Happy Hallo-Christmas?

In Michigan you never know what Trick or Treating will be like. Most of the time, it is cold or rainy. I can only remember one or two times where it was mild. Yesterday was just crazy!

Sam realized that the kids hadn’t carved pumpkins that afternoon. So we sat on the kitchen floor cleaning out the pumpkin guts. That was pretty much when both kids said, “I’m done!” Ella said, “Daddy, make mine a cat!” I had no stencil or anything, so I did my best. She was happy with this terrible carving….

Andrew wanted a “Monster Pumpkin.” This was a better effort from me … still ridiculous.

We ventured out with our neighbor and their two little ones. It was chilly, but not freezing. The kids wore their winter coats under their costumes and Sam and I had on hats and coats. It was a good thing we were dressed that way! After 30 minutes in the neighborhood, the wind kicked up in an instant and the snow was blowing hard. Suddenly, it was bitterly cold and wet!

We were halfway through the neighborhood, so we had no choice but to finish. I felt bad for our neighbor, as her little girl looked like she was frozen. Ella was like a mail carrier – snow wasn’t going to stop her from nabbing candy!! Andrew was kind of done when the snow kicked up. I wound up putting him up on my shoulders for the last few minutes.

Ella was struggling a bit because her dress was a bit long. She kept tripping on it. So Sam and I took turns holding up the “hoop” so that she could walk from house to house. Bending down to hold that up and out of the way led to some back pain for both of us!

We were all soaked when we got back home. Sam made the kids hot chocolate and we ordered out for dinner. The snow fell for quite awhile and we got a decent coat. It wasn’t a solid coating, but still pretty as the sun rose this morning.

Why was I watching the sun rise? Well, the puppy decided that she had to go outside. Of course, she’d never seen snow before and it took her forever to finally go out onto the grass!

We realized this morning that we were so busy holding dresses, waiting for the neighbors to catch up to us, and carrying kids, that we didn’t get one picture of them outside that night!! I’m glad that we got those professional pictures done. At least we have some in their costumes!

After a Long Week – The Weekend

The weekend is finally here! It has been a crazy week.

Monday, I took the kids to get their pictures taken in their Halloween costumes. Our photographer, Beth, once again got some great shots in our 15 minute mini-session. Ella is going as Rapunzel this year.

Andrew is going out as Spiderman.

The pictures came out so good.

Tuesday, Ella woke up with a fever. It was crazy high. She slept most of the day and eventually, Sam took her to urgent care. Strep Throat and tonsil stones. She was miserable.

My brother came up Tuesday night and Wednesday they were going to stop by our house, but I told them it was better if I came to him. So Sam stayed with Ella and Andrew came with me. They were staying at an Air B&B near us. It was a brief visit because I had to work that day.

On Thursday, Ella was feeling a little better, but not 100%. Sam had to take Andrew to Occupational Therapy, so Ella and I stayed home. I was trying to fold laundry and get stuff done, but she called to me and asked me to snuggle with her on the couch.

You don’t say “no” to snuggles! She is so funny though. At one point, she faced me and put her arms around me. As she hugged me, she said, “I just love you, daddy!” She held me for like 5 minutes. I was thinking about just how amazing this was. She made me feel so special. It was amazing. Then, suddenly, she let go and said, “Ok, that’s enough hugging for one day, dad!” Hilarious!!

We got a Halloween Tonie for their Tonie Box and it plays all kinds of Halloween songs. They have been watching Halloween episodes of Miss Rachel, Paw Patrol, Bubble Guppies, and such. The Ghostbusters theme song is on that Tonie (and in the Miss Rachel show). I did a spit take with my coffee when out of the blue from the couch, she says, “Dad. Who you gonna call?” Immediately followed by her screaming, “Ghostbusters!”

She was actually making up lyrics to it in her room the other day “There’s a tree outside. Outside my house. Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! It was complete nonsense and I loved every minute of it.

Daisy, our new puppy, is slowly but surely getting better about going to the bathroom outside. I’m not looking forward to standing outside in the rain and snow with her this winter waiting for her to go! On a funny note, I think she thinks she is going trick or treating with the kids this year….

The kids did a Trunk or Treat this evening and got a bunch of candy. They have the list of candies that fall under the “daddy tax” rule.

Tomorrow, we are heading out for a Halloween Train Ride with my friend Margaret and her family. I am SO looking forward to it. It should be a blast.

Have a great weekend!!

From Rapunzel to Snow White

As I have mentioned in the past, my daughter loves princesses. When she was born I had to do a crash course in princesses to make sure I knew them all for her! She, of course, is my favorite princess!

She has beautiful hair. It is long and naturally curly. She has these amazing ringlets at the ends. However, with long hair comes issues. She is not too keen on the hair washing and hair brushing process. Because she doesn’t always let us brush her hair, she tends to get snarls and tangles. In recent months, Sam and I have fought her quite a bit about her hair. So we decided it was time to trim it up.

She always talks about her hair being “Rapunzel” hair. She’s pretty much right on about that. It was really long!

We told her that we were going to get it trimmed and asked what princess hair she’d like. Snow White was suggested and she said she’d like that. Prior to the appointment, Sam messaged our hair gal, Shari, and let her know exactly what we were going to do. This way, there was no discussion before the haircut started.

Both Sam and I worried that those beautiful ringlets would be gone forever with the cut. We had to remind ourselves about the fighting at bath time and the snarls/tangles, etc… (Spoiler) We were both happy to see that after we got home, the curls and ringlets were still there.

As Shari pulled bits and pieces of her hair up and clipped them out of the way, I stood and watched as she took the scissors and made that first cut. I’m not sure why this bothered me so much, but it did. I swear it looked like she had taken 10-12 inches off the back!

In the end, she still is as beautiful as ever. Her hair is easier to wash and brush. She is no longer Rapunzel, and is now Snow White.

She did say that she misses her Rapunzel hair …

If I am being honest, I think my Princess Ella is much prettier than Rapunzel, Snow White, or any of those Disney Princesses anyway!