Halloween Afternoon @ Granny's House

It's a tradition!Granny with some of her great grandkids....Granny drawing a name to give away her Halloween quilt. Remember, Kami won it last year! The guy in the top right hand corner was the big winner this year..... Indiana Jones and the Pumpkin Princess on Granny's swing...Kami as a football player, Luke as IJ, and Ellie as a Pirate who lost her pants. We never found em and had to go back home before trick or treating and find some different pants. Also, the hat was so rumpled! The costume I actually paid big bucks for at Target was, sadly, the least cute.Sibling love?

More Luke

The boy is on a roll.

Remember in August when he stepped on a red ant hill on our trip to the bat cave? The ants crawled up his legs and bit him a couple times?

Then a couple weeks later, he was stung 5 times on the 2nd day of school by yellow jackets?

There seems to be something about the stinging, biting, sticking thing that has a strange attraction to him.... (but things happen in threes, they say, so this pattern is OVER!)

....we couldn't escape October without another incident. Tonight at soccer practice, he fell down (he does a lot of flipping and rolling on the ground) and he fell directly into a thick sticker burr patch. Luckily, Tom was at practice and ran right over to him where he was wailing on the ground. There were more than 15 sticker burrs jabbed into one hand and 5-7 on the other, (according to Tom who seriously NEVER exaggerates) and his shorts and socks were totally covered. Tom just stripped him out of his clothes right there while he cried pitifully. The sticker burrs were stuck in his skin all over, and when he pulled them out, many of the stickers just broke off and left a sticker in his skin that we had to extract later. Talk about miserable. Those things hurt and toughness was not exactly his theme tonight. He reeled over the disturbing incident for several hours. It even wore Tom out -he went to bed early.... and here I am blogging about it! I guess sleep is his therapy, while blogging is mine!

The poor kid ranked the pain of his 3 incidents for us. In order from least painful to most painful...

1) ant bites
2) sticker burrs
3) YELLOW JACKET STINGS!!!

One more Luke note:

On Tuesday, he came home and said he'd had a "rough day" at school. Only one out of five on his behavior chart, and by the way, Mom, I got one for pushing a friend out of line "because he was cutting in front of Ethan. I just had to make it right." Ok, pushing is not good, but at least it was not hitting or biting, and like a tiny superhero, he was righting the wrongs of the world.

So, on Wednesday, I picked him up from school and asked the teacher if today was a better day, since Luke had told me himself (so proud of him) about the day before and how it was not his best day ever.

Completely serious, she reported, "Oh yes, it was a much better day today. Luke did not body slam anyone today." So, I guess he didn't exactly tell me the entire truth about his little heroic episode yesterday. Apparently, he was the villain!

You moms of boys have to forgive me... I'm sure this stuff is old news to you.... but with my 2 oldest being girls, every day is a shocking and thrilling adventure. However, I wouldn't have it any other way!!! We are blessed beyond measure with this rough and tumble little boy.

Carrie is so Very....

FABULOUS!!! Thanks to a great Papa who bought us all tickets, we got to go see Carrie Underwood on Wednesday night. It could have been a disaster... it was a school night, Kami had a 102 fever, Ellie fell asleep and then had a nosebleed, my head was hurting.... but Carrie Underwood was so very talented and just... well... comfortable! It was honestly a really pleasant experience, like it was your best friend up there performing. Even though we had lots of obstacles to overcome (including the fact that I had no kleenex to clean up Ellie's nosebleed, only a *clean* pair of underwear in my purse - that's all I'll say about that), the night was well worth it. Ok, Ok, I know you're probably still caught up on that "Kami had a 102 fever" part. I will confess.... I poured some Ibuprofen down her and drug her (willingly!) to the concert. The medicine kicked in and she felt ok the entire time.

Flashback Friday

It seems appropriate, with all of my recent posts about Luke. This was taken in January of 2006, one day when my niece Lauren was spending some time at our house. Luke found a marker, I think it was called "Radical Red," and proceeded to change little, precious, dainty, Lauren into Spider Man. This was his explanation, at least.

What's Goin' on 'Round Here

The play is finally over.

But I don't say that in a thank-God-we-are-done-with-that-miserable-activity kind of way.....more of a it-was-a-fantastic-experience-but-I'm-ready-for-a-little-break kind of way.

Here is a nice shot of the girls before their final performance.... and for those of you who are horrified that we would allow our precious, innocent daughter to be painted up like a scary ghost with (gasp!) blood dripping out the side of her mouth and down her neck, I must tell you ....
she made new friends, and she developed confidence in getting up with those new friends in front of an audience.
she spent LOTS of time with Mom and sis... it was fun to do something with both the girls together... because they are usually going their separate ways....
... and she enjoyed the satisfaction of bringing a story to life for friends, family and even strangers. She told me that when she came out to do her curtain call, (a simple bow at the center of the stage), that her "heart springs up with joy." - her exact words (A BIG THANK YOU for those who were able to come out to the play - it meant A LOT to have you there!!!!)
Kami made friends too. She has more of a quiet personality than Elle Belle, but made a good friend in Maggie, pictured above. She also enjoyed all of the above benefits.

