Ice Skating!

Happy Halloween

We've been celebrating Halloween forever it seems like. First we had a Halloween party at J's martial arts academy:

Another mom and I hosted the Halloween party at J's school last week:

 We also went to Fire Safety Town for their annual trick-or-treat event. We stood in line FOREVER but the kids had a blast and it's such a fun place to go. And Grandma J even joined us for our Halloween festivities.

M went to her first real boy/girl party with a DJ and dancing Saturday night. There were kids from the 1st and 5th grades there and she had a blast! She's growing up too fast!

And today is just now Halloween! I sent the kids off to school with fun little pumpkin shaped Rice Krispy treats and a special lunch with Halloween cards included. Tonight we have ice skating and then we'll do a little trick-or-treating and get the traditional Jack O-Lantern pizza. Then I'm hoping the kids will be good and tired and ready for bed!

M's Fun Run

It's still about 80 degrees here in the great state of Texas so M's fun run was a little warm for her taste. I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't more whining and complaining. The kids were real troopers and managed to run for half an hour. They had a DJ, mascots, teachers, and parents cheering them on and occasionally jumping in to run with them. 

Martial Arts

J started doing a mixed martial arts class a while back and I just want to say that it's probably the best investment I've ever made in that child. Not only did he earn his first sticker this week (Get this... In SELF CONTROL!!!..), but his teacher pulled me aside this week and told me his behavior has been much better in school. He is focusing better, saying, "yes ma'am," when he is spoken to, and he's just been a different kid. Now I'm not saying he's doing that well every single minute of the day. He's still a boy and he's still got his mom's attitude for sure, but he is obviously improving. He goes to class twice a week and they are very big on self-control, self-respect, and discipline. It's exactly what he needs. The instructors obviously care about these kids, but there is a time for work and a time to play. When it's time to work they are expected to focus and do their best. If they manage to make it through class without several interruptions, they get to play a game at the end. This week they played dodge ball and once J caught on he thought it was the best game ever invented. It took him a good 5 minutes to figure out if it was really ok to be throwing balls at people though. You could tell the second it clicked in his head that he was being not only allowed to do this, but it's ENCOURAGED! He was like a little speed demon dodging balls and nailing kids on the other team left and right. I think mostly this class gives him an outlet for aggression and frustration. He gets to kick, hit, jump, and fight until he is sweaty and tired and ready to go home. It's kind of funny though because I was working with him one day and we weren't using the pads so he was directly kicking my upper leg. He had been told numerous times that if you do it incorrectly it can really hurt. It only took once of him hitting his knee on my leg to realize that wasn't the proper way to do it. He hasn't made that mistake again. Luckily (or maybe unluckily?) he has a mom who isn't a wuss and I'll get out there and fight with him the right way!

Speak Now

M and I went to Cowboys Stadium to see Taylor Swift last weekend and had so much fun! She has an amazing show complete with "snow" falling over the crowd, numerous outfit changes, amazing set design, and excellent stage presence. This was M's first real concert experience and I think it was perfect. I think she's going to be a concert junkie like her parents. She may need to get a job to pay for concessions and souvenirs though! She has expensive taste.