Happy Halloween!

Jango Fett or is it Boba Fett from Star Wars and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz wish you and yours a lovely Halloween.

The kids are alright.

We are drowning in chaos right now. While they redo the old part of the house, I feel like we are living in an episode of Hoarders. This is what my family room looks like at this very minute. Are you jealous?

I'm frazzled, disorganized, and I forgot to pick up Mr. Boy yesterday.....again. Those blasted early dismissal days throw me for a loop! I feel like the worst mom, and I can't help but think, "We are torturing them with all this construction and chaos!" Are they going to look back and be like, "Really... we had a pinata next to a port-a-potty? Why was my birthday party 3 months after my actual birthday? And did you really think your festive banner would spruce up the construction fence?" And just when I start to fret that there isn't enough money in the world to pay for all the therapy the kids are going to need after this chaotic year.... I remind myself of this. We've spent many afternoons playing WWII in the trenches in the backyard. Notice the bike helmets being used as Army Helmets.
AK has spent hours digging holes with a big girl shovel and is mad at me in this pic for calling her in for dinner. The backyard has provided countless props for imaginative play. Why is ever prop turned into a gun with little boys? Here Mr. Boy plays with his "Giant Bazookum". Is it awful that I don't ever want him to stop creating new words or mispronouncing words?
And who hasn't wanted to spend the twilight hours playing on one of these.
The kids are going to be just fine.

We know how to party

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far far away Mr. Boy had a birthday. Maybe it was more like midsummer. Summer birthdays are tricky, all your friends are out of town, or you are knee deep in dust adding on to your chalet. So, we moved Mr. Boy's Party to the fall and I told Mr. Boy to invite 7 of his closest friends. He invited everyone and their brother, and I'm not even kidding about the brother part. So, we wrangled 14 boys all around the age of 7 and their brothers for two hours. I have never been so fearful for my life. It was a "Lego Star Wars Party".I had a blast putting this party together, and we learned that my cool new dining table seats 14 with all the leaves pulled out. If only I actually had 14 chairs for it!Big thanks to Williams - Sonoma for the tips on how to decorate these cookies. (A little bit of their Food Paste mixed into Karo Syrup, painted on with a brush.) Don't look too closely, because they kind of look like Mr. Boy decorated them, but the party guest and their brothers loved them. Every kid got to build their own Lego Mini Set when they arrived, and that was their party favor. It worked out well to get them started on a project right away. At age 7, the boys seemed to want to tackle each other all the time, so that was main goal, to keep them busy enough they wouldn't tackle. We played lots of lego games, some bombed, some rocked. Of the ones that were a success: "Drop the lego brick from your nose into a mason jar", "Lego Shuffleboard/Bocce" (slide the lego across the floor to try and hit a target, closest one to the target wins.), "Guess the number of Legos in a jar"
Classy, real classy. "Okay kids, let's line up next to the Port-a-Potty for some fun with the Pinata!' Every year I buy these $5 indestructible pinatas from the Latino Market, but this year it broke on the second hit. They must have switched suppliers or something.

Mr. Boy really wanted a home party this year, and was so patient to wait. I loved watching him with his friends. Mr. Boy's personality exhausts me sometimes, but he is the funnest kid. He hugged each of his friends spontaneously after opening their gift. He is so eager to share his love and exuberance with everyone.... and their brother.

Glamour Shots: Part Trois

Going back in time a bit, on Mother's Day I was given what I thought was a facial and massage at the spa. Turns out it was so much more. It was a Glamour Session! Here is the third and Final Glamour Shot from that fateful day. Notice the signature photoshopping out of my collarbones and my freckles, apparently they aren't glamourous.

Does the Vaseline on my teeth really make my smile appear more natural?

To see the previous horrifically awesome Glamour Shots
Go Here and Here.

Let the wild rumpus begin!

Just off the family room, behind these gorgeous doors, is the rumpus room aka playroom. If you remember... this could have been a spacious master bath. However, I do not regret giving up a clawfoot tub for one minute. (Truth? well, I regretted for maybe for 30 seconds, 58 seconds tops.) The kids LOVE this space! I love this space! Mr. Man loves this space! We christened this room by curling up on the couch and watching those wacky Penguins of Madagascar. (I love that show, serious funny for kids and adults.)
Speaking of Mr. Man, he bought them the bookshelf just so the kids have something to make their "scenes" on. Everyday we find new scenes on those shelves, and I love that Mr. Man loves their scenes enough that he insisted on buying it.

This is the view from the new den. I love that I can keep an eye on them, while getting stuff done at my desk. Yet, they are far enough away I can focus on important things.... like buying shoes and blogging.
Inside the playroom is the most fabulous door. It opens to the most fabulous closet that holds almost every toy we own. I'm toying with putting a lock on it, but Mr. Man says I'm a giant ogre for wanting it. He hasn't been around when every single toy has come out of the closet during a playdate. All in all, the kids are awesome about putting their stuff away. If I were President, I'd give everyone in America a playroom with a big closet and soda would come out of the drinking fountains!