Trick or Treat!!

This year's Halloween was great. The kids are really able to enjoy it now, even Grace, although she does not really know what is going on, but she loves following her big brothers.

What was so nice about this Halloween is that (almost) all the cousins were trick-or-treating together and they had a blast. They are all very close in age and they get along very well. I hope their friendship will last a long time.There is something about watching your little ones all dressed up in their costumes and walk up to a stranger's door to ask for candy. Then they run to you to show you what they got, and you can't wait to put them to bed and start binging on their KitKats and Milky Ways. And since the boys are great fans of Charlie Brown, they were relieved to see that no rocks were given as treats!The day was capped by a fantastic dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house; could not have been better.
With Halloween come and gone, it is now time to get ready for the holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving.

Recycling some old boxes.

The other day, Matthew said he wanted to use an old shoe box to store some toys.
So I told him that we should make it look nicer.
I grabbed the comics page from the newspaper and glued it on the box with Mod Podge.
I applied four coats of Mod Podge leaving plenty of time to dry between each coat.
And we went from a boring old shoebox to a fun box that will look good in the play room.
When I was done with that project I had the idea to recycle a smaller box that I could use to hold a pipe cleaner flower arrangement. I wrapped it with an old sheet music using the same technique as for the shoebox.
Once it was done, I arranged a bunch of pipe cleaner roses in it and I left it on Eileen's night stand.
It's the little things...

I need some Zs!

According to Wikipedia, sleep deprivation is characterized by having too little sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. Long-term sleep deprivation has caused death in lab animals. Thank god I am not a lab animal. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. I wish the weight loss thing worked though.

Google "sleep deprivation" and you will get about 4,610,000 results!? I do not have to read all this material to know why I only get about 4 hours of sleep a night (on a good night).
Here is why: my days are too long hence my nights are too short. I still get the usual stupid comment "but you don't work during the day! How can you be tired?" blah, blah, blah.
As a little reminder, taking care of three kids ages 18 months, 3 and 5 IS work. And when most people's day is over I leave my shift as stay at home dad to go work my shift as restaurant manager where I will also deal with tantrums!! You should refer to "the fabulous life".

All jokes aside, lack of sleep can affect you big time. I am usually extremely patient, however lately I will admit that I 've had a short fuse. Tiredness can cause some loss of memory too. Some nights I look for my car for a good ten minutes before remembering that I parked it in a different parking lot. I am pretty sure that I'm not the only one in this situation. And unfortunately there is nothing we can really do about it. We do have to make ends meet somehow and if it means being a little overtired then so be it. I thought for half a second about selling the house, downsizing (if it is at all possible) and move the family under the TZ bridge but it did not sound so good. At least I get to spend some good quality time with my kids and I get to see them grow. So yes, sometimes on my way to the mailbox I forget that I am going to get the mail and end up wandering aimlessly in the driveway but I don't care I have 3 good reassons to be tired.

Halloween memory game.

Here is an inexpensive and fun craft project. And since we live on a very tight budget we like inexpensive.

The list:

11/2 inch wooden discs

Halloween themed rub-on decals (or stickers)

Mod podge (or another sealant)

1 tin container

tissue paper

Start by wiping the discs with a lightly wet cloth to make sure they are free of dust.

Slowly rub the decals onto the discs. This step can be tedious so do not rush it.

Once this is done, you can apply the sealant. That will help preventing scratches.

Apply a few coats of sealant and and allow plenty of time to dry.

I found a container at the craft store that is just a little wider than the discs, so I decided to line it with some tissue paper. And there you have it.

The great thing about this project is that you can make it for any occasion and it makes a very nice hand made gift.
While I was waiting for the last coat of mod podge to dry I took a plastic golf ball from the kids toy box. I cut a small opening and glued it on top of a battery operated tea light. Using some small pieces of black stickers I glued on a face and made a tiny Golf-O-lantern!

Can-O-Lantern.

Here is a a good alternative to the traditional Jack-o-lantern.Start by collecting some empty cans. You can use empty paint cans or I opted for some half gallon sized tomato sauce and juice cans.With a marker, draw some spooky faces on the cans. Remember that the more details on your faces, the harder it will be to cut out so keep it simple.Using a pair of utility snips cut out the faces. Remember to wear gloves, you are working with sharp objects. Or make sure you have plenty of band aid in stock and that your tetanus shots are up to date. I go for the gloves.Once all your faces are cut it is time to move to the paint booth.
Use some (outdoor) orange paint and spray your cans. One coat should be enough.

