Yesterday was a long day for Xander...all that waiting for it to be time to carve his pumpkin! I have a strict non-involvement policy with carving - that's Joe's job. Xander got his table cleared off, got out a guts bowl and spoon, and carried his pumpkin up from downstairs. And finally Daddy was ready to get things started.
Xander hates pumpkin guts. He kept saying "eewww!", but Joe insisted that he help scoop out the pumpkin, since it was his project. So he did. And when Joe pretended to vomit pumpkin guts into the bowl, Xander thought that was hysterical. Of course, he had to do it to.
Even Stuart got in on the action. He was very curious about all this activity, and so I let him give the pumpkin top a sniff. He tried to eat it instead, not surprising since he likes yams.
Xander and Joe scooped, sliced and finally got the scary monster face that Xander had requested. (Minus one pointy tooth that snapped off when Xander popped the mouth part out. He told me it had a cavity, so that was okay.)
Finally, it was time to put the candle in and light up our new jack o'lantern. Joe and Xander did a great job! I was worried that Xander would be scared of the face once we had it lit - that's happened before - but he liked it so much he had it glowing at him from his dresser when he went to bed.
To compound this, Xander was sick all weekend, starting Friday night. Lots of moaning and crying in bed that night, complaining about sore throat, headache all day. So Saturday we went shopping instead (including a trip to CVS for Children's Tylenol) and had lunch out at Los Tapatios, the Mexican restaurant we'd first visited last year. I once again got the beef chimichanga, and I still like it! Plus the fun visiting with Anne, Keith and Alex.
Xander and I went to see the pediatrician yesterday, who confirmed my suspicion of strep throat. He's out of school today, so he can get going on his antibiotic, and then back to school tomorrow just in time for his snack day.
Going out trick-or-treating with Xander has certainly been an experience. When I was a kid, one parent took you out (until you were old enough to go by yourself) and the other stayed home to hand out candy. For us, trick-or-treating is a family affair. And the first year we went I was surprised to see how many families were out walking the streets together.
I can't tell you how depressed this makes me! I mean, we barely had a summer, and already we're getting hit with snow. Indian Summer better be right around the corner, or I'm going to scream. I'm so nervous for trick-or-treating this year, I don't want to be out in the cold.
Yes, it's pretty. No, I'm not ready for it. Xander asked me when we could get a Christmas tree. Sigh. I want summer back!!
We did lots of fun pumpkin patch activities. We had a ride on the hay wagon, the kids got to see some farm animals and crawl through a hay bale tunnel, and there were some cute pumpkin displays. Plus each kid got to pick their own little pumpkin, a gourd, and an ear of Indian corn. Joe snuck in an extra ear for himself, too, because he found a really big one.
We all had lunch in the barn, in close proximity to the apple cider donuts (we bought a dozen to bring home), and only lost one student the whole day - Joe joined the search party and found her pretty quickly, having some fun playing by herself.
I'm glad to have the opportunity to go on these field trips with Xander! Even though I was completely exhausted by the time I got home, it was worth it.
After the first row or so, he pooped out. "I want to watch tv." "My stomache hurts." Seriously?? If Xander is crying about coloring in squares for homework, I shudder to think what we're going to have to deal with when he starts the real hard stuff. 
When all was said and done, we got through the homework and with a minimum of mistakes. Little does my boy know that this is just the tip of the homework iceberg!!
This was an involved scrapbook. Lots of scanning of pictures (mine and Anne's) and tracking down random pieces of paper I thought I might like to include. The result is a pretty cool album documenting various college things from my time there. I'm pretty happy with it. Here's a sample inside page:
And I have to say I'm already thinking of yet another one. No college experience unturned, that's my motto! LOL! Now I have to anxiously wait for the finished book to arrive, hopefully in time for me to bring it to Binghamton in a couple of weeks so I can show it to Anne. Keep your fingers crossed!
He licked all the window clings to ensure their clinginess (blech!). He untangled our "garland" of plastic skeletons. He's tried to find good places to put everything, for maximum scary impact. (Nothing in his room, though, because he doesn't want to get "frightmares".) Here are a few of our favorite seasonal decoration items. 
This is Xander at his desk. This year he has the kind with the cubby underneath for his supplies. He has a pencil box full of crayons, markers and pencils in there. And a journal that he's written some things in, and drawn some pictures in. On top you can see part of the monument he made out of food boxes for their lesson on US Government. It's a monument to me, because I help him. (His words!) Awww!
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