This Moment

Joining Amanda - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Farmers' market goodies

Yesterday we ventured out to the farmers' market.  It was a bit of a struggle.  It was going to be another super hot day.  I had been super uncomfortable the night before and didn't want a repeat of that.  Bigger was cranky, at least partly because I refused to push the double stroller and therefore he had to walk.  And there was always a chance that the popcorn lady wouldn't be there or wouldn't have my favorite sweet & salty popcorn.  And the real reason for going was for the popcorn.  Yeah, yeah, get out of the house, get some fresh air and exercise.  My motivation was not so virtuous. 

So we wandered over.  It isn't really that far.  You can see the mall where the market is held from our living room window, I guess it would be about 2 blocks walk in all.  The popcorn lady is at the far end of the market so you never know till the very end.  But by now I had come up with a backup plan - no popcorn and we would stop at McD's for egg and cheese biscuits on the way home.  (Because in those two blocks there is a McD's and they would be serving breakfast at 9:30 in the morning.)  I was not going home empty handed. 

Cruising the market on our quest for popcorn, Bigger was like a treat seeking missile.  He stopped in front of every possible booth where they had once or might give samples.  Of course the bakery, the cupcake company, and the homemade ice cream mobile were all right in a row.  And I wont deny that I was tempted, sorely tempted.  But funds were limited and we were here for popcorn.  His puppy dog eyes did not sway me - we were on a mission. 

And there it was - sweet & salty kettle corn!  Success!  I bought two bags. 

We also bought peaches (seconds, so we have to eat them up quickly, shucks ;-)  And cherries.  And the boys did get to sample a sugar plum.  Looks like he's saying "get in ma belly!"  to all that yumminess, doesn't it? 

No, he is not missing any teeth.  He just has a big ol' gap.  All the better for jello and spaghetti slurping.  And Bapa has a gap too so it's all the cooler. 

On our way home, this little stinker declared he had a good idea.  We should get bologna.  So we went to the "bologna store."  (There is a European market kinda next to the McD's, of all places, with a nice deli counter.  And a really good bakery.  But I digress.)  Bigger got to pick which kind he wanted - with the red casing.  And the boys each got a sample slice right there at the counter.  :)  As long as we were there I thought we should get some fresh pretzels.  After all, Bigger and I had read Walter the Baker by Eric Carle at 5:30 that morning.  And I was getting a little hungry myself.  Even after a peach and (more than) a few handfuls of popcorn. 

Stinker tried to pitch a fit when he discovered he hadn't picked the checkout where the nice lady always gave him and his brother a piece of candy.  So he fought his brother over the bag of pretzels.  Once that was settled he headed out the first door - and leaned on it so I wouldn't be able to open it.  Just as I was getting him to move enough to open the door an older couple went out the door on the other side, Bigger dropped his fight for the door, and held their door open for them.  Very sweet child, isn't he?  And as soon as they were through he let it shut.  In front of me and Littler in the stroller.  Did I mention he was a stinker?  The couple did stop at the next set of doors to make sure I would get out.  Or maybe it was straight up curiousity as to how this would play out.  Either way, we did all make it out of the store and even all the way home without further incident. 

All in all, it was a good outting.  And now I'm thinking about more pretzels.  :)  (I already had a peach and some popcorn for breakfast.)  





{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

{pretty} 

And happy and funny and real.  We finally got our A/C installed yesterday.  I think it is beautiful.  Today will be the third day of "real feel" temps of 99/100.  Our apartment is on the sixth floor and west facing.  Someone else in our building did something (incredibly stupid) and their A/C fell out of the window and smashed someone else's window so they are enforcing the policy of having them "professionally installed."  Best.$25.spent.all.summer. 

{happy}

And funny and real.  Bigger had a blast pushing me on the swing.  Littler tried to get on the action but unfortunately for him a 32lb not quite 3 year old is no match for a grown up on a swing.  I didn't know he wanted to push too until I felt a hit on my butt and heard him laughing - I had inadvertently knocked him on his butt.  Luckily not quite 3 year olds think this kind of thing is hilarious. 

{funny}

"Look at me!  I'm a walking talking book!"

And look at that - he's started to develop a pretty-take-my-picture smile. 

 {real}

 And pretty and happy and funny.  We made a stop at Queenston Heights to check out the monuments.  It was beastly hot.  We stopped to look at (and take pictures of) all the historical monuments.  The WeatherMan has a thing for the blue signs.  This nice university student was willing to take a picture with the boys but Bigger played shy and Littler tried to as well... but was too interested in checking out his hat, which is apparently quite heavy. 

