Our town declared Saturday to be the trick-or-treating night, thereby making my and every other local family's Halloween plans a whirlwind of activity in two short days (Friday and Saturday), with a day to recover before Monday arrives. This was the busiest and most fun Halloween with the kids ever, for us. We are also ever so tired!
I resist switching the kids' fun from October 31, but there were unexpected plusses this year. The blessing of an extra hour of sleep when we really needed it 'cause the time changed back as we slept after trick-or-treating. Beautiful fall weather on Saturday night, but rain all day and evening Sunday. Grudgingly I admit Saturday night worked out very, very well. Except for the craziness of being unable to find my box o' fall decorations all week, until 4 pm before trick-or-treating!?!
Timeline:
On Wednesday morning Son2 (age 4) and I attended a MOMS Club Halloween party. His costume was ready, 'cause we arranged to pick it up -- a loan from the party host -- when we came to the party, LOL! An extremely cool/cute dragon padded costume. Horns, spikey stuff down the back, tail. He loved it.
On Thursday we actually paid money for a costume for Son1 (age 8 nearly 9): a Bionicle costume at 30 percent off, whew. He really wanted something storebought after all, and amazingly we were in and out of the Big Red Double Circle store superfast, finding and deciding on his costume and our trick-or-treaters candy in a flash. I was stunned and relieved.
On Friday the kiddos went to school in costume. Son1's costume soon had detachable/detached parts; apparently he dealt with it fine; by class party time he seemed cheerful anyway (first I heard of the detached thing). Both boys' parties were fun (I went back and forth). Highlight of Son1's party: dry ice in water in a deep container, making lots of "smoke". Highlight of Son2's party: the candy haul from insane parent donors, and, for me, seeing all the little kids in very cute and imaginative costumes. One four-year-old was a lamp -- with a light bulb filament shape painted onto a white t-shirt, and a lampshade on his head! LOL!
Son1 had a basketball game Friday night. Probably contributed to his wiped-out-edness on Saturday (new word alert! hahaha).
Saturday morning I tried to walk my precinct to get out the vote, but I kept missing the guy who was going to give me my info. We threw in the towel when I only had an hour left to volunteer. Then it was time to costume-up the kids for an afternoon family Halloween party, which was very fun. For parties Son1 decided to wear an alternate costume from a previous year -- a hand-me-down Batman that's still nearly too big! We had fun, then headed home where everyone vegged except me. Sadly, I wigged out.
I unearthed the box o' fall at last, after looking for it all week. Then I got all frustrated at the cool post-Halloween-sale stuff I had but didn't have time to use, dumped a bunch of stuff back in the box, deleted multiple items off my to-do list, and then got a grip. I put up my favorite kid-made decorations, some silly fake pumpkins in the living room, and a little tableau in the dining room of fun and silly things. Good enough.
Somewhere in there we got the kids to eat something with peanut butter. And milk. In a last-ditch effort to insert nutrition into children before the candy-to-come froze their minds and appetites. It worked okay.
A good friend of the boys came over with his dad for joint trick-or-treating, and all of the guys headed out to walk our long block. I handed out treats and welcomed home the tired crew quite a while later, with their buckets heaped full with bounty -- apparently our street was generous! We kicked back for a little while as the kids revelled in their candy. Then the friend and dad headed home and we headed out to another party. Last year I skipped this party, but I had such fun this year that I vowed to come along every year!
At this post-trick-or-treating party we know a lot of the parents and the kids from the boys' school and our former extended neighborhood. It was sooo enjoyable to hang out and enjoy conversation with the adults while the kids had extended battles and peacemaking with play swords etc. in the back yard and the house. Son2 nearly fell asleep on the way home (10 minutes)!
We got the kids to bed, tucked the house in for the night, dear husband settled back with a movie or something, I changed all the clocks and checked my email, and then I went to bed. At "9:40" pm. Ahhhhhhhh.
This morning I got up just before 7 am. I love getting up even just 15 minutes before the kids. Usually it's the opposite, and as soon as I make an appearance the kids want to know, "what can I eat????" They aren't impressed that I can't think and just want to blink and make some coffee and gradually wake up. Fat chance, LOL. Anyway, this morning I prepped for my Sunday school class (adult class about prayer and spirituality), the kids got up, and we had a couple of nice hours and then got to church early, with boy hands scrubbed, boy teeth thoroughly brushed, and boy bodies wearing church clothes!! And they were good in church!! This afternoon we vegged and fussed a bit and vegged some more, and I started catching up on the things I've put off since Thursday. Tonight is actually All Hallows' Eve, and a rainy one it is.
