It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!!

Best. Show. Ever.

Contrary to the usual "mean mom" attitude, I allowed James to "crack the rules" and stay up and watch. This is the first year that he's watched it and actually *gotten* it. He LOVED it. All I heard afterwards was "I want to watch it AGAIN, Mommy!! I want to watch it AGAIN!!!" lol We are so inspired that James is going to put out the lion's share of his candy tonight, so the Great Pumpkin will bring him a special gift.

And speaking of "great pumkins" here are ours for the year. We each get one to decorate as we please. (I JUST got inspired to carve mine at 11 am TODAY, so there are no *lit* pictures.... I'll add some later, ok??)

James and his creation (using paint and foam stickers.... he wanted to carve... but I told him he had to be able to clean out his own pumpkin before he could carve it. Thank goodness he thinks pumpkin "guts" are gross!! )






Mine (spoon, paring knife, and potato peeler):




A little Jack O'lantern Trivia for you.... My pumpkins always have ears and eyebrows!

James on Halloween Costumes

I don't want to be scary.. I want to be nice and be a fireman for Halloween!

Cutest Halloween Craft EVER

Pinecone Spiders!!



James and I made these up today. I've never seen a Halloween craft that calls for pinecones and goodness knows our yard is FULL of them! I was tired of him collecting them aimlessly and leaving them as "fun" surprises for me to find taking the step out of our door in the morning. The discovery of which are usually followed by language inappropriate for a 4 yr old's ears! lol


Materials needed:



small pine cones
pipe cleaners
googly eyes
hot glue gun

Directions:

1. Bend pipe cleaner in the middle so both "Legs" are the same length



2. Working from the "face" side of your pine cone, thread the U in the spines of the pine cone.




3. Repeat with remaining 3 pine cleaners. Twist the last pipe cleaner to secure to the pine cone (you may twist all of the pipe cleaners... but I only found it necessary to do with the last one as it was near the "pointy" end and the spines weren't securing it)

4. Bend pipe cleaners over your fingers to form the legs. I like to do the front and back ones first, to get the spider to "sit" the way I want.



5. Use hot glue to secure 2 googly eyes to the "face" of your spider




Voila!! One itsy bitsy spider you don't mind sitting down beside ya!!




ETA: You could Jazz these up by spray painting the pinecone black (before adding the legs and eyes) and then painting a mouth on it also.... but I was too lazy to do that! lol It only took like 5 mins to put each spider together... you would have to allow for drying time if you painted them.

It has been requested....

That I "help out" with James on the apparatus stations at gymnastics, lol Apparently Senor Distractable is too much for them!

FYI...

The crockpot only works when you plug it in.

Random Friday Tidbits

Holy Canolie!! Has it been THREE whole days since I blogged?!? What ever did you read?? lol Here are some bits from our Friday....


James and I had to leave early to buy him a little pumpkin for school... because they are painting them today and Mommy forgot!! *gasp*


Bad Mommy!! No Cookie!!


When we got to the Commissary, they didn't have any of the small pumpkins, so I bought him a carnival squash.

Hey... it's pumpkin-shaped and "mostly" orange!! lol

The only problem is that they didn't have any with flat bottoms... so I found the one with the flattest bottom and then trimmed it with my scissors in the car. But I had to use the scissors like a knife, and the way scissors are made, you have to scrape AWAY from yourself.

Oh... and not slice your thumb open..... like I did! *ouch* lol... oh well. You figure it's all worth it... until you find out that they didn't need the stupid things until next week!!

*sigh*



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The History Channel has a program about model trains... James is fascinated. He wants it all! He says "When we talk to Santa at Christmas time, can he bring me those trains?? $500 of Trains??"

Yeah, no.


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I am sitting here literally buried in trains and trucks. James keeps wrapping his trains in an afghan, bringing them over, unwrapping them, and Hollering "Sur-PRISE!!"

That's lovely... however, it will NOT get you $500 in trains!!


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James asked me...

"Is this Germany?"
No
"Is it Mexico?"
No
"Is it Africa?"
No
"Is it Kansas City??"

LOL!


