Happy Halloween!

What a day! Lily had a Walk-a-thon at school today. The kids got to wear their Halloween costumes and run walk or dance as many laps as they could to raise money for the school. Afterwards they had a class party with treats and games. They got to decorate sugar cookies with frosting and all kinds of toppings.

Martin took today off work so he picked Lily up from school and was in charge of getting her face paint ready. He did an amazing job! So cute! Then they got started Trick-or-Treating and I met up with them after I got off work. We didn't get home until almost 9 o'clock- after many stops and way more candy than we really need in our house. I can't believe she was even still standing after all that.

Last night we were finally able to carve the pumpkins. Of course the girls both wanted the same design- a scary looking werewolf thing- so I guess the copier/printer Martin got the other day for $15 actually has come in handy. I would have loved to have spent more time on mine but I had to bake several dozen cookies for the class party and after my long weekend away scrapbooking I just didn't have it in me to be much more creative. Still fun though.

It wasn't our year to have Kendra on Halloween- and it being a school night totally understandable. Lily said it was the best day ever and I agreed- but then she said it was only almost the best day because we were missing somebody... I can't wait to see the pictures of Kendra's pretty princess costume she picked out though and I hope she had lots of fun with her mom. We'll see her again this weekend for the 3rd Story Drama class which both girls are absolutely loving so far.

Sometime this week I hope to load some pictures of the scrapbook pages I worked so hard on over the weekend. I had fun getting away and it was nice being on the beach- but it was a pretty intense two days of crafting. I was very glad to get home and with Halloween over I hope to get a little rest. That's probably wishful thinking though.

6 months later

Last April about mid month, Lily went to her dentist for her normal check up. On the x-rays that day they found some surface level cavities. Since then it has been a 6 month ordeal to get those cavities taken care of. I've been dealing with appointments, consultations and rescheduling all while attempting to work around Lily's extreme anxiety when it comes to going to the dentist at all.

Today was the completion of all that hard work and frustration. She finally got the cavities filled but unfortunately after six months they turned into much more work than originally anticipated. It is so incredibly frustrating. I understand we had some unique situations but my six year old had a ROOT CANAL and cap put on a tooth that six months ago could have been easily filled. I can't completely blame the dentists or anything. Really, Lily's anxiety put the whole thing in motion which no one but her can control.

Based on some of the x-rays from today though- this is really only the beginning of the road. They found some issues with her first permanent molars coming in improperly (I can't think of the term right now) that are butting against her baby teeth and ruining them. Essentially they could "self correct" but the baby teeth are doomed to a decay we just can't prevent. It also means that braces are very likely in her future to make sure all of her teeth come in properly.

So I was hoping to today was it...but it looks more like the beginning of a long road.

Friday Fragments

Concept idea from Scientific Nature of the Whammy.

Friday Fragments are all the things that happen in between the blog posts...that don't quite add up to a blog post in and of themselves...or basically What's up Wednesday? except on Friday.

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This weekend both girls are signed up to start a 4 week Story Drama Class on Saturdays. The class will feature (from their flier) "a different book every time, where we will explore the world of the story, meet some of its characters, and work together to help them solve their problems." Three of my friends are putting it on together so we're super excited. PLUS! Martin and I are going to have a coffee date while the girls participate...lucky us!

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We are keeping Martin's mom Jody in our thoughts right now. She is now in need of more care than her sister can provide at her home in South Bend. We're hoping to spend a little time down there before she has to be moved into a facility. The upside is that she may be placed much closer to us to allow us to visit more often. Down side is it will be a major adjustment for all of us and more than likely a difficult transition for her. 

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I am going away for a scrapbook get-together next weekend. I will be gone for 2 nights...and I'm leaving Martin in charge of both girls! I am looking forward to the time away and the chance to get crafty but I will be missing out on some Halloween fun. He's taking the girls to a Harvest Carnival and they will be carving their pumpkins. It will be good for all of them to keep busy though. Lily keeps asking if they have to have popcorn for dinner again like they had last time when I was gone. Trying not to worry too much.

