YEE-HA!

Lily has been looking forward to Halloween for over a year now... yes, over a year. We skipped out on Halloween last year because Brad was stuck at work, and I would have had to take both the girls (a 3 year and a 5 month old) trick-or-treating by myself. Lily wasn't in school, so she wasn't really sure when the actual day was. I think she saw Halloween on some of the cartoons she had been watching. When we would go over to Yorkdale Mall, she would see all the princess costumes at the Disney store and let Brad and I know that she wanted to be Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. She was still talking about her costume into the middle of November. Thankfully, one day, she stopped asking.

This year Lily is in school, so it would have been a little more difficult to skip. Today was a special day at school, and I had the opportunity to help out in her classroom. All the kids came dressed up in their costumes. There were fairies, princesses, a lion, a pumpkin, and a cowgirl (Lily). They had a class parade through the older classrooms, carved a pumpkin, decorated cookies and made spooky pictures.

My friend Jaime came over and looked after Ella while Brad and I took our little cowgirl out trick-or-treating. It was still pretty early, so not many house lights were on. It was also pretty cold, so we didn't want to be out for a long time. Lily was brave and rang the door bells she could reach, all by herself. After a half an hour, and only three houses, it was time to go home. Lily is only 4, so how much candy does she really need? Once we got back to our building, they had a table of candy set up in the entrance, with the Chairman of our Board dressed up as a Marching Band Leader. Lily did a little cowgirl dance for her, and she filled up the bag with chips and lollipops.

Whether you dressed up, or just handed out candy, we hope that you all had a happy Halloween. Lily had so much fun, she is already looking forward to next year, and has decided that she will be a fairy.

Apple Pie

Auntie Heather came over to our house today and helped me to bake a pie from the apples I picked at the apple farm.

Here is the recipe we used... and some pictures Mommy took along the way.

8 cups sliced, peeled apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 frozen deep dish pie shells

1. In a large bowl, toss apples, brown sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon.
2. Spoon apple filling into first pie shell, and dot with butter. Brush pastry edge with water or milk.
3. Flip second pie shell upside down and fit over top of apple filling.
4. Trim and flute edge. Cut slashes on top for steam.
5. Bake pie on a lower oven rack at 450F for 15 minutes, turn down the temperature to 350F for bake for 45 - 60 minutes.
6. ENJOY!!

The Sound of Silence (aka. Lily's First Week at School)

Lily just finished her very first week of school. It sounds like she's really enjoying it. Grandma Norman came down and we all walked Lily to her first day. Lily brought home her first craft (a magnet for our fridge so her school stuff is always on display). She has seen most of the different rooms in the school (computer room, gym, library, and the office... not because she's already getting in trouble - just to drop off the attendance sheet). She has played at most of the play stations in her classroom (kitchen, puppets, painting, playdough, reading, and blocks... at least these are the only stations she has mentioned so far). Her favourite thing to do at school is having snack when she is sitting between her new friends Emilie and Hazel. After school this past Friday, Lily came out and told me she's going on a Field Trip to an Apple Farm... she is soooo excited!!

I'm not like the Mom's you hear about dropping off their kids and crying because their little babies growing up so fast. The biggest change for me is getting used to how quiet my afternoons are. When you have kids, you don't hear quiet very often. It's a strange thing to get used to. I'm trying to change Ella to only having one nap a day (in the afternoon when Lily is at school), so it's even more quiet. Unfortunately I haven't been able to use this time to rest myself yet. I try to take advantage of this time to do my "Mom" stuff. I'm still trying to figure out my daily routine. Our place is normally cleaned during this time, and then I try to have a quick shower before Ella wakes up, and then off to pick up Lily.

Last night there was an information meeting at the school. It gave me a chance to go and look around Lily's classroom, and speak with her teacher, Mrs. Ovadia. It was reaffirming to know that she is doing well, getting along with the other students... especially Hazel. I was even asked if the girls knew each other before they came to school, which they hadn't, because they just "clicked". Mrs. Ovadia did say that it's nice that they have a such a close friendship, but that this makes them "chatty", and has had to separate them once. I can't say I'm too surprised! I guess we'll have to work on that a bit.

Pictures of Lily's first day of school will be posted soon.