Witches Night Out

My sister-in-law, Sabrina, loves to dress up. And since her birthday falls so close to Halloween it was totally natural for us all to dress up as witches and go out to dinner.  My heart has been heavy lately so a fun, silly night out is just what I needed.

Afterwards, we went back to Sabrina's house for witch's brew and white chocolate cupcakes.  The Astros were playing in the World Series so we made time to watch that, too.

My main witch

Recreating the Sanderson sisters from "Hocus Pocus"

Sisters make the best witches, I mean friends

It's Great to be 8 (Jack's baptism)

My Jack was baptized this past Friday.  It was so sweet watching my dad baptize him.  Here are an overabundance of pictures documenting the occasion.

Jack and his friend Dax both were baptized on Friday.  His mom took these photos of the two of them after church a few weeks ago so we could have them out on display at the baptism.

The night of the actual baptism was a little stressful initially because the person who was supposed to open the building for us and start filling the font never showed up.  We were locked out of the building for 30 minutes before my brother showed up with keys.  We only had 30 minutes to set up and decorate instead of the hour we had planned.  But, it all worked out and baptisms aren't about the decorations anyway.

My dad baptized me almost 31 years ago.

Jack's other grandpa (Tom's dad)

Not the best lighting in the church building at night

Jack with my parents

I didn't have time to take pictures before the food was eaten, but we had 2 dessert tables like this

Jack with his beautiful aunties!

Trunk-or-Treat

Last night was Trunk-or-Treat at our church.  Last year our family all coordinated outfits, but this year I just didn't have the energy.  Plus, all three kids were pretty determined to do their own thing.  Ellie went on Amazon and found a skeleton costume she wanted.  She sent me the link and gave me money to buy it.  Easy-peasy.  Jack kept changing his mind, but the very last minute (like 30 minutes before we left), he decided he wanted to wear a Ninja costume I had purchased from a friend for $5.  Sam, who had dressed up as Iron Man for his school party that got rained out and then SpiderMan for the rescheduled school party, decided to be a pirate.  All three of those costumes were already in the dress-up bin.  And, since last night the Astros were playing in the World Series, Tom and I wore our Astros shirts and went as Astros fans.

Trunk-or-Treat is broken down into two parts. The first half is activities indoors that include a bouncy house, cake walk, games, etc.  It is usually crowded and I always feel stressed trying to keep track of my kids.  But last night wasn't bad at all. It wasn't crowded (maybe everyone stayed home to watch the game....real Astros fans) and Ellie and Jack did their own thing so Tom and I only had to keep up with Sam.  The second half is Trunk-or-Treat in the parking lot.  Sam LOVES this part.  We did our lap and we were done.

I somehow took no pictures at Trunk-or-Treat except for our arrival!

I thought when we got home it would be a quick "brush teeth, go to bed situation," but Sam started crying that his ear hurt.  I gave him Tylonel (and Melatonin for good measure), but 30 minutes later he was screaming and refusing to sleep.

  I sent out an SOS via text to my sister/sister-in-laws and Sabrina appeared at my door with ear drops and a thermal-aid stuffed animal to place on his ear.  She was so sweet and cute with him and he calmed down within minutes.

  He still wouldn't go to bed, despite having been up since 3:30am, so I brought him down to watch the Astros game with us.  It was a late night, but Astros won the game in extra innings!

Obligatory First Day of School post

Sam's first day started before Ellie and Jack's much-delayed first day.  This year he is going to the Montessori school right next to my high school.  The same school Ellie and Jack attended.  He was so excited to be going to school like his big brother and sister.  However, his excitement quickly wore off when he realized they make everyone take a nap every day.  It has been a battle, but we resolved most of the issues by having his teacher assure him he doesn't HAVE to close his eyes and he is allowed to wear earmuffs to block out the music they play during naptime.

Jack and Ellie both had a great first day.  I dropped Jack off at Club Rewind (his before-school program) and Ellie off her Aunt Sabrina's.  Sabrina did Ellie's hair for her and then Kolby and Ellie rode the bus together for their first day of middle school.  When did these babies get old enough for middle school?

When Harvey Came to Town

At the end of August, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and wreaked all sorts of havoc.  Here is how it all went down for our family.

Tom and I (along with all the other teachers in the district) returned to work on August 14 for two weeks of professional development/staff days.  The 2nd week, we were starting to get more and more weather warnings about a hurricane heading our way.  However, this is Houston and we are kind of used to it.  My school's administration let everyone go early on Friday, August 25 to prepare for the storm.  I had already been to the store several times that week, stocking up on junk food (a hurricane must), water, gas, and batteries. Thank goodness I had already stocked up because this is what the shelves looked like at the grocery store by Friday:

Then, we hunkered down and prepared for the storm to hit.  I posted the following meme to Facebook that night, while watching the weather channel and waiting for the rain. 

The next day, however, the rain started really coming down.  The kids had a blast jumping on the trampoline in the downpour, but I made them come inside and sit in the closet once all the tornado warnings started.  

When I told Jack to go get in the closet, his response was, "We haven't had dinner yet!  I can't die on an empty stomach!"  

The tornado warnings were no joke.  One touched down and did a lot of damage near us.  However, I got so tired of them going off that I called my alarm company and told them to disable that feature (whenever there is a tornado warning, my house alarm beeps loudly until I walk over to the control panel to acknowledge it).