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After listening to someone vocally and persistantly requesting to eat nothing but oatmeal for dinner for over 1/2 hour (Dad had to work late and Mommy thought "why the heck not?"), the amount of quiet coming from the dinner table was beginning to concern Mommy, who peeped out of the laundry room only to see James sacked out beside his empty bowl. lol


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Heard from the bathroom:
James yelling "can you help me wipe my butt??"

I walked around the corner into the living room to see James backing out of the bathroom with a wipe sticking straight up out of his backside like a feathered duck tail!!

I *would* have taken a picture... and I actually had the camera in my hand, when I realized.... Yeah... NOT so appropriate for the internet! lol


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I just realized that James won't know what a set of encyclopedia is.




Man... I'm old!


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James is running back and forth in the house humming "Flight of the bumblebee"


He's running faster than he's humming! lol



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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......... bedtime!! Not a minute too soon!

Dinner-time helper!

James and I made a veggie casserole for dinner tonight and it was pretty darned good, if I do say so myself!

Now.... I'm not sure if we watch too many episodes of "Ace of Cakes" where Duff uses any and every tool available to come up with his creations.... or if there is just *something* about having a y chromosome... either way, James has a "unique" interpretation of what a kitchen "tool" is!

"It looks just right, Mommy!!"

Gymnastics.... what can I say.

OMG it was just about the funniest thing I've ever seen! Poor James was the only kid there that has NEVER been in a gym class... and those of you who know him, know that his attention span is, well.... hmmmmm... not the "best". All the other little children were doing reasonable approximations of what the instructors were demonstrating.... and James?? He was off chasing imaginary butterflies or something! lol All he wanted to do was run, skip and hop on the mats! One of the teachers looked particularly frayed around the edges by the end of class. But he did swing from the bar and the rings and climbed up on/dismounted the pommel horse all by himself, so that's something right??

He had fun though... so I guess we'll keep torturing the teachers until they break going!

My child is getting to be too smart.

We were looking through magazines and catalogues for things that start with the letter "J" for an art project we were working on (more about that later) and he saw a particularly alluring toy, pointed to it and said "Classic! I want that Classic toy!!" I was like... whaaaaaaa??? How do YOU know it's a classic toy?

I looked at the page... and I laughed when I realized he was pointing to the WORD "Classic"!

Oh... and I have it on the highest authority that thunder is spelled "F-U-N-D-E-R" and kitchen is spelled "K-I-T-J-E-N" (sound them out... you'll get it! lol) Just thought you might like to know!!

PSA for the Day

Unnoticed star stickers + toilet paper = a not so comfortable wiping experience

Just sayin'

Toot Toot! All aboard the Cupcake Train!!

**Warning - Picture overload ahead!!**

James's birthday party was in September and since I am not above tooting my own horn most of the people who read this blog weren't able to be there, I thought I would share the cupcake train I made for him instead of a cake. I was really pleased with the outcome.

The finished product:





It was a HUGE hit and I'm glad that we used it as the centerpiece on the main table. You should have seen the kids' eyes!! They were as huge as saucers when they saw it.

*phew*


From inception to completion!

I was researching "train cakes" in anticipation of James's birthday and came across this Thomas Cupcake Train and thought "PERFECT!! James will LOVE that!!" And he did!

Now the problem was, how should I construct it?? I wasn't a huge fan of the triple wide cars and the construction paper tracks (I knew I could go way cuter! lol) so I had to come up a solution that I could live with, but that wasn't going to a) break the bank or b) make me go insane with the construction.

And then I had it! I'd use the tracks and Thomas from James's leggo Thomas set! Perfect! I set the tracks up a few different ways before I finally decided the classic serpentine was the way to go. I calculated the size of the board that I would need to use and sent my minions to Home Depot to fulfill my wishes. The larger of the minions also painted the board green for me.

Since I CAN'T just have a cake on a green board (oh no!! That makes no sense!!) It must look like (a close approximation of) an actual train bed.... which of course necessitated another trip to the Mart of W for 2 different colors of special stone texture paint! I laid the tracks out, marked the board with chalk, and went to town. (Shoulda been a tagger.... I haz MAD skillz with some spray paint!)

