Spying

Tonight after dinner, we decided to carve pumpkins. We got everything ready (newspaper, tools, pumpkins, warm cider) on the dining room table. Jason and I started drawing away with the Sharpie, carving off the tops, scooping out the yuck and the seeds. A few minutes into it, we noticed that the girls had totally lost interest in the process (knives too sharp, pumpkin yuck too yucky to touch) and were nowhere to be seen or heard.

I left Jason carving at the table and snuck down the hall towards Annie's room. I peeked in the door, and there they were, lying side by side on her bed. With her MagnaDoodle, Annie was teaching Jemma how to write the letter A, uppercase and lowercase, which she is just learning about at school. I stood there for a few minutes, and they were totally content. I think it's one of the very first times that I've found them doing something collaborative, positive, and quiet together.

Now, the pumpkins are carved, the girls are snug in bed (readying themselves for another night of random coughing, I'm sure), and we're tidying the house, and getting ready for a big, fun weekend ahead: the neighborhood Halloweenie Roast, trick-or-treating with the girls, houseguests, a "friends" Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday, helping in Annie's Sunday School class . . . I'm sure we're going to be exhausted and full of sugar when it's over.

Speaking of sugar, I sense a necessary raiding of the Halloween candy for tonight's new Office and 30 Rock episodes. Do Kit-Kats and Chimay go together?