Attention, please. May i have your attention.

Mommy, did you know that loud speaker, the one for the pledge of allegiance, can be used to say other things? Like today, they said Amelia's name on there.

wow. i don't know if i should be scared. did she just notice this? or are they not using it for other announcements...like an announcement after the fire drill!?!


on a more exciting issue...aunt gretchen sent a package to the kiddies yesterday. and in it, they almost doubled their Pez collection. it made me realize my daughter doesn't know who Wonder Woman is. Perhaps i shall hunt down Wonder Woman Underoos for her. You know, the kind mommy had when she was little.

I was the Caboose!

oh, it was one of those moments i wish i had the video camera rolling. M was telling us about her day at school yesterday and paul and i could barely keep straight faces. all of a sudden, well, really all of a sudden she's MORE animated vs just animated. and it cracks us up. if you can visualize her standing there, eyes as big as oranges and hands open as if she's doing the subway $5 footlong commercial:

...and then the fire alarm went off. and i was like "is it really a fire? i mean, a for real fire."
and guess what?! i was the first in line! i just lined right up. and mrs. c took my hand. she said, no, it was only a practice.
and then we walked right outside to the sidewalk. *shivers a little* and then, guess what?! when we were ready to walk inside, we all just turned around...and ...i was like the Caboose! can you believe it?!

oh, dear. she's so darn cute.

the gnomes are coming, the gnomes are coming!

this year, the kiddies were garden gnomes for halloween.

and for under $10 a piece, i was thrilled with their costumes. i only had to make the hats. the rest of the ensemble was goodwill shopping for belts and shirts, pants and boots out of their wardrobes, and brand new faux hair santa beards. people loved them! they thought it was great idea and by far something they haven't seen before. G, on the other hand, did NOT like his beard. not one bit. and the kids would not let me use that color spray on their hair, which was probably best since it was drizzling. the kids at G's school thought he was santa and we got a few "oooh, look at the elves!" comments when trick or treating, but for the most part, people knew what they were.

i am also happy to report we went the whole night without seeing hannah montana or a single jonas brother.

puppy dog eyes

M's school does a really great thing for halloween called a Storybook Parade. every class picks a storybook and makes themed masks or accessories. her class was 101 dalmations. i love the idea of not sending a costume in and that all of the kiddies are dressed similar and take the time to make their own masks. some of the other cleverly featured parade participants, besides the adorable pups (and that's the only time you'll hear me say pups are adorable), were - peter pan, spiderwick, and where the wild things are.

pumpkin carving

flack jack...

snake...

phineas...

And i'll probably get shot for implementing this rule this year-

No Costume...

no candy...

ferb and a scary jack o lantern

mr oogie boogie ..

jack...

there was definitely more freehand drawing and carving this year than last and only an additional 2 pumpkins. but being consistent, i still am terrible at photographing lit jack o'lanterns.