Halloween 2010

What a day! We started by cleaning up around the house and cleaning out the car - both so unbelievably needed, and a good way to get the week off to the right start. Ever have that feeling? You just can't function anymore until the crackers are vacuumed off the carpet in your car and in your dining room? Really, never? Well, that was where we were today! Then we had a yummy brunch at a cool restaurant that was showing "Monsters, Inc." Very fun on Halloween. Late this afternoon we went to a party down the street and then all the kids headed out to trick-or-treat. There must have been 25 at one point all going house-to-house. Made both Bill and I feel so good about our neighbors, and our neighborhood. Lily had an absolute blast trick-or-treating. She said at one point, "Everyone loves my costume." (She never flinched about wearing the poodle today!) And "boy, this bag sure is heavy." At the end of the night it was just her and Wade left, and she said "Hey Wade isn't it crazy that it's just you and me?" And then to a man at a house we stopped at, "His brother Will is over at Owen's house taking a break." She's a hoot sometimes! Poor Imogene. She was just getting the hang of trick-or-treating and then saw a little boy from our street in his VERY SCARY devil mask. I mean really, I was shocked a 4 year-old would wear it! She was in the wagon, and he was right next to her and she couldn't get out. She could not recover from the hysterics. She cried and cried for over an hour. Poor baby girl. And poor Bill who dealt with it while I kept going with Lily! Thanks to Auntie Erin for coming with us tonight. Lily loves "her friend Erin" so much - and had a great time having a third adult to boss around! :)

Tomorrow is picture day for Lily at school. Please pray for me that she will get dressed in one of the three nice outfits I've left for her to pick out (she already chose one, but I gave her two back-ups just in case), and do her hair nicely, and put her shoes on without too much struggle. You know, what I pray for every morning!

Imogene is saying "woof" here.

We all love Erin!

Here she goes again finding somewhere to sit.

The 'hood.

She just kept trick-or-treating. Walked right up to the houses with the other kids without batting an eyelash. When we were done she was wiped out, but I said something about her being tired and she said, "No, I just wish I could make it for more trick-or-treating."

With her buddy Will. We had such a nice dinner with the Jones family Friday night. Lily missed her boys, but got a great fix of them this weekend! :) 

Here she goes.

At one house she worked, and worked until she got the candy out of the bowl with her right hand.

Dropping the loot in the bag.

With lola in the wagon. they must have gotten in and out 10 times.

Just a small part of the clan. 

Keeping with the poodle theme. Our pumpkins were two bones and a dog!

Trick-or-treating at Lucy's.

The Lead-Up to Halloween

Here we are at the first of two parties yesterday. 

Lily is saying to a little girl she had just met, "This is my little sister. Her name is Imogene. She's 21 months." 

Never sees a chair she doesn't want to sit in. Or a pumpkin, or a curb, or a stool.

This is after party #1 on the way to Party #2.

A beautiful setting for a birthday party on a farm, complete with hayride and bonfire.

Gorgeous sunset.

This may be one of the top ten pictures I've ever taken of Lily. I just love it.

On the hayride with Brennan. She loves Brennan. Always has!

She's getting tired, and hungry and wonders what on earth we are doing riding around in this thing filled with hay in the freezing cold.

Fun times in the "Cornbox"

Pumpking carving time!

What's in here?

Can I eat it? 

