Sugar High

I've decided that Halloween is officially my favorite holiday. Seeing kids dressed up is as cute, scary, or hilarious as it gets. People give you free candy, and it's a great excuse to get out and re-connect with the neighborhood.

We kicked off the holiday extravaganza with a parade at daycare. I kept telling people that Cole's scraggly hair was part of his costume.



Next adventure: get a picture of the boys all together in costume looking somewhat cute. I'd say mission is slightly accomplished.


How cool is this pic? Here's Harry Potter flying on his broomstick on the front porch.



Before we went trick or treating we went to our friend's annual pre-party. Apparently Dean took this concept very seriously and found the backup supply. Luckily we caught him before he busted out the corkscrew.


Aaaaand....they're off. Cha hung the whole time, and even went back out with Phil after they stopped home to drop off the first round of goodies.


Here's Cole inspecting the loot. We're still working through all of their hard-earned treasure, including nightly negotations and trade agreements. I allow the nonsense because I figure it's good training for their future political careers. Or law school. Or I'm just numb to the fighting. Hmm...

You'll Probably Only Appreciate This Post If You Know Harry Potter. Sorry.

It was quite an eventful couple of days for us Muggles. Chestnut Hill held their Annual Harry Potter weekend complete with Quidditch Training, Defense Against The Dark Arts classes, and a Wizarding Chess Match.

Of course all our boys wanted to do was eat candy and buy Potter paraphernalia (they were particularly impressed when Daddy ate a barf-flavored Bertie Bott's Bean), but they did get a kick out of the sorting hat.

We were standing in line for a few minutes, and Ry started to get stressed. Really stressed. "I better get picked for Gryffindor" led to "I better not get picked for Hufflepuff" which led to "I don't want to do this."

By the time we got to the front of the line I could actually see the panic on his face. As I hollered, "I'm SURE you'll get into Gryffindor" while staring at Dumbledore with a threatening face, he reluctantly stepped up to the plate. Low and behold, GRRRRRRYFFINDOR!


Cole hopped right up and said to Dumbledore, "I hope I get into Slytherin." The sorting hat agreed, and I have to say that there's something to Cole getting into the house associated with "ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness."


After all of this excitement the boys were begging for Hogwarts robes. And with a flip of our magic wand (i.e. wallet) their wish came true.

Happy early Halloween to all you witches, wizards, and Muggles out there in blogland!

Spy Ry

Tonight I found Ry digging through the closet. I asked what he was doing and he told me he was "looking for some spy gear." He emerged with a cowboy hat, shades, and one of my old jackets.


After running several secret missions, he came to me in a soft whisper and stated the following:

Spy Rule Number 1: You have to be nice to the other spies.

Spy Rule Number 2: You have to be extremely quiet at all times.

Spy Rule Number 3: You have to dress in dark clothes so the people you're spying on think you're cool and don't suspect that anything is going on.

So now you know to keep an eye out for nice people who speak in hushed tones and wear dark clothes. Good tips, thanks Ry!

Fists Of Fury

It's been an extravaganza of Halloween festivites over the last few weeks. Our current roll call includes a ninja, Darth Vader, a robot, and a peapod. I say "current" because Cole keeps changing his mind, and with our trunk of costumes anything could happen before Trick or Treat.

My friend calculated that I'll have the opportunity to attend 24 elementary school Halloween parades...include daycare and that's a grand total of 27 in my future.

Here are some shots of Cole and Charlie from this year's parade. 26 to go.

This is what happened the first time Ry put on his costume. Better not try to take his candy or you'll face the wrath of the ninja.