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What a great Thanksgiving weekend we had. This year Thanksgiving came really early: in fact, November 22 is the earliest it can ever fall on.

The celebration, as always, started with Keegan’s school party. It was a nice, relaxing event I got to socialize with some of the other parents, and had some of the delicious potluck food. The kids played and run around and had a blast.

We left after lunch. Keegan had a very short nap, and I relaxed in the warm sun on the deck. In the afternoon, Keegan and I worked on some Thanksgiving craft. We put together some paper turkey, to collect our thankful thoughts. Glue was everywhere, especially on my hands, but it was fun. Matt got home early and we filled in our turkeys and hung them in the kitchen. Keegan’s was thankful for: food, home, us, school …but no toys!

Thanksgiving morning, Keegan and I did some more crafts (!), played with bubbles on the deck and read books. I actually convinced him not to watch TV…I was very proud of myself.

All this activity made me tired, and  I took a wonderful late morning nap when Matt woke up. In the afternoon Daniele, Gaia and Daniele’s friend Angela came over for dinner. The kids played well together, even if you start noticing the age difference a little. Dinner was wonderful as always, and Matt did a great job.

Dinner was pleasant, and Keegan made sure it was entertaining, asking embarrassing and totally inappropriate questions such as:

“Angela, will you spend the night at Daniele’s?”
“Angela, will you marry Daniele?”
“Angela, why aren’t you married?”

Quite funny, even if we all blushed a little.

At night we did some intense shopping…of course on-line. You could not pay me, well us, enough to brave the crowds on Black Friday, as it was this year, Black Thursday. We ended up buying a new tv, to replace our 12 years old monster….about time. I am telling you: there is nothing like on-line shopping. I have not been in the mall for serious shopping in years, and I love it. Plus with many sites offering either free shipping, or free ship-to-store, there is really no reason top go out and struggle with busy stores. Now of course we need to buy the new entertainment center and set everything up…for now it sits patiently  in the kitchen.

The next day, we were invited at Jennifer and Dave’s house for their annual Thanksgiving dinner, which is always on Black Friday. It was really nice. Keegan and Hannah played wonderfully together,they even shared the iPad peacefully. Keegan liked to pay Angry Birds Rio.

and Keegan overcome his fear of big dogs, a little, and warmed up to the three large dogs that were there. And I have to say they were quite scary, as they liked to jump up at you. I had bruises on my leg from their “effusions”. However, he played with them and gave them treats.

While the children played, us adults talked and had a delicious lunch. Jennifer cooked a 20+lb bird, and it was a sight to behold.

Jennifer posing with the huge bird

Dave carving the beast

check out all the trimmings

Jennifer’s dad baked three delicious pies and the kids helped him rolling out the dough and decorating the crust.

The kids ate at the counter…and not surprisingly Keegan barely had anything. “Baby” Natalie was the best eater of all.

We went home in the evening, exhausted and in a food coma…but it was all worth it.

Even thought the official Thanksgiving celebration itself was over, we still had a full weekend to enjoy, and enjoyed it we did. Saturday was a beautiful day and so we went to the beach. It was cooler now, but still warm enough for Keegan to play in the water…well, with his wetsuit. He loved it, and had a lot of fun.

The beach was beautiful, and the sand was sparkling with golden grains of sand. After the ocean, Keegan built castels and wrestled with dad. Nothing different from our ordinary day at the beach.

Later that evening, our sitter came and we left for our date night. We watched a movie, Flight, and picked up some great food to enjoy at home ( it was a long movie, and we did not want to spend a fortune)

On Sunday we headed to the zoo, and got to see lots of cool animals. Keegan enjoys the bears and the reptiles. He skipped his nap, but he played on his own for his nap-time as he was supposed to…yeah!! So i got to do some Christmas shopping and relaxing.

So, all in all it was a great weekend: we relaxed, ate lots of great food, visited with friends, and had fun. As an added bonus, with all these activities, the weekend felt really long, in a good way…what more should we ask for?

Well, we really feel blessed and are thankful for everything we have and for all the wonderful people in our life.

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I know, I know, it is getting old, and yes I say this every year, but Fall in San Diego is exactly why I am glad I live here. Yes, we don’t have as many trees that change colors (boo-oh) but what we do have is intense blue sky, shining sun, and a cooler version of summer. Who can ask for more?

This month started out  really warm, and even the ocean was an unusual 68 F (20 Celsius), so we spent some time at the beach. Keegan swam and splashed around without fear. I am very happy he loves the ocean and he is not scared. Hopefully he will soon start body-boarding.

charge!

However, winter is visiting San Diego too, so, since Keegan is loving getting into the water, we bought him his first wetsuit. We got a Spring wetsuit just to minimize the hassle of putting it on. It is a little big for him, but hopefully he will fill it in by next spring.

