In these parts, they do trick-or-treating on Halloween Eve- so check out our fun from last night over here 
Boo!
Monthly Archives: October 2008
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Halloween Miscellany Post #1
October 30, 2008 – 12:55 pm
Lots of things keeping us busy these days… pumpkin carving, crafting, play dates, the patch. I can't keep up, so here's a collection of things you might see if you were a fly on the wall this past month…
Lolo checking out of 42" Jack o' Lantern in her Chick-Fil-A "Eat More Chickin" outfit:
Sarah surprising me with her freakishly, oversized scary teeth:
All of them working together to scoop out the seeds from the pumpkin to make Pumpkin Seed Soup:
Receiving a fun package full of craft goodies from Nana (mail and packages are a BIG deal around here):
Lolo is busy at work:
And so is Sarah– dumping all the candy for the trick-or-treaters, that is:
And maybe grabbing one for herself…
I think we're ready- let the candy collecting/distribution begin!
Ten on Tuesday, again!
October 28, 2008 – 9:10 pm
1. I'm so excited. My small business has a new blog. All big and beautiful. GO visit!
2. Andy, aka IT guy, is still making some changes over there, so things may look a little wonky, but I couldn't hold it in any longer!
3. It's October and I am ready to stay under my duvet until April. I cannot believe how quickly the chilly air arrived here.
4. Were you wondering how long my California blood could take the cold? I didn't last very long, did I? I still have TWO months until Winter "officially" begins.
5. Even worse, I sent Sarah on a pumpkin patch field trip on Monday in one thin knit sweater. WHAT was I thinking? It was 44 degrees out.
6. Note to self: 44 degree weather calls for TWO knit sweaters. Or maybe three. Jeepers.
7. This is just one fine example of what a bad pair of procrastinators Andy and I are. We just ordered winter coats for the girls on Saturday.
8. The girls and I went over to some friends house for a pumpkin carving play date… pictures to come of our cool Jack O' Lanterns!
9. I just looked at the clock and it's after midnight, so…
10. Good night!
Most Ridiculous Item of the Week: Halloween Edition
October 27, 2008 – 6:40 am
We're expecting a lot of kids for Trick or Treat Night this year… I think Andy may have gone a little overboard with the amount of candy he bought to be prepared. We'll let you know. There may be some candy giveaways soon!
Officially Felt Board Peeps
October 23, 2008 – 12:13 pm
My friend Michelle has been telling me about her felt board making for over a month now- and after I saw this adorable game on this crafty kid site, I was finally convinced I needed to get on the bandwagon and try it out.
Yesterday, I dragged Ashleigh and Lauren out into the 35 degree weather to that store (that begins with a dubya) to buy some black felt for a background and to Michael's to buys some heavy duty poster board and felt pieces.
We came home and got to work.
Actually, I just got to work. I used our cookie cutters for Halloween shapes… and delivered ghosts, pumpkins and a scary cat to the girls. I printed off a witch silhouette from Martha and then free handed a tree and Frankenstein. The results were a hit:
(don't you love the witch's sassy purple boots?)
(that's a CA scarecrow wearing oversized sun glasses)
(Frankenstein with sunny side up eyes)
I leaned the poster board up against our giant white board so it would be more stable. The 22-month-old kept kicking it down. Because she's crazy.
But they all had fun with it Yea for felt boards!
Yea for felt boards!
The aftermath:
Oh, did I fail to mention that I had a mocha driving my ambitious cutting spirit? Oops.
Happy Felting
Ten on Tuesday!
October 21, 2008 – 11:54 am
1. It's getting chilly here- my car temp read 33 degrees this morning- jeepers!
2. My sister just blogged a funny blog entry about a wild rabbit in their yard. You can read it here or I can tell you the short of it: my dad loves animals, adopted this one and he died and buried it in my folks' backyard. This is the 5th animal buried out there. Can you say Benfield Pet Cemetery?
3. I feel so bad for making fun of my dad, so let me tell you this about him: He was raised on a farm in Southern Florida and was a 4H member. He has an incredible soft spot for the furry creatures of the land.
4. I am in a quandary about five-year-olds and how they treat each other. I think Sarah is a genuinely nice kid, so why all the drama?
