Halloween

Today is Halloween and tonight we headed to the Zoo for trick or treating. Nana and Papa joined us on our adventure. I was the wicked stepmother to Samantha's Cinderella.

Sometimes it's fun to play the evil characters!



Sofie pitched a major (kicking, screaming and flailing) fit when we attempted to dress her in both of her choices of dragon or strawberry fairy, so she went as a stubborn toddler.


We walked around, saw the dolphins and went to a special Halloween themed "Bird Show" where all the adults were buzzed by a very large brown owl in flight. The girls got a lot of candy and other goodies that we are slowly but surely consuming!

Pumpkins!

We kept up with our fall tradition of carving pumpkins and munching on the pumpkin seeds. The girls enjoyed watching their parents do all the work and the entire night was fun! Witness Sam's presenting Daddy's hard work.




This picture I had to include because it's beautiful and captures the sweetness and joy in my kids. We are so blessed.

Downtown fun

One of the greatest things about having a best friend is spending time with her. We have known each other since I was 18. She knew my father well enough to have earned a nickname from him and participated in getting me a "Lion King" birthday cake for my 19th birthday. In other words, we know a lot of history on each other!

For some long overdue time together, we headed downtown for a night destined with good food, silliness and wonderful, relaxed conversation. The next day we headed to the spa for a pedicure which is our new birthday gift tradition. (Our last tradition was vases and it got a bit out of hand given the space in our homes.)

She got some boots and found a fabulous ring. I looked at ridiculously expensive purses. We also went to the "Oval Room" of Macy's to try on clothes. I can understand the draw a bit more now, but alas it's not in our budget which is just fine with us!

Orchard trips

Today I chaperoned Sam's first preschool field trip of the year. It was chilly, but not raining thankfully. I got both Ellas and Sam to supervise, but I inherited Thomas and Ahmed along the way. The "Ellas" and Sam especially enjoyed picking the apples and hiding in the maze from me the most!

Last Sunday I grabbed the girls for a "quick trip" to Emma Krumbees. Daddy was at the football game, but Nana and Papa joined us. Sam took Sofie on the train ride, we watched the girls perform in the instrument tent and run around. Then we all rode the wagon to the pumpkin patch and checked out their selection. We headed inside for a treat, ice cream for the girls, cocoa for Nana and caramel apple dippers for me.

The aftermath of Sofie's cone before Sam finished it...


Nana and Papa had to leave and I told the girls we were going to clean up, go potty and head for home. Sofie's eyes twinkled and she ran off, stopped and pulled her pants down to "go potty". I recognized the twinkle and intercepted her. I turned my back and in a second she was gone to the center of the market and pulled her pants down again with the same look in her eyes. I was paralyzed by laughter in my attempts to catch her, so it took awhile to pick her up and get her pants up. Sam and I took a few minutes to calm ourselves down and stop giggling while our spectators had their own laugh too. It's definitely a great memory for us!

When we finally made it to the car, we stopped to look at pumpkins. Sam relished the opportunity to control the wagon.

Sever's Corn Maze tradition

For the second year in a row, we joined our friends for an outing to Sever's corn maze and dinner out. We all enjoyed all the activities! The only one who didn't enjoy the petting zoo was Daddy. I think the best was jumping on the hay stacks!

It was one of the few days in October that wasn't rainy so I think the girls were blinded by the sun!

Namaah and Kian's dad took on the 4 year olds for his impersonation of a horse...

Every kid except Sofie enjoyed a pony ride. She explicitly communicated her resistance to it when I tried to take her by yelling, "No!" and trying to escape from my arms.

Weekend of strange illnesses and fun

We had a busy and fun weekend!

Auntie She came by on Friday for a slumber party. Grammy stayed for dinner and I mentioned to the girls that we were blessed to have loved ones with us to celebrate Shabbat. We munched on pizza and Sam helped to make s'mores for dessert. Then the S girls (including She) changed into our pajamas and set up our beds in the basement to watch "Finding Nemo". I then noticed that Sofie had a fever and about two-thirds through, the girls ended up in their beds. We made a huge breakfast the next morning and Auntie She headed home.

