HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Halloween is my favorite holiday, can you guess witch holiday is my kids' favortite? My daughter has been wearing her witch costume almost every weekend and after school for the last several weeks.

We threw a Halloween party this past weekend (early because of all the Fall Festivals and other parties going on the weekend prior to Halloween). I started decorating bit by bit the first weekend of October to enjoy all the decorations and to make sure I wasn't killing myself to get everything done last minute. My kids helped me decorate and besides the assistance, it made them realize the scary part of Halloween is only that way if they want it to be. By helping me put out all the creepy decor, they saw that the stuff wasn't real. They've really enjoyed being such a big part of the festivities and they aren't having nightmares.

Have you seen those fun candy serving bowls with the hands sticking out of them? Well, unless you wait until after Halloween when they go on clearance-they are not cheap. I had previously purchased a $2.00 mask, filled it with plastic grocery sacks, placed it in a large serving dish and added candy around it. Cheap, clever and creepy!

I tried BLOGHUNGRY'S spooktacular Bloody Finger Cookie recipe-they were easy and were a huge hit at the party!

I didn't want to spend all my budget on fake tombstones. I had some extra cement stepping stones and spray-painted them.
Scarecrows and dummies are another cheap and simple scare. I had a dollar store pumpkin for the scarecrow, dollar-store Friday the 13th-Jason mask, and raided my husband's closet. Both dummies were stuffed with plastic grocery sacks and cardboard.

The rest of the decor has been collected over the past 12 years or recently purchased on sale/clearance.

(My neice checks out the eyeballs)

Right Kid, Wrong Day Care???

Imagine-
It's 11am, you're in the middle of a project at work, you receive a phone call. It's your child's day care: "Please, come pick up your son."
You assume your child must be sick, but the day care assistant informs you that their main water line is broken and that the day care will be without water for the rest of the day and must close early.
You pack up your things, leave a message for your boss, and head out to pick up your child.

That's what I did.
And when I arrived at my son's day care, I was surprised to find the kids in nap time. Then, I noticed I was the only parent there.
What was going on?
The director approached me and asked, "You're picking up your son early?" Confused, I replied, "Uh, yes, you're water line is broken, right?"
My statement startled the director. "It is?"
She asked one of the teachers to turn on the water.
It poured right out of the tap.
The director turned back to me. We just stared at each other trying to make sense of it all. It was like an episode of the Twilight Zone. Who would have called me and said such a thing?

My son's OLD day care.

My son's name was still on "the list."
I left in the middle of work and looked like a complete lunatic at my son's current day care facility-all because our information wasn't taken off a list.
Oh, you bet that old day care isn't calling me again!

Need a kid birthday gift idea?

Lately we've been invited to quite a few birthday parties-I'm guessing it's because my daughter started Kindergarten. Unfortunately, I don't know most of these kids or their parents. So I don't have a clue what to buy as a gift? Sure you can go to Amazon.com or Toysrus.com and search gift ideas by age group, but still it's difficult to know another kid's likes and dislikes. Well, I think I've found a fool-proof and affordable gift.

The last several gifts I've purchased have been basically the same (depending if I'm buying for a girl or a boy):

ColorWonder colors and books and a kid flashlight or lantern.

You don't have to worry about duplicating gifts, because I can't think of a kid who has too many colors or coloring books. Plus, ColorWonder is MESS FREE-the markers only write on special paper. They are great to use in the home or travelling in the car. ColorWonder sets start at $8.
As for the flaslight, it's an uncommon gift-usually found in the camping section of stores not the toy section.. The kid-friendly flashlights and lanterns come in bright colors or with fun characters. The flashlight shown above even comes with batteries and cost less than $5!!

I'm Invisible

My apologies, it's been too long since my last post! I have a good excuse though-the hard drive on my computer had to be replaced. The ordeal took much longer than was originally estimated by the manufacturer.

While I try to get some pics downloaded to share some new posts, enjoy this recent email I received regarding motherhood...

I'm invisible
"It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.
Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not.
No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.
I'm invisible.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more:
Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being.
I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?'
I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?'
I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going - she's going - she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.
I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:
'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand baste a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.'
That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'
As invisible women, we are building great cathedrals.
We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.
And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

(By Rene' Cargile)

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Well, the hubby made it to town and we dropped our daughter off for her first day of Kindergarten! She was so excited. She picked out her own outfit (that actually matched) and even made her own lunch.

