Snowmageddon

The view from our street today:

Some sainted neighbor shoveled our walk AND driveway!  Wm and I went out and played until we were wet and cold.  Thank god it's not a work/school day!

Baby Steps

Well, we are baby stepping our way back to normalcy.  The door guy came today and put in our new door.  But, the foam has to expand or something before he reframes it, I guess.  So it looks hideous for now.  He's returning Monday to finish it.  It does look a lot better than the boarded up and broken old door! And this one is a steel door that we reinforced with steel frame/lock guards.  He said they'd have to kick in the wall to get through that thing (then, helpfully pointed out that they'd just throw a brick through a window to get in - but said that's "unlikely" as burglars are "wimps.")

Just for funsies, here is Wm with green fangs he won at the bowling alley yesterday:

And here he is playing the keyboard Guy is letting him borrow.  He loves to mix a good beat.

Wm's Latest...

Steve was telling the story about when a tornado hit Niles when he was a kid.  Wm says, "Was it an F-1?" And Steve goes, "No, it was definitely worse than that - it destroyed a lot of stuff!" Then he went on to describe the damage.  Wm goes, "Maybe an F-3.  I know it wasn't an F-5.  An F-5 tornado is capable of picking up trains and the winds are over 300 miles per hour."  

Interestingly, we looked it up and the one that hit Niles WAS an F-5!  

Post Christmas

Christmas wasn't over after we opened at home - we went over to Mimi and Guy's later in the day for even more Christmas!  When we got home, Steve looked at all Wm's presents scattered all over the house and he goes, "man...that kid is spoiled - we may have gone overboard." Wm screamed from the other room, "NO!"  So he clearly did not agree.

Present-palooza at Mimi's!

One happy kid

Playing the table ping pong set Guy got Wm for Xmas!

As you can see from the above pic, we are still without back door.  We are hoping now that Christmas is over, we may be able to get one up there soon!  Hopefully by the end of this week.  Other than that, all we have to do is send a bunch of paperwork to insurance to get reimbursed for everything, then everything will be done.

We got a big 'ole snow storm today.  We drove all around in the Subaru and it handled great.  But, even with that, it was SCARY out.  Thankfully, we didn't have to go far and didn't have to go to work!  Wm had a blast playing outside.  We had a snowball fight, made snow angels, had a failed attempt to make a snowman, and shoveled the driveway and sidewalks.  I think I will be feelin' that tomorrow!

Christmas '12!

Wm was up and at 'em at 6:15.  Steve was a real crab about getting up - and when we came downstairs I discovered why!

LEGOS!!!!!!

Skylanders!

A ninja hat.  Wm says this was a fail.  He was not impressed.

Our present from Wm - an ornament

More fancy athletic pants - just what Steve needs!

My present - and why Steve was so tired

The end result.  And Wm building away.

I made vegan cinnamon rolls for breakfast

Wm says he is having a great Christmas so far. Although, Santa got him a Skylander he already has (Wm goes, "I'm surprised he didn't know that.")  But, he got the Lego set he most wanted, so he is currently busy putting that together.

Steve was also pleased.  He said he was ready to "put on his game face" when he opened his gift.  But I sneakily found these ridiculously expensive athletic pants he wanted for sale nearly half off.  So he could be authentically happy!  He is currently back in bed asleep, another Christmas present: uninterrupted sleep.

I, too, am happy as a clam!  I have been asking Steve if we could paint our orange fireplace since we moved in.  He has never been game.  I have been pining for this really pretty painting (the pic above does not do it justice).  So, after I went to bed last night, Steve stayed up super late and painted the fireplace a gorgeous green.  Then, he crept down this morning when it was dry and put up the painting he had bought!  Yay Steve!

Our thoughts are also with Griffin, who has to spend Christmas in the hospital.  I'm sure Drew and Jess are making it as special as they can under the circumstances.  And Santa doesn't skip the hospital!  

Lastly, Wm surprised us again this morning!  We were talking about dust mites and my allergies and Wm goes, "did you know there are more dust mites in an average bedroom than people on the planet?" Again...looked it up - he is correct.  And....EW.

Christmas Eve

We've had a busy Christmas Eve!  Wm and I made Christmas cutout cookies.  I had to make them vegan, so the came out sort of weird looking - like extra puffy.

