The Dynamic Duo!!

Halloween night was the debut of the Kuhlman Dynamic Duo!  Lincoln was definitely sure that he wanted to be a Superhero this year, and there was a little discussion about who was his favorite.  He decided Batman would be the coolest, and I was excited that Beau could be Robin.  Beau is no second fiddle, mind you.  He's the Boy Wonder in every way!  One little hiccup in the Batman costume idea . . . Lincoln has no idea of the actual concept of Batman.  Not really a problem for a 3 year old (I mean, the movies are a little darker than Sesame Street!), right?  Except Linc insisted that to be Batman, he would need to carry a bat with him to bat people that tried to get our candy.  So Batman carries a bat . . . of course!!  I went along with the bat concept for a while, but we left it behind when we headed out to trick or treat!

The most fun thing about wearing the costumes is looking in the mirror!!!  They spent forever checking themselves out and squealing with glee! 

 That Robin is too cute!  Batman really appreciated his sidekick.  He kept running up to Beau and squeezing him saying, "I love you my baby toddler best buddy Robin."  Beau is a little confused about his identity, and not just because Lincoln uses so many words (baby toddler best buddy) to describe him.  Since we got the costumes, he has referred to them both as Batman Costume.  He often retrieves his Robin suit from the closet and shouts Batman Costume over and over.  I don't care to correct him because he's so excited to be part of the fun!  Seriously, he is the cutest Robin ever!

Batman was super excited to trick or treat.  He and Beau practiced saying "trick or treat", "thank you" and "Happy Halloween".  Is it time for candy yet?

Wait - Batman had to plant one more sweet kiss on baby toddler best buddy Robin before we left.  I think Robin is not as lovey as Batman.

We tried a for a few pictures next to the pumpkins and flowers, but these guys were ready to go!

Our first stop was at Ms. Sally's house next door.  Linc rang the bell with Beau in tow.  Ms. Sally opened the door, and Batman shouted, "Give me some candy, please!"   Ummmmm, that's not what we practiced!  She laughed as I scolded him, and we tried the right words.  After a round of "trick or treat", they boys were rewarded with Hershey bars - their favorite!!!  Thanks, Ms. Sally!  We hit up each house on our side of the street with lots of success.  The boys followed protocol and said all of the previously mentioned phrases.  Batman always took the lead, and Robin was always close behind. 

While waiting on Ms. Gail to open her door, Beau gave me a funny look like "are we supposed to be doing this?" 

After visiting all of the houses on our street, we headed to see Marte and Scooter.  These guys hit the jackpot there!  They got to see Courtney and Matt and doggie Sophie, and Marte and Scooter had special treats for them.  Along with candy, Linc got The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown book, Beau got Pooh's Halloween Parade book, and they got a cool dancing Snoopy plush.  Our last stop was at the Robison's for candy and a quick peek at baby Jackson. 

Boy, trick or treating can wear a kid out . . . it was time to chill after such a busy night!

We had a super fun Halloween night!  There was lots of candy, lots of walking, lots of laughing, lots of "trick or treat", lots of "thank  you", lots of "Happy Halloween" (in Beau's case, lots of "Happy Ween"), and lots of fun.  Batman and Robin picked two treats to eat tonight, and they were super happy.  I followed up the treats with granola bars and crackers . . . I'm hoping I can reverse the sugar effect with healthy food!  I never thought I would be one of "those" moms who went through the candy, but I totally went through their pumpkins after they went to bed.  In to the trash went hard candy, gum, Laffy Taffy and Starburst.  Sorry guys, but you can live it up with chocolate bars, goldfish and M&Ms.  I'm so glad the boys had a fun night.  These costumes aren't going anywhere, and I'm totally fine with them wearing them every day to play.  And don't judge if Batman and Robin show up at the library or Target next month!  We are definitely getting our money's worth with these outfits!

