Halloween Weekend :)

*** NOTE - I started to write this post a week ago.  #whoops

For the record, Nory pointed to our Halloween decorations yesterday and exclaimed with disgust, "those are for Halloween, Mom, and Halloween is over, Mom."

HAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!

When your toddler tells you its time to take the decorations down, it's TIME TO TAKE THE DECORATIONS DOWN!  On the same account, it's time to blog about the holiday so that I can say an official good riddance and get geared up for the best time of the year.  You're about to see me go full-blown CHRISTMAS, you guys! #youcringe #Iamnotashamed

But first!  HALLOWEEN.

Halloween weekend happened to coincide with Phil's trip to Jordan for a volleyball tournament.  It was a bummer that Phil had to miss out on getting the girls into their costumes (HA!) and trick-or-treating around our complex.  At the same time, the weekend went by faster than expected because we had so many Halloween activities to keep us busy!  Here's a look at our GIRLS ONLY weekend:

Halloween cupcakes....baked on NATIONAL CHOCOLATE DAY, of course!

Mummy-making in the courtyard.  It was an indoor activity until she begged for glitter.

Ghost pancakes for breakfast :)

Halloween!  Nory and Juliet dressed up like mice and I went as a cat :)

The two of them racing around the house, giggling like crazy :)

Some smothering.......

And some more smothering.....

Playing in the courtyard puddles :)

Overall it was a successful, Dad-less weekend.  I survived a bad rain storm that had me moving furniture and mopping up water at midnight.  I survived the urge to throw in the Halloween towel and skip the trick or treating part altogether.  I survived Nory's post trick-or-treating tantrum related to the departure of her Uncle Steve.  And I survived all three of us getting sick and both girls wanting ME AND ONLY ME the day before Daddy got home.  So, as I said, it was a successful, Dad-less weekend overall :)

HALLOWEEN IS OVER, you guys.

It's now CHRISTMAS, SWEET CHRISTMAS :)

NARRATING THE CAMERA ROLL...

Nory and I made coloured rice for the first time this weekend.  It is SO MUCH FUN!  Especially because it is a "SMALL TOYS/NORY ONLY" activity, which makes it EXTRA SPECIAL for Big Sister "NOR". 

Nory decided we needed to practice trick-or-treating during the first week of October.  Thank goodness the rehearsal participants had "treats" in their fridge :)

My desktop is in a mortifying state of affairs.  Phil and Emily pointed it out to me and, I have to give it to them, they have a point.  My work computer is in much better condition :)

"If Beyonce played soccer, she would totally wear these shoes too!"  I'm happy to help you build relationships with your boy students too! HAAAAA!

I guess Ben is coming on our next trip to Disneyland :)

"Mommy, why aren't the leaves green?"  OY.  My attempt at autumn crafts with my desert babe.

Eid crafts :)  Nory is in a big GLUE phase.  Any craft that requires glue, she's in!  But if it gets anywhere on her skin or clothing, you're in (for it)!

Making Halloween sugar cookies with Aunt Coco!

Sometimes a one-pump, pumpkin spice latte isn't enough.  SOMETIMES, you need to wear plaid too.

Juliet getting into the Halloween spirit with her festive outfit from Grandma and some dinosaur cookie cutters ;)

We found MINI PUMPKINS!  That didn't cost us a fortune!!!!!!!  Check out that decorate job.  It required LOTS and LOTS of GLUE!!!!!!! Haha.

Do you have this much fun at breakfast?

Because if you don't, I suppose I should write you an invite!

Other things I want to share with you today:

1)  Scandal has returned!  OLIVIA POPE IS BACK!  The world feels right again ;)

2)  Yesterday on our walk to the store, Nory exclaimed, "You're so beautiful, Mama."  Em blogged about the other cute things she said HERE.

3)  Em and I have planned an "International Coffee Day" party for Tuesday after school.  There's your heads up in case you want to plan one too!

4)  I have revived my Fitbit and reached close to 14,000 steps yesterday.  Not because I was consciously moving about.  Not because I ACTUALLY worked out.  But because we have a crawler on our hands!  My built-in FAMILY FITNESS CENTER is back!!!!! 

5)  My friend Aimee is the most beautiful pregnant lady.  December is quickly approaching and I can't wait to welcome our little niece or nephew!!!

6)  Yesterday we got out the "FALL" bin and I am SO HAPPY!  All of our fall hand towels and candles and oven mitts and napkins have assumed their celebratory positions around the flat.  Come October, the Halloween decorations will also be unpacked.  I LOVE HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!  It's FALL, you guys!  It's ALMOST HALLOWEEN, you guys!!!  JETTIE'S FIRST HALLOWEEN! 

Just for fun, here are some pictures of Nory from her first Halloween:

Younger than Jet, but much more hair and a little more meat on the bones :)

We still have two more days of STAYCATION to go and, although we are choosing to do some work at school this morning, we have baking and courtyard fun on the agenda this afternoon!

Wishing all of you a beautiful, autumn Saturday :) XOXO

Trick or Treat! /// "Treat.......PEEEAZE!!!!!"

Last night we had so much fun trick or treating with Nory!  She loved the dressing up part to start the evening - making it very clear that she wanted her cat and dog in her pumpkin pail and that she wanted to carry both her pumpkin pail and her Vet kit all by herself.   

It's Dr. Nory!  (The best costume we could think of FOR HER that required no face paint struggles or headband removal issues!)