But then we tasted them and they were the BEST sugar cookies EVER!  Yay for being dairy-free!  They were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and super good!  Steve has been stealing them all day.  He said they are the best he has ever tasted.

The finished product and Crazy Willie

Then Papa and Great Papa came over to celebrate Christmas with us.  Wm got all sorts of awesome presents!!  He is one happy boy!

Wm is also a freakish genius.  Great Papa and I were talking about the Model T and Wm pipes up from across the room, where he was building his Lego set and totally uninvolved in the conversation, and goes, "The Model T was the first street car.  It was invented by Henry Ford in 1908."  I had to look up the year - and he was right! I asked how he knew that and he goes, "I read it somewhere."  

Apocalypse

Well, it looks like the apocalypse isn't happening.  Much to my surprise. BUT, in other news, we FINALLY got our first snowfall!  And The 'Bu handled it super well!  In fact, I got to work and was kind of disappointed that the roads weren't more treacherous so I could try it out better - came to find out the roads were pretty slick and there were accidents everywhere.  I didn't even know!  When Steve texted me after he got to work and asked, "are you OK?" I had no idea what he was talking about.  Woot!

Wm wrote us a very nice Christmas note.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Merry Christmas! And happy holidays! 

I'm glad you're with me for Christmas.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

You're on the nice list this year! Santa knows

you're on the nice list! He really does know!

I love you infinity more than anything.

Love you forever,

William

Adorbs, right? We are all officially on winter break now!  Steve is off most of next week, I'm off until Jan 2, and Wm is off until Jan 7!  It's a party up in here!!!

In robbery updates, we have picked out an alarm to get, Steve went to Lowe's and got some goods - but the door people are standing us up, so we are still left with a nailed shut back door - and that may be the case until after Christmas now! Steve is currently calling around to see if we can get someone else out here.

Burgled

Everyone probably already knows that our house got broken into yesterday.  Which was...no fun.  So I won't rehash it.  Everything is pretty OK now.  We all slept fine (including Wm!) last night and are getting things back on track.  Wm was mostly concerned about getting his iPad back.  This morning before work, I stopped at the OSU store and got him a new one (thank you, insurance).  I told him it's even fancier because it's an iPad 2 instead of an iPad 1 like we had before.  He's happy as a clam.  The first thing he said after walking out of school was, "did you get me an iPad?" then ran home and has been contentedly playing it all afternoon.  So, Wm is pretty much set.  I think the fact that Steve and I made sure to be really calm and confident about the whole thing helped ("That's pretty crumby, eh? But, good thing it will NEVER happen again because we are getting steel doors and an alarm.  So, we are all totally safe and get awesome new stuff.") Wm never saw us get agitated, so he never got agitated.  

The biggest annoyance is that they stole our computer that has all sorts of personal things on it (spent my day changing passwords to everything) and pictures/documents that we didn't back up.  Lesson learned, I guess.  I brought my work laptop home and we are using that until we can get a new one.  Which will DEFINITELY be a Mac.  I have to give a major plug to Apple.  I got the new iPad and could not figure out how to get all our stuff back on it.  It kept telling me to plug it in to my computer to restore it...which was stolen.  So I called Apple and told them I was robbed and have nothing and want all my goodies back anyway.  In 2 minutes, they had walked me through it and I have my iPad completely restored.  In fact, the guy goes, "while you have me on the phone, what other questions do you have about anything?" so I asked him some random stuff and the iPad is even better than before!  I'm a Mac person for life.  Best customer service EVER.  My favorite part, when the customer service rep answered and I said, "How are you?" his response was, "Livin' the dream!"  Ha!

The door guy will be here any minute to give us an estimate on replacing our doors.  The police said a dog is the best security system.  But, not only do I not want a dog...but I am allergic to them.  So I asked Wm if he wanted a dog, just curious, and he goes, "no, I want a cat."  I told him I wanted a guard dog and Wm says, "just get a guard cat." 

Tortured Husband

Me: [attempting to kiss Steve]
Steve: What stinks?
Me: Oh.  It's probably my face. I read apple cider vinegar is a great toner.
Steve: Good god.  You reek. You smell like a pickle.
Me: Hmph.  Whatever.  It said the smell will fade quickly. Give me a kiss!
Steve: Fiiiiine.
Me: Wait. [BURP]
Steve: I love you so hard right now, Cory.
Aaaaaand, that is why Steve is hilarious and I am disgusting stinky sack (in my defense, I had just drank some fizzy juice and I will have awesome pores).

