The Super-Hero's True Identity

KK- 

Tonight our church hosted a "Trunk-or-Treat."  Everyone parked their cars, opened their trunks and handed out candy to the kids in costumes that paraded along the parking lot.  Some cars were decorated with all sorts of Halloween gear, but most importantly, they all had candy.  

T Bear was so excited to go "Trunk-or-Treating."  He put on his Super-Hero costume easily.  Big D took him around the parking lot.  Big D reported that T Bear figured out how to do the trunk-or-treating quickly and soon he could not wait for his friends (Snow White & Tinkerbell) any longer.  He started running between cars to get more candy.

After T Bear finished the circuit, he came back to show me his loot.  He said, "Mom, I know the name of my costume." Slightly confused, I asked him what it was.  T Bear answered, "Robin, like Batman and Robin."


I sighed.  The Super-Hero's true identity had been reveled.  Up until this point I had been clinging to the hope that I could keep my son in a bubble that did not have commercialized super-hero's and action figures.  The longer I could keep T Bear in the dark about these characters, the longer I could keep him as my little innocent boy.  


In September I sewed T Bear a cape with a big letter T.  The only reason T Bear wanted a cape was because he had seen the show "Super Why" and "Wonder Pets."  Those PBS-like characters were the only kind of super-heros T Bear knew.


As Halloween approach, I made T Bear a ghost costume which he refused.  I told him if he did not like the ghost costume, then he could wear a costume he already owned.  He chose his super-hero cape.  Big D convinced me one night that T Bear needed more than just a mere cape to wear on Halloween.  Reluctantly I went to a thrift store and found the perfect super-hero outfit.  It was a Robin costume.  Expect, I did not tell T Bear that is was a Robin costume.  I just told him it would go perfectly with his cape to make him look like a REAL super-hero.  He was thrilled.


He started off Trunk-or-Treat as a generic Super-Hero.  Then person after person commented about his Robin costume, T Bear figured out the true name of his costume.  He also learned about many more super-hero/action figures such as Iron Man, Spider Man, and Batman.  Tonight, I lost my little boy a few steps deeper into the world of super-heros and action figures.  My heart is sadden because that means he is growing up.


Fortunately, T Bear was not upset with me for keeping from him the true identity of his Halloween costume.  His sweet childish nature took the new knowledge with enthusiasm and ran with it.  He loved the whole experience of Trunk-or-Treat. 


I gave my Robin Super-Hero a big hug and then squeezed my puppy dog (Baby Cub) while whispering in his ear that he should never grow up either.  Then we headed home to eat some sticky sticky candy.


Happy Halloween!


-Miss T

Special Sisters Series: friends, pizza and pizookies

*Post written by Andi at marshallstory.blogspot.com

it's 9:30pm, i just got home from a much needed night out with friends.
spencer and olive are asleep on the floor downstairs and harrison is snoozing away in his crib.
i think this is what they call alone time?

tonight was a rare treat. my favorite high school friends were all  together (except for kelsey, why is hawaii so far away?) for 3 hours of uninterrupted girl talk. we laughed and cried over pizza and pizookies at old chicago. i'm sure we were a spectacle, even the waiter piped up here and there with a few comments, but mostly we were too enthralled in the conversation to notice anything not at our table. nothing around us mattered (carbs included) because we were together again.

as we went around the table and each gave our updates; real updates, good and bad, i couldn't help but feel gratitude for these girls. the girls who walked beside me through high school, who shaped me in so many ways, and who have influenced me and continue to influence me throughout my life. 

they are good people...such good people, and they are beautiful, in the truest most sincere form of the word. inside and out. 
they are mothers, wives, and professionals. they are capable. and they are people of faith and conviction.

we talked about marriage, work, kids and family. we were silly and serious and sincere. throughout dinner i kept having the thought that women need women. God put us here together for a reason, but so often we're all too afraid to talk about the real stuff. we exchange pleasantries and small talk, and then go home to wrestle with the hard stuff alone.

crazy,

when there are people in our lives to relate to. people that lift and lead and inspire. in those years since high school our lives have taken us down different paths and we're scattered hundreds of miles apart:idaho, texas, washington, hawaii, but we are so very much the same, and we need each other.

Midnight Run to Winco

KK -


You totally missed out on a midnight run to Winco while I was in Boise.


It was after the Wedding Rehearsal Dinner at the house.  Btown asked me to run to Winco with him.  I asked him why.  He said that he had to use some coupons that expired that night at midnight.


Coupons?  Since when did Btown start using coupons?  I didn't have time to get the details because he was quickly dawdling out the door.  I really didn't want to go, but Big D was not around to go on this adventure with Btown.  I put on some flip-flops with my cute dress, told someone to listen for my sleeping boys and hopped in the car.


As we drove to Winco, I asked Btown why in the world he had coupons.  He admitted to being a reader of a coupon blog.  Laughing he said, "I am probably the only 22 yr old white male college student who follows the blog!"  


That is not true, because his roommates are in on it too.  Btown told me about how they found out about free jeans at Gap.  He and his roommates showed up at the mall early thinking there would be a line for the free jeans event.  No one was there.  But before they got embarrassed and fled, they hung around until the store opened.  They went inside and were one of the first ones to get a pair of FREE jeans.  Pretty sweet.  


Still giggling at Btown, we walked into Winco to find the shampoo.  I selected a shampoo called "Drama Clean" since I thought the name was fitting for myself.  Btown told me that you always have to select your shampoo by how it SMELLS, not by the name.  We then smelled several shampoos and I changed my mind and chose a lovely purple smelling shampoo.  