One more cool thing... when we were reading Caddie Woodlawn last night before bed, they were both making all these connections to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Never did I think that being in this play would be an educational experience!!

Am I crazy enough to let them try out for another play???? More on that later.

In other news.....
Granny got a new dog. Remember, she's 97. And she adopted a new puppy. She named him Freddy Ray because he was born on Uncle Fred's birthday. Yes, the whole family had to remind me that even the DOG is named Ray and I am not. Kami has her children's named planned out already: Hallie Rae, Hank Ray and Hope Rae. She said that every one of them will have Rae/Ray in their names. She sees the importance of it. She doesn't want her children to endure the pain I have endured. ;-) Anyhoo, this is a picture of Kami Rae and Freddy Rae, both smiling (and I see a little smirk of satisfaction in there too.... all the Rays have it!)
Finally, I have to share with you more about Luke. I could blog about the kid day in and day out, but I'm sure that would be a little too much about poop and toots and such for you.

He is going to be Indiana Jones for Halloween, but he's started early. He pretty much IS already Indiana Jones. In fact, Tom and I went in to check on him a couple nights ago... and found him sound asleep ... looking like THIS. My heart melteth.

Question of the Day

I have all these profound things I've been wanting to blog about, but today it comes down to this: The Question of the Day.

As we were driving someplace this afternoon, Luke asked me this question:

"Mom, did you know if you toot way down into the leather seat, it kind of burns?"

"No Luke... I didn't know that," I answered, truthfully.

"I know because I just did it," he replied matter-of-factly.

These boys. Gotta love 'em.

A Halloweenish Story

A few weeks ago, the girls both auditioned for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at a local theater... it wasn't a story we knew much about, just that it was a little spooky and perfect for the Fall Season. Well, we were all jumping up and down when the director called and offered them parts in the play! So for the last 6 weeks, we have LIVED down at the theater in rehearsals.... but have truly enjoyed every minute of it. Ellie was cast as a phantom and Kami a schoolgirl. Their parts fit their personalities really well. Last weekend was "opening weekend" and this weekend is "closing weekend," but they will have a total of 8 performances. The crowds last weekend were GREAT! More than scary, it is a funny play, with lots of comic moments from Brom Bones, my personal favorite character. Kami gets to scream "Beehive!!!!" in Home Alone style and do the Virgina Reel on stage. Ellie gets to be very spooky and chant things like "Beware of the galloping hooves/ Beware of the cries in the night. When the Headless Horseman rides/ You'll probably die of fright!!!"

Here, in a super duper abbreviated version, is the story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving :

There once was a town named Sleepy Hollow, a town that seemed to thrive on superstition and ghost stories.They had a town prankster named Brom Bones, a ruffian who every one loved to hate. He was brash and bold... ... and was in love with a local girl named Katrina. He tried to win her over with pure persuasion and crude gifts like an old coin. One day a funny looking man named Ichabod Crane, a lanky yet educated individual, came to town to be the new school master.He was a very strict schoolmaster, his favorite saying being "spare the rod and spoil the child."He, of course, quickly fell for the beautiful (and rich!) Katrina, but this didn't set well with the rough and tumble Brom Bones. Bones quickly came up with a plan to chase Ichabod Crane out of town, like he had done to other schoolmasters before. He and the Sleepy Hollow Boys threw a bee hive into Ichabod's classroom. That prank didn't scare Ichabod away. They tried other pranks that weren't successful either, but when they started scaring him with stories of ghosts from the town graveyard, Ichabod began to become uneasy. One night, after a party at the Van Tassell home......Brom Bones told an elaborate story of the Headless Horseman. (this by the way is a GREAT scene!)Ichabod Crane, who had eaten far too much that evening, began hearing funny sounds as he made his way home through the forest. He thought he encountered the ghost of an old pirate, the spirit of the Woman and White and other cute (mine especially!) phantoms. Ichabod's final encounter was with none other than the Headless Horseman himself!!!! (This chase scene gets EVERYONE roaring!) After that night, Ichabod Crane was never seen again. What do you think may have happened to him?

Tag, You're It!

Steff @ Okie River Mama tagged me and I am going to try it. The instructions say to list 7 weird/random things about your self. Here goes.

1) You wouldn't know it by looking at me, but one of my legs is longer than the other. Like, significantly longer. I had surgery in 8th grade to correct the problem (they cut the growth line in my knee - leaving me with two 6" scars - ) and it worked to some extent. But I still had boys in high school calling me Eileen.

2) My relatives 12 generations ago came to America on the Mayflower. Being a lover of American history and early Puritanical literature (Anne Bradford - you're the best), this is a fact that I dig about myself. I pick up every book that I can about that era. My sister kind of teases me for being so "into" my (OUR!!!) heritage.

