Happy Halloween

This little girl has been obessed with "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" ever since Gramma came for a visit and played make-believe with her. Every morning when it is just me and her in the dimly lit kitchen in the pre-dawn hour, Mama Bear and Baby Bear share a bowl of porridge. It fills our tummies and warms my heart. And this Halloween has given me the perfect opportunity to bring out the old bear costume I made for M so many years ago (with Gramma's help, on a hand-me-down sewing machine with a broken foot pedal.) It was his first time trick-or-treating. He was 22 months old and the costume fit him perfectly. T is 30 months old and it's a bit big on her. Even so, it is perfect. I have a feeling that she will be wearing that costume for weeks to come. :)

Oh, the irony

I started this blog to encourage myself to do more fun and interesting stuff with my family. Ironically, we have been so busy doing fun and interesting stuff for the past couple of months that I haven't had time to catch my breath, much less blog about it. I kind of went crazy signing my kids up for activities this autumn. We've been on field trips to the National Zoo, the Baltimore Science Museum, Anne Marie Gardens, the Library of Congress, the American History Museum, and Historic St. Mary's City. We have had family visit and lots of playtime with friends. The older kids played soccer in the Upwards league. M entered an original Lego creation in the County Fair and won 1st prize! J and C entered handmade stuffed animals in the fair and won ribbons, too. They had art lessons. They started gymnastics and horseback riding lessons. M continues with jujitsu. And they are in the Christmas Pageant at church this year and rehearsals started a month ago! And we have joined a second homeschool group. And I'm taking T to the library story time, too. Oh, and we are trying to squeeze in our school work sometimes!

It's been fun, but exhausting. I think we are all ready to start slowing down and spend more time at home. Plans for November: cooking, sewing, knitting, reading, drawing, and celebrating the beginning of my favorite time of the year.