Sugar High, Part II

Mother-of-the-year, Bev, recently had a Halloween party at her house.  Talk about one brave Mama!  All of the Pfaff girls had a blast eating, crafting, and decorating.  My summary in pictures:

Pre-party posing

Mom, having her own fun!

Look closely, it's a jack-o-lantern pizza (a la Papa Murphy)

Hostess with the Mostest, Bev

"My dog bone cupcake" a la Shelby

"Is there a little something on my face?" a la Haley

Sugar High, Part I

Tuesday night was open house at Shelby's school.  Festivities included:

• Fall Festival Pictures by the "paparazzi"
• Deep Sea Bean Bag toss

Is softball in her future?

Just look at that follow-through!

• Pumpkin Patch

• Pumpkin Bowling

Is bowling in her future?

• Halloween Tattoos

Hopefully temporary tattoos are the only kind in her future!

• Fishing Fun (the kids "caught" bags of goldfish)
• Cake Walk (where mom actually scored some amazing cookies made by Ms. "Macole")
• Treasure Hunt

Look at my loot!  A spider ring!

• And, to top off the sugar supply, they got cotton candy at the end.  

Strawberry made by Monica, watermelon made by Children's Place

As a side note, I learned that my friend Jessica harbors deep hatred for Halloween.  She largely blames that fact that her mother sewed or pieced together costumes for her instead of letting her buy one from the store.  Jessica made it very clear to me that I shouldn't be sewing costumes for my kids.  Sorry, Jess, but it is so darn fun sewing something that doesn't have to be perfect!  

The Power of Four

Four girls.  Four days.  Four years since they had seen each other.  Such was my much-needed girls' weekend in Colorado!

Liberated women drinking some libations

I grew up in a teeny-tiny town in the Texas Panhandle. Spearman, to be exact...ever heard of it?  Nope?  You're not alone. It's rumored that there are more cows than people in the whole county.  What was cool about growing up in such a small place was that most of the classmates I started Kindergarten with ended up in my graduating class of 1992.

Blink and you'll miss it

Four of us from that class of fifty-something were able to meet up this past weekend.  It's always amazing to see my friends, Leslie, Suzanne, and Jessica.  Since they've known all my business since birth, they are friends like no other.  It's impossible for any of us to be anything other than ourselves when we get together.  I can't hide the fact that I was in the band, wore huge glasses until the 8th grade, cried my entire 5th grade year because of my parents' divorce, or my somewhat amusing dating history.  The same goes for my friends, but I won't expose the skeletons in their closets! 

Our four days together were proof positive that laughter is indeed the best medicine.  We laughed until we cried during our "Yoga for Dummies" class.  Like Suzanne said, it was just like we were back in the Methodist Church in 1988, giggling until one of our moms or dads would come sit beside us to get us to behave.  Our poor yoga instructor was trying to get us to center our "chakras", and all we were doing was trying not to laugh.

We also howled at all the new words we learned:

• Yurt, I learned, is some sort of tent set up in remote areas for hikers to rest and recover.  After Jessica explained the term, we would get a kick out of using "yurt" in a sentence.  

Excuse me while I go center my chakras in the yurt!

• Speakeasy, Leslie learned, was a termed used during prohibition for a secret bar.  I thought everyone knew that, but I guess I was wrong.  Leslie doesn't get out much (ha!).    So, we went to "Wednesday's Pie", where the hostess asked if we were there for "pie".  I guess we made the cut, because she took us to the back, where the decor was total throw-back 1920's.  

Warning!  That silver door leads to the world's dandiest bar!

• Namaste, a common term used at the end of a yoga class, meaning "God is great" or "What comes around, goes around" or "May the force be with you".  Hell, we were all laughing too hard to get what the teacher said, but "Namaste" did make for good laughs as we all murdered its pronunciation with our Texas twang--na-MAST-ay was more like it!

