Happy Halloween!

First of all, don't you love the digital picture age? That it's Halloween night, my kids are passed out in bed, and I have their pictures ready to share. Unbelieveable! This is them right before we got into our costumes.

Christopher really understood Halloween for the first time this year. He knew it was coming, he was excited about it all week, and then today, he just couldn't wait to come home and trick or treat. He was Buzz Lightyear for the second year in a row, and he was thrilled!


It was fun with Mallory because she could walk and carry her little pumpkin. Then, I would put her back in the wagon and as we got started walking, she would say, "Wheeeee" in this little tiny voice. Very funny and very cute. She was a Dalmatian, and though the costume had a headband with little puppy ears, she would have nothing to do with it. But the dress with the bone bow tie and the black tights was too cute. And, if you look really closely in this picture, you can see my Cruella de Vil shirt to match her.

Also this year, we are back living in a neighborhood full of kids. Full of them. So Dewey was official candy-giver-outer and I was on trick-or-treat detail. We bought a lot of candy, and we used up just about all of it. Poor Waffles and Fable were in the bedroom going nuts with the doorbell ringing all the time - but Shelby is well-mannered enough that she assisted Dewey with the candy giving.

So, now it's time to clean out and sort the candy - some for the kids, some for me and Dewey to eat tonight (there's no rule against that, right?), and some to go to work with me to get it out of the house. I need to get away with doing this while they are too young to notice. I am spying a small box of Junior Mints calling my name . . . . .

Trip successful!

We had a great time in Rhode Island. Christopher loved the plane ride - especially talking to all of the people there. I had made him a necklace with number beads of my phone number in the event that he got lost, and he told everyone that would listen, "This is my Mommy's phone number." I had to explain that he was not soliciting dates, just staying safe. Here he is in Newark airport.

The Guzewicz reunion was a lot of fun - it's mostly cousins now, except my Mom and Aunt Eleanor - and we all want to try to stay in touch. I really like this tradition of getting together in the fall - Carol cooked a fabulous Thanksgiving-like dinner, and we all really enjoyed it. Now that I know Christopher can handle the plane ride, it will be my weekend to travel up there until Mallory can makethe flight - then hopefully we will all go! I get my fix of Northeast October this way for sure! Here's me, Carol, and Mom.

It got really cold on Saturday, and we went to my niece Gretchen's soccer game - I forgot how cold that wind could be! Christopher and I were as bundled up as we could be - but that was some kinda cold! And winter hasn't even started up there yet, so maybe I am reconsidering my desire for the fall in the northeast - maybe this taste of it each year will be enough!

Christopher's 2nd airplane ride . . .

. . .but the first he will remember.

We are going to Rhode Island for a family reunion of the Guzewiczs this weekend. We flew with Christopher to a wedding when he was an infant, and haven't embarked upon a plane with him since.

First, when I asked him if he wanted to go on an airplane ride, he said, "Nope, not today."

Then, I stopped asking him.

I started asking again this week, and got him to come around. I told him that he and I were going to go on the airplane to see Grammy and Aunt Woobie (that's Carol, for those of you who don't know, and that's my name for her, not his), Uncle Rob, Cousin Hannah and Cousin Gretchen, Peeky, Flappy, and Mallory was going to stay at our house with Daddy.

Then, suddenly, he agreed. Hallelujah.

So, I have spent the week equipping myself with portable movie players, books, snacks, etc. And, I had to teach him how to use his first earphones.

Again, at first, he said, "No thank you." Just like that.

But I waited a few days, and told him that he couldn't watch Super Why on my laptop (see the Super Why obsession post for more info) without his "ears", meaning his earphones. He told me he already had his ears, pointing to his ears. But, I persisted, and we have achieved victory! These are Daddy's fancy cordless earphones, but I also taught him with the earbuds in case the airline doesn't allow the wireless ones.

Ahhh, it's the little victories.

I miss the fall!

Here's some pics of us from the park this evening.

This is one of the times of year that I miss the Northeast. It just isn't the same to still be hot in October, when we should be wearing long sleeves and drinking hot drinks. But we in the South try our best to pull it off - you can find a rogue pumpkin patch making a KILLING to allow people to come take pictures to remind them that it's fall. People put bales of hay and pumpkins in their yards, but none of that detracts from the fact that it still soars to over 80 each day.

Christopher is now in that phase that when you go to take his picture, he shows all his teeth and closes his eyes, thinking that's a smile. That's picture number 1. Then there's Mallory, who doesn't know any better, so you can always catch a pretty natural smile. Then, picture 3, is Christopher when he didn't know I was taking the picture. When did he become so big?

I went to my first NFL football game last weekend - the Texans vs. the Colts. Again - it was hot here, so poor Indianapolis probably had a hard time playing in the heat. And, Reliant Stadium, where the Texans play, actually has a retractable roof for when it is really hot, they air condition the place. Now, that's smart. However, Ike did some damage, so they couldn't close the roof. It just isn't right to be sweating at a football game. Luckily, my friend's seats were in the 30 yards that remained in the shade the whole time. Ya-hoo! Maybe you know the score, maybe you don't, but suffice it to say that any home team that has a 17 point lead until the last 5-6 minutes of the game, and then loses the game, should be ashamed of themselves. Too bad football is a 60 minute game, not a 54 minute game. Otherwise, we would have won. I use the term "we " lightly, as I have become an Astro fan, but haven't quite embraced the Texans yet. I will give it time.

What's a blog without pictures?

Hurricane Ike visits Joanne's neighborhood.

Christopher and Mallory burning some energy at the playscape at the mall in Austin.

If I had been a better photo journalist, I would have taken photos of all of our Austin adventures while Ike was in town. But - these will have to do.

Christopher's Super Why obsession

We have gone through lots of TV show addictions. The first was Backyardigans, followed by Dora (both still quite popular in the Crossland house). But nothing compares to Christopher's current TV show addiction - a PBS show called Super Why. www.pbskids.com/superwhy. It's a cute little show about 4 characters who solve mysteries by looking in books. It teaches a lot about letters, words, phonetics, etc.

The obsession began on our "hurri-cation" when we spent a week in the Holiday Inn Express in Georgetown, courtesy of our visitor who robbed us of a week's worth of power - Hurricane Ike . We watched PBS every morning, and Super Why was on. It didn't take long for the addiction to begin.

Now, it's all Christopher talks about. He watches it while he eats breakfast, after dinner, and after his bath. He cries when it's time to go to bed because he doesn't want to leave Super Why. I made the mistake of showing him the website with Super Why, and now, while I am trying to catch up on work or emails in the evenings, he wants to be in my lap watching Super Why on my 'puter.

Anyway - it's a cute show and all, and I am certain he could be addicted to much worse things, but if I hear that theme song one more time, I might scream. "We've got the power, the power to read - super why-y-y, super why."

Good night!

Welcome to the Crossland Chronicles!

I decided to join the blogging world mostly due to how much I love reading others' blogs. It's really such a good way to keep in communication with people, and learn the most recent events of their lives. Thus was born the Crossland Chronicles.

So bookmark this page, and keep looking. I will get in the practice of updating it as often as I can.

Happy reading!