Halloween

I didn't take a single photo on Halloween this year. I was fighting a nasty fever and was proud just to get the kids dressed and out trick-or-treating. In lieu of photos they get my recollections, however hazy they may be.

Katie, the witch, looked far more striking than scary in her corseted witch's dress, made-up eyes, tall hat and sparkling smile. John was all boy in his Spiderman costume and mask. Allison was sweet in a 2 piece ghost costume. The outfit stayed in place. The hood did not. It was sometimes backwards, sometimes cock-eyed so that her eyes were peering out of one eye hole and her mouth visible through the other, sometimes sideways so that her eye and ear were showing; it was never on straight. Claire looked angelic in her poofy ballerina outfit, denim jacket and pink bomber hat.

Katie and John ran ahead searching out homes with the lights on. Katie came back after one and let me know they tried to give her TWO pieces of candy. She only accepted one. :p John paused later to tell me he was told to take as much as he wanted at one home and he opted for THREE! Allison and Claire sat in the wagon between stops. They both popped out each time before I could bring the thing to a complete stop. Allison made it to the door long before Claire. I could hear her enthusiastic TRICK-OR-TREAT across the yard. She will never master volume control. Claire finally said her first "trick-or-treat" at our final stop. Before that she would walk up, smile (who could resist that?) hold out her hand, put her treat in the bag and turn to me. When I instructed her to say thank-you she pulled the lollipop out of her mouth and giggled. So darn cute! All four of them. Even in my feverish state I enjoyed every minute of it.

I know! I know! Where have I been?

I could share stories of children vomiting in my bed, of bottoms so dirty I wouldn't take outer layers off until the offender was in the tub and my own nearly week long fight with a 102+ fever. That wouldn't be any fun!

How about some sweet memories?

Even at their young age I enjoy telling the kids stories from the past about them. They get a kick out of it too. Usually. Recently Katie or John found my phone precariously placed on a kitchen counter. I moved it to safety and shared this story...

When John was no older than 2 1/2 he came running to me crying his eyes out. He kept telling me he was so sorry he cooked my phone. I followed him into the kitchen and to the sink where I found my phone at the bottom of a stock pot filled with water. Bye bye phone. I laughed then. I laughed when I retold the story. John burst into tears as I retold it. Evidently it was just as traumatic for him the second time around. Poor, sweet buddy.

When Spence was home he gave the kids a bubble bath. They think that is such great fun! Now. I recall Katie and John's first bubble bath. They were just under a year. Yia Yia came to visit and was being a sweet grandma, giving the kids a bath for me and making it special for them. Little did she know then that Katie does not appreciate change or the unknown. Katie screamed bloody murder. Of course my sweetly overzealous mom used enough bubble bath for ten baths. It took her forever to get the bubbles out of the tub and to settle Katie down. I'm still laughing as I type this. Thanks for the great memory, Mom!

Katie can make an impression on anyone. She recently left a magna doodle board outside the door to her room. There were a few misspellings; the message was crystal clear. "No mom allowed in my room." Where does she learn these things? Really - who taught her to read and write? And what am I the target??? :p

John left an impression on Yia Yia. A very cold impression... She was here to watch the kids when Spence and I jetted off to the east coast for an Army v. Navy football game. He was almost 3 years old. Mom called me over and over again to get advice on warming up the house. She couldn't seem to make the thermostat work. (I was thinking - REALLY? I know you can work a thermostat!) It was December and the temperature in the house was falling into the low 60s. She was making preparations to take the kids to a hotel to get warm! With a bit of sleuthing I found out that John had flipped the master switch on the furnace. He didn't think Yia Yia would like all of the noise it made. She sure appreciated the heat it made when she flipped it back!

Allison's newest concern is nightmares. I can't tell if she is really having bad dreams. She worries about them when I first put her to bed. This week she came to me in the middle of the night babbling about a bad dream. I asked her about it and she said there was a monster getting her. She sounded quite upset. So I asked if the monster was pink or purple. She let out a joyful giggle and said "Pink! I guess that means it was a nice monster. It won't get me." She went back to bed and I didn't hear from her or her monster again.

Allison hums while she eats. It makes me giggle. I like to believe it is because my cooking is so fabulous!

Claire's obsession is HAPPY FEET! She loves penguins and she loves to dance. She carries a baby penguin around with her. She can find every penguin in the toy store. She screams "NUSIC! DANCE!" every time we see the CD player. And she dances.

Oh what fond memories. Tonight I sat at the dinner table with my crew and thought everyone should get a chance to do this! Sit around the table with 4 kiddos, 4 years old and younger. Let them lead the conversation. It is a hoot!

Hello Baby Mason!

New words...

Claire's favorite place to escape is my closet where she pulls everything she can out and scatters it around the floor. Then she sits down and tries to put everything on. Shirts on her legs, pants on her head, socks on her hands...
Today she was quiet for a tad too long so I went searching for her. Sure enough, there she was sitting on my closet floor with this and that all about. I asked her, "What are you doing in here?" to which she proudly and enthusiastically responded, "MESS!"
Ah ha! She does listen to me.

Sweet Dreams

Me to John, with great exasperation - John, WHY do you come into my room every night?

John in a quiet, sweet voice - Mommy it is because I love you sooooooooo much.

I know the pessimists among us would say - manipulation! I say say, awwwwww, he melts my heart.

Ha! Ha!

When John was 2 and potty training we changed his pants - a lot! Spence was just home after a year long deployment and didn't know that a tot could have a sense of humor. Spence sent John back to get a clean pair of unders (as we call them) and John came back with a pair of Katie's. Spence explained that he wanted a pair of boy unders and John went away and came back with... another pair of Katie's. When a pile of 6 or more were on the floor at his feet I had to explain to Spence that John was playing a joke on him. The funniest part about the whole event was me explaining it to Spence because John has Spence's sense of humor!
I've been thinking about that a lot over the past few days as I have watched Claire develop her sense of humor. It is so similar to John's and Spence's. I will have many stories to tell in the near future.

Cookbooktionary - any cookbook worth reading, according to the Anderson kids!

Holding On

I often wonder which memories will stick with me over the years and how intact or embellished they will be...
I hope these are two of them!
Monday (my one and only easy morning) I was lounging (ha!) in my bed just past 7:30. At least one child was already in my room and I could hear everyone else stirring. I glimpsed a head full of blonde hair walking around my hair and rolled over to say good morning to Katie. Um, NOT Katie! That's right... 20 month old Claire can escape. With ease! She is sooooooo proud of herself. Oi vey.
Every night after prayers everyone gets a chance to thank Jesus for something or to ask him for something. Every night, no matter what kind of day we have had, whether I've just been cuddling with John or screaming at him about his unacceptable choices, he thanks Jesus for his sweet, wonderful Mommy and Daddy. My heart melts every time.