Happy Holidays: The Barrett 2013 Wrap-Up

Here's our "holiday letter" for the year...we hope it finds you all in good spirits and safe with your loved ones!

Happy Holidays 2013!

Season's Greetings! We hope you all had a prosperous and happy 2013. Ours wasn't half bad. Here's a quick update on each of us:

 

Nathan's 2013:
-Loves his job as Senior Transportation Planner with the Pima Association of Governments
-Became Ward Mission Leader for LDS Sahuarita First Ward; enjoys helping out the full-time missionaries
-Still enjoys board gaming with friends; has also taken up jogging in the morning
-Got to take his dream vacation to Washington, D.C. in October. Toured the nation's capital, and even got to see a government shut-down in action. Fun times!

Adrianne's 2013:
-Acting COO of Barrett Household; serves double duty as shuttle driver, taking kids from activity to activity
-Released as Sahuarita First Ward Primary President in July; now serving as ward missionary and ward choir director
-Teaches piano lessons to 11 awesome students, including her oldest daughter
-Still loves trying out new recipes, reading new books, and occasionally participating in mud runs featuring "zombies," as pictured above

Lorelai's 2013:
- Turned eight years old in August; baptized a member of the LDS church in early September. We are all very proud, and love to see her make good choices every day!
-Loves to read, play piano, ride her bike/scooter, and write stories
-Started third grade in the fall; got a small part in an upcoming school play
-Played softball in the winter; took swimming lessons in the summer; ready for karate next year (we hope!). She loves to try out new sports!

Celeste's 2013:
-Finished preschool in the spring, and started kindergarten in the fall. She loves math and is getting better at reading every day
-Loves her ballet class and likes to show off her dance moves at home
-Enjoys fancy clothes, Barbie dolls, My Little Pony, Tinkerbell, Littlest Pet Shop, and anything else that involves dresses, princesses, babies, fairies, or any combination of the above
-Very good-natured and helps everyone in the family feel happy and loved

Aurora's 2013:
-Loves nothing better than jumping, running, climbing, and wrestling with her sisters; despite all the rough-and-tumble, she is our cuddliest kid who loves to give out kisses and hugs
 -Enrolled in a dance class in the fall, which helps her work out that energy!
-Started a weekly playgroup/preschool with her friends, and loves spending time playing with them
-Has a secret crush on Jake from the TV show Jake And The Never Land Pirates; wants to join a pirate crew and satisfy her thirst for daily adventure and excitement

Midnight and Cucumber Barrett:

-Our newest (furry) family members; joined our home after Thanksgiving. Looking forward to cuddling with them for the next few years!

We love you all, and hope you have a happy, healthy, and safe 2014! Best wishes to you all.

Love,

The Barretts

A Merry Black Friday, In Which We Gain New (Furry) Friends

I don't usually do a lot of shopping on Black Friday. A couple of years ago, I went to one of the late-night sales with a friend, and it was an oppressive, claustrophobic experience that I have no desire to repeat. What to do, then, when I've got a lot of shopping to do and have a small budget? So Black Friday it would be!

However, I decided to do this Black Friday on my own terms; even though I'd be missing the biggest deals, I still decided to go out shopping "when I felt like it," not before! That meant I rolled out of bed around 7:30 in the morning, and made it to the first store by about 8:15 or so. I still ended up shopping for close to seven hours, and I still got pretty tired out, but I feel my time was better spent and my stress level was much more manageable!

I went here, there, and everywhere this Black Friday; athletic shoes in one store; pajama bottoms in another; stocking stuffers in the dollar store; puzzles and crafts from the nearby craft store; and so on. I ended up buying a little of everything; hopefully my bank account will forgive me someday.

I have since had to go back and buy a few smallish items to finish up the holiday shopping; however, I would say that three-fourths of my Christmas shopping was finished on Black Friday. It was a great feeling! And while I didn't get all the best deals (the cheap pajamas were all gone, as were the cheap children's scooters), I still managed to score some pretty good deals and get lucky a few times.

Probably our biggest purchase this Black Friday were some new family members...of the small, furry variety, that is.

We finally took the plunge and got some guinea pigs.We had been talking about doing it for months...ever since our pet hamster Tuck died last May. The girls have been begging us for a dog for years now, but we don't feel like we're ready to take that plunge just yet. We thought a smaller pet like a guinea pig would give the kids some good experience in caring for animals, while not being quite the time and budget drain that a dog might be for us at this time. In other words, these guinea pigs will be our "gateway" pets that will warm us up for bigger purchases later.

