robot parade

hmmmm.....



ideas for next year? or today!





robot parade video

boo to you!

enjoying the "cuteness" as long as we can.

my little dinosaur {for the 2nd year in a row!}

and my pink little piglet!

the lion on the far left is a friend of ours.

here is my dinosaur in the pumpkin patch. not realizing that his turning over pumpkins was winning him a prize!
piglet just following what dino was doing.


last weekend our local zoo organized an event for halloween called "Boo at the Zoo". i was impressed. you started out in the parking lot where they had police, fire truck, ambulance and even a large transit bus for them to explore.

my darling piglet LOVED the back seat of the police cruiser. sigh.

interestingly enough that is the same side she sits on in our car. i'm wondering if she thought she would get to go for a ride. it is odd that she didn't seize the oppportunity to crawl over the seats. we can only hope that this will be her only kind of opportunity to sit in this spot! LOL!!

dinosaur was reluctant to get into the car at first. but you can see that he later got comfortable and enjoyed himself!

they did get to see spiders & snakes and touch a turtle. as always they loved the monkeys. Lucy the elephant was supposed to smash pumpkins, but she chose to eat all but the last one instead.

there were many opporunties for photos. but this mommy was exhausted by the time we entered the front gate! i did take a few photos inside the zoo....but they were so few and far between. something about keeping track of a dinosaur who had energy to explore and wanted to wander ahead, and a tired little piglet who was missing a nap. not a good combination for an outing like that.



Aidan is now telling people that he was a dinosaur for Halloween and scared people. don't you love it when there world is so small?!

how was your Halloween? any other events you would recommend?

the day after....

when i got that call on August 26, the date October 31 was mentioned as the last day of my teaching contract. i remember thinking, "ooooh, that will be interesting....last day....halloween..."

i'm still deciding if it is a good idea to have a party on your last day. lol.

so glad that i had one day to spend with the class and enjoy being with them. we dressed up. played. shared hugs and laughs. ate junk food. a fun morning.

i was surprised how attached i got to these darlings in such a short time. i am looking forward to not having to rush between the hours of 7am and 8am...pushing my kids to suddenly get dressed, eat, sit, walk, etc. then the rush to get home in time to take Aidan to playschool. hoping Kiara naps so i can catch up on any necessary school work. stay on top of housework so that the germs don't take over and cause problems. keep the fridge full to avoid eating out in order to keep all of us fed and healthy. make sure everyone has clean clothes and finding time to put the laundry away. and somewhere put in time to spend with everyone! {can't imagine being able to do these tasks and work a full-time schedule. i do know that i would for sure arrange for someone else to do the cleaning and purchase these prepared meals from a kitchen. }

September and October will always be busy months for us. 75% of our family has birthdays in these months {i am the only one who does not have a birthday during these months!} it is been challenging to work out a balance. for the kids i think it is important for them to celebrate this special day with their friends. but family also wants to have a part. this year we combined two birthdays and thanksgiving. and we are fortunate to combine two birthdays in September too. add in the mix of trying to finish up a garage and yard work before frost and snow and darkness make the task impossible. we really could have done without that this year. then i got a job! it did add to the busy-ness. BUT it ended up being a huge distraction for me too. i needed to get out and away from the house and family responsibilities for a short term. getting paid was a huge bonus! it is a shame that those same two months are also two busy months for educators. i found myself hoping that i could get the contract extended for just one more month. i'd have to alter my child care, but i think we would have found a good balance with everything too.

as i relax today i am reminded that there is no huge rush to get the laundry, cleaning and shopping done before Monday morning. we can rest and enjoy. even Halloween was good to have done yesterday. i turned the calendar page over today and sighed.

so my last day of work....

it was hard to keep the tears away.

one of the parents dropped off a dozen roses for me. sigh.

i feel priveleged to have met these kids and encouraged the parents in their parenting and educating.

i was fortunate to work with a great team. let me do my best job.

it was not always easy. some tough decisions. frustrations.

but even if i knew all of this beforehand....i'd say "yes" again! and Kristian, Aidan and Kiara would all agree too. i am so lucky.

we finished off the day with carving the last of the pumpkins and some trick-or-treating. {i'll post a photo or two! of the kids in costume later} Kris and i decided to take the kids out early together, then come back to pass out candy. we go around the block to the neighbors that we know. each year the number of houses increase! fun. we lost two mittens, and then found them again. the kids were so excited. the weather was nice too. after we did the block, i took the kids over to Halloween Alley and Kris ran home to pass out candy {by this time, more kids were out treating}. we have some friends that have their house on Halloween Alley. crazy numbers of people. they literally have to stay at their door for the duration of the evening...way to go Erin! one of the city fire trucks parked on the street, so the kids got to sit in another fire truck. this is the third time they have had this opportunity in the past four months and they get excited every time. so funny. we got home, the kids raced into their pj's. then they got to have a couple treats from their bags. Kris and i talked later about how happy they both were to dress up, walk, get goodies and then look through them later. we had no problems putting either of them to bed and both fell asleep in minutes.

in the past we have had "trickers" come later. not every year. if only we could predict. last night was a very quiet night. at least at our house! phew!!

well....i have some projects to complete for a couple of silent auctions. if you read my other blog you will know that i registered for an online Christmas class. since today is a day to enjoy...this is my treat! fortunately for me my little tricksters garnered some treats for their ol' mama to enjoy!!