Wm is also hilarious...
Wm: Daddy, are you EVER going to re-grout the bathroom tiles?
Steve: Did you tell him to say that?
Me: I seriously didn't.
Wm: They just look all dark and moldy.  So you need to do that, Daddy.
Steve: I WILL.  Jeez. I planned to do it this weekend.
Wm: All you do is sit around on the couch...like a rock...watching sports.
Steve: Uhhhhh...ow.  Really?
Me: YES. A MILLION TIMES YES, WILLIAM.
The best part is that all Steve really does is play with Wm.  He hardly ever gets to sit around until after Wm is in bed.  But it is still the funniest thing ever for Wm to say.

Poor Steve.  On his birthday weekend, no less.

Birthday Boy

Happy birthday to Steve!  36!!  I can't believe it!  He did not like it when I pointed out he's closer to 40 now than 30.  He's in his "late 30's."  While I am still reveling in my early 30's.

Wm picked out some decorations (note Steve's "Birthday Boy" ribbon pin that Wm made him wear all day).

And Steve got a fancy soccer jersey he was pretty excited about:

Tonight Steve and I are going out to a fancy dinner and to see Argo.  Steve is pretty pumped!  It's not often he gets to pick the restaurant AND the movie!

Lastly, Wm got an awesome Santa hat...

Basketball Pics!

I finally got some pictures of Wm at basketball practice!  His first game in January 5, so I'll get some uniform shots too.  The small uniform is giant, so he'll look hilarious in it.  Wm made his first basket at practice this week!

Wm came home with a nice note from the teacher yesterday!

And we had a hilarious conversation on the way home from school yesterday...

Wm: How many stars are in the sky?

Me: Only god knows.

Wm: There is no god.  That is a myth.

Me: So you don't believe in god?

Wm: Nope.

Me: Me either.  Do you believe in Santa?

Wm: Uh, yeah.  Totally.  He brings me presents.

Me: So you believe god is a myth but Santa is real?

Wm: Yes.  Santa brings me presents.  God doesn't do anything.

Me: Seems legit.  But....what if someone else is bringing you presents?

Wm: Like who?

Me: I dunno....Daddy?

Wm: Haha!  He would.  He does love a good prank.  Nah...I still think it's Santa.  

You may notice a decrease in posts.  My minion quit this week.  She got a really good job managing a graduate program in the College of Medicine, so it's a good move for her.  But now I'm scrambling to hire someone new.  And I have to teach her horrible class in the spring!  I hate teaching.  So I will be very busy and very grumpy. Steve is looking forward to it.

Weekend Wrap-up

Wm had a great weekend.  He actually hit the rim at basketball practice (I, again, did not take any pictures due to my love of gab), he had his friend over for a loooong playdate (and they got to go bowling!), he got to see Suzanne (he was all, "I want to see Suuuuuuzanne!!!!!"), and he got to do lots of Christmas shopping.  But we are now all exhausted.

Wm had been in bed for about 3 minutes - so not nearly long enough to fall asleep - and he goes, "DADDY!  I am having bad dreams!"  Steve calls up and tells him to listen to his Christmas music and think happy thoughts about Santa coming soon.  Wm yells back down and says the only thing that will help is if Daddy comes to sleep with him.  Steve calls back up and says it's not happening and he needs to get to sleep and stop procrastinating.  There's a little pause and Wm goes, "can I at least just look at you one time?"  Of course, Steve can't ignore that pitiful request, so up he went.  And, as soon as he got up there, Wm told him he wanted a hug.  Steve leaned over and Wm clamped his little arms around Steve's neck in an iron grip and goes,  "SLEEEEEEEP WITH MEEEEEEEE!!!!!"  He's wily, that Wm.

Steve just asked me, "what are you furiously typing over there, champ?"
Then, he saw a commercial for some movie and says with serious intensity, "God...I hate Tom Cruise.  I just see him and think 'I really hate you.'"
He cracks me up.