We were going to wait until Christmas (or just after) to actually buy the guinea pigs, but while I was out and about on Black Friday, I noticed that the guinea pigs were 50% off for Friday only! So my desire for a good deal won out, and Nathan and I decided to "pull the trigger" on this particular Christmas gift a little early. Still, Nathan drove the girls up and we bought the guinea pigs, their cage, and all their supplies together as a family.

The girls got to name the guinea pigs (both are boys). The brown-and-white one is named Cucumber, and the black one is named Midnight. I think Lorelai came up with both those names and strong-armed the other girls into accepting them, but that's life when you're the oldest kid. The other girls seemed happy with the names, at any rate.

We've only had our new furry "brothers" for about a week so far, but they're already a little more interesting than our hamster was. They are definitely more cuddly; they are often content to sit on your lap and be petted. They sometimes get a little restless and try to go "exploring," though; and once Cucumber peed on my lap...yuck! Oh well, it's just like having a human baby again.

Hopefully Midnight and Cucumber are getting more used to us and will get more comfortable around the girls in time. Right now, the girls are so excited to have new pets that their enthusiasm and energy can frighten the guinea pigs somewhat. I suspect that time, age, and tender loving care will mellow them out.

So, Christmas started a little early for our family this year. But on the plus side, all of us will be together when we open up presents for each other on Christmas Day! Now to survive the rest of December...

Thanksgiving 2013: Featuring Lots Of Football And Turkey

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Christmas season is upon us. In all likelihood, that means you'll be seeing precious little of me on the blog this month, and a slew of Christmas-related posts in early January. But I'll see if I can keep up.

The beautiful view from my in-laws' beautiful backyard

For the first time in a while, we didn't host Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Nathan's parents, Glenn & Sandy Barrett, took on the hosting duties for us. Nathan's brother Ryan, his wife Judy, and their son Cameron also came into town, so our meal was a family affair (albeit missing a few other siblings and their families. Nate's family is pretty big and it's hard to get everyone together, so we do the best we can).

Even though our family didn't host the Big Meal this year, I still bought a turkey for our own use at another time. I guess I just like to cook turkey once a year or so! As it turned out, we ended up using the turkey two days before Thanksgiving; we cooked it for the sister missionaries serving in our ward. We thought it would be a good way to give the sisters some leftovers, since they didn't have a whole lot of dinner appointments that week (lots of people out of town, etc.).

I decided to go easy on this turkey, and I didn't make bread stuffing. Instead, I stuffed the turkey's insides with some usual flavorings (herbs, onions, garlic, celery), and some not-so-usual flavorings (a quartered orange...a friend told me it was a delicious way to prepare turkey).

Here's what my house looked like for most of the afternoon (and yes, it smelled wonderful and it was very distracting when I was trying to teach piano lessons):

And here's the finished turkey:

I can't say the oranges had any great impact on the meal; the turkey was nice and moist, but didn't taste very "citrus-y" in my opinion. It was delicious anyway, though.

Unlike "actual" Thanksgiving, I didn't go overboard on the side dishes that night. I did try one new dish...these roasted carrots & parsnips. I thought they were delicious, and the girls liked them too. I don't usually have parsnips lying around, though, so I don't know how often I'll be making it.

The sister missionaries were very happy with the dinner, which made me happy for them. We sent a lot of leftovers home with them as well; hopefully it helped them get through the week.

Finally, it was Thursday...the official Turkey Day. We actually spent most of the morning lazing around at our house, while I cooked the few side dishes I was responsible for (a strawberry-rhubarb pie; the sweet-potato souffle; and an orange tapioca gelatin salad). The kids had a lot of fun watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (I'm glad I got them started on that tradition!). And for a short while at least, they were able to watch the National Dog Show on NBC as well. I am a total sucker for dog shows, and it was hard not to sit down and watch the whole thing with them.

Finally, we pulled ourselves away from the TV, loaded ourselves (and our car) with food, and headed over the river (wash) and through the woods (pecan orchards) to Grandmother's house!

I am sorry to say I didn't take any pictures of the actual feast; but trust me, it was delicious. Nathan's mother is an amazing cook, and everything was wonderful. I went back for seconds and thoroughly enjoyed everything. Ryan and Judy were great company, and it was nice to sit and watch football for a while afterwards, letting our stomachs expand and slowly drifting in and out of consciousness.

In completely random news: I noticed that this picture on the wall behind the dining room table appeared to have stegosauri running along its border. Certainly a weird choice for an Old West-style abstract canvas, but whatever floats the artist's boat, I guess. Yes, these are the things I notice when I am descending into a turkey coma.

