Pre-Halloween Festivities

First the pumpkin patch...Then the jack-o-lantern...
And, finally, the Monster March Halloween parade in Britt, Pat, and Rory's neighborhood...

Election Day conversation

I still can't put into words my thoughts and emotions on what transpired in our country yesterday, so I'm not even going to try right now. However, I do want to capture in writing a little conversation that Owen and I had on Monday night.
Mommy: Tomorrow is Election Day!
Owen: I know what that means!
Mommy: You do?
Owen: Yeah, that means they're going to count all the votes and either McCain or Obama will be our next president.
Mommy: That's right, Owen! And what do you think...?
Owen: (with a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face) Obama!

Sweat Pea

Owen took a nap at preschool yesterday, which means he was up very late last night. At 10:00 I knew he was much more awake than I, so I decided to just have him go to bed with me in our bed. That way if I fell asleep before him, it wouldn't matter. Owen and I snuggled into bed (Brady was still out in the living room watching basketball), and he said to me, "I had so much fun with you today, Mommy. I love you. Thanks, sweat pea." It was so funny. I have called him sweat pea on and off since he was born. It was so funny to have him call me that.

Bedtime Books

Owen and I were lying in his bed last night, and I was reading books to him. We had two left, and I asked him which one he wanted next. He told me, "You can read both of them at the same time, Mommy."
"No I can't," I said.
"Yes you can because you have two eyes."
Kids are so logical!

Canvassing for Obama

Owen has been pretty interested in politics this year (see postings dating back to January). It's old hat around here, but someone commented on how amazed they were when Owen pointed out McCain as he flashed on the TV screen during a commercial break of a football game. It all started back in January when he totally cued into Brady and me as we watched the State of the Union address. A few months later he got to be in the front row as we listened to Bill Clinton campaign from a truck bed on the playground of my school. Finally, after months of talking about getting a new president, it's almost time to vote. So yesterday we headed out for a few hours of canvassing.

Brady was freshly back from a whirlwind trip to NY, so he stayed home, but my mom and I headed out with the boys. Owen and Quincy donned their oh-so-adorable Obama shirts, and off we went. We spent a few hours going door-to-door with a targeted list of democrats and independents. Owen, who is really into rhyming words these days, made up all sorts of little rhymes about Obama. My favorite was Obama Llama! GOTV canvassing is pretty fun because you're working with a targeted list which means you're pretty sure not to get angry people going on tirades about your candidate.

Of all the people we talked to, only one person was undecided. She was a very young, working class mom who had wanted to vote for Hillary and "just doesn't like how negative everything has gotten." She was holding her 8-month-old baby and was interested in my kids and the fact that I'm a teacher. We had a pretty lengthy conversation, and hopefully she'll decide to vote for Obama.

All in all, it was fun, and the kids were perfect! We'll be going out again next weekend. In addition to needing to uphold our county's record of highest voter turn-out, there are some really crazy ballot measures (as always around here) that people need to be voting on.

Shortly after we got home from canvassing, the mail arrived and in it were our ballots! Yea!!! I've always held on to my ballot until the last minute because I liked to vote on election day. I have been converted. I will fill out and turn in my ballot right away so that the local campaigns don't have to waste their resources (and I don't have to be bothered) by calling and knocking on our door. I would do it tonight except that Owen is already in bed, and I have been promising him for months that he could help me fill out my ballot!I don't think you can read Owen's shirt, but it says, "Obama-bama-bobama, banana-fana-fofama, me-my-momama, Obama!"

Mamas are meant to have padding.

My mom explained to my during both of my pregnancies that part of putting on weight during pregnancy is building up nursing reserves in case of a famine. I have discovered another purpose for that extra padding. 4 years and 4 months later, I am back to my pre-Owen-pregnancy weight. This has created a kind of cool albeit expensive problem with my wardrobe and a completely different kind of problem with Owen.

A few weeks ago I was carrying Owen on my hip. He kept shifting his weight around and finally said, "Ow, you're hurting me." It took me a few seconds before I realized that he was talking about my hip bone poking him. I didn't think too much of it, but then about a week ago Owen was sitting on my lap in the rocking chair for bedtime stories. He was trying to lay his head back and rest it, but he kept wriggling around and said again, "Ow, I can't get comfortable," and I realized his head was banging into my collar bone. Poor kid.

I don't want to imply that I don't have any padding left, because I certainly do. I just need to get creative and find a way for Owen to rest his head on my butt or my upper legs when I read to him.

Labor Day Camping Trip

We celebrated Labor Day weekend by going camping at Pacific City. It was so much fun!! Brady and I both had to work all day Friday, but Owen got to ride over to the coast in Grandpa Jimmy's big truck. They met Grandma Dawni there and had all kinds of fun all afternoon. Brady, Quincy, and I got there just in time for dinner.

Saturday treated us to a beautiful day at the coast. Grandma Dawni made us a delicious breakfast of hazelnut pancakes and sausages cooked on the camp stove as well as fresh fruit. Quincy was particularly fond of the fruit! Then Owen and Grandma Dawni settled in for a serious game of Candy Land. I think Owen bested Grandma 2 out of 3.

Later in the day, Brady, Owen and I played pickle ball (kind of like tennis but with paddles and a heavy whiffle ball) while Grandpa Jimmy watched with the dogs and Quincy ran amok on the court. It was all fun and games until he had a mishap with the rope from the net and fell on his forehead--pobrecito!

We wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather at the coast, so we headed to the beach. The boys loved playing in the sand! We ate dinner on the patio at the Pelican Brewpub, which was great because the boys got to continue playing in the sand. Quincy was fascinated by the seagulls that were walking around on the roof and kept pointing to them saying, "ook!". It was pretty cute.

When we got back to the campsite after dinner Brady and Grandpa Jimmy built a fire while Grandma Dawni and I bathed the boys. Then we were ready for s'mores! We didn't have any regular chocolate, so Ghirardelli Square chocolate mint squares filled in just fine:)

Grandma Dawni headed for home after s'mores, and the boys headed to bed. The boys were so sweet slumbering away together in the coziness of the tent. It rained pretty hard that night, but thankfully we stayed dry.

Sunday was a great day too. There were a few lingering rain showers, but there were patches of beautiful sunshine throughout the day. After a yummy breakfast at the campground lodge, Grandpa Jimmy and I took the boys for a hike in the sand hills above the campground. Owen has such an adventuresome spirit that going on hikes with him is always a treat. And peaking of treats...we were treated to a cool find on our hike...bear tracks...and bunny tracks too! The previous night's rain made the sand just the right consistency to preserve the tracks.

Later I got to relax and read my book while Quincy took his nap and Brady and Grandpa Jimmy took Owen swimming. Then we all hiked down to the beach and had a wonderful time running on the beach and daring the waves to catch us, which in fact they did.

After a delicious dinner, we packed up and headed for home in order to be here when Annanne would return the next day.

Thanks for the great camping weekend, Grandpa Jimmy and Grandma Dawni! We can't wait to do it again!!