The Halloween that lasted a week

Y'all, is it just me, or does Halloween seem to last so much longer than it did when we were kids?  I feel like my kids have been dressing up and celebrating for days on end.  It started on Wednesday with Trunk-or-Treat at the church.  Wait, let me back up.  It started with my kids telling me they wanted to dress up as Wild Kratts and me attempting to make a homemade costume for the first time in their lives.  I use the word "make" loosely because I actually bought the shirts and I used the PBS website. I was still super proud of myself for doing all the printing, cutting, and gluing, though.

The kids got to take their costumes on a trial run at the church Trunk-or-Treat.  Ellie brought her BFF even though Maleficient didn't really go with our theme. Totally kidding.

Then Thursday was a costume parade at Jack's preschool.  He asked to go as Spider-Man because he had coordinated the day before with his little buddy.  Luckily, we pretty much own every superhero costume there is.

This morning, to keep our momentum going, I dressed the kids in their Halloween shirts.  Ellie didn't want to wear hers, but as it is the only one I actually paid for, I told her she would wear it or not go trick-or-treating.  So, her smile isn't as bright as the others. Or maybe it's because it is 6:30am.

And, finally, the actual celebration.  We continued our tradition of going to a Halloween dinner party that some friends throw every year. They live on a street that goes all out for Halloween.  Tom wasn't home yet, so I opted to skip trying to take the kids trick-or-treating on that street after dinner.  We stopped at my parents' house and went to a few houses on their street.  Sam was not having anything to do with this trick-or-treating business.  Tom got home just in time to take Ellie and Jack out to score some candy while I put Sam to bed.

 Halloween was fun, but I am happy to put it behind us and start making plans for Thanksgiving.  I think a road trip to Arizona is in the works!

Literary Pumpkin

Ellie's school library is having a pumpkin decorating contest.  They were told to pick a character from their favorite book and, of course, Ellie had to do Harry Potter.  Here is her attempt at Hedwig:

Childcare Woes

Last school year was the first time I tried in-home childcare instead of a daycare.  We lucked out with Ms. Rebekah.  Her son was Jack's age and the two quickly became best friends.  She loved on Sam and spoiled him rotten.  She was great about texting me pictures and status updates throughout the day.  Needless to say, I was really sad to see her move to Louisiana this past summer.  She came back for a visit a week ago and Jack was ecstatic to be reunited with his buddy.

I found the kids a new babysitter, Ms. Laura, at the recommendation from Jack's preschool teacher.  Ms. Laura is a former teacher and she has been keeping kids in her home for years.  Unfortunately, she only has other babies in her home this year, so Jack was terribly lonely until his 3 day a week preschool started in October.  Also, Ms. Laura is very strict so she and Jack had some power struggles initially.  Jack is always sad on the days he doesn't have preschool and has to spend the entire day at Ms. Laura's.  A few weeks ago, Laura informed me that she would no longer be keeping kids after December.  Even though I like her personally, I actually felt a little relieved.  Starting next week, the kids will be trying out a new babysitter, Ms. Donika.  I don't know her as well, either, but I am hoping she will be a better fit.  Sometimes I wonder if I should just go back to the Montessori, but I think I will give in-home care one more try. Fingers crossed.

Sunday Best: Cheesy Faces edition

The Well-Child Exam That Wasn't Well

Jack and Sam were both due for well-child exams and vaccinations so I decided to combine them.  And because I like to make my life difficult, I took Ellie with me so she could get her flu shot.  I know what you are thinking, "Oh I bet Ellie would be a great help with the younger boys!"  Yeah, that would make sense except Ellie is the biggest chicken known to man.  When I took her to the eye doctor, she had to be pinned down to get the drops in her eyes.  So, she was already freaking out before we even got to the doctor.  

When I picked the boys up from the babysitter, she told me that Sam had not napped and that he had been very fussy all day.  He wasn't running a fever and he had slept well the night before so I just kind of shrugged it off as the universe wanting to make this trip to the doctor even more fun.  However, when the doctor checked his ears, she discovered he had a double ear infection.  Nice.  I also talked to her at length (well, as much length as I could with two other children bouncing off the walls) about Sam's lack of speech and his aloofness.  We call Sam the Aloof Baby because he will not let you hug, kiss, or cuddle him.  He definitely shows preference for Tom and me (mostly Tom), but he does not like to be held close and he never has unless really tired or sick.  He also doesn't really say much, but he is the world's most stubborn baby so I think he just wants to do it on his own time.  Anyway, the pediatrician made me feel so much better about his aloof manner by saying that is not uncommon and she has several other patients like that.  As for his speech, we are getting his hearing checked, but we have to wait a month.  Because, you know, double ear infection.

When it was Jack's turn to be checked, he failed his hearing test.  He had also failed it at his 4 year exam, but I felt like he didn't really understand about raising his hand and that the nurse's assistant was too quick to just say he failed and we needed to take him to a specialist.  However, now that he has failed again, I guess I will just take him when I take Sam.  Good times.

Oh, and my chicken Ellie ended up doing the mist instead of the shot so she was freaking out for nothing.

Here are the boys' stats:

Sam

Height - 34 1/2 in. (96%)

Weight - 32 lbs 9 oz (100%)

FOC - 20 in (99%)

Jack

Height - 45 in. (88%)

Weight - 44.6 (76%)