Saturday Nana and Papa came by to watch Sofie since she was quarantined while Sam and I headed off on our own adventure. We picked up her friend from preschool, Ella and her mom for an afternoon at a painting studio. It was something we have never done and it was fun! Afterwards Sam got to play at Ella's house for a bit. They both enjoyed themselves immensely and I got some video of their stage performance at Ella's!

Sunday was a low-key day. Sam enjoyed watching football with Daddy and all the grandparents came for dinner. Sofia came with me and Fonzie for a walk at the dog park. She was very sweet talking to all the dogs. "Hey bud/buddy/dog/doggie" while holding out her hand to them. Sofie then got to play at the park while I tried to scrap the dog poop off my shoe that I had accidentally stepped in.

For reasons unknown at this time, Sam has been throwing up since midnight. She thankfully does not have a fever, but we are staying home. Sam is upset that she doesn't get to go to school, but we're looking at it as a snow day because we've been watching it snow all night! I think it's a little soon for winter!

Sofia caught it later in the week, but thankfully it was quick. Daddy and I both stayed home with her Friday and got through it just fine. Below is a shot of her taking comfort in her pacifiers (which are thankfully gone now). Apparently one is not enough!

Best. Lunch. Ever.

I was scrounging around the fridge for something fun to eat for Samantha's preschool lunch. We ended up packing pizza (to be eaten cold), peaches, green beans and pudding. Sam thought it was so cool that she got to take pizza to school!

Nutrition is an ongoing battle in our house, but overall we're doing just fine!

The effects of yelling

We tend to yell in this family, but that doesn't mean we can't change our tendencies.

Yelling doesn't work for us and definitely not our kids. After some verbal battles that escalated volumes way too quickly, I had a conversation with Samantha. I asked her if she enjoyed yelling and getting angry. She replied no and looked sad. I then asked if she thought this was a good way to start the day. Sam shook her head. I agreed with her and suggested we just stop yelling because I don't like the way it makes me feel. She thought it was a good idea and said she thought it was a good idea. We a few days in and it is working well.


We all do the best we can at the time and the drive for improvement is what drives evolution. Our kids are developing according to their experiences. Daddy and I are evolving as parents. We have never been afraid to admit our mistakes or bad choices because we want our kids to see us right our wrongs and learn from our actions. That is one of the best thing we can do for them.

Family nights

Daddy and I have been trying to start some new traditions to start the weekend outside of lighting the Shabbat candles. We tried doing game night, but Sofie is a little too young and doesn't follow the rules. It's understandable when you remember that she isn't quite 2 yet! We have had success with movie night though. Daddy was finally able to watch the end of Cinderella last week, since we don't watch the whole movie in one sitting.

"Make your own pizza" was last night. Everyone loved it and ate a lot!

A weekend with raptors and a museum

We had a busy weekend, but a fun one. Saturday we went to a nature center to view rehabilitated raptors released into the wild. It was an awesome experience to hear the stories of the birds that were released and there was plenty going on to keep us occupied. Thank you to the Mewes clan for inviting us! We've missed you so much!

I think this is the only picture of us ever and luckily I think it's a good one!


I love this shot of everyone walking down to see the release because it reminds me of what a wonderful moment it was to be with our friends!

Sunday Nana volunteered to accompany the girls and I to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It was their first big museum and their favorite area was the children's area (locked away from the main space, but with a bathroom, great toys and computer games. We only stayed for a bit, but it was still a great experience!

Here's a shot of the dog that both girls were surprised to see!

Ballet

Samantha got her wish and is now taking a ballet class. She finally has her tap shoes and ballet shoes. Soon we'll be off to buy a dancing outfit, but for now her gymnastics uniform works. I am watching her on a TV screen via a camera in her classroom.

From my perspective this is awesome because I love to dance. It is a regular activity at our home and all the S girls have fun! We play our favorite songs and "dance like no one is watching". We are free to be who we are and it is a beautiful thing!