Trick or Treat!

We all went to the Fall Carnival at church tonight. Emily wanted to be a clown... after searching every Target, Walmart and party store in North Texas, this is as close as I was able to get.

I'm not sure I've ever spent to much money on Halloween costumes until this year. I've always managed to make costumes or talk the girls into being soccer players, wearing the poodle skirts I made a few years ago, or wearing one of the spare Karate outfits we have lying around. We had even gotten our money's worth from the Cinderella costume. Well, Gloria has the memory of an elephant and knows what she has been dressed up as every year of her life. Heaven forbid she do a costume repeat. It reminds me of the 'Great Pumpkin' costume mom and dad made for me of wood, chicken wire and plaster of paris. That sucker was heavy!! It had no arms, so it was quite difficult to hold the candy bag. I was always afraid of falling... I wouldn't be able to get up and would probably just roll down the street until I ran into a curb or something. I think that was the only costume I ever had growing up. They put so much effort into it, I had to wear it every year. Then there was the last minute shopping spree on Halloween when Dennis was about 5. Mom came home with a Tweety Bird costume, as that was all they had left in his size. I'm sure he was looking forward to Superman, Batman, or some other super hero. But no, he got to be the dreaded, horrifying Tweety. Scarrrrry!

As I was looking for the highly sought after clown costume today (yes, I waited until the very last minute), I was amazed at how they had already cleared out the Halloween paraphernalia to make way for the Christmas decorations!! Can't we get one holiday out of the way before thinking about the next one? Good Grief Charlie Brown!

Give me some respect!

Emily and Gloria are attending a new school this year. Transitioning from a private Christian school to a public school has been a positive experience. Gloria has done beautifully. She is ahead of her class in reading and spelling and is doing well, with the exception of a check here and there (checks are disciplinary marks). Emily misses her friends, but she is developing new friendships and fitting right in.

One day last week Emily and her friend, Charlee Davis, were summoned over the loudspeaker to report to the office immediately. She said that her first thought was 'Oh no, what did I do?' When Emily and Charlee had arrived, they were informed that they had been nominated by their teacher for the character trait award of the month, Respect. Whew!

Bailey Lu

I feel the need to record the happenings in our family. Just about everyday I say to myself, "I'd better write this down somewhere". Now that we've outgrown the baby books and my written journal doesn't get used much, this seems like a great solution.

My first post is about Miss Bailey Louise. She is nearly 4 months old!! Auntie Amy got to babysit yesterday. I picked her up around 11 - we went downtown to meet Gran for lunch. I bumbled around trying to open doors, running into everything with the stroller. It took me 10 minutes to get out of the car!! Gloria is only 7, but it seems like a lifetime since I have toted around a baby and all of the gear. Speaking of gear, I'm amazed by the technology... a temperature gauge in the stroller? Good grief!

After hearing, 'What a cute baby boy!', I immediately told Mom that we needed to put that child in some pink so that she would not be mistaken for a boy again. We went to Neiman Marcus and found the cutest little outfit, complete with shoes to match. She loved it!! I'm not sure she's worn shoes yet... she was fascinated by them.

I've never seen a baby smile so much. You just look at her, and she lights up. What a precious baby! She's so laid back - just like her parents. After our outing, we came home just in time to have a bottle. As I sat in the chair feeding her, I fell asleep!