Tricks & TREATS

She's a tricky one, that girl! And my buddy, he makes me want to kiss the cook!

So our Halloween was different this year than the years past. This year we started the tradition of trickin' & treatin' in our own subdivision.
KK joined us as 'Weekend Vampire' a rock band & we pounded the candy-giving pavement.

Fall Handsomeness

I can't get enough of my cuties. And going back full time to work has made me appreciate them that much more. Altho I certainly do miss those moments together, like the thousands of them we used to spend together, however we wanted.

But new chapters make our books complete. They make our books interesting & unique & a variety.

Look at my boy, he won't look at the camera. He'll smile, he'll lift up his head, but he will not look at the camera. Sweet, but silly.

He's on a roll right now. "I Yuv you Momma", "I Yuv you Daddy", "I yuv You Finn". And hugs follow.

And Flynn, she uses words like RECOGNIZE, & ACTUALLY. On the way to church, she piped up from the back seat, "What's ANTI-FUNGAL mean?" And she can read with best of them.

I'll never stop saying how lucky I am. We are so blessed.

Things I Love about Fall

• Leaves...the color
• the smell... like if "crispness" had an odor
• not hot, not cold (unless you live in MO)
• orange
• pumpkins
• hay
• fires
• camping
• Peanut's Great Pumpkin
• getting out the big yard blow up thing
• the kids' excitment when we pull out the "Fall Tub"
• orange & brown
• orange & black
• the house being cold when you wake up
• long sleeves
• memories of when Jeff & I were falling in love

(we started "officially" dating in Aug., so in those fall months, he was courting me, big time)

• apples & candied apples
• scarves

My Little Pumpkins

....carved their pumpkin the other night

they voted for a "mad" face....and then Gabe did NOT want the jack a lantern to go outside

speaking of Gabe, he still insists that he wants to be a pumpkin for Halloween,

"Me not be dragon, ME BE PUNKIN!!!!!!!!"

I explained that we only had the dragon (dinosaur?) costume. But it wasn't good enough for him. He crossed his long arms as far as they'd reach & put on a scowl (not unlike the jack o lantern's).

Should I tell him that in 10 or so years he'll thank me?

Once Upon a Time, at the Park...

Once upon a time, there was a little boy & a little girl & a beautiful fall day.

There was a request to go to the park, so their momma obliged.

There were tears when the momma pulled up & the park was "broken".

So all the boy & girl could do was stand & watch the big machines at work.

"Momma, the park is broken!"

So... what to do?

I guess we'll have to make our own fun.

"Look over there! At that GIANT tree!!"

"Think we could climb it?!"

"Mom, why does this tree grow sideways?"

"Well, look what it's growing toward?...what is that way?"

"The sunlight?"

"That's right....plants grow toward the light, they need it to grow & live."

"Oh yah, the moon is always that way & the sun is always that way!"

(pointing to where the sun rises & the moon sets)

"I'm going to climb it.

Come on Bubs!"

Not as easy as it looks.

Definitely taller than it looks though.

"Guys, look at me & smile!"

Really high.

"Let's play follow the leader!"

"Flap your arms like a bird."

"Into the meadow!"

"Look at all the butterflies!" (moths)

And then the momma led the children down a path & told them she had a surprise for them...

A creek!

"Can we throw rocks into the water?"

"Yes, just not at each other."

And then the momma let them choose a path to take, which wound around dark shadows & skinny trees.

And when every corner & nook seemed the same, the momma & her children pretended they were lost.

The momma asked the children to find their own way back to their car,

"Quiet! Listen to all the sounds around us, what do you hear?"

"'nakes" said the little boy.

"The machines!" said the little girl.

And so the momma reminded them that the car was by the machines....so they followed the sound of the machines. And through the clearing, they spotted the shine of their car.

"We found our way!!" said the proud little girl.

"Hurray!!" said the little boy (at least, that's what the momma thinks he said).

And so, as they headed to their car & their forgotten pbj's, the momma smiled,

she was glad the park was broken.

