Fifteen

Maddie showing me her rainbow loom bracelet.

 Have you heard of rubber band loom bracelets? They are all the rage in elementary school these days and both Isaac and Maddie (and Davis for that matter) have jumped on the looming band wagon. They make bracelets, rings, and necklaces using tiny colored rubber bands.

I used to think that Legos were the weevils of the toy world (they are everywhere!), but rubber band loom has them beat.

Fourteen

Isaac and his fake smile eating the fruit of his labor after our annual caramel apple decorating night last month.

Last night during dinner, Davis kept saying over and over, "Dis is disgusting!" After about the 3rd insult, I told him he couldn't say that anymore, that it was rude and inappropriate. "You don't have to lie and say you like it, but find something that you do like and talk about that instead." "Yeah Davis," chimed in Maddie (with sympathetic eyes as she glanced my way), "Because, I mean, Mom did try really hard to make a yummy dinner."

Thirteen

Walking through Central Park on Saturday

My friend recently introduced me to the book, French Kids Eat Everything. Have you heard of it?

It takes sort of a Tiger Mom approach----except it's all about how the French are superior in teaching their children to eat well. While some parts of it rub me the wrong way, overall it is a really interesting read and one I would recommend to anyone trying to expand their child's diet. Le Billon comes up with 10 food rules for families to follow, i.e. "no snacking" and "kids eat what adults eat".

One thing that the author says to her kids often is, "You don't have to like it, but you do have to try it." I use that line with my kids all the time now. Of course, after using it on Davis just last night when I put avocado on his plate, he psyched himself out so much he lost his lunch right then and there. I wonder what Le Billon would have to say about that one.

Twelve

Allie and I at my favorite seafood shack, Stowe's. We stopped there yesterday before taking her back to the airport. Their lobster rolls are the best!


We had the best time with Allie here. I am so thankful for her and all of my sisters. Saying goodbye was rough but I feel blessed to have sisters worth missing. 

Eleven

Maddie at The Blaze.

Every year the town of Sleepy Hollow (yep, it's a real place) puts on a jack-o-lantern festival for the month of October and into the first weekend in November. After our day in the City, Allie and I met up with Ryan and the kids at The Great Jack-o-Lantern Blaze where we saw more than 5,000 carved and lit pumpkins. It was pretty spectacular. My favorite display was one where they used a couple hundred pumpkins to create the Loch Ness monster.