I had every intention of being prompt and posting Halloween and All Saints’ Day photos at the start of the week. You’d think that now that I’ve been resigned to a mostly sedentary existence because of that darn hamstring injury I’d have more time to blog (or clean or learn to sew or do something productive), but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
On Sunday my husband had to work, and Madeline had an out of town soccer game so Nana and Pop generously offered to treat Rachel and Mary Elizabeth to a sleepover Saturday night. On Sunday our resident monkey (M.E.) was climbing a tree, a favorite pursuit of hers, when a branch snapped. She fortunately was not far from the ground, but she lost her balance and she fell backwards, and Pop conjectures that her head hit some concrete. While I was cheering Madeline on with Thomas as my sidekick, my sweet 4-year-old was getting staples in her head. There are four of them (I counted yesterday to be sure; I don’t like looking at wounds on my children), and they really are big staples. A friend of mine asked how she was feeling on Tuesday of this week. “Fine,” I told her. “I caught her trying to climb another tree.” It’s apparently going to take a lot more than a busted head to keep that kiddo’s two feet safely on the ground.
There’s never a dull moment at the Wicker household.
But about last week’s festivities… We had a motley crew this year without any theme like we did in 2012 and in 2009 (Mary Elizabeth just loves it that I played a pregnant witch that year, and she was the one who was in my belly). Madeline was a peacock, and I have to say I was satisfied with this non-Pinterest-y mom’s feather assemblage. She definitely received many compliments this year including one couple telling her she had the most elegant Halloween costume they’d seen. Rachel wanted to a cowgirl. Bless her. It was so easy to throw that one together. Influenced by Madeline’s costume, no doubt, Mary Elizabeth chose to be a peacock princess. The princess part is very important. Madeline told me her favorite part of Halloween is having the grandparents come over. Mary Elizabeth, on the other hand, said the best part of Halloween is that she gets to wear makeup. She’s a girly-girl to the core. Thomas was the fifth child to wear the elephant suit my mom made for us. A friend borrowed it for her daughter in addition to all of my kids wearing it.
Now Thomas was a far more reluctant elephant than his big sisters and walked around headless for most of the evening. I happened to be wearing grey, so I made sure the mask didn’t go to waste.
What struck me the most as I was sifting through the few photos I managed to take on Halloween this year was how old Madeline looks. She’s not even 9 yet (getting very close), but she looks like a young lady. Here’s a photo of her with my mom. I see a strong resemblance.
The older girls had All Saints’ Day off, so we went to Mass with some homeschooling friends and had a saintly party and indoor picnic with them as well. It was a lovely day. Thomas wasn’t feeling 100 percent, so he stayed back with Nana. From left to right we have St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Cecelia, and St. Mary Magdalene.
I hope to write a more thoughtful post one of these days, but this will have to do for now.
Tell M.E. that Jordan had THE EXACT SAME injury when he was about 6 or 7. Climbing a tree that I had REPEATEDLY told him not to climb because the branches were too small. Branch broke. He fell into the grass, but hit his head on the only non-grassy area, which contained the metal lid to the water meter! M.E. wins, though, because Jordan only had 3 staples instead of 4!
When I read of other mothers struggling with the endless stream of ‘things that happen’ to us and our children, I am consoled on days when I too find myself faced with yet another’crisis’. This entry, and your summer of bats etc., rang through my mind this week as I: spent two days in hospital with my son, brought my daughter to emergency, struggled with my asthma and picked my son up from daycare early because A Woman Drove Through The Window Into the Daycare!!! Now I’m just thankful to be home and to have everyone in one piece. Many blessings to you!
Someone drove through the daycare window??!!!??? That beats bats and rabies shots. Here’s to a more peaceful rest of the month. God bless.