Frankenstorm Sandy

Okay, it might be a little too early to declare victory (being as the worst of the storm is ahead) but so far we have been loving the hurricane. We are the lucky ones who still have plenty of power which has meant for a weekend of cartoons and chowing on Halloween candy!

Tadpole and I came up for air and read a stack of books, including this informative book about hurricanes! 

We also did our PUMPKIN CARVING!

The big Spooks took it seriously. This is the first year they did their own carving.

Abz and Little Chief choose the traditional pumpkin design, while Tadpole went for a "Bad Piggie", and Superkid decided on the classic Robot.

Pops made us a big stack of his amazing chocolate chip cookies

Which we dined on by pumpkin light!

Best STORM EVER!

Tad's Expanding Family...

"Mom, do you know what my Silfies (silky blankets) want Santa to bring them for Christmas?" Tadpole continues, "They would like a new brother!"

...to be clear, by new brother he means another Silfy for his little blanket family, 

not necessarily an actual flesh and bones brother.

Halloween Kick Off!

With Hurricane Sandy nipping at our heels and possibly threatening Trick-or-Treating, we thought we better kick things into high gear around here. We don't want to miss out on any Halloween fun!

 First things first though... we gotta get the right costume!

Tadpole kinda liked this dinosaur get-up!

 Little Chief took to the Big Bad Wolf right away, "RRRRRRRUFFF!"

 "No, mom I not wolf, I a PUPPY!"

 Abizella was hanging tight to her beloved unicorn friend, even though it was a little short...

 Once she decided that she had graduated from the unicorn, Little Chief swooped right in to claim his horse! He is a major fan!

 Abz decided that a Ocean Princess was more her style

 Tadpole moved from the dinosaur to the dragon (one of my favs)

 For Superkid, it was Luke Skywalker ALL THE WAY!

 Tadpole wondered what the new baby could be for Halloween, then he had a great idea, 

"I know, he can dress up as Mommy!" 

Pretty clever. 

So here is Toad #5 in his first ever Halloween costume 

(Picture compliments of Little Chief).

 Tonight Pops took these big spooks to the school Halloween Party. 

Tad was concerned that Pops wasn't in a costume. Pops assured him that he was dressed as a lawyer. Tadpole responded, "I've always been a little scared of lawyers." 

We all are Tad.

We have a few more costume engagements coming up and few more costumes to flush out the holiday, so stay tuned! 

AND KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED THAT TRICK-OR-TREATING ISN'T A WASHOUT!

Getting It Done

I had big plans last Saturday... But then again, so did Pops! He climbed up high in the tree tops and took down an enormous branch, effectively blocking the driveway and forcing us all to help in the branch removal. That sneaky devil!

We helped him out, but we were on a mission: #1 Superkid was about a week away from his Cub scout Pack meeting, and I found out about 2 weeks before that that Wolf book he brought home last year is just for 1 year, not all 3! Doh! So we had big work to do to sure up Sam's Wolf badge. Including a visit to the fire station. We were double lucky, not only is the fire station in walking distance (which is good when you are barricaded in), but also they were having an open house! Bonus round! So we mosied down the street to what turned out to be the BEST excursion of all time.

Plenty of fire trucks, utility trucks, and even a police boat to climb on!

This made us all very happy.

We even got to practice turning on the electricity in the neighborhood! 

Those gloves can take 20,000 volts!

We had a great time, but we couldn't stick around forever, we had to get to the farm! Sadly, we missed out on the last of the season's apples. We consoled ourselves by picking some pumpkins instead!

We felt so accomplished after our day's labors that we treated ourselves to freshly made (cows in the back of the stand) ice cream from our favorite place, Peaceful Meadows. Okay, the whole farm trip was just a rouse to get a fantastic ice cream cone on the way home!

So rich!

So creamy!

Even Superkid, the ice cream eating MACHINE, couldn't make it all the way through. 

Seriously, this stuff is deadly.

Half Way There!

9 Years ago today, this sweet little creature joined the family. Pops and I used to stand over his bassinet and watch him blow bubbles and snooze. Not really sure what to do, besides love him. 

I would have never guessed how fast 9 years would fly by and this little monster would grow up!

 Just 9 more years and we will unleash this kid on the world. I am actually dead sure the world is a better place because Superkid has taken his place in it!

There was quite the celebration around here to cheer in Superkid's upcoming year...

And only a Cold Stone peanut butter ice cream cake would do for the occasion.

Superkid made out like a bandit. "D-Rex" took his place in the family. Tadpole and Little Chief were home when he arrived in the mail. Pops swore the two little leaks to secrecy. Of course the 2 little boys screamed the secret from the house top when Superkid got home from school... but for some reason Superkid was still surprised when he opened the dinosaur.

The FX light saber has been the focus of much conversation around here, Superkid was pumped to call it his own.

And lest you think the sword is mightier than the pen, you should know that Superkid put his 3CPO pen to work drawing robots right away. It hasn't left his hand. 

If you didn't know, Superkid is quite the artist!

Superkid, we LOVE you to pieces. Don't grow up too fast. We love having you here and you will always be ours. You have made our lives WONDERFUL. We love your bright, creative mind, and your snuggly tender heart. 

Happy Birthday!

"I Don't Want It To End Mom"

Conference weekend means one thing around here. 

Not even a mother with gestational diabetes is enough to extinguish the greatest tradition of all time. Cinnamon Roll Sunday.

We snarfed them hard and fast.

Even those of us with a freshly plucked front tooth managed to pound down a few sweet tender pillows of goodness.

Finger licking good!

Then it was time to hunker down to hear the sage words of the prophet and his counselors

or not. 

We didn't make it past the opening song before the pillow fight broke out.

Eventually things died down and a few of us even partook in the beloved "conference nap".

Abz and I found a little time between sessions to whip out a Halloween frock.

We've been dying to get back to the sewing machine ever since we sewed a dress for one of her favorite girls. Abz is super happy because she has been taking the driving seat behind the sewing machine these days.

All and all, a fabulous weekend. As the last session was wrapping up, Superkid said, "I don't know why, but I am sad that conference is ending". I hear you Superkid. I always feel sad to see it end too.

Glama Time!

When the cat's away the mice will play!

...with Glama, that is! 

If you think Pops and I had all the fun while in NYC, you obviously didn't poke your head in around here! With Glama in the house, there is never a dull moment. 

She packed a suitcase full of fun. Plenty-o-crafts!

Including Spooky ghost feet to decorate our kitchen!

There were also scrumptious sugar cookies to make, decorate and consume!

And all the time a bounty of Halloween songs to tickle our funny bones! 

We have been singing them all month long.

To thank Glama, the wee Toads and I took her Mermaid soul to the beach to re-connect with her element!

Little Chief did his best to take flight with the seagulls...

We ran and ran and ran!

The Atlantic may be icy, but not nippy enough to keep our dogs from prancing in the surf

But the best part of having Glama in the house is definitely the snuggling!

We can NEVER get enough of that.

We LOVE you Glama. 

Thank-you for coming out and spoiling us!