Happy Halloween

The ballerina costume was a hit!  Miss loved the embellished leotard and tights.  So much so that I almost couldn't get her to put on her tutu because she didn't want to cover up her tights.

But once we got to her party at school she did put on the whole get up.  She looked beautiful and was loving being a ballerina.  she even seemed to forget about her desire to be a bear.  It might have helped that I didn't dress Lass in her bear costume for the party.

I was afraid she'd get too hot, the costume wouldn't fit well in her car seat, and I also wanted to give Miss a chance to bask in her ballerina-ness at her school party before getting them both dressed up for Trick or Treating tonight.  Lass didn't seem to care.

They both had lots of fun at the party.  There was so much for them to do, but Miss just wanted to play with these orange balloons.

It was fun to see her in her school environment and to see some of the kids she is becoming friends with.  The costumes were great too.

When it was time to Trick or Treat we started getting warm layers of clothing on.  It was pretty chilly tonight.  I knew Miss would have to wear a jacket, because there was only so much we could put on under her leotard and tutu.  I barely got her to let me put these pants on but convinced her that they wouldn't show under her tutu, and they didn't.

I got a couple of layers on Lass, knowing that she would be nice and snug in her fuzzy bear costume.

Fuzzy bear costume...

After Miss decided she wanted to be a ballerina for Halloween, I thought for a long time about what costume to get for Lass.  I kind of wanted something that would go with a ballerina, but couldn't come up with anything.  When I saw this bear costume, I figured it out.  A bear.  In a tutu.  A dancing bear.  What could be a better costume for my tutu-loving girl??

I was happy with the way the embellishments turned out that I added to Miss's leotard and tutu.  The felt flowers were cheap and easy, and I just pinned them on so they can easily be removed and the leotard can be worn for gymnastics class and possibly future dance classes.  Plus they helped tie the unmatched pinks of the leotard and tutu together a little bit.  I didn't realize how different the colors would be when I ordered them, but hrough the magic of felt rosettes, they work just fine.

All ready to go!

Gotta love a wagon.

I think Lass looks a lot like me in this photo.  Sometimes I see it and sometimes I don't.  I see it here.  Am I crazy?

Trick or Treat!!

The girls did a fantastic job going up to the doors of our neighbors and following the drill.  Miss said, "Trick or Treat!" and "Happy Halloween!" and "Thank you!" very appropriately. I was proud of her and couldn't help remember last Halloween how we could not get her to say, "Tick-a-Teek!" for anything when she went up to the houses.

The girls enjoyed the fruits of their efforts this evening.

Happy Halloween!

During the Commercials...

It's been a great weekend.

Quality time was plentiful.

Daddy's girls.

To top it off, tonight is the premier of "The Next Iron Chef."  I'm typing this during the commercials.  It's an awesome show. You should watch it.

I managed to finish working on Miss's ballerina costume just before the show started.  I had to make the best ballerina costume ever to convince her that she wants to wear it instead of her sister's bear costume.  Hopefully she'll love it.  A little sneak peek.

A while ago a drew my Chopped ingredients of canned tuna, panko breadcrumbs, and tomato paste.  I made dinner with them tonight.  Panko-crusted tuna cakes with roasted red pepper and corn relish (the tomato paste was in the cakes and in the relish).  It was yummy.  I only have a few minutes during the commercials, so I'll post the recipe later.  Here's the dish.

Halloween tomorrow.  Miss's school party and trick or treating with both girls.  Can't wait!

A Week??

I can't believe it's been almost a week since my last post.  I have had a lot of work come my way and a 2.5-year-old who hasn't napped all week, so I guess blogging has escaped me for a few days.  I always miss it when I don't post for a while.  I love sorting through and choosing the photos for a post and then writing about my favorite thing in the whole world, my family.  So, what have we been doing this week?

Going to preschool with absolutely no tears whatsoever.

A little bit of baking and cookie decorating.

A fabulous play date with wonderful friends, where the cookies were gobbled up.

Trying on Halloween costumes.  Miss has been planning to be a ballerina for weeks.  Last night we tried Lass's bear costume on her, and now Miss wants to be a bear.  I should have known that would happen.  But she is still excited about being a ballerina when I tell her about how we're going to do her hair and what she will get to wear.  She loves wearing a leotard and has a special fondness for tights.  Plus I told her she can play with Lass's costume after Halloween if she wants, so she seems happy with the current situation.  For now at least.

We've been enjoying fall.  

The weather has been crisp, but we are trying to still get outside a bit before it gets really cold.  The girls love to play with our pumpkins.

 And while showing off her muscles power lifting pumpkins, Miss saw this:

Then she just had to show off her hunting/stalking skills.

Lass got in on the fun for a minute, but seemed to not really notice or not care about the bunny, because she ended up walking on by.

Miss got pretty close to the little guy before he did this funny little stretch and hopped into the middle of this big evergreen tree.

The girls just moved right on to the next fun thing.  Most of the leaves are gone from our yard, and I've pretty much closed up the sand box for the year.  I guess mulch is the next best thing to play in.

We've just being doing our thing here.  Watching "Go Blue" today.  Happy weekend.