Pumpkin Overload

We had a little bit of down time on the 30th and I wanted to throw in one more pumpkin activity before the big day. So, I got the kids excited to make a craft and after all the supplies were gathered and both were sitting anxiously at the table, I said, "We're going to make a special jack-o-lantern craft now." Happy faces gone. Benjamin leaned over to Isabella and quietly said, "I don't think this is going to be very fun." "What did you say?" I asked. "I wasn't talking to you, mom, I was talking to Isabella. I said I don't think this is going to be very fun." "Why not?" "I really want to make a cat." I had to laugh. Not everyone is as obsessed with Halloween as I am, apparently. In the end we decided to make purple cat masks and everyone was happy.

I Love Halloween

I'm particularly biased, since I was born on the 31st, but I love Halloween and autumn, especially in Michigan - so beautiful. So, we've been enjoying our lead up to Halloween - making Jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin bread, getting our costumes, etc. We've also been making some fun Halloween crafts. My kids love crafts. It's just so fun to see how excited they get about it. Paint, markers, glue, glitter, and fuzzy balls get used up as quickly as breakfast cereal around here. Here are a few cute pics from our festivities and some of our crafts.

Here's Benjamin in his costume before his school Halloween party today. He was too interested in what the other kids were wearing to look at the camera.


At home we were mummies and witches. We do the mummy thing every year and then I have a big bag of ripped up toilet paper that sits by the toilet from October until January!



Here are some of the crafts. I try to keep the best ones, but mostly I document them and then I don't feel bad when I 'unclutter.' So, that's why he's wearing the same thing in each picture - we took all the pics on one day before we cleaned out the closet.

The kids had so much fun picking stickers to put on their bags, although Bella immediately started ripping them off again and sticking them in her mouth. My kids outgrow that phase so late, it seems.



This craft is fun and uses some of that ripped up toilet paper! Wrap it around an empty toilet paper roll (there are many of those around now too) and then staple or glue the arms, legs, and head on.


Don't you love how excited he looks to be wearing this? I promise, he LOVED this headband. He wore it the whole rest of the day when we first made it. By the way, the bat's face was Benjamin's artistry.



Here are a few other non-Halloween crafts we enjoyed.

These are magnets we made out of clay. Benjamin has been really into space and planets lately, so we made some space-themed fridge magnets. It's children's clay so it hardens without baking. We molded them one day and pushed magnets onto the backs before they hardened and then painted them a week later - two crafts in one! His were the rocket ship and the alien space ship. I made a shooting star and Bella's....well, they're up for interpretation. But she sure loved the process! She was the last one to leave the table, both on molding day and painting day! I kept asking her "are you done?" and she'd vigorously shake her head and keep working away.


We made the frog headband and the raccoon puppet during story time at the library. They do great stuff with the kids there.




After Halloween, I'll post pics of Bella in her WonderWoman costume that she chose herself. So cute!!

Gettin' Domestic

We've been expanding our horizons at our house lately. It started with Bella. The other day she came into the kitchen and without any word from me, took out a pot, a can of soup, and a spoon and brought them all over to the stove. Then she pulled up the step stool, climbed up, and started to 'cook.' She put the pot on the stove, vigorously shook the can upside-down over the pot, and then stirred the imaginary contents. Then she took a taste. I just stared in slack-jawed amazement. She's 17 months old! When did she ever pay such close attention as to learn all that?? She even seemed miffed that no soup actually came out of the can. I think she really intended to cook, not just pretend. Such a big girl she's becoming.

So, she started the trend for learning new domestic skills and we, her devoted fans, followed suit. I signed up to bring a cake to Benjamin's preschool's cake raffle fundraiser. When I signed up, I thought, "How hard can it be? Just throw a mix in the oven." Then they made the announcement that no cake should be over $25. That's when I knew I was in trouble. No mix, no matter how moist and fluffy it promised to be, ever cost that much, so there must be more to this. I found out that most often they are lavishly decorated. So, here was my chance to learn a new skill. I bought a butterfly cake pan, frosting tips and bags, etc., and I made a cute, amateurish cake.


I did it from around 10pm - 1am, since that's the only time I have free but I had a blast. It was fun to mix the colors and consistencies and see something actually take shape. Costco could do a much better job, but I was proud of my little creation.



