The Princess and the Prince

I guess it's really the princess and the musketeer... but the kids think that Budboy was a prince and that is the opinion that counts, so we'll go with it. Tonight we went trick-or-treating on post. The kids, mainly Missy, as Budboy didn't know about trick-or-treating, had been looking forward to this night for weeks!  

As you can tell... they are oh-so-excited!!

Budboy was practically running up to the first house. Missy was in dress-up heels ("up-shoes" or "slippers with sticks" as she calls them) so she was having a little trouble walking, but she was a trooper and refused to change into the alternate pair of real shoes that we had on hand. 

Budboy just got his first ever trick-or-treat candy, and he now loves this holiday!

She wanted to make sure she had her picture taken after the first house also...

 After the first house, Budboy was even more excited and ran to the next. He was getting free candy and all he had to do was say "trick-or-treat" and "thank you!" Of course, his sounded more like, "teek a teet" and "tank you!" And at a few houses he added, "see wa way-der" (see you later) and "ha-ee ha-wee" (Happy Halloween). 

These boys were so sweet to the kids! One even helped Missy find her shoe and commented that Cinderella lost her slipper!

By now, Missy is a pro at trick-or-treating. She is not shy, though she sometimes appears to be, so walking up to strangers and asking for candy and engaging in conversation is a dream come true for her! Yes, that thought is scary. To her, everyone is a "friend." We are working with her on that.

His "Chandler smile"... Friends reference... :)

 Near the end of the night, we could tell that their buckets were getting harder and harder for them to carry... but would they let us help? Nope!! THEY wanted to carry them!! 

Glow stick swords!!

After the last house, another girl handed them each a glow stick. Which, of course, became swords! And at that point, they were more than willing to let Daddy carry their buckets so they could duel. 

The kids were not thrilled with the idea of heading back to the car, but once we were there they did not fight it. They were visibly tired and a part of them probably wanted to relax... and eat a treat. :)

All done, and another "Chandler smile!!"

My sweet little girl. Tired but very happy!

We got home and dumped their loot onto the floor and divided it up. Missy does not like chocolate and Budboy cannot eat chocolate... so all of that and the hard candy went into the blue bucket for Mommy and Daddy and all the rest went into the pink bucket for the kids. They don't get to eat lot of candy normally, so it will take a long time to go through it as they will get one piece a day, but I was very excited to see that we seemed to get a fair amount of teddy grahams and pretzels this year! So YAY!!

Tomorrow For the rest of this week and possibly next week, I'm expecting to have a little princess and prince running around the house. I'm excited for them. This is Budboy's first "dress-up"!!  :)

How was your Halloween? What did you do? What did you or your kids dress up as?

Midnight

When I was younger, I had an imaginary friend zoo. Yes that's right... a zoo. Well, maybe more like a farm... or a menagerie. Anyway, call it what you want, but it was not a person. No little friend that spoke to me or ate with me. I clearly remember in third grade, sitting there while the teacher was talking and then thinking, my bird is sitting on my friend's shoulder!! I giggled, then proceeded to tell her that Tweet, my bird, was sitting on her shoulder! Oh the look!! You'd have thought I had sprung two heads!! She looked at me like I was crazy because, of course, there was no bird sitting on her shoulder!! After that, I only told a select few about my "friends."

The bird in third grade was probably my first imaginary animal.  The first that I can remember. There were more at that time, but the bird was the closest to me. In fourth grade, Midnight entered my life. Midnight was a beautiful black stallion that I found in the baseball field of my school. Like all of my "friends," he did not speak to me. He was like any real horse, except he lived in my backyard instead of a stable. He also came with a white mare and a spotted black and white foal. Whitey and Spotty, if you must know their names. For the next three years or so, these horses went everywhere with me! They went on family camping trips, to the grocery store, to my grandparents' house... they simply ran along side the family van along the freeway. Now I know what you are thinking, "She must have been a loner" or "This chick is crazy!" No... I was not a loner, I had many friends, and I may be a little crazy, but my imagination has always been vivid!

So, imagine my surprise (and glee) when Missy walked up to me and asked me where her horse was!!! Yes, that's right!! My 3-year-old has an imaginary horse!! I was so excited! Inside, I was jumping up and down... outside, I had to keep my cool... I don't want my hubby to think I'm completely insane! He knows about Midnight and the others, but I don't think he realizes the depth of these "friends." I asked Missy what her horse looked like and what the name was and if it was a boy or a girl. Galahap is black with pink streaks in his black hair. "He wuvs to gawup (gallop) weally weally fast," she told me as she demonstrated around the coffee table. :) I am so excited about her new friend and intend to encourage her in this, but not force her into keeping these friends. She has also mentioned a pink giraffe with green spots, but she doesn't have a name as Missy says she is "wittle bit scared of da giraffe."  :) I love this age we are entering! Pretending. Imagination. AAAHHHH!! It's just so much fun! Dress-up was the beginning of the imaginative play in our house... and it's an everyday thing! But more on that later. :)

The tiger is rawr-ing at the kitty!

Did you have any imaginary friends or animals growing up? What about your kids?

Until next time!

~Monica

Mornings

Do you wake every morning with a smile? Ya…. Me neither. Not every morning anyway. This morning was different, though. The hubs gets up with the kids on his days off and lets me sleep in. This morning was one of those mornings. {happy face!!} I woke up to the sounds of Disney Princess songs blaring on Pandora and very loud giggles and squeals from both kids. They were clearly dancing together. I couldn’t help but to wake up with a smile! And then Budboy tripped on (probably) nothing and crashed into the picnic table and the giggles ended and crying began followed by loud admonitions from Missy that he needed to get up. Yup. It’s a normal morning now. 

How has your morning been?

Controlled Chaos

I’m a wife, a mother, a pet owner, a cook, a maid, a referee, a chauffeur, and a writer. In short, I’m a Domestic Engineer, and I love it!

I have 2 young children: "Missy" and "Budboy." They are 17 months apart. Sometimes, I think we were crazy to have them so close in age. Sometimes, I think we were brilliant! We also have a Jack Russell Terrier, Donner; a siamese cat, Klaus; and 2 hermit crabs, Sebastian and Flounder.

Life is chaos most of the time. From a daughter who likes to shriek and a son who likes to growl, to the electronic toys that seem to be in constant motion and song, our home is never quiet. With my husband being in the Army, our schedule is in constant flux and we never know how long we are going to be in any given location (we have had 6 different homes in the five years we have been married).  

In all of this, I want to control the chaos. But I also want to let my kids to be kids. I don’t want to squelch their spirits. I want Missy to believe she really is a princess, a kitty, a grown-up, a character in Berry Bitty City, whatever it is she is imagining at that moment. I want Budboy to really believe he is a tiger, or a lion, or a bear…. he’s always growling… I think he really thinks he’s an animal! 

The ride is fun!