Halloween with the Hargarters

We had a hauntingly good time tonight. Our friends the Hargarters were here from Germany so we all got together for Trick or Treating. It was so great to see them, because although I had seen Manj this summer I hadn't seen Jurgen, Kiran or Rupali in ages. It was so cute to see kids who weren't as accustomed to the whole trick or treat thing getting into it. It was so nice to have what seemed like very normal, casual hang out time with Manj and Jurgen too (even though it took them a long plane ride to get here for it).

We're hoping that Neil planted enough seeds into Jurgen's head about moving to the states, so hopefully we'll get to do this again some year??

I did manage to get a few pix of Devin in his mask. Rupali was a little more camera shy tonight than Kiran (who was very willing to pose). I was impressed by how grown up he seems now. We were in the kitchen getting water and having a whole conversation about Devin's mask and the spikes on his weapon. Totally hysterical. We're going to miss our new/old friends!!

Monster Makeup Session

So, when you buy your kid the expensive Halloween costume with the full mask and they swear they're going to wear it? Lies, all lies. So, you rely on plan B, face paint. Devin has serious smell aversions and the latex smell of his werewolf mask wasn't going to work for him. So, I pulled out the face paint and we went with it. Not too bad for plan B. Here are the before and after shots.

Halloween Parade

Here are my little ghouls at school today. Devin is a werewolf (you'll see mask/full make-up later) and Julia is Supergirl. Last picture is Devin with his good buddy Daniel. Happy Halloween everyone!!

Kitchen Update - Need Opinions

Here's the latest. Floors - done! Trim work - done! Outsides of cabinets - done. Wall paint - done. We got one of the cabinet doors in and although we still need to paint it and get it up, we're cautiously optimistic that it might work.

Still need countertops - opinions anyone? And window treatments for the one window and the two doors. Opinions???

The little scalloped piece over the sink is going and the trim is getting extended to the wall. There are a couple other little carpentry things to fix too.

Scariest Halloween Costume

Yes, the scariest Halloween costume out there this year is Senator Clinton. Here she is at our school Halloween parade. Eek. Yikes.

I Love Fall

Finally remembered my camera the other day when I left the house to pick the kids up. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year and I can never seem to take enough leaf pictures. Here are a few of the house, cool leaf pix and one of Devin he let me snap real quick.

They're Done!

Ok, the floors are officially done. What do you think? Travis is coming back Tuesday to put the baseboard trim up, but that's it!. Neil furiously painted all weekend and I furiously cleaned. The result is that we are almost back in the kitchen (no stove, no table). We grilled burgers and dogs and had microwaved veggies for dinner tonight. Nothing fancy, but it's the first home cooked meal we've had in a week!

Next on deck, painting the walls, finishing cleaning the basement fallout and the rest of the cabinets. Then, I get to tackle the rest of the house. The good news is that I'm getting pretty good at it by now!

Tattoo You

Julia got a very cool little airbrush tattoo kit for her birthday from Aunt Bet. We pulled it out today and did some front stoop tats. It was a little of trial and error, but I think I finally got it down. Julia's butterfly is after her shower, so it had some staying power. Please note the stag on Devin's shoulder. Where was this little creation when I was in college (Fairfield Stags)? What do you think of our new ink?

Karate Graduation

I was so consumed with the wedding photos that my friend Ellen was able to send me pictures from the kids karate graduation. Since they started only 6 weeks before, they each earned a star on their white belts. This is a group shot of all those who were graduating and the second is a photo of the kids, their friend Ethan and their instructor, Mrs. Pressing, aka "Ma'am".

They are currently working on their yellow belts, and making smashing strides. Ask Julia to show you her straddle stretch and her push ups and Devin's kicks. Aiiiiiii-yah!

All in one day

Oh yes, the white linoleum is gone!! You wouldn't have believed how fast they installed this floor. It looks like it was giant chunks of floor already pieced together and installed, but we're talking individual pieces here all hammered into place and cut. It's amazing. Only the piece where the fridge is going has a coat of polyurethane on it, but it's already looking beyond fabulous. It's really pretty incredible. We're so happy with how it looks, and it's not even done yet.

Now, the unanticipated dirt and debris in the laundry room area is feeling worth it. (It didn't occur to me that when you rip floors out down to the planks, which have pretty decent gaps between them and have lots of dirt and stuff in there that it will all end up in the area underneath. Who knew? But bless his heart Travis did all he could to minimize the crud.) So, we're now forced to clean it all out. Clearly a blessing in disguise, but weren't planning on having to do it. Anyone looking for some additional clutter to add to their homes???