For now, he uses it as a dress-up suit, or as a Spiderman suit. At least we get some use out of it.

Since days are getting shorter and shorter, we have to resort to indoor activities. What is better than practicing golf in the living room??? Obviously, this was not MY idea.

Keegan was also Star Of The Week at his preschool in November. This has nothing to do with merit, but it is on a rotation base. It is a cute thing: each kid gets to be Star Of The Week. It entails having your photos and favorite things posted on a bulletin board, telling the class about them, and most importantly, being the “line leader”, and directing the other kids all week long. Of course, Keegan promptly got sick on the Monday of “his” week, but fortunately he recovered quickly enough to enjoy the rest of the week.

We are now looking forward to a somewhat quiet and relaxing 4 days holiday for Thanksgiving. And the weather forecast is again sunny skies and warm temperatures. We are definitive thankful for that.

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We had another presidential election. It has been a brutal campaign, and we were all glad to see it ending, even if we were spared the most relentless marketing attacks: nobody really cares about California focusing instead on swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania or Florida. Still, we were submerged by mailers and we could not escape the negativity.

This election was also very important for me because it was the first election for which I was eligible to vote. Very exciting! I waited till the late afternoon, because I wanted to bring Keegan along, so he could see how the whole process worked. Well, his only comment was: “This is so boring!” (-:

He did not even want the sticker.

To add insult to injury, once home, I told him I wanted Barack Obama to be re-elected, and he took one glance at the paper, and confidently said he wanted the other guy to win, because he had a nice smile (?!) This goes to prove how far a stubborn 4.5 year old would go, just to contradict his parents!

Election night was a little more tense than 4 years ago, when we headed to the polls, already knowing who won. Furthermore, I was worried that I would “jinx” the results. I know, I am totally superstitious. I tracked the results till 10.30pm, when concession speech arrived. I was actually amazed by the result: I was surprised to see how many of my candidates/propositions went the way I wanted.

The following day, even Keegan came around, and dropped his opposition.

Now, let’s hope that our leaders will be able to put aside all the partisan bitterness and bickering and actually come together to bring us all a better future. And we sure need it.

Good luck Obama!

 

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Keegan is almost 5 years old, and while we don’t fill every post with all the new things he is learning and doing, there are a couple of “firsts” that is worth mentioning.

At the end of September, Keegan had his first fishing experience. We went out on a boat with my friend Gary, and tried to catch some fish. Keegan helped set up the bait on the hook and casts the line, and he got really good at reeling it in. He also got to live the real fishing experience of not catching anything! He was quite disappointed, but he still enjoyed the trip.

pretty stinky stuff! No wonder no fish bit the line!

Another important first was Keegan’s first movie at a theater. We have been waiting so long because he has not been able to stay still, and most importantly quiet, for the whole movie. However, after seeing how well he behaved during the outdoor movie this summer, we figured it was worth a try. Finding Nemo was being re-released in 3D (which was pretty much a waste), so we took him to watch it. I had a little sticker shock, since the price was quite high for a matinee, but we had a good time. Keegan is still too light to sit on the chairs without additional weight, but usually my purse works. He loved the experience, and he even enjoyed the previews and commercials.

Last but not least, Keegan went to a Parents’ Night Out event, by himself, which is a HUGE thing for us. This is the first time we can drop him off somewhere and leave. The event was organized by his pool, and while he initially told me he would like to go, he immediately changed his mind as he realized we would not be there. I signed him up anyway, and “worked”on him for 4 days. We finally convinced him, somewhat, with the promise of a present if he did not have fun.Or better, we simply stopped asking him if he wanted to go, and told him he was going.

It turned out that Jada was there too, which helped, and seeing his teacher made him feel better. We had a nice, leisurely dinner, and when we picked him up, he was happy and had a good time. We too are very happy, since usually these events are cheaper than a traditional sitter, and they are probably more fun for him. So we are looking forward to another Parents’ Night Out.

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Since we were in Italy, we had to concentrate all our Halloween activities in two weeks, but I can honestly say that Keegan has not been deprived. We began the day after we got back from our trip, by decorating the house, inside and out. We hung bats and banners inside, made door hangers in the sleepless mornings in which jet lag was waking Keegan up well before dawn, and created fun foam pumpkins. We added window decals and attached large spiders to our wall. And of course, we hung our ghosts from the tree in front of our house.

The first major event, thought, was Kenzie’s Halloween Party. Keegan had been looking forward to it since we were in Italy. Kenzie actually moved the party to October 20 so Keegan could be there. How sweet! Some of Keegan’s friends from school were there: Elliott, Van, Julia, Rozelin, and even Keegan’s old teacher in the infant room, Ms. Georgia. All the kids were showing off their costumes. The masks only lasted a couple of minutes, though.