Harvey did so much damage to Houston, it really did.  However, my neighborhood was elevated enough that our roads and homes did not flood.  We got together with the cousins and played games indoors since the rain was never ending.  

My church organized groups to go out and help muck homes.  Tom went a few times and my siblings went almost daily.  I tried to do my part by making donations and babysitting for others while they went out on work crews.

Taking the cousins to church while their parents mucked flooded homes

Early church service for work crews before they went mucking

It was really amazing to see how everyone came together.  I wrote the following Facebook post about it:

Ever since the last election, I have been feeling a little discouraged. It felt like our nation was so divided. Social media was filled with ugly words and divisive images. Kindness and selflessness seemed to be a thing of the past. But then Hurricane Harvey happened. I am fortunate to live in an area that didn't flood or lose power. I watched as our neighborhood Facebook page (previously notorious for sarcastic comments and petty complaints) came together. People with trucks and boats organized and made daily water rescues (and continue to do so). Neighborhood churches became temporary shelters. Calls for donations were filled so fast that places had to STOP accepting donations. Everywhere I look, people are asking, "What can I do? How can I help?" Houston has been hit hard. We have months and months of trying times ahead of us. But my faith in humanity has been restored. We can do this.

Because of the hurricane, the start of school was delayed for two weeks.  It was nice to have that extra time with the kids, but a rather surreal start to the school year.

Ellie goes to Middle School

Still playing blog catch-up...

Back in August, right before Hurricane Harvey, Ellie had orientation at her new school.  It is weird for me to think of Ellie as old enough to be in middle school.  Luckily for her, she currently has 3 cousins attending with her - Kolby is in her same grade, Kinleigh is in 7th, and Aidyn is in 8th.  We all attended orientation together (except for Kinleigh who was on vacation).  Mia and Aidyn even helped Ellie figure out how to open her locker.

A Surprise Party for Jack

I gave Jack the option of having a big friend party, like we have done in the past, or inviting two friends to go with him to iT'Z where they would have unlimited buffet, rides, and games.  I was so thankful when he chose the latter because I just did not have it in me to get creative this year.  Then I set about trying to find a time for a family party, but this is a crazy time of year.  I decided to have Jack's baptism be his family party.

Earlier in the week, however, I started to feel a little guilty that I wasn't making a bigger deal of his actual birthday.  Tom had the district cross country meet on Jack's birthday and Jack and Ellie both had to be at soccer by 5:00.  But, I still had an hour from the time Jack got off the bus until he had to be at soccer, so I decided to throw together a quick surprise party.  I texted my family and asked if any of the cousins could be at our house before Jack got off the bus at 3:45.  Amazingly, all of the local cousins could make it!  Being a bus-rider really adds a lot of time to the commute home, I guess.

I woke up a little earlier than normal so that I could take the kids out to doughnuts before school.  Normally, I would have decorated the kitchen and had all the birthday goodies sitting out when Jack woke up the morning of his birthday, but since I wanted to surprise him, I had nothing.  I told Jack it was a really busy day, but we would celebrate on the weekend.

During my conference period, I rushed to the store and bought cupcakes, ice cream, drinks, and balloons.  I then raced to the house to quickly set up and decorate before having to get back to school for my afternoon classes.

After school, we got all of the cousins in the house and hidden with 5 minutes to spare.  Tom even finished his district meet and arrived home in time  Jack was so surprised when he walked in the front door and family popped out from everywhere.  It was awesome.  I love that my kids have so many cousins living right in the neighborhood.

Happy 8th Birthday, Jack!

Jack's 8th Birthday

Dear Jack on your 8th birthday

Dear Jack,

Happy birthday, sweet boy! Eight years ago today, I went in for what I thought would be my final prenatal appointment before my scheduled C-section in a week's time.  However, the doctor had other ideas and she sent me to the hospital to run some tests.  I still thought that I would be out of there in time to meet Daddy and Ellie for lunch, but the doctor popped her head around the curtain and said, "Are you ready to have a baby today?"  I was not ready, but I was excited to meet you anyway!  You were born with the cutest, wrinkled forehead...like a shar pei puppy.  I couldn't get over how cute you were (and still are!).

Jack, you are such an awesome kid.  Everyone that meets you is so impressed by you.  You are thoughtful, kind, and polite.  Your heart is bigger than your body, I think.  You are so sensitive.  Sometimes I get after you for being too emotional, but I hope you never lose your sweet, sensitive spirit.  

You recently went on a Disney cruise with your grandparents and cousin Naomi for a few days.  I missed you so much while you were gone.  You are the peacemaker of the family and we count on your calming influence. 

You are still doing great in school.  I met with your teacher for parent-teacher conference this week and she kept saying how bright you are.  Your switch teacher also said how kind and bright you are and that you loved to read, but that you needed to remember to put the book away when it is time to do Math and Science.  I remember my teachers having to tell my mom the same thing.  Overall, you are a lot like your Daddy, but your love of reading is all me.  You always have a book in hand wherever we go.  

This is a big birthday for you because you are getting baptized!  You have a sweet testimony and a strong desire to do the right thing.  I am so proud of you, Jack, and of the wonderful young man you are growing into.  But you still have to always remember you are my baby and never stop giving me hugs.

I love you forever,

Mom