So Say We

The little piggy says dressing up is fun, I like my hooves.


Jango Fett says he wishes costume parades and class parties that involve huge sugar cookies covered in orange frosting and sprinkles should be a weekly event.


Spiderman says mnfphgrnphmgrmth (his mouth is full of candy, he can't talk right now).


Mommy says she's tired and is glad this day comes only once a year.

Word of the Day.

We carved pumpkins yesterday afternoon. Colin was up to his ears in pumpkin guts and loved every minute of it. I think he quite literally may have had pumpkin guts in his ears.


Riley wouldn't go near any pumpkin innards without using the longest spoon we own.


I was giving him a hard time about it to which he responded, "Mom, I can't help it. I'm a little persnickety, OK?"

Well. Pardon me.

Busy, Busy, Busy.

This is a busy week, so postings will be short and sweet.

Lots to do this week: two class parties (meaning treats to bake), four families coming over for dinner Halloween night (dinner to make), trick-or-treating (with a forecast of rain), soccer on Saturday (with a forecast of rain!), a birthday bash Saturday night (80's themed - got my leggings ready), cake for Saturday's birthday bash (more baking).

My to-do list is unusually long. I need an assistant. (Did you ever see that Seinfeld episode where Kramer got an intern? I think that's what I need.)

When I'm uber-busy, I tend to let some things slide. Laundry, usually, is the first to go. Then today I let this happen:

Avery eating Lucky Charms straight from the box. So healthy. But it was cute and I just couldn't stop it. Plus it was keeping her busy. I was baking: I needed her to be busy.


Just added to the to-do list: wash those windows.

All the fixin's.

I made my new favorite lunch again today. I've had this salad for lunch for the last four days and I'm hooked on it. It's hearty and healthy and yummy.
It's mixed salad greens, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, dry roasted edamame, red peppers, and a dressing of olive oil and strawberry balsamic vinegar. I added avocado over the weekend when I had it and that made it even better.

These dry roasted edamame are delicious, a great snack, and so healthy. They add crunch to the salad like a crouton, only better. I bought them at - where else - Costco.
[As I was taking these pictures Colin came into the kitchen for a snack and said, "Mom, why are you taking pictures of food?" Clearly he doesn't yet understand the art of the blog: even the boring, mundane details of the day can be made interesting. At least that's what I try to convince myself and the tens of people who read this everyday.]

I tried to convince Colin he needed to try my delicious salad concoction. He gave me a quick nothankyouverymuch and continued on his merry way eating his trail mix and drinking his chocolate milk. Also purchased at Costco, I might add.

Avery opted for the old faithful banana.


No one else gave my salad any love whatsoever.

I'm hoping that one day my children will broaden their culinary experiences. Man can't live on chocolate milk alone, right? Right????

Ready...Aim...(mis)Fire

I am TIRED of cleaning the bathroom. I mean, really tired of it. I clean the bathroom (on some level) at least once a day. Usually more. I am a mother to two boys. There are some aiming issues. For those of you with potty-trained boys, you know what I mean. (Heck, for those of you with husbands you probably know what I mean!) For those of you with boys who are not yet using the potty, I hate to scare you, but YOUR BATHROOM WILL NEVER BE CLEAN AGAIN. Oh, sure, it will have moments, maybe even hours of cleanliness. But I'm not sure that my bathroom has been clean for a full 24 hours for the last five years.

Because of this I have become somewhat of a connoisseur of bathroom cleaning products. I've tried it all, I think. I've bought Clorox bleach spray, Lysol bathroom cleaner, Seventh Generation All-Purpose, you name it. While each cleaner has its merits, my current system involves a daily antibacterial treatment with a Lysol antibacterial cleaner (which I usually do around 10am when one or both of them are at school and the bathroom is guaranteed at least one hour of germ-free time) and then innumerable wipe-downs with Clorox wipes. I do enjoy those Clorox wipes. (Well, 'enjoy' may be a little strong....). Then finally a scrub-down of the bowl with bleach and dish detergent (my grandma's method: I think of her every time I clean the toilet bowl. I think she'd like that.)