The cashier gave us some funny looks as we checked out with only shampoo, and then handed her a coupon that made the shampoo absolutely FREE.  I'm sure she was wondering "Who are these people dressed in fancy clothes buying free shampoo at midnight - crazies, I tell you." 


Btown was stoked because his two new bottles of shampoo were sure to last him for the whole next year and they were FREE!  It was hilarious.  


Thanks Btown for an adventurous night (and the FREE shampoo)!


-Miss T


Btown's coupon/deal blog is: Freebies2deals.com

Jeis

Jeis.  That is how T Bear sounded out, spelled, and wrote Jesus all by himself today.  Pretty good, right?


On the "Jesus" note, I have been feeling in awe of the beauty of the earth.  I love autumn because the leaves change into glorious colors.  The sunset is earlier but more rich and crisp.  I am thankful to our loving Heavenly Father, who created this beautiful world for us.  So that amidst challenges and trials in our lives, we can still find beauty all around us.


-Miss T

A nice thought.

A little piece of paper fell out of my planner today. It read:

"Be of good cheer! The future is as bright as your faith."


I thought that was nice. And worth sharing. I hope your cheer is sound, your day fulfilled, and your faith bright.

You are Welcome Costco!

Dear Costco,

As you well remember, my sister had a some things worth apologizing for last week. Well today I have something worth celebrating!

I am your newest Costco Member. It's official folks, and I feel like a true grown-up now that I have a Costco card and can get myself in those blessed doors.

I now say you are welcome, because here are some items I plan on regularly buying (aren't there just some staple Costco items necessary for a happy life?):

Costco gasoline





You just gotta love those long gas pump cords. They can reach around any vehicle. Did you know that the side that the little gasoline icon is on of your dash indicates what side your gas tank opens on? Tip of the day folks, tip of the day.

Costco Muffins

Now these muffins are just beauties. Chocolate? Poppyseed? That delicious apple-ish kind with brown sugar sprinkles, or the coffee-cake-like muffin? I even now love the blueberry muffin! Basically they are just like little cakes, wearing the title of muffin to make you feel like it might be a little bit healthier. :)



Raisins at Costco





Hooray for huge bags of raisins! Did you know these taste great on any breakfast cereal, especially oatmeal?? Another good combo I like is a good ole'peanut-butter and raisin sandwich. Who needs the J when you got the R? And a handful of these is almost a serving of fruit, or so the bag says.







I could go on and on with this list, so I say You Are Welcome Costco. I look forward to a long and happy, mutually-beneficial relationship.

Sincerely yours,
Kk

(and now I want to hear what your favorite Coscto staple is)

Sorry Costco

Dear Costco,


I am so sorry about our visit to your store today. We just came by to get some oatmeal, spinach, formula and pajamas. The pajamas were the problem.


First of all, if you had size 4T pajamas easily available the whole process would have been faster. While I started digging though the stacks, my 11 month old baby started pulling off pajamas by the fistfuls. Then my 3 yr old started digging through the piles. I asked him what he was doing. He said, "Looking for my size." I asked, "What is your size?" He answered, "BIG."


After I messed up 3/4 of your boys' pajamas, I realized that my boys had dumped even more on the floor. I picked them up and moved their grabby hands away from the pajamas. As I was doing so, I knocked off 3 more piles of pajamas. My 3 yr old yelled, "That was your fault mommy!"


I know, it was my fault. By the time I stuffed all of the pajamas back on the table, I noticed that several people were staring. I grabbed a pair of pajamas and pushed my screaming and whining boys away from the clothes while shoving a mini tube of toothpaste into my baby's hand (he loves to chew on them).


My apologies Costco and to whomever had to reorganize them tonight.


-Miss T

T Bear wearing his new pajamas OVER his clothes today.

Education Nation & Baby Cub

KK-

Last week NBC News presented Education Nation. Watch this video to see Baby Cub's appearance in Education Nation.

You only have to watch the first 4 minutes.... the rest is interesting as well, but doesn't feature Baby Cub. (To be exact go to 2:55 to see him fast).

Here is the back story:

Lately, the U of W has asked Baby Cub to participate in a few research studies. We were willing for him to participate because we take the money from the studies and put it into a college fund for him.

One morning, U of W called and asked if they could film Baby Cub. They said that a professor was having her work highlighted during Education Nation on NBC News. I didn't really hear what the research was about because I was excited about getting my cute baby on the news. Later I thought "I should have listened to make sure I agree with the research that will be presented." Oh well, it was too late.

We went to the Lab and the professor glanced at Baby Cub and asked if he was the toddler or the baby that they wanted to film. I said "He is the baby, just the size of a toddler. If that is a problem we are not offended." It was not a problem, so they filmed Baby Cub playing with toys and his mommy. They paid us $20 and said they would let us know if he made the cut.

Obviously he made the cut. Doesn't he look so cute? Big D thinks the appearance was worth way more than $20.

-Miss T

Lady A is official!

Miss T,

Lady A is officially our Sister-in-law and I am thrilled about it.

I'm so impressed with how you managed the weekend. Two boys in Boise with you and no husband (but a Miga and Papa here and there to help you out). Wedding decorations to coordinate and place without the help of me who happened to be the one to commit to it in the first place. Out-of-towners and many relatives to entertain and prevent from heat-stroke at the rehearsal dinner. You did wonderful things to make this weekend wedding a success. Clearly this was meant to be in a magazine.


I just think this picture is perfection.

What a delight to see you. And to see our happy happy happy brother, and our lovely Lady A.

I think you have some entertaining details you could add to the story of this weekend. Any one agree that they need to be shared?

Love, KK