October 30, 2013 ~ Halloween Preview

Teagan’s pumpkin!

I’ve been quite negligent lately.  I’m behind on writing about projects, about the kids and all the things they – we – have done lately.  Well, let’s just do a quick catch up.

Last weekend we went into the city.  We took the train instead of driving.  And for the most part it was good.  The girls were very excited to be on a train, pretty well behaved and fun.  Until our train was held between stations for almost 50 minutes by some police action.  Not sure exactly what happened, the lady sitting next to us said that maybe they were looking for someone who did something bad.  Great.

That’s when the train ride stopped being fun and became an endless stream of us trying to make the kids sit, behave, be quiet, not lick the windows, not go into other people’s bags.

Thanks to the delay, we were a bit late to the dinner with family, but made it before the main course was served.  Dinner was awesome.

Train!

The ride home was a bit less crazy, but only minutely so.  They couldn’t settle, sit still.  They also did not sleep at all.  Even after we got into our car, they didn’t fall asleep.  We got back home around 10:30.  I think that was the longest Ashlin has ever been awake without a nap.

This past weekend the town held a Trunk or Treat at the school parking lot.  We were supposed to meet up with one of Teagan’s friends from day care.  But earlier in the day we had been at a party – for a lovely now two-year-old – and they both napped.  Neither Stu nor I wanted to wake them up.  So, we got there a bit late and had to park off to the side, where there were no trunks giving out candy.

It took a bit to find our friends, but we did, and Teagan – and Ashlin too! – was happy!  Big hugs and giggles.  Even a few shrieks.

The girls came home with half-full pumpkins.  More than enough candy for them!  We were probably giving them Halloween candy through Easter last year.  Most of their take was dum-dum lollipops, not enough chocolate.  Shucks.

Buzz-Buzz!

Snow White

Somewhere Teagan learned a new Halloween song:

Trick or Treat!

Smell my feet!

Give me something good to eat!

If you don’t,

I don’t care!

I’ll pull down your underwear!

Lovely.  The things I blame day care for teaching her.  Though it is funny when she gets the order wrong.

Also, both girls have taken to being “blanket ghosts” in the car to and from day care.  They snuggle under the blankets I made, then pull them over their heads and yell “boo!”  Silly girls!

Oh, and shampoo buns are the best thing since trick or treating! At least until tomorrow.

Shampoo bun! Me too!

November 10, 2012

Spooky trunk

Tonight was the town’s “unofficial” Trick or Treat night, actually a “Trunk or Treat” if you may.  Hurricane Sandy knocked down too many wires and trees for it to be safe to go out on Halloween, so the town postponed to this past Wednesday, which was snowed out.  A bunch of mom’s started up a facebook thing that the town selectman decided to jump on to.  So, Trunk or Treat it was!

We got the girls dressed up again, no curls this time for Teagan’s Wendy-Bird, she wanted sparkles.  I didn’t drop any glitter in, as much as she asked.  She’s already gotten enough in the car from her art projects at day care.  Oh, that sounded like an old grown up.  Oh well.

The event started at 6, and by the time we got there, around 6:10, the parking lot was packed.  There were very few parking spots, but we did find one.  Thankfully.  Not every one needed to have a spare spot with chairs in it.

Wendy-Bird first

In a way, this was better than going house to house in the neighborhood.  The girls got more candy, more treats then they would have.  Stu and I took the girls up the row we were on and then down and around the other side.  We bumped into one of their day care teachers, so fun!  I sent the three of them off, so I could hand out some candy.  It wouldn’t be fair to have the girls take candy with giving some out!

Some cars were really decorated, it was awesome! The whole thing was super concentrated trick or treat, though, groups of six or more kids would come every minute, if that long.  I had a huge bucket, and a bag of spare, just in case candy, and we went through it all.

It’s D, from day care!

Stu came back and I took the girls back out to a new row, neither wanted to stop, and there were so many kids I didn’t want to drive the car out. There were two boys dressed up in ghillie suits that scared Teagan quite badly.  Ashlin got a bit tentative with one or of the men, but always hammed it up for the ladies, and most of the men.  She didn’t need any prompting to thank the people, and often blew them kisses too.

After a bit, both girls were cold and tired, even though they didn’t want to admit it, and the cars were running out of candy.  Like they needed more candy!  We headed back to the car, the girls got settled into their seats and given some crackers from their  haul. Ashlin did not want to give up her pumpkin, but the teddy grahams bribed her long enough for Stu to get back from looking for us!

They both went to bed quickly and without much complaint.  I guess the quick evening (both in bed by 7:15!), full of excitement and horror and sweets got the best of them.

The haul!

It was a good night.

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November 5, 2012

Moon and Stars

The other day the girls and I made some Halloween decorations.  Yay for decoupage!  Relatively simple, but elegant looking craft.  One that can also be done at various skill and coordination levels.

