Trick or Treat and Have a Good Day, Thank You

Ry lived on a diet of pure sugar today. Literally. He refused to eat anything but the candy people kept giving to him, despite our asking them not to. I think breakfast was a package of M&M's and a Three Musketeer's bar, and then for a snack, a banana. He refused lunch. Ate two bites of dinner. I lost track of what he ate throughout the day. I know, I'm the parent. I can set the limits. But... it is Halloween and he did crash at nap time, and hopefully, will soon at bedtime because we're leaving for NYC at 6am. Fun, fun!

And with no further ado.... here is the cutest, and scariest, ghost kitty in all the land. It took me weeks of planning, organizing, buying, cutting, and finally, sewing to make it. Now, I know it's no work of art or anything, but I am damn proud. I think he looks pretty darn good.
He was new to the whole trick or treating, talking, and walking all by himself thing, having not said anything really last year and insisting on being carried large parts of the way. This year he had a script for each door, which was not prompted, but went something like this:

Ryan: Can I have some candy please?
Unsuspecting Neighbor: Why, aren't you cute?
Ryan: Trick or treat, can I have some candy please?
UN: Of course, pick which one you want honey.
Ryan: I want this.... and this.... and this....
UN: Oh that's so cute.
Ryan: Have a good night... Oh, and thank you.

Some neighbors got more than they bargained for in the form of a three-year-old's interrogation tactics. See this to illustrate my point, of which this was only one and not the funniest (alas, mommy is slow with the camera in the dark):



Eventually, after about 25 houses, Ryan was getting tired and the sugar high was wearing precariously thin. Here's a sad ghost kitty *whine*.
So, despite his protests, we wrapped it up and headed home. Surprisingly our pumpkins were still intact. No flash works well (see, I am learning bare bones camera basics).
The beagle was made to participate, whether he liked it or not.
The final collection of loot.
All in all, it was a great year for the Ghost Kitty. Boo meow.

Pumkins and drunken-ness don't mix

Amy came over last night for dinner and pumpkin carving.... what we didn't factor in was the 3 bottles of wine we'd consume with dinner, prior to carving. Knives and alcohol are a bad combo. We had fun either way though. Or, Ryan had fun while three adults wondered what happened to the joy they remembered from their childhood. Cleaning the gunk out of pumpkins is much worse than I remembered, and I did it last year so there is no reason for it. I guess my memory is worse than I imagined.

The finished products:
The first shot of Amy and I together. We've known each other over 6 (7? - damn memory) years and no pictures. So, I had to go put on some make-up to be presentable for pictures. I rarely wear it, so never occurred to me to prep for poking little knives into the flesh of an orange orb.
Ryan and Daddy pose with the pumpkins after a bath. Ryan was more obsessed with the candles in the pumpkins than the pumpkins themselves. He asked about them for days. Incessantly.
Just to make Amy feel shorter (she's really only 4'9" and I'm a giant) I basically had to bend in half in order to take this.
This is what happens after a few bottles of wine and no nap...
After Ryan went to bed, Mark pulled out tequila for shots. I'm still wondering, with my pounding head, what the hell was he thinking?!

Ryan's First Race

Ryan ran his first ever race on Saturday. He was super excited for it and talked about nothing but that for a week in advance. It was part of a race that Mark runs annually to support Hospice. He ran the ten mile, Ry (and I) ran the 1/4 mile.

At the starting line, Ryan was not so sure of those obnoxious parents around us who I don't think understood "fun run" and pushed us out of the way to get to the front of the line. The kicker was the mom who ran her 4 year-old through the entire race. Way to allow your child the experience.


So off the starting horn went, and slowly, so did we. He did great for the first 500 feet or so, and then looked up at me as if to say, 'mom, what the hell are we doing?" Although I did not have a good answer for him, I encouraged him to keep running and focus on the "fun." He wasn't having it until we rounded the third corner and he could see the finish line, then he took off.



The running gait is something new for him, and completely hilarious. He gets so excited and pumps his arms so hard he looks about to take off. After the race... of course comes food, and dancing? He thought the music was awesome and treated us to a dance (sorry it's sideways, I didn't realize it when I hit record).

Who I am voting for and my life as a grandparent

For those who didn't know, yes, I am an Obama supporter. Should not be a shock. I just got my t-shirt in and I've never been so excited. Ok, yes, I've been more excited, but not in the last few weeks. The fact that it (only mildly) irked Mark made it all the better. I think he may be voting with me this time though... we shall see.

I briefly mentioned Ryan's invisible friends before but he's gotten outright hilarious about them lately. He has Katie, an occasional friend, who went home to be with her mommy yesterday because she was hungry. His other friend, (Wonder) Woman is his favorite. She never leaves him. In fact, he informed me last week that he and Woman had a baby, named Iya. Iya has her own room that he painted purple and he helps feed her. Apparently he's a good and conscientious daddy. He wanted to get a pitcure of him with his "girl," so here they are. Isn't she pretty?
The even funnier part was after I snapped the photo he wanted to see it and looked at the camera, asking me completely seriously, "Where is she mommy? I don't see her!" God, I love this kid.

He also wanted a picture with his new "ghost kitty" which is exactly what he wants to be for Halloween. I've been working on making his costume so I'll post pics after I have it done. I know, it's just a white sheet, but this is a big deal for me. First time I've ever made anything for him. I want it to be perfect.