And that's BEFORE Shipping.

So last night I asked the girls to start thinking about their lists for Santa, mostly because Santa wants to be a bit more organized than in previous years and get the ol' ball rolling on gathering presents. The girls eagerly agreed and asked where the latest American Girl doll catalog was.
They found it on their own and took markers and circled their requests, complete with their initial next to the item. Jenna also patiently explained for me the complex system of looking for the letter near the object you like, then looking down at the writing for the same letter so you can circle it.
I glanced through the catalog and was a bit startled by the sheer frequency of circles I saw. To prove a point, after they went to bed, I took the catalog and a calculator to see how much it would be if Santa purchased every item.

Grand total: $1,795.00.

I told them this morning, and though they only have a passing understanding of money and how much things cost, both grew wide-eyed and giggled. "Let's to to pare it down to your few favorite things," I suggested.

Never a dull- or inexpensive- moment around here.

Bedtime Confessions.

Like most kids, Jenna waits until bedtime- just as you are about to turn off the light and close the door- to say, "Wait! I have to tell you something."
Her poor little head is just swimming with things to think about: starting school, making friends, eating in the cafeteria, pleasing her teacher, learning how to read and write, going to art and gym and music, and managing the social stuff on the playground. It's alot for a five year old to process.
Last week we had two Bedtime Confessions.

The first one she got all tucked in, I came downstairs and a few minutes later we head stirring upstairs. Dan and I now make bets about what the statement is going to be: will it be the famous and a bit overused 'I'm not tired'? How about 'There's a spider in my room'? Or 'I can't sleep' or 'My teeth/legs/ankle/stomach hurts' or 'Can I have one more drink before I go to sleep?'
We were quietly placing our bets when Jenna comes downstairs and says, "I have something to tell you."
"Go ahead," I say.
"Weeelllll... in school today during lunch, the lunch lady told us to clean up our area where we were eating, and there was a straw wrapper on the floor, and I picked it up and I didn't know where to put it and then as we were walking back to the classroom I just dropped it in the hall and now I'm afraid the principal is going to know I did that and that I'm going to get in trouble."
"Hmmm.." I said as I glanced at Dan. "I think the janitors who clean the school picked it up and it will be just fine. But next time put it in the garbage, okay?"
An obviously relieved Jenna nodded, smiled and headed back up to bed.

A few days later, I was tucking her in to bed.
"Mommy... I have something to tell you."
"Go ahead," I tell her.
"Weeeeellll, you know GuHong in my class?" (He is a little Chinese boy who sits next to her and she, of course, calls him DoHond.)
"Well... I was playing with my friends on the playground at recess and he came running over and wanted to swing with me. But my friends all ran away and I kinda wanted to go with them so I ran away from him and now I think I hurt his feelings because I didn't play with him."

So I launch into a whole spiel about playing with friends and including other people, and how hard it is to manage all that stuff. I give her a few suggestions about what she can say to GuHong when she sees him the next day. "Why don't you say to him, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings yesterday, GuHong. Let's play on the swings today!"

Jenna looks very seriously at me and says, sort of condescendingly, "Mom. I am very shy. I can't say all THAT to him."

Birthday Bonanza.

On her birthday morning, eating cinnamon rolls and wearing her "Happy Birthday to Me" t-shirt

My big girl Michaela turned nine.

It seems impossible that so much time has gone by since she came into the world fifteen days late nine years ago, but who can imagine life before her?

Michaela is my go-to gal, my buddy, my spirited, funny, cool, friendly, energetic daughter. She is growing up before our very eyes: getting taller, longer, more mature looking, and losing all signs of kid-dom as she careens towards becoming a teenager.

Michaela has been my lifesaver with Alec and he just adores her.

We all adore her.

She had a great birthday party on 10/10/10, where we celebrated Michaela turning 9 and Alec turning 1, which conveniently adds up to 10. Our friends and family were there and ate two delicious, beautiful cakes made by my cousins Eric and Tammie. Michaela received many thoughtful gifts, including super skinny jeans and clothes and DVDs and Wii games and Liv dolls and craft projects.

The Super Skinnies

Alec also had a great time, playing with all the kids, being his usual happy, pleasant self. You could obviously tell he was the third-born child because he handled all the 1st birthday hoopla of a house full of guests so well. He took a good nap in the middle of the party and never really cried. We offered him a big piece of cake but he chose not to have any, probably because he had stuffed himself silly with Twisted Cheese Puffs all afternoon.

It was a birthday bonanza and lots of fun.

Super Soccer Players.

Popsicles!

Alec watches the game

Soccer Stars!

There's Michaela: second girl in in the group of four.

Jenna's super soccer kick.

Watching from the sidelines during a break.

Both girls chose to play in our town's recreational soccer league this fall. The season starts in September and lasts through October, with one practice per week and a game on Saturday morning. It is lots of fun and filled with friends and people you know from school and church and preschool and Girls Scouts so not only do the kids have fun, but the moms get to chit chat as well. Michaela and Jenna have loyal fans in my parents and our aunt and uncle, who come to every windy game to cheer them on.

Michaela has requested the same coach every season since she was four and loves him. Jenna's coach is Dan, who started the season on crutches from his knee surgery and as of today (hooray!) is brace-free and walking around without any limp. Both girls have had great seasons and Jenna only asked once to quit, which is a real improvement from last time she played. Alec seems to enjoy getting out and watching the games and getting attention from the other players' older and younger siblings.

We have a few weeks left, and every parent I know can't wait for it to be over. Getting out of the house by 8:45am every Saturday, with the cleats and socks and warm clothes and soccer ball and water bottle- and Popsicles or oranges, if it's your week- gets a little tiring. But then we're just as excited to start again when the signup comes around for the next season.

The Annual Post in which I Describe the Ritual of Pumpkin Purchasing.

We, like every other suburban family in our town, hit the Red Horse Farm a few weeks ago to get our pumpkin fix. It is so beautiful there, and homey, and the farmer is about 300 years old. He encouraged the girls to "grab a wagon for your pumpkins!" and the girls took that literally, each grasping the handle of a little red wagon, pulling it over to where the pumpkins are arranged on pallets, and enthusiastically piling pumpkins into their wagons as fast as their little arms could lift them.

"Whoa!-whoa!-whoa!," Mommy The Pumpkin Grinch had to yell. "How many pumpkins are you putting in that wagon??"

(Because while I LOVE pumpkins, being a former Pilgrim and all, I don't need $147 worth of pumpkins.)

And The Pumpkin Grinch made the girls put all but three pumpkins each and some gourds back.

Meanie.

But it was a gorgeous day and a gorgeous farm and we got some great pictures from the visit.