The Wizzer Davaz

With Isabelle officially being a Witch for Halloween, she knows the Wicked Witch of the West from my favorite movie. Isabelle was introduced to the Wicked Witch of the West, on a birthday card we saw in New Jersey in July when we went to Auntie Gail's house for her Surprise 70th Birthday Party. Auntie Gail had received an audible birthday card (one of those cards that plays music when you open it) with the Wicked Witch on the front.

Isabelle LOVED it and so Auntie Gail mailed it to Edgewater a few weeks after her Birthday festivities were over. We still have the card and Isabelle loves to hear the music and see the green Witch on the cover.

Isabelle learned the catch phrase of the Wicked Witch, and cackles with delight as she recites..."I'll get you my pretty, and your little DOG too...". She wanted to see the movie, even if she is still way too young.

So I took her to the Library this week to pick up a copy. I popped it in, and the black-and-white portion just bored her, and she wanted a "new" movie on. Then the tornado hit, and she ominously remembered the sand storm that we got caught in this past summer (like FOUR months ago). She was petrified to say the least.

I fast-forwarded until we got to the color portion of the movie when the Wicked Witch shows up and delivers her catch phrase. Isabelle collapsed in a puddle of tears, she was too scared. So we had to turn the movie off. Maybe next year.....

When Ed came home that afternoon, she told him, quite ceremoniously, that she does NOT like that "Wizzer.....Davaz" movie. (There was a deliberate break in the two words).

W-h-a-t-e-v-e-r

Two going on twelve, that's our daughter right now. We decided to commit to a new regime in the Siler household. We will make time for Church every weekend. We are planning on sending Isabelle to The School of the Incarnation (the only Catholic grade school in our area) in three years for Kindergarten. I've already called, and the only pre-requisites are that your Parish Priest knows your family on a first-name basis, and that you send those pretty little envelopes in each week (preferably, you "bring" them in each week).

Isabelle can already recite the "Our Father" by heart, we do so every night before bed. We also tell God what we are thankful for each night before bed. She says Grace before each meal. So, she is well on her way, but we've been remiss in attending Mass the past three years of her life.

So this weekend was our foray into regular Mass attendance. (Isabelle HAS been to Church a few times, just not recently).

Let me start by saying that Isabelle was very very very well-behaved. She understood that Church was like the Library...you cannot talk. You can whisper if you need to, but you can't talk out loud. She was very excited to recite her "Our Father" with the entire congregation, and did so on queue.

During the Mass, I was deliberately responding at the appropriate times in a louder and clearer voice than normal, while looking at Isabelle so she could understand what the parishioners "should" be saying. I didn't ask her to say anything, I just wanted her to hear and see ME responding so she started to witness how the whole Mass thing worked.

At one point, during the Penitential Rite (Lord have mercy...Christ have mercy...Lord have mercy), she was sitting on the pew, and she rolled her head back and said, "What...Ever....GOD".

Ummm, WHAT?!?!?  She had never busted out a "what...ever" (snotty, teenager style) before this day and she decides to drop one in MASS?!?!?  Ed & I were horrified, yet found ourselves chuckling. I couldn't face my fellow Church-goers for the rest of the Mass.

I just hope it was a one-time thing. Although, that just means next week will bring something "new" which could be even worse. What....ever, Isabelle!

A Haunting Halloween

This is our first Halloween that Isabelle understands what is going on. She is excited about the candy, the trick-or-treating, the hay ride around the neighborhood, and hanging out with her friends. And she is VERY excited about dressing up in her costume.

We tried to give her autonomy with her costume choice, but she waffled worse than Brett Favre about what she wanted to wear this October 31st. Her top two choices were Witch and Butterfly, with a few lower-ranked choices in between (like, Princess, Ghost, Frankenstein, Ravens Cheerleader). Ummmmm, no, have you SEEN the Ravens Cheerleaders? Yikes.

We already had Butterfly wings that I picked up for $.50 at a yard sale in Spring. Izzi's BFF, Clare, has a blue tutu that would have worked as a second piece of the costume and I would have made her some antennae from arts-and-crafts supplies around the house. But, the Witch won out. She wanted to be a Witch more than a Butterfly (scientifically measured by counting how many times she mentioned each costume choice).

So we asked around, and found a costume to borrow (from Miss Trish, our daycare provider). Her daughter is 9, and had two Witch costumes to choose from.

So, stay tuned. You will soon see a few pictures of Isabelle, the "Wicked Witch of Selby" in her black and pink costume, a home-made magic wand, a long scraggly wig, and some face paint. We can only hope this year's weather is better than last year when it was chilly and rainy.

PS: Oh, and Mommy is going to be a Witch too. Daddy will not be wearing a costume, par for the course.