18-30 Happy Halloween!

* one trip to the grocery store

* two school parades and parties

* two missed naps

* one Christmas Kit to get out

* one trick-or-treating gathering to prepare for

* a little service done

* trick-or-treating

* a husband home at 8:00

All good reasons today's post will not be lengthy...full report on this year's costumes and candy to come!

Happy Halloween everyone!

17-30 The Great Pumpkin Experiment

The past few years we have been paying through the nose for pumpkins that were rotten before Halloween. Thus prompted "The Great Pumpkin Experiment". We carefully purchased pumpkin seeds last spring, planted them indoors til they were a vine, transplanted the small plants, watered and fertilized them, and then 85% of them were promptly eaten by these: (I should clarify that they ate the vines before the pumpkins were fully ripe)



But luckily we were able to salvage three cute little pumpkins from the havoc of the squash bugs. The were medium, small medium, and small....just right for my three little people (OK, Erika, you aren't "little" anymore)



We opened them up and found them FULL of seeds. I think it was about 5 cups of seeds from three small pumpkins. I decided on the spot we must roast them for a treat. So we carefully separated "guts" from seeds and then I seasoned them and popped them in the oven.



The kids quickly drew out their designs (I assisted Cal of course) and we carved them up lickety split. Carson insisted on scary eyes and mouth and Erika wanted hers to look "old fashioned". It is scary to think that the pumpkins I carved as a kid, i.e. no fancy patterns, are "old fashioned". Every time we popped a piece out from Carson's pumpkin he would take a bite of it and declare it to be delicious. He then concluded he would like me to send raw pumpkin slices to school for his snack time. Hmmm.... Cal's little pumpkin had to represent him so we included one of his favorite accessories on his pumpkin.



What do you think....was our experiment a success or failure???

16 - 30 Isn't it funny...

Isn't ironic that the "hump" day of my 30 in 30 falls on a Wednesday the "hump" day of the week?

Anyway, I found a few pics of a Halloween we had while living in Colorado. We were home visiting in Idaho and took the kids trick-or-treating at the zoo and my mom's office. I snapped some shots of them while there. Erika was almost 6 and Carson the Crocodile wasn't quite one. She was so excited to be wearing a little makeup. I think she liked that more than the costume at times. I miss those chubby little cheeks and sweet little six year old....


My little kitty cat. (The only pic I had was one I had "played" with in Photoshop. Sorry)


He had no clue what was going on, but he loved his little tail and kept trying to turn around to see it. Look at the sweet chubby cheeks on Carson Crocodile! Cal is so different...he is like a little elf. No chub on him.

15-30 The Road

Book Club was very interesting this month. We read "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. If you are looking for good writing and thought provoking reading then I must recommend this book. I have am conflicted over the overall story, but it was engrossing and our discussion was very interesting. If you have read it I would love to hear your thoughts on it! All I know is that I felt like adding to our food storage when I finished it...

14-30 Oklahoma or Bust!

So Dan is in OK for a few days and we are really on our own. His trip consisted of a flight to TX and then a drive to OK....I guess it is better than the work he usually does every day. It does make me laugh that he is travelling approximately 8+ hours each way for a 2 hour meeting. I don't know why these trips out of town always feel so far away...he is never home 'til the we smas when he is here during the week so I don't know why it feels so different. I guess I just miss the warm body crawling into the bed sometime in the middle of the night. So I'm on my own for a few...Night.

13-30 lower case madness

so lately my typing has really become a sorry mess. why. i am pretty sure it has a lot to do with typing with only one hand. you see this third child of mine has relegated me to typing one-handed. he does not like to sit quietly and play on his own. he wants to be held much of the time so i check e-mail and blog with him in my arms. this makes it nearly impossible to add capital letters or any thing beyond a period or the occasional dash for punctuation to my e-mails or messages. it also means i can't generally do work related typing when he is awake....hmmm. to tell you the truth the sloppy typing brought on by text messaging is a pet peeve of mine, but i must give in if i am going to stay in touch with the world. so as i sit here typing with cal on my lap, just know that cal and the shift key don't mix in my world.

12-30 Wanna Rock-n-roll all night....

Carson has declared himself "King" and loves to share his "mad-skills" on Guitar Hero. He loves to play and has mastered Easy and is half-way through Medium. I have decided the violin lessons must be assisting him on his way to video game fame. Too bad mom and dad don't let him play very often or he may have been well on his way to guitar hero stardom by now. As you can tell by the above pics, he loves to rock out when he has star power. We aren't sure where the "moves" came from, but he is hilarious to watch. Now, if only there were a Disney version of this game...

11-30 Whoever said....

Making our Halloween Costumes was a good idea? Don't answer that - I think it was me. I shall be back with a full report (with pictures) on a later date.

