an Apple Tasting, the Flu, and Happy Birthday to You!

In the last few weeks we have held an impromptu apple taste test, suffered the long-ranging effects of the flu, formulated a lesson and taught in Relief Society, survived (on very little sleep might I add) 3 days with Scott on a business trip in Miami, took care of business with a broken down car, shuffled kids back and forth to the doctor several times, prepared for and planned a birthday party for our resident party girl, sewed 3 Halloween costumes from start to finish in about 4 days, ate WAY too much junk, and finally, ENJOYED a quick visit from my mom and Jacob who came to see the baby for the first time.

Consequently, here are a few shots of what the house looks like when I am frantically trying to finish up Halloween costumes while still dealing with sick children, a husband out of town, and a baby still not sleeping through the night. Let's just say that housekeeping falls by the wayside. But hey, at least I've got my priorities straight, right?








For those of you who don't know, I'm a bit of an extremist. I am an all or nothing kind of person. I constantly vacillate from one extreme to the other, either going completely overboard or idling in slothfulness. My life's goal is to find that magical middle. But that hasn't happened yet, so -- as I was wandering through our fabulous Kroger a few Saturdays ago I saw all of these different kinds of apples on sale, and I remembered how much of a hit an "Apple Taste Test" was with my Pre-K class oh so many moons ago, and I figured if it was fun for them, it would be fun for our kids -- the result? I bought a BUNCH of apples. Maybe not quite a full bushel, but it sure seemed like it. Especially since for our purposes only one or two of each variety would have sufficed. I think in reality I ended up buying 7 or 8 of each. And while the kids LOVED doing the taste test -- and discovering which kinds were their favorites -- in the end we were left with a lot of apples and not a whole lot of use for them. Because to be honest, I don't even really like apples that much, and the kids waste them more than they eat them, and when I tried to turn all the leftovers into applesauce, they wouldn't even touch it because it didn't look like the store bought kind. Oh well, it's all about making the memories, right?

(Sophie was going through a tutu-wearing phase that week.)

(Grace really wanted her picture taken.)

(And Ethan kept things scientific for us.)

As soon as I started cutting the apples, Ethan ran and got a clipboard with paper and pencil to keep track of our results. They must do these kind of things in school, because I certainly had nothing to do with it. Isn't his handwriting cute? It surprises me how neatly he writes considering a.) he is a boy and b.) he's left-handed. Hopefully that doesn't offend two very large groups of people out there. Hahahahaha. Haha. Ha?

And even though our tastes were clearly not that discriminating (Ethan marked down "good" for basically all of them), the Macintosh apples were universally panned -- they were just plain gross. Other than that, Scott discovered a new-found love for Braeburn apples, Grace loved the Gala, Ethan was a fan of Granny Smiths, I wished that there had been Pink Ladies to sample (because those are my absolute favorite) but decided the Jonathans were pretty good nonetheless, and Sophie just enjoyed sampling all of them. All in all it was pretty fun.

And to continue the fun, I decided to finally take Ethan to "the restaurant" for our date that week. I felt like he deserved something special seeing as to how he was basically the only child that week to actually do any chores and even more importantly the only one who went to bed without much fuss and quickly fell asleep each night.




Of course, all those nights of ease at bedtime should have tipped me off that something was a-brewing, but it didn't. So, on that Sunday night when Ethan came down at bedtime saying that his head felt hot and he was getting sick, I dismissed it and told him we'd take his temperature in the morning. Well, the morning dawned and a thermometer was not necessary in helping me to tell if he had a fever or not. He was pretty much burning up. And that was the start of it all. By the week's end first Sophie, then Grace, and finally Scott all succumbed to the sickness. And while I kind of like it when Ethan is sick because he becomes so quiet and cute and pitiful and helpless all at the same time, GRACE and SOPHIE become the twin divas of screaming banshee terrorism. Seriously. They are literally ON. ANOTHER. LEVEL.

Here they are watching Mary Poppins for the umpteenth time. Which, by the way, becomes funnier and funnier each time you watch it.

