One 'Spook'tacular Evening

Millie Bug and Brother sure had a wonderful Halloween, and we hope you did, too! The month has been so very busy, but it was nice to take it easy today and savor each and every moment with the children ... and the chocolate!
It all started with opening our special deliveries from The Great Pumpkin (aka Grandaddy and Becca).

Such a treat!

(Yes, I'm one of those mean mommas who makes Millie Bug and Brother wait to open mailed gifts on the day of the holiday, much like my parents did my sister and I growing up when we received gifts from my great aunt in California. The anticipation killed me. But it made the whole experience that much more fun.)

Inside the kiddos found ... "dollars"! Sweet!
The evening brought so many choices: Sci-Port, Pooh at Barnes & Noble, and Broadmoor Baptist's Fall Fest. We opted for Sci-Port, Millie Bug's most favorite place on earth.
Our first stop: the costume contest.

Here's our little contestants now.

Then we milked the goat and learned about scales in the "Bible Times" exhibit.

Milking the Goat (BTW, Daddy "got" skills. Goat verbally responded.)

Millie Bug learning about weight

Millie Bug balked at digging up bones in the planetarium, which severely disappointed her Daddy. Then it was on to the animals. Mommy's favorite part was a boa constricter. Wow! Was that thing huge. Millie Bug, of course, would have nothing of it. Brother on the other hand is no scaredy cat. Here he is petting the guinea pig, who was quite naked I might add.

And then there was no hesitation when it came to dipping his hand into the cauldron.

Scared Millie Bug; Brave Millie Bug

Millie Bug, well, it took some coaxing. OK, a lot of coaxing AND demonstrations.

A highlight was the witch's brew (homemade root beer).

Yummy!

There was a bean bag toss, a spider web (fishing) game, and of course the play area!

Daddy's not the only one with skills.

Lost her. Found her. She had already gotten comfortable with the face painter.

We had to pry Millie Bug away for the costume contest winner announcement.

And guess who took first place in the children's category! Our little conductor!
Daddy was so proud. Definitely the highlight of his evening!

And the winner is ... the train conductor!


All the Winners (above); The Prize

We're home now. The train conductor has retired to slumber, and Millie Bug? She's nurturing her brother's prize and capping her evening off with "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown".

What a classic. And so was our evening.

Happy Halloween!

Mommy & Millie Bug's Tootsie Pop Spider Craft

What Mama Wants ...

Mama may or may not get. Let's face it. Our wants don't register. Kiddos first. But if you'll allow me to indulge myself for a few moments, I'll share two things I'm dreaming about ... from Target, of course.

This mustardy wool jacket.

And ... this precious purple cloche.

I hesitate only because the two combined are a bit ... How should I put it? ... LSU. UMM. But I might just have to live with that.

I (as in You) Am Special!

Just think about it:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"

Psalm 139:13-17

As I look at my children and think of my friends and family and how special they are to me, I am reminded of this verse and God's love for each of us. Boy did He go to a lot of trouble! I mean every atom of our being. My little boy's mysterious-colored eyes and Millie Bugs curly locks. How beautiful is that! How awesome is He! Just wanted you to know today how special you are and how much you are loved!

I Interrupt This Halloween Season for Christmas

My honey has informed me the Polyphonic Spree's Holiday Extravaganza will be Dec. 13 at the Granada Theater in Dallas. And we plan to go! Last year, we took little Millie Bug in her footed pajamas to the late show and let her dance in the aisles. It was so fitting since in the midst of the 2004 show, Eric and I decided to start a family. Yeah, it's that moving -- Peace, Love, Joy! The following year, Amelia was too young to attend, but Eric and I made the trek. I even braved pumping in the restroom ... without a pump ... during concert intermission. I still have the tambourine from that 2004 show. It's little Millie Bug's now.

The Holiday Extravaganza is our little tradition, and this year Brother gets to join in on the fun! Christmas isn't Christmas without the Spree, "Little Drummer Boy," and milk and cookies to end the evening. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Houston, We Have a Walker!

Our Brother is walking now!

(Obviously, I shot my video the wrong way. Will have to figure out a quick fix for this later. But for now, you get the idea.)

Mommy and daddy are so proud! Boy, though, if we thought he was into everything before ...

Brother discovers acorns!

Here, Mommy, you try!
Ahh, I HEART HIM!

Plenty of fall goodies to come! Daddy's been off, so that means fun-filled days full of activities!

1st Homework Assignment

Millie Bug's first homework assignment in her whole life was to gather a leaf collection for her mother's day out class. She was so proud! I watched her skirt back and forth on the front lawn "ooing and ahhing" at all her finds.

It was one of those mommy moments I tried to lock away into my brain. One day when she's pining away at calculus homework, I hope to remind her of this and how much she loved completing her little assignment. For me, I'll want to remember it because it was something I could actually handle.

Leaf collection? Check!
Calculus? Sorry, kiddo, you're on your own!

Love in a Lunch Bag

There's love in these lunch bags.

Every Monday and Wednesday night, I put my heart and soul into the little lunches that fill these bags. And as soon as my Millie Bug and Brother are out the door, I start to think about the next day's lunch. Will their little tummies be satisfied, making for a delightful day at school? I hope so! When they bite into those pb foldovers on whole grain wheat and scoop up the quartered green grapes, are they reminded how much I love them? Well ... hum ... probably not. But I do it anyway, and it has become one of life's little joys for me.

I'm looking to get more creative in this department -- packing preschool lunches. I'm open to any suggestions. Last week, Millie Bug helped cut her sandwiches with cookie cutters, which I shall continue. (Yes, she's eating her leftovers!)

I'm also going to re-visit the book "First Meals." It's a great book filled with recipes for stages of a child's development.

And of course, I'm looking for more ways to "Go Green" as far as the Ziplocs are concerned. Four blog entries, and they're mentioned again. I might have an addiction.

Lunch sacks courtesy of Tatermash, the cutest little oilcloth boutique, which can be found at Canton Trade Days or online at Tatermash.com.
I also use these great sippy cup labels called BumpyName -- The Original Orbit Label by InchBug, which are available at inchbug.com.

(One of my favorite gifts I received from one of my baby showers were some cute ladybug labels. So practical! When I couldn't find the company to reorder, I decided on these. The office label/permanent marker thing was not cutting it! Anyway, a great baby shower gift idea!)

And for when they get a wee bit older: these metal lunchboxes I spied on polkadotpatch.com.

All this talk of lunches is making me hungry. Now for a midnight snack of my own!