Halloween

Well, I am going to get up on a soapbox. I hope you just bear with me and don't take this personally. Today is Halloween and I must admit that this is one "holiday" that we don't get too excited about. We did buy the girls costumes - only because we were going to go up to church for the fall party - also the girls can use their costumes for dress-up. I am not a big fan of Halloween because of its origin. According to Wikipedia "The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them."

Honestly that is not something that I care to be a part of. I realize that most people don't even know the history of Halloween and just see it as fun - and that is fine. Untill this year - Norah didn't know (or care) what witches or ghosts were. I was okay with that. Now I have to explain to my innocent 3 year old "why that mommy wants her child to be something scary - like a witch." Or as we go for a walk in our neighborhood (actually, when we look out the window) I have to explain why people want scary things outside of their house.

I also don't understand the trick or treating thing (we never did this growing up - and none of us cared either way). Why, in a country of EXCESS, do we send our children to other people's houses (people we don't know) begging for food? Ummmm - there are children in this world who are STARVING!!!!

Don't worry - we don't ruin the fun for others. We do pass out candy - so far we have had 112 trick or treaters. Like I said, the girls have costumes. We ended up not going to church for the festival, though, because the girls were incredibly tired. We went to Kevin's office and Norah had a party at school.

My point is that I would rather celebrate life and peace - not death, witches & ghosts. I would rather give money or food to those who can't even put food on their table - than candy to children who already have more than they need. It is only Halloween that I don't like. I absolutely love fall - enjoying the colors in a world that only God could create.

I guess this could be an early Thoughts for Thursday post.

What do you think about Halloween? Did you 'celebrate' as a kid? Anyone have the same feelings as me? What did you do tonight for Halloween? What do your kids think of the scary costumes or scary decorations?

Uh-oh

So I've been trying something with Lucy that we learned at the Love & Logic Parenting Seminar we are attending. It is called the Uh-oh Song. Every time she steps on the bricks of the fireplace, I say (in a sing-song voice) "Uh-oh, time for a little playpen time. So sad." Then I put her in the pak 'n play that I put in the dining room. I have done this about 15 times today. The first couple of times Lucy just laughed and then waited for the minute or 2 until I got her out. Now when I pick her up from the fireplace she says "uh-oh" and then hugs me as tight as she can. I have to peel her off of me. Then as I set her in the pak 'n play she says - so sad - which comes out "doh dah." Then she fusses for about a minute - once she stops, I give her a minute of calm and then I get her out. I don't know if this technique will work, but I am going to stick with it for a couple of days. We'll see.

She doesn't look to unhappy, does she?

Sleep

Praise God for a GREAT night of sleep!!

Starbucks

Ok, so those of you who know me well, know that I am a Starbucks addict (don't worry - I don't have ANY caffeine after like noon - see post below). Today, Lucy had a minor accident - she tumbled down the stairs. I took her to the doctor - just in case - she is fine. While we were there I decided to get the girls' flu shots. Since I totally sprung this on Norah at the last second - she was not happy. I told her that we would have some hot chocolate when we get home to cheer her up. She gets her flu shot and I said, "Let's go home and make some hot chocolate." Norah begins screaming (she had just calmed down from the shot) and says, "You said we were going to Starbucks! I want a Starbucks hot chocolate!!" I have obviously created a monster. (We also pretend play Starbucks).

No Guarantee

So my plan of not making Norah nap and putting her to bed early - not so great. Yes, she did fall asleep right away. However, around 11:30 I woke to BOING, BOING, BOING. I went into her room and she was JUMPING! I told her to lay down and go to sleep - it is still night time. I go back to bed, fall back to sleep (which is an accomplishment in itself since I have been dealing with insomnia for about 2 months now) and I wake up at 12:30 a.m. to BOING, BOING, BOING. She was jumping again!!! This time, I went into her room and laid her down and walked out. I think she fell back to sleep pretty quickly. I, on the otherhand, was awake until 2. So, now I am EXHAUSTED! Norah woke up with a cold - which for her means extra breathing treatments. So, we will try to get in 4 today.
I am going to remember Isaiah 40:31 "Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord with renew their strength. They will run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint."

So I guess this is a good Thoughts for Thursday topic. Do your kids do crazy things in the night? Do they still nap at 3 1/2? How about insomnia - anyone been there? If so, any suggestions!!

Ahhhh. . .

It is just after 7:00 and the girls are asleep. Yes, that's right, asleep. It was one of those days - no nap for Norah and just a little cat nap for Lucy. They were both crying and whining all evening - so off to bed for both girls.

I am struggling with the whole nap thing for Norah. Monday, she napped for about 2 hours - she seemed exhausted so I let her sleep - but then she didn't fall asleep until after 9. Yesterday, I woke her after about an hour - she didn't fall asleep until after 8:30. I know that may not seem like a big deal to some people, but we like our kids going to bed at an early time - 7 or 7:30. Today, I didn't make Norah sleep - she just had a rest time or play time in her room and as I said she could barely make it to 7. I can't seem to find a happy medium. Maybe a nap every couple of days will work - who knows. If you have any suggestions - I would love hear them!!

I know it has been awhile since I last posted and we have actually been pretty busy. I won't bore you with all the details - just a few pictures.