When stars align

This morning I actually enjoyed washing the dishes.  Crazy, I know.  But there weren't too many and they weren't too gross.  The ones that don't get dried fit nicely on the drying mat.  And the boys happily entertained themselves.  Without causing massive destruction. 

They had tipped over the footstool and were using it as a sewing machine.  Using all the pillow cases from the linen closet they pushed the rocker part back and forth, sewing costumes for various imaginary people.  (I wasn't going to tell them what they had created was more like a loom than a sewing machine.  Who was I to "correct" their fun?  And besides they were happy.  And I don't think they've ever seen a loom anyway.)  They donned capes and my shoes and slow danced in the living room.  That always gets great giggles because they pull themselves down to the floor after about 2 seconds of "dancing."  They made sandwiches with the felt food for all those imaginary costumed friends. 

It was lovely.  And don't get me wrong, it was short lived.  Very short lived.  But it was wonderful while it lasted.

Linking up to {Magic of the Mundane} @ Sofia's Ideas

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

 

 

{pretty}

Ok, you probably think I'm crazy and maybe I shouldn't admit to this but I have kept caught up with the dishes for a whole week.  Well, there was one day that they went undone.  Interestingly that was the one day the WeatherMan was home all day... hmmm...

Anyway, I think the tidy sink is pretty.  And it is certainly less stressful than a sink (and counter) full of dishes. 

{happy}

Homemade chocolate - chocolate chip muffins :)

{funny}

There is no photo to capture this but it is too funny not to share.  Last week I posted sweet pictures of the boys playing baseball with Bapa and Fava.  You can almost tell in the picture of Littler that his pants are being held up by his boots.  You can't tell at all the typical preschooler America's Funniest Videos moments that resulted from the hours we spent in the yard with the wiffle ball and bats. 

At one point, the boys were playing together in the front yard.  Bigger "threw" to Littler.  It beaned him square in the side of the head.  Littler swung the bat and popped Bigger right on the butt.  Thankfully neither has much power behind their pitches or swings.  There was no meanness to any of it, they were only standing about a foot apart.  It was classic. 

Then, out in the backyard, Bigger was a little crabby about it being Littler's turn to bat so he decided to lay on the ground in front of Littler.  That would be between Mama (the pitcher) and Littler (the batter.)  He was warned this could get him an injury but he declared he would be fine.  No sooner did he say this, Mama tossed the ball, and Littler actually connected and hit the ball straight into his brother's ear.  Well, actually it seemed to bounce of his chest before getting him in the ear but either way he was a little stunned. 

 {real}

Yesterday I posted about unknitting 3 rows of my cardi to find my mistake.  Well, I counted my stitches yesterday and was 5 short.  No idea where or how that happened.  For the sake of simplicity and my own sanity I ripped out the whole thing.  I'll start again in a couple days.  Hopefully after I get my starter socks off needles.  Maybe even after I knit a couple more baby knits (with probably less than 5 weeks till B-day it's now or never for the wee baby knits, like booties to go with the BSJs.  Or hats.  Or anything else for that matter.)  So my February Lady is in time-out for the time being. 

Mother's Day antics

I hope you enjoyed an entertaining Mother's Day :) 

We're in trouble

I think this character speaks for himself.  He's got "trouble" written all over him.  And sometimes you can see it coming. 

And then there's the elder brother. 

It's kinda hard to see, thanks to his elaboration, so let me explain this one.  We were working on counting - count the number of shaded squares and write the number.  Bigger counted three with no trouble.  Now, writing "3" is more of a challenge.  And honestly between the fact that he is only 4, he's a boy, and he's a leftie I'm sure we are in for a big struggle with handwriting.  But I'm not worried about that, just trying to give him opportunities to practice. 

You can see how his "3" turned out.  Most definately a "2."  A really nice, clear (especially for a 4 year old left handed boy) "2" but a "2" all the same.  So I wrote one for him and asked if he would try again.  He did, eventually.  But first he crossed out the bottom shaded-in square.  (Can you see it?) 

He made the data fit his answer. 

The little stinker. 

Pennies and popcorn

I suffer from a fairly common ailment - mommy guilt.  Mostly I feel like a lazy mama.  I'm tired.  I look at other beautiful blogs and Pinterest and Facebook of fun things other people are doing.  But when it comes actually getting my act together and doing some cool project it just falls apart.  I keep telling myself I still have time, that really the boys are too little still to really get into or benefit much from such attempts.  They would probably just turn into chaos, frustration, and wasted materials. 