The girls had a lot of fun playing with their cousin Cameron that day; at one point we tucked them all into the guest bed together to watch a movie, so the adults could have some unwinding time:

After some relaxing, we all ate a bunch of pie (I had three small slices of blueberry, strawberry-rhubarb, and pumpkin), and then made our way home. We were preparing ourselves for a big weekend with friends and family. But our Thanksgiving Day was wonderful and we were very grateful for the opportunity to be served by family. It was a little weird not to host dinner, but pretty nice too...it made the whole day a lot more laid-back and relaxing! Thank goodness for kind family members and their excellent cooking.

Now, on with the rest of the holiday season!

My Thoughts This Thanksgiving Eve

Happy Thanksgiving Eve, everyone! I have been lousy at keeping the blog up to speed lately, but hopefully I'll managed to get some turkey pictures up before month's end. Tonight, however, since gratitude is on my mind, I'd like to be more sentimental and share some thoughts of my heart.

A couple of weeks ago, on Veteran's Day (Monday November 11th), our family took a quick drive up to Madera Canyon and hiked around a bit. We sought out new hiking trails, and found one in the Bog Springs trail.

It was steeper and rockier than the kids were used to, but we still managed to make it partway up, and made it a goal to return again someday when the girls are a little bigger and less whinier. The weather was unusually warm for early November, so that may also have contributed to everyone's fatigue. At any rate, we got to walk through a dry creek bed and check out some lovely fall colors (albeit not as much as we'd hoped).

Living in Arizona, I really miss fall. It is a very "blink or you'll miss it affair" in our part of the country; one day it's still hot enough to turn on the A/C, and a couple of days later you are putting on sweaters and wearing long pajamas to bed. Seeing even a few fall colors was a wonderful treat, one that I sadly took for granted until moving here. Nowadays, I am more thankful for the beautiful turning of the seasons (no matter how subtle), and the graceful way it marks the passage of time.

I am grateful to be able to share these little bonding experiences with my family. When I was growing up, I remember my mother sometimes saying that her kids were "all the friends she needed." As my kids get older, I am starting to feel the same way! Maybe it sounds weird, but I often prefer the company of my kids to that of other grown-ups (not ALWAYS, mind you, but often!). It is such a blessing to see them grow up, learn, change, mature, and bless the lives of those around them.

I love my kids so much. I am a better person because of them, and every day they make me want to become a better person still. I have never regretted the years I've stayed home to raise them; someday I will work outside the home again, but raising my little girls is a rare and special gift that I don't thank Heavenly Father for enough. They help me see the world around me through purer, non-cynical eyes, and watching them try to make good choices and be kind in their daily lives is inspiring to me.

Not long ago, Lorelai lost another one of her teeth. Instead of giving it right to the Tooth Fairy, she wanted to "wait a while" with the tooth, keeping it in her safekeeping. More than a week went by, and every night I asked her when she would be leaving it for the "Tooth Fairy" to pick up. Lorelai just smiled and cryptically said, "Oh, the Tooth Fairy can come tonight. SHE will know where the tooth is." Unfortunately, I had no idea where she'd put the tooth! In the end, I had to slip a dollar under her pillow and hope for the best. Heaven only knows where the tooth is now; chances are I will stumble across it in an unexpected place months later (ew).

What does this little episode tell me about my daughter? I suspect she was testing me. I think she is starting to lose her belief in the Tooth Fairy, and was testing my limits in the tooth-payment department. I was surprised to find myself a little sad at the thought of her losing her belief in a childhood legend (we don't talk about Santa much in our house, but all the girls still believe in him...for now. But for how much longer)? That probably means she is growing up and seeing the world through more thoughtful, analytical (even suspicious!) eyes.

I hope that even if my daughters stop believing in Santa and the Tooth Fairy, they will never stop believing in a world where miracles happen, and where love is a powerful force. There is much that is sad and evil in this world; however, there is much more that is happy and good, and that goodness only grows when it is shared. I have been blessed to live in a situation in which I have much, and I hope I teach my kids not to take our "much" for granted, and even to share our "much" with others whenever we can.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Be sure to eat some delicious food, count your blessings, and share a kind word with your loved ones. Life is so precious, and it moves so fast! Let's not forget to appreciate all of it.

Running With The Nuts (Pecans, Of Course!)

