Update

It's been so long, I don't even know where to start. I guess a quick update is as good of a place as any.

• My son started off public school really well. And by really well, I mean that he was only a shell of himself, with an alien on the inside. An obedient, quiet, and calm alien that all schools and teachers love. Not to fear - through willpower (he always did have more than enough), my son defeated his inner alien and reverted back to his rambunctious self. Which is why he had a few detentions lately. But that's another story, a looooong story that I'd just as soon forget.
  

• I am My older daughter is loving all the quiet at home now. She wakes up late everyday, does her school work, plays with her baby brother whenever he jumps on her, helps out around the house, and spends the rest of the afternoon reading on her bed. I love having her at home. We have the best conversations, about everything from why plants can't move to what envy is and how it is the downfall of every woman. Just this week, I told her a simple truth: Girls are a lot smarter about feelings than boys are. She understood completely and nodded in agreement.
  

• My younger daughter is doing great in kindergarten. She reads, writes, and listens very quietly at school, and then comes home to let it all loose. Walking her to school everyday is a treat. Unlike her brother, she insists I hold her hand the whole way, and not just limply. I have to squeeze her hand the entire way. When we reach home, she takes all her schoolwork out of her backpack right away and shows off what she's done. She loves to be held still, and between her and her baby brother, the husband's and my arms are almost always full.
  

• My baby boy turned 3 last month. I don't have the words to say anything else about it. Bittersweet and nostalgic doesn't begin to cover it. For a whole week, everyone walked around saying, "I can't believe he's already 3!" His older sister would deny, "He is not growing up!" and showered him with so many kisses that he screamed at the sight of her approach. To hear him giggle is joy for all of us. Despite our constant spoiling, he remains a sweet kid who apologizes and shares his toys readily.
  

• The husband is still the best husband and father in the world.
  

• I am still blessed beyond belief.

Our Halloween

The kindergarteners on their trick-or-treating fieldtrip. Because the school knows there's nothing cuter than a bunch of kindergarteners.
The princess holding up her underwear which kept sliding down.
The brave dad who let his daughter paper mache his face to make a mask.
The other princess.
The superhero who ran around scaring the princesses and ended up breaking a nail.
The baby monkey who had to be carried from door to door.
The reason why many of the houses ran out of candy.
The loot. There are 5 more bags just like this. Candy, anyone?
The birthday girl with her nieces.
Hope your Halloween was as sweet as ours.