Time to catch up on the events of last month. I can't believe it is November. And so begins the march towards Christmas.
Last night I felt my very first earthquake...in Tempe, AZ no less. It was about 11:30 PM and everyone else was asleep. I was sitting on the couch in the family room when things started to shake and the windows made a shaking sound. It lasted about 5 seconds. I could not figure out what had happened. An earthquake didn't even cross my mind because we don't have earthquakes here! I couldn't come up with a logical explanation, so I decided I must be crazy and imagined it. I woke Don up and asked him if he noticed anything. All that did was freak him out and practically gave him a heart attack. He told me that he heard on the news before he went to sleep that there was an earthquake in Black Canyon City. Then I checked over on facebook and everyone was talking about the earthquake they just felt. So then I felt good knowing I wasn't going insane. Too bad everyone else in our house missed it! It was kind of cool.
Halloween was Saturday this year. The day started out with a bang. literally. At 6 in the morning the girls woke up out of excitement. They never wake up that early. But it was Halloween and I guess they wanted to be exhausted by evening time, which they succeeded in that. They both fell asleep in the car on our way to the party. anyway. So they were running around in the dark, and Oscar of course got all excited too. And then BAM. He ran into my bedroom door. I knew it was bad when from the other room I heard Don say, "dang. He probably needs stitches." I couldn't even bring myself to look. we already had a babysitter coming at 7:30 AM because we were going to go look at a car we wanted off of Craigslist. So we contemplated for a little while if Oscar really needed stitches and how soon, or if we should go look at the car first. well the guy never texted us back with his address so we couldn't go look at the car anyway and we figured we might as well get him stitched up, sooner than later. After the initial injury, Oscar wasn't bothered at all by his cut. He didn't even cry very much after he got hurt. So we sent the car guy a text telling him we were taking our son to Urgent Care and to let us know if there was a time later in the day we could come take a look at his car.
We got to Urgent Care and they put some numbing solution on a cotton ball to prepare his skin for the shot. Although this picture makes him look miserable, he actually did really well. He wasn't in pain, he was just mad he had to sit still for a minute. We waited. And waited. And then the Dr. came in and told us he got sidetracked because a guy came in with cardiac issues so they had to call an ambulance and we were bumped to 2nd place. I think that guy was having a much worse morning than we were.
Oscar actually ended up falling asleep waiting. We even got him all strapped up in a straight jacket while he slept. But when the shot went in, he freaked out. I guess the numbing solution burns. And then he realized he was strapped in and was not a happy camper. But his wound looks much better after the stitches and I think the scarring should be minimal. The real bummer is when we got home the car guy texted us back and told us he sold the car. Gee thanks Mister. Didn't even bother giving us his address, and then sold the car while we were getting our son stitches. I thought it was a pretty lousy thing to do. But I guess manners don't exist on Craigslist. So looks like I will be driving around the Geriatric touring van a while longer. Car shopping is the worst kind of shopping.
We did have a fun Halloween though. We went to Leonore's house and had a delicious dinner and then the kids went trick or treating. I bought these wigs at the Disney store for 10 bucks a piece which I thought was an amazing deal. Chloe was adamant that she needed a wig. And since they were a good deal, I bought Macie an Elsa wig too. She was wearing it and seemed to like it UNTIL we reached the party, where she informed me that her wig itched and she wasn't going to wear it that evening. Of course. She changed her mind after Emily talked to her though, and she took pity on me and wore her wig for at least part of the time. The girls looked pretty great with their wigs.
Don made himself a chef hat out of tissue paper. And I made him take a picture by his sister for old time's sake.
Oscar went as a bum because he is the 3rd child and apparently I don't care enough about him to buy him a proper costume. Just kidding. We have plans to dress him as a gangster next year. Poor Oscar. Oscar enjoyed Halloween, even though I am not quite sure he understood what he was supposed to do. Most of the time he would just walk up to the door then turn around before getting his candy. One door he was greeted by some little dogs and he went right up to one and gave it a hug and a kiss. Oh how I love my little Oscar. He is all sweetness, well mixed with a lot of curiosity. I need to find him a shirt that says, "I'd rather be climbing."