But then, from time to time, he comes up with his own thing.  The WeatherMan had sorted out the pennies and put them in their own container.  And what fun Bigger had.

When I first figured out what he was up to I was not pleased - the mess of the popcorn, the germs on the change.  But I took a step back.  He wasn't hurting anything.  So what if there was a mess?  We have a vacuum.  So what if he had made his popcorn gross?  We had more popcorn.  So I let him have at it. 

He tried to get them into the cup from behind.  He didn't have great success with that and it didn't last long. 

But pouring those pennies back and forth was a serious hit.  He pushed them around, put them in things, used them to "pay" for imaginary stuff.  The digger even got involved for a while.  Although that would have been more fun if we had found the bucket for the scoop but he still made due with just where the scoop should be, trying to pile them on the spot where it would attach.  He even let Littler get involved from time to time. 

He seriously spent close to two hours doing this.  No way would anything I had put him up to suggested or planned held his attention nearly that long. 

Doesn't that face say it all?  It's a little like magic.  What will he dream up next?  And just as I finish up this post, I saw this post at No Time for Flashcards.  Makes me think I should start saving up some building materials for him and see where they lead... 

Maybe my laziness isn't such a problem, it's giving them space to make their own discoveries and create their own fun.  So maybe it's not laziness after all.  Because, after all, who do you think cleaned up most of that mess? 

One of those days

Yesterday was one of them.  The boys were insane.  I was tired.  Dishes were piled up and laundry too.  There were tissues shredded on the floor.  I took a headbutt to the jaw.  There was screaming, crying, pushing, and shoving.  And licking of the humidifier.  That one totally earned a time out.  I'm not kidding that it was a heck of a day.
I was really willing to admit that it was my attitude.  I was tired and cranky and not giving them the attention they wanted.  I was about to take a mommy time-out and sneak some chocolate cake when Littler dragged me to their bedroom.  Where they had broken one of the wheels off his crib.  And Bigger was in it rocking around. 
It wasn't just me!  It couldn't just be me!  Sure my attitude wasn't helping but they really were off the walls. 
So i dug through the tool bag (which is a total disaster and perhaps tonight I'll do something to sort it out.)  I dug through the basket of random house stuff (drawer pulls, child safety bits and pieces, a bungee cord.)  And finally found one of those blasted little wrenches that come with the build-it-yourself furniture (we should have about 6 of them, it shouldn't have been that difficult to find one.)  And I dismantled Littler's crib.  Single handedly.  It involved some interesting uses of feet and a lot of barking to keep two very curious monkeys boys from bringing anything crashing down on their heads.  But I got it apart and took it piece by piece out of their room.  I didn't even forget any pieces although Bigger accused me of just that (or did he really think he was helping by "reminding" me of that ginormous piece of wood over by the window?) 
And Littler's mattress moved to the floor.  Now, we have been planning on getting big boys beds for the boys soon.  Probably next month.  But we were going to keep Littler in his crib till then and make it one transition.  This should be interesting.

After this day of insanity Littler was exhausted and passed out on my lap a little after 6:30.  One hassle down, at least I don't have to attempt to get him to stay in bed long enough to fall asleep.  Next challenge would be when he rolls out at some point during the night.  Well I nipped that in the bud too.  Folded an extra blanket and laid it out along the side of the bed so he would at least roll onto a soft surface and not the cold linoleum floor.  That worked too - before I went to bed he was already stretched out on the blanket on the floor.  Before you judge, I did scoop him back into bed after snapping a picture. 

But the very best part?  He slept till 6am!  I remember there was a vast improvement in Bigger's sleep when he lost the crib.  So there might be hope that this was the end of the 4:30 mornings.  :)  And ya know, almost everything looks better after nearly 8 hours of sleep.  I can't tell you the last time I had close to 8 hours of sleep.  I think I can count the times on one hand since Littler was born.  One was  the night he was baptized, November 1, 2009.  It really is that memorable for me to get that kind of sleep.  (And just think, Littler is the better sleeper of the two boys!)

 So even dumping bowls of cereal on ourselves and the kitchen floor, even, taking out the chocolate cake from the fridge and telling me "guess what Dad says we can have for breakfast," even stuffing tissues into the humidifier, not so bad. 

Trapped

Under a sleeping 2 year old that is.

