into our Halloween festivities, so exciting, I know. I have to take pictures at Halloween since it's the only time my orange counter tops are seasonal :) L & C designed their own faces and Cody carved them since I scare him silly wielding a knife toward a pumpkin. Fine with me though, I'll stick with roasting the seeds. I think that's our favorite part, probably the only reason I got three pumpkins. A little olive oil and seasoning salt, yum. Does anyone else feel just a little sad putting the jack-o-lanterns out to the curb after Halloween, or is it just me? I feel bad wasting a perfectly good pumpkin and yet, who would want pie from it after it sat in the rain and held a burning candle for hours on end?! Ooh, maybe I'll compost them...hmm...
We went to Boo at the Zoo tonight and as we were bringing home a frozen Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) and a thawing pioneer, I remembered saying I wasn't going to go again after last year. Cody was at the ICCU booth last year and we went for the first time. Noah always stays pretty cozy in the stroller, but the girls freeze, since they insist on going without coats for awhile to show off their costumes. Lauren was near crying at the end, "Mom, I wish we were at the zoo in San Diego!" Yeah me too, just too cold here in Idaho. There didn't seem to be as many businesses and vendors there either, oh well, someone please remind me next year to pass it by. It's fun, just too cold for our thin skins I guess.
What a funny boy, Noah howled when I tried to get him into this bee costume, but today he put it on for about 3 minutes and we snapped some quick pictures. So, that's all the holiday he's going to do, he just wanted Lauren to put it on and buzzzzz at him. Well, more fun tomorrow, trying to gear up for the sugar high, those poor teachers, they must hate Halloween :)
a sneak peek...
all I want for Christmas...
As their mother, I guess I should have loads of ideas for Christmas and birthday gifts, the girls turn 7 in December too. But, I'm at a loss this year still, I just have a few ideas. Noah has been lining up everything from bits of food, dress-up jewelry and his trucks and making the train sound, "choo, choo." I'm envisioning some kind of magnetic train, any suggestions? I must admit, Cody and I had such fun looking at the Thomas the Train stuff in the toy dept. It's funny to see the difference between boys and girls even at such a young age, some things just come ingrained. We get the American Girl catalog occasionally and L & C pore over the dolls, they're only $100 :0 Plus, they recommend them for ages 8 plus. I found a knock-off version at Target. So yes, I guess I'm one of THOSE kind of moms, I could easily drop $400 getting two dolls and all the accessories. I plan on making a few outfits and hopefully they'll think they're still pretty great!
Now for the real sad part of the story. Lauren and Chloe know now that Santa is a hoax. I know, it seems too soon to me too. I never planned on it happening, and it was a gradual thing. They had a friend at school who kept telling them Santa isn't real-what a friend huh?! I knew Cody would be disappointed, but over the course of 3 weeks they kept asking me so many questions-none of which I had any decent answers for. Questions like- "How does Santa see everyone in one night?" "Why do some kids get a lot from Santa and other kids don't get much?" I was eventually trying to get them to figure it out, but they were begging for me to just TELL them, so I did. And they seemed o.k. with it all, I just told them to still believe in the magic and to let other kids (NOAH) enjoy believing. And by all means, don't go around broadcasting it to other kids their age who still might have a glimmer of hope left. Good grief, I think I was almost 10 before I thought, alright, it's true, he's mom and dad. Please don't flame me for telling them and posting this, I guess I have moral issues with Santa as well. Why do some kids get spoiled and others don't? Any answers Santa? I'm hoping Christmas will still be as fun as ever though, after all there are still plenty of surprises, even if they're not delivered via sleigh and reindeer, right?
P.S. Same goes for the tooth fairy, the friend exposed her as well. It's alright I suppose, we have had close to 12 visits this year :)
Mom, when you were my age...
So, I'm starting to get just a little bit of a complex here. I'm not sure if my memory is seriously lacking in some areas, or my daughters just have super-detailed questions. Maybe all you objective readers can offer your opinions :) Every night when I tuck the girls in we visit for a few minutes and ultimately the conversations end up with questions like, "Mom, what were you for Halloween when you were seven?" "Mom, what was your favorite food when you were my age?" Or they get really tough with "Mom, what did your favorite pair of shoes look like when you were in first grade?" Are you kidding me!? Sometimes it's hard to remember what we had for dinner last night. No, really I think my short term memory is great, but maybe I'm lacking a bit as far as childhood memories. Sometimes one of their questions really jogs my memory and I can whip out an entire story about some random subject. But a lot of the time I end up with something lame along the lines of, "Hmm, I'll have to look in my photo albums." I'll get back to you on that. I must say I'm quite flattered that they have such an interest in what I was like as a kid-there I am in the pic-who wouldn't want to be buddies with that little chick? So tonight, after grilling me about every Halloween costume I've ever worn, and asking me to rate the five best it was just bugging me. (The best was hands down the three legged pants with my friend Whitney :) I had to find out what I was for Halloween when I was seven, here it is, a bum or poor homeless girl I guess! By the way, I just noticed, that is a wig, never was blessed with hair that thick. The haircut's pretty close though, happy times. So, I'm working on it, does anyone else have trouble pulling out random childhood memories or is it just me? I countered Chloe at the dinner table though. She asked a way too specific question for me and I shot back with, "Chloe, do you remember your favorite song when you were two?" "No, I don't remember." Really, I sympathize.