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My brother John and his lovely girlfriend Gillian are cooking us dinner on Saturday at their house- which we haven't seen yet. Yay! I don't have to cook.

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Lily is scheduled to have her cavities filled this coming Monday- this time she will be under general anesthesia. A little scary but I will be more than happy to put this whole experience behind us. I can't believe it has taken more than 6 months to get this all done- for a tiny cavity on a baby tooth.

Well, that's all I can think of right now...gotta get back to work!

Its not always easy to see

Bob's Pumpkin Farm had a cute little country store in their barn filled with yummy treats. Most of it was canned items Anything that would fit in a mason jar, they had it. From garlic to grape jelly, pickled beets to beans, salsas and sauces for any type of meal.

I don't know what came over me but the first thing I said when I walked in the store was, "Do they have pickled asparagus?" After a quick look, "Yes, they do!!" Then I looked at the price tag and decided I could live without them.

(PS No, I am not pregnant, thank you very much.)

At the end of the day the girls and I stood guard over the pumpkins while Martin braved the complete chaos of the Country Store to find something fun for the girls to snack on during the drive home.

But what else did he pull out of his jacket when we got back to the car?

Pickled Asparagus of course.

This is how I know. Love that guy : )

The most annoying sound in the world

Do you know how incredibly talented my children are? They have the capability to take any simple sound (let's just say for the sake of example the sound of the letter "I") and turn it into the most annoying sound in the world.

One of them begins by saying it on repeat over and over and over again in varying pitches and tones , 'I...i...I...i...I...i..." Usually at first I tune her out because I am distracted- I may be driving or on the phone- but then the other one notices the new game and they both start in- harmoniously(ish) making the same sound over and over until my head explodes. All I can do is give them the evil eye and say, "You have got to be kidding me!!!!"

Then they just laugh. And this is how I end up getting through the evening...

PS What "special" talents do your children have???

Bob's Pumpkin Farm

Here's the first half of the pictures from today..you'll never believe it but my camera battery died halfway through the afternoon. Luckily Martin's phone takes good pictures too so we weren't completely out of luck. He hasn't gotten them from the phone to me yet so yeah.  

Gladiolas...

Cow train ride- Kendra brings up the rear

Why am I doing the hard work??



I won a book giveaway from Sara's Organized Chaos yesterday- she pulled my name out of a hat on her vlog entry! The book is about bonding with your daughter during the tween years. Wahoo I'm a winner...go check her out she's hilarious and awesome.

The results are in...

Lily's teacher thinks that she is adjusting well to Kindergarten. She is a bit ahead of the game as far as reading and writing which I kind of expected. She seems to be making friends and is a good listener. Her teacher thinks that she'll grow out of her "perfection obsession" when it comes to classwork and homework- but then again she is my daughter so we'll see how that progresses. The pinching incident (Lily was pinched by another child) seems to be under control and the teacher is more than aware of the issue. Luckily Lily isn't being singled out to be picked on- just another child hasn't quite learned how to keep her hands to herself. So yeah. Overall a good report- nothing unexpected really and I am ok with that!

Thanks for your comments!

CAT Scans and Conferences

Leaving Lily's school this afternoon...

Lily (holding up a black folded up piece of paper): Look Mommy, it's a CAT scanner!

She shows me how it "scans" over her belly.

Mommy: Wow! That's pretty cool. What's a CAT Scanner?

Lily: I don't know. It scans cats I think. Yeah, I made it to scan over Floyd and Fiona's fur to see if they need a hair cut.



Awesome.



Tomorrow is Lily's Parent-Teacher Conference. I'm excited to hear what the teacher has to say. She seems like a great teacher and if she has any suggestions to help Lily adjust to Kindergarten I am all for it. I'm kinda nervous too because it seems like in some ways the conferences are "Parenting Report Cards"- as in how well she is doing is a reflection of my abilities as a mom. So of course I want to get a "good" report. I want to hear that I am doing a good job- who doesn't? But I'm still a little nervous.

A piece of advice from another teacher I know? Come prepared to listen. Which is exactly what I will do.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Bike Riding

Go girls, go!