Happy Halloween!

I know this will sound bizarre, but Halloween has already come and gone for Ohio! Actually, they call it "Beggar's Night" here. Instead of everyone Trick-or-Treating on the night of October 31st, the area is divided and each is assigned a different night to "beg" for candy on the week of Halloween.

Us non-native Ohians are seriously puzzled by this. As we were going door to door in our neighborhood yesterday, I finally heard some theories. Supposedly, a LOOONG time ago, there was a big problem with hoodlums causing trouble on Halloween. In an attempt to deal with the problem and make the occasion safer for the young Trick-or-Treaters, it was decided to have various nights before Halloween designated for the treat gathering.

The second reason is that Ohians are SO passionate about football, they will do anything to make sure nothing will keep them from attending a game, even Halloween. I wouldn't be surprised if that reason is true.

Tuesday was our ward's Trunk-or-Treat, which I was in charge of. Unfortunately, I came down with the stomach flu, so I couldn't go, but freinds took Gregory and Charla for me, but I was SO disappointed not to go!

SO, we were assigned October 30th to go "begging". I bundled my kids up, sending Charla into a screaming fit when I forced a turtleneck under her Belle dress. It took a while, but she eventually let it go (about 1/2 hour later). I actually had Teletubby costumes for all three, but (who's really surprised?) at the last minute Charla maintained her "Princess" status and refused to be La-La.

We went with another family. Their girls match Gregory and Charla in age... it's so cute to see such great, little friends.

Leora was sedated by her juice cup for pretty much the whole thing. I didn't even bring her bucket along. Boy, I remember taking 1 1/2 month old Gregory Trick-or-Treating and definitely bringing his bucket!

By the end, the kids were losing steam fast.

They trudged up a few last driveways before calling it a night.

(the frustration of trying to pick up candy with Teletubby paws)

It was a great night! The kids got some great candy (and lots we won't be keeping). It was a relief to finally put them to bed! On to Christmas!!

Forecast I Never Saw in Tucson

I'd never even HEARD of snow showers until today! I didn't see any snow myself, but I would totally believe the prediction. It was a chilly, wet day!!

Granted, I loved it. I guess I'm still that deranged Arizonan who lives for rainy, gloomy, overcast days. What can I say... I prefer long sleeves and cuddling on the couch, over lying sprawled out, fans everywhere, sweating.

"You Know What You Are, Mama..?"

About the time we started teaching Gregory his most basic manners, Fred made a special effort to drive home one rule:

Ladies First.

I think Gregory understood a long time ago, although he still resists at times. Well, tonight I was wrapping up some things upstairs and told him to go ahead downstairs and that I'd meet him in a minute.

I heard him make it about half way down and then he quickly thump back up the stairs. He had his hands neatly folded behind his back and politely asked me, "You know what you are, mama?"

I wasn't sure where he was going with this, so I asked him to tell me.

"You're a LADY! And ladies go first! So I will wait until you are done to go down the stairs."

YAY for Fred!

How I Told Fred

To be honest, I didn't think I was pregnant before I took the test. In the past there were little clues that tipped me off, some bigger than others. But this time- NOTHING, besides being "late"... which wouldn't be too weird.

So when I took the test, more out of curiosity than hope, I was a little taken aback! Now I had to scramble to come up with some clever way to tell Fred! Considering that my husband was "in on" the fact that we were trying to conceive, I had to think really hard about how I could tell him creatively without him immediately catching on... Yes, I'm cheesy. Heck, how many times do you get to tell your husband he's going to be a dad for the 4th time?

We already had a babysitter lined up so I could take him out early for his birthday, since I wouldn't be able to take him out ON his birthday due to work. I ran to the base travel information office and grabbed a handful of brochures for various destinations like Disney World, Sea World, etc.

At home I made up my own.

(front/back)

(inside)

When we got to the restaurant, we ordered and then had to wait. That was my opportunity!

I worked up to it casually, explaining that I had crunched some numbers and figured out that if we started saving now, we could surely do something really great for our 7th anniversary (also my due date). So I handed him one brochure at a time. He was genuinely excited, perusing each one thoughtfully.

I handed him my homemade one last. If you click on the pictures, you should be able to view them full-size. Basically, it was a tri-fold, the front 2 covers toted it like a resort, but I worded it carefully. I could tell he looked a little puzzled that I'd pick a brochure up that was so obviously less flashy compared to the others.