A Non-Fire and Squirrely Morning

There is never a dull moment around here . . . what do I have to do to get some drama-free days?!?!  The Saturday evening that Kevin was on his plane to Belgium (a couple of weeks ago), I discovered a loud hissing sound coming from an outlet in the kitchen as I was shutting down the house for the night.  I couldn't feel any heat on the wall or detect any steam or smoke coming from the outlet, but the hissing was pretty loud.  I unplugged everything and called 911.  They came quietly (thank goodness because it was after midnight) to check out the problem.  The firemen checked the outlets, the breaker box and tested several areas with their equipment.  After about an hour, they told me that we were not in danger of an electrical fire but to call an electrician in the morning to investigate.  Whew!  About an hour later, I discovered that the sound was back in the wall.  I called the fire department back out, but they still couldn't detect anything.  At around 3:00 AM, I decided that I needed Nana and Pops to come help me figure out what to do.  Kevin was about to land in Paris and catch a train to Brussels.  We spoke briefly, but I assured him that we were safe and assessing the situation.  We all did lots of investigating, and Nana finally came up with a new thought about 4:30 in the morning.  What if the hissing was water, not electricity?  Sure enough, the hot water heater backed up to the wall making the sound, and we discovered a hot and slightly damp wall behind a decorative plate.  There was not a lot of sleep that night, but our friendly plumber came on Sunday to fix a tiny little hole in the pipe that was causing the trouble.  What a bunch of drama!

Fast forward to this Tuesday morning . . . Kevin had left for work, and I was taking the kids to school for their early Halloween parties.  We loaded up the car with trick-or-treating pumpkins, candy, gifts for the teachers, and cookies for their parties.  I open the garage door and back out like normal, then hit the button to close the garage door like normal.  It closes half way but goes back up.  Hmmm, that's weird.  I hit the button again, and again it goes down about half way but goes back up.  I happen to notice on the way back up that a squirrely tail is waving around on the top right side of the garage door!  Uh Oh!  So I'm freaking out that a squirrel is caught in the garage door, but I don't want the boys to panic.  I start telling them about a silly squirrel that Mommy needs to find because they are asking why we are not going to school yet.  I hit the button a few more times trying to knock the squirrel down so he can run away, but I didn't get my wish.  The little guy had gotten his back half crushed in all of the action.  He fell to the ground and was pulling himself in circles by his front feet.  I watch in horror from the car as he pulls himself into the garage between a box and the wall.  NO WAY, you are not staying in my garage!!!  So I tell the boys I have to get out to catch the silly squirrel, and they are laughing like crazy.  (I am not laughing at all!)  I grab a broom and hit the box he's hiding behind but that just scares him.  After a few moments of silence, he begins to flutter his tail a bit.  I gather all of my strength (and wits) and knock the boxes over to get to him.  I scream a crazy Incredible Hulk scream as I sweep him out on to the driveway.  OMG, I am freaking out!!!!!!  The squirrel is now halfway between the open garage door and my car, so I hop over him (screaming out again) and jump in the car.  Linc wants to know why I am screaming, and I tell him I am squealing with delight at the silly squirrel.  Yeah, I meant the devil squirrel but silly squirrel sounded much more friendly for a 3 year old.  I hit the button to close the garage door, and I discovered that our new "friend" had knocked the door off the track by getting caught in it opening and closing 5 times.  Not good!!! 

