School Pictures

We got the kids school pictures the other day. I'm pretty pleased with them. I'm probably breaking all kinds of copy-right laws....

And the Winner Is....

The Headless Guy! aka Alex. She entered a costume contest on Saturday and won for Best Original Costume. That's her on stage holding her gift certificate to Drama Kids, her over stuffed candy bag prize, oh, and her head.

Ethan was too scared to go up on stage for the contest, although he did walk around Main Street Canandaigua and Trick-or-Treat from the participating shops. It was a nice event for the kids. (Hudson was at a birthday party, so he didn't join us. He was bummed because he thought for sure he'd win something.)Here is Headless awaiting the contest. She freaked out some kids when they poked her and she said "Hi." They thought she was a mannequin!

She's 10!

Wow... how did that happen? I can hardly believe that I've had the pleasure of knowing her for 10 years and that I have been a parent for a decade! She's such a great kid, hardworking, smart, talented and beautiful. She has so much potential it is scary. Heidi said the nicest things about her in an email to me.... I hope she doesn't mind that I copied them here. "I was thinking about how Alex (whom i have always had a soft-spot for) was quite fiery as a toddler. Last time I saw her (at Marcy's) she was so full of poise and had such a gentle balanced disposition. Very impressive little girl. She seems so focused."

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Pumpkin Patch

We met up with Grandma Chickie, Grandma Patty, Papa, Megan, Dom and Gabby at the Baughman Farm in Geneseo after Alex's soccer game on Sunday. It was neat to see some of things I painted for Debbie and Gerry's pumpkin farm again. (Debbie & Gerry haven't done the pumpkins for a long time.... so there "stuff" has found a new home at the Baughmans). The kids had fun picking out pumpkins- Hudson found a green one he was pretty proud of! We plan on carving them tomorrow night.

In a few minutes I'm expecting the kids to get off the bus... early, as it is a half day. Along with my 3 will be several of Alex's friends. She is having her slumber party tonight. I am just barely recovered from Hudson's slumber party 2 weeks ago. Who ever said that having your kids in the same month was a good idea?

Dance Party

Alien Abduction!!

Ethan Likes to Keep Us Guessing....

I volunteer in Ethan's kindergarten classroom on Wednesday mornings. This morning the teacher asked me to stay and chat with her after the kids went to gym. She sat me down and explained that every child was screened at the beginning of the school year for letter recognition. At that time Ethan scored very low (20 out of 54- Why 54? Not 52? Since there are only 26 letters, even if they do both upper and lower case...I'm not sure what the 2 extras are...anyway...) His score qualified him for "services" which would mean he would be pulled from the classroom for extra help. When she told me this I felt very defeated. We had worked really hard on his letters this summer. Then, 2 weeks later his teacher screened him again. This time he scored 50 out of 54 and is now near the top of his class in this area. What gives???? His teacher thinks that it took him a few weeks to get comfortable in school and settle in. I think that the letters simply and finally "clicked" with him. Whatever the reason- he sure keeps things interesting!!

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The other day I overheard Ethan talking to a little friend of his while we waited for Hudson to finish his dance class. He was telling him, "First you die. Then your skin falls off. And then you are a skeleton!" He paused and added, just for good measure, "Oh, and Jesus is the son of God." The mom of the little boy chuckled and said, "I thought this was a non-denominational dance studio."

Wishes....

Party Prep

I took a few pictures of the cake, etc. before the boys get here... goodness knows it won't look the same after they arrive!!


The cake is supposed to look like a cemetery with a fence around it. I guess it sort of does. Now all I need to do is finish the dishes, order the pizza, await the arrival of all these boys and take a Valium (HA HA!).

Happy Birthday Hud!

I can't believe he is EIGHT!! Wow. Whenever his birthday rolls around I think of how close we were to not having him in our lives and it breaks my heart and fills me with joy at the same time- sadness because I nearly lost him because of some stupid doctor's ignorance, and joy because I trusted my gut and we have been blessed with this great kid.

Tonight Grandma Patty, the kids and I snuck in a quick dinner at Eddie O'Briens to celebrate Hudson's big day, before Alex's dance class. There were some gifts on the table from Grandma. Ethan said, "Who are those presents for?"
I sarcastically replied, "Gee- I wonder."
Ethan looked puzzled and then said, "Who's Gee?"

Hudson is having his very first sleep over party tomorrow. Six boys will be coming over for pizza, scary movies, too much orange soda and too little sleep (I'm sure). I made a cool spooky cemetery cake. I can't wait for the boys to see it. I'll take pictures tomorrow. For now I'll leave you with a picture of my handsome boy taken this summer.

My Kids Are Really Cracking Me Up Lately

Today when the kids got home from school I asked Alex if she had any homework. She sighed and said, "Yes. A math worksheet and I need to study for a science test." Knowing that she has been studying the skeletal system, I asked, "Anatomy?" She replied, "No, I'm not mad at you. I just have some homework to do."

He's a 'Poser....

This morning Ethan had the collar of his "handsome" shirt sticking up. I said, "Come here and let me fix your collar. You look like Elvis." When I was done, he put it back up and said, "Now I look like Franz Joseph Haydn." I'm like whaaaaat? He goes on, "Mom, he's a 'poser. He wrote The Joke." So, I have to look this up. Haydn sounds familiar to me, but I have no idea what he wrote. Sure enough he was a composer, and he did write Quartet No. 30 in E♭ Major ("The Joke"), Op. 33, No. 2. (Thank God for Wikipedia, right?) I found the music on iTunes, and Ethan was like, "Yeah, yeah Mom ...that's it!"

I told mom this story this morning and she said, "He is an idiot-savant."