Man Cold

Steve has a VERY SLIGHT man cold.  Heard just this morning (and it's 10:30AM)...
Steve: [moan]
Steve: My fwoat hurts
Steve: I think I'm dying.
Steve: [sigh] [cough] [moan]
Steve: I think I'm having a heart attack.
Me: Why?
Steve: I feel weak. And sweaty.  And sort of swimmy.
Me: Shut it.
Steve: I'm DYING!
Steve: [sniff] [moan]
Steve: Ahhh...ohhhhh...my glands!  They're swollen!
Steve: My throat...is on FIRE.
Steve: Oh god.  Ohhhhh...I'm definitely dying.
Me: My throat is a little scratchy too, ya know. It's fine.
Steve: I don't have a cold.  I am clearly DYING.  [moooooooan]

Also, this man cold is making Steve a bit crabby...
Me: Ugh.  I have a big, huge zit on my chin from my evil PMS hormones.
Steve: Yeah, that is hideous.  I can't believe you're going out looking like that.  [evil laugh]
Me: Oh, really?  Well, I guess you can take Wm to basketball by yourself and socialize with all the other parents...ALONE.
Steve: You look BEAUTIFUL. You can hardly see it.  What zit?
Me: That's what I thought.

Texting

Wm sent his first text today. It was mostly pictures, but he did tell Steve he loved him too! I told him that when he has his own phone one day, I am going to text the hell out of him and he made a disgruntled face. He has no idea...

Terribly

Wm: Can we play a game with matches?
Me: Um....no.
Wm: Why not?
Me: We are not playing with matches!
Wm: NO.  Matches - like when two things match each other.
Me: OH!  Yes, we can do that.
Wm: Although, a game that involves fire does sound more fun.

Wm has also taken to peppering the word "terribly" into every other sentence. Some examples from today:
"This spaghetti is terribly hot."
"This shoe is pinching my foot terribly."
"The iPad is being terribly slow."
I pretty much love it.  He sounds like he should be smoking a pipe, wearing an ascot and smoking jacket, and reading leather bound first editions of Great Expectations in front of a hearth.  Wm is terribly funny.

He is PUMPED for tomorrow.  After basketball his friend is coming over for the whole afternoon while his parents go out to see Cirque De Soleil.  Wm said he wants his friend to stay overnight for a sleepover. When I asked if he wanted to go over there for a sleepover sometime, he goes, "no - I like sleeping in my own bed."  Damn.

Card

Just when I thought Steve didn't care - he sent me this:

Sixteen Candles

Wm HATES this sweater, but I think it is adorable.  So, I set it out for him to wear this morning and he was all, "I don't like it!  It is embarrassing! I just want to wear a long sleeve tshirt!  I am warm blooded - I don't need a sweater!"  Using my wiles (sad face and pleading eyes and saying, "I would feel so much better all day knowing you were warm....") I got him to wear it!  I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

Note his twig legs.  Cutest.

Today is the 16 year anniversary of when Steve and I started dating.  Steve doesn't give a flying fig about said anniversary.  He says it's "not important anymore" since we got married.  Yeah...meanest guy ever.  But, he did agree to some "anniversary celebratory poses" this morning.

Shooting the anniversary lighting

I think he's trying to run away...

No idea what's happening here....

or here so much

SIXTEEN YEARS, MAN!  That's a long time.  Steve pointed out this morning that if he had knocked me up with an illegitimate lovechild, they would now be getting their driver's license.  He's such a romantic.

In other interesting news, the neighbors came over and knocked on the door a little after 3:30 yesterday and said there was a squirrel in their house.  So Steve went over and captured the squirrel.  He returned home, triumphant, and no sooner had said, "hopefully there was only one!" than the doorbell rang again.  There was, in fact, another.  Their kids were screaming and crying and this squirrel proved to be much more elusive. So the women and children stayed at our house and, after the arrival of the other husband, the menfolk spent HOURS trying to get that squirrel out.  It was quite the event.  I told Steve he could now have his own reality show.  STEVE: Squirrel Hunter.

Acronym

Wm: I know what an acronym is.
Steve: What is it?
Wm: Letters that stand for something.
Steve: Can you think of any acronyms?
Wm: COSI.  Center for Science and Industry.
Steve: Good! Any others?
Wm: DSW.  Designer Shoe Warehouse.
Me: THAT'S MY BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I may have dragged Wm to DSW one too many times.)

