Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Alan made this pumpkin last week at Fran's daycare. I thought every square inch was meticulously covered, but as we were driving home from Fran's on Friday, he gasped and sighed, "Oh no . . . I forgot that stem." Luckily I was able to convince him that sometimes the stems are white, and it that it looked very realistic this way.

Contrast this with Laney's pumpkin. It may look comparatively plain, as if not nearly as much work was put into it, but what you can't really see in this picture is the thick layer of glue covering the entire pumpkin. Fran said Laney refused to put any orange squares on the project - her friend Nolan did those for her - but instead spent the whole time smearing as much glue as she could all over the paper.

These are my attempt at "Pumpkin Pancakes" this morning. The kids thought they were great - but I think I could have put the chocolate in any arrangement and they would have been sold.

Trick or Treat! Alan was Bob the Builder and Laney was a bee, in spite of Alan's complaint that "she can't be a bee, because she might sting me."

Here's Al, heading out to the van to go trick-or-treating. Notice the tool box (complete with all his tools). We went next door to the Carlsteds, up to Maple Lake to Fran's, and then down to First Baptist in Cokato for their Fall Party.

Fran giggling with Delaney. This is the only picture I got with the bee antennae on her head.

We made it for the final half of the bash at First Baptist in Cokato. This is cousin Serena when she got chosen to go up front and be a volunteer with the magician at the party. Alan and Laney took pretty much no notice of any of the magicians tricks or jokes . . . but Alan laughed his head off when the man did a simple skit where he tripped and fell over and over, and knocked chairs down. THAT is what it takes to entertain a 3-year-old boy!

A Day of Rest - at least for one of us!

This is Alan on Sunday afternoon - sleeping away in his car seat. Since I have gone back to work, I have found it challenging to get much of anything done around the house . . . any working moms out there feel the same way? (Maybe you are thinking, why is Beth blogging if she has so much stuff to get done? Good question . . .) But my wonderful husband decided to take Alan with him on an afternoon car trip to St. Cloud. Delaney naps all afternoon, and so far I actually have gotten a lot done. Thanks Dan!

So when do you moms out there find the time to keep your house clean and organized? Does anyone actually succeed at this? Right now I am just trying to maintain it enough that my mother-in-law doesn't shudder in disgust when she comes over to babysit. :) Of course, Lucy isn't one to shudder in disgust at my messy house (although sometimes I do!). Instead, she often does the dishes for me and cleans up the toys. My own mom does the same thing. Although in some ways this make me feel guilty for not finding the time to do those things BEFORE they come over . . . it also leaves a legacy as I make a mental Note to Self: Remember to do these things for my daughter/daughter-in-law someday. It's a huge blessing. I hope I will be as great of a grandma as they both are.

Blog B Grand Opening

Hey, I have a new Blog! And it's not themed around my kids, either! I can now write all the thoughts in my head and you can come read them. I am guessing my posts will be all about my kids anyway. And maybe when we find our camera I will post some pictures!