Littler was up at 4:45 this morning.  For some reason he did not simply climb out of his crib and wander into bed with me like he usually does.  First he wandered the apartment a bit, getting upset that he couldn't find me.  (In his defence, the WeatherMan had apparently left the TV on when he fell asleep on the couch.  Light of any kind seems to signal time to get moving to this kid.) 

So once he found me he climbed into the bed and wanted to nurse.  No, Little Dude, we do not nurse before morning.  So he spent the next half an hour rolling around next to me like a pig on a spit all the while trying to get his hand up my shirt.  (The hand up the shirt is his comfort move - sucks his first to fingers and rubs my belly.  It is really irritating.  Especially in those wee hours of the morning when I want to still be sleeping and he is using any means possible.  And if he can't get his hand in my shirt he will move on to trying to get his foot down my pants.  I kid you not.)

After 30 minutes of this, his brother joined us.  By 6am Bigger had already started asking if it was time to go to school.  No, Big Dude, your teacher will not be there for 3 hours.  Why not?  Because she is probably still sleeping.  So he drowned his sorrows in a cup of milk, half a blueberry english muffin, and a big handful of frozen berries.  And was hungry less than an hour later.  I do believe we will be shopping for pants by the end of next week. 

Finally the time came to convince them to put on their clothes (pants before shoes, Big Dude, it really will help.)  Have a final snack of cheese and crackers (remember that thing about new pants?)  Get coats on (I am so glad they have both mastered the "flipperoo.")  And leave for school. 

Bigger was psyched to be back and Littler remembered the whole routine too.  He seems to be convinced that if he does it all right he will magically get to stay at school too, right down to picking a name tag at random and putting someone else's name circle up on the board.  It's a good thing there isn't a kid with his name in the class or he would really think he belonged!  Next year, Little Dude, your time will come.  The noise of the class settling into their play before circle time got to him though and he snuggled into my lap. 

Back at home he got his "extra" nursing and then played a little and climbed into my lap to nurse again.  He was ok with a no to that request and even with my efforts to keep his hand out of my shirt.  He was fading fast so I did what any tired mama of a tired little one would do - I rubbed his belly and ignored him while I checked FaceBook.  Worked like a charm.  He's been out for almost half an hour already.  And my left foot is starting to follow too.  I should really see if I can transfer him to his crib and get some things done.  But maybe I'll just shift him a little and have a wee snooze myself :)

Bumming Around the Christmas Tree

What holiday isn't complete without some good stories that come out of it?  Like the Thanksgiving the turkey caught fire.  But that's a tale for another day.  Now we're just remembering the fun that is Christmas with littles.  Beyond the usual sugar induced, Santa's on his way insanity kind of adventures because we certainly had our share of that too. 

On Christmas Eve we went to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  (I don't make vast quantities of Christmas cookies, this year it was just a batch of reverse chocolate chip cookies and a batch of chocolate chip dough to bake a tray at a time.)  Once the oven started to preheat it started smoking!  I'm guessing that last chicken we roasted a few days before did a number on the oven with it's splattering.  And that would be why I prefer to make chicken in the slow cooker but I wasn't in charge of that particular dinner and so that goes. 

Anyway, the real problem was what to do about dinner!  We carry on the WeatherMan's family tradition of having "white supper" after Mass, before the kids go to bed.  We did have some oven cleaner and would be gone long enough for it to do it's magic (without killing us all with fumes.)  But to get home around 6:30 and then wipe down the oven and then have to bake the fish and whatnot for dinner was just going to be torture.  So what do we do?  We call the closest Chinese restaurant and make sure they will still be open so we can get take out on our way home from Mass :)  Only a few quotes from A Christmas Story were thrown around that evening because "we are going out to eat."  

We had at least one other Christmas Story moment watching a very worn out Littler laying on the floor driving cars around.  Just like Randy with his zeppelin.  He did not fall asleep in the pile of wrapping paper, although we might have had a slightly calmer afternoon if he had.  But napping just isn't the way we roll. 

The boys got a musical gift from their musician uncle.  I had actually suggested these to him and he expressed concern to our mom that maybe I didn't know what I was really asking for.  They're Boomwhackers - a set of pitched tubes.  A great noisy boy toy.  (And to reassure my brother, the boys also love paints but it doesn't mean they always have access to them ;-)  But I had no idea just how open ended the play would be that they could come up with with these suckers.  Of course they like whacking them on anything they can get to.  And someday they'll figure out that each one makes a different sound.  And they've made them into shovels, airplanes, and fishing poles.  Being boys they even made themselves some guns - and not just any guns.  Littler put the biggest up on his shoulder and said "I shoot."  How he came up with his own bazooka at 2 years old I will never know! 

