Carving Pumpkins

"Cheese!"

Preschool Halloween Program

Noah's preschool had a Halloween program on Thursday. The kids dressed up and each class sang three songs and then did a few together as a group. This is our first performance and it was really cute. Our little firefighter doesn't seem to be a born performer so he may have to find a future career that is not on the stage.

After the program we hit our favorite casual restaurant for a family lunch. While we were there Micah scaled the shelves you can see in the background and launched a bottle of olive oil that shattered. I was very thankful that I did not have to clean up that mess, but did say thank you to the poor kid who did many times.

Little Artists

Mess

This afternoon we were homebound again as a wind and rain storm raged on outside. The boys had taken great naps and we headed down to the basement to play. I thought to myself "hey if the boys play as well as they did yesterday maybe I'll watch a little of Oprah or read the new Harvard magazine". Well the universe was laughing at that one and sent me a message saying "Hey lady, are you nuts? Where you have been the last 3 1/2 years!?"

I went upstairs for 5 minutes maximum to gather up a load of laundry and as I carried it down to the basement this is what I found:

Let me just say, that I take full responsibility for playing with fire by leaving the paper shredder full because I was too lazy to empty it for about two weeks. However, it was somewhat out of sight. Not for little Micah, our Curious George. Also, these photos don't do the real mess justice as there were literally thousands of shreds of paper all mixed in with game and puzzle pieces.

Noah was a little saint and helped picked up by separating all the game and puzzle pieces so I could just go to town vacuuming. He said, "Mom, I just want to help keep our house nice." Me too buddy, me too.

Shawn literally bought a shop vac last weekend. Thank God for that. Without it I have a feeling some serious bitterness would have set in as I swept away.

I'm still chuckling a bit about how I planned to spend part my afternoon firmly planted on the couch. Ha!

Rainy Day

It has rained nearly all day and night, so the boys and I spent a lot more time than we are used to indoors. We did venture out to get Micah a haircut and pick out a few new books at the library, but today was a reminder of what the winter will have in store for us. Lots of time inside. Kind of scary for me, not because today didn't go well, it did, but because it takes a lot more creativity and patience on my part. The boys didn't need any of my creative ideas today though. They were full of ways to keep each other laughing.

Here they are in their "boats".

They moved the boats into Noah's rug because it was more comfortable for crashing and smashing around. Every tip led to nonstop giggles.

This afternoon Noah set up Thomas with several coaches. First the boys hauled books to the new library and then puzzles to the children's museum.

They found that two engineers on Thomas was a little too cozy. :)

Ladder

Shawn cleaned the gutters last night and within about 2 seconds he had a couple of helpers.

Shawn cleaned the gutters last night and within about 2 seconds he had a couple of helpers.

Day Off

No school today so we are enjoying a relaxing morning. Not missing the rush of getting out the door with these two one bit. The boys are coloring while I do the dishes...right after I update the bog. :) Then we are meeting some friends at a nearby park. It is supposed to be 47 by 10am which feels too cold to my bones right now but we'll bundle up and enjoy these cool days before they are gone and that brutal winter weather hits.

Our family went to a Fall Festival on Sunday afternoon for a little fun.

Is there anything more fun than a giant box of corn to play in? Apparently not!

Pumpkins

The park at the end of our block hosts a pumpkin patch each year and we headed over on Saturday to add to our pumpkin collection.

Here's our neighbor Joy helping Micah choose just the right pumpkin.
Noah wanted a smallish one, which was very endearing to me for some reason.
Micah trying to pick his pumpkin up. The kid really does not know his limits and this photo just shows the tip of the iceberg. :)

Hugs

Noah is really into giving his brother kisses and hugs right now. He is sure to make sure Shawn and I see him and says, "Mom/Dad, isn't that sweet?" Yes it is sweet. Unfortunately, Micah is rarely up for the hugs and whines and squirms away. Ah, brotherly love.

Picture Day

Today is picture day at Noah's preschool. He picked out a shirt "like daddy's" to wear and I tried to fix his hair. There is only so much we can do with that crazy hair. Anyway, here he is before heading off to school - so handsome.

And here is Micah's picture since he was saying "cheeeeeeeeeese" the whole time I took Noah's picture. The cheese is cute, scrunched up nose and all, but doesn't make for the most flattering photos.

Boy

We were at a park playing last week and I took this photo of Noah. I just can't get over how big he looks in it. He carried his football around the entire time. I really don't want to be a mom who has to watch her teenager get tackled at football games but we'll see what happens.

The boys *dancing* to Justin Roberts' "Pop Fly". Micah goes into Noah's room several times a day to request the song. Please excuse the crazy color of the video. I need to read my manual and figure out how to reset the color mode.

Fall Fun

Hens

The neighbors behind us have chickens in their back yard for eggs. My boys find them quite fascinating. Micah likes to wander as it is and the lure of the chickens is no help, but they are fun to watch.

Here are the boys checking out the hens. Shawn saw this picture and said that is SO Micah. He looks fiesty and is yelling. We like to describe him as bubbly but explosive, that about sums it up.

The hard way

Sometimes I just have to learn the hard way. When it comes to me getting ready or making dinner I pretty much let the boys do whatever so that I can actually get out the door or put a meal on the table. It often backfires as it did yesterday. Micah was pulling all the spices out of the spice drawer and I thought - no big deal. I saw him a few minutes later shaking the open container of chili powder all over the dining room. Okay, okay. Vacuumed it up and moved on. About a half hour later I was walking upstairs and noticed chili powder everywhere on the entry floor, covering the couch and rug. Oh boy, big mess. Vacuum again. Oh well, I'm sure we will have another mess come 5 o'clock tonight.

Weekend

Shawn and I are headed to NY for his West Point reunion. Grandma and Grandpa Wags are here to party with the boys. They arrived yesterday and are already having a blast. Micah may have evaded the pictures but he is enjoying himself too. Back on Monday! :)