This is us, as I navigate motherhood and enjoy the amazing adventure.
We are a family of four, a cat and a dog, living outside Boston, Massachusetts. I started this blog as a way to update friends and family who are afar, but it seems to have become somewhat therapeutic & helps me laugh when I need to.
The kids were a knight, a princess, and a dragon. They selected the costumes independently of each other, though the dragon obviously didn't have much say. The knight was adamant that he was not a guard for
the princess, the princess wanted to carry her own sword, so I ended up carrying it, and the dragon
was vey ferocious and slept through trick-or-treating.
The
princess also would not wear her new princess dress and the princess's
mother is probably not buying a Halloween costume next year for her as
this seems to be a standard practice.
Vivian
had to be the first to ring every doorbell and if not she would scream
bloody murder. Then the homeowner would open the door and exclaim how
beautiful and adorable she was, while Tess and I cringed. I wish they
had seen her moments before yelling at her brother. Sam was very
patient all evening.
So I drop off Lanie, and I'm en route to Sam's school,
have it in my head this thing at Vivi's school starts at 8:45, check my
email while in traffic and find out it started at 8:00 and ends at 8:45-
it's now 8:30.
Park at Vivian's school and run Vivian
and Sam across the street to Sam's school, leave him at the corner to
walk down the the street and get himself in. He's thoroughly confused
because we're at a different corner than usual. Race back across the
intersection to Vivian's school. She is wearing her hair in a "Princess
style" and stick on earrings, but no princess dress. Because why would
you wear a costume to your costume parade? Not buying this child a costume next year...
I get into her
school and it's time to show parents work, which was not communicated.
So she gets her work out and starts to show me how to do it, and then
it's time for parents to go upstairs to the hall while the kids line
up. Two kids won't get off their parents, Vivian keeps begging me to
stay and see her work for "five more minutes", which is my fault because
I messed up the time.
We go upstairs and wait for ten
minutes for the kids to parade in. Vivian is the only one not wearing a
costume. It takes them ten minutes to assemble the two primary classes
on the stage and then they realized that the toddlers weren't up yet.
They sang a handful of songs, (I'll send some videos), complete with
kids melting down and running around behind everyone and toddlers frozen
in fear. The songs were actually quite good though. Then it abrubtly
ends and the director decides the kids should parade around the room. So they
come off the stage and have to parade by the cookie table (set out for
the parents) and out the door to go back downstairs, but someone decides
it's a good idea to have them do laps around the parents about 6
times. Vivian quits the parade, several kids start crying hysterically
and want to leave with their parents, some kids grab cookies, costume
bits are strewn around the parade route, utter chaos. By like the 5th
lap they've lost half the kids, I am now in the parade with Vivian, and
walking laps around the other parents, cringing that I'm not at work.
Then Sahar decides it's time for parents to bring the kids downstairs
and take their costumes off. I am still in the parade, so I run in
front of everyone, down the stairs, grab her princess costume (one point
for Vivian not wearing her costume), say, "oh! now you can finish your
work! there's your teacher!" and run right out the door. Everyone else
is peeling costumes off of their crying children.
Nerf guns have taken over our home- I was trying to eat a peaceful breakfast with Lanie last weekend, and was being spied on. I guess I was under siege-
I was trying to get everyone out the door the other day for soccer and asked them to use the bathrrom before we left. Vivian was flat out refusing. Since it was Sam's game, he had a vested interest in going. The conversation went something like:
Me: "Vivian, please use the bathroom so we can go." Vivi: "no" Me: "we need to leave and there's no bathrooms at the soccer field. Go now." Vivi: "nope" Sam interjects: "Viv, just go, I'll give you a quarter." Me: "don't bribe her, she needs to follow the direction." Sam out of the side of his mouth and whispering: "it's okay mom, I'm really giving her a penny and telling her it's a quarter."
For more fun, encourage your child to wear something to match the color of the day!"
Really???? Because I don't have enough to think about? Great idea, horrible in practice. My kids are lucky to be getting a snack these days... I threw this original notice away deciding to ignore it and then Sam came home asking why he didn't have a purple snack. (So many good answers for that one). Luckily everything's on email so I can see that tomorrow is a WHITE snack. (Bunnicula?).
The new house was built originally as a carriage house, so the bedrooms are odd sizes and shapes, and one doesn't have a closet. My dad put an extra pole in Vivian's closet, so Lannin's clothes can hang on top and Vivian's at her level.
Periodically Vivian will look at Lannin's dresses and say, "why are Lanie's clothes in my closet?" and I'll respond with, "well she doesn't have a closet, so you are sharing your closet."
This twice now has been followed with, "so soon Lanie's closet will come in the mail?" and I'll say, "no."
Vivian will respond with, "when Lanie's closet is delivered we won't share anymore."