My sister suggested the following tip:

Ask my daughter all about her first day of school and document it. It's a wonderful way for everyone to remember such a milestone and a great addition to any scrapbook or photo album.

Don't try to pull a fast one on this mom!!

She's taking it to ebay!!

"LOT OF POKEMON CARDS THAT MY KIDS TRIED TO SNEAK BY ME"

I like this mom & I gotta commend her for raising 6 kids!!

Very funny read-worth checking out the link!

Ratatouille?

So, this is what happens when you think you've vacuumed the car really good, but didn't get all the cereal and crackers that fell between the seats and piled up underneath them; AND you also happen to have a rather large, hungry rat living in your garage that you thought was gone because you hadn't seen any "evidence" of it in a while; AND one of your kids left the car door open AND you didn't notice...














Yeah, that's right,
A - RAT - ATE -
THE - BACK - SEAT - OF - MY - CAR!

A rat.

A real, live rat - ate my back car seat! Scurried right in that open car door and feasted on kiddy snacks hidden in the abyss beneath my back seat.

It's hard to imagine and yet I have photographic proof.

It's truly disturbing.

Back to School...Back to Reality...Back to the here and now...

It's time to start getting back on a routine. I'm easing my kids into an earlier bedtime already so it's not such a shock to their system. (I've been spoiling them by letting them stay up later this summer)
My mother-in-law was kind enough to assist me in registering my daughter for Kindergarten and took her school supply shopping. I'm telling you it's a scavenger hunt trying to find the very precise items required by the school. We went to two stores and still haven't bought all the necessary supplies. This is all new to me. I missed the Elementary school's sale of pre-packaged school supplies (which they don't sell during registration?? Does it make sense for a school to make it easy for the kids who already go there and difficult for the new students???)
Well, I'll know for next year and hopefully you'll know now too!!
Wal-Mart and Target do have special end-cap displays set up with school supplies required by local schools. In addition, the stores have copies of the local school supply lists available.
My mother-in-law also did the back-to-school clothes shopping for my daughter-what a huge help!


OH-AND DON'T FORGET IT'S A TAX-FREE WEEKEND this weekend (August 17-19, 2007) in case you're still in need of back-to-school items! (or in my case, a new pair of shoes!)

THANK YOU KEMAH COPS & FIRE DEPARTMENT!

Last week while I was out-of-town, there was a horrendous thunderstorm in my neighborhood. The strong gusts of wind managed to blow open the door of my balcony. The door leads to the master bedroom which is carpeted. Luckily, my neighbor noticed the door had blown open and went over to my house to shut the door. She was worried about the down-pour damaging the interior of my home. Unfortunately, she was unable to find my spare house key and there aren't outside stairs attached to the balcony. My neighbor called the local police department. Two patrol cars arrived in less than 2 minutes. The policemen searched for my spare key and weren't able to find it.

The cops then called the local volunteer fire department for assistance. With siren blaring as dictated by protocol, the fire engine arrived at my house. All for a blown open door! The kind fire fighter raised the ladder up to the balcony to close the door. Another one of my neighbors came home from work just in time to see the two police vehicles and the fire truck in my driveway. He went over to find out what all the commotion was about. Once he understood the situation, he casually told the police where the spare key was hidden! All that hard work to raise that big, heavy ladder! (BTW-the carpet was spared and the house was searched for intruders-all is well)

I am so thankful for their dedication. If the police and fire departments went to all that trouble for my door, then I am very lucky to live in my neighborhood. I feel even more protected and safe than I already did.

My kids colored THANK YOU cards for the police and fire departments. We hand-delivered the cards along with cookies to the police and fire stations. I felt it was necessary in our case, but stopping by your local police and fire departments with homemade cards and cookies is a great way to get to know those who are looking out for you and your family! And to give them much deserved appreciation.Plus, my kids really enjoyed it!

National Neighbors Night Out August 7, 2007!

Get out and meet your neighbors!

It not only builds upon your support network, it's FUN!