This Post is Not About School Starting - It's about Halloween!

I have a lot I want to say about school starting next week.  My Bean is about to start Kindergarten.  My Little One is going to be in 5 morning/week preschool.

This makes me want to cry and/or throw up.

So, let's not talk about that today.  Maybe next week.  Maybe in 13 years when the Bean is leaving for college and going to Kindergarten seems easy by comparison.  Maybe never.

Instead, I want to talk about Halloween.  Yep...I said it.  Halloween, and it's not even September yet.   Remember, when you were a kid and spent months, months, leading up to October plotting and planning your perfect Halloween costume?  Well, I'm now on the receiving end of that plotting and planning.  I have always told my boys that I will endeavor to make whatever costume is the one that inspires them each year.  Last year, the Little One was dead set on being a snowman.  So, I made him a snowman costume.  In Florida.  Where it was 83 degrees at 8:00pm.  He had sweat running down the sides of his face and the inside of his costume was soaked, but he was so happy.  Everyone in the neighborhood loved his costume.  Of course they did!  Why wouldn't they?  How often do you see a snowman in Florida!? 

Because I do try to sew or otherwise craft together their costumes, I give them an October 1 deadline to have their choices in.  No mind-changing after that point, because Mommy needs time to make these crazy things you dream up into reality!

This year, I expected to be buying costumes.  No Spiderman, IronMan, Batman, Transformers costume I create is going to be as cool as the one Costco's got on the rack in the center aisle of the store (that we have to walk past every single time).   Price-wise...well, I can't compete there either.   Homemade is not always cheaper, or better.  The year they wanted to be firemen, I bought the Costco costumes.  $20 apiece, and they look like the real thing.  They still wear those things to play dress up, though the pants are more like shorts now.   Money well spent.

So, here I am, expecting the superhero requests to come rolling in.   So, I ask, "what do you guys think about Halloween this year?  Do you know what you'd like to be?"

YES!

The Little One would like to be a...hot dog.

The Bean would like to be a...box of Nilla Wafers.

Are you kidding me?!  Where do they dream this stuff up??  Maybe they were hungry and it's like when I go grocery shopping hungry.  I come home with all sorts of weird stuff and strange ideas for what's for dinner.

Meanwhile, I'll see you in the aisles of Jo-Ann's.  I've got to find some bun-colored fleece to stuff for a hot dog bun.  And a big box and lots of yellow paint...

Winter is Fun!

So, we've moved.  To Michigan.  From Florida. Just in time for the snowiest, coldest winter Michigan has seen in something like 40 years.

<insert joke here>

Really, though, we've been having a lot of fun.  With the exception of the absurdly low wind chills this week - it was -40 yesterday morning, and, as my husband put it, "this is an abomination."  The Bean and Little One are truly getting to experience snow for the first time and they love it.  We're lucky enough to have a big enough hill across the street from our house for sledding, and we're teaching the boys how to pack a proper snowball.  Their technique is pretty good already - Mommy!  Make me a snowball!  Daddy!  Stand still so I can throw this at you!

We've been talking about taking them to one of the local ski hills so we can get them on skis for the first time.  My husband is an avid skier and has been since he was 13.  (He would want me to be clear that he learned to ski on actual real mountains, and under normal circumstances, would only really ski on actual real mountains.  He wouldn't even consider putting on his skis for the local landfill-turned-ski hills we have in Michigan if we didn't have kids who want to learn!).   I learned to snowboard the first year we were dating and have gotten passably good at it, when I'm not falling off the lift as I fail to dismount gracefully.  Every time.  Then, we had kids and moved to Florida,  and the board and skis went into the closet.

Today, while moving some things around the storage room in our basement, I found the bag with our gear and hauled it out.

"Boys!  Come check it out!  This is my snowboard!  Pretty cool, huh?"

They come over and inspect my snowboard, my husband's skis, and our boots.  The Bean looks me up and down and says, eyebrows raised, "You can ride on that, Mommy?"

Yeesh - so skeptical.  Have a little faith in your mother.  I used to be cool before I had kids, you know!   "Yes, I can ride on that.  And Daddy is a very very good skier.  Would you guys like to learn?"
Both of them answer, "Yes!"  Then, the Bean remembers he's wearing a t-shirt he got for Christmas with a snowboarder on the front, flying through the air, X-Games style.  His eyes light up, "Mommy? Can you do this?" He points at his shirt.  Uh oh...too much faith in Mommy now!

"Uh...no.  Not quite exactly like that."
"Why not?  Can Daddy fly through the air on his skis like this?"  He's clearly still hoping one of his parents is as cool as he thought.
"I'm not sure.  Maybe you should ask him when he gets home."
The Little One chimes in, "If Daddy hits a rock on his skis he could fly through the air!"  Ah, the Little One!  I'm sure he didn't mean Goofy-style, but that's the image I have in my head now, with the trademark yaaaahooohoooohoooo echoing in the background.

I really can't wait to take these two out for the first time!  They probably won't see Daddy flying through the air, but they'll surely see Mommy falling on her rear, sliding down the hill on her back, head first.