Snuggles

It was a rainy, dark morning and I was laying in bed, not wanting to get up this morning.  Wm walked in and got in bed with me and goes, "I want to snuggle."  So we were laying there listening to the rain and cuddling and I go, "will you still want to snuggle with me forever?" Wm thinks about for a minute and goes, "No."  I ask, "why not???" and he says, "I don't think I'll want to snuggle anymore when I am in my teens."  I guess he is at least preparing me for that eventuality.

Wm also had his first basketball practice yesterday!   He LOVES his coach (a lady coach!) and his BFF is on his team, so he is loving basketball.  I didn't get any pictures because I was too busy gabbing with other parents.  Then, we took Wm and his friend out to lunch with the other parents after practice.  So, Wm had the time of his life.  He says basketball is much better than soccer.  This is funny since he came nowhere near even getting the basketball at the rim the entire practice.  He would scream, "Look!!  I hit the bottom of the net!!" and that was a success.

Meanwhile, Wm found a zombie hat that is hilarious:

Turtle

Wm was very sad because his school has always had a big turtle out front, but since they finished the construction, the turtle was missing. But, just this week...the turtle showed up!  Wm wanted to go climb all over it with some friends after school.  It was super adorable.

Lotto

Steve bought a lottery ticket today.  At dinner, he asked what the first thing I'd buy would be if we won.  I said I had no idea at all.  I said I would like to buy an awesome cottage someplace where I could have a goat.
Wm: You don't want a goat.  It will butt you in the butt and you will fly through the air.  I saw it.  It's real.  That's what they do. [pause] I would buy the Death Star.
Steve: The Death Star.  Nice. Anyway, where would you like to have this cottage?
Me: I don't know - I picture it in the French countryside.  But I don't want to learn to speak French. I guess I could hire a full time translator to just follow me around and tell me what everyone is saying.
Steve: I'd want to live someplace warm.
Me: Maybe I would buy a first class plane ticket to Scotland and enough drugs to keep me unconscious the whole flight.
Steve: Not the Caribbean.  I don't want to deal with hurricanes.
Wm: I would build my house in China.  That's where they make everything.
[pause]
Steve: I'd buy a Porsche.

Healthy(ish)

Wm's stomach yucks tore through the family like Sherman through Georgia.  For Steve and I, it was just horrible nausea.  We are both feeling mostly better, but weird waves of nausea still hit us both.  Wm's tummy has been better for a few days, but he got a monster cough Tuesday that sounded like TB.  Thankfully, neither Steve nor I got that one! And, he seems better this morning.  So everyone is back at work and school.

Despite all the many ailments circulating around our house, we had a great Thanksgiving!!  We went up to NE Ohio and Mimi and Guy came along.  It was a really good time and we all had a blast!  The food was amazing and the company was great.  We did lots of driving so Sicklypants could sleep in his own bed, but we got to do it in the new wheels and were home before 10PM, so it wasn't bad.  And totally worth it! It ended up being good, anyway, since I spent Thursday night camped in front of the potty.  Fun times.

I did manage to make Wm a homemade body butter with shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, and jojoba oil.  It turned out great!!  And, it is keeping Wm's eczema totally under control.  I will beat it this winter!

The Irritable Bowels of Wm

Poor Wm has been having tummy trouble since Friday.  He kept saying his tummy hurt, was hardly eating, but otherwise seemed OK.  He was acting normal, playing, and didn't seem to be sick.  But then the Terrible, Awful, Very Bad Bowel of Wm rebelled.  Since Wm finds diarrhea HILARIOUS, he sits in the bathroom, sick, like it's a comedy show.  You'll hear horrible sounds emerge and then a pause, and then uproarious laughter.  Wm is the only kid I know who yucks it up through a tummy bug.

He insisted that he was OK to go to school yesterday, so he went.  But when I picked him up, his lunch was totally untouched and when I asked if he REALLY felt better, he said that his tummy did, in fact, still hurt.  He woke up this morning insisting he felt better and could go to school, but then went into the bathroom - and based on what I heard in there, I came right downstairs and called him off.  I am FORCING him to sit on the couch and watch cartoons all day. He keeps trying to get up and bounce all around, but I am vigilant! (He even asked if he could clean his room!  That's desperation.) I will keep that kid down if it kills me.  It's actually annoying to have a kid who will lie about his health status so he can go to school.  It makes it hard to determine if/when he is actually too sick to go.  But, he is currently watching Ninjago cartoons and playing online chess.  So, he's having a grand time.