Finally it was Kelly's turn. He went gung-ho and got bags and bags of peaches, plums, and crab-apples and turned our kitchen into a disaster area making jam. In the end, considering the cost of all the supplies - pectin, jars, lids, fruit, etc. - we probably could have gotten it cheaper from Smucker's. However, once again the point was we learned new skills and wow - that's good jam! So, we have been having fun in our kitchen and all becoming little domestic goddesses.

What's Benjamin done, you ask? Well, besides supervising, he tried something new recently too. We went to a nearby town's Oktoberfest and they had free pony rides for kids. Last summer he was too freaked to ride a pony, but this year he was so excited. I was proud of him for doing it and he couldn't get over the thrill of having ridden a 'horse.'

This is Modern Medicine?

I have had the cough of death for nearly 5 weeks now and I finally broke down and went to the doctor yesterday. I hate my doctor. He and his office are such a disaster that it would make a great comedy act. I literally have to be beyond all hope of independent recovery before I'll go see him. And that was where I was at. I was awakened 3 times the night prior with coughing fits lasting anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. I'd had enough. So I went there (with the kids, unfortunately, because my mom is gone and I hate to ask anyone else short notice). I got there at 1:15 and I was the only patient in the waiting room, and the last patient to sign in had done so at 10:30am. The receptionist/nurse was filing some things and didn't even notice me come in. The doctor was standing to the side of her at the counter where you pay your co-pays, doing seemingly nothing. I went to sign in and there was no pen. 'There's no pen," I said. The doctor looked at me with a blank stare. No motion to get me one. The nurse didn't even react. So, I sat down, got the kids settled and then attempted again to sign in. "There's still no pen," I said, a little louder. The nurse still didn't react. The doctor continued to stare, but then after a long pause he called the nurse's name and said, "Can you get her a pen?" "What?!" the startled nurse said as she was awoken from her filing reverie. She turned and startled again at the sight of me standing there. She gave me the pen from her pocket and went back to filing. So I signed in and sat down, expecting to, I don't know, be called in. Isn't that what one does at a doctor's office?? Apparently not. I spent the next 45 minutes in the empty waiting room, while my kids rolled around in the wheel chairs, played with the water fountain, ran along the couches, threw magazines around, spilled piles of drug brochures, ate and crumbled every snack I'd brought, went to the bathroom, and repeatedly demanded, "Can we go home now?" The whole time no other patient came in, the doctor continued to stand at the counter alternately chatting with the nurse and perusing through file folders. The nurse answered several phone calls and sifted through even more file folders and even called my name once - getting my hopes up of actually being taken care of. But no, she just wanted to confirm my address and insurance provider. Finally after I started pacing the floor and loudly complaining to my children about the "ridiculously long wait" and "what is going on here?" they called my name. When the doctor came in, he acted like he'd never seen me before. He cordially introduced himself and asked me what brought me in to see him. I wanted to say, "Are you serious?? You know that loud, barking cough you've been hearing in the waiting room for nearly an hour now? That was me. You know, the girl who needed a pen." Instead I said, "I have a sinus infection. I need an antibiotic." I won't bore you with the details of the exam, but suffice it to say, he diagnosed me with a sinus infection and prescribed me an antibiotic. This is modern medicine? I think being bled by leaches would be equally painful.

Pediatrics 101

If your child has this type of rash all over her body, she may have an ear infection.


I don't know how well you can see it in the picture, but Bella has had a rash for 5 days now, but it wasn't your normal rash. This was a crazy chameleon-type rash. It changed color, pattern, location, etc. all throughout the day. At its peak it was all over from scalp to toes. However, some times it would disappear completely and then magically reappear a few hours later, just as I thought she was over it. She didn't have a fever, the rash didn't seem to bother her at all, she slept fine, she ate fine, so what was it? I restricted dairy for a whole day - the drama of that about killed us both! But the next day it was still there. Finally after two days of not being able to take her to the gym with me due to her frightening appearance, I took her to the doctor. Sad that the breaking point for me was my own inconvenience, not hers, huh? Bad mom. The doctor looked at her rash and then looked in her ears. "This ear is full of puss," was her diagnosis. The doctor said that Bella's body is likely having an allergic reaction to the bacteria that is causing her ear infection. The reaction is manifesting itself as a rash that changes as her body fights the infection. It's like a biological ticker board - 'this just in! making progress around the stapes! struggling in the area of the malleus'. I would never have known she had an ear infection. She seemed fine! This is her first ear infection and she showed no signs. Thank goodness her body created a big, obvious way to get my attention! Also, I'm so glad that the rash came now rather than after we'd started treating the infection or we'd have assumed the rash was a reaction to the anti-biotic! The human body really is amazing. And another amazing thing, after one day of anti-biotics, she went to bed tonight rash free. Let's hope it stays away for good this time.

