Monster Mash, 2009

Happy Halloween!

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Don't Take Chances

Halloween Fever

Many thanks to Aunt Kim and Uncle Bob for the adorable Halloween shirts.
Trenton absolutely loved getting a package in the mail. Insisted that he wear it immediately. And pop all the bubbles lining the inside of the envelope.


T's says Mummy Says I'm Sweeter Than Candy. Ollie's is Captain Spooky's Pirate Academy: Surrender Your Candy

Bathrooms COMPLETE!

Very simply, I was totally done with the way our bathrooms looked. They NEEDED to be updated. Also, the IKEA catalog had arrived in the mail. And when one gets this, one MUST do something to purchase something within. Get it?

We couldn't have asked for a better handyman to put it all together and make it look BEAUTIFUL. Thanks, Dad. ;)

Downstairs before

Downstairs AFTER!

No before shots for the upstairs bathroom. But I did include the bottle of Pepto! Can you tell when this pic was taken??? ;)

So, as you can see, both bathrooms have new mirrors, lighting, cabinets, sinks, and faucets (my #2 choice, due to an over two-week delivery delay from an Ebay purchase... anyone need 3 Enskar faucets?)
This one thinks he's a big boy now.
Screams his bloody head off if required to sit in his bath seat in the tub.
Wants to crawl to the front and play with the faucet.

ADDITIONALLY, speaks the following:
Mama, Dada, Ten-Ten (I swear, it is two syllables and has a /t/ sound!), buh (sometimes he means bird, sometimes ball), all-dah (all done, and he signs it, too), buh byee (with wave), and ut oh.

I had to put it up here now, because I keep forgetting! He doesnt' do all of these too often, but often enough that it reminds me that this kid is growing up. And verbalizing just as well as his brother at this age.
Must be all the chatting I do all day long...

Play

Rutabaga and carrots. Eggplant, cheese, breadcrumbs, zucchini, and tomatoes. Yuuuummm.

No really, he loves it. Ate it all up two nights in a row. Ha!
Just make sure to give him his own spoon.

This is what my living room looks like on a regular basis. We've gotten good at stepping over stuff. Ollie just plows on through it, like a crawling front-loader.

The obligatory short videos, as I've realized I haven't posted any in awhile.

Trenton's Fall Projects

Thank you, Bridget, for the great idea of taking pictures of all the preschool projects and then blogging them.
It is not a great feeling when your three-year-old finds one of his creations in the trash... I've done my best to hang most of them up. But if you think I'm saving them, yeah right.
So here are the best of the best, by the best "little man" in nursery school (quoted from his teacher, as his conversations with her are more like a man than a kid ;)

That one above is the one I'm talking about in this post, where he puts the leaves on the ground on purpose.

My favorite one is above... too cool, overlapping the prints, right? Today, he is set to make a spider.

Taking Chances

It took us probably ten minutes to get the pads and the skates on and he went all of ten squares on the sidewalk before he decided he didn't want to go anymore. He never really took to these skates ("Too slippery!") and now he's just about outgrown them.
Into the pile to save for Oliver!

No worries. Weather was still so nice, we took out the scooter instead.

I spent most of today trying to hawk my baby crap at a yard sale. I'm beginning to wonder if all the planning, hauling, setting up, etc. is worth it or if I just have really bad luck with yard sales. Apparently, next to no one wants baby boy stuff. They all sift through the DVDs and then walk on by...
The walker that Ollie is in in the pictures above is on the list of things to go. Mom and I are doing another yard sale next Saturday in the Chick Fil A parking lot. Whatever doesn't sell is going on Freecycle or to any pregnant friends who might want it! My attic is running out of room...


You do meet the nicest people, though, at yard sales. One woman nearly fell over when she saw that I had an Illini jacket and Chief shirt-- apparently her son-in-law is from Decatur, IL. I was like "Take it! Meant to be!"
I also did a good deal of all-you-can-fit-into-a-bag-for-five-bucks sales. Just about broke even before it started to rain and we had to pack it all up and come home.

But now I have time to blog for YOU!

Ah, and what did we do last night? Fright Fest, baby!

