Happy Halloween!

Today felt so anticlimactic!!!  I'm sort of disappointed.  We had a lot of fun leading up to today and then tonight was a bit of a let down.  Let me back up a little.

Last Sunday, we took the boys to Derby Street because they had trick or treating at the stores.  We went last year and it was fun, even though the boys had no idea what was going on and couldn't even walk yet.  I thought it would be great this year.  But the boys were fussy and not all that happy to have their costumes on.  They didn't walk either--they ended up in the stroller because it was so crowded and chaotic.  I didn't get any good pictures because they were being fussy.  Bummer.

They got some candy, stickers, temporary tattoos, and some pictures to color.  It was cute, but not as fun as I'd hoped since they didn't really behave as well as they normally do in public.

Later that day we made Halloween cookies--our family recipe.  The batter is to die for...the cooked cookies are not that special.  The boys got bored of watching and started to fuss, but overall, I'm glad I made them and carried on the family tradition of making them.  Keeping with our theme of bad photography, Carlos took blurry pictures of us.

Work was CRAZY this week.  A bit of a shit show.  Can't wait for it all to be over...I love coming home to my boys.  We read a lot before and after dinner.  On this particular day, Adrian was fascinated with my Harvard magazine.  Too funny.

The boys made candy corn art with Natalie.  She does lots of great art projects with them.  It's awesome because I have no art talent or creativity at all.

I signed the boys up for a free story hour/craft event today at Keeping Pace in West Bridgewater.  Some B-R kids were supposedly running it.  It was open to 10 kids so I signed them up and asked Natalie to bring them.  They had a great time making art and reading.  Apparently the local paper was there (Enterprise?) and they took photos.  So I'll have to keep my eyes out to see if they end up in the paper.

(Just found the article in the Brockton Enterprise, but no picture of Sebastian.  :-(  http://www.enterprisenews.com/features/x1069223161/3-Bridgewater-Raynham-students-work-with-kids-for-Halloween-treat)

Finally, here are the boys tonight before trick or treating.

We could NOT get them to cooperate for a photo of the two of them and definitely not for a photo of the four of us.  My mom came over to help us.  She manned the door while we took the boys around. We only went to two houses because it started to rain really hard.  All Adrian wanted to do was jump around and Sebastian wanted to be held.  So we came home.  Hence my opening--Halloween was anti-climactic this year.  Maybe next year they will get more into it.

Early Halloween!

Hello!  I'm sooooo done with work right now...and so excited about Halloween!  This has been an intense week work-wise--my work week actually ended today, Saturday, at noon thanks to Parents' Weekend.  It was fine, just made for a long, exhausting week after a long, exhausting season.  And I was bummed because I missed the boys' Halloween party at their Music Together class.  Everyone went in costume.  They had to make "pumpkin shakers" (noise makers) for the class, and Natalie had the fun of doing it with them.  I feel like a bad mother.  :-(

Anyway, both my parents went with Carlos to the class, and my mom took photos.  They are blurry, but they are all I have.

Apparently they were good today.  Sebastian was fascinated with the witch's hat the woman in the background of this picture has on.  She was nice enough to let him try it on, but Carlos told me that Sebastian didn't like it so much when it was on his head.  So, he gave it back to the lady.  They were fascinated with the devil tails that my mother made for them--they loved swinging them around and dragging them on the floor behind them.  I thought the tails would be a hit, and I was right!

They get to use the costumes twice more, which is great.  We'll go trick or treating tomorrow at Derby St. Shoppes and then again on Halloween.

This past Thursday, they also got into costume to take a nighttime adventure to the Roger William's Zoo Pumpkin Spectacular.  http://rwpzoo.org/178/jack-o-lantern-spectacular.

