Goodbye, November!

Wow.  November turned out being a serious dud in terms of blog posts.  As always, I had grand intentions and apparently made zero effort to fulfill them (though I did think about writing a number of times).  I'll post about Thanksgiving and such soon.  I know next month will be better.  Thanks in part to something I'm thankful for...the ability to write and schedule posts in advance.

Halloween 2011

We had a fun Halloween this year.  The kids didn't have school so aside from running to the store for a few things, we spent the day at home with them playing and me attempting (key word) to get some things done....

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've kind of gotten on a kick of trying to make somewhat festive or fun things to eat for dinner or dessert on each holiday.  For this year's Halloween dinner, I went crazy with Jell-O.  A while back I got a Jell-O brain mold and with it came instructions for various brains as well as other recipes to use for the holiday.  I ended up making a cherry & evaporated milk brain that turned out a really lovely blood red and layered squares in orange and root beer.  How'd I make root beer Jell-O you ask?  There's a new flavor out there called "Mixcheif" to which you add your own soda for flavor.  Two words: DON'T BOTHER.  The box calls for using either part water and part soda or all soda for the liquids.  I chose the latter hoping to get really good flavor and even with that, it was sub-par to say the least.  Never again.  At least the brain turned out tasty enough (the kids thought it was hysterical to talk about how much they like eating brains) and the orange layered squares were downright yummy.

After our early dinner and a bit of prep time, we headed out the door to beg candy off neighbors and friends.  This year Hudson was a nerd/brainiac/fashion-challenged boy and Claire was a kitty.  Both were happy with their costumes.  I couldn't help but giggle at Hudson and Claire was just downright cute.  I tried to make Miles a real skunk this year with white stripes but he shook the spray off the second I finished then darted through the dog door, thereby wiping off much of what was left after his shake-off.  After pictures on the porch, we had fun doing a loop around our neighborhood and one just north of us and then headed down the hill to see the grandparents nearby.  The weather was absolutely perfect for trick-or-treating this year - in the 60's! - which made it even better than years past.

Both kids came home with way too much candy and both were and have continued to be surprisingly good about sharing some with their parents.  It sure is nice to be in my 30's and benefiting from trick-or-treating without dressing up or going door to door with a bag in my hand!

Carving Pumpkins

As is tradition in every normal family out there, we carved pumpkins for Halloween.  The kids and I each picked a pumpkin out of the many on our front porch (I may or may not have put the kibosh on certain ones...) to do our handy work on.  For the kids' pumpkins, Hudson and I used an online pumpkin template maker to design a face for his and Claire simply asked that I do a "flower face" for her again this year.  My pumpkin was based on an idea I found online.

Proving that he's grown up a bit since last year, Hudson was eager to dig in and help clean out his pumpkin (once he'd gotten a quick feel for the slimy stuff inside)...no disgusted faces or complaining this time!  And he did a decent job to boot!  Claire had no issue helping out and happily helped separate seeds from the goop so that we could roast them.  Both kids wanted to cut the drawn-on faces out and aside from my cleaning up the angle of his cuts a bit, Hudson did really well and pretty much nailed it.  Claire, on the other hand, pitched a fit when I told her it might be too hard and then quickly gave up and settled for watching me when she realized I was right.  As for my pumpkin, I had fun making every little hole with the hubby's drill...power tools to the rescue!  I think all three of our pumpkins turned out quite well.  Amateur, maybe, but great for our Halloween front porch nonetheless.

In addition to the ones shown above, I also etched one of those ginormous pumpkins to last us through the month of November on our front porch (and I have one more to shave/etch).  This year's doesn't have our name on it so I can post pictures but they'll have to come a bit later as I want to get a finished shot of it out on the front porch.  It has been out there for days but it is covered in snow from yesterday...you're just going to have to come see it in person or wait for that snow to melt.

By the way, I never did roast those seeds that Claire helped sort out...  After washing them, I kept putting the job off and left them out in a bowl on the counter for a couple days.  At that point, even after another washing they reeked like nobody's business so into the garbage they went.  Maybe we'll crack open one of the pumpkins on the porch before the month is out and do it right.

Next up: Happy Halloween (over a week later)...

Leaves + Kids = Work & Play!

A few days before Halloween we had our first real leaf gathering/raking/bagging session of the fall.  In spite of the cooler temperatures in September, it seems like autumn has taken its sweet time kicking it into gear and the leaves have just recently started to flutter down.

The work started in the morning with the kids and the hubby starting to gather leaves and then covering poor Miles in them (though he didn't seem to mind too much...looked like he was ready to go to sleep).  From there it turned into the kids and dog chasing each other all over the place as the dog got a little spunky after escaping his blanket of leaves.  In the late afternoon, I called my little minions to get out front and bag leaves while I finished putting dinner together.  They are good little workers and seemed to enjoy (for the most part) stuffing the garbage can full, pushing the leaves down when it got too full, and occasionally throwing a few up in the air for good measure.

Oh - and please don't think that I didn't do anything.  I did my fair share by tying off and changing the bags in the can when they were full, snapping pictures of the kids doing the real work, and bossing them around.

Beat THIS Man's Good Attitude

I don't recall exactly what part of the New Testament was being covered on this particular Sunday, but some weeks ago in our Sunday School class the lesson touched on trials and hardships in life and how we get through them.

One man who has had cancer a couple of times (2 or 3...can't recall exactly) and lost an eye due to the most recent case commented, "You can go through a lot in life if you know there's a reward at the end."

Obviously knowing of his battles with cancer, the teacher asked in return, "What's the reward for losing your eye?"

The man only paused for a moment and then with a big smile across his face he said: "I only cry half as much."

Everyone in the class laughed and smiled.  I don't think that even one of us didn't marvel at this man's character.  Finding that kind of a positive in that kind of trial?  Now that is what I call a good attitude.