Once the board was done... the rest, you might say, was cake! lol I glued the tracks down (with royal icing... can't make this permanent!!) and constructed the "cars" on Thursday night before the party.





I made the "cars" out of graham crackers, graham cracker sticks, mini oreos and royal icing. I glued 3 graham cracker sticks per stack with royal icing and let them dry. I glued mini oreos on each end of each stack when they dried. I used 3 of these stacks per graham cracker (again... glued on with royal icing) to construct each individual car.







Friday night, James decorated all the cupcakes (with mommy frosting and helping of course) We had a blast and I'm reasonably sure there were more M&M's in the child than there were on the cupcakes... eh... it was his birthday, why the heck not? I *was* going to make the Thomas out of cake, but a very brilliant friend of mine told me to "Reel in the Crazy, Sharon", lol. I am STILL grateful.... I think I would have seriously lost my mind! (Thanks Tracy!)

I don't have any pics of James blowing out his candle. ~insert sad face here~ Something ALWAYS seems to happen to prevent me from getting that picture. This year it was a huge lemonade tidal wave.... but I guess that's better than his 1st birthday, when one of the guests projectile vomited all over my kitchen! lol Ahhhhh.... the memories.

And speaking of memories.... here is a short retrospective of birthday cakes past....

1st - Lion cake




2nd - "I-2 Highway" cake




3rd - I punked out and bought a Thomas cake from the commissary. The little traitor James loved it!

We are *such* joiners! lol

So I went and signed James up for Gymnastics!! This is going to be interesting, to say the least! We did one week of swimming this summer and by the 2nd day, James had his own personal lifeguard due to a "I don't need to hold on to the wall even though I can't touch the bottom and the teacher is paying attention to another child" incident that could have gone really badly, really quickly if Mommy hadn't been kneeling by the side of the pool, because she knows her child as well as she does! lol We would have done swimming again, but by the time we were able to get him moved back into 3 day/week preschool from 5 day/week, all the classes had been filled until December!

So it will be interesting to see how much damage he can do in a padded gymnasium!

I did not realize, however, when I signed him up that we had to buy special "gymnastic" shoes. Oh joy. James and I schlepped all over town (I say "all over", there are only 2 places that carry these in Podunk, Kansas), only to find that both stores are having supply issues and neither have Senor WideAsHellFeet's size in stock. I can't order them off ebay because we aren't 100% sure of the size he needs (he'll have to try a few on... apparently gymnastic shoes do NOT come in wide).

*sigh* and so it begins! I'm REEEEEEAAAAAAAAAALY regretting not working at a sporting goods store any more!! lol That employee's discount would be niiiiiiiiiiiice!

Anyway... He goes on Tuesdays and that fills up the last day that we did not have an activity during the week. It's nice to have a reason to HAVE to go out of the house every day, kwim??

This is our week:

Monday: Preschool
Tuesday: Gymnastics
Wednesday: Preschool
Thursday: Playgroup
Friday: Preschool

The class is for the next 7 weeks, keep your fingers crossed that he likes it!

Hide and Seek at Our House...

It's not exactly Rocket Science! lol




"I see you there!!"




"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH, Tickle Monster!!"



"Wuv you Dad"

There's nothing like a first impression....

Now that we've moved James back into 3 day/week preschool, we've had to come up with activities for Tuesdays and Thursdays. There is a playgroup here on post on Thursday mornings, 9 to 10:30, and it's only a 10 minute walk from the house, in the gym of the Youth Center. There are a bunch of toys to play with... and best of all?? A BOUNCE HOUSE!! So that's a perfect Thursday morning activity!

James made himself known, as usual, at playgroup. *sigh*

It was almost the end of playgroup and he wanted to go back in the bounce house, so I told him to give me his shoes. He did. 5 mins later he comes running up to me and hands me his socks. Weird, but ok. I didn't feel like I had to monitor him as closely as usual since there was only one other kid in the bounce house, so I was helping pick up the toys and only 1/2 paying attention with one ear.

All of the sudden, I hear the sounds of Moms busting out laughing.