It was so darn crowded that we barely got to see the pumpkins.  I don't deal well with crowds, either.  I HATE being surrounded by people.  But it was still a cool experience.  Carlos had a party for work to attend, so my mom and I took the boys.  We gave them dinner early, bathed them, put them in their PJs, and, then put their costume over the PJs.  We got there right when it opened at 6pm, which was apparently our mistake.  We talked to a security guard who told us the secret is to get there at 8pm.  Would have been way too late for the boys this year, but good to know for future reference!

Anyway, the display was pretty amazing. Thousands of pumpkins carved so intricately...and there was music and fog.  It was festive.  I didn't get any pictures of the pumpkins so I borrowed this one from the zoo's website.

I've been practicing the concept of trick or treat with the boys.  I have given them some Reese's Pieces after dinner, but they have to say "trick or treat" for every piece of candy.  It's like training a dog!!  But now they associate the phrase with candy, which they love.  Sebastian actually says "tic o tic o teet" or something like that.  Adrian comes close, but it's not replicable!

If these boys are anything like me at all, they are going to LOVE Halloween as they get older and understand it more.

And Then He Kissed Me

Those boys of mine are such a riot.  Lately, they crack me up with their huge puckers when they want to give someone a kiss.  Sebastian is more generous with the "besos" than Adrian, but when I'm lucky, I'll get a juicy wet kiss from both boys.  They are very diplomatic, too.  If they kiss me, they have to kiss everyone else in the room as well--for good measure--even each other.  

That's one lousy picture, but it was the only one that captured the pucker on both boys!

Now, on to last weekend's events.  First of all, Saturday afternoon we went to Patriot Place for their Harvest Festival.  It was great.  I got the boys' Halloween costume...no more info on that yet.  It will be a surprise.  Then, we walked around sampling free food.  We heard some live music and scored free pumpkins for the boys (medium sized ones!).  It was festive and fun!

We hit the playground on the way home because it was on the way and the boys had done a lot of sitting.  They deserved a break to stretch their legs and let loose running around!

As usual, Adrian loved the swings.  He even tried the "big boy" swing, which was against my better judgement, but he held on tight and we didn't go very high at all.  Look at the look of joy on his face!

Sunday we went to Methuen to visit Nana Banana.  The boys enjoyed seeing everyone.  The first thing Sebastian did when we took him out of the car was hug and kiss nana.  It was sweet, and I hope it made her day as much as it did mine to see.  Adrian was stingy with his kisses, but I do believe he eventually gave one to Nana.

The boys did a little playing together.  Just as they were getting bored, Auntie Carol and Christian arrived with a box full of cars, books, and puzzles.  They saved the day because it bought us another 45 minutes or so of contented boys in the living room and a peaceful lunch at Wendy's because they had something to do!

There were *four* generations seated around that table, and I feel so blessed that I can say that!  It was a great visit.  Can't wait to take the boys up again.

On a completely unrelated note, I was looking back at the blog entries from a year ago, as I occasionally do to remind myself of past events, and I saw the entry where I described our first visit to this house.  I mentioned that Carlos hated it and that I thought we were "supposed" to buy this place.  I guess I was right!  There is something to be said for intuition.  Now, after about 9 months of living here, I couldn't be happier with the location and the house itself.  We haven't done nearly as many projects as I had hoped, for lack of time and money, but it will come with time.  I'm just so glad to be out of that God-awful condo and living situation.  It feels like another lifetime ago in many ways.  Anyway, I'm glad we are in Easton now, closer to my family, and that we have our own space to enjoy.  It's the small things; every time I unload the dishwasher I think about how I can do it at any hour of the day or night because I don't have to worry about clanging dishes.  I can do laundry early or late if I feel like it because I don't have to worry about someone else's definition of quiet hours.  We don't have to coordinate the shoveling or snowblowing, call someone to move their car so we can get out of the driveway, or ask someone else if we want to plant a push or some flowers.  It gives me such joy to have our own space!  Amen!

