Halloween Festivities

Today I had the pleasure of visiting Sydney's pre-school class.  They were having their Halloween party and since parents were invited, I thought it would be a great opportunity to see Sydney interact with her cute little buddies.  We went trick or treating throuthout the school, did some halloween projects, played outside, and decorated a Halloween snack.  The kids definitely had fun, but things have changed since the days I was in school (that makes me sound old!).  When I was in school it was all about the candy and huge parties with lots of junk...but that wasn't my experience today...which isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

The school is trying to keep the kids healthy which didn't seem to compromise their fun.  Instead of candy, they received a flashlight, play-doh, erasers, pencils, stamps, etc.  For their treat, they used food coloring to make cream cheese orange and they spread it onto bagels.  They also had raisins to create a face on their bagels.  Of course, Sydney didn't eat hers, but she had fun licking the cream cheese.

They made a the cutest little Halloween picture frames for their project which is now hanging on our fridge.  I was in charge of that center and the kids came and went as they maneuvered their way to the different centers.  Everything seemed to go smoothly.  Sydney is always telling me about the other kids so it was nice to put faces to all of their names.

I did notice one thing today that is pretty consistent with things at home; Sydney always has to be in front.  As they walked through the schools, she was constantly reminded not to walk in front of the teacher.  When they were walking back from recess, another little girl was holding the teacher's hand and Sydney did not like walking behind them so she grabbed the little girl's hand so that she could be in the front too!  At home, if Lizzy and Sydney are dancing, Sydney always stands right in front of Lizzy so she can be the star.  In the bath, Sydney HAS to sit in the front and they both actually fight for that spot...Sydney always wins.

Anyway, it was an awesome day.  I had a great time and miss the good old days of teaching pre-school (where the kids totally love you and haven't developed an attitude quite yet).  When we got home, Sydney and Lizzy received Halloween cards and a little money from Grandma Polly and Grandpa Joe and then carved pumpkins with Daddy.  It was a Halloween filled day.

The cutest thing...as I was putting Sydney to bed...she said, "thank you for coming to my school, and thank you for helping my friend Shelby hold up her dress so she didn't trip."

My little "Bun-Bun"

The Day Off

Last Monday daycare was closed so Helene could go on vacation, and I had the oppotunity to stay home with the kids.  I had to use a vacation day, but let me tell you, it was well worth it!  Since I usually clean and catch up with everything over the weekend, all of the chores were done.  I'm a pretty happy camper when everything is clean and finished, it's the best feeling.  Needless to say, the only thing that had to be done on Monday was to play and spend time with my kids...that's it! It doesn't happen very often.

Sydney was so excited that she was able to stay home with me.  She was in the best mood and listened to everything I said.  No matter what I said, she said "okay mommy".  She helped with Lizzy, she picked up her toys when she was done, she ate her entire lunch, she could really do no wrong.  She was just so appreciative to be home with me on a Monday.

We made and decorated Halloween cookies together while Lizzy was napping.  She had a ton of fun, she loves to bake with me!

(she decorated her face too!)

After nap time Sydney and Lizzy danced to the Backgardigans for a while and then played ball together.  I love that they are starting to actually play together more and more!  Then we went into the playroom, but left the tv on in the family room and I disovered that Lizzy knows the Sponge Bob Squarepants song (oy vey!).. she went running into the other room when it came on.  Sydney is corrupting her and she shouldn't even be watching that show...but oh well!

(Lizzy has a good arm!!)

                                   

The cutest part of the day was when Sydney walked up to me dressed in a tutu, high heels, purse in her hand, as well as a baseball, bat and glove, and said, "Mommy do you want to play baseball?"  I had to explain that we usually don't play baseball in high heels.  But it definitely was cute...my little girly girl!!

It was definitely a fun day.  I might have to use a vacation day in the near future to stay home and play again!  It was so nice to move at our own pace and to not HAVE to go anywhere!  I'm pretty sure we all enjoyed our day.  I've said this before, but as Grandma Polly always says, "A vacation with kids, is to stay home!"  I couldn't agree more!

