November 19 - The Truth

"How much do I need to eat to get a brownie for dessert?" - Luke

"Five bites of your lasagna." - Mommy

A few minutes later....

"Did you eat the lasagna?" - Mommy

"Yes." - Luke, nodding his head

"Are you being honest?"  - Mommy

"No, I'm not." - Luke shaking his head no

"Okay, thank you for being honest. You cannot have a brownie." - Mommy

"But I told you I ate the lasagna!" - Luke

November 17 - Ninja Julia!

Happy Monday everyone! It is nice and chilly in Houston and I am LOVING IT. I just took Amelia on a quick morning walk and it's 34 outside. Fantastic! JD, my wonderful Floridian is not embracing the cold but the kids seem to be enjoying it. Let's jump into last week...

As you know, they are building a new neighborhood behind us. They haven't started building any houses yet but several of the roads are finished. They aren't open for driving but we've been taking bike rides back there on the weekends when the workers are gone. It's perfect for the kids-I don't have to worry about cars and since there is literally not one tree or bush, I can see them wherever they go. Luke and I went out last Sunday and he was done after 5min. Very weird...usually I have to drag him home. Then, he wanted to snuggle with me and take a nap. Hmm...he hasn't napped in 2 years. But I'm not one to say no to a snuggle so we curled up on the couch and he slept for over a hour. It was wonderful until he woke up vomiting. He was sick the rest of the day and went to bed by 7pm (that never happens). He sneaked into our room Sunday night to sleep with me (the kids do this when they don't feel well). So...there Luke and I are sleeping soundly (JD slept in the green room) when I am woken up at 5:45am by Julia. She was in her full ninja gear shouting "Ninja Julia!" Not how I wanted to start the week. 

Monday night I woke up thinking Amelia was about to be sick...but it was Luke barking/coughing. A trip to the doctor Tuesday confirmed croup. Poor little guy! Wednesday morning he woke up with blood on his pillow and we couldn't be sure if he coughed up blood or bit his lip. He stayed home with me one more day and was back to his healthy self on Friday. 

In other news last week, it was chilly here almost every day. The temp was in the 30's every morning and we had highs around 40 several days. On the coldest day last week, I pick Julia up at school and guess who the only kid is that walks about with  no jacket? That's right, Julia "I'm a polar bear and don't need a jacket" Yamo. I literally had to force her into her coat. 

November 10 - Ella Enchanted

There is a new girl at school named Ella and Luke is straight up obsessed with her. Obsessed.

For the last week and a half...

During breakfast:
"Mommy, is Ella coming over today after school?"

During the drive:
"Can Ella come over for a sleepover? I can't wait to go to school and play with Ella."

After school:
"Did you text Ella's mom? Is she coming over? Remember, Ella has tennis lessons on Wednesday so she can't come over on Wednesday's."

Before dinner:
"Is Ella coming over for dinner?"

Getting ready for bed:
"Will Ella be here in the morning?"

While we trick-or-treating on Halloween:
"Mommy, where is Ella? Is she meeting us in the neighborhood?"

I finally met Ella's mom last week and gave her my contact info, hopefully she calls soon for a playdate!

November 4 - Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! We had a Halloween party at our house on Thursday with the girl scouts and had a lot of fun. The girls (and a few of the moms) looked adorable in their costumes and had a blast running around the house. I had 3 mason jars filled with different types of candy corn (regular, Starburst and s'mores flavored) and the girls had to guess the quantities. The winners won their moms some new handsoap from Bath & Body Works. I had no idea this would be such a hit but the girls LOVED it.

On actual Halloween, JD went to Luke's school in the morning to watch a Halloween parade. The kids are announced by class and then went trick or treating. I was at Julia's school helping out her class in the science lab in the morning. We did experiments with pumpkins and my tables theme was 'how fat is the pumpkin?' where the kids had to estimate the circumference of 3 different sized pumpkins and then we measured them. It was great helping out with her class and meeting all the kids. 

Just like last year, we had about 10 kids come over for pizza before trick or treating. A few kids needed some prodding to eat (you know...because they told us they didn't have to eat because 'I'll be having candy soon'). After posing for a few photos, we were off around 6:45pm. The weather was gorgeous (around 65 degrees) and we had to constantly remind the older kids to stop running full speed from house to house. Our neighbors amazing display was rocking it again this year, and we found another house in the back of the neighborhood that had an actual haunted house in their garage. For something a bunch of high school kids put together, it was quite impressive. Chainsaws, crazy lighting and probably 10 'actors' doing scary stuff. I took Julia and Evey and they were pretty scared. Luke wanted to go but I told him maybe next year. It was too intense for little kids. After walking around for about an hour and a half, we headed back home so the kids could count their candy and have a few pieces. Great night!

Pumpkins!

We don't want to pose for pictures, we want to start going house to house

Girl Scouts

We went to a local farm on Sunday and went through a corn maze