On Sunday we carved our pumpkins. This year we decided to do a girl's pumpkin and boy's pumpkin instead of having everyone do a pumpkin. This was supposed to make things easier since the reality is we are the ones doing all the pumpkin carving. Well Tyler got a grand idea to do a "snowman" pumpkin so this meant that we still had 4 pumpkins to empty out. I guess it was still easier than carving faces for 4 pumpkins though.
So here was the girl's choice in pumpkin face, carved by me (I goofed on the mouth, I am not an expert carver):
The boys picked out the face for their snowman pumpkin and Tyler carved it:
While we worked hard removing pumpkin guts (which Penny found terrifying) and carving the pumpkins- the kids enjoyed watching "Hocus Pocus." I feel like it's not officially Halloween until we watch that movie- such a classic for me.
Monday afternoon I had the weirdest subbing job ever. I came into the class to sub and the teacher informed me that he didn't need me for another 2 hours. It was super awkward and I ended up in the office being sent to different classes to help out- I felt more like a parent volunteer than a sub. Finally the time came that the other teacher needed me and he gave his class a big long list of independent tasks to do until he came back. After 45 minutes of working quietly they started to loose it. I told them that I used to be a kid once too and I understood that it was hard to sit that long and then we got into a guessing age of how old I was- someone thought I was 19, I'm going to log that one in for when I am having a hard day, ha ha. After about an hour he came back and I was left with 30 minutes until the school day was over. They ended up sending me to Lucy's class to help out for the remaining time- that was fun.
Monday evening Grams and I had one final dinner out to PF Changs. It was so yummy and so nice to have a quiet dinner out.
Tuesday was a busy day. We started off with a quick trip to the Milford Bakery. My mom (and me) really wanted an orange zest muffin before she left but sadly they had zero muffins when we got there. It was so disappointing. Instead she got a doughnut and Penny was lucky enough to get a sugar cookie for breakfast- spoiled kid!
After the bakery it was time for me to volunteer and it was a surprisingly pleasant time. Ben was not in trouble for once and I felt like I was able to be properly helpful for once.
When I finished up volunteering it was time for Penny to go to the doctor for her check up. Grams was nice enough to tag along for moral support- I was really worried about getting that not nice nurse again and I know Penny always melts down at the doctor's office. Well both things did happen- I did have that nurse again and Penny did melt down. It's so frustrating because I talked with Penny beforehand about the weighing and measuring and how that's not scary and she still freaked out as soon as we went back. The nurse wasn't as awful as last time but he still wasn't great. It was mostly me- not him- that coaxed her to do the hearing test (I told her she could say "poop" when she heard the beeps- her pathetic little voice saying "poop" was pretty adorable). I also got her through the vision test (where she kept calling the pic of a flag a timer). Thankfully he wasn't the one who gave her shots and the nurse who did was so much more understanding and kind.
I also expressed my speech concerns to the dr and without even really hearing Penny talk she gave me a speech referral. I don't really get this dr but whatever, I have a speech eval scheduled for Penny in week and a half. Unfortunately this is not a free place and I'm not sure we'll be able to do anything further than the evaluation. Our insurance won't cover until the deductible is met so it could get pricey.
Our last Tuesday task was to take Grams to the airport. This was a very sad task. We all came home feeling gloomy (the rain and thunderstorm didn't help) but thankfully Tyler was prepared with pizza so we could eat our feelings.
Wednesday was Halloween and after I dropped the kids off at the bus stop I rushed to Kohl's to get a Halloween shirt for myself because for some reason I just really wanted it. I thought it was funny even if nobody else commented on it.
After my selfish little errand I finished last minute preparations for Lucy's class party. I was in charge of her party which hadn't been an easy task because her teacher was not fabulous about returning emails. Her teacher also almost failed to get me a volunteer pass which would have been tragic since they only allow you in the building before the party if you have a pass- it's a big school and they have a lot of rules and regulations for holidays. Thankfully I got the pass and everything worked out well. I was able to get to the school before the parking lot filled up, I was able to set up for the party and still make it to see the kids in the parade and the party itself turned out really well.
For Kindergarten they have a Nursery Rhyme themed party for Halloween so I came up with 5 stations under that theme. We had Nursery Rhyme Yoga, finding Little Bo Peep's lost sheep, Nursery Rhyme Bingo, an Itsy Bitsy Spider Craft and decorating the Muffin Man's Muffins (aka cupcakes). My biggest fault was asking for 5 parent volunteers because I ended up with nothing to do since they all ran the stations.
Also costume. It was easy and cheap- we stuck stars on black shirt and made her a star headband. Grams also found some star leggings for her!
Because I was in charge of Lucy's party I did not go to the boy's Halloween parties but a friend was nice enough to send me a picture of Ben at his party.
After the party's school was out (it was a half day) so we came home and I made some pumpkin pancakes for the kids- their job was to give the pumpkins faces. It was funny to see their different faces- Steven still makes a face that includes as many chocolate chips as possible and Penny didn't even attempt to make hers look like a face.
When we finished our "lunch" the kids and I sat down to watch "Monster Family." It was on Netflix and I thought it could be a good Halloween movie- it was not so good but at least it killed an afternoon of anxiously waiting to go trick or treating.
At last the time came to trick or treat and it was probably the warmest (and non rainy) Halloween we've had since moving here. I was hoping Tyler would work on Lucy's birthday cake so I actually volunteered to take the kids trick or treating. He didn't work on the cake while we were out but I actually didn't mind taking them because I wasn't freezing for once! The kids got way too much candy- I ended up stashing chips in my jacket to make space in their buckets. It was super fun when I would lean over to grab something the kids dropped and chips would fall out of my jacket, ha ha! It was also more fun trick or treating this year because we actually knew people so it was nice to see familiar faces.
Thursday was Lucy's 6th Birthday! We started the day with her opening presents- per tradition. She got spoiled with princess bedding, some doll accessories and a dog bone game from us. Grams and Poppy Hatch got her a Rapunzel bow and arrow. Grams and Poppy Brady got her a Princess Scooter and small Hatchimal.
Then after having some Unicorn cereal and getting ready she was off to school. For school I had packed her a special lunchable (they get so excited by the lunchables, it's silly) and I sent her with a book to gift to her class (Back to School with Bigfoot). I felt bad that I was home all day and I didn't come visit in her class but it's so hard to coordinate with her teacher and I had just been in her class the day before so I tried to squash my guilt with those reasons. Instead Penny and I spent the morning at the library with friends and then that afternoon we took a nap. It was a much needed chill day.
After school Lucy had her school friend Jenna over to celebrate her birthday with pizza and cake. Jenna's brother Evan is friends with Steven so he came over too. It was a totally laid back birthday and I think she had a ton fun. She loved playing with friends, licking up every last drop of cake and ice cream and her friend Jenna spoiled her with a giant Lego set.
Friday I spent babysitting for a friend and got to experience having 3 littles at home during the day. It went smoothly so go me! Penny gets along so well with Brooks and his baby sister, Adelaide was in a good mood so it made for a nice day.
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