While I'm on the subject of losing weight and getting more fit, I have to include a fun activity I did a couple of weekend ago; I did a family "fun run" with Lorelai! It was part of the Pecan Classic, an annual run held in the large pecan orchards that sit next door to our neighborhood. The run was done in conjunction with the Sahuarita Pecan Festival, a community event held just outside the orchards. Both Lorelai and I had a terrific time, and we can't wait to do it again next year.

The only drawback to the day was that we got to the run too early! The Pecan Classic has two different runs: a 3.7-mile run, and an 8.5-mile run. The "Nut Run" (the family fun run) was only 1.5 miles. However, the two longer runs started at 8 am, so we showed up at 7:45 am to be ready. However, the family run didn't start until 10 am. Oops! Oh well, at least we got free parking out of the deal.

Even though we were there early, we had fun hanging out together and "warming up" for our run in the as-yet-unoccupied parking lot...

 

It was also fun to watch all the runners for the "official" races get warmed up and get started in the cool morning air. Lorelai was very impressed by all the runners; the run became a huge event, seen through her eyes.

When they all started running, everyone (Lorelai and myself included) clapped & cheered loudly. Even though we didn't know anyone running in those two groups, it was still very exciting! Lorelai couldn't wait until the runners got back. I spent much of the waiting time explaining to her what a "realistic" time was for runs of certain distances. When she got bored with my explanations, she spent her time roaming around the orchards, exploring and waiting for the early finishers to arrive.

As the runners came in one by one, we had a lot of fun cheering them on.

We didn't stay to see all the runners finish; we still had an hour to kill before the fun run began, so we decided to head over and check out the Pecan Festival.

There turned out to be some fun stuff to see and do there.  There was a mariachi band loudly playing as we arrived; we saw more than a dozen food stands (we didn't buy anything, though); and several activities for kids and adults alike.

We spent the most time at the "Old Time Engine" exhibit, which featured a lot of antique cars, wagons, and motorized gadgets, like this ice-cream maker:

There were also a few good old-fashioned hand-crank activities, such as this "rope-weaving" machine. Lorelai got to take home the rope she made!

We headed over to the kids' area after that; there were the usual pony rides and jumping castles, as well as a Boy Scout-made elevated walkway/bridge. But there was also a Euro-bungee super-high jump ride, and Lorelai really wanted to try it.

Since we didn't have a lot of time left before the race, that was the only ride I allowed her to do.

 

When she finished bouncing into the stratosphere, Lorelai and I had to hurry over to the starting line for our fun run. There weren't a whole lot of people participating, and it was mostly moms with young-ish kids. When the starting signal went off, we were somewhere in the middle of the pack, but managed to sneak in front of people as we went.

The run was short but sweet; jogging amongst the lush, shady pecan trees on a quiet dusty road was very peaceful and beautiful. Lorelai did get tired out frequently and need to slow down for a walk, but I was happy to comply. It was nice to stretch out the experience. However, after a while, Lorelai for some reason became fixated on a specific mother-daughter pair who were running in the race, and she had to stay in front of them. Every time they started jogging again, Lorelai would shout, "Run!" and take off, with me running just behind her. Whenever this mother & daughter slowed down again, Lorelai would slow down as well.

Here are the keepsakes from our little adventure:

Of course, we got nuts for the Nut Run. Lorelai let me have her pecans; turns out she is not a big fan.

Plus the awesome T-shirts we both got:

 

It wasn't a timed race, so I don't know exactly how well I did...but with this race, that didn't really matter. It was fun just to run with my daughter and share an experience with her! She was pretty tuckered out after the run (I actually had to encourage her to smile for the camera; she was a little out of it for a few minutes!), but she recovered quickly. We went and snacked on a banana and had some water to refresh ourselves. She was a little disappointed we didn't get a "prize" for finishing first, but she got over it pretty quickly. And then when we went out for lunch at McDonald's, she was instantly cured of all that ailed her (naturally).

Hopefully we can convince the whole family to participate next year!

At Least We've Still Got Our Health

While I've been doing this Healthy Me Challenge with some friends of mine in the ward, my thoughts have been on my body and my health, and how it has gradually changed over the years. I suspect Nathan and I are never going to be hard-bodied, super-fit gym rats, but we have both been taking small steps towards better health and fitness, and I think they are really helping us out.

I have been gaining weight, slowly but steadily, for a few years now; of course, I gained a lot of weight when Aurora was born...sadly, that weight never really left! Between Lorelai and Celeste, I was able to lose almost all the weight I gained in my first pregnancy. After Celeste was born, I lost all but ten pounds, which hung around stubbornly and never seemed to get the message that I wanted them to leave. And after Aurora was born...sigh. Let's just say that a lot of weight (around 20 pounds) took up permanent residence.