I think I was able to get through that week of fun mostly due to the lesson I was preparing for Relief Society on President Monson's talk "Be of Good Cheer." Overall, it helped me to keep things in perspective. Which was greatly needed as the sickness stretched on into a second week with Scott out of town on business, the car battery dying on me, and my general insanity of trying to make their Halloween costumes, while tentatively planning for Grace's upcoming birthday party, and finally getting the kitchen all the way painted (which didn't end up happening.)

By the time Friday rolled around we were all happy and healthy once again, Scott was back home to help me out, and we were excited and ready for the weekend's festivities. Mom and Jacob got in at 11:30 that morning, and after a GORGEOUSLY warm and beautiful Fall afternoon playing and hanging out, we got the kids in bed and my prep work for Grace's party began in full.

This was the first year that I let Grace have a "real" birthday party and since she was turning 5 I told her she could invite 5 friends to her party. I thought it was cute and kind of sweet that she included Ethan and Sophie in that circle of friends. Rounding out the other 3 were a couple of friends from church and her "best friend" from Preschool. With her birthday being on a Sunday this year, we decided to do her party on the day before which just so happens to coincide with Halloween. On the agenda for the day were "Haunted" Houses (as opposed to Gingerbread Houses), making mini pizzas, cake and ice cream, and of course, presents.

I put the graham cracker houses together the night before, along with making and decorating the cake (which I think just might be my most favorite cake I've ever made.) I put Scott to work wrapping Grace's presents and my mom helped out with cutting out the cardboard bases for the houses and holding the baby. Jacob helped Scott in sorting out the Halloween candy and setting up the birthday table and blowing up more balloons to add to the festivity. And all that was left for the morning of the party was making the pizza dough and getting the individual pieces rising and ready for the kids to put together later.

And then the party started! Thank goodness I had so much help, because even with both moms staying with their kids, I still needed every spare hand of help from Scott, my mom, and Jacob. All in all, I think the party was a huge success, and I KNOW Grace loved it all.

The set up.


The cake.



The inspiration.


The duo.


The divas.


The friends.


The concentration.


The mother-daughter shot.


The finished product.


The Preschool girls.


And the Village.



Here is a little pizza decorating in action...


And here's a shot of Sophie showing off her new scar, post-Benadryl for the Royal Icing (replete with egg whites galore) that she got all over her face and possibly in her mouth while she decorated her Halloween House.


We managed to get a group shot before the presents were opened -- and boy did she get some GOOD presents!



And here is Grace holding "Grace" -- Kitt Kitteredge's dog. I couldn't in good conscience get her the doll after her hair-cutting fiasco, but I did surprise her and get the dog which she wasn't expecting to get until she was 6.




Making a wish! (It only took about 5 tries to get all 5 candles blown out).

Like I said, the party was a hit and Grace is still talking about it being the best birthday party ever! Of course, it didn't hurt that the rest of the day was filled with the anticipation and excitement of trick-or-treating, and much to Ethan's relief I finally got around to making his costume on the afternoon of Halloween at around 4 PM. Thankfully all he wanted to be was a ghost. One white sheet later and voila!

Before

After

And After After.

He kept freaking out that the eye holes were moving around and he couldn't see, so I tied a band of elastic around his neck to keep it in place. I find him to be very reminiscent of Charlie Brown this year.

Sophie wanted a "ball dress" for her costume. Incidentally, her costume was the biggest pain to make. Probably because of how cheapy cheap the material was. I was DUNZO with sewing by the time this costume was finished.

Grace (along with just about every other girl we know this year) wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She was VERY pleased with her costume and pronounced it the best costume on Earth. Meanwhile, I was very pleased with the Ruby Red Slippers that I glittered and sparkled up myself when I couldn't find anymore at Target.





The Merry Trio


I can't figure out what Grace is saying/doing (but what else is new? Hahaha.)


Happy Halloween!

And finally, in the midst of all of the hullabaloo, little Janie Boo turned 2! Months, that is. Here are a couple of pics:

I tried to post a video but it was taking too long and I am ready to go lay down! I'm thinking of taking it a little bit easier this next week -- whaddya think? Hahahaha.

Happy All Saints Day!