work versus play...
who wins, well, lately it's been play. So today I kicked into high gear and swept and mopped all the floors this morning and made bread. Still working on laundry and bathrooms. Needed a break to play :) The pic of the front yard is the work that awaits us every fall, but I'm a bit excited about the leaves this year. Yesterday I splurged and got a leaf blower that has an attachment to suck, grind, then bag up the leaves, making an awesome mulch and compost. I was disappointed it rained and I haven't used it yet. Hopefully the excitement will keep with me a few more weeks! I don't think I'll ever get thrift store shopping out of my blood, guess we were in college too long. And still now, not out of necessity so much, but just fun, I still like to scour the stores in search of those hidden treasures. And believe me, they are hidden or in some cases, non-existent. I think what I like is having to look for something I need or something worthwhile. Going to a regular store doesn't give me the same satisfaction since-let's face it- everything looks great and sure I could use it at say a place like Macy's. But, most times there's a lot of junk and I go away with a few laughs at the stuff that was actually for sale. I found this cool fabric this week and liked in a funky, retro-ish way. I bought with aprons in mind. But back to the whole work thing. I promised myself before I jumped in with anymore 'fun' sewing projects I would finish my temple dress. Yes, the sad story is somewhere between here and San Diego, I lost my temple clothes. I still feel sad about it since I loved the dress so much. I've been trying to finish a current one for several months. And I don't feel it's coincidence that things keep coming up and stalling the project. Two nights ago, my junky iron burned a hole in the slip, aahh, at least it wasn't the dress right?! Yeah, the same iron that burned Noah, it has bad karma or something. So work before play, I'm needing to get some more slip fabric before the aprons get back on the table. Well, kind of long post about nothing in particular. Lauren and Chloe are posing in their new church dresses, they always want their picture taken on Sunday mornings. Guess they feel like they are looking their best! They were looking pretty cute this time. Till next time, love from our leaf covered home to yours, stay warm.
skeletons, scarecrows, and red shoes, oh my...
Every year it seems Lauren and Chloe lament the fact that I hardly to anything to decorate for Halloween, blow-up lawn decor and tombstones just haven't been a priority I guess. So this year I tried to redeem myself. We made this skeleton out of eight milk cartons, it was a pain, but turned out kind of cute, in a skeleton-ish sort of way. I only sustained two cuts from the box knife I used. Not thinking I will do anymore of those little devils, plus it took the entire afternoon. I've always wanted to do a scarecrow, so I found the perfect use for one of the twenty Vandal t-shirts Cody owns. He has so much U of I sports gear, no load of wash is complete without something sporting the logo. Not that I mind, I mean I'm a proud Vandal too. The pic is a little fuzzy, but yes his 'head' is a little out of proportion with the body. We just kept stuffing and stuffing, he's a little on the chunky side, but Chloe found him to be quite lovable. It freaked Noah out a bit. A first it was "Daddy?" Then as he reached out to touch him and found he was crunchy and soft Noah kept his distance. Here's Noah with his "There's no place like home" look. He loves these red Dorothy shoes that actually belong to Lauren. Poor fella, he's going to have all these pictures with girly shoes, barrettes in his hair. He just spends too much time with us ladies. Hope L & C feel a bit better about the decor and hope Mr. Vandal doesn't get rained upon too soon!
hip hip hooray....
So I was reading the free newspaper we get every week (which I never used to read when we got the REAL paper-need to renew that :) And on the front page is an article about a food co-op coming to downtown Idaho Falls!!!!!!!! I'm so excited! In my opinion that's one of the few things this beautiful city needs. It's right next to Great Harvest Bread on A St. I loved the Moscow Co-op, hope this one has as many good things to offer. So go check it out and buy local!
ahh fall time...