The weight has been piling on, bit by bit, over the last four years. At the end of every year, I'd find myself another 3-5 pounds heavier than I was at the same time last year. It was getting downright discouraging. I was starting to grow out of my pants, and thinking about going another size up in jeans was pretty depressing. I was feeling the weight, and seeing it in my face and in my body when I looked into the mirror. I told myself that it was inevitable; I had officially become a "woman of a certain age," and my metabolism had downshifted dramatically. I thought it was time to start looking ahead to middle age and large shapeless dresses.

But at some point this summer, I decided I'd had enough, and I was ready to make a change. I don't know what prompted that feeling, exactly; maybe it was all my tight pants, or my sagging belly, or my fear of wearing a swimsuit in public. Maybe I just felt like my body needed better habits, and I was tired of feeling worn out and weighed down all the time! I was also inspired by some local friends of mine, who had been counting their calories on a computer program called MyFitnessPal for several months running. They had lost a lot of weight in the process!

Knowing myself the way I do, I knew that an "intensive weight-loss plan" wouldn't work for me. Physically it would wear me out, and psychologically I would probably give up before too long. I know lots of people on MyFitnessPal who try to stick to 1,200 calories a day, plus exercise. I took a look at that number and realized I couldn't do it. Maybe that realization makes me a huge wimp, but I needed a "slow and steady" approach to weight loss. That way, I wouldn't be "dieting," per se...I'd be changing my habits.

As my baseline on MyFitnessPal, I chose 1,470 calories a day, plus 30-minute exercise three days a week. Not a huge change from my current habits, but just enough that I thought it would nip some of my more gluttonous days in the bud. On that schedule, the website calculated that I'd lose about one pound a week. Fine by me...just so long as I was losing weight!

I started the program in mid-July. The first few weeks were a little difficult, as I adjusted to making all the food entries on the computer and got a little shocked by how many calories were in some foods I liked. I decided to stop eating after 9 pm every night, to give my metabolism time to catch up. Earlier that year, I'd made the switch from margarine to butter, in an attempt to go more "natural" with my food (I don't really have the budget to eat a lot of organic food, but baby steps, right?). 

When school started again for my kids in the fall, I was able to resume my exercise swap with my friends (generally, we take the summer off, since doing it with all our kids home is usually impossible). We were also able to add one additional person to our exercise group, bringing our total number to five! Being able to work out four days a week instead of three has been a nice extra boost for keeping fit and sweating off the pounds.

Progress is slow. I have had setbacks, backsliding, and "bad days." In fact, with the holidays almost upon us, my weight loss may come to a halt for a little while. But overall, it is working!!

Here's a picture I took of myself a couple of weeks ago. I don't do "selfies" all that much, but I have been feeling better about my looks than I have in a while. So far, I have lost about 13-14 pounds over the last five-ish months. I am still a ways from where I want to be, but it has been a good start. This is the most weight I have lost in years. My jeans are getting baggy on me. My smaller-sized shirts are starting to sit more nicely on me, and my larger shirts are starting to feel a little too loose. My belly definitely looks smaller from the side. I feel less "bulky" and more "sleek."

But enough with the vanity. I am also grateful for MyFitnessPal because it forces me to question, every day, just what I intend to eat, and whether or not each food I eat is really worth it. I have started to admit to myself that I eat too much sugar, and often too much fat as well. Doing this program has helped me be a little more creative in the fruits-and-vegetables department. It's also given me the strength to say no to desserts more often. I have actually noticed my body adjusting to the new schedule, and actively rebelling (via indigestion, etc.) when I have a moment of weakness and binge on the unhealthy, over-processed foods. My body actually wants more of the good stuff than it used to...and that is really nice to realize!

Of course, I still do have a craving every now and again for something sweet. The best part of this weight loss has been realizing that I don't have to give up ice cream, or candy, or any goodies. I just have to eat them more rarely, and in smaller doses. Doing that makes them all the more delicious! I still have a little dessert once in a while (I tend to relax my standards a bit more on weekends), but I find myself not wanting to eat as much as I used to. I am perfectly satisfied after less "bad food." It is encouraging to know that my body is adapting these good habits as well as my mind!

In recent months, Nathan has been inspiring me as well. After years of stopping and starting exercise routines, he's actually hit upon a routine he really likes, that is working for him. Three mornings a week, he goes running with his friend Gavin. He is running intervals, which means he shifts from walking to running and back in a specified pattern every few minutes. It's supposed to be good for your heart. In the months since Nathan has started doing this, he's lost a few pounds. He has a lot more energy and enthusiasm for daily activities. He is feeling better about his health than he has in a long time. He's also considering starting MyFitnessPal in time; perhaps if he does, we can support each other.

