Happy Halloween

As usual, it's been busy around here.

Amy wasn't feeling well one day, I think she was just overly tired. She and Will were curled up together. For the most part- they are so sweet to each other. It's fun to watch.

Sunday after church, Amy and I decorated cupcakes. Lee and Will took and nap, and Tyler drooled over them. I know he's dying to dig into fun things like cupcakes. I love doing things with my girl!

Monday night, Lee worked late so the kids and I carved our pumpkins. Well, I should say that Amy and I did.

Will refused. What is it with boys and the insides of pumpkins?? Amy said, "Will, it isn't yucky." And he said, "Yes it is." Then she said, "Look, it's like beans." His eyebrows went up, his eyes sparkled for moment, "Beans?" Then said, "No it's not." Amy was funny, she said, "Darn, I thought that would trick him."

I used stencils this time.... but on Amy's (the one on the left) I got distracted and cut out the wrong part. It's supposed to be an owl. Amy was ok with it. She said it still looked good. Thanks Amy!

When we tried them out, I couldn't find any candles. So I rumpled up paper and lit it. Amy then gave me a lecture on fire safety and how "crumpled paper catches fire easily so we don't play with it and fire together." Darn safety week at school.

That night was an interesting one.... everyone got sick!! Tyler ended up with a fever and we are still trying to figure some things out with him. Will woke up with a runny nose and we immediately started pouring Tylenol down his throat to avoid a seizure. (Which, thankfully he never had). Even Amy woke up a few times. So needless to say, we didn't get much sleep.

Tuesday I took Tyler to the Doctor and by the time I was done with that, it was time to get Amy from school. Lee worked late again and I gave the kids baths.... I still put Amy and Will together and they typically flood the floor. I'm used to it and honestly, its nice that it gets mopped at least once a week. That's more than I'd mop it on my own. Well, this particular night, I was dealing with a sick Tyler and when I went to get them out... they were bragging about their newest "find." Wet toilet paper.

So, high on all the walls, door and shower were clumps of wet toilet paper they had thrown up there. I was so tired that all I could do was take a picture and laugh on the inside. Got them out of tub, somewhat cleaned up the bathroom and got everyone in bed. It was another sleepless night as not a single child slept. It was musical beds again and a lot of early morning child interactions. Tyler was so stuffy that he couldn't nurse, I felt so badly for him. So I pumped some milk, got out the medicine dropper and fed him like that. It actually worked. The poor thing gulped it down and then finally fell asleep. (Linda's husband tried this technique a few weekends ago (when she came with us to Time Out) and their baby wouldn't take a bottle. It worked for them. Even though I teased her about it, I filed it away in my memory and I'm glad I did!)

So we are onto Wednesday- Lee and I have not slept in 2 full nights, and I have only had a few 20 minutes crashes on a couch, holding Tyler and maybe another child.

Late last night I remembered that Amy was supposed to dress up as a letter. They had each grade level dress up as something different.... periodic table elements and some other things- I can't remember now. Anyhow- Kindergarten was a letter. I dug out her costume from last year, took off the tail and eyes (she was a chameleon) and this morning I used tape to put a "Y" on her front and an "A" on her back. Of course, letter obsessed Will was all for this and insisted his own "Y" and an "E" on his back.

She didn't want an "M" anywhere.

This afternoon, I was scheduled to help out with Amy's class party. I was exhausted, but I went and felt fine once I got there. Thankfully Lee was able to come home and stay with the boys. I had planned on taking them.... until they got sick. And I certainly didn't want to bring them to someone else's house sick.

We had several stations and the kids were divided into groups of 3 and then rotated in them. There was bowling, bingo, mummy wrapping, frankenstein hands (I'll explain in a minute), a craft and cookie decorating.

Amy wrapped like a mummy and sitting in my station (frankenstein hands).

Such a pretty girl!

Frankenstein hands- My friend, Kelli Musick gave me this idea.... you put a little vinegar in a cup. You then let the kids decorate a rubber glove and then put a spoonful of baking soda in it. You place the end of the glove over the cup and let the baking soda dump into the vinegar. The gas that it produces makes the glove inflate. They all LOVED it!! It was the best idea!

Treat bag full of stuff

The eye patches were well received.

It was a lot of fun being there. I just love it. Afterwards, the room mom and Amy's teacher and I chatted for a little while and that was fun too. I really like Mrs. Bradley. She's just that kind of person you know could be your friend.

When Amy and I got home from that, Lee gave me this bucket from our friends Josh and Gladys. Seriously, this girl gives us a gift before I even realize a holiday is going on. She's so awesome. I used to do things like that- one day I'll be organized enough to reciprocate. And the bucket was adorable. Only the kids thought so too and it was taken apart before I could get a picture. She is just SO thoughtful.

In it were these wooden picture things that the kids immediately wanted to color. Will kept calling his a "robot" and carried it everywhere.

Amy's was a cat

Then it was time for trick or treating. By this time, I'm starting to feel miserable... no sleep is catching up to me and my head is spinning, my nose is stuffy and my throat is sore. Tyler is still sick and fussy. We can't find all of Amy's costume. So I finally convince her to wear half of one and the other half of another. Will is refusing to put any of his costume on and Lee (who is also exhausted) really doesn't want to take them trick or treating, but would rather do that then stay with sick Tyler and hand out candy. So everyone parts. Candy is handed out. A short while later the kids and Lee return. He said they've had enough and got scared. Apparently several neighbors had creepy things in their yards. Anyhow, the kids got on their pajamas and wanted to help hand out candy.

They were actually great helpers and we never ran out of candy. That's never happened before! Thank you Amazon for having such low prices and shipping it right to my door. I managed to get out my fog machine and Amy loved pressing the button everytime someone came to the door. Will would hold about 10 pieces of candy just waiting for someone to ring the doorbell. It was cute. I think they liked that better than actual trick or treating!

Anyhow- we got them to bed... they were scared so we moved one of the blacklights (yes, I have those too) into their room and told them it killed monsters. It seemed to work as they both fell fast asleep. Thankfully, Tyler went down as well and now so did Lee. I'm next.

We hope you had a Happy Halloween!