So there is a half paralyzed squirrel freaking out in the driveway and a garage door that isn't closing.  I can't leave this situation, and Kevin is already out at a meeting.  I put on my big girl panties and headed in to fix the problem!  The squirrel was my first concern because the door didn't go all the way down, and he was trying his best to pull himself back to the garage.  I weighed the little guy's options and decided that no one was going to perform emergency surgery on his lower half so he just needed to be put out of his misery . . . and I could get on to fixing the door without the threat of a repeat garage intruder.  I got back in the car, answered Linc's questions cheerfully and floored it at the squirrel then backed up to see the damage.  I missed the squirrely guy!  I tried three more times to end him, but each time he scooted out of the way.  Are you laughing yet?  Tearfully laughing?  You can imagine that Lincoln and Beau are suffering from serious whiplash from the crazy forward and reversing I'm doing, but they are giggling and think Mommy is being silly.  Thank goodness!  I told them that I was chasing the silly squirrel!  So my SUV isn't enough to put an end to the squirrel, and I'm crazy mad.  I jump out of the car (in skinny pants and 3 inch heels) and stomp up to him screaming to GET AWAY RIGHT NOW!  Either my murderous vehicle or my madwoman screams made him scurry under a brick and play dead.  Thank goodness!!  My next concern was fixing the garage door so all of the squirrel's cousins didn't decide to take their revenge on me by tearing up my garage.  I climbed up on a ladder to try to fix the garage door.  The knob/roller/ball/thingy was not on the metal track, and neither of those things have any "give".  I gave up on my strength to bend them after a few minutes (and loud screams) and tried a hammer to knock them one way or the other for another few minutes (and louder screams).  No luck.  I keep running over to the windows of the car to make silly faces to the boys so they think this is all fun and games . . . it's not though!!!  I pulled the rope to manually close the garage door, but at first that made my task harder.  I was fighting gravity and the steel track.  I finally pulled the door almost shut (really, that thing is heavy) and climbed back on my ladder (still in my heels) and managed to get the thingy back on the track as it curves right at the wall of the garage.  I ran to hit the button and check that it was working properly!!  Thankfully we were back in business.  I went in to wash my cut up and bloodied hands about 700 times then went back to check on the boys.  When I opened the car door, Lincoln shouted, "Yay Mommy!  You fixed the door!!!"  I'm so glad he was proud of me because I was pretty proud of me too! 

I decided not to take any pictures of the squirrel, may he rest in peace.  I'm not sure what happened to him because his corpse wasn't by the brick when we got home tonight.  Maybe he was rescued and treated to a nice squirrel funeral . . . but it better not have been in my back yard!!!!!

After all of this action, I had exactly 7 minutes to get the boys to school for trick-or-treating.  We flew down Coit and made it just in time.  Both boys reported that they had a great day and got lots of fun treats in their pumpkins!  Instead of wearing costumes to school, they had pajama day.  Before the drama, I had to take their picture in their cute pjs.   

So can I get some peace around here?  We all arrived home to a squirrel free evening, but who knows what tomorrow holds?  All I know is that the next squirrel invasion is not going to be handled by me!

Batman at the Carnival

Lincoln's favorite school girls celebrated their 4th birthday this weekend with a fun carnival party.  Erin and Lindsey requested that the guest wear their Halloween costumes, and Linc was thrilled to party in his Batman costume.  The girls' Mommy did a great job with the carnival theme.  I made Linc pose by the sign!

The first activity was the bean bag toss through the pumpkin.  These kids have pretty good aim! 

 They had a sack race course set up, but Linc decided it would be more fun to jump over the flags.  He got a gold medal for best flag jumper!  Hey, he's an unconventional kid!!! 

 Lincoln (and almost every other kid) had the most fun running and jumping the stone path.  He was practicing his best Batman moves!  The path ended at the fence where the neighbor's two doggies watched excitedly from their backyard.  Lincoln told everyone that the doggies names were Duke and Sugar.  So Eric and Samantha live one street over from the party house, and they have a yellow lab and chocolate lab . . . just like the McKibben's neighbors.  We don't know the real names of the doggies, but every kid there now calls them Duke and Sugar!! 

Linc and Daddy took a break on the swings.  The swing set was extremely popular, and all the kids were taking turns on the swings and slides. 

Time for snacks!!!  Linc's three favorite treats were on the menu - cupcakes, popcorn and apple juice!  He was one happy Batman.   

 I think Lincoln was a total birthday present stalker . . . he carried his gifts to the girls to open together, all the while loudly announcing exactly what was wrapped up!  So much for the surprise factor!  He waited patiently for them to open up their cards that he had written their names and his, then helped them get into their gifts.  We spent the longest time at the store deciding what to get the.  He decided that Erin should get a Play Dough cake set, and Lindsey should get a Play Dough pizza set.  He said, "Mommy, Lindsey can make pizza for dinner, and Erin can make cake for dessert!"  Makes perfect sense, right?

Their Mommy kindly invited Lincoln to come over later to help them make their Play Dough treats, and he is so excited to take her up on that offer!  It was a super fun party, and he was completely exhausted when we got home.  We love Lindsey and Erin and are so sad that they just moved up to Pre-K, but Linc will be joining them in a few months.  Until then . . . we'll just have to get together on our own for pizza, cake and lots of fun!