Once all the cans are dry line the them up along your driveway or display them in your yard with some tea lights inside. I use battery operated tea lights. I do not want to be known as the idiot who burnt down his house with his Halloween decorations. Plus they have a timer so I do not have to turn them on and off everyday.

Halloween Craft. Pipe cleaner Frankenstein.

We are about a month away from Halloween which means that within the upcoming month I will try to post a lot of easy to make craft ideas.
Today let's start with some pipe cleaner fun.
Here is what you will need:

• 2 green pipe cleaners.
• 1 black pipe cleaner
• 2 googly eyes
• glue
• nail clippers or scissors

Bend one of the green pipe cleaners into a square for his head. It does not have to be a perfect square. Twist the ends together to complete the square.
Wrap the excess pipe cleaner around the square. Use the second green pipe cleaner if needed until you have covered the entire square with green pipe cleaner.Using the nail clipper or scissors cut off a small piece of black pipe cleaner. We will use it for the mouth.
Take the black pipe cleaner and wrap it around the top of the head. Again, it does not have to be perfect (we are making Frankenstein).Once you are done wrapping the hair, glue on the googly eyes. I glued one horizontal and the other vertical, he is a monster after all.
Glue on the small piece of black pipe cleaner for the mouth and voila!!
Now you can use it as a magnet, a pin or hang it for a nice ornament.

The fabulous life of DaddyO

Around 6:30am, I extract myself from bed and help Matthew get dressed, not that he cannot do it by himself but it will be quicker this way. Eileen already gave him his breakfast and she is leaving for work.

I boil some water for my first cup of tea (since you all follow my blog attentively you know that I quit drinking coffee about six years ago). I put a few (frozen) waffles in the toaster oven for John and Grace's breakfast.

7:10am, time to wake John and Grace and get them ready.

7:25am, the minivan is loaded and we are on our way to the bus stop.

7:35am, I kiss Matthew good bye and wish him a great day; I am so proud of him.

We are back home 5 minutes later, John and Grace enjoy (or not) their breakfast.

While they eat their waffles, the first load of laundry (today there will be only one, sometimes there are a lot more) gets into the machine and it is time for a second cup of tea.

While I clean up breakfast, they get to play (or argue and scream at each other).

8:45am the laundry is in the dryer and since the weather is beautiful, it is time to go outside.

The little ones play until around 10:00am.

After a couple of diaper changes (John is toilet training but...) we are on our way to the library.

We read a few stories play with a puzzle and after running after Grace for a few minutes it is time to pick up a few educational DVDs and head back home.

11:30am, Lunch time. Grilled cheese sandwich for one, chicken nuggets and pasta for the other.

Yogurts for desserts.

After lunch we watch a French educational DVD that we picked up this morning.

12:30pm, after another pit stop (diaper change!), it is nap time.

Grace falls asleep almost instantly, John will be another story.

I clean up lunch, fold the Laundry and it is time for a cup of...green tea (my drink of choice in the afternoon).

I check my emails, get on the net, relax for a few minutes and at about 1:45pm, it is time to get myself ready.

At 2:25pm, I wake up John and Grace from their naps (we will pay for this later), change their diapers and we are on our way to pick up Matthew at the bus stop. In the afternoon we walk there. Actually I walk and they sit in the stroller. I always take a bag of Goldfish with us so they don't fuss. Our little kindergartner gets off the bus and we are back home a few minutes later.

2:55pm, snack time.

3:00pm, mayhem. Matthew and John keep arguing, John hits Matthew, he hits him back, Matthew is sent upstairs to his room and John in time out. I take a deep, no a very deep breath and boil more water (for my green tea!!!)

I get ready for work, I trade the shorts and Tshirt for a suit and tie. Matthew and John are back to normal but i know it is just a matter of time...

We all go outside, Matthew plays baseball and John rides his bike while I am running after Grace who tries to get out on the street.

Around 4:00pm, Mommy's here, I pass the baton and the crazyness.

I am now on my way to my "real" job; like the last ten hours I just spent were a walk in the park!!!

From 5:30pm to around midnight, I will be dealing with another kind of crazyness, trying to satisfy a bunch of spoiled people whose main problem in life is n over (or under) cooked dish.

I will be back home around 1:15am relax a bit watch the tube for a little while, get my ass in bed around 2:00 and we will do it again in about four and a half hours.

And this is the fabulous life of DaddyO, King of all Daddys.