It is tedious sometimes to count all my calories every day, and super-analyze my diet. But for me, at least, it is a program that is working. Hopefully it will continue to work for a while! I also hope to keep exercising; I know that exercise and eating right combined are what's spurring this weight loss. It's such a trite, almost cliched bit of health advice ("eat less and exercise!") but it really does work, if you commit yourself. I haven't even felt that deprived or hungry most days! Perhaps a little gnawing "dissatisfaction" at times, but that's about as bad as it's ever gotten for me.

In this month of Thanksgiving, I am very thankful to have found this desire to get healthy, and I am thankful my body is finally shedding some pounds it's been carrying for years. I am thankful I'm not afflicted (yet!) with any chronic illnesses, and I hope I can properly appreciate this season of good health. Hopefully keeping myself fit and thin at this point in my life will help me better prepare for certain elements of aging down the road. Even if not, I hope the discipline I am developing here will help me fight and overcome other health challenges as they inevitably arise.

I Already Have A Teenager

I haven't been too great at getting the daily blogging done, as I promised I would do. Besides the usual business, I've been especially busy cooking over the last few days; 'tis the season for pumpkin bread and freezer meals to take to friends! I am hoping to get back on track a little bit, hopefully by posting a few "mini-posts" (well, "mini" for me, at any rate!!). Hopefully, a few quick and easy posts will get me in the blogging mindset again. Plus, it may help curb my loquaciousness in future posts; I know I can run on a bit.

Today, my thoughts have been focused on my beloved middle child, Celeste, who is maturing more rapidly than I'd expected. Yesterday afternoon, she and I drove alone to her dance class, and I asked her how her day at school had gone. She rattled off a bunch of different activities she'd done; then casually (or not?) mentioned at the end of her list, "And now I am in love with James."

My attention, wherever it had been wandering to, snapped back immediately to Celeste. "Well," I asked dubiously, "how do you know you're in love with James?"

"Well," she responded, "We sat next to each other at the story rug. Then later on, I helped him figure out which math problem we were working on on our math worksheet. And then later he sent me a picture with lots of little hearts. And so I sent him back a picture with one BIG heart. And that's how we knew we were in love."

Oh, if only it were that simple! True love is often such a messy thing, and it is kind of hilarious to see how little kids interpret romantic love. The next morning, Celeste was up early; and she was busily sketching pictures of herself standing next to James, with hearts hovering around them in the air. She told me she was making wedding plans already. Eek!

I happened to volunteer in Celeste's kindergarten classroom that day, so I got to watch the two of them in action. As can be expected, Celeste and James played together just like hyper five-year-olds are wont to do, with one or two quick breaks to smile "meaningfully" at each other. Things inevitably got more complicated, though, when Celeste's BFF Alissa leaned over to me and vehemently hissed, "Celeste is marrying a BULLY!"

Turns out Celeste's BFF (Best Friend Forever, in case you're wondering) is less than thrilled with James; he is a tease and a bit too hyperactive for her liking. In fact, Alissa declared that she and Celeste could no longer be friends, due to Celeste's continuing "relationship" with James. Frantic letters were exchanged. Celeste sent Alissa a letter insisting that they were still friends, James notwithstanding. James himself took a more devious approach to the whole situation...he started sending Alissa notes with Celeste's name crossed out, and Alissa's name surrounded by stars! What a two-timer!

Of course, I am not angry at James, Alissa, or Celeste for any of this...it's all quite hilarious, actually! I have no doubt Celeste's "engagement" will be broken off soon, and that she and James will have further romantic conquests throughout the school year. I also believe Celeste and Alissa will be BFFs again in no time. I just find it amazing (maybe even a little scary) that my almost-six-year-old is acting like she's in junior high already!

How did I end up with such a daughter? I was such a tomboy that I never even thought of boys in a romantic way until well into junior high. I do remember kissing a boy in first grade, but it was on a dare, and I did so out of spite. Nothing romantic there! And yet somehow I managed to have a girl who goes on all day about BFFs, and beautiful clothes and puppies and babies and unicorns and rainbows and loving boys and getting married. Where did this strange exotic creature come from? This must be an inextricable part of a girls' DNA; why then do some girls get the "romance" bug so much earlier (and stronger) than others?

