Did You Know... (Halloween Edition)

...that it can be tough to see out from under those pesky Star Wars helmets.


...just because you're wearing a helmet with a visor, doesn't mean people can't see your eyes.


...when you wear a tutu, vest, and cowboy boots and say "yee-haw" you will look unbearably cute. (This may only apply to two-year old's. I can't guarantee the cute factor for anyone else.)


...candy is better when eaten in a group.


...fake facial hair is unbelievably hot and itchy.

No...we weren't the Taliban (as one of our friends thought), yes...the guitars did spin (just like this one) and no...Gary won't get to pick our costumes next year.

Happy Halloween!

Ever Feel Like You're Being Watched?

Me too.

I logged a *lot* of kitchen time today.

Party, party, party...lots of Halloween fun in our near future.
{But I'm very glad next week is party-free!}

We carved our pumpkins this afternoon, and I won't bore you with lot of pictures.
Except this one as evidence that Colin had pumpkin guts all over himself.

In his hair...down his back...everywhere.
It was straight to the tub after the pumpkins were finished.

But now they are ready to welcome the trick-or-treaters.

Wish me luck tomorrow.
Gary & I are going to our very fun friends' Halloween party and are dressing up as a couple.
His costume idea, and (because I'm a good wife) I said I was game.
Maybe I'll post a picture.
Maybe.
I'll have to see how brave I'm feeling....

"Dat's Sceh-wee."

Translation: "That's scary."

Also known as, what Avery has been saying since the Halloween stuff has been out in stores. (She's not a fan of that Spirit store.)

And the picture below was just me having a little fun with Picnik's Halloween goodies.


Translation: this is how I have been wasting time while I should be doing things that are actually important.

I'm done now.
See ya.

Happies.

That's probably not a word, is it? Oh well.
Here are a few things that are making me happy anyway.

This blanket from Costco. If you see it you *must* buy it.
{$18.99. The kids fight over it. Comfiest blanket ever.}
Santa might bring a couple more.


Listening to my kindergartner read.


Watching my second grader do homework.


The new O.P.I. holiday nail colors.
This is "Dear Santa". It's red and sparkly and currently on Avery's toes.
{She gives it two thumbs - or 10 toes - up.}


My most favorite tree ever.
The Chinese Pistache.
These are at the park, but we planted two in our backyard this fall.
I will be so happy if they look like this in a few years.


A yellow lab that stealthily sneaks into the house and then gives you that look that makes it impossible to kick her back out.


Colorful stripes that don't match, paired with messy hair.


What's making you happy these days?

A Little Miscellany.

I am convinced that somehow time on the weekends goes faster than time during the week. Why can't Monday's go by so quickly?

It was a gorgeous October weekend here. It's almost 11pm now and I'm in shorts with all of the windows open. {Weird!}

Here are a few random pictures from our weekend.

peppers...

cousins...

greenery...

pinatas...

greenhouses...

and attitude.

Hope you had a colorful weekend!
Back to the grind tomorrow....

Paranoia-ville.

That's where Gary said we're going.

Stupid H1N1.

He ran to the store tonight and came home with (I'm not joking) *ten* bottles of Purell.
{Add that to the three I bought at Target today.}
All thanks to this article. Hurry...get yours...they're in demand!

We go back and forth every few hours it seems on whether we're getting the vaccine for the kids.
I'm really torn.
I worry about the safety of the vaccine...and then I worry about the virus itself.
Riley has viral-induced asthma.
Argh! There's no good answer, is there?

But, while I was visiting Paranoia-ville today, I also randomly chose a winner for the necklace.
Congratulations, Nic!
Email me.

And, just because it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling:

We saw this trailer before the Wild Things movie (hated it) the other day.
I'm a sucker for this type of film.
I'll be there with my kleenex when it comes out.

Any Given Evening....

...this is where we are.

Soccer.


It's been a long season. (Since August.)
This is our first year having two kids playing.


It has been challenging having practice four times a week.
{At dinnertime.}
But I really do enjoy watching the boys play.

Since we're there in the evening some of our dinners have been...interesting.


But the kids love going.