Tomorrow will be extremely busy. I'll try to do some laundry, but mostly it'll be getting the car tag renewed, meeting some friends for early morning coffee, going to the monthly MOMS Club meeting, walking my neighborhood/development/precinct to get out the vote, fixing as easy and fast a dinner as possible (meatball sandwiches? chicken nuggets, biscuits, and green beans?), and maybe going to an evening church service to celebrate All Saints Day on the very day (Nov. 1). Some friends have planned the service and are really excited about it, but we have single-car coordination problems (Son1 has basketball practice) that I will need to work out first.
Tuesday, All Souls' Day, I'm expecting to spend walking my precinct (pretty much the same as my development). And voting. And then watching TV that night. My poor dear husband -- though he's as interested as I am in the results at the state level and nationally. Perhaps he'll vote early on Monday? The line was over an hour long Saturday morning, I'm told. Wow.
My plan for Wednesday? Laundry. Maybe some weeding of the terribly weedy garden beds. That sounds nice. Perhaps a bit more fiction reading. And keep up with my ACTION folder in my household central; my Cheerios-box file folder system is working really well so far -- I speak the truth, I promise!
I'm heading to bed. I really want to get up before the kids tomorrow and keep that going. Obviously I needed to write this all out for some reason. Thanks for reading this far, if anyone did!
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Ready, set, vote!
Let's say you're registered to vote and plan to vote. You could vote early to avoid any lines -- call your local election board to find out how to do that. In my state we can vote early, even this Saturday and Monday.
Maybe you're not sure where your polling place is. Find it at mypollingplace.com.
Maybe you're not sure what will be on your ballot (which local races, etc.). Look yours up at Democracynet.
Educate yourself by reading your local newspaper's coverage, going to your state election board's Web site, finding the candidates' Web sites, etc.
Go out of your way to make sure you vote. Exercising this hard-won, precious right to vote is worth taking some time out of your day to figure out how you want to vote and then do it.
(I pick up my sons from school and take them with me to vote. Apparently kids who go to the polling place with their parents are more likely to vote when they are adults. Good thing, as I'm gonna do it anyway!)
Maybe you're not sure where your polling place is. Find it at mypollingplace.com.
Maybe you're not sure what will be on your ballot (which local races, etc.). Look yours up at Democracynet.
Educate yourself by reading your local newspaper's coverage, going to your state election board's Web site, finding the candidates' Web sites, etc.
Go out of your way to make sure you vote. Exercising this hard-won, precious right to vote is worth taking some time out of your day to figure out how you want to vote and then do it.
(I pick up my sons from school and take them with me to vote. Apparently kids who go to the polling place with their parents are more likely to vote when they are adults. Good thing, as I'm gonna do it anyway!)
Monday, October 25, 2004
On the cheap, fast food loses its appeal
We've been squeezing our pennies pretty tight this month, which enabled us to do some other things early in the month. Now I'm five days away from payday and our typical delivered-pizza dinner. But... I want it to be GOOD pizza. Not the cheapest (which sometimes is quite yummy but other times, eh). Don't want to spend for the best. I just want it to be a pizza dinner to enjoy.
Upon reflection, I realize that whenever we cut our dining-out spending to nearly nothing, those meals out (usually fast food) aren't as enjoyable as when we're free with our money. When it's more of a big deal to eat out, any little problem becomes especially disappointing. BurgerWhatsit is normally a nice treat, but when we've chosen that as, say, one of two dinners out that month, I am less satisfied when the place is messy, the order mixed up, or the food not up to par. Then I ask myself, "Why did we buy dinner out?"
Sometimes we go to a family-friendly sit-down restaurant with waiters and such, and spend maybe two fast-food dinners on one nice dinner. That definitely feels worth it, but that feeling fades when we want to grab a fast dinner between here and there some night.
Sometime this weekend we will probably get dinner from our favorite mid-priced pizza place, and enjoy the treat. And yet, I might use the equivalent of the next dinner out to buy some fixings for a bunch of quick dinners, and stash them in our freezer. The next time there's a good price on chicken breasts, I might make homemade chicken fingers and freeze them for another time. At the very least, I'll buy some frozen potatoes, maybe tater tots, and some precooked breaded chicken and fish pieces. Yum yum says the family!
