The Art of Lion Taming: 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"