Elephants for Breakfast

This is what happens when I’m asked, “What’s for breakfast?” first thing in the morning.  Since I don’t know yet, I jokingly respond, “Elephants.”  And instead of getting the joke, someone starts looking for elephants.  “Where are the elephants, Mama?” 

Luke even acquiesced, “It does sort of look like an elephant.” 

Can you see it?  Use your imagination.  It’s kind of like looking for pictures in the clouds on a warm summer day, except it’s a cold and dreary November day. And it’s french toast. 

The bonus?  One little boy, who has refused to eat even one bite of french toast for the past few months, gladly ate two slices along with “elephant food” (banana and sausage).  Evidently this elephant was an omnivore.

Freedom

I needed this reminder (as a parent and as a person) from chapter 19 in Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic:

“Obedience to God’s law is freedom.  Your kids should feel the same way about obeying you.  Sometimes you should give them little jobs to obey knowing full well that they will love to do it…. You should not be training them that obedience is bondage.  Do not do epic training camps that teach them that obedience leads to sitting quietly on your hands and speaking to no one.  Obedience to Scripture is life…. God does not command things that make life miserable—His commands are a means of joy.  Make your children understand that obedience leads to freedom and joy—it is the path of life.” 

Halloween Recap

Monster cupcakes.  I’m not sure adding more sugar to this holiday is a good idea, and I’m not claiming which cupcakes I decorated and which ones Caleb decorated. 

Playdoh Pumpkins.  This year Caleb decorated his pumpkin by himself. 

We also carved the pumpkins—one surprised face and one sleepy face since it couldn’t stand up straight.  Evidently I had taken my fill of pumpkin pictures by that time because I have none.  The kids loved putting the “puzzle pieces” back into the pumpkins.  Neither of them got close to the pumpkin guts. 

We also took the kids trick-or-treating to about 10 houses.  By that time, Caleb’s dump truck was full of enough candy to last several weeks, and we had said hello to our neighbors.   

Fall Fest

Our church hosted a fall carnival this year, so we stopped out for a little while. 

The completed costumes:

Caleb’s favorite part of the evening:

Sophia’s favorite part of the evening:

Halloween Costumes, Part 2

Caleb had to come up with special seating arrangements the other night when he wanted to watch one of his favorite shows while wearing his costume:

Here’s what he thought Sophia’s costume should be:

I decided against having the flip side of the stop sign say “slow.” I’m not sure how Sophia would feel about that when she saw pictures in a few years. 

Leaves

Halloween Costumes

Caleb started working on his Halloween costume today.  We’ve had some busy days lately, so it was good to stay home this afternoon and do something fun together.  I’m not sure the costume will last until Halloween, especially since he’s still wearing it, but whether or not it lasts, it was worth the fun we had together this afternoon.  Any guesses what he wanted to be for Halloween?