Halloween Parties/Halloween

One thing I learned about Argonne Elementary School, Halloween is a big deal.  The whole school decorates, all the teachers dress up, each class has a party, there is a costume parade, dance party and early dismissal from after school programs so the littles can go trick or treating.  Wow, it's a much bigger deal than we've ever made Halloween out to be...but it was fun.

I split my time between the two class parties, helping Cameron find and decorate her pumpkin and gobbled up the goodies for lunch.

Timo's class had a little carnaval theme for their party with face painting, games and prizes. Timo had beginners luck at bingo...he won four times!  Now he thinks he's really good at Bingo and is asking to play all the time...ha, ha, ha.

Then it was time to change into costumes for the parade and dance party.  Mrs. Dere's Class!

We chose different costumes for school than for our trick or treating costume...we didn't want to mess up our real costumes so we rummaged around the house and pulled together some costumes of things we already had.  Timo was a SF Giants baseball player and Cameron was butterfly fairy.  Ms. Marshia class!

Getting ready, lining up for the parade and hanging with our new friends!

Parade time!  We walked all the way around the block with lots of cars stopping to say hi and honking horns.  I had to leave after the parade but the children went back for a little dance party, which according to Cameron's teacher, she was standing on the stage showing everyone how to dance!

After school we hurried home to change into Superheros!  Timo was a Navy Seal soldier and Cameron was Wonder Woman.  We hit the our usual neighborhood with our buddies Lucia, Caleb and Evan again this year and it was crazy busy.  I didn't get may pics of the candy gathering...way too many kids and chaos.  But we had so much fun!

Once we got home it was time to check out our loot!  Our children's personality really comes out when it come to the candy.  Cameron just wanted to start eating all her candy while Timo divided all his up and only picked out a few pieces he wanted to keep...who child is this??  Our dentist "buys back" candy so the children can bring in their candy and get a prize out of the treasure chest.  Timo had his all bagged up and ready to give back the next day...you can tell he values toys over sweets!

Carving Pumpkins

Our pumpkin carving moved to a whole new level this year....using power tools.  I made the mistake of showing Young something on Pintrest...a really cool pumpkin decorated using a drill.  Being our carving artist, he took that photo and ran with it.  Next thing I knew he was surfing Youtube for tutorials on how to use power tools to carve pumpkins.  We did a quick trip to Target and came home with some new drill bits and a new jig saw.  He and Timo were on cloud nine carving our pumpkins.

A few days later Timo's teacher contacted me about coming to the class to carve a pumpkin for the children and then bring the pumpkin home to use to make the pumpkin cupcakes, which I was making for the class Halloween party later that week.  The whole circle of life thing.  Well, one thing lead to another, Young took over and ended up carving pumpkins for both Timo's and Cameorn's class.  The kids LOVED it...and so did Young!

He started out step by step in carving and got the most reaction from pulling the "guts" out.  Both classes went crazy silly when they saw the insides.

He used both tools as well as some other carving tools I picked up at Target for him, carving a silly/scary face on one side and letting the children use the power drill to make the class number on the the other side.

Young then moved on to Cameron's class with equal response of excitement from the kids.  We were kinda running out of time by the end of their class so I don't have lit version or the backside but here is room 102's pumpkin.

Two nights later I find Timo and Cameron doing this with their tools on our little sugar pie pumpkin...like father, like son...

Young already has a list of tools he's gonna need for the job next year...

Allergy Relief

For a while now Timo has been having pretty bad allergy symptoms, especially in the mornings and evenings. I had a hunch it was something in his bedding/bedroom that was causing it but wasn't sure what.  After a few months of giving him Claritin everyday, we decided to get him tested for specific allergens so we could better treat him.  He was one happy boy on the day of his appointment.  He was so excited to find out what was causing his constant sneezing and stuffiness, he didn't even question the fact they were going to "prick" him 10 different times.  I know it looks painful and uncomfortable but he was such a trooper the whole time.  We played thumb wrestling to keep his arms moving to help with the itching.

Within 3 mins he was reacting to 8 out of the 10 pricks...the most reactive to feathers, dust mites and cat/dog hair.  So his feather pillow was the first thing to go!  Duh!!  I also got lessons on how to treat his mattress/new hypo allergenic pillow and bedding for dust mites.  And the cat/dog hair would explain why his eyes swelled shut after being at a friends house last month...they have a cat.  I've never suffered from any allergies so it's not always easy for me to put two and two together.  But nonetheless...we've taken a few a few simple steps and Timo is already feeling better.  I love modern medicine!

Music and Singing

Singing is pretty big in our house.  Having a Daddy that used to sing in Glee Club and a Mommy that used to play an instrument (and who LOVES to sing but is tone deaf), music and signing come pretty naturally in our home.  Here are a few video snipits of the kids getting creative with their music genes...

They made a gong out of tinker toys and had a self made band...

20130721_162227.mp4 from Sara ko on Vimeo.

Cameron can make a song out of anything, even looking for darts for a Nerf battle...and Timo was just happy to join in with his guitar...

20131020_165701.mp4 from Sara ko on Vimeo.

Can you tell what her favorite song is...caught her singing in the shower...love that girl!

20131014_183630.mp4 from Sara ko on Vimeo.

Down Days

Since school has started, the most common complaint from Timo and Cameron is "we didn't have any time to play!"  Between school, after school Chinese, homework, dinner, bath and bedtime routine, the kids have very little time during the week to just play with their toys.  So Young and I decided that we would set aside at least two Saturdays a month to keep free for just stay home play time.  We would wake up to lazy mornings, no schedules, no place we needed to be and just let the kids have a free play day....and so far they LOVE it! The first few Saturdays they kept asking "Where are we going today? How long do we have to play?" Nothing and all day!

Legos tops the list of activities, which they can sit down and play up to two hours at a time just building and creating.  Timo is taking an after school Lego class once a week and is learning lots of new tips and tricks.

Random sock boxing glove matches could break out...

Lazy mornings to have big breakfasts...and time for burgers and milkshakes for lunch.

Riding bikes is usually at the top of the list too.  We're so lucky to live across from GG Park, but it's a workout just to ride from our house over to the section that is closed to traffic.  By the time we get there, ride a few loops, the kids are tired and ready to head home.

Time to work on the big puzzles...time for story time and time to read.  Since the kids are learning how to read now, it takes a while to get through one book...but on our lazy Saturdays, we have time.