Halloween fun

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The trick-or-treating is done. The bags are full of candy and the costumes have been discarded along with all kinds of candy wrappers. The kids are jumping all over the place hoping more trick-or-treaters will come before bedtime.
Elias and Hannah took to trick-or-treating like old pros. They both loved seeing all the pumpkins on porches and especially loved picking out candy when allowed. Maya dressed up as Hannah Montana, complete with a blond wig, Elias was a friendly pirate and Hannah was a forest elf. We skipped make-up this year but they were all as cute as can be.
Hannah did see her first scary costume - the grim reaper with a skeleton face and a vampire with our first trick-or-treaters, she took off across the room screaming and crying. I guess I forgot to prepare them for the scary aspect of Halloween.

Cooperative Kids

This is one thing you can do in a clean living room.

I was hit, big time, by Strep this past weekend. I thought is was just a virus until my throat swelled up and ibuprofen wasn't doing anything to help. So I got some oral pain meds and a shot of penicillin and I started feeling better, though I was exhausted all weekend. I tried really hard not to pass it on to the kids though Elias started coughing this morning at breakfast. We'll have to wait and see.
I had planned to get some pumpkins to carve, instead our weekend consisted of us staying home and the kids entertaining each other. I am actually really proud of how well they played together this weekend. Saturday morning I told them they all needed to help clean the living room and the family room and that if I heard any complaining they would have to clean the extra room in the basement. Right away Maya volunteered to clean the basement and convinced Elias and Hannah that it would be fun. I brought down a load of laundry and Maya brought some music and a CD player. We got the room clean in about 10 minutes (including vacuuming). Then the kids stayed down there playing some game they made up with Hannah's little bike thing. Later we got the family room and living room cleaned and vacuumed without any complaining from anyone! They then proceeded upstairs to play with their toys! Whose children are they? They hardly ever go upstairs to play unless they can convince me to go along. Maybe I should get sick more often.
The kids have decided on costumes for Halloween tomorrow but we haven't done any pumpkin carving, I just couldn't get out of the house to go buy any pumpkins. We'll save that for next year. We do have candy to give out, tonight we're going to practice magic and turn lollipops into ghosts. Have fun trick-or-treating.

What's New Around Here

I've been frustrated with my camera lately. I have been having problems uploading pictures to the computer for awhile but I finally got some uploaded today. We have had some changes around here in the last few weeks. First we got a cute little cat named Bootsie. We brought her home Humane Society one Saturday in September. I took all three kids there with the intention of looking for a cat to adopt. I had found a few online that I thought might be okay. Bootsie was not on my list but apparently she thought she should be. Maya was looking at all the cats and Bootsie stuck her paws out of her cage as Maya went by, causing Maya to stop and look at her then declare that this was the cat she wanted. We spent a little time with Bootsie and Maya was sold on her so we brought her home. She is a very affectionate, petite 1-year-old kitty, she loves sitting on laps and tolerates all kinds of hugs, kisses and being carried around by the kids.

I started back to work last week. A new adjustment for Elias and Hannah, sleeping at Grandma and Grandpa's house. In addition Hannah started going to daycare in September to prepare for me going back to work. She loves daycare but lately has tried producing tears, clinging to me and crying as loudly as possible to get me to not leave her there. Of course she stops carrying on once she thinks I am gone. I actually heard her stop her crying one day on my way out the door, so I know it is all for my benefit. She and I go to ECFE once a week. I have found it nice to talk with a group of women going through the "twos" right now too. It's also nice to see Hannah cheerfully interacting with other kids.

Earlier this week Elias lost his first tooth and got 50 cents from the Tooth Fairy. He is very proud of losing his tooth and called Grandma and Grandpa right away to give them the good news. He had his last soccer game last week and was sad that he won't be able to play on a team again until next year. Elias is never sad for long, right now he is plotting how to spend all his money.

I took Maya and Elias to conferences at school on Monday. Basically they told me that Elias loves school and is always smiling. Sounds familiar enough, he is always smiling at home too.

Maya is getting into the swing of things at school and even doing her homework at home without too much complaining. She has really taken off with her reading and has started reading to the other kids once in a while. She is still swimming at the U once a week and we all go to Girl Scouts twice a month. (I'm one of the leaders again this year). I think Maya is actually enjoying not being so scheduled this year as she has more time to just play.

Going Potty

Hannah's not wearing a diaper today. Even though she has been able to use the potty since she arrived home she won't tell me when she needs to go even when she is wearing panties. So today she's bottomless under her dress. No accidents yet and I'm not even reminding her to go she just goes in the bathroom and sits on her little throne. At one point I checked on her and was reminded of a scene from Ethiopia. On that particular day when we arrived at the care center to pick up our children all the toddlers were sitting on potty chairs all lined up outside near the back door. I had look twice before I spotted Hannah. She was sitting minding her own business until she saw me. Then she was all smiles and wouldn't take her eyes off me. I had only known her a few days and already she was happy with my presence and only wanted more of me. Today when she saw me looking at her she made silly faces and laughed but still wouldn't take her eyes off me.