We brought out friends John and Emily with us. We love them. They treat our kids like gold. Macie and Chloe say that Sister Himstreet is my nicest friend.
Checking out their spoils...
I wish I had brought this. After trick or treating we headed home and we were all in bed sleeping by 9:30 PM. We had a good old fashioned kind of Halloween, the kind I remember. None of this trunk or treat crap. Sorry to offend anyone. But the best part of Halloween was going house to house, seeing the decorations and coming home exhausted from all your walking. Trunk or treat takes like 5 minutes to walk around the parking lot.
This is Macie at our Halloween Music Makers. I had to wash her costume by hand right before we went, because that's how prepared I always am. The sink was practically black with dirt. Her costume is well loved.
This is Oscar at church. I took a picture of him in his new denim jumper because he looks ridiculously cute in it. Baby boys , I repeat: Baby Boys, are the only people in the world who should wear denim jumpers.
We found Chloe's crawling baby doll out in the junk shed, I mean laundry room, and put batteries in her and she came back to life. It only took an hour before she had drained all the batteries and is now a mute baby. Nevertheless, Oscar loves this little toy. He hugs are and holds her. Does this fill my heart with glee? Absolutely it does. He WILL be a sensitive man.
I've been driving this beauty around for a couple of weeks now. I don't think I am much of a car snob, but I will admit, it is a little embarrassing driving this thing around. I cut someone off in my neighborhood the other day, and I thought I would drive around and not park in front of my house right away so my neighbor wouldn't know it was me that cut them off. And then I realized I am driving a forest green van around and I probably can't hide. And by the way, I found out yesterday the lady that hit me is being charged for DUI.
The Himstreets went out of town a couple weeks ago and Emily asked us if we could check on their dog every day because Macie loves Bella. Both Macie and Oscar do. Poor Bella was pretty bummed her owners left, she was not her usual self. Macie tried to cheer her up by getting her a blanket and pillow.
She also rubbed her belly. Macie and Oscar are my animal lovers. Especially Macie. almost makes me feel guilty for not having pets.
This is Oscar sitting on the steps at church. I just thought he looked especially cute in his vest and blazer. I am having fun dressing him as my preppy boyfriend.
Chloe had spring break October 12th - 16th. I loved having her home with me for the week. I tried to make the most of our days off. We went to Makutu's Island and we brought along Binley and Autumn. Tuesday we went to Pump It Up, a bouncy house with Mo and Danny. An employee let the kids try out the hurricane machine for free over and over and over again. the girls forced me in the claustrophobic capsule with a trillion children and then the "hurricane" started, which was basically just them blowing tons of air at you with increasing speed. Ya. I realized that for someone who is claustrophobic, this was not "fun." Let's hope that if I am ever unfortunate enough to be involved in a hurricane, that I have a lot of wide open space to move around. Wednesday we went swimming with Mo and Danny because "Fall" Break was still 100 degrees. Thursday we went to the Salt river with a few friends and the kids played in the water/beach. Then we met up with Rachelle at Chik Fil-A for lunch since she was in town for a Doctor's appointment. Friday night we went to a Halloween party. And Saturday... we drove up to Prescott to spend the day with Rachelle and her kids. we went to a pumpkin festival and got a real taste of Fall. I bought a 15 dollar gallon of fresh apple cider because it was the most delicious liquid I have ever tasted in my life.
We couldn't manage to take a non blurry picture,
They picked their own pumpkins. I didn't notice how perfect this picture is until now.
Macie could have spent all day holding this bunny. However there were 10 other kids fighting over the bunny too so that was a fun parenting moment.
Oscar chased the goats around.
Macie LOVED her pony ride.
we took a break for dinner, but came back at night for the "Haunted Hayride." The girls were scared at first, but then we just started laughing. Mostly it was wet because it started raining as soon as we took off. We headed home after the hayride.
Here we are at Makutu's Island.
Do I love Macie's outfit? Yes I do.
Oscar playing during Macie's swim lessons.