Happy

Steve was quietly watching TV on the couch next to me when I flicked his earlobe with all my might in a malicious and unprovoked manner.

Steve: REALLY?

Me: I'm sorry!!! But I have PMS and it makes me happy to bother you.

Steve: You must be happy ALL the time.

Poet

Wm had to do an acrostic poem for homework tonight.  ("Acrostic poem" is a fancy way of saying 'take someone's name and write a descriptive word with each letter.'") He was goes, "what should I do?"  I say, "You should do Cory!  Here...C is for 'cool,' O is for 'ornery,' R is for 'rad,' and Y is for-" at which point Wm interrupted me and yells, "YAPPY!" And the crowd (Steve) loved it.

So then I said I would do one for Steve and when I got to N, Wm yelled, "NEGATIVE!" Wm is hitting on all cylinders tonight!

El Presidente

Wm really liked the presidential election and decided to have a family election.  Mostly through voter fraud and intimidation, I was voted Family President. Wm wrote a Family Constitution and one stipulation was that the term limit was 4 days and then a new president would be elected.  I did not like that plan, so I led a military coup and became the Family Dictator.  Wm was appointed Generalissimo.  He took it seriously and got a helmet and laser gun to keep the "peasant" in line (Steve = the peasant).  

The family is now controlled by a military junta.  Namely, William and I.  But, honestly, the junta is having a really hard time keeping the peasant in line.  He keeps trying to rebel and is, overall, something of a dissident.  For instance, he has already refused the first law we enacted: unlimited and on-demand foot rubs of El Presidente. I may sentence him to hard labor in the yard (see: raking).

Conference

We had Wm's parent/teacher conference last night and it was definitely a change of pace!!!  Not one word was said about his behavior.  So after the teacher goes over all his academic stuff, and was just all, "OK - bye!" Steve and I were like, "ummmm...so everything is just good, you don't want to yell at us at all?" She said Wm is a "kind and generous member of their classroom community."  She did say she noticed his need for movement, but it doesn't bother her and she knows he's always paying attention.  So she just lets him do his thing.  SCORE!!!!  No wonder Wm LOVES her and is having the best year ever!

Great Day!

Wm had a GREAT day! He got his school pictures - in which he looks super cute:

And he got his first 1st grade report card.  Which was SUPER!  We are used to kindergarten report cards filled with nastiness about his "wiggles." But this one was 100% positive.  Wm is already more than halfway through the first grade reading levels, his literacy is "advanced" and he is far ahead in Math.  That is all relatively typical of Willie Report.  But, what is different is that all his "social grades" are either S or E (satisfactory or excellent).  No "improvement needed" or "unsatisfactory" at all!!! We are taking His Cuteness out to dinner to celebrate!

Perseverance

Wm was sitting quietly at the table eating a snack.  I was in the kitchen cooking dinner.  I decided to sneak up on him and try to scare the bejesus out of him.  So I started creeping up all stealth-like.  Wm spotted me and goes, "I SEE YOU!"  I ran back into the kitchen, waited a few minutes, then tried again.  Wm again screamed, "I SEE YOU!"  Dejected, I went back into the kitchen and just gave up.  A couple minutes later, Wm walked in, patted me on the arm and goes, "Don't give up! You have to have perseverance, Mommy."

Green

We were headed out today and Wm put on his green fleece jacket, green gloves, and green striped hat and then says, "check me out...I'm goin' green!"

Hoops

Wm has decided he wants to play basketball and is all signed up for the session that starts after Thanksgiving!  Well, really, when we first asked if he wanted to play, he said "NO!"  But then his friend asked if he would play and be on his team, so then Wm decided that was a grand plan and is now all in.  Captain Tinypants should be fun to watch. Wm luuuuurves his friend.  He woke up this morning, got out of bed, came into my room, shook me awake and goes, "Can N come over?"  I was like, "Dude - it's 7:30. I'm not calling his house until at least 10AM."  So then at 15 minute intervals until 10AM, Wm would ask, "is it time yet?"  Finally, at 10, I called.  No answer.  Then, the question became, "has N's dad called you back yet?"  After that, we set up the playdate for 1PM.  As would be expected: "is it 1PM yet?" despite the fact he is perfectly capable of looking at the clock. At 12:50, Wm went out and sat on the porch to keep watch.  When N rolled up at 1:04, Wm was beside himself over this 4 minute tardiness.  Wm has created a playdate agenda that includes Skylanders, Lego-building, and the playground.  I told N's dad we would return him once they had gotten through the agenda in its entirety.