What's great about this group is that I am a few years behind them in the child-bearing business.  Their kids are all older than mine, so they had lots of valuable advice for this newbie.  In one of my very first blog posts,  they contributed to the list of rules Bryon and I had for parenting.  Here are the new rules they inspired me to try:

1.  Pull-up diapers at night might be the reason Shelby has so many accidents during the day.  No more Pull-ups!
2.  NEVER compare the kids in front of them.  For example, don't say, "Shelby sat quietly for 30 minutes.  Why can't you do the same, Haley?"
3.  Make breakfast mandatory.  Every morning, have a routine, and the day will go more smoothly.
4.  Have "couch time" to get the kids to stay in bed at night.  One reason they might be coming into our bedroom at night is to see mommy and daddy together.  A way to curb this is to set aside about 5 minutes of each day as "couch time".  Mom and Dad sit out the couch and talk, while the kids can do whatever they want except talk.

There is NO way the weekend could have happened without our incredible significant others. A HUGE thank-you goes out to Dennis, Bryon, Luke, Larry, and Coy.  We owe you guys one!

Haley is Two (or five?)

Haley turns two tomorrow, but if you ask her, she will tell you she is "Fiiiive!"  Boy, kids sure do grow up fast these days!

Fun Haley Facts

~Favorite foods:  artichokes (!), broccoli (!), lollipops, yogurt, sips of mom's coffee and diet Coke, macaroni and cheese, ice cream, and even an occasional taste of spicy food

~Favorite activities:  going to the park, feeding the ducks, watering the plants, taking baths, climbing the cabinets to turn on the water, squeezing contents out of bottles (i.e. shampoo), playing with dolls, cooking with mom, being carried around on my hip ALL day

~Haley LOVES water.  She will spend hours splashing in the bathtub.  When I am at my wit's end, I'll put her in a warm bath to get a few minutes to myself.  

~Character traits: energetic, strong-willed, determined, curious, independent, and happy

~Speech:  Haley has really started talking in the last month.  She is much happier now that she can express her wishes.  Shelby loves to tell her words to repeat, and she is so proud of herself when she "talks" with her sister.  The funniest line so far was when I asked her if she wanted to go to Chick-Fil-A.  She responded, "COKE!" since she always gets one when we go.  

~Dislikes:  Being told "NO", sitting still to watch tv or read a book, not being able to do exactly what Shelby is doing

Pictures from Haley's 2nd Birthday Party

She LOVES her new high chair

Jeff and Haley's cake.  Not your typical 2-year-old cake!  (Jeff HATES armadillos)

These are the People in your Neighborhood

To say the least, we live in a very diverse Dallas suburb.   Just check out the demographics for Valley Ranch:

I have yet to meet that one person from Ireland, but I can't wait!

In some ways, I just love that we are so exposed to other cultures.  I've learned so much about Vietnam, India, curry, Islam, pho, tapioca tea, arranged marriages, Thai chilis, and saris.  We have some of the best and most diverse restaurants in all of Texas!

Being from a small Panhandle town with only two races, Caucasian and Hispanic, it is still a shock to me at times.  Just the other day, Shelby looked outside and asked if it was Halloween.  I assumed it was just another attempt to get some candy until she followed up with, "But, why is that lady dressed up?"  I had to giggle just a little at her keen observation of an Indian woman wearing a Sari while out walking.  

Generic example of Indian clothing

Kids say the funniest things!  I've become so accustomed to seeing Indian styles that I don't even notice such things anymore.  And, while I'm still trying to learn as much as I can about the people in our neighborhood, my kids are just worried they are going to miss out on free candy.

That's How We Roll

Grandma and Grandpa Pfaff's house is every kid's wonderland.  They have enough toys to keep my kids entertained for a solid five days straight.  The newest addition is a mini John Deere tractor, complete with a foot throttle, 2 speeds, reverse, and heated seats.  (just kidding on that last one!)

In 14 short years, Haley will be a legal driver.  Might as well start practicing! 

Hold on tight...

Shelby, Haley, and their cousin, Ashlee, had a blast driving each other up and down the street.  They quickly learned how to push the pedal to make it go, but they all were steering-wheel-challenged.  Turning was quite an issue, so we got a workout chasing them down.

...keep holding on!

It was only after 30 minutes that they stopped the tractor long enough for me to read the warning sign in the back.

"No riders in dump bed!  Riders can be injured if bed dumps unexpectedly."

Oh well...no harm, no foul!

Cabinet Climbing

Several things to take from this video:

~iMovie is the best invention ever
~We are raising mountain goats
~This explains why nothing is off limits in our house anymore