Especially since most nights after practice we play at the park until it's dark.


Whenever Colin's buddy Katie isn't there he is so bummed.

I think the boys will miss soccer.
Avery will miss being at the park on average 4 nights a week.


I'll miss it some, but I won't complain about having my evenings and Saturdays back.
Or about not eating Pirate's Booty for dinner.
Or about not having wash smelly shin guards. Ew.

********
And if you want a shot at winning that cute Anthropologie necklace from yesterday, you've got a few more hours! Go here.

Just For Fun.

Want to win this cute, yellow, Anthropologie necklace?

{Trust me. You do.}

I ordered one of these necklaces back in August and - through a series of miscommunications - Anthro sent me two.
{And they don't want the second one back - score!}

I ordered it with my initial, but actually ended up removing the 'K' because I like it better without. Yours doesn't have an initial either.

I love it!
But I don't need two.

So I'm giving one to you.

If you want to win, I'll give you three ways (leave a separate comment for each!):

1. Leave a comment and tell me your favorite Halloween candy! (pretty much anything chocolate for me)
2. Become a follower.
3. Follow me on Twitter.
4. Tweet about this giveaway.

I'll randomly choose a winner on Friday morning.
Fun!

And if you haven't drooled over Anthro's stuff lately, you should.
Isn't this cute?
And this?
Oh, and this!
Sorry. I'll stop now.

*Eight*

Eight years ago today I had NO idea.


About a lot of things.

But mostly I had no idea how much this sleepy, wrinkly-foreheaded baby would change our lives.
I can't imagine our lives without Riley.

He is beyond smart.
Funny.
Analytical.
Tender-hearted.
Caring.

I'm amazed by him constantly.


Happy birthday to our big boy.
I hope you enjoy these in between years of "not a little kid", but "not quite a big kid either".
We love you and are so proud of you.

A million xoxo.
Now stop growing already.

Simpler Times.

Remember when you were a kid and Halloween was as simple as finding the perfect costume, picking out your pumpkin, and waiting for the candy to pour in?

And now (if you have young kids, anyway) it's costumes, decorating, class parties, cupcakes, buying candy, finding time on a Saturday for the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, roasting pumpkin seeds, and trying to survive the post-Halloween sugar crash.

Whew. I'm tired.

October is a busy month. Take all of the above, and add a birthday in the mix.
I'm making cupcakes tonight for Riley's birthday party tomorrow.

My sister-in-law posted this video on Facebook and I thought it was hilarious.


He's so right: Everything is amazing and no one is happy.
So I'm not complaining one bit about cupcakes or costumes or class parties or seed roasting.

It's all good.

Stormy Weather.

Rain. Rain. Wind. Rain. Wind.
I think we were pretty close to floating right off into the bay today.
We got about 4.5" of rain and major wind. Crazy!

Needless to say it was an indoors kind of day.

Turkey chili in the crockpot.
And Meg's glazed apple bars.
Perfect fall fare.

Avery and I did venture outside to get the mail.


It's funny how much you can cram into 10 minutes in the rain.
Snail watching (and poking).
Puddle stomping.
Umbrella wrestling.

Looks like another day of rain tomorrow.
Watch out snails.

A Banner Monday.

Today is one of those days where the clouds outside practically scream at you to crawl back into bed.
I wish I could listen to them.

I still have a sick boy at home (darn those nasty ear infections) so there's been a lot of cuddling going on. And a lot of caramel apple lollipops. He claims those work wonders on sore throats.

I've been drinking a lot of hot tea during the day as well. I'm trying to avoid turning on the heater as long as possible and it's the only way I can warm up!

Have you seen those cute fabric banners all over the place? I love them and decided to give one a try this weekend.

Very easy. You should make one. I think I'm going to make a birthday banner for each kiddo and a Christmas one as well. My house is going to look like a circus tent before long.

Hope you are having a banner day as well.

And if you're not, try a caramel apple lollipop.

Three Wolves are Better than One.

Last night.
(I guess it's officially two nights ago.)
The Office wedding episode.
Did you see it?