10-30 A little Homecookin'

A few weeks ago we did a little apple picking... It was a perfect day for apples and we enjoyed them immensely! They were yummy and lovely, but after a few weeks we still had apples lining the drawer of my fridge.


I do not really like fruit pies...in general. Unfortunately, Dan loves them. I have only attempted 2 fruit pies in the past both of which were so-so. This past weekend the apples we picked were calling to me to put them to use. I called the queen of pies and requested a crust recipe...researched a good filling and this is the result! It looks a little messy - in the future I shall tidy up the edge - but very delicious! I received rave reviews from my husband...I may have to mend my ways and add pies to my list of "can dos"!

9-30 Contents of a boy's pocket...

* 7 "beautiful" rocks

* a lucky penny

* an acorn top

* a screw with a "minus" sign on top instead of a "plus" sign

* a seed

This is what I pulled out of Carson's pocket today. You can imagine what the washing machine sounds and looks like when I forget to check the pockets of our pants before washing. The rumble and crash of a load of laundry reminds me that I have forgotten to empty them first. I guess I'm glad that he is curious enough about the world to want to bring a little home every night. The real question is what to do with all the "treasures" he finds. Usually, it all ends up in the trash....until he happens to catch me and then I am called to task. I guess I'm glad he doesn't deposit any living items in his pockets!

8-30 Home Early!

So I am begging off on a long post tonight. Dan just walked in and its only 8:40!!!! Miracle of Miracles! So we are going to enjoy a rare treat... See you tomorrow.

7-30 Whoa Nelly!

This is what I did yesterday as I was coming downstairs to take care of Carson:



All the way from the top to the bottom of our hardwood stairs. I am sure it is all because I was running around the house in a pair of these:



I would post a picture of what the results are, but that would make this post a little more than "G" rated and let's get real, my parents read this blog and it would be quite shocking. Let's just say I have an enormous bruise on my "seat" and my ego is quite bruised as well. Dan did a great job of holding back all smirks until after he determined that I was OK and in one piece. I think this warrants a new pair of slippers!

6-30 Hmmm

Carson spent the day like this:



Hopefully we'll be up and running again tomorrow.

5-30 Living on Fumes

A gallon of paint for 2 very small closets. Seriously. It has been an entire week of snatching moments during naps and carpools to paint the two small closets in our bedroom, but it is done! Unfortunately I have the rest of the room to finish. At this rate It should take...ahhhh....about a month.

4 - 30 Love these...

I need to write about my favorite baby products. This time around I have just been "getting by" with a lot of things because he is the last one. These have been two of my favorite current items to have around since having Cal. If you are in the market for a great gift add these to the list of things to checkout...



This little music and lights crib toy is a life-saver!!! I had a fish version when Carson was little and he loved it, but they have made vast improvements. The old version made loud "cranking" noises when the fish moved around. In the new model the animals silently sway and move to the nature noises or music. Cal loves watching the waterfall and the animals move. He is soothed by the music or nature sounds. It is a winner. If you have a baby, or are buying a shower gift I give this full marks. (It is made by Fisher-Price.)



This is another great product that I couldn't live without, especially when he was tiny. It is well padded and has 2 positions. I loved it for sleeping when he was little and for eating now that he is just starting food. It vibrates and has an ipod hookup so that you can play any music you want. (It does have built in music too - the digital corny kind) I don't love the toy bar, but it is in a good position and I can add my own toys from other baby toys that I have. I have loved this little seat. (Made by Combi)

3 - 30 My thoughts on the Election this year....

I was so excited this year! I am always excited about politics and this Election will be so interesting that it just makes me grin. I couldn't wait!




Here it comes... the issues, the debates, the news coverage, the VP selections....




How does it all taste????????????? A little sweet, a little bitter, a little surprising---




But in the end, it all just has a bad aftertaste.

2 - 30 Columbus Day - the best "Jewish Holiday" of the year...

On Columbus Day, we went here:





With these fun people:



Brian, Heidi, and Parker - By the way, isn't he just the cutest little bit of humanity? Just 3.5 weeks younger than Cal...



We saw this Familiy Plot: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Author



Cal loved the ride...don't you just love the hat...not necessary, but cutenone the less.



The kids loved the cannons we found. This was taken in honor of Grandma and Grandpa Cannon. (Note: Not sure what the cannons were protecting.)



A rare shot of Mom and baby enjoying a lovely afternoon with family!




Carson declared on the way home, "Mom, Columbus Day is the best Jewish Holiday there is!" And I had to admit, he was right.

(Note: In NY most Jewish holidays are celebrated with a day off of school, like Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah)

30 posts in 30 days??

So I have officially "failed" one of my resolutions...you know the one I made about posting at least once a week. Huh? Well, my sis-in-law has agreed to 30 posts in 30 days. Can I do it? Yes, I can! So to kick it off I shall finally show another peak at the cute little man-child we call Callum...



Four Months