Goodbye October

Getting everyone ready for the annual shot

D decided to stay on the playground

Parading around the neighborhood

The Speiden's used to live near Hillcrest (a.k.a. the Halloween street in Louisville). Beth was brave enough to host a very large playdate that included a parade down Hillcrest to see all of the decorations. Fast forward to a new home/neighborhood, and many new additions (brothers and sisters), the Speiden's are still carrying on the fun tradition. It is crazy, chaotic, and I look forward to every year.

Having a little halloween snack

Story time

This mother really outdid herself on the snack (I brought cheeseballs for Wip's class)

Instead of peeling the orange...D just sunk his teeth in

When Ms. Charlene explained that the class would be having a snack and reading a story, Wip raised his hand in excitement and said "my mommy brought my favorite book...Hoodwinked!". My face turned a shade of red and I had to explain to Wip that I forgot the book. I told him I was sure that Ms. Charlene had a equally fun Halloween story to read. Then, Ms. Charlene asked about the snack (which I was in charge of bringing) it was nowhere to be found and I thought that Patrick might have forgotten to bring it in that morning. After a quick text exchange it was found in D's classroom. I was really feeling like 'mother of the year' so I stepped it up and read the story and helped with the Halloween Bingo game. Everything turned out great and Wip showed me all around his classroom and introduced me to all of his friends. At the end of the party he tugged at my shirt and said "mommy, I really liked the snack that you brought". It was almost his little way of telling me not to feel so bad because he really appreciated me. Soon after the party I came across this video. Maybe I should not be so hard on myself?

On Halloween night the Amin family came over. Mother nature was not very kind to all of the little ghosts and goblins. The neighborhood canceled trick or treating on Halloween night and moved it to the next day. We already had plans for Friday, so we braved it and went to the two lonely homes with lights on. The kids did not seem to mind and the couple of "trick or treat!" that they got to shout out seemed to work out just fine (and this means that I do not have to look at a bag full of candy which also means that it is less candy to steal from my children). Win, win. Speaking of candy, the boys LOVE Dum Dum lollipops which is why I loved learning about the mystery flavor, click here to see what I mean.

Backseat Conversation

When not in conversation, this is a typical scene from the backseat mid-afternoon

On our way home Wip asked me about the wedding picture on the shelf at the top of the stairs. He asked me if we went to a wedding and was curious if he and Duncan went to Grams and Poppy's house. I explained that the wedding was our wedding and it was before he was born. His wheels started turning and he said "oh! I was in your belly!" (not exactly, kid). He reminded me of a story I told him about getting sick. He said "remember when I was in your belly and I did not like the chick fil a". This was a story I told him probably years ago...how does he remember this stuff. Trust me, I will never forget being 9 months pregnant and getting sick from chick fil a....not my finest hour.

I am really weird. If something gets in my head while I am driving in the car, I usually just belt it out. While out running errands with D, we drove past Fan Outfitter store. It made me think of basketball season and I just started chanting..."whats your favorite color baby?"....this was Duncan's version.

Wip has had a pretty busy social calendar lately...from baking class to playdates it is not unusual for me to just pick up D from school. The other day, it was just me and D, as we were pulling out of the parking lot I hear D say "ah, man we forgot about Wip"...I tried to get a reenactment here

Halloween Spirit

In the spirit of Halloween, this weekend, we headed to a family friendly Halloween party, went to the Fall Ball at the Temple, and ended the weekend with a Pumpkin Carving Party on a farm.

It was a struggle to get the boys excited to put their costumes on because they have both changed their minds (no less than 10 times). They wanted to be Batman and Ironman...sorry boys, a giraffe and a moose it is going to have to be . Once we got to the party the costumes came off, but it did not stop the fun. Need proof? Check out Wip's moves on the dance floor here and here.

Trying to get D to put on his costume a.k.a. bribing with 2 lollipops and a chocolate treat.

So a moose and a giraffe walk into this Halloween party...

I love how D would not take his eye off of the dessert

Ninja turtle and moose unite!

So at the end of the night D was alternating between a chicken finger and a lollipop...pretty genius. 

Wip hanging with his buddy Is at the Temple Fall Ball

Duncan followed this sweet dog everywhere

Time to start carving

Daddy working hard 

There was a lot of good carving going on

D on a John Deer

Hanging with the Easley boys

Pretty much sums up the weekend

Learning

I am always learning. 