Bye Bye White Linoleum...

Today is the day. I've been both excited about it and dreading it. Our nasty white linoleum in the kitchen is being replaced by oak hardwood flooring. Neil's cousin, uncle and cousin's BIL are doing the work. It's amazing to see it happening. So, more dust and debris (though I'm starting to enjoy the taste of grit in my mouth) but the end result will be so worth it. Here's day 1. The second layer of linoleum was actually less obnoxious than the white. It had a slightly pocked finish to it though which I can't see in a kitchen. Can't wait to see the new wood go in!

Incredible Story

Neil's Aunt Bet sent this e-mail to us today, and now that I've finished sobbing and convinced my kids that yes, I'm fine, I need to put this out onto my blog. What an amazing story. I told my kids that this is why you never listen to anyone tell you that you can't do something. Incredible. I so needed this today.

This is the British "American Idol". This is really unbelievable. Take a minute and watch this....makes your heart feel good! Watch the faces of the judges as this guy walks out on the stage. You can almost see what they are thinking as they pre-judge this guy based on his looks and the fact that he is a cell phone salesman. So much for First impressions!

http://www.maniacworld.com/Phone-Salesman-Amazes-Crowd.html

Nighttime wanderings

Ok, so in another vain attempt to sleep last night (could have been the sausage and onion pizza we had for dinner since the kitchen is officially torn up and we officially live in what I now refer to as "the dust bowl", or could have been losing sleep over the Red Sox extra innings loss) but either way I was still up at 2:30a.m. watching the 2 final episodes of Sex and the City (my favorite show ever).

Julia, bless her little heart, wakes up usually once a night to go to the bathroom. She gets up, goes and goes right back to sleep. Well, if I see her walk by our door I usually get up to see her. Why intervene with a child that will willingly go back to bed in her own room you ask? Well, she's so darn cute when she's half asleep that I can't help myself.

For example, last night she goes into the bathroom. I walk in and she's in her groggy, half awake state. Her preciously Lamby is on the floor. I grab some tp for her and give her a smooch on the top of her head. She looks at me with little sleepy eyes and says, "Mommy, I LIKE your jammies!" Hysterical. She always has something cute to say and gives me the best half asleep smiles. Who could resist that?

Chris and George

Ok, I did it. Shot my first wedding photos yesterday. Felt like I was going to throw up for about 3/4 of the day. It was a gorgeous day, but warm. The inside chapel posed a lighting issue for me (some grainy, some dark, some overexposed) but I think overall I did alright. More photos to post soon, but here's a taste.

Wishing I Was the Roadrunner

So, I'm looking out the back window today and see something that looks like a very beat up fox walking through our back yard. I realized the legs were too long and the tail too thin to be a fox. It was a coyote! In the suburbs? So, after a frantic call to our neighbors (it was headed their way) who have two little girls and a small dog I realized Oreo was outside. Still haven't seen him appear yet, but he's pretty smart. Called animal control (worried that it shouldn't be either here, or out during daylight - rabies?) and they sent me to the local PD. The dispatcher laughed and asked if I'd taken a picture. Apparently this isn't a big deal, even in the 'burbs.

Self Discipline??

One last shot from the karate party. The three tenets of karate are respect, self control and self discipline. Here is Marc. A picture speaks a thousand words.

A few more Karate Pix

Julia's 6th Birthday Karate Party

Ok, the "baby" turns 6 this week. So hard to believe. I think it hit me as I was assembling her life timeline for school (one picture from every year of her life). She's changed so much I almost think of her as a different person.

Please be sure to check out Deb Hanna's blog as she just posted some amazing pictures she took of Julia this weekend (see links to the right). Now granted, she had excellent subject matter, but aren't they incredible?

Julia had a ball at her karate birthday party. There were 12 kids all together and seeing them learn some of the basic moves and then chopping boards with their hands and feet was a riot. After all the activity they ate pizza and cake. The catch was they were supposed to eat the cake without their hands! I think Devin was only one of two kids who actually ate the whole piece without his hands (shows in the picture, does it not?)

The best part was that I finally got some pictures of Julia going through her karate moves. She's a natural. It's so cute to see her in action.

The Hanna family made the pilgrimage to WH for the party and stayed for a giant slumber party. Highlights included Marc getting told that "beer isn't allowed in the fire truck, sir", the women dominating with the ING cards (again), the new catchphrase ala Marc "the team who did (that) is BLOWING it," the girls all snuggled up almost face to face in Julia's bed. So cute!! Also found out that the chocolate kisses we keep in the bowl in the dining room are VERY appealing to 4 year old boys. Go figure??