Not only did Michael mention Pixar (which was pretty hilarious), but...

DWIGHT WAS WEARING THE WOLF SHIRT.


via videosift.com

Does anyone remember the wolf shirt?

I think it was my favorite episode ever.

(If you missed it you can watch the entire episode here.)
And if you haven't read the wolf shirt review here on amazon, please do.

It'll make you want the wolf shirt.

A Good Hair Day.

Today was one of those days where I couldn't get enough coffee to wake me up.

Colin is sick and was up a lot last night.
Fever, sore throat, and ear pain. Ugh.

I did not get out of my pajamas at all.
(I actually warned Gary about that before he got home.)

Since we were homebound I put on some movies for the kids and worked on a big hair clip order.
A boy in Riley's class is having a Lego party and the mom wants clips for the girls.
Isn't that a cute idea?
I thought so, too.

So after I made hers, I dug through the boys' 538 million Lego's and stole two for Avery.

She is *very* familiar with Lego's, and was happy to wear them.


This girl is all about her hair.
Right after she gets dressed she wants a clippie.
She likes wearing pigtails because she says she looks like Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street.
She sits absolutely still while I try to learn to braid her hair without it looking like a monkey did it.

She is the perfect girl for me.

{Pumpkin Milkshakes}

I treat myself every year around this time to pumpkin ice cream.
I've loved it ever since trips to the pumpkin patch as a little girl.
It's pumpkin-ey, nutmeg-ey, and yummy.

This is just about as good.
And easy.

A few scoops vanilla ice cream...1 cup milk...3 Tbsp. pumpkin pie filling...and 3 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping.
Blend, sprinkle with nutmeg if you wish, and voila: pumpkin caramel milkshake.

It's a hit with all of the boys - and girls - in the yard.
{ha - get it?}

Since you'll have a lot of pumpkin left over from that 28 oz. can, you might as well make the pumpkin muffins on the back of the label.


And if you want to substitute chocolate chips for the raisins, I'll support that decision.

And if your laptop is still in the shop and you need to eat a couple of those muffins to fill the void, that's OK too.

Since we last talked...

...we've been having a little fun.

We took the kids to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (very cute), played lots of soccer, drank a few pumpkin spice lattes, and did the pumpkin patch thing.

I think we managed to find a very sincere pumpkin patch.
Wouldn't Linus be proud?


I love this motley crew.


Pumpkin patches really are the best, aren't they?
Almost as good as the pumpkin milkshakes I'm making tomorrow....

And I'm still waiting...patiently...(sort of)...for my computer to be fixed.
I've only called to pester the Apple genius once.
I'm told he'll be working on my machine very soon.

{Doesn't he know I need to blog?}

Unplugged. (Kind of.)

I have been without my laptop for (get this) THREE days. It decided to quit on me Wednesday morning.

And tonight my new Genius best friend at the Apple store broke the news that he'll have to keep my laptop until Monday for repair. Curse you, defective video card!!!!

Thankfully: no charge for the repair. Cursed video card was under recall. Whew!

{Now I have hijacked Gary's work computer and am under strict instructions not to acquire any viruses. I've been warned.}

So while I've been unplugged I have been:
*sewing some
*cleaning lots (really, how do boys manage to make the messes they do?)
*drinking apple cider tea (caffeine-free, great after the kids go to bed)
*watching Project Runway and the Biggest Loser while on the elliptical (I guess I wasn't totally unplugged, was I)
*planting bulbs (I'm not good at delayed gratification, but those anemone's and ranunculus flowers in April will be worth the wait)
*giving extra love to a sick little girl (the first cold of the season always stinks)

And since I don't have any pictures to share because they're all on my beloved machine, I'll share a few of my current etsy faves.


Patty A. Baker's paintings. Love them. Seriously. Want one.


Sea Pinks has the cutest pumpkins. I made some similar pumpkins back in September, but hers are fantastic!!


Isn't this number quilt from Pearl25 absolutely adorable?


And finally, wouldn't this stamp from lettergirl make addressing Christmas cards so much more fun?


Now it really is time to unplug for the night.
May your October weekend be happy: plugged in or not.