Now A Family of *gulp* Six.

I wore my costume all day at preschool. I was the only one to wear it, even though the sign said we all could. Mama said that's because the other parents wouldn't let their kids wear their costumes, and that made me feel better about being the only one. We ate dinner around 5:30. I kept asking if it was time to go trick-or-treating but Mama said the big hand had to be on the 6. I watched and watched the clock but it didn't seem to move! I asked Mama and Daddy a couple times if it was broken, because the clock just never moved. Finally Daddy said I could go put my new snow boots on - tonight they were my pretend pirate boots! Mama got her pirate costume on and Daddy stayed at home to hand out candy. I went to lots & LOTS of houses and kept getting candy until it was all full up! My bag was very heavy. We trick-or-treated for about 45 minutes, then came back to help Daddy pass out candy. That was as much fun as getting candy! I got to see all the people coming to our hou...

Since Saturday, Roman can now get the full experience of sleeping in his Dora sheets. Behold: the big, BIG boy bed! He has been very cozy in his new bed and all his sheets fit, too. We do have a frame with head & footboards but thought if he falls, better fall from this height first. In true Roman fashion, he changed his mind about his Halloween costume today. He has been okay with being a pirate Captain Feathersword for months. But at preschool today a firefighter came to talk with the kids, and now Roman wants to be a fireman. I told him all the costumes everywhere were sold out and he just had to be a pirate one more year. He's sad about it, but has agreed. The good news is he gets to wear his costume to school tomorrow for their morning party. Roman also did not want to carve pumpkins tonight. Well, he wanted to carve them - he just wanted nothing to do with cleaning it out. So I suggested that we draw on our pumpkins instead and make faces on them. He thought that was a g...

Settling back into normal, whatever normal is. Decided to skip Scooter Club yesterday as Roman has just been exhausted from playing with my parents, and playing with his friend Max, and playing at Red Bell… playing is a full time job, you know! Speaking of my parents, they came for the weekend and were a Godsend. They babysat Roman, did the grocery shopping, planned the meals, helped with laundry, and general small maintenance around the house. We’re practically caught up now! My grad class is almost finished – just one paper left to write. I gathered all the info I needed today, school improvement plan, demographics, MEAP subscores, etc. Blech. Checked the university’s registration to doublecheck if the class was available for next semester that I need – and it turns out it is! So I’m signed up for “Curriculum Leadership” on Thursday nights from 7-10pm. The last class is on or near my birthday. I only conflict with swimming on 2 nights in March – I thought that was pretty good. Posted...

Trip to DC was fantastic. I find that I dislike flying more and more. I can't tell if it's motion sickness rearing up, or the simple paranoia of my plane crashing (which I'm sure it will on takeoff), but I truly have begun to dread getting on a plane. Perhaps the 4 flights to Russia and back have something to do with it? Instead of posting a summary of the trip, I will post just a few pictures. (note: I tried to attach 4 - only 2 will actually show up). I also will admit when I cried - at the Sept. 11 memorial within the Pentagon, and at the Vietnam Memorial. The Pentagon itself was very, very interesting. The memorial was well done, and it was on the floor/side that the plane crashed into. I mean, I was standing on ground that the plane slammed into. I held it together until I saw the flag that draped the coffin with the remains of all 184 people that died at the Pentagon that day. One coffin. 184 people. Me, crying. But I was also moved by the little things I saw on the...

It's been a busy, hectic last few weeks. Again, we've planned it that way, what with a football game last weekend at WMU and all kinds of stuff in between. I'm flying out on Thursday night to go to Washington, D.C. for the weekend. That means everything has to be done on Wednesday, which is hard for me to fathom. I have a paper due in my grad class next Thursday, so I've written the rough draft and put 4 "references to the literature" in it, as requested. I leave straight for the airport after conferences, which isn't fun either. But, I have a good roommate and fresh batteries for the camera, so it should be good. Oh yeah, and prepping the sub plans. Doug is going to have fun this weekend too, actually. He and Paul are going to a U-M game, which Doug hasn't attended since we got the boy 2 years ago. My parents are coming over to babysit Roman, and then staying a couple extra days to save us from drowning in house chores. Namely, my Dad has a new power...

We made one of our infamous rounds of the west side cities this weekend. Saturday we visited Plainwell, where my nephew Eli celebrated his 2nd birthday. Homemade pizza, chocolate cake, and mint-chocolate-chip ice cream made for the perfect party. Roman loved playing with Iris' & Eli's toys, and picked tomatoes and a strawberry from Aunt Bonnie's garden. After that party, we journeyed to Grand Rapids where we spent the night at Paul & Nicole 's. This morning we celebrated their son Perrin's baptism at church, and then a cookout of their family & friends afterward. Roman enjoyed that party too, because there were older kids who played with him - and Legos that Paul allowed Roman to take apart. We were honored to be asked previously to be Perrin's godparents. We didn't have to do anything for the actual baptism - just take lots of pictures - but we take the implied responsibility pretty seriously. Perrin did what he was supposed to do - smile du...

The comments, Qs, and As of a 3-and-a-quarter year old. At "Scooter Club" tonight, when talking about caring: Q: "How does your mama show you she loves you?" A: "She plays trains for one (hold up finger) minute." Q: "How does your daddy show you he loves you?" A: "He plays trains for TWO (hold up fingers) minutes." (teacher whispers an aside to me - "I know how it is. I play Star Wars.") While reading a book last night: Q: "Mama, did I come from your tummy, like Baby Perrin?" A: "No, honey. There is a special lady in Russia and you were in her tummy, and when she went to the hospital and you were born, they called me and Daddy to tell us to come get you." Q: "What was her name?" A: I tell him. Comment: "Oh, I see." and a long pause as he takes it in. Then: Q: "Did you and Daddy swim at the hotel in Russia?" (I try hard not to laugh.)

There's little energy when I say... "give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that..." You know what I'm saying. I'm not at "stop the world, I want to get off" mode yet - but close. I had forgotten how busy a graduate class can make a person be. The last time I took one was 3 years ago, the semester before we got Roman. Now I have spent the last two evenings writing a "brief" paper (only 3-4 pages) which is 20% of my grade, not having received a rubric until last week. And another paper due in two weeks, with a presentation based on that paper. And then another paper (final) due two weeks after that. Throw in a 3-year-old, a husband, visiting family members and friends, and oh yeah - work - I'm getting a little overwhelmed. Newspaper? Haven't read one in two weeks. TV? I watch 3 hours a WEEK (but that's another complaint for another day). Papers to correct? I have about 90 in my bookbag that won't get touched to...