A Quick Weekend Visit // Halloween
Jessica Glaze • Nov 04, 2014
Rusty came down to visit us this weekend. The kids were in heaven. We were so excited to see how happy Carter would be to see Rusty, that we brought her into our bed at one in the morning (rusty got in to town around midnight) but true to form she quickly asked to be put back in her bed. (Our kids are amazing sleepers but they need to be alone to sleep.) Of course, after Carter’s alarm clock turned green (when it’s green she can leave her room), she ran out totally excited to spend time with daddy!
First thing we did was surprise Carter with a cow costume for Rusty. Here is the story behind that… I decided I had one more year of picking out Carter’s costume for her so a few months ago I picked little red riding hood for Carter and the big bad wolf for Monroe. All of a sudden, Carter started telling everyone she was going to be a duck for Halloween and rusty was going to be a cow. Huh?! I had no duck or cow costumes and no intention of getting them. But of course, the more she talked about it, the weaker I became until I was walking around Walmart on October 30th trying to piece together a cow costume. My mom had already given in a few weeks back and bought Carter a duck costume. Oh well, the cuteness was so worth it. 🙂
Next we went to a pumpkin patch! When the weather was still in the 60s and even the 70s I promised Carter we could go to a pumpkin patch with daddy. I obviously wasn’t thinking that the nice weather wouldn’t last forever and of course it actually snowed on Halloween morning! Regardless of the weather, I made a promise and I wasn’t going to let Carter down so on to the pumpkin patch we went.
It was so COLD! I’m guessing not even close to the coldest weather we will deal with this winter but much too cold for this Californian. The cold didn’t stop Carter though! Even after an hour of strong icy winds whipping us around, we still had to bribe Carter with a trip to Starbucks for a kids hot chocolate to get her to leave the pumpkin patch.
We got home with just enough time to thaw out and switch costumes before we headed out for trick or treating. Carter was excited but didn’t fully get it until we hit the first house, after she realized people would be handing out candy at every house and all she had to do is say “trick or treat” and “thank you” she started running from door to door. It was so cold that kids were being driven from driveway to driveway but again, the cold didn’t slow down Carter and because she was just so darn cute all excited, we powered through until sun down. I think poor Monroe was frozen solid!
Little side note… Some random kid dressed up as Rusty for Halloween and then posted it on Instagram. How funny!?
Saturday was Rusty’s birthday. I am now married to a 34 year old. We went to breakfast (had the worst service of our lives), took the birthday boy winter clothes shopping, and then headed to downtown Chicago for some delicious mexican food. Apparently, there is a lack of Mexican food in Toronto so Rusty requested Mexican. We had a great time with my mom, step dad, dad, step mom, and little brothers. We missed Breezy, Drew, and the Ader crew but I’m so thankful for my family that got together to celebrate my awesome husband on his birthday.
Sunday came too fast. To make the day just a little harder, Carter woke up and right away said, “Dad, can you put on your cow costume and I’ll wear my duck costume?” I thought about just loading up the car and driving back with him but it just isn’t time yet. A few more weeks and our stuff will be delivered, then we can finally get our family back together. I don’t know if the distance is hardest on me, Rusty or the kids but either way, none of us like it. I’m so thankful for even a quick weekend together. So thankful rusty didn’t have to miss the kids in their cute costumes or Carter’s excitement for all things Halloween. So thankful we were able to spend Rusty’s birthday with him. I’m just so thankful.
Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.
Four kids, I have four kids! Sometimes (well, every day if I’m being honest) I have to remind myself that I have FOUR kids to be responsible for. If I’m not forgetting to keep an eye on my mischievous 2-year-old, then I’m walking out the door for dinner without dropping a jar of baby food into my bag. (Fries for dinner never hurt anyone, right? That’s what Mr. August survives on once a week at least.) Life as a parent can be chaotic sometimes. #thisisparenthood Thank God my two older kiddos are basically self-sufficient otherwise we would never be able to leave the house. Being responsible for four other human beings (Sometimes five if my husband is in town, am I right ladies?) is so hard!
It’s no secret that I am no fan of winter. If you live up north like we do now, you know just how cold, cold is and I can barely survive the frozen temperatures. Even though I would happily leave behind the cold, but there is nothing I love more than Thanksgiving and Christmas! Best holidays of the year, hands down!
It has been three years since we left behind our life in California. Three years since we made the announcement that we were moving to Canada. Three years since we started a new adventures as immigrants in a country that is so close to home, yet so very different. And now, after three life changing years, we are on to our next adventure.
Eli is 5.5 months old, rolling left to right and every other which way, so that means it’s time to ditch the swaddle. *Que the ugly cry.* If you didn’t know, we love swaddling in our home. Rusty and I can count the number of times we have ever had to wake up more than twice a night with one of the three kiddos on our fingers and we thank swaddling for that luck. We start swaddling from day one and we use that as a basis to establish great sleep habits from the beginning that last forever. Sadly, once the skill of rolling is learned, it is no longer safe to swaddling and the transition from swaddled to un-swaddled can be rough. Thankfully, we found the Nested Bean sleep sack this time around and the swaddled/un-swaddled transition has gone perfectly smooth.
The Glaze Brigade spent the second to last official weekend of summer (which is kind of a joke because summer never actually arrived here in the GTA) at Center Island and we loved it! I’m actually a little bummed that we have lived here for 3 years and only just decided to make the trip on the ferry over to the island.
We are just three weeks away from the start of the next school year and I am so not ready! There is nothing I love more than the freedom of summer. No school schedules to follow, flexible bedtimes, endless weekend adventures, and daily trips to wherever we can get some sunshine. Sadly, all of that is about to end and I am already planning our next summer.
Since moving to Toronto, the best part of summer is getting outside. Our days are usually filled with trips to the playground, our near by amusement park, riding our scooters around the neighborhood, or taking a fun road trip, but even in the summer, there are days we are stuck inside. Sometimes we spend those rainy days cuddled on the couch, watching a movie and eating junk food, but another fun rainy day activity we enjoy is visiting our local mall.
I was just a little surprised to learn that Carter would be starting kindergarten, at the ripe old age of 3, just a few months after moving to Canada. I considered putting her in a preschool a few days a week, but never did I think I would be sending her to an all day, every day, kindergarten class in a school that holds kids up to the 8th grade. Cue the mommy freak out. Of course, Carter loved it and I had nothing to do worry about.
My middle child, Monroe, was born with a severe tongue tie, it was actually so severe that he couldn’t swallow. For the first week of his life, we had no idea that his entire tongue was attached to the bottom of his mouth (behind his bottom gums), but over and over again he would choke and sometimes even turn blue. Rusty or I or a nurse would have to suction his airway to get things cleared out. It was the scariest time for me as a parent.
Facebook is filled with groups of moms complaining about the lack of help they get from their husbands. Either dad has never changed a diaper, he doesn’t help pick up toys, dad doesn’t help discipline, or he flat out cannot keep the kids alive if he is left alone. I understand that it can be completely frustrating to get no help from the one person that should be helping you the most, so I am going to share with you a few tips that I’ve used to encourage my husband to be a hands on dad.