So, my question for you: what's your bathroom-cleaning regimen? Do you Clorox wipe? Do you Lysol? Do you Comet cleanse? Tell me! I'm always open to a new and better system. And in the mean time, I'll keep on keepin' on. And I'll keep praying for the day when the imaginary bulls-eye inside the toilet bowl is hit 100% of the time.

A girl can dream.

Little Robot, Big Cake.

This was my Saturday night (and some of my morning):


This was the third time I've made an R2-D2 cake, and I think also the last. He's a big cake (see comparison to the Diet Coke can below), and he's a little too stressful for me. It may have something to do with the fact that I'm married to a big Star Wars fan and he is very particular about the R2-D2 cake. (He made the legs for me and provided consulting service throughout the process.)


He's ready for his debut tomorrow morning. Bye, Buddy! Travel well! Please don't fall over! And may the force be with you.


Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

It never rains in Southern California.

But, alas, I don't live in Southern California. I live in Northern California. And it does rain in Northern California. Not like what I hear Portland is like. Or Seattle. We don't get excessive rain, but enough that I need some rain boots.

I have never owned a pair of rain boots. I'm not sure how I've managed to live all these years without a pair, but I have. But last year, there were many days when I was trudging through the drop-off/pick-up routines and my shoes got soaked. And my feet got cold. I HATE it when my feet get cold. It sets the tone for the rest of the day.

So today, on this near 90 degree October day, I ordered some rain boots from Zappos. I love them! They'll match my red rain coat. I hope they're as cute on as they are in the picture.

My feet won't be wet this rainy season. Assuming we get a rainy season this year. Did I mention it was 90 degrees today?

Is it over? Did I miss it?

I didn't think I did, but I guess it's possible. Maybe I blinked? Did I oversleep one day? It's strange, I didn't think I missed the entire month of November but...I guess stranger things have happened. The only reason I'm asking is because of what my mail carrier lady left for me today:


Six, yes SIX!, catalogs advertising Christmas or Christmas gifts on the cover. What?!? Maybe I'm the only one who is not quite ready to think about Christmas. I mean, I did find it funny today when I was at Safeway and they had a Christmas tree set up in the floral department - right next to the Halloween balloons. It seems like we're always rushing to get to the next "thing", and not really enjoying where we are. I sometimes catch myself doing this with my kids. I'll think, "Gosh, I'll be glad when Avery's out of diapers." Or, "It will be nice when the boys outgrow this 'potty talk' phase." And while, yes, that will be nice, I know I need to enjoy each phase because I'll inevitably miss it when it's gone. (Really? Will I really miss the potty talk? I'll have to think about that one.)

My point is that I wish retailers would just slow it down and take it one season at a time. I was so disturbed by all of these catalogs arriving today I considered putting them away for a month or so and pulling them out again the end of November. Then Avery spotted this one:


A Fisher Price toy catalog. She looked through this one and talked about all of the toys she liked. It reminded me of the Sears (or was it Penney's?) catalog my grandma used to get when I was little that I would look through and circle all of the things I wanted. That was so fun. It's kind of the same feeling I get now when I get a Pottery Barn or Williams Sonoma catalog.

I actually considered not looking through the Chasing Fireflies catalog. The one with the three little girls in the most adorable red tutus on the cover. But, I didn't really have anything else do when I was eating my lunch today, so I cracked it open. Why, oh why, did I do that? Why did I have to see these little shoes?


They have cupcakes on them!!! Don't they KNOW about my weakness for things with cupcakes on them?!?!?

Oh you have got to be kidding me:

A shirt with a cupcake!?! And not just a cupcake, but a donut or an ice cream cone, depending on the mood your little girl is in? How cute is that. (But is it $44 cute? I think not.) WHY am I not crafty? WHY can I not sew this?

