Edited and Updated: Too many quotes for a status update

An argument that could only happen at our house:
Anne: Ooh, let's watch Giada!
Sammy: No!  Paula Dean!

Removing the tongs from the dishwasher...Sammy says, "Giada has that!"

Anne walked into the kitchen with a baby doll.  She said, "I'm an Indian!"  I said, "What do you mean?"  She said, "I'm an Indian.  I am stealing this baby."  I replied, "Huh?  Where did you learn that?"  She said, "From 'Peter Pan'!"

Here's the quote that made me think, "I gotta blog these": Anne asked me to come to the bathroom with her.  I lingered in the doorway for a moment while she got settled, then went to toss some socks into her laundry basket.  She shouted from the bathroom, "Mom?  Where did you go?  You said you would always be there for me!"  I thought to myself, "What the what?  Who says that?" Anne quickly recovered by laughing and saying, "That's like 'The Lion King'"  She had me reeling in the mom-guilt for a second!

Preschool Update

We had Anne's first parent-teacher conference last night.  As a teacher, I was pretty sure of what to expect, and it is exactly what we got: She's great, no concerns, thanks for coming.

Anne's class has two teachers, and we met with just one last night.  Mrs. B. told us that Anne is doing well in all areas.  She is an especially good helper to her classmates, she listens well and follows directions, and enjoys all activities in the classroom.  Her coloring and cutting are very good, she can write her first name (so cute, by the way!), and she does a good job of taking care of her coat and backpack (a big skill in the 3-year-old class).

As I've said before, I don't always get a lot of info from Anne about school.  When I asked her what she liked about school she said, "Playing kitchen and singing on the purple carpet."  She has 17 classmates, and a few names that get tossed around are Nora, Mac, Landon, and Willow.  I know that Nora is her good buddy, and Mrs. B. said that they play together a lot.

Sidenote: I felt bad for the teachers last night when I learned this class has girls named Annie, Evie, Avi, and Ari.  I'm betting they get mixed up once in a while!

All in all, Anne is doing just fine and enjoying school.  She is always excited to go and always excited to show us her projects and tell us what she's learned (with a little gentle prompting).  I'm a little excited because next Wednesday I get to take her and drop her off--something I've never done!  Maybe I can get another little peek into her world.

Halloween 2011

 Here they are, folks!  In case you do not have a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old of your own, let me tell you that it is nearly impossible to take a nice picture of them.  They smile too big, they blink at the flash, and they can't hold still for more than .63 seconds.  What you see are the 3 best photos of about 30...

Sidenote: How hard is it to schedule Halloween?  Between picking up kids, trying to make dinner, and getting everyone dressed and out the door I about lost my mind!  We did not manage to get out the door before the sun went down...maybe next year (oh, and speaking of next year, I am totally letting Sam take the kids out by himself.  I will stay home and answer the door.)

Without further ado, here are my kiddos!  I made Anne's costume--she is "Jessie the Cowgirl" from Toy Story.  You can see more photos of the real Jessie here.  Sammy is just a generic cowboy--his bandana got left behind in the rush and his jacket is buttoned up so far you can't see his plaid shirt!  He made up for it with his adorable, "Tay koo" after getting his candy.

 All in all I was able to costume the children for less than $10.  Thrift finds and stuff we had around the house worked just fine for us!

Halloweens Past

While you wait for this year's Halloween pictures, here are a few old ones to keep you occupied:

Anne's first Halloween in her penguin suit.  If memory serves she was a happy girl that night as we toted her around town.

 The following year, newly 1-year-old Anne as a dalmatian puppy.

 Halloween 2009--kind of a nightmare.  Anne didn't really like that costume and didn't really "get" the whole concept of trick-or-treat.  Sammy just cried in that same penguin suit.

2010: Now we are making progress!  This was a good year as Anne ran from house to house for more candy.  Sammy tagged along in the stroller.

And 2011?  Sammy at least got his own original costume--no, he did not wear the candy corn.  More to come. (Soon?  No promises.)

Grown-Up Television

As I've said before, my kids love to watch Food Network and Cooking Channel.  I love that they love it because it means we don't have to watch Nick Jr. all the time.  Less "Wonder Pets", more "Barefoot Contessa"

However, Nick Jr.'s perk is its lack of commercials.  Grown-up channels have commercials...for grown-up things.  While we are still avoiding annoying commercials for junky toys and crap, my kids have established an interesting vocabulary.  Some examples:

Anne: Mom, this is green and starts with "B".  I think it is Benefiber.

Anne: We are CenturyLink.

Anne: .....cash rewards card.....

Anne: Mom, do you know what is an easy dinner?  You take the meat and wrap it in the dough!  (This is a commercial from Pillsbury--an "easy dinner idea" of wrapping hot dogs in Crescent roll dough)

Strange?  Yes.  But hey, no one is asking me for a Leapster or "Little Miss Muffin" for Christmas!