Happy Halloween!

Halloween. What a great time for kids and adults. We picked up Marissa and her friend Devany from school and brought them home with us to get ready for the big trick or treat night. On our way home we stopped over at the co-op for their alternative halloween. The kids were not very excited about it (they were expecting to get some nuts and berries as treats) but we were all greeted with a big bag of yummy stuff that they all gobbled up right away. Mommy even got a bag :). They got balloons and their fortunes told, and experience they've never heard of (my kids at least). The kids all lined up with the other kids and we went on a costume parade walk down the street. We got pictures of all the kids dressed up together in front of the fire department and then went back to the co-op. They loved it. And later we went trick or treating in our neighborhood (see below).

Noah the firefighter and his loot

Parade

Fortunes told

After a good dinner for all of us we went trick or treating around the neighborhood. Ben and Hannah ran with the two older girls and they crossed the streets to cover more houses and get more loot. Noah and Ryan and most of the adults walked along one side of the street and that was plenty for us. On our way home we stopped in at one of our neighbors houses, they were having an open house for those they knew and we had some soup or chili and cupcakes. Noah got his drink of water-because he was SO thirsty- and the kids got to play with some of our neighbors' kids toys for a bit. We headed home and said good-bye to our cousins and Granny and GranDad. The kids went through their giant piles of candy and picked 15 pieces to keep. The rest went to the Great Pumpkin (read on below). :)

Ryan and Noah "trick-or-treat!"

Got some good stuff!!

All those costumed

Scary bunch

The Great Pumpkin is something we started about two years ago when we realized that there was way too much candy entering this house on Halloween night. It goes like this. The kids get to pick a number of pieces of their favorite pieces of candy (they have a hard time choosing because they don't know which candies they like. They don't get candy very often). Then they put their candies together in a big bowl, this year their candy fit into the largest Tupperware bowl (32 cups) we have, and we put it outside for the Great Pumpkin. The Great Pumpkin comes in the middle of the night and takes the candy but leaves each child with a present. This tradition is so much fun for the kids. They really enjoy it.

Whistles...

Hannah has started whistling around the house. It’s in addition to her singing and dancing. She's so full of song and movement! It's so neat to watch her teach herself new and different things.

Disappointment...

Ben got a new bike for his birthday but today he was disappointed. He was looking forward to riding his bike and using all the perks this new bike has. He wanted a kick stand, a water bottle holder and the bike to be bigger and with shocks. Well this bike was all that. As Daddy was adjusting it for his height, he realized that parts were missing and one part (don’t remember which) was bent out of shape. Daddy estimates about $100 in repair charges. So, Ben can’t ride the bike. He is sad and disappointed. It stinks because this person buys everything on clearance and doesn’t think about things like if it is missing parts, if it’s in good working and safe condition for kids. He just doesn’t think about things like that and we wish he would. So, we have to find a different bike for him. It’s a hard lesson for a kid but I think he’s more mature and understanding about this than we think.

Boo-thday Party...

We threw a double boo-thday party for Ben and Noah this afternoon. Costumes, treats, games and lots of fun was had. We made brownie cupcakes for Ben and vanilla for Noah. They decorated their own cupcakes with spiders on top. The games were a hit, well one is always a hit (not so healthy though). First game was doughnuts on a string. We had the kids put their hands behind their backs and try to eat the doughnuts off the string without holding them. It is hard to do and many of the kids couldn't do it. Another game was pin the nose of the pumpkin, they designed their own noses and then attached them on, pretty fun. Another game was the ghost hunt where the kids had to look for lollipop ghosts hidden all over the back yard. Fun and yum! I also made some bean bags that they tossed around to each other. That was fun too, not much structure nor many rules but they loved tossing those bags around. All in all it was a fun evening! Thank you to all who came!! Here are some pics.

Birthday boys
Stick the nose on the pumpkin
Bean bag toss
Characters
Doughnuts on a string



Grandpa and Myrlene

Ballet observation...