I turned around, and there goes MY kid, flying by...........


WITH NO PANTS ON!!


I grabbed his pants off the floor and had to CHASE him all over the gym to put them back on him!

~smacks forehead and drags hand wearily down face~ *sigh*


At least he was still wearing his "Incredible Hulk" underwear!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm..... Diet Coke

For those of you who know me, you know that Diet Coke is my smack of choice. I LOVE Diet Coke. I could write Sonnets and wax poetic about the wonderfulness of Diet Coke. There is nothing quite like the crrrrrrrrrrck-shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sound when you open a 2 liter for the first time. I think that sound could bring me out of a coma. It's so bad that I have saved several of the largest, plastic cups from McDonalds (lids included) and they are used EXCLUSIVELY for Diet coke. I have one sitting beside me, sweating gently, as we speak! lol

I could live quite happily on a deserted island with my laptop and a supply of Diet Coke and Popcorn (but with DSL.... Not dial up! lol) I would mainline it strictly for the caffine, with a 2 liter hung on an IV pole, if that wouldn't bypass me getting to savor the carbonated goodness dancing across my thrilled palate!


That all being said....


We almost had a BAAAAAAAAAAAD scene at the Commissary this morning!! I walked around the corner to grab a 2 liter of diet coke and all I saw was ACRES AND ACRES of EMPTY racks!!

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???? NO DIET COKE?!?!

I swear I almost had a seizure right there!! Tears were forming in my eyes, and I think I was frothing at the mouth a little.

It was so bad that I *almost* settled for one of the 3 remaining bottles of CAFFINE FREE Diet coke that were huddled in the middle of the rack.... like wagons circled on the prarie, hunkered down and waiting for the indians to attack. I was actually REACHING for one, when out of the corner of my eye, I caught a tiny glimpse of grey. I turned, went up on my tippiest, tippy toes and LO AND BEHOLD!! There, on the very top rack, ONE LONE 2 liter was hiding behind the Cherry Coke!!

I think I scared the guy in front of me when I squealed with excitement! Feet on the bottom rack, one hand clinging for dear life and boobs resting over the metal upside-down U's later, I claimed my prize! I kept thinking that it would be REALLY bad if I fell backwards with my boob caught in the rack (oh lol.... my rack in the rack!!) I mean, yeah, my boobs are big and all... but they're not particularly stretchy.....

I kept that sucker firmly tucked in a football hold all the way to the register. Yeah... I risked life and boob for that 2 liter and I was NOT going to let it go!!

How We Spent Our Rainy Day

Roll of wrapping paper - $1.49 at after christmas sale
Paints - $5
Stamps - $2.50

Forcing your child to spend some quality time with you so you can make some wonderful freakin memories that will last forever and ever??

Priceless

Oh LOOK! A Bandwagon!!

I must jump on! lol

"Go forth and Blog" I've been told. "You should blog so we know what's going on in your life!" I've heard.

So this is it.

My blog.

I'm not sure whether this will be a blog or a blurb... a random, babbling stream of consciousness that follows no particular path, shooting off in unrelated tangents that may have absolutely nothing to do with absolutely nothing that I was talking about in the first place or a sharply insightful, pithy and wise collection of musings that would change life as you know it.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAA!! ~wipes tears from eyes~

Oh, yeah... that was funny.

More than likely, those of you who choose to frequent this blog will be inundated with pictures and "day in the life of" stories starring the loves of my life. I am a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM for short), a lonely island of estrogen awash in a tempestuous sea of testosterone. Even the blamed fish is Male.

The grammar and spelling won't always be the best... and I have been known to pepper my postings with WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too many "..."s and "!!!"s. I also love the words "and" and "Oh!". Oh and "also". I "lol" too much and I think lolcats are freakin' HILARIOUS!!

Well, that's it. Enjoy!


P.S. I have always been horrible at keeping a journal. I think I my best shot at it was in 6th grade. I believe my personal best was 8 days in a row... and then a drought of 10 months. So, I wouldn't bet on seeing long daily posts... at least... most people who KNOW me wouldn't. But you never know, I may surprise us all!