Halloween.....postponed???

So it's October 31st and we are recovering from a Nor'easter.

We have barely had time to rake up the leaves when our yard is covered in snow...

We feel lucky though because we still have power....and the kids love the snow...

that is until they hear Mom on the phone the next day saying

"trick or treating is postponed until Friday because of the snow".

 Now my kids have been wearing their costumes for over a week....and the look on Tyler's

face told me that we would be having Halloween here at 75 Brenda Drive.

Even though the town clerk called our house to tell us Halloween was cancelled....

that police are encouraging people to stay home and off the roads.....

Halloween would not be cancelled!!

A couple phone calls to the right neighbors and it was on......

We had some visitors to help us celebrate our own "illegal" Halloween.....

Uncle Gregory stopped by to take Ava for a ride and have a snack with Tyler and Denny the Dinosaur

A jet-lagged Logan Marie and Auntie made an appearance.....

and Baby Bentley came over to join in on the fun too.

It was like Jurassic park over here on Brenda Drive.....

with 3 sugar-high toddlers dressed as dinosaurs roaming around, looking for free handouts,

and loving every second of it.

We didn't have to wait until it was dark.....

we only had to go to 3 houses.....

it all lasted about 20 minutes.....

this age is great!!!

As the sugar slowly leaves their systems and we laugh as we watch them stumble around the house, too tired to even sit up straight....

I'm reminded again by how lucky we are to family around to help us take it all in....

Auntie Erin and Uncle Chris making the extra effort to come over, even though the storm knocked out their power,  getting our kids to smile and enjoying it as much as we do....

D-D and Dup (on crutches) coming over with a warm pot of soup and special treats for the kids because they are not going to miss these smiling faces.....my Mom coming over in the morning with a homemade apple pie and a basket of candy because she can't be their for our "illegal" Halloween celebration.........and my Dad showing up after working all day just to catch a few minutes with the kids before bedtime......

This will definitely be a Halloween to remember!

(now I just have to figure out what to tell Ty on Friday when all the other kids are trick-or-treating!!)

Who needs a swing set??

As Joe and I debate spending money on a swing set for the backyard,

I am reminded at how easy it is to entertain a toddler....

I mean, who needs a swing set when we have the

"world's biggest bestest rock in the whole world."

I mean where else can you do this...

and this......

and end with this...

Besides our rock-of-never-ending-fun we also have Uncle Kyle

who is over 6 feet tall....which is always fun!!

Add a ball and a tree that's just their size....

follow it up with a family tub (always popular at the Strazzulla house)

and that makes for some happy kids.....

so the question remains: Who needs a swing set????



Fun in the Fall

With the stressfull month of September behind us, October has been full of fun!

When it rained (and it rained a lot) we kidnapped cousins for group tubby time....... 

 Had lunch meetings with our cousin Logan and discussed what our Halloween costumes should be......









....played and played and played.....

....loved every minute that we had visitors.... 

....found out where our Uncle's tickle spot is..... 

 ....and sometimes took advantage of a little relaxation.

And we also wore our Halloween costume all the time....in fact, Tyler even took a couple naps this month (yeah!!) although he insisted on sleeping with his costume Denny the Dinosaur!!

When the weather was nice we were off to the local playgrounds with lots of smiles....

And finally, this month, Tyler decided that "school is awesome Mom"......

and so getting up and ready for school didn't involve crying anymore,

Tyler started coming home with names of kids he loved to play with....

and at his fall family fun day he showed off his classroom.

Tyler with his class fish

Showing off his baby sister Ava

And as we walked out of the classroom and Tyler told Ava not to be sad....and said he would rub her back when we got home to make her feel better, his teacher said to me

"he is just the sweetest" and I couldn't help but say "I know..."



HOLY SHHHHHHEPTEMBER!!!

As the memories of our care-free summer linger in our heads.....

September creeps in and knocks us flat on our backs, Mommy was not prepared for this....

I started coaching which means shuttling the kids back and forth to

Dad for practice, and us getting into a new routine.

Transitions......Tyler's 1st day of preschool came and went without a "1st day" picture and you might be wondering why?? Well, for a young boy who shined during the preschool screening, a little man who I had to drag out of his open house.....preschool has not come easily.....

It was pouring rain the first morning I went to drop my little guy off......when I put his new backpack on him and he almost fell over I was smacked in the face at just how little he is....

As he splashed in the puddles under my umbrella...he didn't have a care in the world....until the doors opened and the line began to move....as if my first day leaving Tyler with anyone other than family could have been any more awkward.....this school system doesn't let you actually into the school....instead, in the rain, while holding Ava and finally tossing the umbrella on the ground, I gave my little guy a hug and said "I love you, have a good day" and watched him walk into the hallway and "lineup" with the other kids, totally baffled as to what just happened......

I don't have time to linger, as if feeling my heart break Ava is crying that she can't be with her brother, and as I pick her up to comfort her and try to grab my umbrella, the tears just come.......and when we get home and I think of all the things I can do with my first couple of free hours with  my little girl, Ava decideds to take a 2 hour nap (which is unheard of for her) and the tears come again......

I think of how little he was

how quickly he has grown up, and wonder if he is doing alright...and if he's not, was there something I did......could I have prepared him better.....

When we went to go pick him up from his first day, the double doors opened and there was my little man, standing in line, and when he saw me his bottom lip quivered.....I asked the teacher how he did and she said "he cried a few times but he was easily redirected"......she talked some more but I had already stopped listening, he cried a few times, and as he tried to be brave and show me the painting he did that he was so proud of, I scooped both my kids up and tried to get to the car before anyone could notice that i was totally losing my shit!! And as we drove home and I tried to fight back these tears that seemed to be coming from nowhere, Tyler says to me, "Mommy I was crying because I was scared and I needed you".......

Okay, so maybe our first day of school didn't live up to my expectation but you bet that Tyler and I were both determined to "be brave" for the next day.....and so after the weekend when monday came, I put my crying 3 year old who wanted to "drive right by school" into the car, and convinced him that he would be okay, and he would have fun.....and eventhough he clung to my leg and cried as the doors opened for school, begging me not to go.....i looked at him, walked him into the school, gave him a hug and assured him that Ava and I would be waiting for him when school was done......then I scooped up Ava and scurried to the car again as these tears welled up inside of me......

Ava and I were distracted by swim lessons....because I swear she misses him as much as I do....and before we knew it we were on our way to pick up "our little man".  I waited with anticipation, knowing that this could go one of two ways....and when the doors opened, and I gave the teachers my name (don't even get me started on this pickup/drop off process) my little Tyler emerged with a smile on his face......and I let out a huge sigh of relief....."I'm so proud of you.....you were so brave" and he said "I'm proud of me too mommy, I only cried once!!" I figure, by the next time maybe I'll have it together enough to have a "1st day of School" picture.....or atleast the first day that Tyler and I want to remember.