schedule my kids have. When your mom is a teacher you have to get up and start your day early. So in our family we try to fix a rough day with a special dinner. Sometimes it is pancakes but lately it has been waffles (due to our recent acquisition of a waffle maker). There is something extra fun for the girls about having breakfast foods for dinner. It makes everything more exciting. You wash your hands a little faster for dinner.

You savor the syrup.

And it just makes you smile all over.

It can put on a good end to the roughest of days.

October

I use to really miss fall when I lived in New Mexico. I use to find myself moderately depressed. My mind needed that season change. The crisp nights and falling leaves. For my own personal reasons October has become symbolic for me. I mark it and reflect. I was asked today if I was running the Green Mountain Marathon this weekend. I wont be. I made my peace with that a few months ago when it become obvious to me that I just wouldn't get the training in.


I have run that race for the last two years. I does make me a little sad not to run it this year. However that race had a bigger purpose for me than just finishing a marathon. I watched that race run three years ago. At the time I watched it I wondered if I would ever get to run one again. That day was part of the longest and most painful 24 hours in my life. I ran the race the following year as proof to myself that I could face it. So that I wouldn't avoid events or places because of a negative connection. As a result I have come to love that race with its remote roads, beautiful lake views, and even made peace with the head winds.


Here are my October girls pictured here from three years ago.

I love this picture. It is my marker for how far we have come together. It is good for me to remember that because sometimes... sometimes there are head winds.

Take One and Pass It On

We have a tradition in our family, a hand-me-down tradition. Items go from Chloe to Alexa and sometimes down to cousin Annabel. For the last few years we have been wearing raincoats from Hatley. The tradition started with a gift from Auntie Kim to Chloe. She bought the black bear rain coat, and we fell in love with it. The coats (insert my plug for them)are extremely well made and lined which is key for cold Vermont fall rains. When that coat got to be too small we were excited to find that a Hatley store had opened up on Church Street. I took Chloe in to pick out a new coat. She picked the exact same coat pattern as before and the old one passed on to Alexa. The last few years we have sported this look whenever we went out on a rainy day.

Matching called a lot of attention to us. Everywhere we went people commented on these coats and that the girls matched. Sadly the coat is getting a little small. It was time to upgrade. We went back to the store today and Chloe picked out horses.

The matching days are over. Well... maybe not. Coming to an Annabel near you....

one black bear raincoat and an Alexa to match.