Ready to go see her friends for a pizza party in the courtyard! 

A spooky face for Grandpa before heading out the door!

Hooray for Halloween!  I'm all suited up - let's DO THIS!

After the pizza party outside, Nory started to knock on the apartment doors with her little friend Seton.  Seton was an adorable bumble bee and so the two of them made a real impression on all of our thoughtful candy distributors :)  It wasn't long, though, before both of them started to sit down during our elevator rides and the novelty of saying trick or treat began to wear off.  Collecting candy is TOUGH WORK for a toddler!  We decided against visiting all of the participating apartments and went back to Seton's flat to enjoy some quiet play time instead.

Then Nory crashed HARD - before 7 o'clock!  Which we didn't know until this morning because when we got home at 6 p.m. last night, she decided to knock on Kumari's door, say a confident "BYE!!!!!!!!" to the two of us, and then slammed Kumari's door on our faces.  That felt really good for Phil who hasn't seen much of her the past few days :$  We were no longer the most desired playmates and ended up making dinner plans with some friends instead.

We can't wait to hear all about your Halloween costumes and see pictures!  It's unfortunate that I have to wait that ONE EXTRA HOUR for people in Canada to wake up today!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   (And we hope you made use of that extra hour of sleep!!!)

TRICK OR TREAT!!!!!!

Nory's first Halloween was a big success.  She got to dress up in THREE DIFFERENT "Halloween" outfits:  she was Dorothy at the autumn fair, sported orange and black on Halloween morning, and went trick or treating as Kuwait's cutest pumpkin!  Here are some pictures of the last holiday before Christmas (yes, I feel the need to sneak reminders in wherever I can):

We really celebrated the holiday ALL DAY LONG.  This picture was taken at 5 a.m.  The outfit is courtesy of Grandma and Grumps!

We managed to capture a smile, but she wasn't the biggest fan of this costume.  Playing Dorothy was much more fun.....(not so ridiculous OR hot)...

Going door to door with a REAL pumpkin and a PRETEND pumpkin!  What gives?!  Haha, Nory visited two sets of neighbours and was spoiled with goodies from each house!

Parkinson family photo!  Costumes weren't allowed at work, but we were asked to wear red/pink in support of breast cancer.  Coincidentally, the two of us matched ;)

I have a feeling Nory is going to fall in love with Christmas.  And NOT because she has someone at home brainwashing her, but because it is legitimately THE BEST holiday around ;)

The Autumn Fair :)

So, the whole reason behind Nory dressing up today was because of the Autumn Fair hosted by my Expat Mums Group.  Since she won't be going trick or treating for REALS on October 31st, I knew this event would be the PERFECT opportunity to wear a costume and embrace the Halloween spirit :)  It took place at a local learning center and it was many rooms of AWESOME for people like us (ah-hem, people who celebrate wacky holidays like this one).  There were activities for children of all ages and if it wasn't so PACKED with Families Galore, I think we would have stayed longer and enjoyed it even more!  Here are some pictures (some are from GEM, thanks GIRL!):

Halloween treats!  I think I would be able to make those Rice Krispie pumpkins quite easily.  There's an idea for you bakers out there!

Nory playing "Creepy Crawlies".  You had to collect three different creepy crawlers in a basket in order to get a stamp on your fair paper.  The kind old lady running the station allowed Nory to complete the task minus the blindfold (how sweet! ha!) and she even stamped Nory's paper without having her finish the task completely ;)

Soccer, ghost bowling, comfort crawling on squishy mats.  SO MUCH FUN!  It was here that a man said to her, "you must originally be from Kansas, sweetheart!"  YAY!!!!!  The best compliment is people recognizing your costume :)

The haunted house!  They really did a great job on this room.  I think this was Nory's favourite part of the whole afternoon!

The "music" section of the haunted house.  Here, you had to make as much noise as possible with various instruments in order to scare the ghosts away!!!!

The spooky tunnel!!!  Thank goodness we had practiced this at home beforehand ;)  She maneuvered this obstacle with courage and DESPITE WHAT THE RUDE 8 YEAR OLD BEHIND HER IN LINE SAID, she did it very quickly!  (Can you tell that I almost got into a fight with a minor?  Haha.  Auntie Gem told him off before I had the chance to!)

The spooky net!  She loved watching the colours of the room change from green to blue to pink to red......

Some last minute light-gazing before departure!

Baby parking!  Haha - I made Emily take a picture of this.  It's just too darn cute!

We really did have a great time this afternoon.  It was nice that Auntie Em was able to come with us (no Halloween costume required!) and it makes me feel more at home here when things like this are going on.  One day, we'll be hitting up an honest-to-goodness pumpkin patch (or two).  But until then, I'll welcome any desert-done shindig that bursts with heart and soul :) Three cheers for the mighty Expat Mums group! 

Our DOROTHY Darling :)

TA-DA! Nory's first Halloween costume revealed! The one we spent FOUR HOURS looking for at the mall yesterday. (You really don't understand how difficult it is to find a BLUE dress for girlies until you're on the hunt for one!)

Dorothy from OZ.  And a TOTO to boot!

The last picture is especially CLASSIC.  Thank you "AUNTIE EM! AUNTIE EM!" for capturing the outfit.  I think Phil and I were far too close to having an adorable-overdose to function a camera on our own.......

OH I LOVE THIS GIRL.  SO MUCH.  SO, SO MUCH! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYBODY! xoxo