YUP, IT'S DEFINITELY A CALGON-TAKE-ME-AWAY MOMENT

I can hear their voices rising, wafting over the sound of the Narnia audiobook (which they love, by the way), and piercing my ears as I weave in and out of the sea of stunned California drivers -- it's drizzling this morning, after all, oh what do we do? what do we do? And I'm calmly trying to tell them that I'm going to have to turn the story off if they don't settle down when Saia, obviously thoroughly exasperated with her brother at this point, screams at the top of her lungs...

"NO, SANTIAGO, NO!!!! A WOLF JUST CAN'T DANCE!!! IT CAN'T!!!"

And then she begins to weep. Uncontrollably.

And he, always indifferent to her overexpression of emotion (no comments, Elise), chooses simply to continue insisting in a very calm, very rational voice that yes, wolves can to dance.

She's over the edge now, kicking her legs all over the place and throwing her hands up in the air, and yelling over and over again, "Why won't you listen to me???" [yeah, I thought that one was a little funny, too.]

But he's completely unaffected, practically humming to himself some little diddy about wolves dancing. And she's just beside herself with frustration.

Keenly observing that an intervention is now definitely in order (and having reached a red light so that I can turn around and glare appropriately), I ask her to please explain why it is that she believes that wolves can't dance. [Yes, it's THAT important.]

"Well, Mama," she begins. [sniff, sniff] "It's because a wolf has 4 paws and walks on the ground, but a dragon can stand up on only his back two legs, so HE can dance."

[Um....ok.]

"You see!?" she says, scowling at Santiago.

"Oh," he responds. "Ok."

[Oh, dear God, just 11 more days til vacation!!!]

HALLOWEEN PICS AND VIDEO, AS PROMISED

Here are a couple of pics of the pumpkin patch (plus giant slide) this past weekend, trick-or-treating, sorting through the booty, and a couple of corresponding video snippets. Enjoy!




If you can't see the bouncy house video clip above, click here.

If you can't see the trick-or-treating video clip above, please click here.
Giant Slide video snippet: [still missing, but check back tomorrow]

IT'S THE TRICKY TREATERS, THE TRICKY TREATERS!!!

[DING! DONG!]

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" they both scream as they run from the dining room to the front door flailing their arms in the air and chanting, "It's the tricky treaters! It's the tricky treaters!"

Mommy tries to head them off at the pass, snatching up the bowl of goodies along the way, and flinging the door open just in time to hear a mass of black and silver and orange and white shout almost in unison, "TRICK OR TREAT!!!"

And I'm watching Saia's jaw drop (suddenly realizing that this is actually the first year they've been up late enough to experience this) as she stares in complete and utter astonishment at her Mommy just GIVING these complete strangers handfuls of treats -- FOR NO APPARENT REASON!!!! [gasp! the horror!]

And as the pack of sugar-infused muppets head off to hit the next house down, Saia turns to me, her eyes welling up with tears and her lower lip beginning to move into full quiver, and she asks, "But Mama, wasn't I a good tricky treater, too?"

[Yeah, we fell for it, too.]