And WHY, for the love of Christmas catalogs, are these pink doughnut ornaments so stinkin' cute?!?!??

Somebody. please. remove. this. catalog. from. my. house.

The moral of this story: don't long for the future, but enjoy where you are. And for me? The next time my gut tells me to close a catalog, I will listen. Because who knows if there's a cupcake inside. I don't have the willpower to take it.

Forgive me, please...

...but I just have to brag. Only for a minute, I promise. Avert your eyes if need be. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow, I promise.

Riley had his first ever spelling test on Friday. On his birthday, no less! We'd been practicing the words all week, and they weren't really particularly challenging, but there were three extra credit words that the kids could attempt if they were so inclined. He was so inclined.


We were all so proud of his 100% when he brought it home yesterday. And check out that penmanship! He didn't get that handwriting from Gary or I, that's for sure.

He also created this card recently for his cousin's birthday. (Which, I now realize, we didn't end up giving to her. Whoops - we'll get this in the mail, Fiona!) It was an activity booklet about Barbie for her to complete. It began with a maze:


Then a hidden picture puzzle:


Then a little phonics activity:


And, of course, no book is complete without the owner's name:


Riley really likes to create things and has always been one to sit down to draw or write. Colin, on the other hand, normally doesn't care to sit still for the amount of time it takes to do those things. Except for this morning. I (along with the other four members of my family) have had a cold the past several days. Colin made this card as a surprise for me this morning:


Translation: "I hope you are feeling better Mom". I definitely felt better after getting this!

And, lest you think her brothers have all the talent in the family, Avery has the uncanny ability to (among many other things) look incredibly cute even while sleeping. It's a gift, people.


Thus concludes my brag session for today. For those of you who stayed tuned in, thank you.

Party like a superhero.

The great Halloween Birthday Bash of '08 is over, and I think it was a success. There were no fights, no injuries, and only one set of tears (when the first birthday guest arrived 30 minutes early and Riley wasn't in his costume yet and his friend walked in on Riley in his underwear. Riley was traumatized. He got over it quickly.) The kids all seemed to enjoy the party and everything went pretty much as planned. And did I ever have a plan. Gary was making fun of me for this:


I had my party agenda (or lesson plan, as the teacher in me was saying) taped to the wall outside. It was a lifesaver!

The kids were all in costume. There was a huge Star Wars showing, with the superhero crowd coming in a close second. Riley was regular red Spiderman right before the party began:


And then for some reason decided he was in more of a black Spiderman mood:


Colin was having a never-ending helmet malfunction. First on the swings:


Then off:

And again:


We started off the party (per my party agenda) with mummy-wrapping. The kids got into pairs and took turns wrapping one another with toilet paper. As a sign of the green times in which we live, one kid did remark that it was too bad we were going to throw away all of this t.p. I assured him we would be recycling it.


The next game was making donuts disappear. It was kind of like bobbing for apples but with powdered mini donuts. This was pretty hilarious for us adults to watch, I might add.

The kids all ended up with decent amounts of powdered sugar on their faces.

After the donuts they went on to make their pinata treat bags. It's amazing how a few small treat bags and some foam stickers can entertain the crowd!

By far my most favorite part of the party was the Monster Lab. Gary & I set up our awning on the side of the house and then covered it with a tarp to make it a little darker inside. We hung up orange and purple lights inside, and then had the scary music playing inside. It was like a spooky little cave - a perfect location for Dr. Frankenstein to create his next monster. As soon as I told the kids that they were going inside the tent for some very important news, they were enthralled. They all sat cross-legged and listened very intently as I explained that Dr. Frankenstein had come and was in the process of building his next monster. I told them that we were given the opportunity to explore all of the body parts before he put them in the monster.


They were the most quiet group of 10 boys I have ever seen. I wish I had a picture of the looks on their faces! Then one-by-one I opened the monster parts. Eight of the ten boys wanted to touch what was inside (Colin was one of those that didn't want ANY part of touching monster guts!). They all squealed a little when touching the parts, especially the spaghetti guts and peeled eggplant heart.

