Rainy Day

Yup, it was a wet one! The morning was actually dry, but the kids were at preschool. It was a new experience for me-- this was the first time that both kids have been at preschool and I was home alone! I've always been busy... getting a haircut, going to the dentist, hanging out with Gus' parents, doing a photo shoot. But today, it was just me and a big old empty house! I actually used the time to get all my photography files (contracts, receipts, etc.) organized and take care of some client communication. I felt like I was really running a business! I mean, I AM running a business, but today felt more business-like than before. It was fun! I also got all the details taken care of for our upcoming overnight trip to Vermont. I can't wait!!!

Anyway, the morning sped by, and soon it was time to go get my little munchkins. I love that they can BOTH tell me about preschool now, and that they fill in little details in each others' stories. They have this shared experience that I am not really part of, and it's really cool! They both burst into the "Five Little Pumpkins" song on the drive home. Lots of giggles. They love preschool!

We arrived home, though, and I noticed something in the grass at the edge of our property that I had been meaning to check out for a while now. It was something dark on the grass, but the only time I ever noticed it was when I pulled out of the driveway, and I would forget about it by the time I got back home. And, um, there are some HUGE mushrooms over there. HUGE!!! Big enough for a toad to actually use as a stool, haha! Gus needs to mow. But they are kind of cool, even if they are fungi...

Shortly after I snapped that picture, it started raining and never really stopped. I decided to take pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes. I learned from the monthly preschool newsletter that the kids do not wear their costumes to school. The school actually celebrates ALL holidays (part of embracing diversity, which I think is so cool), but some kids get scared by the costumes. Instead, they put together a "Halloween Book," where all the kids bring in photos of them in their costumes. Then they look through it, try to guess who's who, and just generally ooh and aah over it. And, well, my photographer self wanted GOOD pictures. I think I'd like these more if we could have gone outside, but Nikos was super cooperative, for once. So I think we will use these!

Later, as we watched the rain coming down, I turned off the tv and announced that all our brains were getting mushy. Nikos suggested that we bake cookies. Sugar cookies, to be exact. I found a ghost and a pumpkin cookie cutter in the cupboard, so we went with that. And, as I was mixing the dough, Maya started singing. In Greek. It's the same song she always sings. And I always ask her if I can make a movie of her singing it, but today she actually said yes! She still seems a little camera-shy in the video, and she forgot some of the words (she really does know the song), but it's still video proof! For the record, Maya seems to be much more open to learning Greek than her infinitely stubborn big brother. Is he capable? Absolutely! But he just won't. Period. sigh... And then we actually made the cookies. I had planned to deep-clean my kitchen today. hahaha! Yeah... that didn't happen. But it was worth it!