Daddy's Belgium Adventure

While I have been posting the regular fun activities of Lincoln and Beau for the last week, Daddy has been on a super cool adventure!  He and his boss flew to Belgium (by way of Paris) last Saturday afternoon, and that's when the boys and I headed to the Pumpkin Festival to begin Operation Stay Busy!  They had a smooth 9 hour flight to Paris, although they didn't get the upgrade to first class.  They took a bullet train on to Brussels, and by then it was early Sunday morning.  We were all troubled that Daddy's phone wasn't working internationally.  His company was supposed to enable them to have phone access, but something didn't work out about that.  After a few frantic hours, Pops and I managed to connect to the Belgium hotel so we could Skype and talk on the phone some. 

 The hotel was on a really popular street and near the center of town.  There were lots of great pictures of the "scene"!  People sat outside at all the restaurants and took over the streets, so cars could barely pass.  There were so many cool little chocolatiers and shops to check out, and Daddy loaded up on the chocolates to bring home!

The town hall was beautiful, as was the entire town square.  It was busy with activity at all hours of the day/night.  Daddy met an artist at the square with amazing drawings of the buildings and brought a few home to frame.  Good job, Kev!  (I don't know why I can't get this one to rotate!) 

One of the other famous landmarks in Brussels is this statue of a little boy going pee!  (It is even the logo of one of Daddy's beers - Blanche de Bruxelles.)  There are many stories of the origin of this statue, but the most prevalent story is that the town was on fire and he was trying to help put the fire out! 

 On Monday morning, the party travelled north to the Malheur Brewery in Buggenhout, Belgium.  Manu, the brewery owner, gave a lecture to the guys.  They enjoyed learning the history of the brewery and beer-making, and they sampled several taps while learning the details of how each is made.

Tuesday morning was a visit to the Floreffe Abbey.  The existing structure still stands, although a modern school and restaurant have been added.   

 The photos inside the Abbey were stunning.  The architecture is amazing, and the pain-staking carvings are breathtaking.  I can't share all of the pictures, but this one captures some of the beauty.  They actually brewed beer for the monks here centuries ago.  The monks are buried under what is now the school gym - ha! 

After the Abbey visit, the guys stopped at the historic site of The Battle of Waterloo.  They took in Napoleon's Last Stand with a viewing of the statue, and checking out the actual battlefield.  (Again, why can't this one rotate???) 

The Lefebvre Brewery in Quenast was next on Tuesday afternoon.  Kevin's highest selling product comes from this brewery, and they were excited to taste Blanche de Bruxelles fresh from the tanks.  This particular brewery was way more modern than most of those in Belgium. 

 One of the most important aspect of Kevin's traveling is what he gets to eat!  When he is in San Antonio or Austin, he's always texting me a picture of the yummy Mexican dinner he's having . . . and I'm having my millionth grilled chicken salad!  I'm always jealous of his meals when he's away!  This was an adventurous eating trip.  They had lots of regional fare, including shrimp and cheese croquettes, wild pheasant, Lebanese meat schwarmas, and chicken waterzooi.  At last Daddy found some comfort food - fries!  He sent me a picture of his frites and was so happy.  Alas, he neglected to get a real Belgian Waffle . . . maybe next time!

On the schedule for Wednesday, was a trip to Itterbeek to visit the Timmermans Brewery.  These are fruited beers, like strawberry and cherry. 

This brewery has been in operation since 1781 and still uses the same equipment.  This picture is of the centuries old filtration system.  The next step is fermenting in a space with open windows to naturally cool the beer.  What a difference from mass produced products in our country! 

The Chairman of the Board of Timmermans invited the party to his nearby farmhouse for a personal tour of his cellar and a tasting.  (He's on the left.)  What a treat! 

The guys split up at the Brussels airport on Thursday morning to head back home.  Kevin and his boss flew to London to catch a direct flight back to Dallas and scored the first class upgrade!!!!  I think someone might be spoiled and will never want to fly like the regular folks again!  The long flight was so much better with more room and tons of attention. We were waiting anxiously for Daddy's arrival.  Nana helped the boys make a few signs outside and inside to welcome him home.   