Tomorrow Will Be Better

This morning I had what was probably the worst hour of parenting I've had in Lily's entire life.
It has been building up for a while, and I'm tired, really, really tired, both physically (Stella & Dot business is booming which is great, but I'm beat) and mentally (Lily is battling absolutely EVERYTHING. She cried hysterically today when I asked her to put her shoes and socks on so we could go get ice cream. Yes I know, I'm awful.) But back to this morning where I was really awful. She decided after weeks of talking about being a pink poodle for Halloween that she wanted to be a ballerina. (I cannot even go into this very much it's just too much to explain.) It wouldn't have been that big of a deal except that I went to a lot of trouble to order the costume twice so it was the right size and it was just the way she fusses and whines and screams about everything ... I lost it. I was ridiculous. Childish. Irrational. Mean. I just couldn't take it anymore. I didn't even take a single picture of her, and she did look really sweet in her ballet outfit - the one I see her in every Wednesday, mind you. Poor Miss Patty had to call me and talk me down off the wall while I cried at 745 am. Poor Bill had to be the calm, rational one with Lily. Grunny, thank goodness, was here to keep Imogene together and entertained while I just could not deal with Anyone. Naney had to get my ranting text messages before she even left her house for work. Then thank goodness for Miss Patty and Miss Pam and Miss Carey, who put it all back together at school today. Lily did put the poodle costume on at some point (Pam sent me a picture. Carey gave us a great book to read this weekend. Patty made sure we were all okay.) Thank you to all of you who got me through today. I haven't cried much in a while, and today I've cried A LOT. Especially after I got the note that Lily wrote me at school. (Dictated to Pam.)
"Dear Mommy, I'm sorry about this morning and I love you. I'm going to put the poodle costume on right now. Love, Lily" It really was and wasn't about the costume. She wore it on Sunday to a party which I missed because I was working. It was about the costume in that sense. But really, it wasn't. It was just exhausted mommy from dealing with a very, very stubborn head-strong, smart child.

So after school I took my girls out to McDonald's to try and start over. What can't be fixed by Hi-C and processed meat? And fries of course. The ordering was a disaster. I just couldn't get it all to come out right to the lady at the register. I looked at Lily and said "Boy I'm having a rough day huh?" And she looks at the lady and says "We had a rough morning. The afternoon is going to be better." Yet again, I cried.

All the 4 year-olds at WWP are assessed in a brief screening for typical development type stuff. Sort of a "here's what you might want to watch for before kindergarten thing." It's a long story, but I was expecting to hear that Lily needed some work with writing/handedness/fine motor skills/can't write much more than her name/cannot trace many shapes/cannot draw a person at age-appropriate levels - just a few things. I was right. She needs an OT-evaluation (as opposed to the brief screening they did) and was recommended to get some short-term OT. I'm actually relieved. It's not a big deal at all. I mean really, of all people, we know how great OT can be. She might actually do better with some of the behavioral stuff. I've already called Amy, IBS's OT, and she'll do the evaluation as soon as she can. It's not a big deal at all. Especially after this conversation tonight while reading a book:
Lily: "what does creative mean?"
Me: "(thinking, thinking, thinking) when you take something that is really used for one thing, and use it for another." I gave her an example that didn't have to do with drawing or art - on purpose. Like how she comes up with crazy songs, or makes anything into drum sticks.
Lily: "Oh like when I am drawing I am creative. I am an artist."

Here come the tears again.

Pumpkin Patching

Since the fall after we were married we've gone out to Homestead Farm in Poolesville, MD to the pumpkin patch which also has apple picking and cut your own Christmas tree. We've done it all! We didn't have a big plan to go this year, but when SHOCKER! we had a free day Saturday, we decided to give it a go. The weather was perfect and we all had a blast. 

Imogene Loved to sit on the pumpkins.

Very excited to tell me about the chickens she saw.

It seems they have baby pigs every fall. I have a picture of Lily doing the same thing on the fence when she was 2. She was very certain which of those pigs was Wilbur.

On the hay ride.

Love this one.

Mommy is able to smile despite hitting her head really, really hard on the car door earlier in the day. (I was looking at cute Imogene in the back seat and I just clocked my head on the door. Not smart.)

I really like this one too!

She found another place to sit!

oops! (I went to pick her up when she fell, and hit her in the head with the camera. it was not my day.)

Okay, that's just cute isn't it?

She sat and looked out over the wagon for a while.

And finally. The best part. This is about the best caramel apple you will EVER eat. We ate two between the three of us (Imogene was not amused by the mess it made.) Lily ate some apple, but mostly just chewed the caramel off. Who can blame her?