We had our once a semester time to observe Hannah's ballet class. It was adorable. We were all so excited to watch her in her class! We usually have to wait outside the door that usually gets closed, so we can't even peek in. Ben and Noah watched quietly and even participated on the sidelines. The girls did all kinds of different poses and exercises, taking turns going around the room walking in different ballet walks. The teacher kept asking them what different terms mean like "plier", "sauter"... The girls kept getting them confused with each other but that was OK, they still have time to learn. Hannah really enjoyed having us watch her in her class. She was so proud. Every time she would walk in front of us she'd be beaming with pride, smiles all over. She's really wanting to continue with the class and even wants to go twice a week next semester! Yay!

Ben and Noah being 'baskets' along with the class

And a little video of Hannah

Happy Birthday Noah!

Today is Noah’s 3rd birthday. He has been excited about this day coming up because he was being reminded every day by his brother and sister telling him the countdown to his birthday. We went to our regular Thursday playgroup and they played with friends. We brought vegan carrot muffins for everyone to enjoy (we didn’t want to leave anyone out), they are Noah’s favorite snack these days. He had a nice morning playing with friends and snacking on snacks. This evening he opened presents from us and absolutely loves his box of Lego guys and got to working on it right away. He’s 3. Time flies.

Opening his Lego men
Hannah playing with Handy Manny
A new pirate set

Nursing...

Yes, Noah is still nursing, yes it is painful now that I’m 6 months pregnant and has been so since day one of this pregnancy. Well, I’ve decided that when he is 3 years old that he needs to stop. I’m not the type of person who can tandem nurse. I know several Mama’s who have tandem nursed but I know myself. I’ve given it LOTS of thought and going back and forth because Noah is such a great nurser, I’ve never had any problems with nursing with him. This is not an easy decision to make.

Anyway, I’ve been telling Noah that when he’s three that he is going to be big enough that he doesn’t need to nurse anymore. I think I’ve said it enough that he won’t be shocked and upset. I also think he’s mature enough to understand. He’s only nursed to sleep for the last 6-7 months so it’s our last “nursie” until he’s done. Tonight the kids and Daddy got home from being at Nanny’s (while I teach my Bradley class) and Noah had fallen asleep. Daddy got him into bed (he was already changed into his pj’s) and that was that. No nursing.

I kind of feel weird about it because tomorrow is his birthday, he’ll be that magic age of 3 and he knows that he won’t be nursing then. I expected tonight to be the last night, maybe I’m caught off guard. So here’s the beginning to the end? I don’t know how things will pan out in the next few days, weeks or months. I’m really hoping that I am making the right decision.

Snuggle....

When I got up this morning Ben and Hannah were already up and snuggled on the couch together. They were cozy under a blanket, because it is getting to be chilly in the house in the morning! I caught them snuggling together. It's times like this that melt my heart. I'm so glad that they have each other. :)

Pom poms...

We hosted a 'crafty day' at our house today. This was for the homeschooling families in our field trip group who can make it, we plan to do it frequently but right now nothing is set in stone. Today we worked on pompoms. As it happened with our crafty day last time (a couple of weeks ago) the moms enjoyed the crafts while the kids played around the house and backyard. My kids were into it until the other family showed up. They just thought it was time to play. We're going to have to work on having a totally engaging activity that they want to do or find somewhere outside of my home away from distractions. I'll keep you posted!

The red one is Noahs and the black is mine

Painting pumpkins...

Just a quick little activity to get the kids’ Halloween jiggles out. On September 30th, Ben asked me when October was. I told him tomorrow is October 1st, and he said “Yay! We can start getting the Halloween stuff out!!” Oh boy, this is going to be a long month of Halloween questions!

Croquet...

Grandpa bought us a croquet set and it was the answer to Ben’s dreams. He loves it and gets it out regularly to play. Grandpa came over today to let us borrow some room in his truck for a dump run so Ben ran out and grabbed the croquet game. He set it up, tried to organize teams (didn’t work) and they were playing. It's a great game and all the kids love it. Sometimes they have a hard time with who hits how many times and losing...but I guess those are life lessons.