Meanwhile, Steve is at work all weekend.  Which sucks for him.  Wm and I slept in, snuggled in the warm bed, had slabs of bread with chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella-like, but all natural and dairy free) for breakfast, went to Graffiti Burger for lunch.  Poor Steve.

Wm is impressing me what he's learning in math!  Today at lunch he informed me that some angle was obtuse.  When I asked if he knew what that meant, he goes, "of course...an angle that is greater than 90 degrees - but a right angle is exactly 90 degrees."  I go, "well, you are a-CUTE angle."  Wm sighs and goes, "Mommy...an acute angle is less than 90 degrees."

Happy Halloween!

Wm said today was "one of the best days of his life."  Steve works this weekend, so he was off today.  That meant both Steve and I could go to Wm's school Halloween party.  And Mimi was there to watch the parade (in the cold!) It was quite the adventure!  Then, he went trick or treating with his BFF this evening.  Despite the cold, sleety rain, they had SO MUCH fun!  Then, the boys came back here and divvied up candy and watched Ninjago videos while they ate their allotted pieces.  Then, we went to Mimi's to show off Wm's costume and get even more candy.  On the drive home, Wm spent the entire time talking about what an awesome day he had.  

Wm and Friend battling

The class Halloween party

The whole class!

Steve: Pumpkin Whisperer

Here is the pumpkin Steve carved this year.  Himself.  Freehand.  He didn't use any of those pre-made things at all.  He drew it on a piece of paper, then carved it onto the pumpkin.  I was super impressed.  

Genius

Wm laughed at some cartoon he was watching and then told Steve that a character on there thought a parallelogram was a triangle.  Then he goes, "a shape has to have the same number of sides and vertices."  Steve looks and me and goes, "do you even know what a vertex IS?"  Burn.  But, I was so impressed, I asked Wm to repeat it.  I got a little out of him before he rocked himself off the ottoman.



Wm had a substitute teacher today.  Apparently she was Chinese and taught the kids to count to ten in Mandarin.  Wm said she shared that she had only been in the US for a little over a year.  He came home with a piece of paper with a bunch of Mandarin written on it and was all excited about what he learned about China.  So I go, "The sub sounds awesome!  What was her name?" Wm says, "Mrs. Johnson."

Autumn

I was driving up our street the other day and the trees made this amazingly colorful tunnel that was gorgeous.  I tried to take a picture of it, but it didn't turn out well.

Not representative of the Full Fall Glory

I was feeling full of autumnal joy.  Yesterday was super sunny and 78.  This was a great fall.  Then, I saw the forecast.

When fall started sucking

We will have to plan some indoor activities for next week.  Note: Wednesday is trick or treat.  Wm will be super pissed about having to wear a coat, I am sure!  And, you are seeing that right, folks - SNOW on Tuesday!  Ghost will be getting her first trail (Wm says Ghost is a girl).  She seems to handle rain slicked roads like a champ!

Mimi brought over a giant box for Wm to play with this week.  Steve and Wm spent all last night making it into this amazing fort.  It actually looks like a livable little shanty now (when I pointed this out, Steve was insulted and said it's not a shanty, it's a FORT).  They have added a drawbridge, windows, a periscope, and mounted telescope.  It's not complete yet, but I will be sure to take pictures!  

Again...

It's becoming a nightly ritual

Wm asked to watch something on Netflix with me this evening, so I talked him into and episode of this BBC series called Primeval because it has dinosaurs in it.  One of the guys in it is majorly hot.  So, as we're watching, Wm goes, "that army guy looks cool."  And I say, "yeah, I think he's pretty cute!" Wm goes, "me too!"  We kept watching and the guy appears to eaten by a dinosaur (don't worry, he made it out!) and Wm goes, "Oh no!  Did the cute guy just die?"