The weather outside is frightful...

Someone may have made sure that another someone was appropriately dressed for the cold weather we've been having.

 

This piercing glare may give you some indication of how that someone else felt about all this attention.

Grinch

A couch full of Grinch watchers (Kelly was there too).

Mental Note

 

Last night Zack and I went to PetSmart to find a prop for this year's Christmas pictures. 

What never even occurred to me was that they sell reptiles there. And where are those tanks? Why, they are front and center as soon as you walk in. Why yes, we did spend about 30 minutes looking at those 8 tanks, as well as the birds and the fish. And yes, his desire to own his very own lizard has been rekindled. And yes, the first thing out of his mouth this morning was to ask if we could buy two lizards today. {probably not}. No, Mommy, after school, not now. 

The first thing he told his teacher when he walked into his classroom was that he was going to get two pet lizards today. And then he went on to regale her with the whole story.

I mentioned to him that we'd have to do some research on how to take care of them because we don't know how. His response? We can ask the man at the store how to take care of them. 

%^*&*&##. Whose idea was it to raise a kid who can think for himself? 

My one hope in all of this (because really, I do NOT want a lizard in the house. And those things are EXPENSIVE.) is that when we stopped at Trader Joe's on the way home, I'd told him that one time I'd seen some lizards in the rock wall by the parking lot. Well, he seems to think that he can catch two of those lizards and put them in a cage. I told him that they're hibernating now, and we wouldn't see them until he was wearing shorts again. He seemed to get that. And I'm really hoping that by the time he's wearing shorts again, he'll have forgotten about the lizards in the Trader Joe's parking lot. 

Oh, come on. Let me delude myself for a few months, please.

Have a good weekend!

Waiting to vote.

He was really excited to go with me and he did a great job clicking on all he right boxes.

Pizza

Zack and I went to Pacci's tonight. He had his usual--margharita with sausage. The unusual part was that he ATE THE WHOLE PIZZA. After he was finished, he sat back, sighed and said "That was SOOOO good.............It was wicked good."  He topped it all off with some gelato. 

Now I am absolutely terrified of our food bill once he becomes a teenager. And my belief that we should be saving for that food bill rather than college has been confirmed. Yikes! 

Happy Halloween!

Zack was a transformer--along with his two buddies, Boden and Emiliano. Yes, it was planned.

Kelly "strongly encouraged" me to dress up to answer the door. And she just happened to have an extra costume. Zack got lots of loot and we had lots of trick-or-treaters. Poor Georgia wasn't so excited about all the door bell ringing and visitors.

Jack-o-lanterns

If nothing else, today was a good day to carve pumpkins. Zack drew the face on his and helped cut it put. I went for a simple cyclops. Kelly and Rob still have to do theirs.

Sleepover

Eyeball cake pops

Thanks, Aunt Kelly!

Dreaming

Zack had crawled into our bed at some point last night. I was getting ready for work this morning when he woke up.

Mommy, Mommy!
Yes?
I was dreaming there were jellyfish in my bathtub! [he sounded bemused]
Really? Was that a good dream or a weird dream?
A good dream!
Were you playing with the jellyfish?
Nooooo [said in an "are you out of your mind, Mom?" tone of voice]

Snoozin'

And then they went searching for frogs...

First fish

Zack had an awesome time on his first real fishing trip today. He and Rob went with Dom and Sean. Not only was it his first real trip, but he also caught the most fish (two) and the biggest fish.

Margaret and I went to a sheep and wool festival while they were fishing. When we got home, Zack was just about bursting out of his skin wanting to show me his fish. He was so excited!

Scarecrow preparation

Rainy day in Connecticut

October Storm

Building a house

He was working on building a(n Andrew Goldsworthy-style) house this afternoon. He must have worked on it for close to an hour, with such concentration. And he informed Georgia that she had to be careful of all the beautiful stuff. He narrated wonderful, fantastical stories the entire time, of going over bridges, sailing in boats, and traveling. It was a joy to experience.

He also took time to pose for the cameras.

Time for a haircut

Can I brag?

Zack drew this picture of himself. Then he cut it out. I was pretty impressed by the fine motor skills required, and by his determination to do it himself. In fact, I didn't even realize what he was up to until he showed it to me. He was just sitting quietly at his table, working away.

His artistic abilities have really blossomed lately, and he spends a lot of time at his table, coloring and creating.