Since Daddy got back on Thursday night, he has slept a ton and re acclimated himself to America:  pizza from Palio's, Rico Salad at Mi Cocina, a sandwich from Jersey Mikes, and tacos and cheese enchiladas at Desperado's.  The plan for Sunday is omelets and biscuits after church, and lasagna for dinner.  We are all sooooooo glad that Daddy is back home.  I think he surprised himself that he loved Belgium.  I hear that a Germany trip is coming up soon.  Who is this world traveler I married???  

Friday Night Fun at Mi Co!

On a Friday night, what else would we be doing but hanging out at Mi Cocina!  Our favorite table was ready when we arrived, and Nana and Pops were waiting on us to join them.  The group varies from week to week.  The Hoggs and some of their family members are always in attendance.  The Robisons are usually there, but they are busy at home with new Baby Jackson.  Beau made sure to bring his microphone tonight to entertain us all.  He LOVES to sing with the tunes on the microphone.  He graced us with Twinkle, Twinkle and the ABCs a few times.  He was having lots of fun, and we enjoyed the dinner music.

A few songs required a little dancing, and Beau was really getting in to the act!  We may never go out without the microphone again!  (Beau entertained all of the grocery shoppers at Tom Tom this morning with his mic, too!) 

Lincoln was having fun with his new workbook while we had dinner.  He put together a few puzzles with super concentration, so we switched to something lighter.  He was circling the item that didn't fit with the other pictures.   

 The "different" items were too funny to Linc!  He was hysterical that a stinky boot was different from the roller skates.  A feather that was different from the line of clothing items sent him into a giggling fit!  Apparently, workbooks are tons of fun! 

Luckily, the numbers workbook he does at church doesn't cause such extreme laughs.  I don't think the members seated near us would enjoy his squeals during the sermon!   We love our Friday night Mi Cocina.  Beau is already an old pro . . . he starts shouting Mi Co when we turn into the parking lot.  The boys love that Pop Pop gets to take them out to play for a few minutes while we order, and they always demand to walk up the stairs over and over.  As usual, we had fun and a yummy dinner . . . see you next Friday, Mi Co!

Halloween Treat

Someone found the Halloween Oreos . . . and loved them!!!  Beau was only allowed to eat two Oreos after dinner, and he made the most of them both.  He had chocolate cookie bits and orange filling EVERYWHERE, and he was one happy kid!

Sweet and . . .

My boys are the sweetest things ever.  The give me tons of hugs everyday.  Lincoln tells me that I am beautiful a million times a day, followed up by Beau shouting baboon!  (Check out the Dr. Seuss "B" book if that doesn't make sense.)  Lincoln also tells me that he loves me a million times a day, followed up by Beau saying "wov oo too"!  I love these sweet boys.  

But lets be honest, no one is sweet all of the time!  The boys have been described as determined, willful, strong-willed, feisty, highly communicative, and (my favorite) extremely confidant!  Yes, they are super sweet and all of those other words.  Beau is exerting his new found confidence and is sure to tell us exactly what he wants . . . and nothing else is acceptable.  He's the sweetest cuddle bear, but also the most sure-minded little guy I know.  We are trying to deal with his strong personality right now.  He is so sure of what he wants, and that isn't always what is ok.  Beau has been expressing himself with fits for a bit, but I think he's finally understanding that we are not responding to those fits.  He is still very head strong, but he is getting the fact that he's not the boss.  He can always turn on that sweet smile to melt my heart! 

Lincoln has recently decided that if Beau can throw fits, he can too!  (I'm not liking this phase!)  His emotional side comes out in a flash, and he's learning (unfortunately) to talk back.  Linc loves to respond to me with the words I just said to him, so I have to be careful.  If I send him to his room, he tells me that I need to go to my room for being bad.  If I tell him that I am going to let Daddy know that he talked back to me, he tells me that he's going to tell Daddy that I talked back to him!  Lately he has been creative in his back-talk.  Tonight his response to my comment that I didn't like his attitude was that he didn't like my attitude and he was going to throw me in the trash!  Well, that warranted a time out!  After a few moments in solitary confinement, he came in the kitchen and told me he didn't want to talk back anymore.  We hugged it out and promised to treat each other with respect.  I guess each day is a learning day!  But who can be mad at this sweet face?!?! 

