Way Too Much Left Over Candy

I am incredibly grateful that our neighbors ran short and took a little candy off our hands, otherwise I’d be eating candy for the next two months instead of just the one.

I’m also grateful that my annual costume stress is a thing of the past thanks to my decision to wear the very same witch costume every year starting now. You can’t go wrong with an all-black outfit and a fancy hat.

As we close on October 2010, an official Happy Halloween from The Ishidas. Here’s to one more year of hyperactive kids and sugar comas that (hopefully) last all night.

(10 points if you guess Kei’s costume. Hint: It has an Aussie connection).

Thomas took his role as Clone Trouper very seriously.

A Samuel was just as committed to his “cheese” face.

Life With Jekyll & Hyde

You never know what you’re going to get with Samuel and, OK, maybe the title is an overstatement. He doesn’t exactly turn into a terrible monster, maybe more like Oscar the Grouch.

But when this kid is ‘on’ he really knows how to charm and entertain. Take tonight when I was putting him to bed for example. We went from stories about daycare and singing do-re-mi “like music teacher” to crying because he wants just “one more” story – one more on top of the 5 “one mores” he has just had. Still, listening to him tonight was easily the best part of my day and even the crying didn’t spoil it.

A few other things I am enjoying right now:

Finally being able to give Thomas a bath without having to tape a plastic bag around his arm.
Sitting down to dinner each night and having Samuel begin to tell me about his day without even waiting for me to ask because he knows that dinner time is the time when we catch up. (“well today I played with…”).
The red peppers (capsicums) that are finally growing in our vegetable garden – although not sure two peppers were worth waiting four months for.
Thomas laughing uncontrollably while watching America’s Funniest Home Videos – while I tell him over and over that these are examples of what NOT to do. His laugh is easily one of my favourite sounds.
Samuel’s endless trips around the house on his “mini bike” while singing the Goodbye song from Yo Gabba Gabba – complete with Jack Black rock screeching at the very end.
Seeing some light (and a vacation) at the end of the tunnel, along with the promise of a little photographic inspiration. Feeling the need to break out the camera again after a short self-induced hiatus, and…
Little boys in kimonos.

It doesn’t get much better than that. (photo taken with iphone)

Cover The Childrens’ Ears

Today’s I Heart Faces challenge is “Chalk.” I have so many photographs of chalk drawings and chalky hands and chalky hands drawing chalk drawings, but very few with faces in them. I did find this one. It was taken during our visit to Australia when the boys made full use of the big slab of concrete in the driveway and decorated the space with their temporary artwork. This is one of the only photos with a face in it. If you look closely you’ll see that he is holding a piece of chalk in his right hand. That counts, right?

I doubt that pic will win me any awards, either for photography or for motherhood. Just look at the state of that shirt!

THIS, however, should win an award. I’m not sure what delights me more – the word that comes out of Thomas’ mouth, or the moment of shocked silence from my brother who is filming. It’s worth making it through to the end. You won’t be disappointed.

Big Brothers are Hilarious.

Lucky to capture this quick moment at the school harvest festival on possibly one of the last days of Portland sunshine – and between the whining and complaining.

It’s a new favourite.

Wordless Wednesday: Hooded Runner

Wordless Wednesday: My Kind of Camping

I hope this is the only time he sits in a Police car

This week’s I heart faces challenge is “vroom vroom” and so I immediately thought about this photo I took a few weeks ago at our Neighborhood Association block party/meeting. The police dropped by to fill us in on the happenings in the neighborhood and let the boys take turns sitting in the police car. He stopped short of putting on the siren, but allowed them to push a few buttons and hold the steering wheel. It was very exciting moment for them (ok, and I may have been a little interested as well).

Here’s an unsolicited tip – don’t go to a neighborhood association meeting unless you want to know all about every single crime that could potentially affect you or your home – especially when you live in an urban area like we do. Now, for better or for worse, I know about every burglary, shooting and petty crime in the neighborhood and have been obsessively checjking the locks on all our doors and windows. Sometimes too much information is not necessarily a good thing.