our scarecrow

This is something I should have written about weeks ago but I’m such a blog slacker lately we did this month that was so much fun. We built our own scarecrow.

The build-your-own scarecrows from previous years are all over our town starting in late September. The kids love them. They scream “scarecrow!” each time we pass one driving through town. Literally. Scream. So when the build-your-own scarecrow day was here (the Saturday of our town Fall Festival) they were so excited that they were going to make their own scarecrow. I had to establish three simple rules first:

1. We’re only building one. Mommy only has 20 bucks to spend on straw and someone else’s used clothes donate to the rotary club.

2. Our scarecrow will be gender-neutral to keep the peace. The girls wanted to build a scarecrow lady and dress her in pink and purple with jewelry and a purse. Connor wanted a boy scarecrow with no pink and purple and definitely no accessories.

3. We need to work as a team. Connor…you pick the shirt. Emily…you pick the pants. Camryn…you pick the hat. Mommy won’t pick a thing and do her best not to care about any of your choices. The clothes do not need to match. The clothes do not need to match. (I had to repeat this to myself several times.)

Even the scarecrow had enough

e-a-g-l-e-s

This past Sunday I got to go to my first Eagles game in years, courtesy of my mom’s extra ticket, which was courtesy of my stepdad’s untimely gall bladder removal (sorry Paco).  The weather was perfect, traffic okay, parking not too bad and it was a win.  Can’t ask for much more than that. 

This was interesting

    View from the seats

Me ;)

Philadelphia and Citizen’s Bank Park (Let’s Go Phillies!)

Unfortunately the most memorable moment of the game was the hit that DeSean Jackson took.  As bad as it looked on t.v., it was ten times worse in person.  He didn’t move for what seemed like forever.  It was awful.

Jackson leaving the field

Kolb played great…got NFC Offensive Player of the Week.  Kind of ironic since Vick got NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September.  I’m wondering what Andy is going to do for their game against the Colts on November 7th and Vick is good-to-go.  Should be interesting.

jack-o-pie

Carl’s morning activity with the girls while Connor and I were at school/work.

potty talk with emily

Emily: Mom, I wish I was a boy.

Me: Why?

Emily: Because I wish I could just stand up and shoot pee out of a penis.

Me: Don’t we all Em.  Don’t we all.

soccer saturday

Today was the perfect morning for soccer. It was a beginning of Fall, sunny, jeans, 3/4 length sleeves and flip flops kind of morning. Beautiful. Connor’s games have been so much fun for all of us. He’s loving it…working hard, learning, gaining skills, scoring (that’s his favorite part). The girls are enjoying the games too but not for the soccer. They bring toys to play with and have made friends with other little sister’s who bring toys to play with. It’s just one big play date for them.

This picture makes me smile.

you’re rude

This face.  It’s the “You’re rude!” face.  Camryn says this multiple times per day, mostly to Connor and Emily, but I have also been on the receiving end.  I get it at times when she is corrected or not able to do or have something that she wants.  It’s especially fun when she yells it at me in Target when I tell her to stay in her seat.  For me, it’s usually accompanied by a very emphatic “No!”

Connor and Emily get the “You’re rude!” for a lot of different things: not sharing with her, arguing with her, taking something that she was about to play with, if they don’t do what she wants, bumping in to her and probably a dozen other things that I can’t think of right now.

Truth be told, I love it.  She’s asserting herself these days and I find it very cute and very funny. 

first days of preschool

Emily had two “first”days of preschool this past week.  Her first first day was Tuesday, I stayed with her, and it was an hour and a half.  Her second first day was Thursday, she stayed by herself, and it was two and a half hours.

The first day.  It was a breeze.  She played, talked to her teachers, watched the other kids (none of them really interacted with each other) and got the hang of the room.  They did a mini-circle time where they learned a poem and danced to a cd.  They learned the pre-snack bathroom routine, had snack and then we made a project together.  Easy.  We celebrated with a stop at Friendly’s for milkshakes.

The second day.  I could feel the anxiety in the air, probably mostly mine though.  She had been telling me the day before that she didn’t want me to leave preschool so I was anticipating a difficult drop-off.  I didn’t think she would cry a lot or grab on to me or anything like that, but I thought she might cry or tell me that she didn’t want me to leave.  Much to my surprise, and despite the screaming and kicking (literally) that another child was doing, she kissed and hugged me goodbye, found a book to read and I was on my way back to work.  I called the preschool about a half hour later to check on her.  I didn’t call when Connor entered preschool, even though he was apprehensive, but I had to call because of the other child.  That could be an entirely new blog…let’s just say that his behavior was slightly out of control and I was worried about her reaction.  The director happened to answer the phone in the classroom when I called and she gave me a minute by minute account of what Emily did since I left and how she was acting.  She was doing great.

Carl reported that she was positive about her afternoon when he picked her up.  Later that day she gave me more details about what she did at school.  She even told me that when I left, she wanted to cry but she didn’t.  She was proud of herself.  And I was proud of her too.