How to be Michelangelo

(Well past Halloween, I know, but I have been extremely busy) I am not finding the final picture of Mater in his TMNT costume, but this should give you a pretty good idea.  I used acrylic paint.  The white shirt and grey pants (all I could find) were dyed; thinking about it later, I could have just dumped acrylic paint into a bucket of water and let them soak (rather than use actual green dye).  I kinda forgot that they were soaking in the bucket, so they ended up soaking for an extra hour and turned into this olive green color, but that actually is perfect for a ninja turtle costume.  I free-handed everything.  The band on the both the front and black was orange.

A Not to Scary Halloween

Well, today was Halloween (it's after 1 AM on Saturday, so it's technically not October 31st anymore, but since I haven't been to bed yet it is still Halloween in my book; I have a hard time going to sleep when my husband gets called to a fire. I just pray he makes it home safely.).  This is the first year that Mater has really been old enough to "get into" Halloween a little bit (will post costume pics later because right now I am too lazy), and this was Dorothy's first Halloween.

Our Beggar's Night tradition consists of Donald helping hand out candy and glow necklaces at the fire station, I take our kiddo(s) to Trunk or Treat at the church and a few houses of people we know, we hang out at the fire station the rest of the night, and we go home and go to bed.

I love the local Trunk or Treat that the church does.  My little ones get a small taste of trick or treating from people we know, only a little bit of candy, and the rest of the night we get to spend with Daddy.  This year there was the added bonus of a free hot dog supper (THANK YOU), which was great that I didn't have to cook or worry about what my kid was going to eat for supper.  One of the church members who participates in Trunk or Treat always has some kind of scary set up in his pickup and wears a scary mask.  I don't remember how things went over with him last year last year, but I will tell you how we handled it this year...

One of the first things Mater noticed when we got there was the "scary guy."  I reassured him, "It's OK, it's just pretend."  We went to all the friendly trunks first, then the scary guy last.  I told Mater we were going to go see him, but he mentioned about how scary the guy was.  I told him that I would go with him, and that he isn't scary; "it's just pretend."  We walked up to the pick up, and I told Mater he could wave at the scary guy; the scary guy waved back.  I said, "See, he's a nice guy.  He's just pretending to be scary."  The scary guy walked around to the opposite side of the pick up so that he wouldn't scare Mater very much; I picked up the bowl of candy for Mater to pick out a piece, and Mater even told the scary guy "thank you."  While we were standing there, Mater even said, "I not scared of him.  It's just pretend."  I'm pretty sure he got it.  The rest of the evening we talked about the scary costumes we saw at the fire station and how it's just pretend.

Well, this is how we handled the scary Halloween stuff with a toddler; hopefully I have the same success with Dorothy when she gets to be that age, but she will have her big brother to help show her the way.

NOTE: Excuse me for any grammatical errors and such because it's is 1:28 in the morning and I'm tired; I heard a couple minutes ago through the pager, my husband voice saying that he was back at the station.  Knowing that he is now safe, I can go to bed and get a bit of sleep so that some way, some how, I can survive tomorrow (which is technically today).  By the way, there was a fire very early this morning (technically yesterday), plus I had slept like crap anyways so I'm like SUPER tired!  I guess my family is going to get an extra dose of crazy lady tomorrow (technically today). ;)  Oh yeah, I guess the first thing I ought to do is take my son to bed; he had passed out on the couch.

Potty Training: Day 5 CELEBRATION

I just realized this evening that this is more than potty training; it's so much bigger than that...

I am celebrating tonight because Mater got 10 stickers, all in one day!  My sister in-law and a niece were here briefly to drop something off and the two munchkins played until it was time for them to go.  While they were here, Mater earned two stickers; his final stickers to make 10 and get back one of his "big boy" items.  He was SOOO excited; he even made sure his cousin watched him use the potty.  He was so proud of himself.

Before we place the 10th sticker on the chart, I gave him a list of options as to what he wanted back and he said his (stuffed) tiger.  After we put the 10th sticker on, I asked him again, and again, he said he wanted his tiger. (FYI, his tiger has been "watching" him use the potty from the top of the messy dryer.)

Well, I pulled that tiger off the dryer, and Mater was so happy that he gave him a GREAT BIG squeeze.  It was so sweet.  From that moment until he went to bed (except for when he used the potty again), he didn't let go of his tiger.  He kept a tight hold on that tiger.  My sister in-law, whom works in early childhood education, said to me that she thought it was a pretty ingenious idea to take away and give back to them the stuff they already have, rather than buy them something new.

I guess you could say that it all goes back to the three R's.  In this house, toys, blankies, and books are a privilege, not a right.  He probably appreciates his stuffed tiger more now than he ever has before.