Bullets

The time just keeps going so quickly that I never have time to sit down and write a proper post anymore. So I'm going to catch us up quickly since I haven't written since Thanksgiving.

• My daughter is a huge pain in the ass. Seriously. I adore her more than life itself but DEAR GOD with the attitudes and the tantrums and the bossy behavior... It's a miracle some days that I have made it through the evenings with her.
• On the flip side of that...oh my God is she so freaking cute right now. She LOVES any and all things Christmas. She asks for the songs in the car and knows them by heart and sings them at the top of her lungs. We took her to see some lights last night and she kept running around going, "And anodder kissmas tree...and ANODDER...and wait! LOOK! There's frosty..." It was perhaps the sweetest genuine love of Christmas I have seen in the long time.
• The Boy has attitude as well. Seems like teenager attitude...like blatantly ignoring me when I ask him to do something. Taking his own sweet time to do that things he actually does. And generally thinking he's MUCH cooler than he actually is.
• But again...he's so sweet right now. Is reading at school and I volunteer in his class and read with all the kids so he is trying SO hard right now to master reading. He loves, loves, loves all things school and I will say (again) what an amazing school he goes to. He's still my little science boy and my little helper.
• Job thing is a bit crazy with the transitions to working with a partner coupled with normal end-of-year activities and my heart is palpitating a little trying to figure out how to fit it all in.
• One of my very wealthy clients let me go to his beach house over the weekend for a night. I will say it was like NOTHING I have ever seen before. Most beautiful house that perhaps I have ever set foot inside and I actually got to spend the night. Right on the private beach with the most amazing view you have ever seen. I went with the kids and The Girlfriend and it was awesome. While eating breakfast in the morning at the big, oak table in front of a burning fire we were watching the surfers and the waves break outside the window. And as we were watching a school of dolphins swam by. Swear to God. Even have pictures to prove it. It was a pretty surreal moment.

And we'll end on that because I have to run out to pick up The Girl from school, The Boy from his OT and then bring them home, throw them in the bath and get their dinner started before The Ex gets here to watch them. Because at 6:00 I am going out for drinks and sushi with my BFF. Will try and do a proper post soon! Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday!

Thankful

This is a good year. There is much to be thankful for. Of course, always on the top of my list are my two amazing children. They are a handful, and they challenge me on a daily basis, and they bring a light into my life that feels like the sunshine. I adore every moment. The ones that are hard, and the ones that Hall.mark looks upon and says, 'that's what cards are made of...' Because they both exist in my household. On a daily basis. Sometimes on an hourly basis.

I am thankful for my family. My mother is my rock and my best friend. My life would function at a much different place if it weren't for her. I could never ask for more. She brings so much to my life and to my kids' lives. If I can be half the mother she has been for me than I will have been a success. And add in the extended family of my stepdad, my grandmother, my brother and his wife...and I am a very lucky person. My entire family unit is surrounded by love. I don't take that for granted. And my children are growing up spending every holiday with their cousins and building amazing traditions and memories. That is priceless..

I am thankful that finally, after 5 years, I have opened myself up to the dating world and been lucky to find a woman that treats me like I am something special. And who seems to not only accept, but adore my crazy life with my two kids (who are around ALL the time) and want to be a part of it. I am very thankful for that. I am very thankful she is in my life.

My friends are the best ever. I have about 5 close friends that I talk to on a regular basis...you guys keep me grounded and provide the friendship that endures the test of time. Having a few, really close friends is a lucky thing. And I have several.

My work. First of all, I am thankful for the fact there there IS work to be had. In an economy like this, I am so thankful that my cup is running over where my workload is concerned. I am thankful that I have a new business partner and that the future is looking bright. I am thankful that my hours allow me to volunteer on a weekly basis in my son's kindergarten class, and that I am able to have both my children home with me on a daily basis by 5:00pm. My work allows for all of this.

Most of all I am thankful for where I am in life right now. Right this very minute. Sitting in a house that I own, typing on a computer that I love, listening to my kids play together in The Girls room, sipping a glass of wine waiting for The Girlfriend to arrive in about an hour when we can all get to bed early and enjoy a long day tomorrow of family and fun.

Here's wishing you and your families all a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Pictures from Our Trip to the Mountains

This is my two babies playing on my very favorite lake in the whole world. And also the very same lake that I used to play in when I was their age...

A picture of said lake, sans children:
Wading in the water and throwing a ton of rocks = great time had by all!
My big boy...when did this happen?
A little love between Mommy and Peanut on the deck of my cabin:
Because, OF COURSE you have to read books in the house with your sunglasses on...
The Boy, The Ex and my cousin going on a boat ride:
Peanut, myself and my cousin enjoying a boat ride:
The Boy being goofy while we were out on the boat:
Peanut trudging through the "forest" (actually the way to the parking lot):
Look! The Boy caught a moth!
He was also obsessed with the stuffed quail of my grandfather's from inside the cabin:
Right before we left we went to a place to feed the fishies. They loved it!
Of course The Boy ran all the way around the little pond to make sure ALL the fish got some food...
Once they were out of food, they just sat and watched them...
Shortly after that, we headed home. Such a wonderful trip!

How We Celebrate Father's Day in Our House

You might think that because I am a single mom, and both of the known donors for my kids live out of state, that we don't do much for Father's Day around here. You would be wrong. :)

Let's just set aside the fact that I have a Father who needs to be dealt with, and I also have a step father who acted as a father to me from 8 years old until now...and that I always make sure both of them get their time. But I have been asked how we handle the "Daddy" issue since most people know I am gay and that my kids don't have "Dads" in their lives in the traditional sense. Now that my kids are old enough to be at school, most schools do something to acknowledge Father's day. And being that my kids go to great schools, the directors of both of their schools have come to me at separate times and asked how I would like them to handle it. And obviously based on their ages, they get handled a little differently.

My daughter's donor Dad really is just that. A donor. I am sure he is a perfectly great guy, but I have only met him in person 4 times total. The first two times he was...ummm...giving me a donation. The second two times were once my daughter was born and he was in town visiting the friend that introduced us. He has met my daughter once when she was about 6 months old. He has 4 kids of his own from previous marriages and he moved across the country so we rarely see him. He has said that if The Girl ever wants to meet him (I'm sure she will) that he is totally open to that. He is on the list of the people who get my monthly pictures so he sees her there, and is kept up to date. But we don't actually talk, and he isn't involved in her life at this point. All of this is perfectly fine with me. Until she starts asking questions, this is just how it should be.

For that reason, when her school is doing something "Dad related" she either makes something for me, or else she makes something for her Poppy (my step dad, with whom she is really close). Again, she's too little to ask too many questions, but I have no doubt they are coming.

The Boy is a different story. I am sure I have talked about it on here before, but he is old enough to understand and know everything. He knows his Daddy helped me and his mom bring him into this world. He knows that his Daddy lives in another state. He knows that his Mom and I are his parents but he loves the fact that he is able to say he has a Daddy. This is a really big identity thing for him and he almost needs to have that security of having a Daddy.

His donor Daddy also lives in another state, and he comes to see The Boy once a year, maybe twice. He always comes to visit when he is here and the love that The Boy has for him is something that I will never be able to describe. Ever since he was a baby, it was like he knew that they had a special relationship. He only saw his "Daddy" a handful of times when he was little, but even when he was a baby and stranger danger was a big thing, he would always go to him. Even though he had only seen him a couple of times in his life. It was strange.

That bond has only grown. He talks about his Daddy, and after a visit, he talks constantly about how he misses him. We discuss it all and he knows he can call him whenever he wants...and sometimes he wants to. Sometimes just talking about it is enough. But there is no doubt that he loves having a Daddy and he loves the person as well.

So when it comes time for Father's Day, we always do a little something. In years past I have always bought a card, I always write a detailed letter about what he is up to, and in previous years, I have also taken tons of video footage and made him a "movie" on iMovie and burned it on a DVD and sent it to him. I know...overkill. But whatever. It makes donor Daddy happy, and it keeps things happy so that my son (and ultimately who I am concerned about keeping content) can keep the relationship that he so counts on. Now that he is older, I have him draw a picture, sign the card and then make sure to call him on the day. I rarely have time anymore to make a specific video for him, but like the other donor Daddy, he also gets the monthly pictures (and trust me...there are a lot of those...you pretty much get kept up to date on ALL of our lives if you get those pictures) so he knows what's going on.

When The Boy's Daddy was here visiting in April, he gave left a gift card for To.ys R U.s to use for him when he needed something fun. As I mentioned in a previous post, we recently bought him a bike and we used this gift card to help with the purchase. So that will be a big part of what gets mailed to him this year. When making the card, The Boy asked me to write out, "I love my Daddy" on a piece of paper so he could copy it. I was amazed at how well he actually wrote it:

His hand writing is getting pretty good! And then on the inside of that, he drew a picture of himself, on the gray sidewalk, against the blue sky with his new bike. He was very proud of his artwork. And he did this one all on his own. No copying anything from Mommy:
So he will get that hand-written card, the store bought card that I bought for him and had The Boy sign, a letter that I will type up, and the following pictures showing The Boy enjoying the bike that his Daddy helped him get.

So as you can see...just because we don't have any "Daddy's" living in our household, I am the first to admit that without either of those men, I wouldn't have the two greatest gifts in my life. And even though I am pooped and tired at the end of a long day, I will always take the time to make sure that those relationships stay nurtured and happy. Because ultimately I think all kids want to know where they come from. And I am grateful that my son has someone he can call on the phone and give a hug to and know that, although he has two Mommies as parents, he also has a Daddy that loves him. ***

***Disclaimer: Of course I have to mention that I am in no way insinuating that having a known donor is the only way to go for kids. I personally tried to get pregnant for 3 years using frozen sperm and if any of those tries had been successful, all my son would have for reference of his "Daddy" would be a long donor profile. Every single family is different, and if you are lucky enough to have kids, whatever way you went about having them is your answer. My personal feeling is to just always be honest with your kids no matter how they came into existence. This situation is what "worked" for my family and therefore I make decisions based on the circumstances of that situation.

Vacation Pics

Hi everyone! We had a fantastic second day on our little mini vacation. I am far too busy relaxing to put together a real post for you all, but I am never too busy to share a few photos... Here is The Boy when we finally went down to the beach last night after we got here. It was a little late in the evening (hence the heavy clothes), but The Boy was thrilled nonetheless to finally run some sand through his hands...
Peanut wasn't sure what to make of this whole thing we called "the beach." She had been to the beach before (in Hawaii when she was only 9 months old), but this was the first time she had been to the beach since she was old enough to comprehend what it was. As you can see...she was just taking it all in...
Then today we had a relaxing morning and then headed out to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We have been many times before, but it is always a hit. Those of you who have been before will recognize this picture, but to those who haven't...this is a little tunnel type room made of glass where a "fake wave" comes over you every 30 seconds or so. The Boy has always loved it, but he also gets a little freaked each time the wave comes...as you can see from his face. :) (But trust me...he loves not only this exhibit, but the entire experience at the aquarium...)
Again, if you have visited the aquarium, you are aware of the obligatory clam shell picture...
Once back from the aquarium we headed back down to the beach for a little sand-play time...
The Boy was making sand angels...
And as you can see...once back from the beach, the kids had nice warm baths and had some dinner. I went and picked up some yummy Mexican take out and we hung out in the room tonight and we all enjoyed the relaxation. Especially Peanut...
Tomorrow we are going to hit the Boardwalk and do a little pool time. Then tomorrow night my mom and step dad (who will be driving down to join us tomorrow morning) are going out to a nice dinner. I might treat myself to a little room service, and perhaps even a glass of wine. And then sadly, on Saturday morning we have to check out and head back to reality. Such a wonderful time, I can't even tell you all. I needed this. No seriously. I really needed this. :)

PS--to my very astute commenter who wondered if we were staying at The Sand and Sea Inn... You were SO close. We are next door. We are here. :)

We're Here!!!

This is what we are looking at from our balcony right now...

Here are the kids checking out the view...
And here is the other direction (toward the Boardwalk, but hard to see in this pic) off our balcony.

For some reason I can't move the pictures around right now. But hey...I am on vacation, with FREE internet so that I can give you all updates along the way. We are about to head out to check things out and find something for dinner. And despite super crappy weather reports, right now it is clear and nice. I wouldn't call it "warm," but it is certainly much better than I expected. Oh and the aforementioned fabulous friend who got us the rooms had a basket in each room specific for each one of my kids. The Boy had a basket filled with bugs and spiderman stuff, and The Girl had a purse with stickers and butterflies. They comped our parking rate, brought us up two extra refrigerators, and generally are treating us like royalty. So freaking stoked right now!!!

Did I mention we are on vacation!?!?! :)

With A Little Help From My Friends

I have the best friends in the world. Seriously.

Things have been a little rough lately in our household. First the stomach flu...now we are all fighting colds...the finances...I have been in a slump. I've been trying to shake it off but I've been a bit down in the dumps.

For the year 2011 there are no vacations on tap for my little family. Usually we do one big trip and perhaps a couple of little ones to family cabins or weekends away. This year...not so much. Just not in the finances. And honestly, I am cool with that. My son is going to go to an amazing school and the peace of mind that gives me is a whole lot better than any vacation I could plan. So it wasn't a big deal. Plus I'm going to head up to the family cabin in the mountains sometime this summer.

I have a good friend who is a big-wig at a hospitality company and he essentially oversees and manages about 9 (fantastic!) boutique hotels within a couple hour radius of where we live. He is awesome and does so much for me and my little family that I seriously NEVER ask him if he can hook me up with a room...or get me a deal. Lots of people take advantage of his generosity, but I try not to. But a couple of months ago (well actually we were talking about this for my birthday, which is in September, so I guess it was a while ago...) he was saying that for my birthday he would like to get me and the kids a room at one of his hotels. There is a certain hotel, which is right on the beach that just recently had a HUGE renovation, so we talked about that.

Long story short, we booked three nights (Wednesday, Thursday & Friday) at this fabulous hotel next week for a little vacation. We have two adjoining rooms and my mom was going to come with me and the kids and her hubby was going to drive up at the end of the week and join us. Knowing this is my only "vacation" for the year, I have been super stoked and excited about it. Yes, it was only three days, but still...a hotel! I don't have laundry! I don't have to cook! Super stoked.

But with all the financial drama of late, even the super-fabulous rate that he had gotten me was a bit more extravagant than what I should be spending right now. Two rooms, plus three nights...even at a great rate, it can add up. Plus (of course) the weather might be crappy, so after much whining, my mom and I decided to just do two nights instead of three and still enjoy a couple nights away, and also hopefully save a few bucks. I cancelled the Friday night (hoping to allow his other guests the more popular night given the fact that I knew I was getting the room at a reduced rate) and let my friend (and of course the hotel) know. I was super embarrassed to have to tell him given that he had done me this huge favor and now I wasn't even going to take advantage of all he had offered...and of course he was lovely about it. So we have been going about packing and planning for our little two-night get-a-way later on this week.

Tonight I got a text from him. It said, "Hey...So I'll comp your first night for both rooms if you guys still want to stay three nights...? Because that's how I roll. :)"

How fabulous is he? And how fabulous to have friends like him. Friends that help you out, even MORE than they had originally helped you out (which was HUGE to begin with), and do it with a smile on their face. So now we have a great THREE night little stay planned. And I am so excited!!!

(I just re-read this and hope it doesn't come off as snotty...the only reason I am posting it at all is for ME to remember, when I'm feeling a little bit down, that I am a damn lucky woman who has the most amazing people in her life.)

All Is Right With the World Again

Welcome home Gigi. You were sorely missed...

(look at that face on The Boy...seriously...he is SO happy to have her back he could jump out of his skin...)

Hold Me

My mother...my best friend...my co-parent...my confidant...just pulled out of my driveway and will depart at 6:30 tomorrow morning for a week long trip in Hawaii. There is no one on this earth who deserves it more.

And there is a little red-headed boy sitting in his room crying right now at the prospect of a week without his Gigi. And I can almost guarantee you that there is a sixty-something (cough cough) year old Gigi sitting in a car right now crying those same tears. They have a truly unbreakable bond and love each other more than anyone could ever understand. Here's photo documentation at his last birthday...

It's only a week, right? RIGHT?!?!?! Travel safe, Gigi...

A Great Holiday

Those of you who know me in real life know that there was a bit of drama this holiday season regarding my family and when we were going to celebrate each occasion and with whom. Since I don't really talk about my family on my blog, I will spare you the details but let you in on the important part. I had to fight hard to have one day this holiday where my kids and I were not obligated to go anywhere or do anything. That day turned out to be Christmas Day. And what a wonderful day it was. I am SO glad I went through what I did to be able to have a day at home with my kids.

Of course it really started the moment we got home from the Christmas Eve festivities. The Boy got all ready for bed and then had to leave the cookies and milk for Santa and the carrots for Rudolph... Look at the anticipation on his little face. I swear if I could bottle that magical feeling...

(Note to the future: Perhaps if one's child is going to leave cookies for said "Santa," then perhaps said Mommy should buy some cookies she actually likes. I hate those damn chocolate things...but it was all we had in the house...)

And once the children were all snug in their heads with their visions of sugar plums... Then it was time for me to get to work. Fortunately The Ex and I had a good agreement this year. I paid for all the Santa stuff, but I sent it all home with her in the boxes and made her put it all together. Therefore once the kids were in bed, I went underneath the quilt in my room and found everything ready to be wheeled out. Here is the loot: Stockings for both of course, a Skuut Balance Bike for The Boy, his Bat Cave (the only thing he actually asked Santa for besides flash cards...), a new cradle and new dolly for Peanut, a new shopping cart for her as well, and then a Crayola drawing thing that they will both share...
Note the movie that is on the TV--mandatory for Christmas Eve in my house! And then I had a glass of wine and went to bed. The Boy got up about 7:15am and we texted The Ex (who was coming over for Santa time in the morning--how nice am I?) and while we waited for her The Girl got up and enjoyed her morning milk and then they tore out into the living room at about 7:45am. Not too bad. Of course The Boy LOVED, loved, loved his batcave...
The Girl was a fan of her shopping cart and didn't so much care about her dolly or her cradle, although she has really used and enjoyed both of them since then. I think her favorite gifts would be the shopping cart and this other dolly with a bottle...because apparently it's ALL about the bottle. Who knew?
And as you see in the above picture, The Girl stayed in her jammies all day long. It was fabulous. We had The Ex here until about 10:00 in the morning and then she left and it was just me and the kids until about 2:30 when my mom, step dad and grandmother came over. We had a mellow afternoon and had some good food, but it was SO relaxing and so lovely. I really had a great day. I am so unbelievably lucky to have the kids that I do and the family that I do. I really realized that this holiday season. Perhaps because my 94 year old grandmother is getting up there, or perhaps because I don't have a partner...but for whatever reason, I was eternally grateful to have the life that I do.

And then the next day, instead of being anal-retentive girl and ripping down all of Christmas I had a leisurely morning and took the kids on a walk. It was a great weekend. Exactly what the holidays SHOULD be.
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well, however you celebrate. And here's to a great 2011!

Thankful

This Thanksgiving was a first for me. It was the first time in my 36 years on this planet that I have not spent this day at my grandmother's house. She is turning 94 this year and has finally moved out of her home and therefore we had to start a new tradition this year. So we ended up at my brother's house and it was lovely. I left there after a very long, but thankful, day.

I am thankful for my support system; the wonderful people in my life that allow me to live the amazing life that I live. My mother. Couldn't live without her; my best friend and co-parent to my children and just an amazing example of what I would always strive to be. Thankful for the rest of my large and complicated family. Thankful for my nieces and nephews and the ability to give my children the kind of traditions that I had as a child. Thankful that my other 88 year old grandmother was home from the hospital and healthy. Thankful that she sat next to me during dinner and told me that this was the best Thanksgiving she had ever had and it was because of my children. She said seeing their faces makes her life on this planet smile.

And thankful for my two amazing kids. Thankful that on days like today when both of you have colds and therefore are both pretty pitiful and whiny...thankful that I can make it through the end of a long day still thinking you are both amazing kids. I not only love my kids, but I like them too. I like spending the day with them. They make me laugh, they make me smile, they make me crazy...but I have nothing but love for the both of them. I could not be more thankful for them. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hope it was a great one.

Family

This has been a bit of a rough week here in my household. My 88 year old grandmother (my mom's mom) ended up in the hospital on Monday evening. She was having issues with her heart and ended up with atrial fibrillation. She needed much monitoring and a procedure where the docs went down her throat to look at her heart for blood clots and ended up having to shock her heart back into rhythm with the scary little paddle things. It has been a scary week but it looks like she is getting out of the hospital this evening and everything will be fine. But...DAMN!!!

This entire thing has made me think a lot about family. I am 36 years old and I am lucky enough to still have both of my grandmother's alive and well. One of my grandmother's is 93 and the other is 88. The one who is 88 lives in a "penthouse" apartment in a very ritzy little area right near my house (which, it should be noted, is not anywhere near as ritzy) and the one who is 93 just recently moved into an assisted living facility but she is still very much alert and healthy. So I am extremely lucky. But more than that, my KIDS are very lucky. My son is almost 5 and I think there's a good chance that he will actually retain memories of both of them. My 88 year old grandmother lives literally a couple of blocks from me and she is able to stop by my house on a regular basis and hang out with my kids and they both love her dearly. She has said to me several times that moving out of the house that she lived in for over 30 years to where she lives now was completely worth it because of my son and my daughter.

It makes me think that my mom and I probably won't have that same luxury. Because we are all having kids later in life now, the chances that my mom will see her great grand kids is very slim. And same for me. I was 31 when I had my son and if he is near 30 when he has his kids and THEY are near 30 when they have theirs...I will be 90-ish! It really is a treat to be able to have 4 generations in the same room. And I genuinely treasure it. And this week has made me realize that I won't get to enjoy that forever.

Family really is a very special thing. The relationship that both of my kids have with both their grandmother AND their great grandmother's is one that is beyond special. I hope one day they become old enough to realize how very lucky they were.

Halloween--All of It

And when you have young kids...there is A LOT of Halloween to be had. But this year was all good. The Boy is old enough to really get it and he was SO excited. He picked out his costume really early on (good thing too since his Mom had to make it...) and watched his pumpkin grow in his backyard and couldn't wait until we could put up the Spider webs in front of the house.

First thing was his school field trip. I was sorta put off by the fact that they wanted the kids to go over an hour away. I was like, What the hell, there are hundreds of pumpkin patches within 15 minutes of where we live... But it turns out I shouldn't have been such a scrooge. It wasn't even so much a pumpkin patch as there was no large area with hundreds of pumpkins. It was a little tour that included picking out a pumpkin. But we started the day in a giant tee pee listening to stories, then we went and got to pick a pumpkin. Here is The Boy with his pick:

And here is The Girl with her pick. She picked a good pumpkin and remembered to smile for the picture, she just forgot to open her eyes...
And after that we went to "Mine for gold." It was actually really cool. They gave all the kids a bag of sand and they had to sift through it to find a bunch of little rocks and stones. The Boy was ALL about this part. It thought I uploaded a picture of his with this but I guess I didn't and there are far too many pictures in this post to try and go back and do it now. But just trust me. This was his favorite part of the day. In fact after the mining for gold we went and had a little snack. All the other kids were scarfing on popcorn but my son said no thank you to any popcorn and instead spread out his napkin in front of him so he could sort his rocks into like piles. Like I have said before...gotta love my little nerd.

Then after the snack we got to ride on a little train that went around the entire property. It was like a 20 minute ride and both kids loved it. The Girl went a little bit postal at first when I told her she had to sit next to me and couldn't climb around all crazy (they were just little seats...there really wasn't any sort of enclosure to hold her in place...) until the train started moving and she understood. She is still talking about the "choo choo twain..."

After that we headed over to the carousel. Guess who took one look at it and decided he wasn't interested?
And guess who pointed furiously and said, "I want it...I want it..."?
After that we went on a big corn maze thing and then went and had a nice picnic lunch. Like I said, it was a long drive to get there but in the end it was great. The Boy had a great time with his friends and his sister had a blast too. It was a really nice day. I'll try and remember that next year when I get the attitude...

Then it was time for THE EVENT. I can't remember how much I have posted about this here but way back in spring, on one of the Saturdays The Ex had The Boy she asked me if she could plant some seeds with him in the backyard. I said sure and then came home to find she had planted watermelons, corn, peas and pumpkins in a tiny little space on my side yard. I don't know a whole lot about gardening, but I do know that the things she picked are things that like to spread the hell out. Watermelons go EVERYWHERE. And so do peas and of course the pumpkins. The corn at least just goes up. So while I appreciated the concept of planting with our kid, I was was less than enthused at her choice of veggies.

Fast forward months later and the watermelon never grew (funny how that happens when a certain Mommy doesn't "remember" to water that particular plant...), the corn had grown and been eaten and pulled out, the peas had grown and produced enough peas to make the boy happy and then had been killed by the GINORMOUS pumpkin plant that took over my entire side yard and was trying to move into the regular backyard. I bitched and bitched about this plant constantly. I told The Ex she had to get rid of it...I took clippers and cut the hell out of the thing several times. Until one day I noticed a small pumpkin growing near the back door. It continued to grow (and it was the only one) amongst an insane amount of vines and leaves. Anyway, about three weeks ago we took the pumpkin out of the "garden" (HA!) and it has been sitting on the front porch. Well last week The Ex came over and carved it for The Boy. He was SO excited. It actually was quite big. Again, this post is ridiculously long enough but I could post pictures of the plant and the pumpkin itself but I will spare you all.

The pumpkin that he himself grew from a seed had made it into a full-fledged pumpkin and was now carved into his latest obsession: bats. He couldn't have been more thrilled. Here is the finished product...
After all that it was time for The Boy's Halloween Parade at school, which I have already posted about... Then it was time for THE BIG DAY!!

The Boy started asking if he could trick or treat at about 7:15am. Sigh...loooooonnngg day... Anyway, we decided to start out the evening at the gay boyfriends' house. They decorate their house all up so we took the kids and headed over. The Boy didn't wear his costume cause he can't ride in the car with it (kinda hard to fit in a car seat with a tail...), but The Girl was ALL decked out in hers. My daughter was The Cat in the Hat. And she couldn't have been happier about it. It is one of her favorite shows on right now and was so excited to put it on. She even tolerated the hat for a little while. Here she is running around the backyard of the boyfriends' house...
After we had a little snack there (kids AND adults; my mom and grandmother came with us to their house) we went over to my brother's house for the trick or treating. They have a great neighborhood so we have been going there for the past few years. Here is The Boy all dressed up and ready to hit the streets!
And again, here is his crazy sister playing peek a boo with her hat... (We all know I am pretty damn cynical, but my daughter playing peek with her hat? Perhaps one of the cutest things I have witnessed in my entire life...)
There are a ton more pictures but they all have a bunch of kids in them so you will just have to take my word when I tell you that they both had a grand time. My daughter, although she is a mere 18 months old, quickly got into the groove of things. She would march up to the doors with her brother and cousins and yell "tick teet!" and then run away before actually getting any candy. She thought it was hysterical. I had brought the umbrella stroller because, well...she's 18 months old and it was late..., and she wanted NO part in that. She walked the entire way (except for a few times when I picked her up because she wasn't moving fast enough). Her brother, true to character, after about the third block asked me if HE could sit in the stroller if his sister wasn't going to. So my almost-5-year-old rode in the stroller while his 18-month-old sister walked the entire way. Gotta love them.

And finally...here is a picture of the one time The Girl actually remembered to get candy before she ran off again...
As my 93 year old grandmother would say... "A good time was had by all."

The Halloween Parade

My son had his first ever big Halloween parade at his school on Friday. He has been in daycare since he was 3 months old but this school he's at now has 4 classrooms and way more people than before. So this was big for him.

The costume? I'm not sure if I've mentioned in on here before but he wanted to be Lizard Man from the Spiderman TV show. He watches Spiderman with his Mom (the Ex) and this is one of the bad guys. Basically it is some scientist named Dr. Connors that is working in the lab and he drinks some potion and becomes a lizard. And thus Lizard Man is born. I did a quick google search and found this image of a Lizard Man bobblehead for your reference:

So that is Lizard Man. But back to his costume, I put The Ex entirely in charge of his costume this year. I reminded her that back before he was born she talked about how she was going to whip out her sewing machine and make him the best costume in the world every year and he was going to be the envy of every kid. Well...this would be our 4th Halloween and I have seen no home-made costumes. So she took my challenge and said she would be completely in charge of his costume this year.

So this has been their thing. They planned it all together, they picked it out, they went to the fabric store and, true to her word, she sat down at her sewing machine and made our boy Lizard Man. She bought a lizard base (which was a dinosaur but she had to take all the "spikes" off the back and tail) and the bought a lab coat and some fabric and sewed purple pants and made the tail fit through it all... It is pretty good. I have to say she totally stepped up to the plate. He loves it. And I give credit where credit is due. She did really good.

It's hard to see in this picture but she made him happy and that's all that matters.

So here's the funny part. He has talked about this all week. Every day he has asked me how many days until his parade. He tried on the costume; he checked it hanging in his closet every night. He was stoked about this parade, I'm telling you. So we get there and get out of the car and I put his costume on and all of a sudden he has the face like he's going to cry. What the hell? So I kneel down and ask him what's going on and he says he just doesn't want to scare people. Huh? What? But for some reason he seemed to have a case of performance anxiety or something. Or that this big parade was all of a sudden a little bit scary, or whatever it was. But he got shy and weepy but braved through.

My gay boyfriend came with me because The Ex had to work and my mom couldn't come. It was sorta funny showing up with this hot guy after pretty much all of them had figured out that I was gay. Made them turn their heads a bit. And my son's favorite aide asked me if he was my brother (she and I have talked openly lots of times) because The Boy kept referring to him as Uncle B. I told him that he was my gay boyfriend and that he was a big part of The Boy's life etc... But we laughed about what everyone else was thinking.

The Boy got into it once we got inside his classroom and he did some crafts and stuff. And he marched the parade like a big boy. My little Lizard Man.

Oh and of course his sister was there too...