Getting Bigger

Being silly for the camera

Last week I took Elias and Hannah to the MD for another round of shots. It had been about 6 weeks since their last visit and the pediatrician wanted to see how they are growing. Well, I got proof that I wasn't imagining things when I thought they had both gotten bigger. Hannah has grown one inch and gained 2 pounds and Elias grew one inch and gained 4 pounds. This would explain why clothes are fitting better, Hannah's pants are not sliding off her any more and Elias actually grew out of a couple pairs of pants and a shirt or two. They are still both on the very small side for their ages though. I did hear from a family in Wisconsin who adopted a sibling group of 4 from Ethiopia last year, all of their kids grew 4 inches and gained anywhere from 5-15 pounds. I have high hopes for my two.
I think Maya has been growing also. She put on a pair of pants the other day that were about an inch too short, they had fit her just fine last spring. I measure everyone on a wall in the kitchen last week. Maya had grown about 1.5 inches since last spring, that explains the pants.

In other news. Elias likes school. Saturday morning he was a little sad that he couldn't go to school that day. He did have soccer that morning so his disappointment didn't last long. We stayed busy the rest of the weekend with a party where all the kids got toys, dinner at Playland McDonald's, and a trip to the Children's Museum. Maya loved showing her brother and sister around the Children's Museum, the permanent exhibits of the ant hill, construction zone and the entire Our World room were the favorites.

Hannah started ECFE yesterday. We will go once a week now. She did well for a first day and ended up dancing around by the last song we sang. She especially enjoyed the play dough and the ball ramp. The teacher pulled out a jingle sheet (on old Winnie the Pooh sheet with jingle bells sewn on here and there) the kids used it like a parachute and laughed the whole time. The best part about ECFE was the racial mix, we have a Somali girl, a Latin American boy, an East Indian or maybe Sri Lankan girl and then Hannah. The other 6 kids are Caucasian, everyone was there with their mom. How nice for all the kids to have such great diversity in their weekly playmates.

Hannah has a fun hair-do

First Day of School

Yesterday was Maya and Elias' first day of school. Maya got on the bus without a hitch and I drove Elias to school. I could tell that Elias was nervous but I know he'll love being around other kids all day. I didn't drag out my good-bye to him, I could tell he was getting upset. So after a quick hug and kiss I left him in the care of his very capable teachers. I made a quick stop on my way out to wave to Maya and remind her to look for Elias after school at the buses. Hannah and I waited at the bus stop for the kids after school. Elias got off the bus with a huge smile on his face. Both kids took the bus to school this morning.
Hannah and I have been hanging out looking at each other and laughing. We are both a little shocked at the quiet and calm around here without the other two. We've read tons of books, made bread, and colored pictures. Unfortunately we can't walk to the park to play because Hannah has the chicken pox so the back yard will have to do for now. Hopefully she'll get better soon.

Traveling

Earlier this week I took the kids to Duluth for the day to visit a family whose kids I used to babysit for. The oldest in that family just graduated from high school and is starting college now. How did that happen? Twelve years went by way to fast.
While in Duluth we visited one of my favorite beaches in Duluth, the flat rock beach, also known as Brighton Beach. The little kids got to see the big lake and throw rocks in the water. Elias amazed us all with his throwing arm, he could pitch them farther than I can. Then the kids decided to stick their feet in. Soon their feet turned into halfway up their legs, then both Elias and Hannah slipped and ended up sitting in the water. By the time we left they were both soaking wet but had huge smiles on their faces. Lake Superior was a hit. Later we toured my old neighborhood and I commented to the kids on all the changes. Maya was the only one listening, she loves hearing stories from my childhood. We had a great time on our trip and the kids were great travelers.
The last couple of days we have enjoyed spending more time outside in the cooler weather. Elias had his first soccer practice, he was timid at first but ended up running around the field with a big smile on his face. Then we all played on the playground. Hannah had her first ride in a swing. She loved it and soon learned the words "push please mommy". She also proved to be quite fearless on the twisty slide and the tunnel slide. Elias and Maya had fun in the pool yesterday, creating a water slide and later hurdling themselves over the side of the pool. Today we will search out more fun things we can do right in our neighborhood.

Word of the Day

Hannah's word of the day today is "Eataco" to which I reply "No, eat Hannah" then proceed to eat, kiss and tickle her all over. She melts into a fit of giggles then starts all over, "Eataco".