The Offspring. An Update.

Joshua Howard.  Our resident expert on almost anything.  Ask him about animals, Angry Birds or Legos and he will have an answer.  He loves kindergarten.  Is taking the math world by storm and spends his spare time drawing and coloring at the kitchen table.  He is an artist.  His eye notices things that mine skips over.  He just finished up his first soccer season and is already making plans for his sixth birthday party.

 Eli Bennett.  Our fun loving FOUR year old who still prefers to roam the house in his unders.  He loves making donuts and eating M and Ms.  He collects rocks (picks one up in every parking lot we walk through) and when his container gets filled to the top ... he has big plans to paint them all.  Each night when I tuck him in, he makes me says "his words."  "Race cars go like rocket ships.  Turtles go like Texas cars and Texas ants.  Your tummy feels better.  Daddy is in his office and you can keep your eyes open but you need to close them to get some rest."  Um.  Don't ask.  And my favorite thing Eli says ... "You're my best.  I love you my best." 

Audrey Elizabeth.  Perhaps the cutest and most determined 17 month old to walk the planet.  She walks, climbs, runs, jumps, opens cabinet doors and finds toilet plungers.  She calls Joshua "Sha, sha" and Eli "Bubba."  This girl has moves ... her favorite thing to do is blast music and dance, dance, dance!  Don't turn the volume down or she might give you a piece of her mind.  And if you need your dishes washed, she could stand at the sink for HOURS playing in water.  Find her a pair of cute shoes and give her a purse and she is good to go! 

How is it possible that my crew is growing so fast?  I sense driving and college are just a blink away! 

Halloween: How It Really Went Down.

8:30am:  Sent Joshua to school.

9-11:50am:  Scooped guts out of pumpkins.  Tidied house.  Kept 2 other children occupied.

12pm:  Picked Joshua up and grabbed Chickfila for a quick lunch.

1pm:  Put Audrey down for a nap and remembered that I had forgotten to sew the dog collar onto her shirt.  And needed to make a headband for the dog ears.  

3:30pm:  Eli and Joshua are carving pumpkins.  Angry Bird pumpkins.  Turn out cute.

5pm:  Chili party is starting at the end of the block.  Our children are still in their normal clothes.  Well.  Most of them are.  Eli can't find his shorts.  Typical.

5:15pm:  I am beating the heck of out of the icing for the banana cake to take to the block party.  It's not thickening.  Stick it on a block of ice while I go find Audrey's leggings and flashlights for the boys.

5:45pm:  We try to leave the house but the wheels of the wagon are flat.  I leave with the kids.  Ben comes later.

 6pm:  Boys are eating chili and pb and j sandwiches I brought.  Audrey wants nothing to do with food and I am starting to feel very queasy. I have no time to get sick ... so I take a sip of water and go trick or treating with the crew.

6:15:  Stop back at our house to get Eli's bag.  10 zillion children arrive on our front porch.  I think they bused people into Mayberry this year.  I have never seen so many people!  Ben asks if I bought any more candy.  Negative.  1 piece per child.

6:17:  I ask the kids to get together for a picture.  Clearly, they were thrilled.

6:18:  We hit up 3 neighbor houses and Audrey is having the time of her life.  Oh wait.  Scratch that.  Our Audrey was screaming her head off and getting very sympathetic looks from random mommies and daddies.  I ask Ben to take her home and I can regain my hearing.  

6:23:  It is still 85 degrees outside and the boys can't wear their fireman coats without sweating to death.  They look as though their mother forgot it was Halloween and just put them in a t-shirt and shorts.  At least I ironed on a fireman patch to the shirts.  You can't win them all. 

6:40:  I returned home with the boys.  2 blocks and they were tired and wanted to hand out candy instead.  Audrey was captivated with a neighbor's cell phone and was thrilled at her new job ... saying "Bye, bye" to every person who walked by.  EVERY.  SINGLE.  PERSON.

6:50:  Our friends popped by.  Joshua wanted to go trick or treating with them.  So we hit up the same 2 blocks again.  Then Joshua got lost in the crowd for a minute.  I was surprisingly calm.  Joshua, on the other hand, not so much.  We trekked home.  Again.

7:30pm:  Our Dalmatian hadn't had any dinner and is evidently not a huge fan of Halloween, costumes or skipping meals.
7:40pm:  We run out of candy.  Our neighbor gives us more.
8pm:  I am now pretty well convinced that the flu is coming.  I am getting hot and cold and feel awful.
8:30pm:  Put the kids to bed.  Crawl to the couch.

9pm:  The house is quiet.  The doorbell has stopped ringing.  And the night is over.  At least the pumpkins looked cool.  Oh.  And I spent the next 24 hours in bed.  Sweet.