Girly Ghouls

I took the girls to the Ghouls at the Zoo on Sunday night. Yay- a chance to dress up before Halloween and get candy too! We hadn't been in a couple of years, and the zoo really went all out. We went on a haunted hayride that had Maggie scared. Actually, most things scared her, especially the mad Scientist lab. You know, cauliflower brains, that sort of thing. She was literally running out of there. We walked the zoo for 3 hours! My feet were scared (scarred-either will do) too after that.

Georgia took some pleasure in her fear - as big sisters do. It was a warm-up for the real deal tomorrow night. I snuck in Georgia's room that night while she slept and swiped some M&M's. Tee-hee-hee.... I'll have some great pickings tomorrow night for sure!

Generations to come

Today is day #2 of Fall Break for Georgia, so we spent the morning with Brad's grandmother, Ms. Willie. Brad has 2 grandmothers living, and both are in Nashville. How wonderful is that?! I would give anything to have a grandparent still alive, but also in town would be the best thing ever.


The girls and I went to visit Ms. Willie, take her to the store, and then to lunch. She was thrilled to see the girls, but I think the girls were more thrilled to see her. Ms. Willie moves a bit slow now - she is 91 - and I always forget this when we go out. I'm used to running around like a maniac in a store just trying to get out! With 2 children with me, I don't like to mess around. But, mess around we did at Dollar General today. I must have done 5 laps of the store, saw every item available, vetoed those items for purchase when asked, and paid for what we needed while Ms. Willie perused the cards. The girls actually gave up on begging for things and just sat down in the floor while we waited.

I wonder if that's what I'll be like as I age? It's hard to imagine your life slowing down and speeding up at the same time, as so many people and things change around you. Anyway, waiting for Ms. Willie to shop was nice. It was heartwarming to see the pleasure she got from being out; she kept referring to it as 'a treat'.

I used to bring my grandmother, Virginia, chocolate milkshakes when she could no longer get out. It was such a simple thing to do and it brought tremendous joy to both of us. I'd bring her a shake every day now if I could.

Back to today, we then headed to lunch. Ms. Willie chose Shoney's for the food bar. Lunch went long, as eating is slow too. The girls were surprisingly well-behaved. It's like they don't want to push their limits when out with Ms. Willie. Perhaps she needs to be with us more often!

She was bummed that we couldn't come back into her apartment after lunch, but Maggie was due a nap. Ms. Willie was all smiles as we dropped her off. So were we.

Put a smile on the face of someone you love today.

Finally!

The weather is finally cooling off. We can look forward to crisp days and cool nights. Football weather! It's also the time of year that holidays start bunching up with birthdays. It seems like we quickly go from one to the other. We start planning for Halloween and Thanksgiving in September and Christmas in October with birthdays sprinkled everywhere in between. We have 8 family birthdays between now and Christmas, assuming I haven't forgotten someone. Just in our house alone it's Georgia's in November and Brad and I in December. Also in December my Dad and brother. We'll be celebrating left and right! Cakes, cakes, cakes.


The girls have their Halloween costumes picked out. As you know, this is serious business. Georgia picked the 'perfect' witch and Maggie is going as the latest Barbie princess, The Island Princess Rosella. I think they time children's movie releases in time for Halloween and Christmas to maximize merchandising opportunities. And of course, we oblige with open wallets.

Kitty Lovin

Kiki, our cat, absolutely loves Georgia. Not so much Maggie though. As soon as Georgia gets home from school, the cat seeks her out. She knows she's guaranteed lots of good rubbing.

About 3 years ago, Georgia was allergy tested. We found out she is allergic to cats, and her allergist told me we had to gid rid of Kiki. Well, that was a big no-can-do! Georgia would rather sneeze all day than not have her kitty. So Kiki lives the good life in Georgia's hands. She hisses and slaps at Maggie, which is kind-of funny.

Get Your Head In The Game

Brad and I took the girls to see High School Musical: The Ice Tour this Saturday. They were excited to do anything HSM related, and had been looking forward to this day since March, when Brad bought the tickets.

We pack up enough food and beverage to last through 3 shows and we're off. We had great seats right on the ice. I must say, ice shows are a little odd. The voice-overs and skating interpretation get curious at times, but the girls didn't notice.

They did notice the merchandise booths every 10 feet. I was SHOCKED when Brad agreed to get them each $20+ items. I get cheap when it comes to this stuff and was trying to talk them into $10 items (the least expensive there). What's Brad smirking about here?!?

Hopefully we've had our fill of Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay and Ryan for now. At least unitl HSM 3 arrives.

Day 1

I had my first day of school yesterday. It's ridiculous the amount of time I have put in preparing lesson plans for a 3-year old class. Like they care about having the perfect mix of free play, science, art and music. They're all about the free play and eating. It has made me feel a bit guilty about the lack of planning I actually do for my own children. I take them to the park, zoo, plays, puppet shows and storytimes, but I don't sweat over making sure they make 3-d art at least twice a month.

Between this class and my Brownie troop, I have come across a lot of fun science experiments for children. Simple things, like mixing common household ingredients to create homogeneous or heterogeneous mixtures. Remember that stuff when you were little? It was like magic.

Back to first day of school - it was crazy! These kids are a great group, but nine 3-year olds together know how to tear up a room. I'm going to have to let some things go I now realize.



Bruise update - it's a nice shade of yellow. Progress is being made.

Looks like Africa

It has now become the biggest bruise I've ever seen. Check this out: