our best halloween ever

Perhaps you remember that last year Luke asked me and Lamar to dress up for Halloween. And we obliged. So of course this year he expected family costumes. We thought and thought about our theme. And then we saw a movie with a pretty swell ensemble cast.


Buzz, Jessie and Woody ready for some Trunk or Treating.

But a cast of three wasn't enough. Luke really needed Mimi and Papa to participate. He suggested they be Barbie and Ken. But I just couldn't figure out exactly how to make that happen.



So we added Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. My parents in Halloween costumes. They will do anything for their grandchildren.

We bought Luke's costume but I made/compiled the others. Shocking I know, but that Buzz getup was not store bought. Well, except the stocking cap. And fyi, pinning large pieces of felt to your jeans makes them really warm, especially when it is 70 degrees on Halloween.




Look how happy he is.

I had prepared Luke for a costume parade when we arrived at Trunk or Treat. I was not aware it was contest though. And considering his response to not winning the candy corn game last week, I was kind of worried. But guess who won for best family costumes? (Perhaps I should mention our family made up about 50% of the participants).





The winning team.

After the parade and some pizza, it was time for some trunk or treating. He was so excited and knew exactly what to do. Three years ago I left trunk or treat in tears because Luke was an overstimulated mess. He's come so far. And maybe I've made a little progress too.

We got home and Luke saw trick or treaters all over our street. He was ready for more.

So we headed out for a little more fun. We met some new neighbors and had a great time. It was really fun. Luke just kept talking about how much fun it was and how much he loved Halloween. Amazing.

Party Time!

Halloween is here! And everyone knows what that means. Time for Room Moms to throw the first party of the year. It's tricky because you need establish yourself as a quality Room Mom, but you don't want to set the bar so high that future parties disappoint. And parents were pretty eager to help with this first kindergarten party. And I need to capitalize on this enthusiasm, and somehow keep them motivated through Field Day. Room Momming is a very serious business.

I think a good time was had by all. Parents volunteered to help with all activities except games. Shocking! So I kicked things off with Going On a Ghost Hunt (just like Going On a Bear Hunt with a Halloween theme), with some modifications (I skipped playing any Grieg). I post this only because the kids loved it so much. No photos though. I was too busy making a fool of myself to get take any pictures.

Then we moved onto mummy making, cookie decorating, and making spiders from handprints. Here's some photos of my favorite mummy.







I really love how happy he looks in these photos. I remember his first every school party, Valentine's Day just after his 3rd birthday. He'd been in school less than a month. He cried the entire time and begged to leave.

Cookie face.

Some more snacks. That little pudding cup behind Luke was the cutest snack ever: crushed Oreos in the bottom, chocolate pudding, whipped cream on top with two tiny chocolate chips for ghost eyes. A mom made these because her child won't eat any types of cookies or cakes. They were so cute and amazingly good.

The party was all positive for Luke until the last moments. We had a little competition to guess the number of candy corn pieces in bag. When we announced the closest guesser at the end of the party, and handed her the candy, Luke burst into tears. I ushered him to the cubby room where he told me he wanted to win. I said, "Well, you didn't have the closest bid, you know, just like on Price Is Right." He got it then I think. I showed him the take home treats everyone was getting and he was fine. He left for P.E. a happy boy. You just never know when a game show analogy might save the day.

We practiced Trick or Treating today, just as a refresher. Luke actually remembered how it works this year with no prompts. I anticipate tomorrow being a success, but nothing is certain. I've made 4 adult costumes and purchased one for him. He better enjoy it.

1st field trip

Oh little blog. You've been so neglected lately.

Alex and Emily, the imaginary siblings are still around. My recent favorite story about them was one evening before dinner Luke said, "Oh Mom, I'm so sorry but Alex lost his smiley face at school today." I asked what happened. "I'm so sorry but he had to move his bus to red." (Mrs. W's discipline system.) I responded something about that was too bad. Then Luke said, "But I only had to move my bus to yellow." Very smooth.

Yesterday was Luke's first ever field trip. Preschool did not do field trips. I can only imagine leaving the school with those special babies! Picture day was a big enough adventure for preschool. So I had no clue how Luke would do with his first bus ride and field trip. But Mrs. W had really prepared him. He knew what to expect.

Parents were not allowed on the bus but he reportedly sat in the very last seat and grinned the entire way.

We followed the buses and when we arrived at the farm we piled on a tractor for a ride out to the pumpkin patch.



Ready to see some farm stuff.



The pumpkins were small and few, due to the lack of rain. But according to Mr. G they were the best quality pumpkins he's ever grown.

Luke looking real natural with his chosen pumpkin. He's really into the posing lately.