This is Chloe's drawing for a competition she entered, advertising the Light Rail. I hope she wins, buuuuuut...this is more an advertisement for her favorite ice cream place, not the Light Rail. Because in truth, she couldn't care less about the Light Rail. I told her she should draw the Light Rail bigger, but she didn't appreciate my suggestion.
Kid stories this past month:
*Chloe told me she and macie came up with something called "Night Out." Chloe told me, "First I wake up at midnight. Then I go over and tap Macie and wake her up. Then we get up and go to the freezer and have a Popsicle. Then we watch a show on netflix. And then we go back to bed. And if we hear you are Dad, we go hide." They created a special hiding place by putting blankets over a large white board. So one morning Chloe tells me, "Mom! We did Night Out last night! I woke up, then I went and got Macie up, and then we went and out Popsicles. We were too tired to watch a movie, so then we just went back to bed."
*One afternoon we were having Activity Day here, and we went outside for a minute. Macie said to wait a minute, went back to her room, and when she came back, she was carrying her paper parasol which she used when she went outside. My Dad would be so proud.
*Don had told the girls to go to bed. Don then left for a few minutes. when he returned, Chloe was in the bathroom, not sleeping like she had been told to do. so she ran to her room, and said to me, "I don't want Dad to think I don't listen to him...which I kind of do sometimes..."
*Don told me the other day Macie came into our room and said to him, "Wow Dad, You are so handsome." Steffanie also told me last Sunday while Don was conducting in church, Macie would lean over and tell her, "My Dad is so handsome...I like my Dad's voice...My Dad is tall! My Dad is so cute!" Don says that God sent Macie to our family so there would be someone to give him some attention. ; )
*One evening I heard Macie crying in the bathroom when she was supposed to be in her bedroom going to sleep. I went in and asked her what was wrong, she told me "Dad gave me spicy toothpaste."
*The girls want me to do a treasure hunt for them every time they come home from their swim lessons. It is mostly Chloe. But they really love it.
*Macie opened the fridge and told me, "yuck. It smells like the inside of a cowboy hat in there." I asked what that smelled like. She replied, "Rotten eggs."
*Chloe has been writing a "book" lately and she is really excited about writing. She got special attention from her teacher and her classmates this week praising her writing. I can tell it really made her feel good because she told me all about it. I think it encourages her and makes her believe she is a good writer, and therefor she will work on being an even better one.
*An (annoying) kid at school told her and other kids on the playground that there is no Santa and that she can google it if she doesn't believe her. Chloe desperately wanted me to confirm that there really is a Santa. This conversation comes up a lot. Since Macie was in the room, I lied, and plus I don't know my strategy yet. But I think I have decided I am going to deflect it back to her and when she is ready, she will realize it on her own. I also like the idea of teaching them about the "magic" of Christmas and the real story of St. Nick, letting them get in on the magic when they figure things out. I don't know. Chloe just needs to stop growing up. That's the solution.
*Chloe kills me sometimes. A lot of the times. we were talking about the Second coming of Jesus...this because of our "earthquake" and she said she hopes it is in the next couple of years. I asked why and she said, "Because I want to be a kid when He comes...and I won't be a kid when I am 11." (Stop Chloe, you are killing me!) I didn't say that. I just asked, "Why do you want to be a kid when He comes?" And she says, "Because I want to be a kids when I go to heaven." And again I asked, "Why?" And then she totally kills me when she says, "Because I want to meet my Grandma when I am a kid." Seriously. She. Kills. Me.
*Macie asked me, "Why do people do this all this time in movies? I can't do it. I have to do it with my finger." She takes her finger and puts one eyelid down. "That is called winking Macie. It means you are kidding about something."
*I don't have many Oscar stories because he can't talk yet. I can't wait to see what kinds of things come out of his brain. Oscar does a lot of shuffling. I love listening to his shuffling shoes on the tile. When you don't hear the shuffling, you know he has gotten himself into some mischief. The other day at my Dad's house, we heard shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, and then crash. We came into the kitchen and he had pulled a cake down off the counter onto the floor. He had succeeded in getting what he wanted though!