Zoo Boo

I've heard a lot of great things about Zoo Boo, so this year we decided to take the kids.  I wish I could say that I was impressed, but I wasn't!  It was so chaotic, poor planning on the zoo's part if you ask me!  They have little check points where you stop to get candy.  So, the kids got a bag of skittles when we first got there.  Then there was a show, which also didn't impress me, but Sydney seemed to enjoy it, so fine.  But after the show,(like 35 minutes later, and still only a little bag of skittles) every single person there followed the trail to get to each checkpoint. We moved like an inch per second. We waited and waited and waited and finally got up to the people giving out the candy, and what did they give out, you ask?  A dum dum!  A measly little sucker...whoooppeee!  After that, we decided to go under a rope to skip the next check point to get away from the pack!  It wasn't until the end, that we finally got chocolate...geesh, that's all I like!

The kids did have fun, so it wasn't all for nothing, and Sydney always enjoys her time with Lily and Jake, but Lizzy was cold and tired.  As long as we kept food in her hands though, she was happy, of course!  They sure were cute!!

Sydney and Lily

Lizzy, Jake, and Sydney

I'm not sure if we will go back next year or not.  I heard that last year the show was at the end, which seems like a much better plan, that way everyone isn't getting to each checkpoint at the exact same time.  But in any event, we got candy, and that's the best part!!  I look forward to Halloween to get the really good stuff!

Sydney was so tired, but she sure loves her M&M's!

The Little Stinker!

Lizzy would be known as the little stinker.  As each day goes by, she is blossoming and her personality shines through more and more!  She is quite the character and has a goofy personality and is really fun to be around, but as each day goes by, I'm realizing that she's going to be quite the handful!

Lately, she has been so stubborn.  She has to have her way and does not like to hear the word "no".  If you tell her no (which is very often), she throws herself on the floor, falls backwards and lays flat on the floor crying.  This usually occurs when she's going through the cupboards looking for something to eat and we tell her that she's had enough because literally, she could eat all day long.  Wow, does she love to eat!  I'm very close to buying locks for the cabinets, but then I'll feel bad for Sydney because she won't be able to get in to them either.  Sydney can actually be very helpful.  If I tell her to get something for Lizzy, she helps out.  Or if she asks me if she can having something and I tell her that she can, she can be self sufficient so I don't have to get up every time.  So, well see!

Lizzy has also been the sippy cup theif lately.  She does it at home and at daycare.  She doesn't want her own cup...she could care less.  She wants what everyone else has, even if her cup has the same thing inside.  She knows excatly what she's doing too, and clearly has a plan.  When she takes Sydney's cup, she looks very carefully to see if Sydney is paying attention and then goes up to her to show her that she actually stole her cup.  When Sydney notices, Lizzy starts to run like a mad woman into the other room and when Sydney catches up, Lizzy smashes the cup to the floor.  This is a constant event in our house. It kind of makes me laugh. We try to keep things out of her reach, but Lizzy has a way of somehow getting everything.  I'll give her one thing...she's persistent and never gives up.

Yaaaaaaayyyyyyy!

Last week was Sukkot, so I took the girls to a Sukkah service.  The real reason I went was because the girls were going to spend the night at Grammie and Grandpa's house so that Jason and I could go to the MSU vs. UofM game early the next morning (they won, by the way...so far, I have never been to a losing MSU vs. UofM game, I guess I'm good luck).  Yeah, yeah, yeah...Dad, if you're reading this, I know you've never been to a game at MSU.  Anyway, the plan was that I would go to the service and then the girls would sleep over and I would be on my way. Jason didn't go because he decided to cash in on his free pass.  You see, a few weeks ago, he went to visit his side of the family in Frankenmuth with the girls and I really didn't want to go (a girl needs time to shop, you know!)...so I owed him, he got to stay home!

But it wasn't all that bad.  Yes, it was a little cold, but we survived.  The kids were very cute.  Lizzy just loves to dance.  Fortunately, this was a musical service.  Although we had no idea what they were saying, it's still fun to dance!  Lizzy's latest thing is to say yaaaayyyyyy at the end of every song.  She does it when the tv is on, when a song ends on the radio, or on a CD, etc...it's funny!  So after every prayer, it would be silent and there would be Lizzy, clapping away and saying her favorite phrase.  I was only a little embarrased when they were saying the mourner's kaddish (a prayer to remember those who have passed...or something like that) and Lizzy thought it was an opportune time to clap and say "yaaaayyyyyyyyyy"!!!

Sydney was great, and always seems to have a good time.  She really pays attention!  She particularly enjoyed the food afterwards (and so did I, of course!).