Quiet day...

Yesterday was Harry's last day with us and we are spending some quiet time at home today. I guess it's a bit like taking all the time to prepare for a party, hosting the party and then being tired after everyone leaves. A type of let down. The kids are all on their own doing different things in different areas of the house. We miss Harry but we knew it was only temporary :) We get to see him and his parents again in a week!

Farm trip...

On our homeschooling field trip this month we went to La Milpa Organica (as we did last year) and brought Harry along with us. My kids were looking forward to picking carrots from the field and learning more about farming. They want to live on a farm with chickens, goats, horses, cows and they want to grow our own food. Funny because that's what we want to do too. On our trip today we got to taste different greens that are grown on the farm. My kids tried just about everything but didn't come away with a favorite. Harry LOVED everything I handed him, he ate each one up. Some were mild, some lemony and tart and some were spicy and a little tough (for me) to eat. But Harry ate everything without flinching!

We waited for a little tour like we had last year around the farm but didn't get one, but that was OK we went and explored the farm. We found the carrots and picked a bunch each (we came home with a lot of carrots with 4 kids picking!). We found some onions and walked around to find the chickens and goats. The kids loved feeding the goats with the green tops from the carrots that we had just picked.

The kids loved jumping on the trampoline. The parents had started a 4 person on the trampoline rule but it didn't get listened to (see picture below).

On our way home from the farm I expected Harry to fall asleep but I didn't expect all FOUR kids to fall asleep! I had a nice and quiet drive home and even drove a bit longer so that they all had at least 20 minutes of sleep! I didn't think I could handle grumpy kids with such a busy morning, so I didn't mind driving a little extra. They all woke up as I pulled into the driveway (I'm so glad I made sure they slept a nice amount of time).

We had about 30 minutes before Hannah had to be at her ballet class and since they were all dirty from the farm I stuck them all in the bath. They loved it. They just soaked and got cleaner than they were! So it was a success. I'm pooped out.

Artists...

Today we got out the dusty paints. We haven’t painted in a long time but that is kind of good sometimes. The kids were so engaged in their painting that they took their time today and sat and did 3 paintings each! Harry preferred the water color and the rest of them really liked using the tempera paints.

Beans....

Ben helped me put together this bean mix. He had fun taking them out of their individual bags and pouring them into the container. Then he 'got his hands dirty' and mixed and mixed. It kept him busy for a long time...until Noah woke up.

I bought a little bit of each of the beans they carry at our local health food store and now they are ready to put together in a pot. Aren't they pretty?

Park day...

Harry is still with us for a few more days and today we went to the park. I have been taking walks with the kids every day, they ride their bikes and I ‘walk’ (more like run) along with them. Harry laughs while riding his bike, it’s almost an evil giggle, he haves so much fun going fast! And he loves to crash into Noah’s bike.

Today we went to the store down the street to get one thing and then we went to the park. They were so tired by the time we got to the park that we had to stay there for a while, so that they could rest a bit before we headed home. They love the park and got busy playing. The swing was the best part of the park today, everyone wanted to be on one of the two that are there.

Ben loves to climb...yes he's a monkey
Harry on the coveted swing

The crew
And off they go...

Busy day...

Pumpkin decorating
We went to Michaels today for their Knack activity. They were decorating pumpkins for $5 with all the decorations they could possibly imagine wanting to use. Anything anyone asked for (stuff to make hair, eyeballs, something to construct a nose) they went in to the store and brought it out. It was fantastic. The kids got creative and love their pumpkins. They’ll be on display at our house for anyone to view…anytime!





Soccer game
Ben had a soccer game after we went to Michaels and they won! It was a great game.

Eliza’s bday party
We went to one of the kids friend’s birthday this afternoon. Ben and Hannah don’t play with her that often, sometimes, but mostly Noah and Eliza play together. It’s cute how they run around and play at the park. Noah brought her a necklace that she absolutely loved. Her reaction was adorable. It was a great party at a playground, the kids ran around crazy, then had cake and ice cream. Yum! That was a great end to our very busy day!