catching up

My goodness, has it really been two weeks since I've been back here? What a blur the weeks have been! We have been busy with all the usual life stuff, but really the main reason I haven't been making it here is that Dorian has been on a bit of a nap strike and our days have been in a bit of upheaval. Nothing too serious, but an out of sorts two-year-old can throw a daily rhythm off the rails pretty quickly!

I realize how dependant I'd become on that 2 hour chunk every day (I know, I've been spoiled!) to get in some homeschooling time with Ari, and, while Ari was having his quiet time, to have a little rest myself. And, I had gotten into something of a pattern to start my blog post during quiet time, and that has gone out the window! But even though Dorian has been grumpy as anything come 3:00 every day, it is hard to hold it against him. I mean really. Look at that face. My sister sent him his costume for his birthday, and he was mighty pleased to wear it out for Halloween. I forgot my camera when we went out with the boys, but couldn't help taking a ton of pictures the next day. Because if there is anything cuter than a toddler in a panda suit, I've yet to see it myself.

This is his "funny panda walk"- a sort of side to side waddle that he perfected while we were walking (ever so slowly,) from house to house on Halloween night.

Ari has yet to be convinced to put on his costume again, though he had a lot of fun wearing it out. He was a "Fire Monster" and had a costume he pulled together from bits from the dress-up bin in the big house basement. He roared fiercely at all passing trick-or-treaters. And the Switch Witch was a hit this year. She brought a book, a small toy and toothbrush in exchange for most of the candy. They were able to keep out a few pieces and Ari ate his all in one go. Dori forgot about his pretty fast. I asked Perry to take all that junk to school so I didn't eat it all- Bleck!
Ari had a half birthday this week and we celebrated with a "blueberry butter cake" (his request). I had told him that I would make him half a cake for his half birthday, but he was horrified by the thought, so I just made a quick single layer whole one. The only picture I got was of the dirty dishes the next morning.
And the bird feeder is filled and we are loving this time of year when we get to see so many birds right outside our window. I gathered all the bird books off the shelf for the boys to look through.

And though our homeschooling projects sort of fell off the radar these past few weeks, we did manage to make a batch of new play dough. Ari set to work making a cookie stand, with detailed gingerbread men and all sort of fancy treats. They cost just twelve-ninety-six-seven each. A bargain really.Happy Monday everyone!