Halloween & Chores

The kids got to trick or treat twice this year; first at Sycamore Mall with Colin and then through our neighborhood on Halloween. Audrey was a trooper and almost walked the entire hour we were out in the neighborhood. Then we went to Kathy and Dennis' and Andy and Jess' - this has become our trick or treat tradition and it's a lot of fun. Here is a picture of the kids at Sycamore Mall.
You can see Luke decided to be Superman, which is a really cool costume complete with muscles. I am happy to report that when Luke went to the dentist the Tuesday after Halloween he had no cavities! Audrey was sick with a fever Monday and Tuesday so she was not able to make it to her first dental appointment, but hopefully she is cavity free, as well.

Here's something funny that we are still laughing about. Ben was getting Audrey ready for bed a few nights ago and while putting her pajamas on started singing, "You put your left foot in, you put your right foot in." And Audrey said, "I hate the Hokey Pokey." Really, who hates the Hokey Pokey?! She has been a typical 3 year old the past week, having tantrums, telling us "no," and just not doing what we ask of her. It's great fun! Monday morning she didn't come give me a big hug like usual but I heard her whine, "I want to watch tv." We have a rule that we don't watch tv in the morning and I reminded her of that. Then she started screaming and crying that she wanted to watch tv. I decided to compromise because she was up early and told her that if she got dressed then she could watch a little tv. She cried NO! and kept on with the tantrum. Not how I like to start my day! After 5 minutes she quieted down and said, "I woke up in a bad mood." She finally got dressed and I let her watch five minutes of tv, but I told the kids I'm going to stick to the no tv rule from then on!

Luke learned something new this weekend - how to contribute to the housework by cleaning his and Audrey's bathroom. I gave him my non-toxic spray cleaner to wipe the counter and sink off and he dry-Swiffered the floor. He was so proud of himself! He is even excited that I will eventually let him clean the toilet. Bizarre, but fantastic! I have tried to get him to help with the dusting but he doesn't stick with it. This was a chore that didn't take up a lot of time, therefore he was able to complete it without getting bored. Now we just need to find a way to stick to his chore chart - so far was have been very lax about enforcing his daily chores of clearing the table after dinner, putting his books back on their shelf, and putting his dirty clothes in the hamper. The chart has been on his bedroom door but maybe we need it closer to the kitchen/living room where we spend a majority of our time. We definitely need to work on this!