Pretty or Gorgeous?

The other day at lunch, L and I had the following conversation:

L: Mami, who is prettier, a boy or a girl?
Me: Hmmm, I guess they could both be pretty. (As it often happens, I am wondering where he may be heading with this...)

After a short pause -
L: Mami, you will be pretty and I will be gorgeous.

In case you were wondering.

S, Our Toothless Wonder

It happened this past Tuesday - S is so proud of having lost his first tooth and I just think he is adorable. The tooth fairy even stopped by the following night - which is nice, considering the fact that she never made it to Denmark when I was growing up...

Halloween Extravaganza

Halloween is the only holiday I wish there was less of. Partially because all the parading, parties, and trunk/ trick or treating loses some of the magic through the sheer mass of it. And partially because I have no self-control and can't stop eating the kids' candy that is sitting out on my counter...
Meanwhile, the kids had fun dressing up this year, in spite of the fact that costumes were cut out of the budget and they wore the costumes they both received as dress-up clothes for Christmas. Of last year. Yeah, I was that cheap. But they did actually want to wear them - and I am fairly certain that they didn't feel deprived.

Here's my evidence:

S at the school Halloween parade:


S, L and their adorable cousin at the church trunk or treat. This was funny, because that afternoon I was double checking whether the kids wanted to wear their Pikachu/ cow costumes again or if we should pull something else out of the dress-up box. S asked what else he could be and racking my brain, I blurted out "Harry Potter." Which I didn't think he'd want to do because he has never read the books. He was totally sold on the idea, though, so we pulled together a costume according to the cover of book 3. We even made a wand. I personally think he is beyond adorable.
L fell asleep and had to be woken up to go, so getting him into any costume was impossible. We settled for his bone-pajamas:


And finally, the kiddos got to go to the dentist the day before Halloween. And yeah, that is a "got to" not "had to." Grandpa is the dentist - and the office dresses up in costumes. Fun all around! They had no cavities either! (Only a wiggly tooth!) I guess before Halloween is better than after...Or maybe it's because they had a chef check their teeth this time.

There Goes the Mother of the Year Award

Tonight L got himself tangled up in the rope that divides the kiddie pool from the slightly deeper end at the YMCA and I completely lost my head. I saw him struggle, ran over there and then just stood at the edge of the pool, hollering for S to yank his brother up. Then, finally, the lifeguard came and grabbed him.
I can't shake the guilt over not just jumping in and pulling him out myself. This isn't even about me - I mean, L is fine, he went right back to playing in the water and seems to have recovered just fine. I just wish I'd jumped in the bloody pool. Maybe then I could recover quicker too...As it is, I am just shaken - over the incident and over my freezing up. Can I outsource some responsibility please?

Pumpkin Goop

This afternoon found us up to our elbows in pumpkin innards and L kept saying "this is so goopy." I obviously thought he was beyond adorable and quickly dug out the camera to capture our pumpkin carving activity. (I threatened them into this picture, by the way. Does the end justify the means when it comes to photo ops as well or is that strictly a Russian mafia thing?)



In any case, we all had fun (except for the picture taking and accompanying threats) and have some pretty neat pumpkins to show for it - Designed by S, I might add. Too bad my photo skills aren't up to low light photography. I'll dig out the tripod and see if I can get a shake-free shot tomorrow night.



In other news, I took S to a cub scout activity tonight. A few of his friends are doing scouts this year and I think we will sign him up. I was very much the indoor, book-reading, doll playing kind of child, so scouts is (are?) completely uncharted territory for me. I hope he likes it. And benefits from it. And I sincerely hope I wil never have to do any camping as a result of signing him up...

A "hyggelig" Day

Today was a perfect New England fall day. The sun was out and it was warm, but not humid. The air was crisp and fresh, the colors vibrant. The trees are beginning to turn, slowly changing their green leaves into splendid gowns of reds, yellows and oranges.
I adore this season with it's spectacular coloring and inherent "coziness." Candles, hot chocolate, Halloween decorations, upcoming holidays - it all adds up to a Danish word that is missing from most other languages - "hygge" - a calm state of being comfortable and content, doing quiet things you enjoy with people you care about.

Schools were out for Yom Kippur and as the boys and I were out doing errands, we passed a pumpkin patch with free hayrides. We then went home and unpacked our Halloween decorations, cleaned a bit in the basement, negotiated a deal to leave the pumpkins whole (the way I like them) until tomorrow when they are carved (the way the boys like them...), went to the farmers' market and the playground and then made lasagna for dinner. A great day!!
So here's to our impromptu hayride and pumpkin picking, to sunshine and the color orange, to fall, candles and the beauty of New England.

Fyns Hoved

On this rainy fall day I thought it would be appropriate to finally edit and post a few pictures from warmer summer days. This is Fyns Hoved - the most northern tip of the island I am from.