Fall in Finally Here! And Costume-Season has Begun!

Chilly weather has finally arrived!  Which means cute robes, fuzzy slippers and cozy blankets.  Adley has no problem posing for the camera.  And she never hesitates to give you her opinion.  She all but demands boots, accessories and now curly hair almost daily.  Her favorite phrase is "I'm hungry."  And then she takes two bites and proclaims her belly is full.  Ten minutes later, "I'm hungggrrryy!"  I have debated making her starve or go to bed hungry, but she's too dang cute sometimes.

Chris "picked a pumpkin" at Costco and carved it for the kids.  I bought this cute carving kit with fun pictures and little tools, thinking we could have a pumpkin masterpiece on display.  Instead, Chris wanted to carve it freestyle.  OMG, I couldn't stop laughing.  If you look closely, there is a small rectangle at the top of the pumpkin.  That is a forehead...Hudson requested one and that was Chris' interpretation.  The kids were beyond impressed with their daddy's work.

Haunted Hot Dog Roast

Our town had a Halloween event that was really cute for the kids.  It was led by the Springboro Area Historical Society and started off with trick-or-treating down Main Street in our cute little downtown.  A cookout that included hot dogs and s'mores was next.  Then we took a walking tour through downtown Springboro.  The "ghosts of Springboro past" came out and told us the history of the town. Thought that was a clever way to learn some history while running around in costumes and staying up late on a week night.

 

Four moms trying to wrangle nine small children hopped up on candy and hot dogs...

Frozen on Ice
The family had a girls-only afternoon (which included Pop) and we went to see Disney's Frozen on Ice.  Adley was mesmerized and belted out every song and danced her little heart out.  Claire, well she had a different reaction.  She was stunned like I have never seen any child before.  Shocked.  Mute.  Literally frozen to her chair, never moving and probably never blinking.  I have never seen such a quiet child.  I love quiet-Claire.

The most expensive snow cone cup ever was purchased....which gave Adley the most adorable brain freeze ever. So I dubbed that as money well spent.

Hudson finished soccer season.  His team came in 2nd in their league so they got legit trophies, instead of the everyone-gets-a-participation-medal.  Next up, basketball!!

Windmill Farms

During last weeks Patriots football game, the mamas packed up the kids and went on a hayride and did some pumpkin picking.  The kids loved it!  And the moms loved NOT having to watch their darling husbands yell and scream at the television.  The dads had a "play day," drinking beer and watching the game.  #wifepoints.  And the Patriots won in case you missed that game #doublewifepoints

Monster Mash
Daycare had their annual Halloween Party.  It rained, so everything got moved indoors, but it was still a good time.  The boy cousins are going as matching skeletons that glow in the dark.  Adley and Claire continue to dress up in their normal attire = princess dresses.  Adley was Ariel this time.  And it was a special costume because it was a hand-me-down from cousin Hannah!

We're gearing up for the big day on Wednesday.  It's supposed to be rainy and chilly, so we are sticking to our annual tradition.  Everyone comes over to my house early for pizza and costume prep.  Then the dads and big kids go out and collect their candy.  The mamas and babies stay back in the comfort of a warm home, all while drinking wine and enjoying a calm evening.

Paris, Superheroes and Road Trips

Another great month can be put in the books!  Chris and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary in Paris, then came back home to superhero shows, Oktoberfest and a road trip to Columbus.  But don't let me mislead you too much, there is still the daily emotional roller coaster of a 3 and 5 year old, along with evening meltdowns and potty-training accidents, but most of time, we are having a blast.

Paris was amazing!  Big city, big lights, big price tags.  And with no Chanel glasses or Hermes bags or Louboutin shoes, we definitely stood out as tourists.  I embraced my American-ness and happily carried around my maps and listened to my walking tours.  Chris, however, said he was able to "play it cool and fit it."  But when one travels with a plastic grocery bag of six Parisian books, then attempts to haul most of them around, all while listening to an audio book...well, you get the picture.  We were tourists.  Paris is full of beautiful people, sophisticated food and breathtaking history.  I would describe it as visiting New York City, but with more history and less trash and homeless people.

 

My favorite spot was the Eiffel Tower, which surprised me.  You always hear how this area is a tourist trap and surrounded by crowds and vendors.  But I found this work of art mesmerizing, eclectic and stunning; it didn't belong yet it fit in so perfectly with the city.  Paris has zero crazy tall sky scrapers and the buildings have a height requirement, so you could see the tower from almost any spot in the city.  I won't bore you, but Chris taught me a lot about how Henry IV and Napoleon III helped shape the layout of the city.  It also had a surrounding park, fountains leading up to the base and it displayed a golden flashing lights show every hour on the hour at night.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Massive, elaborate, heavenly and calming - my words to describe this 13th century work of art.  We were able to see Christ's crown of thorns, which is only displayed once a month and during Easter.  Again, Chris can give you the extensive history behind it; I am giving you the cliff notes. 

Versailles

Only a short train ride away from the city, we spent a day here at it was beyond jaw-dropping.  The Hall of Mirrors, the miles of endless gardens, the gold-encrusted-everything!  Money just poured from the walls of this castle. 

Louvre Museum

I felt like I was on the set of The Thomas Crown Affair and The DaVinci Code (anyone remember those movies?!).  This museum was surreal.  Fascinating.  Enchanting.  Hypnotizing.  Originally a fortress, that turned into a castle, then ended up as the world's largest museum.

  

We had museum passes, which meant endless access.  Aka, Chris' dream-come-true.  For a history nerd, I couldn't blame him though.  But after four hours of exploring, I had to take a break.  Chris came back later that day to scope out a couple hundred more exhibits and objects.  And while he was doing that, I was doing this..... 

Back to Reality

Once we returned home and got back into the swing of Kindergarten and Preschool, another fun weekend was in store.  Hudson and I went to a Marvel Live Universe Tour with some friends.  My knowledge of superheroes has exponentially grown since this visit.  With all the explosions, flying superheroes, motocross and aerial silks, it was pretty awesome.

Adley has been rocking out in her new preschool class.  She is almost potty-trained and only wearing pull-ups at night.  She always looks forward to show-and-share and will debate which toy she wants to bring that week.  She has found her voice and is always asking questions and giving her opinion, but only to us.  If you put her in front of a stranger, or Lolly, she freezes.  She turns mute and forgets everything.  As Lolly says, "You gotta start from ground zero and rebuild the relationship with that child."  So weird....and funny.  But when no one is watching, she will belt out and sing Frozen like she is the princess building that dang ice castle.

All last week, Chris worked in Columbus.  So the kids and I packed up and headed his way for the weekend.  The kids were pumped.  Their favorite road-trip things are to sleep in the "secret bed," (aka the pull-out bed), fill up the bucket from the ice monster (aka the hotel ice machine) and eat at the breakfast buffet.  It is a special treat for the kids to go down and eat breakfast (in their pjs) with their daddy, then bring up "special plates" for mommy.  It is a win-win for everyone.  Once we told them we were going to the zoo, their world exploded into awesomeness.  And then after we bought them icee's in 18-inch tall cups, we became the coolest parents ever.  I may have purposely forgotten to tell them they could get discounted refills...oopsie.

First camel ride for these two!

  

Great times, fun memories and new adventures are always in store.  We are gearing up for Halloween now.  The Haunted Hot Dog Roast of Springboro is tomorrow!  And Chris has been trying to convince Hudson to be George Washington for Halloween, but the kid isn't budging....yet.  We shall see if Chris' persistence (aka nagging/begging/pleading until the kids caves) actually works.

Happy Fall Y'all!