Just in case you think we've gone to the beach (wouldn't that be nice?), this is a photo from last summer. This is Kate when she thinks she is being clever.  Tonight, after being "in bed" for an hour (she was goofing around and playing in her room, but I generally choose not to fight that battle), she came downstairs.  Here's our conversation:

Me:  Go to bed, Kate.
Kate:  Mom, I need to tell you something.
Me:  Make it fast.
Kate:  Well.....it's a few things.  It might take a little while.
Me:  Get going then.
Kate:  I love you...  And you are pretty...  And you have beautiful hair...  And I like your earrings...  And your sweater...  And I really, really like your......(long pause, thinking face).....couch.
Me:  My couch?
Kate (giggling):  Yes, the couch. (fit of giggles ensues).  Goodnight Mom.
Me:  Goodnight Kate.  I love you.
Kate:  I know that Mom.

She cracks me up.  Daily.

Today is Jane's birthday!  Wow...it's hard to believe it has been seven years.  She started out so tiny - 4 pounds, 13 ounces - and now she is so big.  So big!  She is my sweet girl - really, she is so nice.  She is helpful and considerate, thoughtful and kind.  She looks just like her daddy, but has her mommy's creative side.  She is a great artist and, unlike me, she can carry a tune.  She is funny and good with the puns.  Her smile melts my heart - it is full of genuine, childhood innocence.  She is at such a lovely age, I wish I could bottle it and put it on the shelf so I would always have her as she is right now.  Wishful thinking, I know.  Oh, I love this little girl like no other.  Happy Birthday Sweet Jane!

How I feel about Playmobil:

I hate strongly dislike putting it together.  It is easy, but it takes forever.  Like 2 1/2 hours forever.

But, I love it when it's finished!  It captivates the girls for days.  Yes, I said days.  Thank you Mimi and Papa for the zoo - Kate and I both love it!

My baby turns five today.  For whatever reason, I find this so bittersweet.  I know I was this way when Jane turned five, too.  It is such a little number signaling a big transition - Kate is no longer my baby, no longer my toddler, she is my child.  In her words, a big kid.

And what a big kid she is!  She is sweet and charming, stubborn and defiant, confident in her abilities, but scared of the dark.  She has a beautiful smile and an endless curiosity.  Her imagination amazes me:   I have never met a child with so many imaginary friends all who have their own complex stories that she keeps consistent when changing them constantly.  She is so grown up and she is still so young.  I love the way she says, "Eeee" instead of "Um" when asking a question.  And how she talks out of the side of her mouth when she has something clever to say.  And how she has declared, at this young age, that she will go to Texas on her honeymoon.

Kate, I am blessed to have you.  You tolerate my singing, you keep me on my toes, you test my patience, you melt my heart, you help make my world go round.  Happy Birthday Big Girl!  You will always be my baby.  I love you, bug - more than you know!

We had a great time trick or treating!  Too much candy was consumed, but that's to be expected, right?

Here are a couple photos.  Before:

And after:

We got drenched!  Thank goodness I didn't go as the Wicked Witch of the West - I would have melted!

Back tomorrow with lots of handmade goodies!

Draw, cut, glue, color, write - this is what my kids like to do.  They are creating all the time.  Today started out with some Halloween-themed post-it notes turned into portraits.

Mr. and Mrs. Cat by Jane - I love the title and artist tag cut out of an index card.

Mr. Frankenstein by Kate - I think those are braces on his teeth.

Their friends, Bailey and Lilly, brought them each a blank notebook when they came over for a play date this afternoon.  Everyone in this house loves a new notebook!  They took their notebooks outside with a box of markers and a bag of crayons and intermittently drew and played for three hours.

Jane's outdoor nature study - funny how many of these things are not natural at all...and that phonetic spelling always makes me smile.

Jane's self-portrait - in reality, she only has about three freckles all on her nose.

Kate's drawing - of what, I am not sure, but I love the color combination and she did tell me she was practicing some lower case letters.  Not too shabby for a 4 1/2 year old.

When their friends left, they moved inside.  I found this in Jane's notebook.

And when they were finished, they left this behind:

I will admit that the mess drives me crazy.  It is constant.  I feel like once we get it cleaned up, it reappears almost instantly.  However, I am so happy that they are creative and that they enjoy exploring different crafts that it really doesn't matter.  Not a bit.  They have so much still to learn and so many different doors open to them.  My wish is that they never lose this curiosity and creative spark.  I hope that they always will want to explore new media and new subjects.  That in some way, shape or form, they will always be artistic.  I know it will serve them well because it has for me.

Success!  I finished the Dorothy costume with time to spare.  And even better, Jane loves it!  She was giddy with anticipation as we braided her hair and got ready to go to the party.  She spent quite a few minutes in front of the mirror, twirling around and admiring her shoes.  Doesn't she look cute?

The costume came together surprisingly well.  I had a few issues with the zipper.  I am not sure what the problem was, as I have successfully sewn zips many times.  It was close to 11:00 at night and my eyesight was getting a bit blurry - that might have had something to do with it.  I finally stopped caring after try number two, repeating to myself, "It is only a costume."  But overall, it looked difficult, but really was pretty easy.

But in the end, the zipper came back to haunt me.  Jane had a little mishap in the jumpie - one of her buttons got caught in the mesh side.  Her friends literally ripped her free.

I don't know if she was more upset that the dress had ripped or that people could see her back.  Not to worry - it is all fixable.  The rips are on the seams and can be easily re-sewn.  I'll just have to deal with that zipper one more time.  Wish me luck.

One costume has been cut out (!) and apparently we are off to see the wizard this year.

J is going to be Dorothy and K is going to be Glinda, the Good Witch.  They really want me to be the Wicked Witch of the West.  I'm not dressing up this year, but if I were going to I'd choose the Wicked Witch of the East.  She had much better shoes!