A friend of mine who works at Great Adventure gave me two tickets. My folks watched the kids and Jim and I were giddy-excited to go out together alone. It was actually cute the number of times we got to hold hands (especially in the parking lot, which seems necessary and natural after always looking to grab T's hand).

The park was all decorated for Halloween and many employees were walking around in costume as zombies. Some dragged shovels behind them-- creepy! But they're not allowed to actually touch you. The only time we were honestly scared was when we were enjoying the view from above on the sky-ride and someone from the car across from us started shrieking. At us. Then we heard them say, "Oooo! We got 'em!" Ha! They did!


Best part? IT WAS LIKE 65 DEGREES. (For those of you who know me well, you will have figured that I was initially dreading this night-out, as I don't like going anywhere outside in the cold, really).

Second best part? THERE WAS LIKE, NO ONE THERE. We managed to go on five rides in two hours. Can't do that anytime ever during the summer.

We started off by going on Batman: The Ride. Now, please note: I do not EVER go on upside down roller coasters. But the mood was good, we were excited, and I didn't want Jim to have to go alone. So I sucked it up and ran on up the (empty) line quickly, before I could change my mind. It begins by trekking up a ramp and then loops about four times; eight seconds into the ride, I had the brilliant idea to close my eyes. Which I did. For the rest of the ride.

Guess what? That is a sure-fire way to make yourself SICK.
So, for the rest of the night, I felt nauseous.

We took the skyride, did Rolling Thunder (my absolute FAV in 1997, which I think was the last time I was on it, for Physics Day), and another Batman one that was not scary at all.

Twice we stopped to look at the new wooden roller coaster- El Toro.
Both times I was like "Dude, I love wooden roller coasters. And this would be the time to do it, as we have no kids, and there are no lines."
But then my stomach said, "Are you SERIOUS?"
And Jim said, "I'll do whatever you want to do!" (which in husband-language means "I know you feel sick and although I really want to do it, I'm not going to be the one to decide this!")
Just standing there watching the people on that first STEEEEEEP drop made me shiver.

But my sense of reason won out. And we went on the ride. Watch it here. (No, that is not actually us, silly.) Actually, watch this one here. Taken from the FRONT SEAT. Dare you to watch it and not laugh--that guy screaming? It was a lot like me.

And then my stupid self did the eye-close thing again. (Seriously, did you SEE that first drop? It is as high as the sky-ride, no joke). But only for a few seconds... It was a freaking awesome ride, that is for sure. We even bought the picture and I'll scan it for you if I can, soon. For now, picture me with my eyes open, huge smile on my face, and Jim with his eyes closed, mouth pursed and back in a grimace, trying to prevent bugs-in-the-teeth (I snicker as I type this).

And now why did I choose to write this part of the post under a picture of Oliver's feet?

Because not two minutes after we got off of El Toro, I went straight to the bathroom and puked all over my shoes. And in the toilet. And on my pants.

Gross, I know. But I felt soooo much better afterward.

And THAT is what state I was in when my husband got to drive me home-- with the windows open, puke still on my FAV RED SHOES. And THEN he helped me into bed. And THEN he watched the kids all morning while I attempted to yard-sale. And THEN he returned to help me pack it all up in the rain. And now he is running at the gym. Race next weekend.

I love my husband.

"Take THAT!", says Ollie!

***
- Wait, what? Stinker for you Phillies fans out there (I know there are2 of you ;) At least you've got a team to root for this post-season...

- Woo-hoo look at this one. You know, our condo association actually does forbid hanging laundry outside (eyesore, they say). I do it anyway on nice days with Ollie's diapers. I mean, our home doesn't face any other home or the street, so it seems fine to me... Plus, the sunshine brightens 'em and gets rid of stink and stains. These poor people-- trying to save energy and being told that they can't! But as the one lady said, sometimes you have to petition to change the rules.

- C-ya Giants Stadium. I've seen Bruce play there before-- we went the day after our wedding six years ago. Not something I recommend for future bride and grooms, as we were exhausted. But I have to say, I'd much rather see him play in an enclosed arena (like MSG) rather than an outdoor football facility. Really. But, I guess it is right for The Boss to send the place off in style...

Copyright: Todd Heisler/The New York Times