We're Off to Trick or Treat

I first asked Gizmo what she wanted to be for Halloween in August.  At the time, she was just starting to watch "The Wizard of Oz", and she said without hesitation, "I want to be Dorothy!".  I figured that by the next day she would change her mind, but she never wavered on her Dorothy decision.  It was official when Grama Poke was enlisted to make the costume.  Grama JG got the rest of the must-have accessories - Toto with basket, blue hair ribbons and socks, and of course, ruby slippers.  (Big props, by the way, to both Gramas for taking care of the whole thing!)

She made one adorable Dorothy, if I do say so myself.

Gonzo, on the other hand, had no interest whatsoever in wearing any sort of costume.  Gizmo deemed her worthy of dressing as the Cowardly Lion, and I had found a cute costume at Target, and then borrowed another lion costume from a friend at work.  The night before Halloween, I tried one of them on, and Gonzo cried the entire time.  We even tried to have her wear Nemo, the cute costume Gizmo had sported a few years ago, but she cried, "No Nemo!", and so we took that off, too.  She was happy enough to hold Elmo and pass out candy.  So much for coordinated costuming.

Maybe next year, Gonzo!

Role Play

The scene:  Gizmo's bedroom, Sunday night.  Mitch, Gizmo and I are picking up toys in preparation for bed.  I grab Toto's basket, part of her Dorothy costume for Halloween.

Me:  "Gizmo, why don't you go get Toto and we can put him in his basket."

(Gizmo runs into the other room to find Toto. She runs back in.)

Me (with basket open):  "OK, Gizmo, put him in!"

Gizmo (with a sad look on her face):  "Oh, you can't take him away from me!"

(Mitch and I exchange a look and laugh, both of us immediately deciding that she has taken on her role of Dorothy for Halloween extremely seriously.)

Me:  "I'm not taking him away.  We can put him in the basket and set the whole basket on your ledge."

Gizmo (without another thought):  "OK!"

End scene.

Who knows how she'll act as "Dorothy" tomorrow night, especially when she has a sidekick in the Cowardly Lion.

Summer Fun

SPRING BREAK! The Rest of the Story

The rest of the week kept us busy, and I'm not sure who was more worn out - the girls or myself. We colored Easter eggs (complete with a dye spill all over my hand and shirt - that poor Rose Bowl shirt didn't see what was coming),

we played outside,

we had a picnic lunch at the park,

and celebrated Easter with a trip to church, an Easter Egg hunt with Aunt Katie and Uncle Boston, and a massive sugar high and crash.

Gonzo was oblivious to the whole thing,

but was very angry when she learned that the egg hunt was done during her nap. If looks could kill...

Something tells me that I'll see that look very often in the coming years.

And now, things are back to "normal", with me at work and the girls happy and content at home. Grama Poke and Aunt Cathy are in town this week to watch the girls while Grama Jersey Girl enjoys her vacation, and they are off to a very fun (and exhausting) start!

SPRING BREAK! Thursday

After a fairly uneventful Wednesday (a trip to the doctor for Gonzo and a few hours at work for mommy do not a fun day make), we were ready for our great adventure of the week. Auntie Al and Mr. Fix-It got Gonzo a family membership to the Children's Museum for her birthday, and it could not have been a better gift for two active little girls. Aunt Katie joined us for the trip, and brought her camera along to capture the morning. (Thank goodness Aunt Katie is better about remembering her camera than I am. She takes better pictures on her fancy new camera, anyway. If I could hire her to follow me and the girls around and just take pictures, I would. She wouldn't mind, as long as I paid well and offered benefits, I'm sure.)

Gizmo was true to her personality today, taking things in quietly and timidly, almost afraid to explore and interrupt other kids' fun. She did, however, have fun walking on the over/under circle,

hopping on one foot,

playing with turtles and blocks (in a room that was enclosed and quieter than the rest of the museum - this is where we spent most of our time this morning)

painting our own face (and Aunt Katie had some face paint, too - I wonder what the office thought of that when she returned to work!)

pressing pennies into discs, then adding different textures,

and building model train cars.