I am learning that I don't always have it together to put my clothes away...and while it drives me crazy, sometimes my section of the room is "messy".

I am learning that Wip is happiest right before bed. He is typically a happy kid, but there is something about when he gets out of the bath to get his jammies on.

source

I am learning that a squeaky clean face might not be the best thing. Click here for the article.

  

Wip sees Duncan

Duncan runs to Wip

Love

I am learning how Wip and Duncan are more than brothers, they are best friends. As I have said before, Duncan's teacher LOOOOOVES to send pictures. The other day I got the series above.

I am learning about the serious issue of bullying. I watched this documentary on Netflix, and did not stop crying the entire time. It was so bad that when I saw my father in law at the gym the next morning, he asked me what was wrong because my eyes were still so puffy. It is hard to watch, but it is very powerful. 

Teachable Moment

The demon finally went to sleep

We had a young man babysit the boys last Friday night. Before he arrived he texted Patrick and asked if he should bring any board games (so sweet). Upon arrival he informed me that he packed his favorite childhood DVD's for the boys to enjoy (super sweet). When we got home from our evening out, I could tell this young man was a little frazzled. Duncan had yet to go to sleep (it was 10pm) and he said that they just kept asking to watch more Loony Toon cartoons. I told him that as long as the children were still alive, everything was fine. On his way out the door he informed me that he was keeping the Loony Toons DVD here because he promised Wip it would be here when he woke up (super duper sweet).

When the boys woke up the next day, I asked Wip if he had fun with the new babysitter and he looked at me and said "mommy, he looked different...his hair was different". This was my teachable moment. The young man is kind, loving, and happens to be African American. I told Wip that we need to be kind to everyone, even when they look different. I tried to tell him if we all looked the same it would be pretty boring world that we live in. Finally, I yelled for Patrick to come up in case I was missing something or if he had anything to add:). Those teachable moments can creep up on you in this job of being a parent. I have often heard that folks want their children to be "colorblind" and if it could only be that easy. I want to teach my children to be kind human beings no matter how similar or different someone might be.

Wip was pretty excited that he left the Loony Toons DVD for him! Loony Toons and Fruit Loops, could a Saturday morning get any better?

KCD

Only at KCD can you walk past the theater on a Sunday afternoon and hear a young man playing piano like this. This is only one of the many reasons that I love KCD.

The other night we went to the girls golf banquet.

Upon arrival Duncan was passed out from his "no nap until late afternoon" phase. He kindly drooled all over the hosts bed. I am sure they were pleased:)

Wip had a blast (and even wrote his own name tag....atta boy!).

KCD has been like a second home to me and my family. It has been a place where I have been frustrated, ecstatic, and humbled over the 10 years that I have walked through those doors to work. It has introduced me to some of the most incredible young people and has challenged me to work my hardest.

Take all of my hard work that I have put into KCD and multiply it by 500 to really understand how hard Patrick works for the school. He puts so much blood, sweat, and tears into making sure those students have the best possible chance at having a successful life.

At the golf banquet, the blood, sweat, and tears were recognized as the team gave him a "couples only" trip to Chicago for the weekend. A chance to get away, eat, sleep in, and just roam the streets of Chi-town. I must say that I was pretty excited that they think so highly of him, because I get to share in the fun! I also was so grateful that all of his hard work does not go unnoticed. Well done girls golf team, well done.

We Did It!

The soccer season is over, the golf matches have ended, and the only thing on my mind is (finally) sitting down to a family dinner (just one per week, is that too much to ask?).

In the Dinner a Love Story cookbook, Jenny (a.k.a my BFF) says that if you have a kid under three you might not want to include him in the family dinner festivities. We went against this advice and took the plunge...WE DID IT!  We finally had a family dinner.

The menu included:

• sloppy joes 
• sweet potato fries
• green beans

Duncan loved the sloppy joes (Wip, not so much).

The funniest part was when Wip started talking about inviting his friend Caroline over for a Gingerbread House Decorating Party. He was telling me exactly where she would sit and what they would do. Then it hit me, the last time that he sat in our dining room was almost a year ago when we had his friends over to decorate gingerbread houses...oh my. This family dinner was loooooooong overdue.