I suppose the "drama queen" gene is closely related to the "romance" gene as well. Not only was I amazed at the girls' romantic pursuits, I was amazed at their cattiness about the whole situation. I am NOT READY for the constant emotional manipulation and mind games that are part of a teenage girl's arsenal! How do girls so young learn to be passive-aggressive...or sarcastic...or emotionally distant? AAGH! Looks like I've got my work cut out for me in teaching Celeste empathy and manners.

I will post more about Celeste's romantic exploits as I get news of them.

Halloween Recap, Complete With My Grumpy-Old-Lady Rantings

I guess I'd better start my Halloween post before Thanksgiving is here! So far, my Healthy Me Challenge has been good for getting me to drink more water, and eat more fruits and vegetables, and DEFINITELY more scripture reading and praying. My blogging has been a little spottier than I'd like, though...I'll post a paragraph or two a day, then call it good and walk away. This bit by bit approach is leaving me in the dust...this is the holiday season and a lot of stuff is happening!

*puts on 'grumpy old lady' hat*

I remember back in the day, when Halloween only lasted ONE day. You'd maybe take a few days to plan/buy your costume, and then you'd have a Halloween party in school, and then go trick-or-treating that night. And that was IT. Why on earth do the stores have to put up their Halloween decorations right after Labor Day? Why does every single place have to have a Halloween party? Why do we have to buy so much candy for everything? Why can't things be simpler, like they were when I was a kid??

Well, the short answer is: money. So much money for stores to make, selling all that candy and all those decorations and costumes! The longer answer probably has to do with the over-commercialization of Halloween, just like Christmas before it. But darned if it doesn't wear out a parent, trying to keep up with it all.

Halloween week was spent in a costumed, candy-coated haze, dressing and undressing the kids as we raced from one holiday-themed activity to the next. Every day was filled with excessive sugar consumption, and every night we stayed up way too late watching Halloween movies (ParaNorman, Frankenweenie, Coraline, It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, not to mention Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Whew!).

Aurora wore her costume every day of the week of Halloween. It was a cute costume, and fairly comfortable, so she didn't mind too much. But by Wednesday night, she was getting weepy and asking, "WHYYYY do I have to wear the costume again, Mommy?" Well, kid, it's because you had to wear it to your dance class on Monday...and to your preschool playgroup on Tuesday...and the library story-time on Wednesday...and then to the ward trunk or treat on Wednesday night...and then for actual trick-or-treating...aaargh!

We managed to get one genuine, Halloween-appropriate "gross-out" moment fitted into our busy schedule. We carved the girls' pumpkins Monday night for Family Home Evening, and when I first lifted the lid off Lorelai's pumpkin, I was greeted by a thick, writhing pocket of maggots, whose home I had cut through while making the "lid" for the pumpkin. EEEEEWWW! I had to cut out a whole chunk of pumpkin and immediately throw it away; some of the insides had rotted out as well, so cleaning that particular pumpkin was one of the grossest things I've ever had to do.

Luckily, once the pumpkins were all carved, they all looked normal enough..."normal" meaning "cute and scary" and Jack O'Lantern-y. They fit in very well with all our yard decorations, and provided no more "yucky" moments.

Normally, Aurora is not a huge fan of the library's weekly story-time...I suspect because she doesn't know many of the kids there and is a little shy. However, she did enjoy the Halloween-themed story-time, where all the kids wore their costumes and went "trick or treating" through the library. Why do I like the library's trick-or-treat? Because they don't hand out candy...they give out stickers, erasers, and bookmarks. Yay!

 

Attending the library's story-time also made us feel a little less clever, though...it turns out, lots of little girls wanted to be pirates for Halloween this year! Aurora wanted to be Izzy (a character from Jake and The Never Land Pirates, her current favorite TV show). I mostly threw her costume together from stuff lying around the house. I did borrow her little vest from a friend.

 

When all was said and done, she looked very cute and pirate-y, but she didn't have Izzy's exact outfit. I counted at least three Izzies at the library trick-or-treat alone (with an exact-replica wardrobe...luckily Aurora didn't seem to jealous of them), plus a couple more little girl pirates in more generic garb. I guess we weren't so original. But Aurora definitely had cooler socks than all those other girls!

Celeste wanted to be the Wicked Witch of the West, from The Wizard Of Oz. Eight-plus years as a mom, and this is the first year one of my girls has specifically wanted to be a witch! I decided to splurge and buy her a witch costume, since I reasoned the other girls might also want to wear it at some point in the future. Celeste first got to show off her neat costume at her dance class on Wednesday the 30th.

She was the only witch there, but man was she cute! She brought a little candy to share.

