tidbits of October from the iPhone

A few scattered pieces from October, complements of my iPhone.

Jason's makeshift Halloween costume at work. One of his coworkers is Egyptian and had brought in a few headscarves for people to try on. I'm sure Jason is going to be pretty happy about me posting this picture on the blog :).

We finally started Mommy School on a regular basis and the kids are ecstatic about it. It probably would have helped to ward off the whole Montreal Meltdown. But, alas, hindsight is always so much clearer. In any case - we're having fun!

Jason's friend, Moe, from his undergrad days came to visit us. I have yet to see the kids adjust to anyone this quickly. They adore him. I think the fact that he is from Egypt knocked him up in the cool factor pretty quickly. But also, he's just pretty cool in their eyes. They asked to make cards to send to him the next day to thank him for coming over. It was pretty sweet.

I've put the kids to work making their own lunches. Of course, this only really works for sandwiches, but it's a start. I get them involved with dinner wherever possible, but lunch is the first meal that they prepared 100% on their own. It was interesting to see the finished result. They also have given their hand at making their own muesli for breakfast now as well. Breakfast has been mostly successful, short of one little incident where the cinnamon lid came off midshake and we ended up with a mountain of cinnamon. We all had a good laugh before we scooped it off (I think I have a picture of that somewhere..).

Love seeing these kids play together as they brainstorm train ideas.

I am happy that green smoothies are in full force around here as we start working to keep all those winter bugs at bay. 

The kids adore helping out with the green smoothies. I am so glad they they like them so much. It is such an easy way to make sure they get lots of nutrients that they don't get otherwise (like Milayla, who isn't too keen on trying to chew lettuce. Though that isn't for lack of trying!).

This is what the kids do when I tell them that Daddy should be home soon. I can't help but smile. They love Daddy and it's not hard to see why - he's pretty awesome.

Of course, the moment that they see Jason walk down our sidewalk the kids bolt for the nearest hiding spot and we play an impromptu game of Hide and Seek. Every time.

Another Mommy school picture that I can't help but post. I love their smiles.

This is a pretty regular site around here; the kids have moved their chairs into the hallway to make a train (the regularly go to India, Japan, Germany, and Peru on that train!). Milayla is trekking around the apartment in Atticus' shoes and Atticus is helping their alligator (from Peru) crawl up Milayla's leg. Fun times. They're so imaginative. I love it.

Things have turned a tad chilly and very wet around here (though definitely not as rainy as a Bremen fall was!) so the kids have loved digging out their warm hats and mitts.

And with all that rain, our front steps have gotten particularly slippery (which I was a tad worried about) and Milayla was unfortunate enough as to have a tumble.

Poor girl. Her nose was pretty swollen for a little while but she was still smiling. She is brave. The other day she got a piece of glass in her foot and she very casually let me know and then braved a smile while I dug in to pick it out. I was impressed.

And I am happy to report we now have a winter carpet on our stairs so that, hopefully, that will greatly reduce our chances of going for a slip down them!