Happy Halloween!
I flew back Sunday morning after a quick getaway to Florida with friends from college.  It was a lovely (and warm!) weekend with lots of relaxing and eating.  As much as I would have liked to stay, I had to be home for Halloween night.
We had a fairy princess (of course) and a pig.  For the past two weeks, every time that Noella put on her pig costume or even saw her costume she ran around yelling "MOOO!" and laughing hysterically.  Of course, as soon as I tried to document this via video, she reverted to "OIK."  Still cute, but definately not as funny.

 We went to our neighbor's house for dinner and a little costume party.  There were multiple princesses, all with nice coordinating outfits. 

Our favorite part of halloween here is the joke telling that all the kids do to get their treats.  Mariel insisted on a fairy joke:

What is a fairy called when she has not taken her bath?
Stinkerbell!
We did not have a true favorite of the night this year.  The two most popular jokes of the year:
How do you wake up Lady Gaga? 
Poke her face.
Why did the football coach go to the bank? 
To get his quarter back.
And the winner for the most inappropriate joke of the night (told by a girl I would guess to be about 8)
Why couldn't the witch have any children? 
Because her husband had a hollow weiner.

Quick update...
I caved.  After two nights of a very sad, very tired baby and an equally tired, although more frustrated than sad mommy, Noella got her "Pac" back.  We'll work on this later.

Update on our weekend:
Patrick worked a bit on our soon to be fully functional and newly renovated downstairs bathroom.  He also got taken out to lunch for cheeseburgers.  Tomorrow is his 35th birthday.  He is not a cake person, so I made pumpkin pie (from a pumpkin, not a can) for the event.  Hopefully the pie experiment tastes as good as it looks!
Noella clipped a lanyard with a clip for an ID card to her tongue, an experience that I somehow found to be sort of horrific and funny at the same time (with an ice cube or two she felt just fine).  Right now she is attempting to sleep without her pacifier.  We told her we lost them and don't know where they are.  If she keeps fussing like this all night, I think I might remember very soon.
Mariel had an afternoon playdate with our neighbor, B.  They worked on a haunted halloween gingerbread house, which is now covered in orange icing and candy.  It was very entertaining to listen to them talk while they crafted.  I am also constantly amused by the way that they greet each other.  You know how the stereotypical romantic movies has the long lost lovers dramatically running into each other's arms?  This is what these two girls do, nearly every time they encounter one another.  They call out the other's name and race to hug/ tackle each other.  Despite the fact that they live two houses away and see each other virtually every day.  On the weekends, sometimes multiple times a day.  Parting can also be just as dramatic, despite the fact that they will likely see one another within 24 hours.
Tomorrow is pumpkin carving and hopefully not much else!

 Last weekend at the Pumpkin Patch

What my children have recently taught themselves:
Mariel-
 to tie her shoes
to whistle (OK, she had some help from her dad on this)
to put a ponytail in her hair

Noella-
to strip herself naked and pee all over her bed

A sample of our morning commute songs:
In the darkness, with diamonds,
Glow GLOW Glow GLOW
In the darkness, with diamonds,
Glow GLOW Glow GLOW
....

I have a friend
named Glee
she goes
Under the (cajun?) sea
and she is happy
and everyone
loves her!