OFF WE GO A HAUNTING...

Halloween is coming! One of my favorite holidays! And the bigger the kids get the funner it is! We all indulge in the silliness, and the dressing up is so much fun.

This year Maddy will be a Sweet Witch:



Levi will be a Death Eater (Harry Potter style):


Rube and I are thinking of getting "His and Hers" costumes for the first time in out relationship. From the difficulties we've had agreeing, it just may be our last! Keep your eyes peeled for a middle aged pair of zombie samurai and geisha.

Anyway, we are looking forward to a month of scary celebrations and festivities!

NUMBER ONE GIRL CHILD - SANS CAST!

BTW - Maddy got her cast off! SWEET!

She about pitched a fit when I wanted to take a picture of her arm without the cast as proof. I said we needed to show what it looks like now. She said I should use EVERY OTHER PICTURE from her whole entire life.

Sometimes I feel like she's not supportive of my hobbies. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

KICKIN' IT - NEW SCHOOL

Here is my boy! Playing soccer! For the first time!



He was all over the ball. Running and sweating and hardly even slipping in all the mud.



It would not be possible for me to be more proud.



Here is the recipe for the BEST EVER homemade granola bars that we served for after game snack. One very complimentary parent accused us of setting the bar way too high. You decide for yourself.

(P.S. - I used honey instead of corn syrup, no chocolate chips, no sunflower seeds, and double the dried fruit. Which pretty much means I didn't follow the recipe at all. But apparently I made good substitutions! YUM!!!!)

MMMMM - CHEESY!

Today is Sunday. We at Casa Zamora enjoy a lovely breakfast every day, but we especially enjoy weekend breakfast.

Today I was making waffles for the family when I recalled something my friend Laura shared with me about waffle making. Her husband has diabetes and in his childhood home they made cheesy waffles instead of the sweet variety.

So, I gave it a shot. And you know what - they were great! Levi was the first to taste and he was instantly a fan. When I made more Madigan and I were also converts! How fun to have a new delight!

We didn't put anything on them, we just ate them plain. This would be good instead of toast with eggs because the cheese gets quite crispy and delicious.

So now you know. When making waffles add some cheese. Either to the batter or just sprinkle some cheese on the top of the batter before you close the iron. And then - YUM!

WE'LL SLEEP WHEN WE'RE DEAD

Saturday night was the official birthday party for Madigan's 10th year. This wraps up a week of minor celebrations, and therefore needed to be a blowout. This party - this slumber party to end all slumber parties - did not disappoint. Please enjoy a few pictures of the lovely and delightful girls that made our lives a little more fun and funny one night in September 2007:




Madigan - Welcome to the party! Hope it is all you ever wanted.



J, Maddy's friend from the new school making monkey art on the deck before the sun sets.



A has found some scissors (which were hard to find beneath all the craft paper).



Here is some of the monkey art.



N was enraptured with the paper and glue.



Smile for me C.



How about a cheesy one H?



Here is the product of all that hard work! Monkey pictures for Maddy and to take home. So beautiful!



Next was time for cake. Yum!



Following presents and a round of indoor jump rope, H takes a rest.



T and her turnip. Peas in a pod.



Even better than the dancing in Pulp Fiction, M is bringing the moves!



H is having a deep thought, as the girls were wont to do.



No more pictures, please.



Everyone was lying down for quiet time before 11:30. The last little eyes closed at around 12:30. Manners were observed. Candid conversations happened around this adult (a huge compliment). No voices were raised, no feelings were hurt. Overall the perfect sleepover.

Thank you for letting us have your beautiful small women for an evening. It means the world to us and our own special girl. We will remember this night fondly for years to come. Actually, this is the slumber party that may ruin all others because it went so well.

Perhaps we should quit while we are ahead...


(Please check out all of the pictures from this great night at my flickr account.)

GIRL WITH A CAMERA

Maddy took these pictures. Then the battery died. Makes me wonder what she would have come up with if she had a little time...



Levi in the glorious sun.




Kevin and Davan sharing their day with us.




The beautiful ocean through Maddy's eyes.

AND WITH A GLINT IN HER EAR...

Did I mean "a glint in her eye?"

Nope, her ear. Notice anything new?

That's right. Madigan has 2 more holes in her head. Filled with sparkly faux jewels. G, Maddy and I went shopping today to get running shoes for Maddy (cross country team training starts on Tuesday) and we decided to check out the ear piercing thing. We'd been talking abut it all weekend. We decided not to give it as a gift for her birthday as we didn't want her to feel pressured, in the event that she wasn't ready. I had explained that, yes, it would hurt. That it might be loud and startling. That it would stop hurting right away (because of the adrenaline) but that it might hurt a little later. Nothing a couple of Tylenol wouldn't help. I also told her that she could back out at any time. No problem. (Which, as it turns out, was a lie. Hmmm. What does that say about me?)

So, when we get there there is a girl, about Maddy's age, sitting in the piercing chair. She is straight-up dodging the piercing gun. Her mom is stressing, the piercing lady working at Claire's is stressing and telling her, "You have to keep still! I don't want to pierce you in the wrong place! Stop pulling away!" She is near tears. It's a beautiful scene. Madigan is being scarred just being in the room with them. I'm figuring that this trip will be a bust. Oh well.

So that fussy girl's mom finally says, "Forget it! Get down from there! I'm never doing this again!" igniting a flurry of emotion resulting in the girl's tears, and her ultimate piercing. "That's it?" she said when it was all done. Maddy notices this. Maybe there is hope yet.

So we shop for a few minutes and Maddy gives the go ahead. In the time it takes the piercing lady to get set up Maddy starts shaking and she turns pale. The piercing lady is at her wit's end and tells Maddy to stop stressing. I'm sure that tactic works for you as well as it did for Maddy. The lady brings the gun to Maddy's ear and that's when Maddy starts combo mumbling and whining, "No, no, no, no, no, No, NO, NO!"

And I say, "DO IT!"

She was fine. They look great.

And even though I suggested that a pierced tongue would be a huge hit with all the chicks in first grade (you know how the first grade girls are), Levi politely declined my offer and has no additional holes anywhere on his body.

He just looks so summertime delicious I wanted to share.

ONE DECADE DOWN

Madigan turned 10 today. I can hardly believe that she has been with us for that long, because it seems to have flown by. On the other hand it is hard to remember my life before her. It feels as though I have always loved her. (Some days more than others, you know.)


Today we have a family gathering. She decided she wanted to have banana splits rather than a cake. And she chose some Lilies for the table.


We started with gift opening, G's favorite part!


Levi and Bumper tried to stay cool.


G took some time for a tickle.


Grandma arrived a little later and she brought the whipped cream for the sundaes.

These are Maddy's new sock monkey satin PJs, and new monkey slippers.



The jammies are perfect for a snuggle with Pop.


This cool monkey tag will be great on her backpack or luggage.


This is the new book that she was really pining for. She also got five other books from Pop and G. Perfect for the new Principal's reading club. And a HSM2 game, a Justice gift card, an outfit and a bunch of other girlie things.


This year is off to a great start.

Next week - slumber party. Levi has requested to go away to Pop and G's house for this event. Do you think they would let me come, too?