Today was ACT day, so I was up and out of the house before sunrise. Boo. While I had fun with extremely nervous high school students, Chris handled the single-dad thing like a champ. Caleb had soccer practice at 8:30, and Chris had everyone fed, dressed, and to the practice fields on time. Since he needed to supervise the younger three, he bowed out of his coaching duties for the day. Luckily, because he wasn't coaching, he was able to send me these pictures:
I found some rice puffs on markdown at the grocery store, and Eli is clearly very happy with them.
Where is Daisy? She met a little friend named Kate, who is also four, and they played hide and seek. Good job, Daisy! Way to overcome your socially inept family!
Back home, Chris got Eli down for his morning nap in less than ten minutes. Eli wouldn't take a bottle - he had maybe one ounce all morning, until I got home at 2:30 - but he napped like a champ!
See? Hungry but happy. Maybe he's happy because Daddy is letting him play with that drain cover that is clearly a choking hazard. Choking hazards always seem to make babies happy.
Here's a video of Eli in action:
I got home in time to feed Eli and put him down for his afternoon nap, which lasted two and a half hours. When I got home, I discovered something Chris had kept from me: at soccer practice this morning, he rolled his ankle. Badly. It's swollen and he's limping and it's awful. But the good man soldiered through, because children had to be tended! Poor guy!
While I made dinner, he hollowed out the kids' pumpkins. We didn't get around to actually carving them, but they are ready to be carved now.
See the ice pack on poor Chris' foot?
The kids watched in rapture as he carved out the pumpkins, slowly inching closer and closer until they were within stabbing range and had to be forcibly moved back.
Pumpkin carving is fascinating.
Camera flashes are also fascinating.
The insides of pumpkins are even more fascinating.
Caleb and Daisy determined it looks like cheese.
Here is a look back at pictures of my children inspecting freshly-carved pumpkins:
2011 (this post was written the day we made the offer on our current house. Funny to look back!)
Yep. Pumpkins are exciting.
Then Caleb asked if he could take six pictures. Since he asked so specifically, I handed my camera over. Here is what he saw:
He ended up taking seven, and then Daisy wanted a turn. Here is what she saw:
Peek-a-boo, Caleb! I see you!
There's his whole face!
For the past four years, my children have had handmade costumes that revolve around a theme for the family.
In 2011, Caleb and Daisy were Diego and his best friend, Baby Jaguar.
In 2012, they were a pilot and flight attendant.
In 2013, Lily joined our Star Wars cast, which included Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and Yoda.
In 2014, they were a pirate, a mermaid, and a parrot.
This year, they were all set to be characters from Peter Pan. We started discussing it in September. But by the end of the month, there was dissension among the ranks. I gave them until October 1st to come to a consensus, or homemade costumes were out. October 1 came and went, and so I let go my hopes of homemade costumes.
They ended up deciding to be skeletons, wearing their new skeleton jammies that I bought on clearance at the end of last season. The prideful and creative part of me minds, and wishes that we could have been something spectacular. But the rest of me realizes that I totally scored with this one.
3/4 of the costumes were already paid for.
4/4 of the costumes will be worn again.
4/4 children are completely thrilled with their costumes.
And I spent a total of 15 minutes on these costumes, most of which involved waiting in line at Old Navy to buy Lily's jammies.
#winning
So tonight we finally debuted the costumes.
Those kids are happy.
I did zero work.
Caleb even managed to squeeze into his awesome skeleton shoes (that are now much too small) one more time, and his Grandmother happened to give him skeleton gloves that go perfectly with the ensemble. He was a bit peeved that I didn't have a skeleton mask for him, but I'm trying to convince him to let it go. I have no idea where to find the child a skeleton mask, and no desire to look. Sorry, Caleb.
Eli was wrapped up on my back, or he would have been in the picture, too. He was wearing a skeleton sleeper that Caleb wore for his first Halloween. It is definitely too small, but we figured out a way to make it work.
Yay, Halloween!
(Also, all the candy they got tonight? I am shamelessly putting it in a bowl and giving it to trick-or-treaters next week. I don't even feel guilty about it.
ahahahh you are so funny! I am laughing every time I read. Maybe you should write a novel some day?!
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