No decent Halloween pictures

The penguin misplaced her Halloween treat bag, and had to substitute her medical bag to collect the goodies.

Trick-or-treating at the mailbox. She didn't get much from this stop.

The kitty cat and the penguin would not hold still. Not during their professional photo shoot last week, and not on Halloween night. As a result, these are the best pictures we have of the girls in their costumes.

They did have fun, however. We went to far more houses this year than last - all the way down to the end of the street this time, instead of just to three houses. There were a ton of kids out in the neighborhood, which took me by total surprise (we had to close up shop by 8pm because we were out of candy), but the girls did really well not being too frightened by them. Kate had the "trick-or-treat" thing down very well, and even Claire was able to get her point across. At one house, I told her to, "say trick-or-treat", and she said, "teat, peas!". No tricks for her.

Tim is gone now, deployed for a good portion of the month. Oddly, they call all trips to the mid-East "deployments". It's sort of confusing; I tell people that he is deployed, and they get this pity-party look, and then sort of scoff when I tell them he'll be back for Thanksgiving. It is the longest that he has been gone since the girls have been born, but I'm pretty sure we will survive. The house is an entirely different matter. He has been gone for two whole days and already I have lost all power to the girls' rooms. I tried flipping the breaker, and unplugging several items, but to no avail. Even my neighbor is perplexed. Awesome. Whatevah, they don't need power in their rooms, do they?

A classy night

We went to McDonald's for dinner. I just couldn't bear the thought of making another meal for the 3 of us (Tim is TDY again). Kate is back to her picky phase, and Claire is starting to like how her sister thinks. There is not a lot of eating that goes on at the table unless it involves macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly, cheese, or fish sticks. Unless you count ketchup for Claire. That kid could eat her body weight in Heinz on a weekly basis.

We made it to McDonald's with only one minor incident (Kate has learned how to unbuckle her seat belt while sitting in her booster seat, and has also learned that spankings follow any such action that occurs when the car is in motion). Once inside, they made straightaway for the prize vault to see what they would get in their Happy Meal boxes. Is that a sad indication of how often we visit Old McDonald's? Really, we go maybe once a month, if that. I think Kate has a keen memory for certain things. I guess I shouldn't also mention that Claire can spot the golden arches from approximately 2.3 miles away?

We got our meals and sat down to enjoy some greasy food in the play area, which is the only place we can now sit when at McDonald's. I proceeded to eat my hamburger while watching a little boy and his father? grandfather? interact. Grandpa (I'm sticking with it: he was older and didn't seem to have a firm grasp on discipline that one usually possesses as parent) was eating an ice cream cone, and apparently the boy had already finished his. He was whining for another one. Then, after sliding down the curly slide, he grabbed the crotch of his pants and sort of pulled them up, sharing a view of the wet spot with everyone in the play area. There was a small exchange between man and boy, and then the boy climbed right up on the play equipment and slid down the slide again. I was totally dumbfounded. I think my jaw might have dropped open. There was no ensuing trip to the potty, and no change of clothes. Needless to say, there was not a lot of playing on the equipment by Kate and Claire post dinner.

Anyway, Claire had ketchup all over her (see above), even in her armpit. How does that happen? We drove home (to the constant sound of, "May the force be with you," from the back seat) and immediately had a long, cleansing bath. Tim is on his way back from NC and will arrive in time to cook the next meal. Woot.

Random stuff

We had poo today! Ooh, sorry to throw that one at you without warning, but Kate finally achieved this potty training milestone. We will see what tomorrow has in store. She rather enjoyed the coveted chocolate bar she got as the reward, although I am concerned that she will demand one every time in the future. Ah, well, better than diapers, right?

The girls got into my make-up today. There was a lot of lipstick, generally on the lips, and it was adorable. I would show you pictures, but Tim took the camera with him to Germany, and I have not yet figured out how to download pics from my phone.

Tim is TDY in Germany for five days. Who goes to Germany for five days? Or, two days, for that matter, as that's about how long he is actually going to be there.

The girls and I got to Skype with him tonight, which they thought was GREAT.

We are in the middle of a mild wind storm right now, which I love, but would love more if it included pounding rain and thunder. I miss the Arizona monsoons with a passion.

I also miss my Parents' Day Out program there. So So Much. There is nothing here like that! It's a tragedy. I did get us a membership today to the YMCA, which has free daycare while you are working out. It's a distant second. I mean, working out is great and all, but sometimes I just want to go have a coffee or go to the grocery store by myself! This will give me a great excuse to go work out, though, which I desperately need.

I had big plans to get tons of stuff done while Tim is gone, but am starting to realize that was probably a pipe dream. House maintenance takes Forever. But I did get 2 boxes of books unpacked today, which I considered to be a huge feat. Soon we will be left only with the Boxes That No One Wants To Open: files.

Claire is trying to jump. She has gotten close enough to doing it that she is slightly obsessed by it. But she can't quite figure it all out, so she runs really fast and then sort of leaps with one foot out in front.

Kate's new phrase: "my friend ___". Tonight it was, "...and then on Saturday my friend Daddy will come home and we'll eat yummy bresstess (breakfast)...". Also her friends: me, Claire, Starbuck, bunny and blanket.

Claire so wants to be like her big sister and sit on the potty. She tells me when she wants to sit down, but only once have we had luck. I have the feeling that this is a fleeting opportunity, but am unsure how to grab hold of it and never let go.