Lamar leads the kids to find a pumpkin blossom. They learned about the phases of a pumpkin's life and were to search for examples of each. I was kind of shocked how educational the trip was.



Pumpkin picking is done. Back to the tractor.

We threw a few soft pumpkins to the cows for a treat. Luke kind of liked the cows, I think because his friends did, but was not overly interested. Guess he's no Temple Grandin.

Still riding.

Getting kind of silly riding.

Learning about the animals on the farm and following instructions to keep hands behind your back.

Playing at the corn and wheat troughs. When our guide explained that corn and wheat are in your favorite cereals Luke exclaimed, "EWWWWWW!" Nice.



Playing in the barn, where they learned that the products from a farm end up in grocery stores and restaurants.

Luke's turn running the register. He allowed his customer to have whatever amount of change they wanted. Perhaps retail is not a great career choice for him.

After a picnic lunch the kids sat in the grass for a game of Duck Duck Goose. Luke later told me this was his favorite part of the day.

And with 3 kindergarten classes playing, about 60 kids, Luke somehow managed to be among the first geese, chosen by a child from another class. He was pretty thrilled. When he selected his goose he smacked her head pretty hard. I waited for her to protest, but she just took off and caught him.

The trip wasn't perfect, but really good. Luke had one short emotional moment towards the end, but overall he was great. He's overly attached to a couple of friends, but that's the case every year and just something to work through. I'm proud and thankful. And after 3 hours with kindergartners I was exhausted. I don't know Mrs. W does it. I came home and went straight for the chocolate and diet coke.

imaginary siblings

I've had a little blogging writer's block recently. Luke's in school so many hours a week. I'm still getting used to him being away from us so much. But he's doing well and is really enjoying school. And I've been working most everyday the last few weeks. I didn't intend on increasing my hours when Luke started school. Hopefully it's just temporary.

So our pace just feels a little more hectic lately, but all is well.

Friday night, just before his bath, Luke told me "A long time ago, but when I was a big kid, I had a brother and sister. The sister's name is Emily and the brother is Alex. Emily is 8 and Alex is 7."

After bath I had him tell Lamar about his siblings. He said, "Well, they have the same mom as me. But they have a different dad. His name is Larry." I was unaware he knew this was possible.

The next day we went shopping in Murfreesboro. As we exited the interstate he pointed to the Embassy Suites he shouted, "Right there!! That's where Emily and Alex live in Room 2-4-0!"

He didn't mention them yesterday so I asked what they were up to. He said, "Oh, Emily and Alex are in Spring Hill today."

I wonder what kind of rumors he's started at school.

a few phone pictures

Did you know when teachers hang artwork they hot glue it to the wall? And now I have too.


I thought this craft was pretty adorable. I guess they measured themselves and cut the strips of paper accordingly. Yep, the girl next to Luke is really that tall at age 5. I just placed the plates at the top. Oh and I reinforced the "hair" with a little hot glue.

Things are moving along in kindergarten. It's already October--wow! Luke is reading so much and learning about exciting things like the days of the week, the months of the year, and the weather. Some important life skills.

And I keep learning about Luke. When he reported hitting a friend at school I was confused because he had a smiley face on his behavior chart and a treasure box treat in his bag. (I never remember getting candy or a treasure box treat in all my years of school. Wait, I do remember winning some jelly beans in kindergarten for thinking of the most words that begin with the letter S. I didn't even like jelly beans.)

So I began questioning him about the hitting incident he'd confessed to. He said, "We were just running, playing this game, I don't know what you call it, but you run up to your friends and get them, like hit them. But I did it with a smile, Mom."

My response, "Luke, were you playing tag?"

"Oh yeah! Tag! Yeah, that's when I hit."

He's just a bit literal with his language.

Today we went to the Country Ham Festival. It was our second year at this cute little Southern carnival. The highlights for Luke were the train:



We rode once just the three of us and once with some friends we found at the fair. The train was pulled by a four wheeler across the bumpy field. He loved it. I was sad the only facilities available were port-a-potties.

And some local business (I really should remember who it was as I probably owe them some patronage) set up this game:



A little dream come true for Luke. He loved watching other kids play equally as much as his own turns. Both times he played he landed chips in the $10,000 slot. 10,000 Plinko dollars were worth one oatmeal cream pie at the Ham Festival.

We avoided the inflatables for a couple of reasons. #1--The germs. Luke's just getting over his second illness of the school year. And it's only October! #2--Last year's experience on the inflatables at the Ham Festival. If you don't remember (Why would you? Oh if you were there you would remember.) skip to the end of the linked post and read it. Good times.

No drama this year. We even enjoyed some fair food and music from a local band. Happy fall!