There was a bouncie and many game stations set up for the kids to play and win prizes.

Event the food was spooky.

At the end of the party, Keegan was full, exhausted and carrying a bucket full of prizes. What more can you ask for?

The following week, we went to the Pumpkin Patch. This year I prepared in advanced, and got a coupon for 50% off the rides. Julia came with us, with her mom and her little brother Ivan. Keegan was happy to have a friend with him. He immediately went to the giant slide, his favorite since when he was 3. He is now the perfect size for it, and he still enjoys it a lot.

The little train ride, however, is now passe’. Good thing it was a free ride.

The petting zoo was a big hit this year, and all the kids enjoyed petting the animals — mainly goats and chickens — and feeding them. Man, it is true what they say about goat eating anything. One of them tried to eat Julia’s mom’s skirt.

After the rides, we actually looked at the patch and picked out our pumpkins.

We have learned our lesson: this year, we did not carve it too soon, since, in San Diego, a carved pumpkin lasts only a couple of days before molding…at least at our house. So, instead, we bought some pumpkin stickers and decorated it this way, till it was time to carve it. This also allowed us to add three faces to the same pumpkin.

We actually carved it only on Sunday night, three day before Halloween. It was the perfect timing: by November 1, white mold was forming, and turned into massive black mold by November 2.

Keegan’s school had a carnival, and for the first time in two years, they held it at night. All the kids were dressed up, and there were various games set up in every room.

with his new teacher, Ms.Jill

Keegan and his friends, however, were more interested into running around and playing with each other. It was quite a site, as they were all dressed like some sort of super hero: Batman, Iron Man, Captain America, Ninja, Darth Vader (well not really a super hero).

It was a fun event. The weekend went by quickly, and we made sure to keep the Halloween theme going with spooky hamburger and themed plates and napkins.

Halloween finally came. Keegan went to school all dressed up, and all the kids got to run around for most of the morning in their costumes.

I met him at 10.30 for the annual Halloween Parade around the block. Even if only 2 establishments gave them candies, the kids had a blast. Some of the houses in the neighborhood have pretty elaborate decoration, so it is always fun to check them out. No masks allowed for the parade, out of safety concerns.

After the parade, the kids played outside for a while, then they got inside, read a book and got ready for lunch. Some of the parents helped out setting up the potluck meal.

The lunch included “hair and eyeballs” (=spaghetti and meatballs), bread, fruit and spooky desserts.

With some other parents, I stayed though lunch to help out and to serve out food and sweets. I loved the little witch’s hats.

I picked up Keegan in the afternoon, and we went home to get ready. Kenzie and her family came Trick or Treating with us, and we also met up with Jada and a couple of other kids from the neighborhood.

I am ready to get some candy!

This year the kids were really independent, and were running from house to house. It also felt like the number of children going around the neighborhood exploded since last year. I am not sure where all these kids were coming from, but I know I run out of candy for the first time ever since I lived here. I remember years when we did not even have 1 single trick or treater. It is nice to see the change. Both Matt and I went around with Keegan, so we left a bowl with candy outside the house. We were obviously not the only ones.

I really like Dante’s quote on the door, quite appropriate for the occasion, even though I doubt it was meant to be a literary reference, as demonstrated by the pirate flag below it: All Hope Abandon, Ye Who Enter Here” (lasciate ogni speranza o voi ch’entrate).

We saw some amazing decoration and effects, but my favorite was the pumpkin representing Jack from The Nightmare Before Christmas that our neighbor had out. Maybe we should try to do it next year.

Once again, the kids were exhausted and were begging to go back home. The buckets were heavy and when it was all said and done we netted more than 4lb (2kg) of candy. Keegan immediately categorized them and grouped them, and then picked his favorite ones to eat in the following days — we always put a limit on the number of candies he can keep.

This year, however, we have found the perfect solution for all this excess candy, which usually ends up either in our belly or thrown away. We brought all our booty to our local dentist, who offers a Candy Buy Back program: the candy get sent to the troops, and the dentist will give you $1 per pound as long as you bring in also a non perishable food item for the Food Bank. It is a win-win-win solution. Keegan made $4 for his piggie bank. He was pretty excited about that.

It was a great Halloween for all of us, and  now we are gearing up for the crazy end of the year time: Thanksgiving, Keegan’s Birthday and Christmas. As always, I promise myself I will not get stressed out, and I will be done with my shopping by the end of November. Will I succeed? It never happened before, but there is always a first time. And if it does happen, then, maybe this is really the year the world will come to an end. (-:

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