But my personal favorite is when I thought they were playing the cello (picture one tube straight down to the ground, one across it like a bow.)  But when Bigger explained it made so much more sense because, really, how would they come up with playing the cello?  No, they were Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in Singing in the Rain.  Can you see it now?  "Fit as a fiddle and ready for love, I can jump over the moon up above."  Complete with some dance like moves and jumping.  And this opened up another world of play, tipping Bigger's mattress against Littler's crib and trying to run up the wall like O'Connor in "Make 'Em Laugh."  Of course this devolved into dragging each other to the floor and sitting on each other while laughing hysterically.  Have I mentioned how we desperately need a yard? 

I for one am looking forward to Epiphany when we can take down the tree.  The boys I am certain do not share my feelings.  Many happy hours have been spent contemplating which ornament to pull on and yank off the tree next.  Thank goodness those shatterproof balls bounce.  When you step on them though it's another story. 

There has also been at least one swift Mama rescue needed for a little who got himself stuck behind the tree.  He was so not happy with Mama's decision to take a picture of his distress before getting him the heck out of there.  Those little branches are just a wee bit scratchy, ya know! 

But perhaps best of all for this Mama was the fact that she was not thrown up on once through the course of all this fun :)  Ahh, the little blessings in life. 

Process

The boys LOVE to paint.  They beg to paint.  They whine to paint.  They get all excited and jump up and down when I bring out the paints. 

Yet they don't really paint.  They're not into making pretty things or pictures of things. 

They get their hands into it and make as much mess as they can.  They smear it around.  They coat themselves in it.  And anything else they can reach. 

But they so love it. 

The rest will come, in time. 

In the meantime I am working on remembering that it is about the process.  Obviously not the product.  (That really is half an apple he is painting so intently, in case you're wondering.) 

The mess is worth it, right?

When to wake a sleeping baby

I am usually a believer in the wisdom of never waking a sleeping baby.  The WeatherMan definitely is.  However there are times when it has to be disregarded. 

This afternoon we all walked to the mall to pick up some paints and brushes for a project.  The boys hadn't napped so there was great potential for drama and we while had some all things considered it was a rather pleasant outing.  And the boys fell asleep in their strollers on the way home.  Around 4:30.  Yeah, that is so not a cool nap time.  DH thought we should keep walking a little longer to be sure they were asleep.  I told him that was great for the guy going to work the night shift and then sleep all day tomorrow.  (We have been having very early wakings and Mama is rather tired and a little cranky.) 

So we went home, turned on the white noise machine, and rolled their strollers into their bedroom. 

After DH left for work I hemmed and hawed about what to do with two napping(?) babies.  Best case scenario (?) they nap a couple hours and then are up till 2.  Worst case scenario (?)  they sleep their usual 10 hours and are up at 2:30.  I consulted my usual source for backing a decision I've already made and both my parents agreed it was best to do the unthinkable and wake them up. 

They woke up cranky (those early mornings are getting to them too.)  But it was a good thing I did.  The Little Guy had had a big nasty poop.  Like the gotta-clean-the-stroller kind.  Like I said, getting them up was a good thing.  We changed a diaper.  We watched some Veggie Tales.  We had a big ol' snack.  We read a book and snuggled on the couch.  And as soon as the Bigger One had his jammies on he headed straight to bed.  And tucked himself in.  So after a few more snuggles and a couple songs and tummy rubs they were in bed for the night.  And asleep by 7:20.  Leaving me able to watch The Big Bang Theory and have some quiet. 

Oh, and to enjoy the experimental brownies I made while they were napping.  :)  (Don't worry, they are only experimental in that I was trying to combine the conventional recipe and the Deceptively Delicious recipe.  It was a success :)  And soon I'll be off to bed where visions of turkey and roasted sweet potatoes and apples will dance in my head. 

Right now

I would really like the chance to write.  I would really like a break.  I would really like a nap. 

However, the boys are apparently boycotting naps.  It's still kinda early to tell but I "put them down" theoretically for a nap about 45 minutes ago and they are still going strong.  In fact, by the sound I just heard my guess is that Littler is climbing into the bathtub while Bigger goes potty.  Then he'll probably join the tubby festivities. 

Unfortunately they really cannot comprehend that with no nap they will not be running errands with Daddy later.  Because there is no way I'm sending them out to nap at dinner time in the car.  That would just be insane.  And the tragic part is that they have been told this and their answer was "but Mama..." 