Friday - My Little Pony Live with Norah and her friend, Kate

Late Friday night - Max, Denise, and Contessa came to town

Saturday morning - Playing with sweet little Contessa

Saturday afternoon - Will's birthday party

Sunday - Church & Kevin's parents came to town

Monday - School for Norah, I went to the gym and grocery while Kevin's parents played with Lucy

That's it in a nutshell.

7 random thoughts.

Several friends have taken their turn - so I thought I would take my turn at 7 random thoughts.

- Quiet - girls are both alseep! Ahhhh!

- Perfect temperatures - we sat outside for dinner! It was perfect!

- Laundry - now that our dryer is fixed, I better get busy.

- Miracles - Beth Moore Bible study week 3 - Miracles do still happen!

- Birthdays - My nephew, Will, turns 1 on Saturday! I can't believe it!!

- Baking - Norah wants to bake cookies! Like mother, like daughter.

- Silliness - A new favorite for Lucy is to dump the blocks, climb in the basket and tip herself over!!!

Chicago

Kevin, the girls and I travelled to the Windy City this weekend. We were busy every moment of the weekend - but we had a great time. On Thursday afternoon we drove to Morton (about the halfway point) to spend the night. We didn't want the girls to be tired and whiny upon arriving in Chicago, so we decided to drive the second half on Friday morning.

When we got to Chicago we immediately went to my brother, Rick's, apartment. He has been in Chicago for about a year and this was our first visit. We got a tour of his apartment, but headed out pretty quickly because we were all hungry and his place wasn't baby-proofed (what single 26 year olds is?). He took us to a restaurant called The Pick Me Up Cafe. It was a cool, trendy place - with only 1 highchair and 1 booster. Thankfully, Norah refuses to sit in a booster - this booster was DISGUSTING!! No kids menu - so Norah had a $7 grilled cheese, of which she ate maybe 3 bites. Lucy had scrambled eggs - no idea how much that cost because we had to special order them. My food was great! In the middle of lunch, Lucy decided to fill her diaper and she smelled bad - of course, no place to change her except back in the car 2 blocks away.

From lunch we head to the Shedd Aquarium. Oh, first we need gas - we have less than a gallon left - Rick informs us that there aren't any gas stations as we drive closer toward downtown. We head the opposite direction and see a sign for $2.97 - not bad. Oh, wait, you have to purchase a car wash to get that price. Our REAL price was $3.17. Not bad for some, I'm sure, but I got gas at home the day before for $2.45. I see why Rick drives a Hybrid.

We had fun at the Shedd. The girls love the HUGE fish tank in the middle of the Shedd. Norah was anxious to see the baby beluga whales and the dolphins. We watched the dolphin show - as adults we thought is was great. The girls got a little tired of the waiting and talking, but loved watching the dolpins jump and flip. Lucy kept clapping her hands and squealing.

After we dropped Rick off we headed to our hotel to get settled and swim - oh no, the pool is closed for renovations. Thankfully, Norah never asked to swim. We ordered a pizza and put the girls to bed. My girls are usually in bed between 7 and 7:30, Friday night it was closer to 9 before they were asleep. We had a 2 room suite. The girls slept in the front room - Lucy in the pack 'n play and Norah on the pull out couch. They are not used to sleeping in the same room so they giggled and giggled.

Saturday morning, after my Starbucks run, we headed out to visit our friends, the Stubbs. They have to boys, Josiah & Nathaniel. The girls enjoyed running around, playing with friends, and playing with real toys. Norah and Josiah ran in circles around the house - playing football. Yes, you read that right our little princess was playing football - well, sort of. She was really just chasing Josiah - while Kevin and Josiah tossed the ball around. We enjoyed some Chicago style pizza before we headed back to the city.

We picked Rick up and headed to the Chicago Children's Museum on the Navy Pier. The girls loved it! There was so much to do and everything was very interactive. After walking around the Navy Pier for awhile, we went to Olive Garden for dinner. Rick got a kick out of hanging out with the girls, but he doesn't think he wants to have kids.

We left for home this morning around 9:30, made a couple of stops, and got home about 3:45. The girls did GREAT!! Lucy napped before lunch and Norah napped a little after lunch. Thank goodness for portable DVD players. We are usually very strict about how many movies the girls watch in the car (usually 1 movie per trip over 2 hours), but today we let them watch 2 movies, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Meet Strawberry Shortcake.

The girls were exhausted when we got home because they hardly napped at all and went to be late each night. Lucy was in bed by 6 and Norah 6:30. Both fell asleep instantly.

We had fun, but with a 1 1/2 year old - a weekend was more than enough!

Playing Catch-up

Not a whole lot going on here. Norah had school and dance this week - her friend, Savannah, joined her dance class! Norah is very excited about that! She still loves school - we are so thankful for that. Lucy doesn't seem to know what to do without Norah. Playing with Mommy isn't as fun as playing with her big sister!!
Wednesday, after school, the girls and I met my friend, Cherie and 2 of her kids, Macy and Dawson (they are on cycle break) at the park. Norah loves playing with Macy (I think she's 8). Macy was very sweet to play with Norah - she will make a great babysitter someday!
Thursday morning we headed to the Diehl's to visit baby Jack. He was born on Sept. 26. He is a cutie - just like his brothers!!
Friday, the girls and I just hung out at home. I tried to do some laundry and clean a little, but I also just played with the girls! I am so thankful to be at home with them!
This morning we went to a birthday party at Fort Zumwalt Park. The girls had a blast, but were more than ready to crash in their beds when we got home!
The rest of the day should be just hanging out and relaxing!!!!!