Busy Bees

That's been us. Hence my lack of blog.

I'm working on a post from yesterday...which includes photos (therego my delay.) Yes, I just said therego. And the line before I said hence.

We've been working hard with church stuff, trying to enjoy the fall weather, missing daddy during soccer season, & preschool.

The other day, Flynn said, "We talked about Autumn at school. Autumn is the same thing as Fall. Why does it have two names?"

I told her, "Lots of things & people have more than one name. Like you call me Momma, but you could also call me Mother. Or Daddy could be Father."

She totally got it, "And I call Gabe, Bubby!"

Soon we'll be switching closets over to the new season. This has to be one of my most grueling tasks. Because my kids closets consists of 95% hand-me downs & garage sale duds, this takes serious organization. Add to that, my girl grows at an incredibly slow rate. Some of the clothes in her closet are 2T. And she's four. She has been wearing some of these outfits for two years. She knows how to stretch her dollar like her momma.

She still insists that I refer to her as Gum Drop. And she already has a game plan for her birthday party. Apparently, she's having a DANCE BIRTHDAY THEME. Dance Birthday? Come again?
Yes.
"Momma, remember last day when I was showing you, 'Step-step-cha cha cha'?"
"I do remember, you made me do it."
"Well, that's going to be one of the things we do at my dance birthday."
Do you think she'll have a lesson plan like I had for her party last year?

The other day, I had to take kids to a doctor's appointment with me. The nurse asked if they are twins.
This is the same appointment which proved itself stressful (& not just because I had to make an appointment for hernia repair surgery).
But because I took the little dvd player. I made Flynn carry it in its case. Which she dropped in the parking lot.
And Gabe fell asleep & I had to carry him (that's why Flynn was carrying the dvd player).
And then I waited in the wrong waiting room (why would a dr's office have TWO waiting rooms? and if so, why wouldn't you tell me when I signed in?).
So then I was a few minutes late for the appointment I should've been early for.
And then, there was no outlet for me to plug the dvd player in. And the battery [I thought] had broken off when Flynn dropped it.
And there was only one chair.
And Gabe head-butted Flynn. And she cried really hard.
And my sister had forewarned me that this surgeon was getting a little older, losing his bedside manner, & getting a tad crabby. (he was actually fine) Which made me nervous about the kids being in there, and crying. So I started to panic.
I was trying to finish filling out the paperwork I got there early to fill out (but remember, instead I sat in the wrong waiting room?).
And the kids weren't having just sitting there doing nothing.
So I feverishly began a search in my purse for something.
I almost gave them an altoid.
Instead, I found 2 pens & 2 scraps of paper.
The surgeon came in. He was examining my abdomin (which is a lengthy examination these days, ugh).
Gabe got really quiet.
I looked over.
He was writing ALL OVER himself.
I didn't care. Because he was quiet.
And --
hairspray really does get ink out of clothing.

Have I Mentioned That I Love Fall?

It's that time of year....

my favorite time of year.

You Know It's Fall When -

• There's that smell in the air, and I don't mean little boy's pee
• I'm frantically searching for everyone's jackets
• The Zustiaks have fans in their windows
• I'm instantly cheerier, even when it's overcast (what I mean was BECAUSE it's overcast!)
• I'm counting down the soccer games LEFT
• I'm sad each time I slide on my flip-flops, thinking that their days are numbered
• Flynn tells everyone, "It's almost Fall! That means, after that, it's WINTER. And winter has CHRISTMAS. AND THE GIRLS ARE COMING HOME AT CHRISTMAS!!!"
• Flynn has lined out, her costume for the next THREE HALLOWEENS
• On the shelf at Dierbergs, candy corn is strategically shelved RIGHT NEXT to the peanuts
• Suddenly, I'm not the only fan of orange with brown

I've Fallen for Fall

"i cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. so i spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." n. hawthorne

I love you fall! And I love you 60+ temps!
We've been to the park THREE times already this week...and the week isn't over yet!