Upon reflection, I realize that whenever we cut our dining-out spending to nearly nothing, those meals out (usually fast food) aren't as enjoyable as when we're free with our money. When it's more of a big deal to eat out, any little problem becomes especially disappointing. BurgerWhatsit is normally a nice treat, but when we've chosen that as, say, one of two dinners out that month, I am less satisfied when the place is messy, the order mixed up, or the food not up to par. Then I ask myself, "Why did we buy dinner out?"
Sometimes we go to a family-friendly sit-down restaurant with waiters and such, and spend maybe two fast-food dinners on one nice dinner. That definitely feels worth it, but that feeling fades when we want to grab a fast dinner between here and there some night.
Sometime this weekend we will probably get dinner from our favorite mid-priced pizza place, and enjoy the treat. And yet, I might use the equivalent of the next dinner out to buy some fixings for a bunch of quick dinners, and stash them in our freezer. The next time there's a good price on chicken breasts, I might make homemade chicken fingers and freeze them for another time. At the very least, I'll buy some frozen potatoes, maybe tater tots, and some precooked breaded chicken and fish pieces. Yum yum says the family!
Sunday, October 24, 2004
One successful thing before dinner
Doesn't the Queen in Alice in Wonderland say something along the lines of, "I like to do three impossible things before breakfast"? That has come to mind a lot lately, for no reason I can figure out.
Today I met a different goal: one successful thing before dinner, LOL!
I cut down big Cheerios boxes into file folder boxes, pulled out my box of file folders, and organized the piles of family papers. Then I put the two file boxes on the shelf below the phone, a/k/a Household Central. Now I can file kids' activity info, garden ideas, bank statements, ACTION items, and more -- before adding them to a purposeless pile. I can put my fingers on the pizza delivery coupons, the after-school checklist for the kids, the current MOMS Club calendar, and that ACTION file. Woohoo!
Extra bonus, it decluttered about four piles into nothingness; a lot went into the paper recycling, of course. I also found enough artwork from Son2 that it is clear I need to rig up an artwork clothesline in the playroom.
Dinner will be pizza from homemade pizza dough I froze last time I made it, with a simple red sauce and Mozzarella. The kids shape and top their own mini-pizzas, which makes them much happier to eat it! I don't think I'll serve green-and-yellow beans again, because it would be the third night in a row that we'd have eaten from our co-op batch of farm-fresh beans. Instead, ears of corn from the co-op. Maybe I'll put out veggies for pizza toppings, too: bell pepper slices from the freezer and an onion thinly sliced (mostly for me). That'll do.
Today I met a different goal: one successful thing before dinner, LOL!
I cut down big Cheerios boxes into file folder boxes, pulled out my box of file folders, and organized the piles of family papers. Then I put the two file boxes on the shelf below the phone, a/k/a Household Central. Now I can file kids' activity info, garden ideas, bank statements, ACTION items, and more -- before adding them to a purposeless pile. I can put my fingers on the pizza delivery coupons, the after-school checklist for the kids, the current MOMS Club calendar, and that ACTION file. Woohoo!
Extra bonus, it decluttered about four piles into nothingness; a lot went into the paper recycling, of course. I also found enough artwork from Son2 that it is clear I need to rig up an artwork clothesline in the playroom.
Dinner will be pizza from homemade pizza dough I froze last time I made it, with a simple red sauce and Mozzarella. The kids shape and top their own mini-pizzas, which makes them much happier to eat it! I don't think I'll serve green-and-yellow beans again, because it would be the third night in a row that we'd have eaten from our co-op batch of farm-fresh beans. Instead, ears of corn from the co-op. Maybe I'll put out veggies for pizza toppings, too: bell pepper slices from the freezer and an onion thinly sliced (mostly for me). That'll do.
Friday, October 22, 2004
Whoops! Time flies
This week sure flew by! We've been out EVERY evening -- extremely unusual for us.
Monday night, Son1 had basketball practice and I had moms night out with my MOMS Club. Tuesday night, I extravagantly went to my stitching group. Wednesday night, dear husband had bowling league and Son1 had basketball practice again. Thursday night, we all went to the library and Son1 learned a bit of sign language in the weekly program for kids ages 7-12. Tonight is Son1's first basketball game, and after the kids are in bed dear husband may head out for poker with friends. With one car, some nights it's tricky to do what we need to do.
Amazingly, every night we've eaten at or from home (sandwiches to go, once), and it hasn't all been boxed macaroni and cheese, heehee. Even more amazing is that last night we even had Italian shredded beef (slow cooker) heaped on thick slices of homemade Cuban bread (1 hour 15 minutes from flour to baked bread). Unfortunately I completely forgot to pick up my co-op food last night! This morning I'm meeting my food here in town and will then get to enjoy yellow and green beans, fresh corn, and Cushaw squash this weekend and so on.
