Girls just wanna have fun!

A Tweet my boys sent me from my SIL's account

John and the boys went camping the weekend of my sister's bridal shower (8/12-8/14.) Lucky for me, my niece Demi agreed to sleep over to keep the girls and I company because I'm the biggest chicken-shit ever. It had been almost two years since we had one of our infamous sleepovers, and it made me realize how much I've missed her.

We had a blast-- whether we were watching Never Say Never or Odd Future music videos, laying in bed watching old movies, window shopping at super rad antique/vintage oddity stores, or exploring (and getting lost with very little gas in my tank!) in the Haight-Ashbury. It was good times through and through! She was a tremendous help that weekend.

Here are a few pics from my sister's bridal shower at Crown & Crumpet. There was a mix-up with our reservations -- we were supposed to get the private couch area by the fireplace -- but all in all we had a great time. :)

The banner was supposed to go above the fireplace so we had to improvise. LOL!

Favors and menu made by yours truly.

Noie's 1st tea party (Niki was with my MIL that day.)

The Bridal Party (and me unsuccessfully trying to hide Noie in her SleepyWrap.)

Happy Halloween!!!

It seems like Halloween 2009 happened just yesterday. That was the year of the Wizard of Oz and NHF's Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Even though we didn't go trick-or-treating that year (we partied with our extended bleeding disorders family at the SF Marriott) Halloween '09 will go down in "lion den history" for being THE BEST Halloween we've ever had.

Halloween 2009

 The Oz kids ;-)

Halloween 2010

This year was a little different. *Technically* this year was Niki's first "real Halloween" because she could actually partake in trick-or-treating. Needless to say, I was very excited to take the cubs out. Especially since we didn't get to trick-or-treat last year. Unfortunately, Game #4 of the World Series was also happening during prime trick-or-treat hours. Even though "Halloween/Trick-or-Treating > World Series" in my book, not all parents feel this way. I shudder at the thought of how many parents opted to stay home to watch the Series instead of taking their kids out to create magical memories.

So where am I going with this? You guessed it -- John stayed home.
 
The fact that the Giants made it to the World Series is awesome, but I'm not going to lie and say that I wasn't disappointed that he stayed home to watch the game. After all, you can replay television, but you can't replay life. I wanted to watch the game too, but I knew that trick-or-treat time would be over by the time the game ended. John's a guy -- I get it. He had complete confidence in my ability to handle Halloween duties for the night -- swollen belly and all!

It was I that took the cubs, SILs, and CIL out for an evening of tricks and treats.

I decided to switch it up bit and took the kids to Colma's residential area first. The city is practically a cemetery itself so I knew that it would be the perfect place to trick-or-treat. And...I was right! Being in my old neighborhood brought back so many memories. There is something spectacular about trick-or-treating right next to a cemetery on All Hallows Eve. I know from personal experience, and I was happy my kids experienced a piece of my childhood. :)

Halloween has changed a lot since way, way back in the day -- it's slowly dying out -- but Colma never loses its spirit.

A cemetery was right over that wall. The kids were weirded out at first. LOL!

 Everybody had the game on as they passed out candy...

 Niki was really enjoying herself. :)

 The boys got used to the spookiness.

 I couldn't quite figure this pumpkin out. ;-)

 

 Ironic, isn't it? A fake graveyard just a few hundred feet away from a real one.

 Only in Colma. :)

 I love this town.

 And this house...

 The cubs, my SILs, and my CIL "J"

The cubs. :)

 We don't care about no law 'round these parts! ;-)

The streets were packed with trick-or-treaters which meant that the houses tried very hard to conserve their candy. After spending about an hour in Colma, the older kids grew impatient as they continued to get only 1 or 2 pieces of candy from each house. It took a lot work to accumulate their loot so they collectively decided that they wanted to try a different neighborhood. I was hesitant to leave at first (finding parking was a nightmare) but it was their Halloween, not mine. We had only gone about up and down three blocks, but I was overruled. On the upside, all of the kids were completely desensitized by the idea of the cemeteries being so close by. (The boys aren't afraid of the cemetery at all thanks to Ethan.)

You can't see it in this picture, but there was a bunch of mausoleums just a few feet behind them. Aren't they cute? And brave? :-D

Unfortunately, we had to work even harder after we left Colma. We went to the TerraBay neighborhood thinking that we could end our night there. We've been going to TerraBay (with my SILs) since Boo was 1-year old because the rich folks that live there always give handfuls of candy.

This year? Not so much.

The streets were completely dead, and I blame it on the World Series. We tried some other local neighborhoods with no such luck. The World Series officially killed Halloween. Suddenly, everyone realized that we probably should have stayed at Colma. But...it was too late. It was close to 9:30 on a school night so we turned in for the night. Nevertheless, my cubbies had a blast that night, and so did I -- swollen uterus and all. 

P.S. I'm secretly happy that the cubs didn't get much candy this year. ;-)

The Day Before Halloween...

Here are a few pictures from my nephew J's 13th birthday/costume party. I wish I could post ALL of the that pictures we took that day. As always, I've neglected to get permission from the party's patrons to post their pictures for all the Internet to see.

Anyway, enjoy!

My Flapper Girl

 Yes, there was a stripper pole there. And yes, Niki took a picture with it. She wouldn't let go and this concerns me a little. Lol!

 My SIL trying out the pole...

 The Giants were playing that day...

 Boo took this picture...

 The family watching the game...

 L <3's Baseball. :)

 More Niki...

 Kevie

Boo & Niki

The liquor came out...

And then the DJ came...

 Then Boys Danced the Night Away...