By the way, for those who have asked about her hair - it is finally growing back a bit - slowly but surely. Benjamin's only took 6 weeks to nearly fill back in to normal after his disastrous cut, whereas Bella is still at the peachfuzz stage after 3 months. But it's coming! She no longer pulls on it, so it's just a matter of time now.

Why...

No matter how many waffles I make, only 1-2 ever make it to the table for me to eat.

Complete Lockdown Initiated

Benjamin has wowed me again with his ability to repeatedly defy even the clearest of rules. A friend I haven't spoken to in many months called me Wednesday afternoon and I was really excited to talk to her. However, as is always the case, the instant I got on the phone, the kids went berserk. They were screaming, jumping on me, pounding on the piano, grabbing at the phone, etc. They had been calmly reading books only moments before. This is why I pretty much NEVER speak on the phone - everything is email. However, this was a special situation and I really wanted a moment of peace. So, after asking them several times to calm down, all with no result, I went into my room and closed the door. This was immediately followed by hysterical screaming, pounding, pleadings to be let in, promises to be quiet, etc. After many minutes, there was silence. I assumed they'd given up and resumed their book reading or maybe they went into the basement to play. After about 10 minutes of blessed silence, the doorbell rang. I wasn't expecting anyone, so I waited for the usual sound of the kids running to the door to see who it was. No sounds of running. Only another more insistent doorbell ring. I went to the window, still on the phone, and saw there was no car in front. Who could it be and where are the kids?! Now I'm starting to panic. More fast, hard doorbell rings. I opened the door to see my next door neighbor with a look of complete fury on her face, with a barefoot child in each hand. Without a hello or greeting of any kind, she snaps, "I watched Benjamin open the back gate and lead Bella down the street! They were clear down the street at Al's place!" (I have no idea who Al is, but I assume he lives far from me.) I was so embarrassed to be standing there with the phone in my hand and without any excuse worthy of such a mishap. I thanked my neighbor for bringing them home and locked them both in their rooms until I could calm down and formulate a plan. I have never been more grateful to have a watchful neighbor! :) How do I make clear to Benjamin that wandering away from home is not okay? I thought we'd cleared this up last week when he took Bella for a stroller ride! He had promised me he'd never do that again, but after my neighbor left and I let him out of his room, he showed absolutely no remorse and refused to acknowledge that what he'd done was against the rules. I realized then that he cannot be trusted. So, these last few days it's been total lockdown at our house - every door is dead bolted closed at all times and no ones leaves the house before I do. I really shouldn't have to do this, should I? It's terrible that I can't trust him, but as he told me yesterday, "I know all things right, but sometimes I forget." Well, my little Alzheimer's patient, then you will be on 24 hour surveillance. Alas, it feels like more of a punishment for me than for him. Keeping him inside more only leads to moments like this:


He couldn't decide which game he wanted to play. And of course we had huge tantrum issues when I asked him to clean it up.

On a happier note, I did an activity I found at No Time for Flash Cards using number and letter recognition combined with one of Benjamin's favorite things - pretend play. So, I got out our passports and made up fake boarding passes. Then we arranged our chairs in rows, recruited additional 'passengers' and played airplane, complete with a safety demonstration and in-flight snacks - no budget cuts here! The kids had to hand me their documents before boarding and then had to find their correct seat row and number according to the pink tags I'd put on the back. Of course, as soon as Benjamin found his seat, he insisted on moving up to pilot, complete with cool shades. So he did the flying from then on, but we had a lot of fun and played it on multiple days.



Bella's newest favorite thing is music. She will regularly pull herself up on the piano bench and start playing notes while singing along. She also does the same thing when she's playing Benjamin's ukulele or when we went to the Detroit Science Center last week and she got to play the drums.


The cutest is to hear her singing along to hymns during church or Family Home Evening or to see her dance to the radio. She's really growing up. Only 4 more Sundays until she's in nursery! (Not that I'm counting the days or anything!) :)