*puts on 'grumpy old lady' hat again*

And let me tell you another thing, you young whippersnappers...since when do I have to put together an entire plate full of homemade treats for every child in my daughter's class for Halloween? Or hand-design some cute skeleton snack-bag, filled with goodies? If a single Dum-Dum pop was good enough for me, then by dang it's good enough for my kids...and everyone else's kids, too!

Yes, I probably looked like a giant cheapskate compared to these other, creative moms...but I didn't care. The girls looked happy getting those lollipops...and I was happy for not having to stress and slave over creating yet another sugary snack to ruin my children's teeth and appetite.

I also splurged on Lorelai's costume this year. At first she wanted to be a Cleopatra-style mummy, complete with fancy Egyptian headdress. After doing a little research (and considering the potential for costume recycling), I figured it would be more cost-efficient to buy a complete Cleopatra costume, and then use the accessories from it to create a mummy costume for Lorelai. But then, when she saw the costume, she decided to try the whole thing on, and really liked it and decided to just be "an Egyptian princess" instead.

This is the second year in a row Lorelai has gone the "girly" route...but now she is totally over it, and insists she wants to be something scary (like a mummy) next year. I personally think it's kind of cute that it takes an occasion like Halloween to get my little tomboy to glam it up a bit! That said, I will totally wrap her up in toilet paper next year if that's what she wants.

Our LDS ward's trunk or treat was, as usual, lots of fun for the kids. They played carnival games inside the gym for a little while, and then went out to get lots of candy! I actually remembered to decorate the trunk of our minivan this year; I strung a lot of cobwebs up everywhere. Next year maybe I'll remember a strobe light! Other cars were playing music or offering up lots of treats. The weather was cool and crisp. It was a lovely night.

On Halloween Day proper, I spent much of my time at school with the girls, helping them celebrate. The parents all walked out to the green PE lawn in the back of the school, where the whole school paraded around in a circle, providing lots of photo opportunities.

 

My little diva Celeste seemed very upset by the whole parade. In fact, she started covering her face and sulking. It was very unlike her! It turns out that two days in a row with the green makeup was probably too much for her; her face had started to itch, so she had "scratched" some of the paint off, leaving some odd streaks. This in turn made her even more upset and self-conscious; she worried that "people were staring at her."

Luckily, Ms. Cordts, her teacher, was close at hand and was able to coax some smiles out of Celeste. Later, after returning to the classroom, she helped wipe the green paint off Celeste's face, which returned her positive spirits. I have really enjoyed Ms. Cordts so far; she has lots of energy and her personality is a good fit for Celeste. I think she was the right fit for my daughter, and I'm thankful that she is the teacher that has helped ease Celeste into grade school.

Later that afternoon, the kindergarten classes had a Halloween party, so Aurora and I went to help out. Mostly we helped pass out pretzels and punch and keep the kids from making too big of a mess.

 

 

After the food had been eaten and the treats had been shared, everyone went outside to make their very own scarecrows! The kids had all brought their own clothes for the occasion, and the teacher provided lots of plastic bags to use as stuffing. The end results were pretty darn cute!

Celeste named her scarecrow "David" (because why not??), and he is still sitting on our front porch, helping us ring in Thanksgiving!

Luckily, all but one of my four piano students bailed out on me that afternoon; all the more time to unwind a little bit and make a simple dinner before taking the kids out trick or treating.

We made pretty good progress throughout our whole neighborhood. Only about half the houses in our neighborhood participate, but some of them decorate their house pretty neatly. One house actually set up a "scare alley"...erecting several black plastic "walls" with costumed freaks waiting around every corner to scare trick or treaters as they made their way to the house. The girls were nervous, but insisted on going through it (of course), and then Lorelai loved it so much she went back through the pathway two more times! By then, the "monsters" were giggling at her behind their masks, and definitely didn't seem so scary any more.

When all was said and done, we stumbled back home, chilly but satisfied...and with full buckets of candy! The girls took off their costumes, settled down in front of our fireplace, dug into their buckets of candy, and watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Perfect way to end a busy day!

And then...Halloween was over. I can't say I was sorry to see it leave. Aurora and I both fell asleep on the couch, and I eventually dragged my worn-out carcass to bed. In spite of all my grouchy old lady talk in this post, I really do enjoy Halloween, if only because my kids have such fun with it. At the same time, I'm always happy to see it go when October 31st comes to an end. Bring on the more meaningful holidays, I say!!

*puts on 'grumpy old lady' hat one more time*

And without all the commercialization, please! Can Christmas just be simple for once? Yeesh.