Maybe he was dancing too. :)

Pre-Halloween Happenings...

I got started with my Halloween prep early this year. (You guys know how much I LOVE Halloween!) The boys got such great reviews during their conference that it inspired me to go out and buy their giveaways for their classrooms early this year. I started on October 5th, but I didn't officially finish until 10/28/10 because I'm SUCH a procrastinator. ;-)

Believe it or not, I made FIFTY giveaways for under $30. And, I got good candy too! I found some mini skull and jack-o-lantern pails 6 for $1 at Target's "Dollar Spot." They needed some more details on them so I used a Sharpie to hand-color the jack-o-lanterns and mouths on the skeletons. Then I added sequins (left over from my attempt to make Niki's ruby slippers last year) for the eyes.

Day 1 of giveaway making.

Contents: 1 spider, glow-in-the-dark cobwebs, candies/treats, gummy skeleton, and a human eye ball (bubbles) or a spooky paratrooper.

Jack-O-Lanterns for Boo's Class

Skulls for Kevin's class

I made waaaay cuter tags using my PhotoShop Elements software, but by the time I was ready to print and attach them, my printer ran out of colored ink. :( So, I had to make new tags using crappy ol' MS Paint at work. They don't meet my "craft-crackhead standards", but the kids didn't give a crap about the tags anyway.  Here's the finished product. You likey?

Kevin and Boo were super excited to go to school on Friday, 10/29/10. They had giveaways, class parties, and their Halloween Parade that day! What's not to like, right? The boys were up early and eager to put on their costumes which is totally out of character for them. (I opted to have them change into them at school so they wouldn't mess them up during recess.)  I requested the day off in April so I could serve as a parent volunteer that day. (The school's Halloween festivities are always on the last Friday of the month.) I wanted to make Boo's 1st Halloween as an elementary school student special.

I wish I could be a parent volunteer every day! It was interesting to see Boo in a completely different element. He's a different child at school, and I was very impressed. Boo is a free spirit, but he can stay on task when it's time to crack down and get some work done. My cub makes me so proud.

Volunteering that day also gave me a better perspective on how low the public school system is on resources this year. Budget cuts suck! Class sizes are larger and the teachers have to do EVERYTHING. The boys' school is the best school in the district, too! I felt so bad for Ms. C that I even offered to help compile paperwork from home. I can't volunteer all the time (gotta conserve my time off for emergencies!) but there are still things I could do to help. If you have kids in school, volunteer your time. Our teachers need all the help they can get. Besides, it's good for the kids to see us parents involved in their education. :)

Boo during recess.

Writing in his journal

I took pics like this for all the kids in his class. The classroom camera broke (Ms. C ordered new one) so she was camera-less that day. I wish I could post pictures of all the adorable kids that day.

Clearly Boo is a mobster, but the kids in his class said he was a "Dater" for Halloween.
I love five-year-olds!

John got swamped at work...again. So, he missed out the parade. It sucked, and I wasn't happy about it. Somehow, I managed to split my pregnant self in two so I could be there for both of the boys. They asked me where their Daddy was (I guess I'm not cool enough for them lol!) but they still had a lot of fun at their parade. I did a hell of a lot of sweating running across the school's blacktop area, but the good news is the kids didn't seem to notice that I was sweating like a pig. They really enjoyed posing for pictures. :)

Ms. C as Harry Potter

Boo with his best friend "A"

Isn't he the cutest?!

Goofing off with his friend.

I don't know where he gets this stuff from! Lol!

Jumping for Joy!

My 2nd grader likes to stay in character. ;-)

Walking in the parade...

I don't condone violence!

I really don't know where he got this from?!

Walking back to class...

I made them stop making "hand guns" in their pictures. ;-)

Once everyone got out from school and Niki woke up from her nap, I decided to take the cubs to visit Ethan. I picked up some food so we could picnic and take a few pictures. Unfortunately the grass was wet so the boys decided to eat in the car. Niki LOVES visiting Ethan (and playing with his toys.) She has now completely associated the cemetery with her big brother -- which is both comforting and sad at the same time -- so she excitedly screams "E-Tan!" over and over as we make our way through the cemetery. The minute the car is parked she tries to unhook herself from her carseat so she could get out to see him!

She loves her big brother. :)

My Sevens!

She always touches his face.

My precious baby boy.

Niki absolutely despised her costume ever since it came in the mail. We tried all month long to get her to warm up to the costume and try it on, but she wouldn't budge. When she wasn't crying about its mere presence in the same room as her, she was throwing it on the floor and saying "no." Such a diva! Everyone tried to get her to wear it, but she refused each and every time. Actually, I was thisclose to taking her to the Spirit Halloween on Friday so she could pick out her own costume because I was so desperate!

The good news is my MIL is a miracle worker. She bribed Niki with juice and lollipops. (John and I tried bribery, and it didn't work!) Somehow, my MIL was able to successfully coax Niki into wearing her costume just in time for the boys' "Halloween Happening" carnival at school. The school holds a carnival style fundraiser every year, and my kids have won first place for the past three years. (Yes, really!) I say they should have won this year, but I suppose it was time to pass the torch to someone else. ;-)

Welcome to the "Roaring 20's"

"The Cub Mafia"

I <3 Halloween. :)

Boo & Niki

Kevie

Boo getting ready to play some games.

The Multi-Use Room

Picking out prizes...

Niki on stage w/ my SIL "K" during the Toddler Costume Contest

Picking out her consolation prize...

The Flapper & her Daddy

More games...

More of the mobsters ;-)

The Boys During the K-2nd Grade Costume Contest

More Halloween posts are coming your way! :)