A ghostly lunch!
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Author Archives: Tessa
Halloween Treats
We’ve been busy the past few afternoons…
Halloween cookies (recipe here and I don’t really think you can call them “low fat”!)
We had trouble agreeing on what treats to bring to school so we decided on two: a cookie treat and a healthy snack.
Although with Ritz crackers and Jif peanut butter, I think I’m pushing the limits on “healthy.” :)
They worked diligently.
Happy Halloween K and 2nd grades! :)
(this is just one tray of several!)
A Halloween Weekend
Apparently there is a storm coming. A storm of such great enormity they are calling it a mega storm or a “frankenstorm.” A hurricane from the south, a winter storm from the west, a cold front from the north, and high tide on the east. All of New England has declared a state of emergency and the states around us have practically shut down already. Apparently we in the mountains are keeping the faith though!
Anyway, the reason I’m talking about the weather here is that it occurred to me on Friday night that I have put a lot of work into Halloween costumes this year and odds are pretty good Halloween will be washed away in the storm. Darn weather! While normally we are lazy on the weekends, I thought this weekend we should get some Halloween-y activities in, just in case the actual holiday is cancelled. The kids eagerly agreed!
Saturday morning we went to the library where they were doing pumpkin carving and Halloween craft projects. We brought our own pumpkins and had a lot of fun! Eve met a few kids from her class and even a girl from her old school. I made new friends, and Lex made an awesome treat bag that coordinates with his Lego costume.
My rule is they can get any pumpkin they can carry.
This pictures makes it look like they did the work, but in reality about two minutes after I snapped the picture they were both asking me to finish their pumpkins while they skipped over to other projects. Fortunately I had a few other mothers around to chat with while carving. :)
Jack-O-Lanterns!
There were several projects to choose from, but both kids spent all of their time making treat bags. Lex’s has a Lego man on the front and Lego decorations and lettering around the rest of the bag.
Happy kids. :)
I was going to stop at a Cookies for Cancer bake sale (somewhat) on the way home, but we spent so much time at the library that we were all tired and hungry by the end, so we headed straight home for lunch and quiet time. After that we went to Grandma’s to help celebrate her birthday!
Happy Halloween!
Today was a beautiful day so we went to a Halloween party at Billings Farm, an old-timey place with farm animals and old-timey activities. I am generally bored stiff there (shhh… don’t tell) but the kids always have fun! They wore their costumes… for a few minutes!
I had big plans for her wings, but apparently she did too! I let her do it her way and they came out lovely.
Lego Lex and Butterfly Eve
I love how this turned out! It is cumbersome and uncomfortable, but it looks awesome! :) He got lots of compliments.
Guess what we found first thing?! Legos! They had a bunch of orange Legos and instructions to make a pumpkin. We hung out here for a few minutes, but fortunately there were other neat things to distract them and help us move along.
This picture makes me laugh. One of the ribbons on Eve’s wings broke so I was carrying them in one hand and Lex’s Lego head in a bag. :)
Sheep and Legos.
The horse’s fence is broken and Eve thought she would try to lift it back into place. She worked hard getting it up and then, just as she was about to try to put it in the hole, the horse came over and she JUMPED! Dropping the railing and covering about three feet back in an instant.
Lex was feeling brave and gently pet the horse. He decided that if it were his he would name it Midnight. Most of the other animals had names (on their stalls or on tags around their necks).
It wasn’t long before the costumes ended up in a discard pile while the kids moved about more freely.
Making apple cider.
Donuts on a string.
Surrounded by donuts on strings, like a dream for a child. :)
They donned the costumes again for a parade around the green. It was a slow and bumbling event as both kids tend to walk close to one another (and to me) and both kids were rather large and awkward in their cardboard costumes. :)
Lex can’t see very well, or hear very well I suspect.
Snack break! The apple only lasted a few minutes before he was asking for his cracker snack.
Eve looking contemplative while munching on pretzels.
After depositing the costumes in the car and having a quick snack we went back for more fun. Halloween stories read while sitting on hay bales, making pumpkin ice cream, chatting with friends, etc. The kids wanted ice cream but it was nowhere near ready, then then wanted another donut on a string but the lady said no, so I told them it was time to go get some real food. We stopped for pizza on the way home. That counts as “real food,” right?!? Barely.
Someone is getting post cards in the mail this week!
We got home for quiet-time at 3pm. Afterwards we went around the house and “battened down the hatches,” while Alan worked busily all day to finish the mudroom and get my car back in the garage!! (like how I save the best for last?!)
So, depending on what Hurricane Sandy decides to dump on us, you may or may not see more Halloween pictures.
Lego quote
“Anything can happen when you’re inside a Lego head,” said Lex while his real head bounced around inside a giant Lego head.
Happy 86th Grandma!
We celebrated Grandma’s 86th birthday this evening! Katie brought dinner (soup and bread and cake) and we brought the entertainment (kids!) and a good time was had by all.
Birthday hugs
The kids did a great job being calm and quiet with minimal bouncing.
Happy Birthday Grandma!
Katie found birthday candles in Grandma’s kitchen drawer. Guess what kind they are?!? :) Katie ended up throwing them in the sink and Lex was very concerned because they kept relighting in the sink!
