Sloths and the Bloggers Who Post Like Them

OMG Halloween was a LIFETIME ago. I'm sitting here on the couch watching Season 3 of Daredevil (it's pretty good, but we watched The Bodyguard last week and it was SO good I wish James would ever let us re-watch something) and it's only 9 p.m. but it feels like midnight. But I am UNDAUNTED by the darkness surrounding me and the new book by Jeaniene Frost calling me from my kindle (I always loved Ian from the Cat and Bones series, and not just because I love the name Ian and never got to use it). I got sidetracked, it feels so late- let's go back to Halloween.

Retired from another great season

After a gorgeous few days Halloween had a 100% chance of thunderstorms and no one was excited about it. We pressed on with the preparations to head to our friend's house for dinner and pre-gaming and a few ritual sacrifices to stop the storms.

But first! The traditional picture in front of the house with our crew:

Landon's costume absolutely killed me. I have a short video of him walking around like the marshmallow man he was and it never fails to make me laugh. I also loved Claire's look and couldn't believe she actually wanted to dress up in a traditional costume this year. Usually she's some sort of "real" thing made from regular clothes she already owns, like a teacher (last year) or dancer (year before). She was very nearly a gymnast this year but was inspired by the Party City "Sparkle Witch" ensemble and was very excited about it. I bought more of the same hair chalk I used to become a mermaid (and used the same lip gloss; gotta justify the $3 I spent on it!) and I loved the pink.

And for Cora it was really just a regular Wednesday. I believe she was Ariel on Tuesday and Rapunzel on Thursday, but on Wednesday she was Princess Elena and very proud indeed.

James wore his whole ensemble. I told him the platforms might be a mistake for our whole trick-or-treating marathon, but he was determined.

I did not repeat the mermaid because the storms brought another 20 degree drop in temperature, so I rolled with my beloved ghost leggings, cat ears, and some more glitter around the eyes- I'm getting better at applying it and went with a brush rather then the "just throw it on my face" approach. It's all over my bathroom anyway.

Our friend's party was super fun (if indoors this year!) and I love the adults, just chilling casually in their every day attire.

We got our traditional kid pic. We have SO MANY of them.

And just as we were gathering for the picture and about to set out for trick-or-treating, kids, excited, and adults, resigned with their umbrellas and rain boots-- the rain stopped! The skies cleared! We took over the whole damn neighborhood.

Our friend J manned the beverage cart. "Do you need anything? I've got champagne, red wine, whiskey..." "Oh, I didn't bring an extra cup," I responded, wondering how quickly I could drink the hot toddy I had filled my yeti with before leaving home. "No problem," he replied, "I've got a whole stack of them!".

J is my favorite.

Somewhere along the million miles we walked around our neighborhood, Cora's candy basket got too full (even with refusing any candy that was not chocolate, she just said a cheerful "no thank you" to any homes offering fruity or sour candies and walked back down the path empty-handed. I could never convince her to touch the delicious abominations so I could have them.), Claire got bit by fire ants, Cora's shoes hurt, and Landon's blow-up costume fan stopped blowing. An enormously fun time was had by all.

We got back to our friend's with Claire bathed in cortisone cream, Cora in new shoes, and Landon stripped down to the shorts and shirt he was wearing under his sloth suit. It felt like 2 a.m. It was maybe 8:00. Candy trading began in earnest as soon as the kids walked in the door.

Not regulated by the SEC.

Thursday morning was PAINFUL. We weren't even out that late and I never had more than my hot toddy but something about being out midweek made Thursday hurt. The kids agreed, though Landon still made it to school by 7:30 to read the announcements because he is a cheerful and dedicated News Crew member. I decided it was a casual day at work and embraced the fall temps by breaking out some of my new fall wardrobe.

And these boots. I love them. Waterproof, so comfy, super cute, probably not actually work appropriate.

Also on Thursday, James's pool closed for a chemical issue, which sucked for him and his very precariously balanced lesson schedule, but he made the best of it and surprised Cora by picking her up with the big kids on their roller blades, pushing her bike with them. And so, she got to ride her big girl bike home, to the admiring claps of all her friends who were outside on the playground. She felt like an absolute rock star and I sort of started crying when James told me the story that evening.

That night as I tucked Cora in bed she sighed and said, "I really liked it when my friends clapped for me mom. It was so special for me."

Everyone should get claps once in a while.

Speaking of, the very next day I attempted a brand new headstand in yoga and when I discovered I could do it, I immediately went home and showed it to James for some claps of my own.

Arm-shaking not pictured

Five years into my yoga practice and there is truly no high greater than discovering your body can do something you previously believed to be impossible. It is such a gift.

That afternoon Landon went over to a friend's to spend the night, so the girls and I decided to get haircuts. It was only Cora's second haircut of her nearly 5 years but some of her curls were too long (and not evenly so) and it was time. She was very excited. The trim has rendered her curls even more magnificent and she didn't even seem too disappointed that her hair didn't immediately get longer like she was last time.

On Saturday we headed to Claire's volleyball game (another victory, though we have a ways to go before there is actual volleying), spent an hour and all the dollars at Costco, and then treated ourselves to chai tea lattes in some festive new cups.

After unloading all of Costco out of my Hyundai and into my kitchen, Landon came home and his friend stayed over. They had big plans to rake leaves (love them) and then they called me out to try to find them.

Adorable.

They spent the next 45 minutes raking ever-higher piles and jumping over them in genuinely impressive feats of athletic ability. I look forward to watching them both in track in a few years.

Later the girls got in on the fun. The giant oak tree is expensive to keep trimmed and occasionally likes to spit giant branches onto our driveway, but it is gorgeous and provides the kids with hours of fun on a fall day.

Sometime later on Saturday I decided it was time to clean out the playroom. A real clean out, like dumping out the bins and starting from scratch kind of cleanout. The kind that makes me hate everyone I live with and makes them all hate me too. Then we all bond over how much we love the results at the end. It's a special tradition.

Midway through is always the worst. I'd gone through all the books and nearly all the bins, had 2 bags of trash, 1 bag of giveaway, and 1 of recycle. I was appalled and disgusted. I needed a margarita. So we got one.

Today we went on a walk, we ran some errands, and I got back to organizing, giving the kids discrete tasks they handled very well. Almost/mostly.

James cleaned the back deck, had the kids scrub all the window sills (they look white again!), and cut down branches and had the kids haul them to the curb. I also taught barre. Somewhere in the middle Landon went to go climbing with a friend and he was so glad, though don't worry, we saved a few things for him when he got back. At 4:00 we were finished, inside and out, with 3 bags of stuff loaded into James's car to take to Goodwill. It was a VERY productive weekend- Halloween candy for everyone!

But my very favorite part, besides basking in the afterglow of a well organized space, was when the three kids were in the leaf pile and it reminded me of one of my favorite pictures from five years ago when our family of five was brand new. So we took another. And it makes my heart so happy.

It's hard to imagine we ever weren't a family of five, though that was true for the first seven years this blog existed. Five years ago baby Cora was almost here, and what incredible joy she was going to bring us all when she arrived! Even if she does perpetually shirk tasks being dutifully performed by her siblings while sneaking into the playroom mid-organization to rearrange all the books.

Happy Fall y'all! May your temps be cool and your yards be leafy (or not, depending on your preference). This is my favorite time of year.