Columbus Day Weekend

Columbus Day weekend was jam-packed with fun!  And, the weather was pretty decent, too!  Saturday we hung around and did errands.  The boys had their music class, which they now enjoy more, and we hit some yard sales after.  We found some great stuff!  We got a ton of brand new cookie cutters, a 4th of July wreath, and an electric hedge trimmer (which we've been wanting to find) and extension cord all for $13.  At another yard sale, I found a huge, light-up Christmas wreath (a nice one, not tacky) and a funky 60s-style mirror for the house for $15.

Sunday, we had Nick and Lorna, Nicky, and Brad, Anne, and baby Patrick over for brunch.  We finally got to meet Patrick, who is now 3 weeks old, and he's ADORABLE!   He liked me well enough and fell asleep in my arms.  I love holding newborns because it brings back such good memories.

After the boys' naptime, we headed to Hull to have a little cookout with my dad.  My brother and Jen and Baby James went too, which was nice.  I think they find being around us overstimulating and too chaotic because Baby James is still in a quiet, immobile stage and my boys are anything but quiet and immobile!

We took the boys down to the beach for a walk, but it turned out not to be a good idea because they wanted to get IN the water, which was cold, and I hadn't brought extra shoes or clothing.  They were mad at us for not letting them get wet!

Monday morning, we went to Market Basket, as usual, and Carlos let the boys ride the yucky, germy horse outside again.  Gross.  But they love it.

Then we went to Langwater farm, just down the street, for a *free* hayride to their pick-your-own pumpkin patch.  We had to wait a half an hour for the first ride, so while we were hanging out, the boys explored the farmstand and looked at the tractors.

It was a long ride!  About a half hour total.  The boys loved it and kept asking for more every time the driver (who was a woman!) would slow down or stop.

And because the boys are obsessed with pumpkins, ghosts, witches, and scarecrows, Carlos bought a cheapo "man," as the boys call him, at Ocean State.  The boys love coming home to it--they get so excited!  Today the wind blew him over.  I didn't notice, but as we were coming back from a walk, Sebastian started pointing and getting all upset about something.  Turns out he was saying "mah fuh down."  (man fall down)

At dinner, I was so proud of myself.  I made delicious buffalo chicken (not too spicy), kale chips, rice, etc.  But the boys didn't like my chicken or kale chips.  What a bummer!  At least they devoured everything else on the plate!

It was hard to go back to work after such a nice long weekend (which felt even longer because I worked from home last Friday).  Luckily, though, things will start to get a tad easier soon--at least I hope!

Love Fall, Hate Fall

We have had a gorgeous fall so far.  No complaints about the weather.  My only complaint is about not being able to enjoy the nice days as much as I'd like because of work.

We haven't done much because I've been busy working on weekends.  I'm hoping we get out a bit with the boys this weekend.  I'd love to take them to the Roger Williams Zoo to see the lit up pumpkins, or to Edaville Railroad, but not sure it's worth the money if they will probably sleep through it!  We'll see.

Here are some random pictures from last weekend at my mom's.  We went over briefly in the afternoon for her birthday.  The boys rediscovered their old exersaucer.  It was too funny to watch them try to jump up and down in it now.  They are way too big for it.  I can't believe how much they've grown.

This week, after I got home from work, I tried taking them out for a walk without the stroller--just the boys and their push toys.  It was fine at the beginning but sort of a disaster towards the end as it was like herding cats.

The boys love to go around the neighborhood right now looking for cats and the fish mailbox.  Plus they love Halloween stuff!  These boys are definitely my sons!  haha  They love pumpkins, ghosts, scarecrows, and witches.  One of our neighbors has a witch fastened to her lampost and they are fascinated with it.

Today I worked from home and finished around 3pm.  We got in the car to pick up Mugie to go buy some big pumpkins for the boys.  We didn't take an pictures, but I'll have to get them to pose with their pumpkins.  They have mini pumpkins from Natalie that they won't put down, especially Sebastian.  Who would have thought a pumpkin would be such a big hit??

Can't wait for November first to come so work will die down!  I miss my life.