Ian's new skill

We didn't intentionally teach this, but it's pretty cute so we had to share.

We are going to see family in Arizona for Thanksgiving this week. I am so excited to see everyone and get away from the building for a little while. Plus, I LOVE this holiday! Mmmm, all the yummy food....I can hardly wait! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Welcome home, Spencer.

Spencer went out of town for business last week, leaving Thursday and getting home Sunday. The kids and I were SO happy to have him back! It's amazing the difference it makes for the kids to spend just a little bit of time with him each day. I'm sure it's the same way for most families with young children. By the time he gets home from work, we eat dinner and put the kids to bed. They get to spend maybe an hour and half together. The amount of time is small, but I've discovered it to be incredibly valuable. Not only do Madeleine and Ian get some fun playtime with their favorite playmate, but I get a chance to briefly focus my attention on something besides the kids. Don't get me wrong. I love my kids and I am so thankful I get to stay home with them, but it's got to be the toughest job there is. I am just about ready to stop even attempting to clean my house. I don't think it will make a difference in the way the house looks, but I might feel better for not having wasted my energy. Ian is going through an extremely destructive phase. At least I hope it's a phase. I felt like I literally spent all day Friday cleaning, but I guarantee you wouldn't think so if you had come over on Saturday. This is how it goes: I put Ian down for a nap and start cleaning. Madeleine will watch a movie for awhile so I can work around her. A short way into Ian's nap, Madeleine goes into their room to change her clothes and wakes Ian up. Thanks a lot. My hopes are dashed. I know I can't clean now. And once Ian is out and playing, it's evident that any cleaning I was able to accomplish is about to be messed up again. I know what I really need to do is clean after I put the kids to bed. But who wants to do that?! One of these days I hope I can figure it out. By that time it will probably be difficult to tell if I really progressed in my abilities or if the kids have just gotten easier and less messy as they have gotten older. Anyway, back to my original thought, I am so thankful that Spencer is back in town! Just knowing he'll be home for dinner and can help me with the kids at bedtime is such a comforting thought. Hooray for husbands!!

Happy Halloween!

Madeleine was the cutest Little Mermaid this year. She loves this holiday so much. She is already talking about what she is going to be next Halloween.
Here's our little Ian-dragon. I confess that we took this picture a couple days after Halloween. He was sick that night and fell asleep around 6:15, so he didn't get dressed up and go out trick-or-treating.

So, I stayed home with Ian, and Spencer took Madeleine around our neighborhood. They didn't get very far when she started rummaging through her sack looking for which piece of candy she wanted to eat. After about 45 minutes she said she had enough candy and they came home. When I was a kid, I wanted to go out as early as possible and stay out as late as possible in hopes of geting the most candy I could. Granted, I don't remember thinking that way when I was 3 (probably because I don't remember anything from when I was 3). Maybe we have enough treats at our house on a regular basis that she won't have to become a total candy fiend like her mother. Or maybe when she gets older she will develop the desire for more candy than anyone should ever have. We'll see what happens next year.