Gonzo got to enjoy her gift, too - she had a great time walking around in the blocks room and trying to climb this incline, which she was unsuccessful in doing. There were tears at the end, but she was easily distracted.

The poor kid was a trooper, since she had a runny nose and was well overdue for her nap when we left.

Today, as I was working in the house and enjoying the quiet when the girls were napping this afternoon, I, for a brief moment, wished I could be a stay-at-home mom so that the girls and I could have this type of fun all the time. Because we did have fun this morning.

The icing on the cake? Meeting Daddy for lunch at one of Gizmo's favorite restaurants, since Mitch's building is adjacent to the Children's Museum.

Life is good when McDonald's is the highlight of the day!

SPRING BREAK! Tuesday

Today started with baths and a trip to Kohls to purchase some new clothes for Gizmo. Today she and I went through her box of spring and summer clothes, and she really has only a few things left that will fit from last year. She was pretty OK with boxing her small things up and "saving them for Gen", but she would just not take off this awful puffy vest that was a hand-me-down from a neighbor. Barely fitting, she squeezed the buttons shut around her body and would not put it in the box. She and I made a deal that she could wear it for play in the house only, and not outside. We shook on it, so it has to stick.

We then went to the library for story time, which was the first time the girls visited this event. It was small and fun, and we then went into the main library to play and pick out books.

After lunch, it was by far the most calm of the day - the girls watched "Super Why" together.

Who says TV isn't good for kids?

After naps and a snack for Gonzo,

we headed over to Grama and Pomps for Lil' Missy's birthday dinner. She picked the menu, which consisted of pizza, broccoli, and strawberries. (And cake and ice cream, of course!) Gizmo's comment about the best part of the night? "The cake was the best part for sure!"

Happy 9th birthday, Lil' Missy!

They Can Get Along....

We made up this game at our house a couple of weeks ago called "Friends". It was an effort to make Gizmo a little nicer to Gonzo. This video just makes me smile.

Random Thoughts and Pictures

A couple of weekends ago, Mitch and I devoted some time to working in the yard. It's this time of year - leaf-dropping time - that we begin to curse our choice in house. (Who wanted to live in an older neighborhood with mature trees, anyway?)

I think the girls had a pretty good time in the leaves, even though Gizmo had to share with Gonzo -





It was the perfect fall day that Saturday. The only thing that would have made it better would have been an Illini win.

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The next day, all hell broke loose in the house. Mitch contracted a pretty nasty virus and was out of work for a few days while I worked crazy hours due to conference week. The best part was that the girls avoided the virus.

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I had a few days of work for the state's educational convention (which I did not have to go to), so I was able to stay home and hang out with the girls. We had a great time!


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Tonight, I watched Gizmo inhale a piece of lasagna. It was the kind of no-breathing, no-chewing, can't look up, use both hands type of eating. I was completely impressed. And I come from a long line of fast eaters, especially when it comes to lasagna.

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Gonzo is seven months old. Where has the time gone? She is sporting two new teeth, and could not be cuter, although I noticed that she's starting to look a little bit like a linebacker. A cute linebacker, though.

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When I was pregnant with Gizmo, I was telling a colleague how ready I was to go home for the day to relax. My colleague, who has two teenage children, just laughed at me. He told me that for him, being at work was relaxing, and that going home was when the real work started. I remember thinking, "How could that be true?"

Now I laugh every time I think about that day, because he could not have been more right.

They're Not Ribbon Dresses, But the Idea is the Same

My mom was notorious for dressing my sisters and I in coordinating outfits, usually different by color or pattern. She made all of them herself, and I have no doubt that she has some of them stashed somewhere, just waiting to get out to dress her grandchildren in.

Grama Jersey Girl, a shopper supreme, bought these coordinating "fishie" outfits at Carter's a few weeks ago, and today it was finally warm enough to get out the tank tops (and Daisy Dukes, right Boston?) out.

And the cycle begins again.


And no, they could not be more adorable. And yes, that is Gonzo's real hair. Girlfriend is never going to need Bump-Its with that hair.