Both girls love doing arts & crafts, but sometimes it’s hard to get the right craft for both of them.  Sometimes, what I find is too fine motor skill intensive for Teagan, but I’ve gotten better at measuring her abilities.  Most things do get aimed at Teagan, although now I try to get Ashlin involved too.  She used to go to the play room, or outside and swing, with daddy.  Ashlin gets a bit impatient with her coordination, and also tries to taste or eat everything.  But she does have fun,  and now can do a pretty good job.  Teagan tries to rush through everything, thinking she knows exactly how to do whatever it is we’re doing.  Once she realizes she doesn’t know everything, and stops to listen, she does great!

We each had one jar, made one votive.  I had pre-cut the shapes, some stars and moons, a jack-o-lantern.  Although Teagan could do the paper punch, she wouldn’t have had the attention span to do the whole craft.

Ashlin puts on confetti

I also had the girls do their decoupage jar in shifts.  Ashlin needs a bit more attention than Teagan, but with glass and sticky glue, I didn’t want either to be too unsupervised.

Ashlin really enjoyed putting the Halloween shaped confetti on the jar I had prepared with glue for her.  Her focus was intense, and she would giggle as she saw the paper stick to the jar.  She also put a few pieces of tissue over the confetti, but lost interest soon enough. The lure of Blue was too strong.

Moon and Stars for Teagan

Teagan watched while I did a few swipes of the glue, eager to put her shapes on.  She also did a great job applying the glue, ripping the tissue to small pieces – maybe the best part! – and putting it over the glue.  I let her finish putting the tissue on Ashlin’s jar, then on my jar and hers.

Applying glue

Mom’s Jack-o-lantern gets orange tissue

Waiting to dry

All done!

Spooky Votives

I think they turned out pretty good! We may do some more for Christmas!

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November 3, 2012

Wendy Bird and Tinkerbell

Today we dressed the girls up in their Halloween costumes and had a treasure hunt!

Teagan was excited, eager to go trick or treating – or on a treasure hunt, like a pirate!  She was so heartbroken when we told her we couldn’t go on Halloween.  She so wanted to be Wendy-Bird!  At first she wanted to be a flying horse, then a pirate, then peter pan, then the bumble bee like last year, (so she could say buzz buzz boo!).  Eventually she settled on Wendy Darling from Peter Pan.  Wendy-Bird.  Ashlin would, no could!, go as Tinkerbell.

All morning, knowing that we were going to dress up and go outside, she played with her pink plastic pumpkin.  Ashlin got jealous, so I found the other one I had so she could play too.  She and Ashlin putt toys and trinkets in them and walking around, showing us what they had in them, dumping those out and refilling them with new objects.  Repeat.

Once naps were over and we started getting them ready, Teagan just couldn’t contain herself.  She was fiddling with the curlers, (to make her hair look like Wendy’s), rushing to get into her shirt, her dress, her shoes.  Ashlin, on the other hand, wasn’t convinced at all that this would be fun.  Not at all.  We did get her dressed, though, the mean parents that we are, even though she was crying.  One picture of her crying in her costume would be worth it for the memory.  I have one of Teagan wailing in a butterfly costume when she was a year and a half.

Wendy and Tink

I eventually got Ashlin’s wings on, the ones that came with the costume and velcro on.  I didn’t try to put on the extra special ones LaLa found that strapped over her arms.  She was so not in the mood for the fussing.  But once we gave her a bracelet that matched her costume, she calmed down.  Not enough to give up her bubble – pacifier – at first, but eventually.

I was able to get a few good pictures of them, alone of course.  Never together.  I think it’s a rule about not getting one good one of the two of them together.  I have one or two with both of them looking at the camera, not pulling a face, but the angles aren’t right.  Oh well.  It’s more important that they had fun!

Stu hid some candy outside for the girls.  Each hiding spot had two pieces of candy.  Teagan was allowed to get one piece, but the second was for Ashlin.  Ashlin, of course, didn’t find any on her own, but Teagan was so excited, and eager to give Ashlin her piece.  Ashlin didn’t really understand what was going on, although she was happy enough to put things in her pumpkin.  Ashlin became very attached to her packet of Skittles, and refused to give it up, and carried it around for the rest of the afternoon.

We probably should have gone for a walk around the block in costume, but we didn’t.  Hopefully, the weather will hold off long enough for us to go out Wednesday.  I don’t think they’ll reschedule Halloween a second time…

PS.  Teagan told me that she missed her cat.  I told her that I missed the cat, too.

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October 31, 2012

Halloween shirts!

Halloween is postponed thanks to Sandy. No trick or treating here, like many other nearby towns. We have to wait until next week. I still dressed the girls in Halloween shirts! They were so excited to wear their special shirts. Well, Teagan was, she had picked her shirt out. Ashlin was just happy to have a shirt on, she doesn’t care yet.