After they had touched everything, I gave them the bad news. It seemed as if their squealing had awoken the monster. Gary had been hiding behind the tent the entire time and began growling and shaking the tarp. They all screamed and it was probably one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed. They recovered quickly once the screaming stopped and they all proclaimed they weren't really scared. Uh-huh. For the rest of the party, they all randomly asked me, just to verify, that those weren't really guts. Right? And that there really was no monster. Right? I pled the fifth.

It was then time for pizza and pinata. We used Colin's helmet issues for a good cause and it worked as the blindfold that I had forgotten to unearth from one of my drawers.


There was just a tiny bit of candy consumption after the pinata. Sure.


Then a little more sugar. Yikes.


Then, the best part of the day for Riley:


Legos, Legos, and more Legos.

So, all in all, it was a good day. AND, best of all, my house stayed clean since the entire party was in the backyard. That was one of my best decisions of the entire party.

Now I'm off the hook until Avery's birthday in June. I think I'll go do the happy dance.

Meet Charlotte's sugary cousin.

Riley commissioned this cake for his party tomorrow:


I think he chose well. I liked making this one - and it was SO easy!

So the monster guts are chilling in the fridge, the spider webs are all in place, the toilet paper is waiting to wrap kids into mummies (that's a weird phrase to type)...I think we're just about ready to party!

Wish us well. I'll check in tomorrow if I'm still alive.

I fell in love today...

...with him:




I. love. this. kid.

Thanks, Kimber, for sharing this cuteness.

Monster's Anatomy.

Riley has reached the age where we can't really get away with birthday party games such as pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey or balloon races. Darnit. I really liked that age and I liked those games. But Riley now is more kid than little boy, and our birthday party games have to reflect his interests. Which means gross-out.

So...we will be holding a Monster Lab at Riley's party this weekend. Dr. Frankenstein will be working on his next monster in our garage and we will be investigating the various body parts of this monster. My plan is to have these body parts in covered containers and for the boys to pass them around, put their hands in, and scream and gross out at what they are feeling. Wouldn't you also gross out if you were handling, say, a monster brain? (A head of cauliflower.) Monster fingers? (Vienna sausages.) Eyeballs? (Peeled grapes.) Monster guts? (Oily spaghetti.) Or - my favorite - monster ears? (Dried apricots.) If you can think of any other monster parts I'd love to hear your ideas. I'm still looking for a heart....

My Monster Lab idea concludes with the thought of having Gary scare the boys when it's all said and done. Maybe he'll growl a Frankenstein-ish growl once all the body parts have been handled. I don't have that part completely figured out yet. And I'm still trying to decide if scaring them is pushing it a little too far. I don't want to scare the candy corn out of them, after all.

Any ideas? How do I end this thing? Help...my creative juices are drying up.

Party time...yet again.

I have just barely recovered from Colin's Lego birthday party back in August...barely...and now we're at t-minus four days until Riley's party. He's having a Halloween birthday party this year. Shortly after I found out I was pregnant with Riley and realized I'd be giving birth in October, I knew that one day I'd get to throw him a Halloween birthday party. Of course, at the time when I was dreaming of throwing this party, in this dream I had only one child, an enormous house, equally enormous budget, and endless time to plan the party. Of course, now...ummm...three kids, small house, Target budget, and time? What time?


Oh well. I was inspired to make these invitations by the guru herself, Martha. (You all know who I'm referring to. She's like Madonna - she doesn't need a last name.) I like the idea of an invitation with a surprise inside. But Martha's had a severed finger inside...that seemed a little gory for 7 year olds, so instead we went with:


Googly glasses!

And chocolate eyeballs, of course.

So this weekend there will 10 little boys at my house. In costume. Playing Halloween games. Running. Laughing. Eating sugar-free, vegetarian cuisine. OK, not really. They'll be eating pizza. Sounded good though.

Wish me luck.