Over the years we have seen our neighborhood transition from having only one or two groups of trick-or-treaters before we had kids, to being one family of maybe three that visited the houses in our loop, to this year when the street was bustling with families.
I must admit that this year's trick-or-treating was perhaps the most fun that we've had in our neighborhood, simply because there were more people out and about. The weather was absolutely beautiful for a late October day, too. After years of cold and/or wet weather, we were able to enjoy the dry and relatively warm fall evening.
Without further ado, here is our crew dressed up for the adventure.
We didn't attempt anything too creative this year. Ethan opted for a ghost costume that was left over from years ago.
Kate was looking forward to being a black cat (again). She was very proud of the foil claws she made, although it made for a tricky time collecting candy out of the bowls :)
Anna's witch outfit probably required the most work. A cool velvet dress and spiderweb tights from St. Vinny's was paired with a spooky shawl and witch hat borrowed from a neighbor. The most work was transforming one of her crutches into a broomstick :)
Anna happened to have her weekly physical therapy on Halloween morning and at the middle school the kids are allowed to dress up, so she wore her costume all day. Anna's PT dressed up as a shark this year :)
Ethan positively ran from house to house; Kate was caught between wanting to join him, but being anxious to go up to doors without me. Anna was a trooper and used her crutches for the first half hour, but then we had Matt bring her walker over to us. That made the last half of the trip more enjoyable and much safer for her.
The other parts of last week included a couple of conferences for Kate, a call from the school nurse for me to come and pick Ethan up, and mom's first substitute job on Friday.
Ethan had a rough start to the day on Thursday, probably in part due to the different evening routines on Wednesday night. We thought he'd perk up once he got to school, and apparently he did until lunch. Then he came down with a headache (which is characteristic of him when he's tired or sick). The school nurse called me with about an hour left of school and the poor boy was miserable. I was able to run in to get him, settle him down for a nap, change Kate's pick-up routine, find a neighbor to sit with the sleeping boy, and then pick Anna and Kate up. Not exactly what I was planning for that afternoon, but it worked.
By the time dinner rolled around (and Ethan had slept for 2.5 hours), he was feeling much better. But ... we didn't want to leave him home with Anna while Matt and I attended Kate's parent-teacher conference. So, Kate and I drove in to Waubesa and included Matt via speaker phone.
Big picture, Kate's doing great this year. She has a good relationship with her teacher, has continued to branch out in terms of friendships, and is finding ways to challenge herself and be challenged. She is a careful, methodical thinker, loves to read and write, and is continuing to gain confidence. We're looking forward to seeing what this year holds for her.
Friday mid-day Matt and I were able to have a joint conference with the advanced learner teacher at Waubesa. Although Kate has worked with the advanced learner teachers since 1st grade, this is the first time I can remember being invited to have an actual conference with one. We learned about Kate's specific strengths as well as how our district approaches students like Kate. In general, we are pleased with how Kate's needs are being met. She is definitely being challenged at an appropriate level.
On to the subbing saga ... for the last two and a half months, I have been gathering all of the necessary paperwork to become a substitute teacher in the McFarland schools. I didn't realize how much the process entailed! It reminded me of all of the hoops I had to jump through to get my initial WI teaching license :)
The paperwork finally came through on Wednesday and with the excitement of Wednesday as well as the uncertainty of Thursday afternoon, I hadn't had time to figure out all of the systems. But when I got back to the house on Friday morning after dropping the kids off, I had a few phone calls waiting for me, including one from the secretary at Waubesa.
In the end, I took a position as a student aide that day. I even managed to spend most of the day in Kate's 3rd grade teacher's classroom! It was the perfect way for me to get my feet wet again in regards to working in a school. We're planning on me taking a job one or two days a week this winter. I'm hoping it will be a good experience for all involved :)
The rest of life had included preparing for the upcoming cold weather. Our leaf bin is almost full and the yard is almost ready. Hopefully we can get a little more accomplished before the freezing temperatures predicted for the end of the week!
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