Speed Racer and Strawberry Shortcake

Last night we went to Trunk-or-Treat at Tucker's school. It was a huge event as it was open to the community. I had no idea it was going to be so big! Tucker saw the bounce house as we pulled up and said "Mom, is that my school?!?!?!" He was so excited! It was fun and well planned. There was a separate area for younger kids which was great since there were so many "older" kids there. Caroline and Tucker played some games, won some prizes and had a blast in the bounce house!

In the parking lot, church members set up trick-or-treating stations for the kids. When we first got there around 6pm, the line for the candy was ridiculously long. There was no way we were going to make the kids stand in line just to get free candy. By the time we were ready to leave around 7:30 there was no line...it was perfect! The kids got a little bit of candy and were happy!

This has been a fun Halloween weekend for the kids. They really got into it this year and said "trick-or-treat" without prompting and we even heard a few "thank yous." Although it was a little easier this year, I still miss the days at Sewanee when we could go around with all our friends. We knew everyone's house that we went to for candy. Trick-or-treating in the Woodlands was the best. My favorite part was dinner at the Carson's house and sitting by the fire pit outside while the kids sorted through and ate their candy. I knew I'd miss it, and I do.

Mom, Tucker and Caroline looking for candy!

The bounce house!

Caroline and Tucker waited patiently in line for the slide and fun house.

Speed Racer and Strawberry Shortcake trying to hug for a picture.

Caroline hopped over 3 pumpkins for a prize!

Tucker and Caroline in the bounce area for the younger kids.

Speed Racer could hardly see because of his hat...yet, he refused to take it off!!!

Football and Fire Truck

On Saturday the kiddos went with Daddy to the Hampden-Sydney football game. But, before they could go, Caroline had to put on her new cheerleader outfit. She was so excited!!! It was a chilly day so we insisted that she wear a shirt and pants under the outfit. She complied, but was not happy about it. She also had a pink H-SC hat. Tucker got a new H-SC t-shirt and hat. The t-shirt got dirty seconds after putting it on so Tuck proudly wore his new hat. When the kids got tired of the football game, they made a trip to see the fire truck. Lucky for them, they were allowed to sit in the truck and also try on the helmet! Now that's a good day!

Class Picture

This is a picture of the Pre-K classes at Fuqua. Caroline's teacher e-mailed all the parents a copy. Caroline is on the front row, second from the left. She was Strawberry Shortcake, red hair and all. It was really cute!

After school on Friday we went downtown for the Halloween parade. It was fun. The kids were more excited about seeing their friends and the other 5 million people dressed up rather than going from store to store to get candy. They got some candy, but thankfully that didn't seem to be a priority.

Apple Juice, Please

"Your sweet Caroline wants some apple juice."

This is how Caroline informed me that she was thirsty.

"My Mom Was a Little Bit Angry"

It was a quiet Sunday evening. Caroline was playing so nicely and doing her "projects." I was very impressed with how well she was using the scissors. She was making letters and snakes and all kinds of creative things with her "little scissors" and construction paper. It was going all too well.

Before long, she leaves the room and then comes back in with a smile on her face. She was pointing to her hair. I said "Caroline, what did you do" knowing exactly what she had done. "Well I just cut my hair" she said. I asked her why she cut her hair. "Well, it was just getting in my face." Ok, well maybe if she would let me brush it or put a bow in it we wouldn't have that problem.

Huge blonde chunks were missing from the front and side of her hair. It looked like a really bad attempt at bangs. Not cool. After all, it has only taken the better part of her life to get all her hair even. I was not happy, but I was thankful that school pictures had already been taken and I do acknowledge that it could have been worse.

I asked her what her teacher said about her haircut when I picked her up from school the next day. She said "Well, Mrs. Frank, Mrs. Tyree and Mrs. Johnson didn't really like it." I said "Oh really...did you tell them who cut your hair?" Caroline then said "Well I told them that my hair was in my face and I just had to cut it and my Mom was a little bit angry." At least she picked up on the fact that indeed, I was a little bit angry.

Here is a picture of the new hair cut. She did not want me to take a picture as she is now embarrassed and doesn't want to talk about it. She even asked me last night when she was going to get longer hair. Believe it or not, I calmly explained that when you cut your hair it doesn't get longer. Let's just hope Tucker doesn't get any ideas and try to rid himself of some blonde curls...