While trying to be calm, the kids discovered that this side table makes the perfect desk for them. It helps that I brought coloring supplies as well. Katie went home with a drawing of herself on a horse, a drawing of Eve’s bunny Nippy, and a drawing of the kids in their Halloween costumes – all Eve originals.
MOM
Eve: “What does mom mean?”
Me, after some thoughtful hesitation: “Most Outstanding Mother.”
Eve: “Noo… Most OUTRAGEOUS Mother!!”
It cracked me up how quickly her reply was. I had to think for a good “o” word and she was right there with outrageous. Funny girl! :)
Why I like our school
A little boy ran up to Lex this morning calling, “Wait Lex! I have something for you.” He dug around in his backpack and pulled out an old Magic Tree House book. He proceeded to tell Lex that he doesn’t like them and his little brother and sister can’t read and his mom doesn’t like to read and he knows that Lex likes that series a lot so maybe Lex would like to have the book. Isn’t that sweet? Lex had a huge grin and after thanking his friend he turned to me and relayed the story (my kids like to do that), adding a comment that the book was a bit ripped. It was a soft-covered book and the cover was coming off. I told him we can easily fix it with tape.
Fast forward a few minutes and we are standing in Eve’s classroom. I’m helping her get ready and Lex is telling her teacher about his new book. He finished with his comment about the rip and how mom says we can fix it with tape. Her teacher says, “I have some tape right here,” and proceeds to fix the book for him! He went to class that morning with a “new” book all ready to read.
Kindness all around. Happy boy. School is good.
We also passed the school councelor on the way in when the boys were talking about the book. I made a point to tell her, within everyone’s hearing, how sweet the little boy was to think of Lex. She agreed and commented to him about his kindness. I think it’s good to publicly recognize kind deeds.
An active weekend
We had a busy weekend. Saturday started with a trip to the flu shot clinic. Lex was, once again, traumatized. He spent part of the time under the doctor’s desk with his legs wrapped in a death grip around the chair. We managed to get him calmed down enough to get the shot, though he was not happy about it. Then, funny boy, he decided it wasn’t actually so bad after all. He insists his past flu shots have hurt for two days, but this time it only hurt for 15 minutes. He likes to be precise. :)
[ no pictures of this fun event ]
After that we drove over to Woodstock for some banking issues. At the bank the kids got Halloween candy (after the lollipops from the doctor’s office) and freebies. A calculator, a football, and a basketball. All bank branded, of course. They were THRILLED. Then we stopped at Quechee Gorge on the way home. We hiked down and marveled at the water levels. I don’t think the kids have ever seen the rocks completely covered! Then we went out to lunch. Home for some chiling out, family games, Eve and Alan went for a run, etc. Overall a fantastic day!
It was a beautiful day!
Happy kids – properly protected from the flu! :)
The river was flowing fast!
Where are the rocks?!
The boys
The girls
Eve just discovered that the log moves!
Sunday was another active day, the CHaD HERO Half Marathon & Ripcord 5K. Alan ran the half marathon (13.1 miles!!) and the kids and I walked the 5K (3.1 miles). This is the first year they have offered a 5K so we were excited to participate. In the past they had the half marathon, a relay option, and the one mile fun-run called “Cam’s Course.” Lex was pretty interested in that and said next year he might like to do that. We’ll see.
We participated with a team of friends and friends of friends in memory of a little guy who died this spring of an aggressive brain tumor. He spent a lot of time at the Children’s Hospital in his final days and it was exciting to be able to participate with the group.
We went looking for costumes the night before and came up a bit short. Eve was excited to find a Spiderman costume and insisted she was comfortable in it, despite the fact that it’s a 4T. She didn’t last long before asking to take it off. :)
More heros!
Do you see the start line? Waaaay up there under the white banner. This year they did a 5K and allowed walkers, which helped swell the participation numbers. There were over 2800 people signed up, plus all the families, volunteers, vendors, etc. It was crowded!
Waiting for daddy to cross the finish line.
There he is! Our hero!
There was a ton of stuff for the kids to do there. A bouncy house, climbing wall, a side walk chalk tent, hula hoops, etc. Lots to keep them busy.
This was Lex’s favorite area.
After Alan was done and got some free food we headed home for a shower and to repack for the next event – a party at the team leader’s house! I think Eve was feeling bad at this point. She was really tired by the end of the 5K and spent the rest of the time there feeling tired and asking if she could have quiet time. On the way home she said she was going to take a nap as soon as we got home. Guess what? She did! Alan headed for the shower and Eve headed for bed. She slept for almost an hour before I woke her up to go partying. Fortunately she rallied and we all had a great time. We got to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and had a really nice night. Right when I was about to round everyone up to head home, a woman pulled out face paints and Eve was asking for a butterfly. So we stayed for awhile longer.
A beautiful butterfly after a very long weekend.
Then she and I cuddled in a chair while she ate a cookie and told me how much she wished she was home in bed. :) I wisked her away and put her to bed. Unfortunately the beautiful butterfly lasted only about an hour. Fortunately she woke up this morning feeling much better!
School pics
Lifetouch, the school picture company, is getting all high-tech these days and this year we were given the option to get a free low-res digital copy of their school photos. Hi-res, of course, costs $$. :) I got the email today saying they were available for download. I hope that means we’ll get the actual pictures next week!
At the gorge
We won’t be walking on the rocks today!