Halloween, Football season, life

Stu's team won their first playoff game so played their second playoff game on Halloween at 1:00 p.m. Unfortunately, they lost that game so the Panthers 2009 season is over. The loss is bittersweet for our family. It meant that Stu was able to come trick or treating with us and will be home a lot more now. However, the end of football season is always sad. Especially when the team doesn't take State.


This Halloween was the most fun yet, since Stu and I have had children. We had a blast carving pumpkins.




Really BIG pumpkins.




Max dressed as Batman and Ryann and Adam as elephants. Max and Ryann were so excited to trick or treat and completely understood the concept and rules around the holiday. Sweet, adaptable Adam gamely rode in a stroller through the dark streets, stuffed into an elephant costume which he could hardly see out of.

I continue to deal with the stressful aftermath of having my purse stolen and forged checks written. It could be a full time job. My mom commented tonight that now she can understand why there are support groups for people who have had their identities stolen.

I finished the final race in the 2009 Corporate Fitness Series through work today. It was a 6K on the Maple Grove campus of Boston Scientific. I was supposed to earn a Boston Scientific fleece jacket for participating in four out of the five eligible races this season. Wouldn't ya know - for some reason, my name was left off of the list. I was told that someone would contact me to rectify the situation.

Stu and I (and several other completely biased family members) often remark about how bright Max is. He is scheduled to begin Kindergarten next Fall so with registration for school fast approaching, Stu and I have been more seriously wrestling with what we should do about Max's education. Currently, the plan is to enroll him in half day Kindergarten at either our neighborhood school or the "choice" school nearby. However, Max continues to completely blow our minds with his intellectual abilities and we are now looking into having him assessed to see if he meets the requirements to be regarded as "gifted/talented". I say we are wrestling with this because of multiple reasons:

1. He is our firstborn; maybe his abilities aren't all that astounding and we're simply overly proud parents.

2. Is it possible that he is ahead of the game at this point but will settle into the norm with his peers after a few years?

3. If Max is labeled as "gifted/talented", he could potentially skip a grade, be involved in extra opportunities during the school year and in the summer - will our sensitive boy be labeled a "nerd"? Could skipping a grade be a bad idea for him since he is not as emotionally advanced as he is intellectually advanced?

And we thought parenting babies and toddlers was hard ;)