Halloween and Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Let me first play catch up and start with Halloween.  Before the big candy day, we had a couples game night, where seven of my local Ohio girlfriends got together with our hubbies to play card games, trivia games, drawing games, etc.  This time it was at the Kemp crib and the game was Drawing Without Dignity (GREAT game btw!).  We always play boys vs girls.  And the boys always seem to cheat and win (and the blame is usually geared towards Chris, shocking), but this time the girls dominated!  It is always a blast to get together with these ladies.  Most of our kids either go to school together or play sports together, so it's nice to step out of the "parent role" ever so often and have fun.

Then came Halloween.  Hudson was Captain America by day and a skeleton by night.  After much debate over which princess Adley would be, she decided on Rapunzel.  She is obsessed with this hand-me-down wig from cousin Hannah.  Now this poor wig has been through the ringer; it is matted and old and falling apart.  I have tried to brush and re-braid it, but it never looks good.  But Adley adorreeeessss it, so we let her rock her matted-up mop of a wig and laugh along the way.

 

Everyone came to our house beforehand for pizza and goodies.  It wasn't very cold, but it was misty and almost raining.  But it didn't stop our crew of eleven kids from running through the neighborhood.  The tradition has been to have the dads take all the kids out for trick-or-treating.  The mamas get to stay back in the cozy warm house and sip on fun beverages.  I hope this tradition never ends. 

 The mandated candy-swap, where he kids trade their goodies.  It's cute to watch.

 Adley started gymnastics and she is obsessed!  She wants to tumble and roll all over the house now.  And she knows she is cute in her leotards, so she will strut herself around and transform into a diva as soon as the spandex come out.  Also note, she is completely potty-trained!  We keep her in a Pullup at night, but she is officially a big girl.

Below are pics of two favorite things the kids love to do...give "bunny ears" and strip down naked.  Hudson is the best big brother, always looking out for his sis and teaching her fun things.  Adley continues to find her voice and wants you to hear it.  It is usually heard by singing songs...Elsa, Moana, Bruno Mars, Beyonce, Jingle Bells, etc...you play it and she will sing it all.

 Hudson was recently a Star Student of the Week.  It was all about him for an entire week of school.  He got to decorate a poster and share it with his class:

Favorite Subjects: Reading, Math, Science

Favorite Sports: Basketball, Soccer, Football

Favorite memory: Vacations to Florida

When he grows up he wants to be a police officer and Tom Brady.

We recently had a Friendsgiving with a few of my girlfriends, their spouses and a combined twelve kids, ages 6 and younger.  We've been friends since college and are fortunate to be able to get together yearly for a girls trip (9 years and counting!).  This was the first time some of the kids got to meet and play together.  The weather was nice, the bounce house up and it was a great afternoon.

Thanksgiving was held at LollyPops house this year.  It has been awhile since the clan has all been in town at the same time to celebrate.  Even though the kids see each other nearly everyday, they loved hanging out.  Claire and Adley had to wear "fancy dresses," but that didn't stop them from playing in the pile of leaves Pop raked for them.  And after lunch, the boys had to take their shirts off, go downstairs and play video games.  Not sure why these kids don't like to wear clothes.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season in store.  We all know this time of year can be stressful and overwhelming, so try and stop and count your blessings ever so often.  Occasionally overlooked and often taken for granted, be grateful for the little things as well as the big.  Remind yourself of what's important in life, for one day you might wake up and it's all gone. 

Happy Holidays!

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!