No buts.  You will be so very sad later when Daddy goes out and you are stuck at home with boring mean old Mama who you have been with all day just because you refused to go to sleep.

It's a new day

After yesterday's difficult day this is a new day.  Even still it got off to a rough start.  Boys pushing and hitting.  And doing everything they were told NOT to.  Mama was so tempted to skip story time at the library.  As if she wants to deal with this craziness in public, where they can get into real trouble or worse get hurt if not listening.  But they needed to get out and burn some steam.  So somehow she got them all ready and out the door.  And took out the trash as long as they were going out. 

Of course story time was actually at 10:30 not 10 so the boys get half an hour to play and look for books before.  After Mama tried to look for a super special surprise DVD for them, one that they really love but they were restless and would not stay in the stroller.  And once they started hitting each other on the head it was time to go home.  So we checked out our books and hit the road. 

And Bigger passed out on the way.  Littler kept himself awake all the way home (Bigger let Mama get him out of the stroller, out of his coat, and into bed without waking up.)  Eventually Littler passed out too, once he was snuggled up with Mama and Daddy in their bed.  Mama got up once he was asleep and did her thing - not dishes or laundry or any of the other pressing housekeeping duties.  She eat lunch (including some rice pudding,) watched the start of a movie, worked on some notes, put a hold library  on Singing in the Rain, and even cast on for the start of project play food. 

Can you guess what piece of produce I'm working on? 

Littler slept for close to 2.5 hours and Bigger slept a whooping 3 hours!  Good Lord did they need that nap!  And now they are eating a "lunch" of frozen blueberries, almonds, and milk while Mama blogs on.  She is somewhat concerned that they will be up half the night after naps like that.  But yesterday's theatrics where partly a display of utter exhaustion.  Maybe now they are caught up.  With any luck everyone will be in better moods for a while. 

A Mama can hope, right? 

This is why...

we are more often than not days behind in the dishes.  And it's not just laziness, although I'll admit that that plays a part. 

 No, this is the real reason.  This is what happens when I try to actually accomplish anything. 
Here's another shot, a little context. 

While I attempted to wash the dishes, Littler pulled on the curtains on the right side.  Hard enough to pull the curtain rod out of the little holder-doohickey and bend the rod in the middle.  I used to swear that they would spill stuff in the living room just so I would have to vacuum and they could run to their bedroom and create mischief of one kind or another.  Yes, I really do think that a 3 year old and his trusty little brother sidekick can really pull that off.  And yes, this was one of those days. 

So on days like this all I can do is sit there while one boy takes over my lap looking at a picture book of Excalibur and his brother sits between my feet on the foot stool, pretending to drive his car and getting handfuls of gas from his rocking chair.  And I try to stay awake.  Until the reader catches on to the driving game and takes over the driver's seat while brother is refueling.  And we're off to the races again. 

This also explains why I have trouble losing weight.  They pull this stuff and after it's cleaned up I go into the kitchen and have some Halloween candy.  Today I topped the candy - I made extra rice for dinner so I could make rice pudding.  I substituted cut up dried apricots and cardamom for the raisins and cinnamon.  Yum!  And I can admit to the other reason my weight and I don't agree - yes, I ate almost half the pan standing at the kitchen counter.  (And true to form, a large portion of that large portion was while the boys were pulling more stunts while I tried to, you guessed it, wash the dishes.  They were taking the tops off their milk cups in the living room to give you an idea of some of our evening chaos.) 

Similar

Bigger is learning the concept of similar.  Sorta "one of these things is not like the others."  Here is our latest similarity - we had two trips this month to two different pumpkin patches.  The first was a warm, sunny day. 

And yes we had homemade ice cream.  Bigger had green (mint chocolate chip) and Littler had pink (strawberry.)  And Mama and Fava shared chocolate covered cherry - which was to die for.  Seriously, I'm drooling a little just thinking about it now.  



Our second pumpkin seeking mission was a cold, mucky day.  But it was no less fun.  Even without the ice cream. 

For one thing because there were animals. 

And a giant sandbox full of toys. 

And a ride on the tractor pulled wagon. 

And the end result -

Big change from Halloween 2 years ago when Bigger was scared to death of the pirate Potato Head pumpkin.  The boys are enjoying rearranging the faces.  Not sure how long they will last bring treated like that but the boys sure are loving it.  And thankfully the pumpkins, in the end, came from the grocery store where they were $1 each :)