{ Monthly Archives }
October 2005
Halloween!
Will’s second Halloween was a busy, full day.
This morning, Paul and I joined Will at school. He wore his bumblebee costume from last year (it was 80 today, too warm for the alligator) and joined his classmates: a fisherman, some pirates, a few witches, butterfly, ladybug, cow, and a lion. We played with the kids, watched as they “trick-or-treated” with the older kids (“older” as in more than 3 years old), who distributed homemade cookies, candies, bubbles, and other little toys into the 2-year old kids’ bags. Paul couldn’t resist and gave in to Will’s asking for candy (this is because Paul reasoned he should eat at least half of whatever Will was to have) and once we were sure we had the kids all hyped up on sugar, we parents left. It was fun! (We are embarrassed to report that we forgot both the camera and Paul’s juggling supplies. *sigh*)
Tonight, after dinner at Reginelli’s compliments of Grandpa George, we took Will to Avenger Field, which lies between Children’s Hospital and Audubon Zoo. This is usually where the Zoo holds “Boo-in-the-Zoo,” an annual event held on Halloween that is very popular. The Zoo teamed up with the Hospital to provide an event there this year, totally free! There was a ton of fun things: a long stream of “houses” where kindly folks handed out candy to trick-or-treaters from tiny holes carved into the facades; hot dogs, hamburgers, frostys, and drinks; baseball and football tosses; live music; a haystack with scarecrow; kick-ball field; face painting; and about a dozen different games with prizes for kids.
Will was tired from his long day (starting at 5am!) but still had a great time. He ran around the kick-ball field with other toddlers, danced a bit to the music, played a ball-toss game, and trick-or-treated. Trick-or-treating is going to take some practice. Will couldn’t resist wanting to stop after every score and eat his loot. We would point to our wrists and say “we’ll have a treat in 5 minutes!” which was enough to distract him until we got to the next station. We ran into one of my professors with his family, which was also a fun surprise! It was nice to see so many kids and families back in the city.
It is really good to be home and we are so happy we were here to enjoy Halloween!
Good morning!
Daylight savings time sucks for parents. How hard do we parents have to work? Why must everything be difficult for us… daycare, failing schools, ridiculous work week, terrible vacation, worse benefits, no flexibility, and the joke of “family” leave… aren’t these enough? Apparently not, because we are also faced with the pain-in-the-butt task of yanking our kids on and off schedules for Daylight savings.
Did I mention that I’m cranky because my kid woke up an hour early today? At 5:22, we were awoken by a very happy, very awake monkey. Paul, delighted to find that the swimmers worked through the night, brought him to bed with us to see if we could lull him back down to sleep.
So there we were. Nestled in the warm bed, Will tucked between us, smiling to ourselves thinking that it just might work… another 30 minutes of sleep could be ours. And then, slowly, we became aware of a warm wet sensation spreading through the sheets….
“Holly,” it was Paul whose brain first put it together, “we have a leak.”
And we did. I stripped the bed (hooray — it didn’t get through the liner) as Paul washed Will down and put on another swimmer and pjs. (We had to save his real diaper for school.) The rest of the morning went fine, other than the fact that we all (Will included) are now exhausted from the early morning wake-up.
Night-night update
I was wrong in my last post. I’ve just discovered that Will is NOT fast asleep in his crib, tucked in wearing his Lil’ Swimmer and firetruck PJs. He is awake, lying in his crib, singing softly to himself: “ee-ei-ee-ei-oh!” (Think “Old MacDonald.”)
Sometimes, the ooey-gooey cuddly super-sweet parts of motherhood, the parts that make you gag in sappy movies, the stuff you tease yourself for crying over… sometimes, even I have to admit that all that stuff is totally true. There are times when my heart just swells up so much that I wonder how it will hold it all without bursting.
"We have a problem."
And with those words I prepared my husband for terrible news.
We are out of diapers. Completely, one-hundred percent, totally. Out. Of. Diapers.
In just about any other place in the U.S., this would not be too much a problem. Someone just hops in the car and drives to an open grocery, 7-11, whatever. But that is not a possibility in the city of New Orleans, where Winn Dixie is only open from 9-5 and enjoys the status of “only game in town.” Neighbors with toddlers? We tried; they’re out for the night. And so here we are.
Luckily, we had some swimming diapers from the trip to Duck. This really was a lucky turn of events, since we normally keep all swimmers at my Mom’s house. So, Will is fast asleep for the night in his firetruck PJs and a Lil’ Swimmer. A good save, but they are made to contain, not to absorb. Good heavens, please let us have a dry night.
We double-lucked out when I remembered my emergency diaper stashed in the car. This is extra-good news since we now don’t have to endure the embarrassment of having to take Will to school in a swimmer and beg them for a diaper. (He’ll be in school before the store opens.) Phew.
Our house! I cleaned up the front bed last weekend, moving around the plants that were still alive and doing what I could to save others. Then planted new flowers around the old(er) ones. Alex mulched it for me and then helped Paul to do one of my dream wish-list items… they took out the mangled bushes from the front! (These unsightly bushes were uneven and patchy, they pulled them out and evened out the brick work in the front!) I still can’t believe that they did it… it was *not* on Paul’s radar and it was definitely a nice surprise made on my behalf. Yesterday, George (Paul’s Dad) and I put new boston ferns in the hanging baskets. The old ones did not fare the storm well and had to be replaced. Unfortunately, these aren’t the nice and full nursery variety, but the $6 Lowe’s variety! They aren’t quite as striking as our previous bunch but should grow in well. I also added some dianthus and mums to the porch steps and side urn. Viola! A cleaned up post-Katrina front yard. (Just don’t ask us about the back… yikes!) 
What should Will be for Halloween??
We’re tabling birthday discussions temporarily to decide on the pending holiday… Halloween!
Our options:
1. The bumblebee (picture below)
2. The alligator (picture below)
3. I spend the weekend trying to find an open store to find something else. (I was thinking of looking for overalls and a flannel shirt, putting freckles on his face with washable marker, and calling him a farmer…?)
Thoughts?
