More Braces

There have been two of us in braces for years now, and Little Man has joined the crew. First CC had braces while I had Invisalign, then when I was done Sweet Pea got her braces on, and now that CC has hers off, Little Man has them. Whew. It's a LOT, and I'm looking forward to a time when everyone has beautifully straight teeth, and we're not paying an additional mortgage each month!

He looked so happy in his "Before" picture because he was enjoying a massage chair at the orthodontist office. I agree, they're amazing. 

Little Man handled Day 1 very well. No tears, no whining, and minimal Motrin. Fingers crossed that he brushes really well during this phase -- that's my biggest concern.

Twin Teeth

These two lost the same tooth on the same day! Are they twins or what?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas ...

We got our tree up in good time this year! A full week before Army-Navy -- that's pretty good for us. We went to a local lot and picked out a good one in short order. Sweet Pea named it Brenda for some reason, and insists on referring to "her" by her name.

It was Little Man's turn to put the star on the tree (something he'd been reminding us about for days), and he was very proud that he could (barely) reach without any help. Then again, he had the benefit of a stepstool which gave him quite a boost. But at least we didn't have to bring in the ladder from the garage!

Between various dance rehearsals and other activities, we got all the ornaments up. The house is looking festive and ready for Christmas!

Visit from Sharon

MJ's Aunt Sharon came to visit Grandma for Thanksgiving, and we were able to spend a lovely afternoon with her that weekend.

The kids didn't remember meeting her in DC when we went in 2018, but they warmed up immediately. CC even modeled the Halloween costume she made for herself, and Sharon was duly impressed. We chatted for several hours, and it was so nice to catch up. Maybe someday soon we can visit her in New York City!

A Wonderful Thanksgiving

We had such a nice Thanksgiving! It was small, compared to previous years -- Jon and Susan were in Texas, and Grandma and Grandpa were spending it with Grandma's sister and some friends. But Memere and Pepere were here for three fun-filled days, and Patrick and Karen came over on Thanksgiving afternoon with Braxton and Bryson, plus Karen's mother, Lou.

The day before, we were a mad flurry of activity as we cleaned the house and baked the pies. Sweet Pea insisted on helping with the pies, which was no surprise -- she loves to work with me in the kitchen. But I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that Little Man loves peeling apples, potatoes and carrots! He was very enthusiastic about it. "I'm skinning them alive! Ha ha ha!"

Thanksgiving afternoon was full of warm conversations, laughing, and good food. We celebrated Bryson and Braxton's birthday with carrot cake and cheesecake.

Bryson unfortunately broke his ankle the day before, so he was on crutches and wasn't able to run around playing football or Nerf guns like usual. But the kids had a blast playing their new favorite game: Grounded for Life. It's a kids' version of Cards Against Humanity, and I don't think I've ever heard so much giggling! One of the prompts was, "In the event of a zombie apocalypse, I would grab ______." Bryson's card said, "Training Bras," and the kids hyperventilated with laughter for a good 15 minutes. 

The next day, we went with Memere and Pepere to see the Wicked movie, which we'd been looking forward to since we saw it on Broadway last fall. It was really good, and the singing and theatricality gave me goosebumps! But I still haven't figured out how it was just the first half of the story and was almost 3 hours, when the entire show on Broadway takes less than that.

The rest of the weekend was filled with leftovers, football, and more games with Memere and Pepere. Amber didn't manage to steal any food, which I believe is a record (although she almost got the blueberry pie). The weather was beautiful, and the company couldn't have been better. It was truly a wonderful holiday!

Cross Country Wrap-Up

Little Man and CC finished up their inaugural cross-country season with their third and final meet. Little Man definitely enjoyed it the most -- he was eager to join the team at the beginning of the season, and he never complained about practices. His times were a little erratic, but he ran hard and seemed to enjoy the social aspect, too.

CC was more of an enigma. She originally wanted to join the team, then changed her mind, then ended up doing it, but complaining the entire time. And although she claimed to be trying her best, her times worsened by over a minute with every meet. That's a ridiculous amount of time to lose in a race that's less than two miles!

But in her final meet, she sprinted her hardest down the final stretch. "Did you see that girl in the red shirt?" she asked afterwards. "I just had to beat her!" And she did.

So that's a wrap! Little Man is already looking forward to next year. CC claims to want to try out for track in the spring, but I can't imagine that's true!

Afterward the season there was a nice sports awards banquet at the school for all the fall teams. MJ and I attended and patiently sat through all the other sports until cross country, which was the final team and also the largest. CC and Little Man were all smiles and definitely enjoyed their moment in the spotlight!

Halloween 2024

Happy Halloween! Presenting the Energizer Bunny, the Queen of Hearts, and a Minecraft Enderman:

For the second year, CC made her own costume, and was very proud of it. I didn't help her at all! She decided to be the Queen of Hearts, and then convinced her friends to go as other Alice in Wonderland characters. Patricia was Alice, Scarlett was the Mad Hatter, and Clara was the White Rabbit. It was such a fun group! They all came here to get ready, then trick or treated in the neighborhood.

Sweet Pea got the idea to be the Energizer Bunny from her cirque friends, and it certainly fits her personality. She and I spent quite a bit of time making her drum -- comprised of cardboard, duct tape, and paint -- and it had a hole in the back for her to keep her candy in. Her friend Charlie decided to be a battery, so they were the perfect pair. They started trick or treating in Charlie's neighborhood, which is adjacent to ours, and eventually finished here. Several people said that they had the best costumes! 

And for the second year, Little Man trick or treated with his buddy Brennan in that neighborhood. Brennan's mom reported that they finished surprisingly early, but Little Man was pleased with the amount of candy he collected. He carried it around in a cardboard chest he made to resemble Minecraft chests. There was so much creativity this year!

I made a char-BOO!-terie board for dinner. It was hard to find plastic insects this year, but I added edible eyeballs, which I thought was a fun touch. The kids were so excited to go trick or treating that everyone completely forgot about the Halloween cake for dessert! So we'll have that tonight instead.