Classroom Goodies for a Spooky day!

Grandma Nancy helped both Will and Xan get ready for Halloween by getting some little goodie bags together for them to take to school today. Both boys traded in the candy option for Play-dough, at Will's request. (We did that last year since I got 80 tiny cans at Costco for a song, so he wanted a repeat of the popular goodie. Fortunately I found them on clearance at Michaels!) A few things have changed since I went to school, too. No Halloween costumes can be worn... bummer. But, a $1.00 for charity allowed Will to wear his favorite crazy hat. He chose the big clown hat he got at the Barnum and Bailey's circus he went to when I was pregnant with Xan. We'll try to get a photo of the hat and all the ghoulish festivities tonight to post tomorrow! Happy Halloween!

Fruit and dinosaurs... grrrryum!

My sister-in-law, Jill, is an artist, so I "commissioned" her to create a dinosaur mural in my sons' play room, inspired by a "Think Big" metal sign with a dinosaur on it. Jill visited the boys in Florida this week and got to work. While I have not been home to enjoy it in its entirety (still in SoCal... my last scrap show starts tomorrow! Wish me luck!), here is how it turned out according to the photos she sent me:


Awesome, isn't it? Great work, Jilly! And it looks like my 2 1/2-yaer-old, Xan, isn't too sure he wants to get that close to the T-Rex! LOL... So, if you live in the St. Louis area, and need a playroom mural, let me know and I will put you in touch with Jill... :D

I also sent the boys, Jill and my mother-in-law Peggy, a fruit bouquet from Edible Arrangements. From the looks of these photos, I think everyone enjoyed it!

Nephew Brandon at play

Brandon is a big fan of cars and blocks right now, especially scattering them around or dropping them on the floor. Although, he did take a moment to hand a few to Grandma Nancy. Oh, and he paused for a kiss from his mama.

One cannot live by scrappin' alone ...

... so, I was really excited when I found out that one of my favorite comedians, Christopher Titus, was performing live at the Irvine Improv just a few hours after my plane touched down in SoCal. Since Rodney is in Pensacola, and he is usually my comedy club date, I dragged my Mom to the comedy club, instead. She was a good sport about the whole thing, I even heard her laugh a few times.

Since Rodney likes Titus as much as I do, I called home to ask him if he would like a CD or autograph or something. Rodney's favorite bit that Titus does is when the comedian talks about falling into a bonfire as a teenager. So, Rodney's response:

"Can you get him to sign a can of lighter fluid?"

I wasn't sure if lighter fluid would be allowed into the Improv, so, not wanting to get caught with a "weapon of mass destruction" and kicked out, I said,

"No. How about a 2 x 4?" Deal.

So, after the hilarious show, I stood in line to buy a CD and meet Titus, trying to hang on to my foot-long 2 x 4 as inconspicuously as possible. Titus was also a good sport, graciously signing the 2 x 4 with a slight laugh. (Side note: Titus was great with his fans, taking the time to shake hands, hear stories and chat... you have to respect a guy who apprciates his fans. BTW, if you're a fan, he is working on a new TV show and movie.)

Mom took this maniacal picture of me with the funnyman, just before he signed the 2 x 4 piece of "bonfire" wood. Nice photo of him, not so much of ME! Very fun, spontaneous night ... now, since I am on central time in a Pacific time zone world at the moment, the bed is calling!

Will got straight A's!

Rodney and I went to Will's parent-teacher conference and he got all A's... who-hoo! The only thing he appears to get into trouble for is talking. Each child had 10 pennies and when they don't behave as they should, they get a penny taken away. They have opportunities to earn the pennies back throughout the week. If you have 9 or 10 pennies, you get an A for citizenship that week. Will comes home and lets us know if he lost or gained pennies that day. If you lose one, it is usually for talking at the wrong time. In fact, the whole class was so chatty one morning last week that Ms. Perry said, "Whoever wants to talk needs to bring me a penny." Without hesitation, Will gave her one of his pennies. I don't really think that is what she had in mind, though! He is also one of the few kids with a blue sticker on his desk. That means that,once his work is complete, other kids can come to him for help. Ms. Perry said she does this to foster leadership in students who appear to have a knack for it. Hopefully Will will continue to excel.
Coach Stearns in the school PE teacher and Ms. Perry said it is tough to get a compliment from him, as he is pretty strict with his rules during PE. She said Will always gets compliments from Coach Stearns. Maybe having a Marine Dad is paying off!

Since he got straight A's, Will was allowed to eat at the restaurant of his choice. He chose Denny's of course. He had breakfast for dinner and was quite happy. Xan had his first mozzarella stick and had a little trouble with the stretchy cheese, but managed to eat the entire stick before his food came (he has pizza and Goldfish crackers - what a combo!

Xan at Waffle House

I took Xan to breakfast at Waffle House a couple weeks ago. He LOVED eating at the bar - and showing off his see-food. Is he a total boy or what? Yuck!