Happy Halloween

Halloween at the Schwab house was fairly relaxed again this year. We decided to wait one more year to take the girls out Trick-or-Treating. I LOVE Halloween, so I'm really looking forward to when they're old enough to take out in the evening to Trick-or-Treat. They didn't miss it, though. They dressed up and had a lot of fun!

On Friday, the girls wore their costumes to school and had "Harvest Parties" in their classrooms. Their teachers gave them little goodies, and Jaden even won a Jack-o-Lantern to take home.

Rhonda had a little get-together at her house, and Jaden and Caitlyn both had a good time. The house was decorated all spookily, and Rhonda had plenty of games and treats for the little ones.

This year was so much fun to dress them up. For the last few months they've been really getting into pretend play, and they like to put on all manner of "princess" clothes and dance around their bedroom. So I knew the fairy costumes would be a hit.

Caitlyn as a Butterfly Fairy. She really got a kick out of those ribbon hair clips.


Jaden as Abby Cadabby. She loved everything about this costume, and spent most of the weekend in it!


Such sweet girls. They kept admiring each other.


Lots of sister hug-action :)


Kharli and Jaden; sisters and life-long friends.


Jaden's Magical Pumpkin.

Welcome Fall!

Well, Fall in the southwest, anyway :)

Today we took the girls to visit Schnepf Farms for their Fall Festival. There was SO much for families to do, and we actually did some of it before Caitlyn was inevitably "done". Here are some pics from our day...

The girls had fun playing in the playground train. I did have to shoo some school-group kids out of their way!




Can you believe all that sun in October? It was warm!


We took a train around the farm. Jaden liked when we went through the peach orchard.


As usual...all these fun things to do and what excites them the most? Food! The grilled corn-on-the-cob was so yummy!




Here's Caitlyn and her Daddy looking for a Great Pumpkin.


This is what she decided on...















Jaden's was more her size.


Mommy photo op...we convinced her to look through the sign by playing Peek-a-Boo!


Until next year.....


Happy Fall!

Car-Mocks

I am plagued with self-doubt. And a tiny smidgen of guilt.

It all started a few days ago when Jaden and I were going through the bank drive-thru. Whenever we go through drive-thru lines, Jaden likes to wave at the people and squeal, "Thank you! Have a nice day!"

So when I'd finished my transaction and the teller thanked me over the speakerphone, I turned around expectantly toward Jaden. Well, she didn't thank the teller. What she shouted was, "I want a car-mock!"

"A what?" I asked her. "A car mock?"

"Yes," she insisted, raising her eyebrows and nodding at me. "I want a car-mock, please."

Oh, no. It can't be that, I thought. Hesitantly I asked her, "Jaden...are you asking for a caramel macchiato?"

"Yay! A car-mock!" she responded.

Aw, crap. Okay. Now I must confess, my name is Dawn and I am addicted to...car-mocks.

Just a disclaimer here, but Jaden has never, ever tasted coffee, much less the caffeine, vanilla and caramel wowness that is the caramel macchiato! For all she knows, I could be having some fancy-shmancy overpriced water. Whatever...she wants one.

This alone would not be enough to guilt-trip me as a mommy. Buuuuut....we have to add this incident to the fact that the girls have begun to play "coffee" games with their play tea set. PLUS Jaden says "Mommy's coffee?" every time we go through ANY kind of drive-thru. AND whenever Caitlyn sees my favorite mug she yells "KAH-feeee!"

Yes, I guess I drink a lot of coffee. I'm not completely sure this is a bad thing, though. Hell, it's not like I'm slugging back 2 cups (more like 5) of absinthe a day! And you know...I eat LOTS of vegetables and whole grains, I drink V8 every day, and I really limit the take-out crap I eat. Everyone has a vice, right? Can't this be mine?

Sooo...if it's not that bad, then why do I cringe when my 1-year-old happily shouts "Kah-feee!" and my 2-year-old can recognize the Starbucks logo?

Maybe I have felt that I've needed to make a change here for awhile, and it's just taken being called out by my toddlers to shame me into it?

Whatever the reason, I'm going to attempt cutting back the caffeine. I did it for my girls while pregnant. We'll see if I can do it for myself. So if I am a total bitch to you in the next 5-7 days, please forgive me. Ha ha ha, I couldn't even write that with a straight face...of course I'm not going to be a bitch :) But if I'm crabby, please cut me some slack!

Did you know I've been sitting here sipping a cup of sugared espresso the whole time I've been writing this? Heaven help me!

Random Hits

ALSO edited for this very reason.

You want to know something really sad? Well, I think it's sad anyway.

My little blog here has seen more readers than usual in the past couple of months. Why, do you ask? I'll tell you...It's not because I am more awesome this month than I was 6 months ago.

However, a while back I wrote a blog that I titled "Evryon Els Is Smrtr Thn Me." That particular blog has gotten quite a few hits from random people who happened upon it when they were searching Google or Yahoo or something.

Here's the sad part. Don't cry.

These are the phrases people typed into their search engines right before they accidentally happened upon my blog...

"my boyfriend is smrtr thn me"
"what if she's smrtr thn me?"
"evryne else is smrtr thn me"
"why is everyone smrter thn me?"
"evryne at work is smrtr thn me"
"why does evryne else seem to be smrtr?"
"I think evryne's smrtr thn me"

There were more, but you get the point.

That just breaks my heart. I wish I could find all those people, whoever they are, and hug them or tutor them or...something. They need something.

It makes me wonder how many people, at this very moment, are unhappy...feeling alone and searching for answers. I wish I had some to give them.

I'll Be Your Mirror

"When you think the night has seen your mind
That inside you're twisted and unkind
Let me stand to show that you are blind
Please put down your hands
'Cause I see you.

I'll be your mirror........"
The Velvet Underground

I wanted to share a video from this blog I've been following for awhile...The P.S. 22 Chorus.

I would love to meet this teacher, Mr. B. He's the music/chorus teacher of a New York urban school. He takes kids who have nothing, and fills them with light. Look at their faces when they sing. Just LOOK at them.



In a time and place when our nation is divided into the "haves" and the "have nots", and people are reluctant to reach across that socio-economic barrier to share a sliver of their pie, and people respond to the troubles of their fellow humans with a shoulder shrug...there are still those like Mr. B. working to make a difference.

Mr. B. understands that kids will mirror their world, and he wants them to reflect joy and hope and self-confidence. He wants them to feel they have value, even if their pockets are empty. He gives them a reason to smile, a reason to lift their faces with pride, a reason to...be.

Mr. B. inspires me. "I'll be your mirror, reflect what you are..." It's so true. We get back what we put in.

Someday

Someday I will...

help a daughter adjust her wedding veil

tell my grandchild she looks just like her father

learn how to cook Jewish dishes

give up coffee

go down a jean size

buy a car that does not run on gasoline

learn that one of my students has become a teacher

live in a place that snows

be able to afford a cleaning service

kiss someone goodbye forever

jump out of an airplane

soothe a broken heart

own a beagle

have to be strong for someone

laugh until I pee

go on a cruise to Hawaii

have a much too empty nest

Someday I will look back with peace and happiness on a life well-lived.

Happy Birthday Dear Blog

You have been a wonderful addition to my life! Thanks for letting me be ME, and for always being here when I needed you :)