Joseph's first Trick-or-treating experience

It's dark, but watch what happens when Joseph goes trick-or-treating for the first time!

Halloween Day

I helped out with the Halloween Activities at Rebecca's school today. Recess was still going on when we got there. Joseph was just hanging out with the crowd.








Rebecca leading the parade






Later we went trick-or-treating as a family. We went to a house that a friend had told me about where it was decorated like crazy. Pirate theme. It was amazing.

When we first started trick-or-treating Joseph kept walking into people's homes when we knocked on their doors. He soon learned and even had his own version of saying "trick-or-treat." Rebecca was super polite and always remembered to say thank you. Good girl. Happy Halloween Everyone!!! What a great day.

Have you ever...?

Have you ever...

....cooked a meal with all four burners going while holding a 29 pound kid in one arm?

....washed the kitchen floor with a kid sitting in your lap?

....told a kid massage oil is NOT a good toy?

....vacuumed and swept 6 times in a day?

....done 6 loads of laundry in a day for a household of only 4 people?

....breathed a sigh of relief when 8:00 o'clock came round, the kids were in bed, the house was still standing and you made it through another wonderful day?

I have.

VGI (Very Good Idea): Blueberries and a new snack

A month ago I made these blueberry muffins and forgot that I wanted to post the recipe. The topping is especially yummy.

I also really liked the blueberry cake recipe on the Trader Joe's Box of Multigrain baking and pancake mix:

1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (I substituted plain yogurt because that is what I had at home)
3 T oil
2 1/2 cups Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking Mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries.

Whisk egg, buttermilk and oil. Stir in multigrain baking mix and sugar just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.
8x8 greased pan
Bake 45-50 min. until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 min.

The new snack that my kids both loved yesterday was:

Trader Joe's Chives and cilantro yogurt dip with roasted gorgonzola crackers. Who would have thought? It was a big hit.

Jack-O-Lantern and Music Makers Halloween

More Halloween activities in the Williams household. Rebecca actually did a lot of the carving this year. I was a little worried but it all turned out okay (meaning, she didn't cut herself!)

Music Makers group. (Do you like the little kid who dressed up like me? J/K Joseph wouldn't let go of me that day.)



Let's get to work. (Note the little hand drawn face on the side- Rebecca did that.)



I thought her face was so funny. She wasn't upset, she was just concentrating really hard.



Mission accomplished!



A cutie in a pumpkin hat

Trunk-or-treat

We had our traditional Trunk-or-treat at church. This year's costumes were the easiest yet. We decided on them right before we went. This morning we went to Knott's Berry Farm where they passed out the Pirate Gear. Joseph's superman costume consisted of his bathing suit, his sister's tights and his daddy's old cape from many years ago. Rebecca wears costumes all year long, so it was just a matter of picking which one she wanted. Couldn't have been better. We had a great time.



Ahoy, Matey!



The Snake and her Charmer- our friends Rachel and JD



Hook, Robin Hood and Jasmine



One cute Jasmine and one serious Superman



Even Superman gets tired sometimes.

Just me and my little boy

We've been having super summer weather here in LA these past few days. I took the opportunity to head to the beach with Joseph. We didn't take any gear with us or anything, we just got in the car and 10 minutes later we were there. I love having the beach so close and having a beach parking pass. Despite the beautiful weather the beach is relatively empty and so it is completely stress free. I can just sit there and watch Joseph run around or run around with him. We found a little ledge and he spent a long time climbing up and jumping down and rolling around in the sand. We chased the birds, watched the pelicans and the surfers. He doesn't need any toys to be happy. Just the sand and the sun. We went yesterday and then when I asked him whether he wanted to go again today he immediately nodded his head and started getting his shoes.
I love the beach (have I mentioned this already? Oh, sorry). It gives me such a feeling of peace.
I enjoyed the one on one time with Joseph. What a beautiful day.

Fairy Princess Birthday Party

I did it again. A successful, enjoyable birthday party for my little girl.
The theme: Fairy Princess Party.
The activities: decorating tooth fairy pillows, decorating magic wands
The entertainment: lots of rounds of "fairy, fairy, monster" (=duck, duck, goose) and a fabulous puppet show by Warren the wonderful where the kids had to wave their magic wands to help a monster get some fairy wings to attend Rebecca's birthday party.
The cake: Fairy Princess castle cake complete with real flower fairies and caterpillars
The goody bag: one freshly caught fairy, the tooth fairy pillow, magic wand and some candy

Happy Birthday Princess!

What a beautiful bunch of Princesses!

Princess Tea Party

5 candles, 5 presents for a big 5 year old

Today my baby girl turned 5. We celebrated with a last minute little princess tea party playdate. It is so cute to see how well behaved these little girls can be when put in a "proper princess atmosphere." I had all the supplies at home so it was easy to do. Rebecca was supposed to ring the bell if they were out of food or drink but instead she would ring it even when she wanted to pour herself or someone else some of the water/juice that was still in the tea pot.

At least I still have my teeth

A few weeks ago I was having one of those days that ended in tears and feeling kind of hopeless. I decided to take a different view of things and thought, no matter how bleak things are, I need to have a phrase I can say that can make me laugh. Well, the phrase that popped into my head was: "At least I still have my teeth." Random, I know, but it made me laugh. Elder Wirthlin said a few days ago in general conference that we need to laugh about trials and adversity. I'm not sure if this is what he had in mind, but it's what worked for me.

Today was an "at least I still have my teeth" day.

That's all.

Thoughts about the passing of those we love

If you're interested, please see: http://californiamuse.blogspot.com/2008/10/losing-those-we-love.html

Mom failed

Yes, I arrived at school today to find my little girl with her head in her arms. I walked over to ask what was the matter and she burst into tears: "Today was my sharing day and we forgot to bring something to share." Oh boy. Life is certainly dramatic. I vow to do better and learn the ropes of Kindergarten. Luckily it's her share day EVERY Thursday, so maybe she'll forgive me eventually!

Later today Rebecca called me into the bathroom where she said there was an "Emergency."
Judging by all the laughter I didn't know whether to be moderately or majorly worried about what I would find. Well, Joseph had his toilet paper unrolling moment. Don't they all have one of those? And the normally paparazzi shy Joseph proudly stood there and posed for the camera. It's as if he wanted to take the credit. After all, Sister thought it was entertaining, right? Who wouldn't?

Websters per Rebecca

The other day while walking home I explained to Rebecca who her babysitter would be later that day. She said: you mean the Kelly with the black hair? I said, no the Kelly with the blond hair. After a few more identifying experiences with said Kelly were brought back to memory Rebecca said: "Oh, I know, I know. At first you confused me but now you unconfused me."
I love learning new words from my 4 year old.

Then a few days later Rebecca was telling us about something and said, "I forgetted (her word for forgot), but now I unforgetted." Vocabulary should always be this logical.

October in LA

Don't you just love it? It was so hot yesterday (October 1st), we -the moms- wished we could dive into the water to cool off and leave the kids to take care of themselves for a few minutes.