The weather is poised for change from the several days we've had of highs in the 80s, high humidity, and morning fog. The line of storms is steadily approaching and soon I'll be switching my shorts for jeans or a long skirt, flipflops shed in favor of Birks, etc. Another back-and-forth Oklahoma autumn! I really want to bake more bread, and I want to roast some of the squash, too. Come on, cool weather and cold nights!
Monday night, Son1 had basketball practice and I had moms night out with my MOMS Club. Tuesday night, I extravagantly went to my stitching group. Wednesday night, dear husband had bowling league and Son1 had basketball practice again. Thursday night, we all went to the library and Son1 learned a bit of sign language in the weekly program for kids ages 7-12. Tonight is Son1's first basketball game, and after the kids are in bed dear husband may head out for poker with friends. With one car, some nights it's tricky to do what we need to do.
Amazingly, every night we've eaten at or from home (sandwiches to go, once), and it hasn't all been boxed macaroni and cheese, heehee. Even more amazing is that last night we even had Italian shredded beef (slow cooker) heaped on thick slices of homemade Cuban bread (1 hour 15 minutes from flour to baked bread). Unfortunately I completely forgot to pick up my co-op food last night! This morning I'm meeting my food here in town and will then get to enjoy yellow and green beans, fresh corn, and Cushaw squash this weekend and so on.
The weather is poised for change from the several days we've had of highs in the 80s, high humidity, and morning fog. The line of storms is steadily approaching and soon I'll be switching my shorts for jeans or a long skirt, flipflops shed in favor of Birks, etc. Another back-and-forth Oklahoma autumn! I really want to bake more bread, and I want to roast some of the squash, too. Come on, cool weather and cold nights!
Monday, October 18, 2004
What to do to avoid a huge church quarrel
Why, read yourself silly in the Television Without Pity forums on the new TV series Desperate Housewives, of course! If you want to read a LOT of viewers who have strong opinions about a show, head on over to the TWoP forums! Here's the main TWoP page for Desperate Housewives. Be warned, they do mean without pity. By the way, is it just me, or does anyone else think they lifted a whole lot from the book "Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons"???
What's the church quarrel? I'm Episcopalian, the Windsor Report was released at 6:30 am my time this morning, and my church-related online communities are buzzing. This report from an Anglican Communion commission offers guidance on how we can be in communion with other Anglican Communion national churches even though we differ hugely (on women's ordination, remarriage after divorce, homosexuality, and other tough topics).
What amounts to one percent, I think, of Episcopal Church in the USA parishes have left our church due to disagreements, and some regional groups (dioceses) are acting as though they'll do the same. Very scary for people in those places who don't want to leave; some are now the remnant of their parish that remains in the Episcopal Church. Fairly awful upset for all of us who love the Episcopal Church and/or Anglicanism.
There is much uproar among those interested or directly affected. I will read its 96 pages at some point tomorrow, probably (I have Farscape to watch tonight!). The report details why we should bother to remain an Anglican Communion of related national churches and calls for reconciliation and living together, with forgiveness and hard work toward understanding on an international level, among national churches, and all the way down to the parish and individual level.
So... time for some brain candy.
What's the church quarrel? I'm Episcopalian, the Windsor Report was released at 6:30 am my time this morning, and my church-related online communities are buzzing. This report from an Anglican Communion commission offers guidance on how we can be in communion with other Anglican Communion national churches even though we differ hugely (on women's ordination, remarriage after divorce, homosexuality, and other tough topics).
What amounts to one percent, I think, of Episcopal Church in the USA parishes have left our church due to disagreements, and some regional groups (dioceses) are acting as though they'll do the same. Very scary for people in those places who don't want to leave; some are now the remnant of their parish that remains in the Episcopal Church. Fairly awful upset for all of us who love the Episcopal Church and/or Anglicanism.
There is much uproar among those interested or directly affected. I will read its 96 pages at some point tomorrow, probably (I have Farscape to watch tonight!). The report details why we should bother to remain an Anglican Communion of related national churches and calls for reconciliation and living together, with forgiveness and hard work toward understanding on an international level, among national churches, and all the way down to the parish and individual level.
So... time for some brain candy.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
We love Farscape!
Dear husband and I caught the first half of the Farscape miniseries tonight, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. It was superb! It was oh so clear why we loved the series. I can hardly wait for tomorrow night's concluding two hours.
Farscape on the SciFi channel
Farscape on the SciFi channel
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