This Is Halloween

The True Meaning of Halloween -

Costumes and Candy

Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice

Roman Legionnaire

BatDog

*special bonus costume

Dagny dressed up for school as a "typical teenager"

Ghosts Of Halloween Past

Picking what you're going to be for Halloween is a big decision. Dagny and Dane take dressing up very seriously, they start thinking about costumes and discussing options months in advance. I have very little to do with their decision making process, so when they decide to coordinate their costumes it literally brings a tear to my eye. (you know how I love matching) Even though they grew out of dressing as a pair, (we all knew the day would come) it's always interesting to see what costuming creativity they come up with.

Woody & Cowgirl Jessie

The Skywalker Twins

Lilo & Stitch

Arwen & Aragorn

Geisha & Ninja

Fairy & Hot Dog

San (from Princess Mononoke)

Calvin (from Calvin & Hobbes)

Fashion Faux Pas

I bought this cute pair of ballet flats the other day and I've been wearing them everywhere. They are the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever owned.

Today I was informed that my cute new ballet flats are actually bedroom slippers.

That would explain why they're so comfortable.

Where Does The Time Go?

This guy will be 12 tomorrow

October is my most hectic month. So much going on, so little time to blog about it. There will be lots of posts chronicling all the happenings around here, but first I have to celebrate Dane's birthday and put together some Halloween costumes, then I promise I'll tell you all about it.

More Than I Bargained For

I always wanted one of these

Now I have one of these

When you're pregnant all you can think about is that you're having a baby! You read all the books, buy all the tiny clothes, listen to all the advice on breast feeding and surviving sleepless nights... What nobody mentions to you is that what you're preparing for will last for about 5 minutes, sooner than you think precious babies turn into teenagers. There's a reason they start out small and cute, enjoy it while it lasts.

Gavin and Gwen

No, not that Gavin and Gwen

This Gavin and Gwen

We didn't set out to name our dogs after the Stefani/Rossdales, but it seems that we have. People think we named them after rock stars because we're just that cool, actually it was a coincidence.

The transition from one dog to two has been easier than we thought. Gavin has welcomed his daughter into his life with a great deal of patience and good will. They are absolutely hilarious together and watching them chase each other and wrestle around is quite entertaining. Having a puppy is a wonderful thing, I highly recommend it.

A Few of my Favorite Fall Things

Things I love about October

The search for the perfect pumpkin

Getting lost in the Corn Maze

Pumpkin carving (Steve is the best)

The Boy's Birthday

Ho'ike

Dressing up for Halloween

"Sharing" the trick-or- treat loot

I also love the weather, fall sports, flannel pajamas, cute sweaters, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, colorful falling leaves, pumpkin pie, Halloween decorations, and candy corn.

Tactical Error

For reasons that I do not understand, Dane's socks always have holes in them. Expensive socks, cheap socks, it doesn't matter, he manages to rip holes in them. It's like his socks are disposable; he wears them, a hole appears, I throw them away. It's terribly wasteful, and the crafty homemaker inside me always thinks that there must be something that I could to do with all those holey socks.(dust rags, a quilt, sock monkeys?) While folding laundry one day I was, as usual, making a pile of socks to throw out when I looked down at Gavin and was struck by inspiration. I tied a couple of socks together and gave them to Gavin, he loved it! He chewed on them, played tug-o-war, slept with them... He was happy and I was feeling very smug about turning old socks into free dog toys. My smugness didn't last long. Now that Gavin thinks socks are toys putting on socks has become an adventure. When you have socks in hand intending to put them on your feet, guess who thinks you're playing with him? Oops.

Quarantine

We have been decimated by the flu that Dagny brought home and shared with the rest of us. As far as the flu goes, it could be a lot worse (I've had to reassure Dane that he does not have the "swine plague") but we are unaccustomed to being sick, especially all at the same time. I have been lucky to have uncommonly healthy kids. They usually get sick about once a year and that's it. I tend to get sick more often, but as you know, mothers aren't allowed to be sick. There is still laundry and dishes to do and people to feed; the responsibilities don't go away just because you're at death's door. This time around it was a little bit different, my kids are old enough to fend for themselves, I was allowed to be just a little bit sick.

Steve and Dagny are very independent people, and that doesn't change when they're sick. They don't like to be babied or have things done for them, they don't even want you to bring them a drink, they like to do it themselves.(lucky for me, huh?) Dane and I are different, we like people bringing us things and taking care of us.(we're quite a pair)

Since Saturday night all the four of us have done is watch movies and football, eat popsicles and sleep. Being the hunter gatherer that he is, Steve would occasionally make a foray out into the world to procure more popsicles and Hot and Sour soup, other than that we have been under quarantine. It's difficult for us Type A's to be sick; Dagny is freaked out about missing school and dance, Dane is worried about missing football, Steve is frustrated by his lack of energy, and me, I'm freaked out about all their stuff plus mine. I've been told to just let it all go and allow myself to be sick, thereby letting myself heal. That's easy advice to give, but not easy to take when you have the Mt. Everest of laundry at the foot of your bed.

*notice how I didn't include any pictures of the sick people? You're welcome.

Introducing...

The newest member of the family

Gwendolyn

Isn't she just too cute? Gwen is totally irresistible, she is feisty and funny and she has all of us wrapped around her adorable little paw.

Grace And The Gridiron

Over the weekend we went straight from this

To this

*Dane is # 64, he's the center and the place kicker.