Our Halloween has been a little under-whelming, considering that Trick or Treating isn’t even happening tonight.  I’m not complaining because Saturday really does work better for us, but still.  It snowed this morning so that prompted me to put on Christmas music all day long and then it rained and was really cold; I don’t know.  Didn’t feel like Halloween.  Lily celebrated at school and came home with some loot.  Thankfully, she didn’t have to dress up-just enjoyed a special day with mummy hot dogs for lunch and spider soup.  (Not real spiders, Momma, just plastic ones)

Since she had some candy from a neighbor and some more from a friend at school, after dinner, if she a good dinner, she could pick a piece for everyone to eat.  First off she chose for Sam (Dada loves candy), then Ollie, and she was pretty insistent on me having a piece too but I was not in the mood.  Then it came time to choose a piece for herself.  This is how that went down:

I could have chocolate or a Rice Krispie. But I don’t want licorice. Maybe you would like that.

Now, Momma, I just don’t know which one to have tonight.

The choice is so HARD to make!

SUCCESS!! Rice Krispie Treat! (Just kidding, she changed her mind AGAIN…) The winner: Tootsie Roll!

Happy Halloween, all!  Just a little reminder of what The Boy looked like last year when he turned 1:

Fast-forward a year and a few days, the big 2.0–he is like a totally different human being.  Except for having another vehicle in hand.  They keep getting bigger…

This morning Ollie greeted me with a “Silly Mommy”, climbing to get out of his crib with both his lovey and blankey.  He was very cuddly and warm.  Somehow we got downstairs undetected by anyone else in the little kid posse and I got to cuddle with him alone.  What a treat!

Ollie is such a talker these days; you can even understand most of what he says :-).  We read a little, we visited Dada and picked up Emmy (“Hold her!”), and came down to eat some Cheerios.  He would have preferred pancakes, but we have school today (YAY!) after being closed yesterday due to Hurricane Sandy and so that necessitates a quick breakfast.  He is also taking Lily’s lead in things:  helping to pick up, helping to create incredible messes, loving being read to, and becoming opinionated.  Where he used to cry a lot to communicate his wants, now he cries a little bit and TELLS you what he wants.  I often come upon him playing with trucks or in the play kitchen alone while Lily is at school.  Last week, while they played with PlayDoh, he sang “Happy Birthday” and it will melt you.  Such a sweetie pie, my Ollie Boy!

You are spectacular, my Boy! xoxoxo

If this continues, I may be well prepared for teenagers. Luckily, it is easy to laugh at 4 year olds.

After bedtime Lily crept downstairs for someone to help. “Just come up.”, she replied. Hmmm. The window was open, the screen was out, the blind was askew.

{heavy sigh}

“Lily, why did you do this?”

“No reason?”

It was the questioning tone that did it for me. Like she was hoping that was the right answer.

Indian summer, I suppose, if I follow the definition {summer like weather following the first frost}.  But today was the day–the last day before we dive straight into winter — at least into much, much colder weather.  I feel unprepared.  I haven’t had to grocery shop or drive in or bundle up kids (and self) for a long, long time.  Lily experienced winter in Cleveland once.  And as a new mom, I didn’t leave the house much with her in tow.  So, to send it off in a friendly way and hope summer hurries back, we played outside with shorts and swimsuits on, getting very very dirty.  The clouds are blowing in and a cold wind has started to find it way through the open windows.  Bring on the soups, the turtlenecks, the snowdays and the fireplace fires.  We will remember how to keep warm soon enough; I’ll learn how to clip everyone into carseats with thick jackets on.

This morning we went to North Park to a favorite playground we haven’t played on since the hot, hot weather in August.  It was a lovely morning.  When Lily and Ollie got bored with the slides and such, we walked over to an overpass that I thought might have a creek running under it.  It was more like a gross place you might find hobos living if  we were closer to the city (no, it wasn’t that bad but it wasn’t too nice, either).  They could have cared less.  Both of them played and got filthy.  Both were wet and muddy by the time I could get them to leave.  It was fun.

Back at home, while Ollie napped, Lily and I made pumpkin pie spice play dough.  When he woke up, we went outside and they played together in the dirt and leaves.  Until The Boys got home.  Then they played with those three until their baseball game start beckoned.

Goodbye, summer.  Hello, chilly fall.

This year we introduced hot dogs to both Lily and Ollie.  They had no idea what they were missing!  Now anytime it is on the menu, plates are cleaned.  The Sunday Jessica and Brent were scheduled to take off, we built a fire and roasted some dogs.  Delish!  Fires are so relaxing and entrancing.  Brent, however, stayed far away; he didn’t want to smell like a campout all the way back to CA.  Jess didn’t feel the same way 🙂  My hair smelled like fire until the next day, too.

Over the summer…

Lily Is:

• spirited
• opinionated
• high energy
• dancey
• tumbley
• thoughtful
• screechy
• silly
• loving
• lovely
• dramatic
• take charge
• fashion-forward
• observant
• delightful

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I feel like a failed person if I don’t get the requisite Fall Festival pictures.  I don’t know why I feel renewed in fall but I do.  Maybe not more than in spring but I feel like it is another new beginning and I have the energy to gear up for the Fall/Winter spiral of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So I get excited to take all sorts of pictures and attend the various festivals.  Its why I chose the weekend I did to go back to Birdsboro since the Apple Festival was going on.  It was a great bonus that Brent was there, too!  Hay Creek holds a special place in my heart.

School begins, the chicken corn noodle soup flows, the warm autumnal sun shines down in the hollow-I can picture it!  When I was in elementary school my Michael Jackson apple art was chosen to be displayed (Mom doesn’t remember this but I sure do!).  And Jesse and Becky met there one night after we graduated from hs.  Mark Arnold, Jesse, Becky, Lindy and I met up there and hung out with warm beer and hot candlelight. Wait, was Joe Breton there, too?  I forget.  Good times.  Anyway.  That was a round-about way to say I like Hay Creek and the festivals.  So, anyway, we went back to go to the Apple Festival.

But we didn’t get there…instead it seemed easier and more kid-friendly to go to Weaver’s Orchard.  But that was an ill-advised idea; it was packed and crazy built up.  Not what we thought it would be.  However, we decided to take pictures, enjoy the band and eat some ice cream.  I know two kids who did not complain one bit!

Roasting hotdogs with Grampa and Svea

Svea the Moose came along on a roadtrip with me last week! We went to visit my grandparents who live outside of Philadelphia. It took us nearly 5 hours to get there…but was it ever worth it! I love being with my Gramma and Grampa Hurley; when we lived in California, they were there, too and I got to see them nearly every day. Now it is more like once a month. We always do really fun stuff when we visit. My Uncle Brent and his girlfriend, Jessica, were there, too and my Great-Gramma. She just turned 90 so we had cupcakes to celebrate. One afternoon we wanted to do something new and fun, so the girls all decided to play a board game. This one was new to me: Clue. It is like a mystery that you have to solve. I was on a team with my Gramma–and Svea, of course. Another thing we do when we visit is spend lots of time out of doors with friends. My friends, Jim and Jean, live right down the road and they have chickens. One morning we stopped by and gathered eggs. Have you ever had fresh eggs? Yum! They are so delicious. Another day we drove to an orchard nearby with hayrides, pumpkin picking, and, my favorite, ice cream! As always, it was really fun for my Gramma to read to me before bed. I made sure that Svea and I always brushed our teeth, too. On our last day, Grampa built a bonfire and we made our lunch. Since it was grey and chilly, the fire kept us warm and cozy. What a nice visit we had. I’m so glad Svea could come, too!