my favorite season...So after the first big snow of the season!?!? it's finally back to 'real' fall weather. I was NOT ready for that, give me another two months of fall please. I had to post a bunch of pictures to make up for the past month. And because they're awesome since the fabulous Lisa took them. I love the colors in this first picture. By the van I was trying to show Chloe how to bend her arms and knees and look like she was racing by, I needed some skates myself. I haven't skated for a LONG time, kind of miss going around the rink with all those bad 80's tunes blaring in the background. Anyway, back to fall-we got about 4 inches of snow on the flowers, vegetables and our two huge maple trees who had not lost their leaves yet. Streets in downtown were closed because so many tree branches were randomly falling everywhere. We lost quite a few as well. I felt so bad to hear that cracking sound and see another one hit the ground. I've had a love hate relationship with those trees. But I definitely love them now. I didn't grow up ever having to rake leaves and so inheriting these trees was a bit of a shock, not to mention a lot of work. I hated how our grass always looked littered. And my flowers would have appreciated a bit more sun, they are just so efficient, shady, and huge. But in a strange way their largeness is comforting to me, almost like a shield for our home. I know it would feel naked without them. And even the leaves are great compost, and I'm all about compost :) I think what I appreciate about them the most is how looking out the window keeps me in the here and now. If it's fall they are turning beautiful colors, in the winter they are laced with sparkling snow and ice. And when Noah was born in the spring we took a lot of naps together on my bed and I watched as new leaves emerged. And summer, wow, they're gorgeous and cool. The pods split apart making a sticky decoration for the nose as well, fantastic huh? Too bad I couldn't market those like the snore strips or something equally bizarre! I always think of those when L & C do this little trick. And I have to give thanks for my overgrown apple tree as well. I dried some slices, made applesauce, and pie filling. Fruit trees are so fun, wish I had a couple more. Thanks for funny kids who always keep me laughing and remind me that leaves fall on the ground for the sole purpose of being jumped and played in...happy raking!
four funerals and a wedding...
I never did see that movie, Four Weddings and a Funeral, but for my life it's been reversed lately. My cousin is getting married next week, but it's in Utah, so I won't be able to swing it, I'd really like to go though. I've been to four funerals in the last three weeks or so. Our ward has a lot of older folks and I usually get some of the action by accompanying musical numbers. It's been interesting to me to go and hear about their lives. I can't say that I have known them well, a couple I hadn't even met. I always seem to get a bit emotional seeing the families though, and it gets me thinking of my own. I'm not ready to bury ANYONE in mine, of course, who is!? I'm glad to be able to offer a bit of service too, I think music brings such a great feeling to a funeral service, I hope mine consists of few words and lots of music :) Lately, the constants seem to be me and Emmy Collette, a great organist, I really love this lady. She came from Austria in her twenties and I always love talking to her. She has had cancer twice and was joking last night about how all her older friends keep asking if she'll play at their funerals and she said, "I'm the one who's had cancer, I should be checking out!" I told her she's off the hook for my funeral :) She's funny, wise, and incredibly strong. I love knowing all the older folks in our neighborhood! She offered to give me some organ lessons, which I plan on taking her up on. I wish I had taken organ lessons in college, but I was so into all things piano-teaching, accompanying, and performing, that it didn't even cross my mind. So here's to a new chapter in my musical life, maybe I'll get to play at all my friend's funerals!
a good investment...
Wow, just when you think that maybe what your kids hear and listen to doesn't make an impact, a dinner conversation like this one occurs. Last night I was talking to Lauren and Chloe, they have a mutual friend in first grade who they run with at each recess. She belongs to a Christian church and Chloe was pointing out our church adjacent to the school playground. Anyway, they got in a discussion about Heavenly Father, Jesus, and prayer. Chloe quoted the first two Articles of Faith to her and then told her friend... "the Pearl of Great Price tells us that Heavenly Father's work is to help us learn to be like him and help us live forever." She quoted verbatim these tapes and CD's- Scripture Scouts- that L & C listen to almost every night. Cody and I sometimes poke fun-they do have a singing dog, but the messages are great. And they teach so many gospel concepts through music, which is so effective with kids. Lauren informed me that the two of them along with two of their friends had formed a club where they would share their beliefs. They were both so nonchalant about it and I was glad they felt they could do that. So after this encounter I'm realizing at what a young age kids form their beliefs and really start to internalize them, it's neat really, that they know what they believe in well enough to share it with others. They need something to believe in at such a young age, how grateful I am for Primary and all the great resources we have to teach our children, even if it is Scripture Scouts :)
somewhere over the rainbow...
Totally unrelated to anything, but it must be brown-recluse spider season. The girls and I rearranged their bedroom furniture and must have shoe-smashed, vacuumed, or otherwise killed close to a dozen of these humongous spiders. They gross me out, just because they grow so big and healthy in our basement. The final straw was when Noah came out with a live one in his hand, "bu, bu?" Yes, it's a bug, drop it immediately, only it came out as more of a "aaaaaaaahhhhhh, drop it, drop it NOW!" I've never actually known anyone who bitten by a spider, but better safe than sorry I say. On a different note, I'm having mixed feelings about fall coming. It has been downright cold and I feel a bit sad as I see the droopy, frozen plants, and no more sunny afternoons in the backyard playing in the water. But a good bowl of soup and piling on the blankets and snuggling close at night cures my wintertime blues. I told Cody that when we're 50-something we can be snowbirds and head to Florida in the wintertime. After so many Idaho winters I just might be ready for a warm Christmas, who knows. I'm off to fold my warm laundry, have a cozy week, stay warm...
