Trick or treat stats are coming!

Many friends and family have asked whether we'll be keeping our annual stats on the trick-or-treaters to our home. Of course! This will be our seventh year, and I'm hoping for a record breaker since Halloween is on a Friday and we're having great weather.

If you want a retrospective, start with last year's stats and you can follow the links to see all the previous years as well.

Preschool Party

Pajama girls

Maggie learns a new language

Maggie now speaks fluent commercial, thanks to her new favorite show "The Magic School Bus" which unfortunately has real commercials in the middle of it. Previously she had been exposed to very few commercials, but now the world is opening up to her and she's constantly reporting on what she's learning.

"Mommy! I saw this thing you need in the kitchen, and it's not available in any store!"

"Bead Blast?! I LOVE it! I want to get that! Can we get it? Can we get the Bead Blast? Mommy, we have to CALL NOW!"

"There was this couple getting married, and they got money THE VERY NEXT DAY! Mommy, we should call and get some money THE VERY NEXT DAY!"

I keep giving her little lectures on what commercials are, why we don't get everything we see, why we don't really need any  more stuff at all...and she nods and looks away and asks me to get out the Christmas Wish List she's been making, which already has 14 items on it. Sigh.

Halloween party

Photos from the backyard

My camera is still broken, so I finally borrowed my mom's for a while so I can keep up with the girls. Nothing special today--just a few shots of our afternoon in the backyard.

Dreams

Nobody wants to hear about anyone else's dreams...unless it's your own kid. 

I am fascinated by Maggie's dreams and ask her to tell me about them. Today she said she had two dreams last night, one scary and one great. In the scary dream, she said she was making s'mores with Mommy and Daddy when she threw her blanket onto the fire, and suddenly the whole room was filled up with flames. (Yikes!) But then she had a good dream, in which she was tiny like a mouse, and went sailing on a pirate ship on a sea of lava. Because she was so tiny, she could crawl all over the ship into the small, sneaky places and explore everything.

I started off saying that nobody wants to hear about dreams, but then I went and told you Maggie's dreams. Well, if you care enough to read this far, I'll go ahead and tell you about the weird dream I had last night. I had a fourth daughter, only this one looked like a creepy plastic doll. I kept thinking how horrible my child looked and then feeling guilty for thinking it about my own kid.

Dog sitting

We are keeping a friend's dog for a few days while she is on vacation. Lono is a sweet old Australian Shepherd who is slow and gentle and wants nothing more than a good night's sleep followed by a nice long nap leading up to a lovely snooze. Maggie and Audrey thought he was great fun the first day and spent hours with him in the backyard, but that initial burst seemed to have used up all of Lono's energy and all the girls' interest. After only 48 hours their relationship has devolved to watching TV together. 

Jane, meanwhile, was really scared of Lono at first and couldn't be anywhere near him unless she was being held safely in my arms. But now she can sit on the floor in the same room with him, keeping a wary eye but not bursting into tears every time he moves. Big improvement.

Maggie has been nervous around dogs forever, though she has recently gotten warmed up to our neighbor's sweet dog. Having Lono around has made her even more comfortable. He's so easygoing and slow that he's the perfect dog to introduce to fearful kids.

And yet...I look behind me into the family room and see now FOUR bodies depending on me for food, exercise and entertainment, and it makes me feel that much more weighed down. Even an easy dog like this adds to my stress. So it's a good reminder that I'm really not ready to take on a family pet at this point. Maybe in a couple years when Janey starts preschool, I'll be ready for a permanent dog to keep me company.

P.S. My camera broke a couple weeks ago so I can't currently record our life in images, unless I get out my iPhone. Hopefully I'll get my camera fixed soon.

Flashes of brilliance (or something)

Jane: At a restaurant the other night, the waitress brought Maggie and Audrey ice cream cones. Jane's expression turned frantic as she reached her hands toward the treats and yelled "aahhh! aahhh!" Then she looked at me with deep sadness as tears welled in her eyes. In a panic I asked the waitress to please bring us another dish of ice cream. She was fast, and in moments Jane was getting her own share. We're still at the stage that when Jane does something kid-ish like this we think it's adorable. Give me a few more months and I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune.

Brilliant Factor: 7

Audrey: At the same restaurant, Audrey was looking around and studying the various neon signs used as decor. She pointed at one and said "Hey, there's a state!" I asked "Is it California?" She said "No...it's a different one..." I finally spotted it, and it was an outline of Texas. A 3-year-old who recognizes that a shape is a state, and knows it's not California. 

Brilliant Factor: 9

Maggie: Walking into a restroom at the Los Angeles Arboretum: "This bathroom is enchanting! It's like a palace! I LOVE it!"

Brilliant Factor: 8 for vocabulary; -2 for aesthetics

Robert: Due to water damage and mold, we have been forced into remodeling the bathroom in the guest house. To save money and because he thinks it's fun, Robert has been doing the work himself. Some wives might get nervous about this, but with Robert, I know the job will be done perfectly. I'm pretty sure Robert would excel at anything he set his mind to.

Brilliant Factor: 10

Deborah: I have given up on the charade that I can be a nonstop mom to three small children and a writer at the same time. At least for now. Trying to write was very frustrating and sending me into a depression. When I gave myself permission to stop, everything got easier and happier. Which in turn, is kind of depressing. But for now I'm focusing on the kids, the house and volunteering, and I'll try to fit in writing at a later time.

Brilliant Factor: 10 or 0, depending on how you look at it, I guess

Who is Uncle Jim?

I set up Audrey with crayons, paper and stickers at the dining room table. I set up Jane in front of my bathroom cabinet so she can organize it for me. I begin my usual five-minutes-or-less shower. Today, it will turn out to be on the -less end.

Audrey (the girl who cries wolf): Mama! Mama! Mama! (screaming frantically from the other room)

Me (the fool): I'm coming! (Leaping out of the shower, grabbing a towel, running)

Audrey (grinning): Hi Mama.

Me (dripping): Why were you screaming?

Audrey (impish): I want to send this card to Uncle Jim.

Me (confused): You don't have an Uncle Jim.

Audrey (furrowed brow): Oh yeah. I mean...Papa.

Me (stern): You should only scream if it's an emergency.

Audrey (earnest): It IS an emergency.

Me (uh-huh): WHAT is the emergency?

Audrey (nodding): I don't know how to write Uncle Jim.

Me (irritated): You don't have an Uncle Jim. That's not an emergency. An emergency is if someone is hurt or there's a fire.

Audrey (laughing): Mama, there's a fire! There's a fire!

Me (angry): Stop it.

Audrey (giddy): There's a fire right behind you!

Me (sighing) I'm going back to my shower.

Audrey (flirting with danger): Mama! Mama! Waaaait!! I need to mail this to Uncle Jim! I need a stamp!

Me (walking away): You don't have an Uncle Jim. WHO is Uncle Jim?

Audrey (inexplicably): You.

Me (?): ?

Audrey (back to usual): Can I have a snack now?

Disneyland

My mom and I took the girls to Disneyland yesterday after picking up Maggie from school. Audrey got her first annual pass (she is SO proud of it and keeps calling it her Disneyland credit card). We went on a few rides (including Audrey's favorite, Buzz Lightyear--see photo below) and had dinner at the Blue Bayou, and even got to watch the parade before leaving at 8 p.m. It was a great day, and makes me glad Maggie is in half-day kindergarten. We can do this as often as we want!