5. I heard Fireproof! the movie is quite good- anyone want to go to the movies with me??
6. I painted everyone's toenails today (minus Andy's of course)– poor Ash has little Flintstone feet!
7. Anna and I were going to go shopping at Gymboree a few weeks ago and use up our Gymbucks on fun, stripey, colorful, fall things for the kids- but I looked up and down for them (the bucks) in my house and couldn't find them, so I had to pass.
8. Wouldn't you know they turned up 2 weeks later and a week expired? Darn luck.
9. Today's funny: A skeleton walks into a bar and orders a beer and a mop.
10. Our October sky:
Happy Tuesday, friends
October Afternoons
October 20, 2008 – 7:53 pm
Wandering around in the backyard:
We always wind up here, the play yard next door:
Isn't this one crazy?:
I know this is out of focus, but she sure has the look of carefree living here:
Truth: The real reason I brought the camera out today- don't you just LOVE these stripey tights?? Me, too:
Before the one-sided agreement of Budget Crunch '08, I picked them at Tarzhay (oh Tarzhay, how I miss thee… Next January, we will be reunited, Love). So glad I did- my mom would say: Yummy girl!
Finally, we're off to check up on the Faerie Garden (the girls lay out berries and make leaf beds and rock sofas for the faeries) (idea lifted from Family Fun):
What's been keeping you busy on these October afternoons?
Sassy Shoe Thursday: The Whole Enchilada
October 16, 2008 – 1:14 pm
Last week, I was taking pictures of the clean parts of my house to show my readers our new home (notice the post has not yet come, noting that not all my rooms have been presentable for pictures yet)- but it was the perfect opportunity to get all my shoes lined up for a photo op. I am slightly proud for this fun collection and somewhat embarrassed at it, too. I know that there are plenty a pair that would feed kids in small African nations, yet, I still keep them. Having said that, I present in all their glory, the sassy, the outdoorsy, the strappy, the rugged, the cheap, the expensive, the flat and the tall ones. I love them like this, but even better when they're on my feet:
Ten on Tuesday!
October 14, 2008 – 12:04 pm
1. Sarah and Lauren are sick sick sick. It won't be long before Ash is, too, I'm sure.
2. Speaking of Sarah, she is writing her name with lowercase letters now. On one hand, it's awesome. On the other hand, I already miss the cat scratch qualities of her all upper case name.
3. Last week was ohmygosh busy! Monday was Book Club, Tuesday and Wednesday was gymnastics, Thursday was a pumpkin patch field trip & Andy's birthday, Friday was our Home Fellowship potluck & kick-off, Saturday was a 20-card shoebox swap and dinner at friends!
4. The shoebox swap has me on fire for card making right now- I'm halfway done with Christmas cards (I make them during nighttime DVR catch-up!)
5. I need a haircut, again.
6. Andy had Columbus Day off, so we went on a family bike ride yesterday. We rode something like 15 miles when it was all said and done. Too bad my seat isn't the most comfortable of places to be on for that amount of time!
7. I have a new favorite coffee place and midwesterners already know and LOVE it, Caribou Coffee. I'm a big fan of their mochas!
8. Things left on my to-do list today: finish laundry & make mummies. Isn't that a random combination?
9. I need to support my buy-new-stamp-sets habit, so I'm learning how to sell things on eBay. Seriously, I'm looking around the house thinking to myself- what else can I sell!? Honey, if your sports car camera is gone when you get home, you know why!
10. Sarah and Ashleigh are so silly- they came out dressed in all black and were "spying" on us the other night. You gotta love these little one's imaginations:
Happy Tuesday!
30 + 1
October 12, 2008 – 5:32 pm
This past Thursday, Andy celebrated his 30 + 1 birthday. I think he's calling all birthdays that (varying the final additive, of course depending on the year) since he's in denial. The girls and I threw him a small and cozy "Out of this World" Party- there are some cool printables available online when you are having a really busy week and are crunched for time on party planning!
So decorations were a hit:
(hey, I have three kids under five, give me a break!):
Lolo was on watch for when the dad would be home:
(that's a rocket on the center of the table there, or water bottle covered in foil, genius, right?) (and there's silver confetti, too!)
And the birthday guy opened up his silly gift from us- he doesn't know what those are:
Happy Birthday conecakes:
And that's that- stay tuned for 30 + 2 next year!