Inside is a picture of a hospital room. At first he tried to figure it out. Then it was exactly like I hoped it would be. His mouth dropped open, his eyes huge. He looked at me in excited disbelief. My eyes were already flooding... I'll blame the hormones. Finally he asked, "Are you... pregnant!?"

I could only grin and nod. He stretched across the table and gave me a kiss. Perfect. I was so light-headed with the excitement he was radiating. He admitted he had NO idea I was working up to THIS, and said it was the best thing he could imagine doing in May.

How We Told the Family

Being far away from family (and even if we were still in Tucson) we had to be creative with how we broke our pregnancy news.

Telling my family was simple and sweet. I called my mom on her birthday, September 17th (I found out on Gregory's birthday, September 15th) and asked her, "What happened on your birthday exactly 20 years ago today?" She didn't hesitate.

"That morning I found out I was pregnant with Lars, and crawled back in bed. Then your father invited the whole branch over to wake me up by singing happy birthday to me in my room and then we all ate breakfast." (We were stationed at the Naval Base in Rota, Spain)

So I told her, "Well, I can't cram the ward in your room for birthday breakfast, but I can tell you that you're going to have another grandbaby." It just seemed perfect.

So I swore them to secrecy, because I had big plans for telling Fred's family. I had come up with it long before we got pregnant and it had "Olsen" written all over it...

I wanted it to be a total surprise, but hoped that my method of deliverance wouldn't make them suspect. Eric's birthday on October 18th was perfect. Sending a package then wouldn't be suspicious, and I'm sure they figured any pregnancy announcement would come at Christmas, like it has in the past.

I kept the First Response box that my test came in AND the individual foil wrapper the pee stick itself came in. Then I grabbed 2 popsicle sticks and wrote on one, "Yes, we're pregnant, too" (my sister-in-law is 7 weeks ahead of me). On another I wrote, "You didn't REALLY think I'd send you the actual pee stick, did you?" I taped them together, written sides facing out, trying to imitate the shape of a real pregnancy test.

My in-laws are huge duct tape fans, so I first "sealed" the foil wrapper containing my popsicle sticks with a piece of duct tape. I put it in the original box, wrapped that first in paper and then in duct tape (so not to rip away the box's labels when he unwrapped it).

My sisters-in-law were awesome. They schemed with me and were ready with the camera when it was birthday party time. They also called both Fred and I on cell phones so we could "be there" for it.

Without further a due, here's the video of Fred's family finding out about our #4:

Chilly Ohians

So, temperatures in Ohio have plummeted. 2 weeks ago it was still fairly warm, hanging around the mid-lower 80's (still 50-80% humidity).

Well, sometime last week we got a tiny bit of rain and the warm weather was gone for good! Now when I walk Gregory to the bus stop at 8:15, there's a layer of frost on everything. The first day I noticed it, was as I was walking back home from the bus stop, through the carpet of leaves. I realized each beautiful leaf was glistening with a million tiny ice crystals. Breathtaking!

(I didn't take the pictures, but that's how it looks)

This morning I finally checked the actual temperature. When I take Gregory to the bus, it's under 40! That's certainly new for me... and it's still Fall! Winter is going to be a whole new experience... but we're excited for it!

9 Weeks Along and 9 Weeks to Go

Yesterday marked my 9th week of pregnancy AND made it exactly 9 weeks until Fred gets home!

I spent a good chunk of the day baking Halloween cookies. Some are for Lars, the rest to door-bell ditch later that night. We had some little friends over to help. I had to keep getting on Gregory's case for treating the cookie dough like play dough. Kids.

We also baked cupcakes to deliver with the cookies. When I was a kid my very favorite treat to make was this cupcake recipe that you followed and then when they were cooled enough, you rolled up tiny messages and secretly stuck them in the cupcakes. I had no trouble finding cheesy Halloween riddles to print out and Gregory had a blast rolling them up and jamming them inside the cupcakes. We included a warning to "check your cupcake" before diving in.

When it came time to do the doorbell ditching, Gregory was put out that he didn't get to do it, but I promised him he'll get to do it next year when papa is here to help.

All in all, it was a fun day. Let's just say, I was ready to turn in shortly after the kids did, which is rare!