Progress Report

Caroline got her first "report card" last week. There were no grades of course, but her teacher did have a lot of nice things to say about Caroline. I thought I'd share her comments as this might be as good as it gets!!!

Caroline is a very sweet little girl who has adjusted well to our program. She is doing extremely well and enjoys all classroom activities. Caroline sits and listens at circle time and has made many friends other than Aubrie. Caroline is a bright and a very independent little girl. Caroline is a sweetheart and a joy to have in class. I look forward to seeing her smile each morning.

Yep, it's real....I didn't make this up!

Halloween...Not Yet!

No, it's not Halloween yet, but the kids spent all afternoon in costume. And no, they will not be a firefighter, ballerina, or Spiderman for Halloween. This is just a typical Saturday afternoon with the Krouse kids.

Smile Tuck!

On Friday we had a special treat in Tucker's class. We celebrated Fall by having a little party at snack. The kids had apple slices with caramel dip and sugar cookies with icing. The kids loved it! I was able to get decent pictures of all the other kids. Then it was Tucker's turn to smile for the camera. The following pictures are the best I got from him...(He should have been smiling all day since I let him wear his Batman shirt to school!)

Feeding the Animals

This week after school we met up with Courtney, Hayden and Hunter. They were feeding the horses and goats for their neighbors and invited us to come along. Tucker had no fear and climbed right up the gate to be eye to eye with the horses. At one point he even kissed the horse but unfortunately my camera was not ready. Caroline enjoyed playing with Hayden as we suspect there may be a romance budding. Hayden and Caroline had a tendency to "disappear" and the we would find them off in the corner of the barn alone. So much for the little brothers tagging along! After we fed the animals we went back to Courtney's house for dinner. Hayden continued to woo Caroline...at one point she had drawn a picture on the magna-doodle and he immediately said "Taroline, it's bootiful!" And then when it was time to get in the car and go home, he ran out after us to tell Caroline to call him on his cell phone. It was funny and Caroline loved the attention.

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Caroline and I went to the Pumpkin Patch on her first official school bus field trip. She loved being on the big bus with all of her friends! We had a short hay ride to the patch and then the hunting began. Actually Caroline followed her buddies Aubrie and Jack for a good while as she pretended to be looking for just the right pumpkin. Finally she found just the right pumpkin and then we found another one to take home for Tucker.

After the pumpkin patch we had a picnic lunch and then checked out all the farm animals. We saw cows, rabbits, sheep, chickens, goats and more. We met up with some of her friends and made our way through a short section of the corn maze. Caroline bounced around from one group of friends to the other. She was Miss Social...shocker, I know! We met up with her teacher again and went into the spooky house and then the bin of corn kernels.

It was finally time to go and while I was looking forward to getting home, I was not looking forward to the bus ride. It was not fun, but totally worth it to spend time with Caroline and see her having so much fun with her school friends. And yes, she picked out her own clothes for the field trip...

Happy Birthday Caroline!

Happy 4th Birthday! Caroline was very excited to wake up and be 4 years old! She asked me when she was going to get bigger since she was now 4. When I suggested that maybe we should keep her at 3, she quickly said "No Mom! All my friends are 4 and I have to be 4!" Good enough...we'll let her be 4... Here are picture of Caroline at her school birthday party with pink cupcakes.

Tucker's Lullaby

Every night I sing to Tucker. Not your typical lullaby but an old Dixie Chicks song. It is one that the lead singer wrote for her son. It goes like this:

Rapid Racer's all tuckered out.

Superman's in pajamas on the couch

Good night moon, you'll find the mouse

and I love you.

God speed little man

Sweet dreams little man

Oh my love will fly to you each night on angel's wings

God speed and sweet dreams.

He loves it for several reasons.

1- I often substitute "speed racer" for "rapid racer"

2-He like to hear the phrase "tuckered out" and thinks the song is really about him

3-He thinks that instead of "God speed" I am saying "Go Speed..." He follows this up with "go Speed Racer!"

It is really sweet that he likes this song so much and reminds me to song it to him if I forget. Actually, I never forget I just think I can get away without singing it some nights. He will say "Sing a song to me Mommy." And, should I start the sing too soon, he will say "Not yet Mommy, not yet."