3) I often involuntarily read words backwards. Einna Sniknah is just one of the many words I know. Along with Amohalko, Tixe, and my current favorite Rebotco.

4) Something that is freaky to me.... as a teacher for 16 years, I may forget a name or even an face, but what I have stored in my memory is people's handwriting. In fact, this year, I was helping with Back to School, and a lady came through the line. I didn't recognize her at ALL, but after she left, I looked at what she wrote and realized that she was the person that Tom and I bought our starter house from 12 years ago!

5) I am cool with spiders and snakes for the most part. But give me an elevator and I start sweating. I blame it on my dad who pushed the "EMERGENCY - FIRE" (YCNEGREME - ERIF) button on the elevator leaving the dentist office when I was, maybe, 6 years old. We were stuck on the elevator for a LONG time. I still ride elevators (I don't like to let any fear control me), but it is a struggle.

6) I was a slob in college. I don't know how my roomates put up with me. (Not to mention in high school - I think my mom almost killed me.) But something happened right after college and I am on the other end of the spectrum now. Not a clean freak, but I do NOT like my house messy.

7) If there would be one food and drink I would have to choose to eat/drink for the rest of my life, it would be SOUP and TEA (what I would really like to say is CUPCAKES and PEPSI).

***BONUS) Sorry, just thought of one more! The first time I danced with Tom (at a teacher's get together at the Caravan - LOL!!!!), I went to bathroom and had my one and only "premonition".... - maybe it was just a feeling, but I'm telling you it hit me like a ton of bricks - the feeling was that THIS was the man I was going to marry. Of course it all flew out the window when we later got de-engaged (another story!), but in the long run, the "feeling" was RIGHT ON!

So, who to tag?

I'll try these people:
Michelle @ Froggy Bottom Blog
Rena @ Insert Grace Here
Chere @ The Sammons' Zoo
Nadra @ Conner... Party of Four
Fuschia @ Living in the Land of Pink
Georgie @ Decisionally Challenged
Baloney @ That's Baloney

He Left for School This Morning With Clean Feet

Gone

Wordless Wednesday, Yeah Right

I really stink at Wordless Wednesday! Absolutely terrible, I tell you. I think I'm going to have to quit it, because I can't stop the words from coming out!!! Wordless isn't in my vocabulary!!! Maybe I should change it to Tell-the-Whole-Story Thursday, which makes sense, since Wednesday is almost over anyway!

**Why is this child SMILING!? She has a comb completely twirled into her hair. Totally stuck. She doesn't know the pain she will be going through to remove it or she wouldn't be smiling quite so big. Amazingly, no scissors were required for its extraction.


**Here is Kami going up in a cherry picker. A cherry picker! For goodness sake! And look how high she is! Why go to the fair when your neighbor gives you free rides on his cherry picker!? I don't have a picture of it, but she went up even higher! **Ok, Ok... I'll leave this last one.... wordless... I think you get the picture!!!

The Truth about My Emotions

My emotions are....

...like a river: trickling, flowing, roaring

...like a hot and wicked fire: hard to put out

...like looking down from the top of the Empire State Building: breathtaking

...like a sore hip: always bothering me

...they are as deep and serene as a shipwreck

...they are as free and empowering as hangliding

...until that hanglider hits the ground hard... and crumbles

My emotions are a worship song... my emotions are a mad dog...

They are the lonely cry of a bird on a cliff side

The are the constant hum and the buzz of the subway

My emotions are at once dark and beautiful

They are God-given, lifelong companions

that help me and haunt me

that shackle me that strengthen me

One thing! My emotions never abandon me.

My emotions?

The thorn in my side, that I realize...

make me who I am.

So Doggone Fun

Our dog lover wanted a DOG birthday party...
And it just so happens that Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua was coming out close to her birthday. So, Sunday, I took a couple of her friends/cousins and their dogs (stuffed!) to the movie theater to see the show, which was darling. I know it got bad reviews, but that usually means it's good, huh? Well, the kids loved it and I laughed all the way through it. I am telling you, that usually does not happen. I am not a real big fan of talking animals, but I really enjoyed this one. Here are Ellie and her cousin Hallie at the theater. After the movie, we went back to the house where we had different stations:This is the dogeteria where there were dog bowls and "dogfood" (Cocoa Puffs, Scooby Snacks, Chex Mix, and Corn Pops) for the girls to snack on.Lindsey Loo, Ellie's friend since birth!!!The dogs also needed some primping, so we had a grooming station, where there were brushes, hair ribbons and perfume (for the dogs!) Here is Ellie's cousin Ana with her blue blue eyes and her dog Tiny. Kami made up a Dogstacle Course (her idea!) and led the girls through the outdoor challenges. They also made Doggie Bags for their treats and made diamond studded turquoise Doggie Tags at the Doggie Tag station (see above). Don't forget the Veterinarian and Dog Store... all in all it was a lot of fun! One final tidbit, I used evite to send out invitations (gasp! I usually create my own), but it was sooo easy and sooo freeing! I loved it.