Happy Freakin' Halloween

Thriller!

Several members of Ember's dance group participated in a performance of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" at the Ward Halloween party tonight, after only a few rehearsals.  The girls (and a few boys) just added zombie makeup to their existing costumes, so Ember became a zombie Newsie.  Interesting... Disney's Newsies as zombies... anyway, she did a great job and she had a blast doing it.  We watched Michael Jackson's original video on YouTube last week and it kinda creeped her out, she wouldn't get in the shower because something might be behind the curtain.  Then she asked her sister to stand guard outside the curtain while she was getting clean.  She loves the song, but she doesn't like real zombie videos so much :)  Anyway, enjoy her dance!

Halloween

The first of several Halloween parties we're going to this year was tonight, the big Lawlor Halloween Bash.  It's all of Austin's Aunts and Uncles, Cousins, second cousins, Grandmas and Grandpas... one gigantic family.  I snapped a few pictures before I sent the kids off to enjoy the merriment without me (the first one I've missed in years, but I feel icky).  The kids look fabulous!

Fairy Princess - Grace

 Harry Potter - Ben

Newsie - Ember

I also had Halloween costumes for the dogs that I bought on clearance last year.  They hated wearing them, but it was just too funny to skip the torture they went through.  Elphie (the Boston Terrier) picks on Lady (the Chihuahua) CONSTANTLY.  So this year, Lady got to be the boss and put Elphie in her place!  Jail!  (Unfortunately we didn't get to pose them side by side for a picture, dogs are terrible models).

Austin and I didn't dress up this year, we had all our fun vicariously through the kids and dogs.  The next party is Saturday, the church carnival, and then on to Monday's night of trick-or-treating!

Which leads me to this:  I watched an interesting debate / conversation happen on Facebook this week about the necessity of this holiday.  It lasts two hours.  It's expensive, and doesn't mean anything.  It hops your kids up on sugar for weeks, causing tantrums and chaos in it's wake. It obligates you to buy treats for other peoples kids, most of whom you don't even know.  Is it a bad thing to skip it, or boycott it even?  Would that make someone a terrible parent, if they refused to buy costumes and pass out candy?

I for one am letting my kids dress up and go to the parties, without me, and trick-or-treat on Monday.  I don't decorate my house or make a big deal out of anything, but I usually buy candy and sit on the front porch to pass it out so my doorbell doesn't give my dogs a heart attack every 30 seconds.  This year I'm sending the kids out with dad to collect their diabetes in a bucket, and I'm turning off the lights and watching movies in my bedroom.  I'm not being a scrooge, that title is reserved for Christmas only, thankyouverymuch.  I just think it's ok to scale this one back sometimes.

Dad time - Grace has a razor!

Grace got to have some "Dad time" this weekend while I was out of town, and Austin showed me these videos when I got back.  So awesome.






I have a very brave husband.

Grace-isms

I just published my post a few minutes ago, and THEN Grace says something else so funny I had to run to the bathroom.  We were watching YouTube videos of Chuck Norris, trying to show the kids the infamous roundhouse kick, and there was an explosion with a mushroom cloud.

Grace asks, "is that a fart?"

Mom-time

One of the rewards the kids can spend their chore chart points on is one-on-one time with Mom or Dad.  They have hours of undivided attention, and the kids get to pick the activities and entertainment.  That child takes priority over everything but an emergency, and Grace is the one child that has redeemed her points for this reward more than once.  She loves it, she loves feeling like the most important person in the world, and she loves calling the shots.  Grace spent her points on Mom-time today, and although I started the day with a headache and feeling down, I really enjoyed my time spent with Grace-face.

 That's a sticker on my arm, she COVERED me in stickers.

Our agenda:
Color pictures
Yoga (her idea, and I sucked at it)
Play barbies / ponies
Read stories
Play dominoes (chain reactions and artwork)
Play outside (trampoline, tire swing)
Sang songs & karate chopped throats
Went out for an ice cream cone

Grace "drew" pictures using dominoes.  This turned out great!

Don't you love our matching hairstyles?

 See?  She was punching me!

 And look at the difference in our skin color... she takes after her Dad :)

Hi-yah!

I had a blast today Gracie, let's do it again sometime!