I guess my boys are just growing more independent.  I will need to keep up with the ways that they are expressing their feelings and make sure that we are treating each other with kindness.  Linc's teacher talks about respect, kindness and responsibility often, and he is always telling me the lesson he learned that day.  I'm hoping that we can all learn from Ms. Shaye's lessons!!! 

The Pumpkin Festival

After a busy morning of soccer and lots of fun playing, we had a little nap (well only one of us - Beau - actually got a nap because Lincoln only takes a "rest" these days) then visited the neighborhood Pumpkin Festival.  We arrived at our regular Elementary School playground spot, and Lincoln and Beau were so surprised to find a Pumpkin Festival going on!  I've been sitting on this one for weeks, and they were too excited.  The boys wanted to play on the slides and swings for a few minutes then ran to the epicenter of the festival.  The Pearce Mustang dancers were performing!  Lincoln told me (in his best British impression) that it was like Dancing With The Stars!!!

There were so many fun things to check out: pumpkin displays, lots of games, new playground equipment, and even a police car to climb in.  The police car was actually pretty loud when they turned on the siren, so my kiddos kept their distance!  Linc found a inflatable-bounce-obstacle course that he had to try.  He LOVED it!

 Really, he LOVED it! 

 Our next stop was a super big bounce house that had a slide.  The kid taking tickets told us that Linc could play as long as he liked . . . um, that meant forever for Linc! 

Beau didn't get to take part in the obstacle course or the bounce house because there were too many big kids around.  He did have a great time dancing to the music from the deejay and cheering for Linc as he came down the slide over and over.  We stopped at the little playground on our way out so Beau could get involved.  He loves to climb and slide . . . and he only likes the big slide!  Of course that means that he has to slide down between Mommy's legs.  Oh, the sliding we did this afternoon!  The boys had sooooooo much fun at the Pumpkin Festival, and I'm so glad that our neighborhood has lots of fun things to do. 

Parade and a Playdate

Another Friday . . . another full day of fun!  Our morning was filled with haircuts, lots of playing and a bit of shopping.  After a little rest, we headed out to the Richardson High School Homecoming Parade!  Lincoln loves parades and was telling me all about what we would see.  He was all smiles while we waited on the festivities to begin.

Beau and Nana were happy to check out all of the action too!  Beau was a little clingy when it got loud, but he was really interested in all of the people passing by.  He loved to wave to everyone and said "Hi People!" over and over!

Some of the paraders had candy to give out, and Lincoln was super excited about that.  At first he was really into waving, but that didn't earn him any candy from the kids.  He sat down on the curb with his hand held out and kept up a constant stream (in the sweetest voice ever) of "Candy, please"!  He was rewarded a few times and that made for one happy boy!  Mommy discreetly hid the not-age-appropriate candy from him, but he was loving his Smarties as we drove away!

After the parade, we headed to the Brosnahans for a fun playdate.  The boys were in kid heaven and had so much fun!  They ran from the swings to the slide to the bounce house to the sandbox . . . it was great!  These sweet girls managed to catch a little green lizard and enjoyed torturing it for a bit.  Lucky guy managed to escape from Alexis, and they searched and searched for him in the grass!  So funny that these ruffle-skirted and hair-bowed girls were obsessed with a lizard, and my boys were not the least bit interested.  (Secretly, I am totally relieved!)

Linc bounced forever, and Beau often joined him.  Beau only wanted out when too many girls were taking over.  I definitely think that Santa may need to know about the backyard-sized bounce house!  It is practically a guaranteed energy burner!

Beau and his (almost the same age) buddy Lewis hung out for a bit.  Their communication is a bit caveman, but they enjoyed being near each other.  I guess they felt some sort of camaraderie being the only two little guys at the party.

We had so much fun today, and everyone was super tired by dinner.  Linc could barely keep his eyes open at Mi Cocina tonight.  He and Beau ate their chicken fajitas and fruit salad pretty quietly.  Of course, our Saturday schedule is already filled with activities.  I'm hoping for a good nap for all (Mommy included!) and lots of fun.  I'm so happy to not work on Fridays.  An extra weekend day of fun is good for all!