*sigh* Sorry. I had to get that out, but I feel better now. Let's just say that the month of October has not been a good one for the members of the Rudegeair household under 3 feet tall. Paige is 1 1/2 going on 13 and Carl's behavior is worse now than when he was 2! Whoever came up with the term "Terrible Twos" forgot to mention that they progress into "Terrible-er Threes!" All I have to say is we'd better get "Fantastic Fours" or I'm selling the boy to the circus.
I think the most frustrating thing (but at the same time a really good thing) is that at school he's wonderful. His teachers are always commenting on what a good listener he is and how kind and patient he is with the other kids. They're saying this and I'm staring at them blankly thinking, "Do they know who my kid is, or do they just say this to all the parents?" But, no. He really is! Apparently there is a new little girl in his class named Katie. Katie gets really upset when she gets dropped off and kind of shies away from playing with the other kids. Carl was telling me about this one day and I told him that maybe he should try and be her friend. So yesterday, when Katie got dropped off and started crying, Carl walked up to her, took her hand, and hung out with her all day. He involved her in all the games they were playing, sat next to her at Lunch Bunch, helped her open her lunch bags (sandwich, crackers, etc.), and proceeded to draw all the kids in Lunch Bunch pictures and hand them out. Color me confused, because as soon as this boy walks through the threshold of our house, he's a totally different kid! Ah, well...I guess I should be happy that he's not a terrible monster at school, right? Right.
Paige is in the beginning of the 2-year-old whiny, temper-tantrum, "Pick me up. Put me down. Pick me up." stage...I am not amused. I've been there, I've done that, I'm not putting up with it again. The poor girl is probably going to have abandonment issues, because whenever she throws herself on the floor in protest of whatever injustice was dealt to her, I just leave the room and don't look back. She then proceeds to follow me through the house continuously flinging herself at my feet. It got so bad one time that I just locked myself in the bathroom until she got bored and walked away! Ah, parenthood...it's so glamorous, isn't it? I've resorted to hiding from my children in the bathroom.
On a brighter note, both kids are really excited about their Halloween costumes! Carl IV, after much debate and going back and forth ("I want to be a gorilla! No, wait...Spiderman! No, Batman!") we have decided on Optimus Prime...with a foam pirate sword...because no ensemble would be complete without a foam pirate sword. Paige is going to be a bumble bee. Her costume is so cute I can't even stand it! I had a tutu made in black and yellow, she's going to have the striped tights, wings, a headband with antennae...I can't wait to see the whole thing put on her! I'll be sure to take oodles of pictures to post.
This past Tuesday Carl IV's school took a trip to a local farm that has a pumpkin patch. I had 5 vacation days left for the year, so I decided to take the whole day off and go with him. So much fun! We started out with a hayride out to the pumpkin patch (which, can I just say, is absolute TORTURE for a mom with allergies whose little boy thinks throwing hay is hilarious?), then the kids ran around the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin each. Okay...if you haven't seen 15 3-year-olds let loose in a pumpkin patch, add it to your Bucket List. ADORABLE! They're running around like it's the day after Thanksgiving sale at Macy's! Carl, of course, headed directly to the muddiest corner of the patch and found the perfect pumpkin...which was immediately discarded because he passed another perfect pumpkin...this happened at least 7 times. Hilarious.
Carl: picks up pumpkin..."Mommy! Wook at dis one! It's so BIG!"
Me: "Wow! That is an impressive pumpkin, dude! Are you sure that's the one you want?"
Carl: "Yep. Dis one's my favowite...I'm going to cut in eyes, and a mouf, and...WAIT! I want dis one instead."
Repeat x 6.
Carl III and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on October 8th! Can you believe it?! Yeah, me, neither. It is so weird to think that I am old enough to have been married for 6 years! Here's to many more! Love you, babe! xoxo