I may try to get some pictures of the girls in their costumes over the weekend, if it’s sunny. I’d like to get a few good ones, where they aren’t all bulked up with thermal underwear and layers thanks to the cold evening. Not sure if they’ll be in the mood to comply, but we’ll try anyway.

A rescheduled Halloween just means we have time to decorate again. Time to watch more scary movies, eat more candy. I may have to buy some more by next week ;)

No pictures, can’t you see I’m reading?

Peek-A-Boo!

January 10, 2012

Today, I took Christmas down and packed it away.   It’s always a sad day when Christmas gets taken down. I do like having the house all lit up, twinkling and sparkling with decorations.  Sigh.  They’re all down now.  Or, I think they are.  I’m sure I’ll find something I missed.

It always takes a few days to get all  (or some), of the decorations up. I never try to do it in one day, but spread it over a few days so it’s not annoying. Being in a new house, one that we didn’t really decorate before, I needed to get some more decorations. There’s so much more house to decorate!  And a toddler that is beginning to understand Christmas, and decorations, and magic.

She was sad to see that the magic was put away.  The drive home the past few weeks has been filled with trying to explain why she doesn’t see as many “candles” as she used to.  She wants them to be on all the time – even during the day.  So sweet.

So, I explained why people take them down, and why we didn’t until today.  That each holiday has different decorations, hearts for valentines, ghosts and bats for Halloween, turkeys and pumpkins for thanksgiving.  We took those down, even though they were fun.  Explaining that we can’t keep the “candles” and other Christmas decorations up all the time, or we loose the “special”, the wonder, the magic.

I’m not sure she understood.  She was sad when she saw the christmas tree wasn’t there any more.  But then she saw the candy penguin that someone gave me, and was happy again.

I miss the lights.  I miss the magic.

Is it Christmas yet?

October 31, 2011

This one loved trick or treating. Halloween was a success for her.

~~

This one probably has croup. Halloween was helpful to her, being out in the cold.

More later when there is more sleep and a happier baby.

October 24, 2011

This morning, once he got to work, Stu sent me a link to two pictures from his phone.  This one:

Pumpkin Patch - The Second

And one similar to this (he only had her from the back):

Pumpkin Patch - The Third

There’s just about a full year between the two pictures.  It’s amazing how much the piglet has changed in a year.  Other than her hair.  LOL.  She finally doesn’t have “funny” hair.

Without us noticing, she grew up.

She’s become quite the little person, getting bigger all the time.  She has full sentences, sometimes proper self reference (Me! I do it!), jokes, and dreams.  Her love of hats may be replaced by a love of shoes, or at least new shoes.

It’s been an amazing journey…  that started here:

Pumpkin Patch - The First

October 17, 2009

Stu and I are going to be very busy again this weekend, so I’ll leave you today with an early halloween skeleton :)

And a recap of this weeks links:

• 10/12:  NASA Link
• 10/16:  Import Link
• 10/17:  Flickr Link

November 01, 2007

Trick-or-treating as an adult is rough! Kids started coming by around 6:30 or so. One kid was terrified of Stu’s pumpkin. We settled in, turned on AMC for Halloween marathon, with our beers, ready to open doors and ooohhh and aaaahhh over the costumed kids that dared know.

Neighbors arrive with their passel of kids – a Celtic princess, mummy, flower and child bride – along with the other neighbors – kid was a vampire, I think. They were amazed that Stu hasn’t gone trick-or-treating before, so dragged us out, and made him take all the kids to the next house. Tee hee hee! Kids started showing up at our house, so I ran back to man the door. As I was going out, got hijacked by another neighbor, and well, got a beer at his house… Stu shows up and gets given one for himself.

We sit and talk with them for a bit, then go to the next neighbors house – they give out adult treats – shots! Hung out there for about 4 shots – lemoncello, Captain Morgan, Polish brandy(something “shnickta”). Then they decided we needed to go to the next neighbors house (the one with the Vampire kid) for more… They decided that we needed to celebrate 32 days and a first Halloween. Tee hee hee. The Vampire kid pulled me into the play room to help him get into another costume, so I lucked out on several of the shots at that house. Muahahahaha. Stu had some more of that Polish blackberry brandy, something Finish, and something Lithuanian. I just had one Apple thing and I think that’s it. We get home, and well, the pumpkins were spinning, thankfully, slowly.

This morning hurt a bit, but Stu was hurting a bit more. Somehow, everyone gives him shots and I luck out. Or am conveniently not there when they pass them out. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he’s a bit more Irish than I am, and looks it, that they think he needs MUCH more alcohol than I do :)

Muahahahahahaha!

Halloween usually isn’t that painful