Happy Halloween!!!

This was a funny StoryPeople that was sent today - no image attached, just the funny.

Halloween
I heard that the big kids soaped the windows on Halloween & all we had was a box of Tide & I couldn't reach the windows anyway, so I poured a big pile of it on the neighbor's doorstep & I never figured out how my mom knew it was me until we had kids.
~ StoryPeople

Pumpkin Guts Everywhere

We had lots of Fun yesterday!! Our first official "didn't make people from St. Louis come" party here at our house. We hosted a Pumpkin Carving Party - everyone invited gave props to the pumpkins, they were carved, their guts were gone through and the seeds were saved, pumpkin flavored items were eaten(well, we made pumpkin bread as a party favor and pumpkin beer was available), overall we Celebrated the pumpkin and its distinguished use in the Halloween traditions. There were some very clever pumpkins (the pumpkin throwing up), some meticulously carved pumpkins (the Frankenstein), some creatively executed with extra props pumpkins (another Frankenstein) and many other tremendously executed displays. Best of all we had the chance to get to know some of the people that we have been hoping to see more of a little better (and we got our house decorated for fall - bonus!). Apparently no one here has cornered the market on the Sunday before Halloween party - so we can make this a tradition!!

Interesting party difference - in St. Louis beer is a staple and while there is often some left, generally a great deal of it is finished by the end of the event. Here some beer was finished (mostly by the other families who moved here from St. Louis - go figure) and guests claimed they liked beer, but the soda was the item that was gone at the end of the event. Soda is less expensive and that works for me, but BigGuy says that a summer party might bring out the cold beer lovers. Time and other parties will tell.

The Count Down Begins

The Halloween Count Down has begun. Today we took our special visitor, AuntB, to the local newspapers Pumpkin Patch. There was a fabulous face painter (Zoo Lady), free pumpkin spinning rides, a hay maze, pony rides, pumpkin painting, scarecrow making, some crafters (where we got a huge bone for Jakey) and hay rack rides (what is the "rack" about?). It was fun. The kids said super fun with AuntB there (probably due to loving her so much -they were so super excited she was there - and that she was paying for things I normally would have said no to). Plus - it signaled the beginning of the Halloween for them. We have done stuff to prep, but having AuntB here and getting more pumpkins - doing the fun stuff - and having their faces painted got it all flowing. Tomorrow we will have our first official "party" with friends here at our house and the kids see this as huge (it is kinda - we threw parties in St. Louis all the time, but this is with new people and anything could happen). We miss all you easy people we know how to please.
Happy Haunting!!!!

Soooooo close

We are so close to a Thousand on our official blog counter that I thought I should note it. 997. Very cool. Thanks for coming and reading about our fun and goofiness.

Speaking of Funny. Yesterday we are getting ready to leave. We were headed to a pumpkin patch (which turned out to be imaginary - oh or maybe it was just invisible to match the haunted season), do a few errands and then dropping the two olders at friends for sleepovers. As we are leaving I inspected the children that would be spending time at friends. Not that I expect them to look perfect and unlike children their age and activity - but we are still in the courting phases of making friends (I refer to BigGuy and I, not the kids because other kids really don't care what kids look like). Babers looked fab because I was the one who prepared him. If he were doing it himself he would also be going through a scrutiny before leaving the house. Spidey passed - although if I remember right I did make him take off his no sleeve shirt and threaten to dress him myself if he didn't pick out something weather appropriate. I mean suggest. Anyway, SuperStar comes into the room - clothes looked good, she had a lot of sleepover stuff, but she assured me it was all necessary (1 suitcase, a sleeping bag, animals, pillow, a tent and a fold out chair - don't ask). Then I suggested she run upstairs and brush her hair. It was an "off school" day so I hadn't pushed it earlier. She informed me that she already had. I looked at her skeptically and suggested she go ahead and do it again or grab her headband and swoosh it back. She emphatically said she did brush her hair and that this is her style, "Wild". She explained to me that her hair choice is the same as the way she tries to live her life - she used words like "free", "wild", "crazy" and "stylish". She said her friends love her that way. My prediction is that the teen years are really going to rock and our blog should be super funny then. Please everyone put us on your prayer lists.

So we left with Babers, Spidey and the WildHair Chick.

BigGuy's Birthday

BigGuy had a birthday on Monday!! Yea for him. Now, we aren't able to do a big picture montage of him and the things he did because he is not as "into" the documentation of the birthday process as the rest of us are. I made him a big Cardinal's cake (he was specific not to have the actual bird, just the emblem - didn't want it to be too cute) and then when I asked him to take the camera and shoot some pictures of himself and his friends eating cake he just kinda looked at me blank like and laughed. Needless to say he did not take the camera. I tried the guilt thing of saying it would mean a lot to his mom - no go. Babers and I picked him up for lunch. Very nice time - minus the part where we tried to keep Babers above the table. Then, after work we went to eat dinner and bowling. I did bring the camera for this, but we forgot to bring it in and then it was hard to keep Babers on our lane - or rather off our lane - and the kids were crying because they weren't knocking any pins over - photo's were just forgotten, but BigGuy and I were still able to manage a few spares and strikes (3 strikes for BigGuy and 2 for me - I think the same number of spares). Once home we had another cake made in BigGuys grandmothers casserole dish - something different and something family - the kids decorated this one.

As I was trying to take photos I realized just how tall BigGuy is. There was no way to take a photo without also getting the chandelier into it. Being tall is way cool.


Happy Birthday Sweetie!!

Where did the dishes come from?

See, I am wondering where all the dishes came from..............honestly I am pretty certain that we did not eat a single meal here in our home this weekend - at least not that was cooked by us. Friday night we usually go out for fun - and we did this past Friday, although I can't remember exactly where we went - we talked about pizza, Culver's, Q'doba, but that isn't right - oh yeah, we went to a hotdog place called ....ahhh (it is late and I am tired), well, it was a gross hotdog place that we will never go to again and it is no wonder I forgot the name. Then on Saturday morning I went to brunch with friends - Nanny came into town (yea!) and she and BigGuy went to lunch for his birthday - the kids had eaten a late breakfast and nibbled on blue corn chips, I skipped lunch. Nanny took the kids out for dinner (although I did have a pot of chicken & dumplings that we decided would work for lunch the next day) and BigGuy and I went on a date to a really nice restaurant downtown (Thank you Nanny! I had VooDoo Talapia - very tasty - big guy had something with a pork chop and walnuts). Then Sunday I prepped some fruit and sweet bread, but we went to a breakfast at a place BigGuy has wanted to go - and except for Babers screaming (happily) and refusing to sit in his seat or eat (he had fruit and pumpkin bread at home) it was enjoyable. Then Nanny left, no one was hungry (so much for the chicken & dumplings) and I went to volunteer doing fundraiser stuff for the BobCats (surprised? - I think while I was there I volunteered to be the PTO Treasurer next year too - surprised? I am totally kicked out of the 12 step program). Anyway, once home I iced the St. Louis Cardinals cake BigGuy is taking to work and didn't feel like cooking - neither did he so he ordered pizza (which Spidey can now spell) and that was it. Guess we will have those chicken & dumplings tomorrow night - nope, it is BigGuys bday and he chose going to dinner and doing some bolwing.

So...........why did we run the dishwasher at least 3 times this weekend?

A Glance into what BigGuy is thinking....

There is a writer for the St. Louis Post that BigGuy loves. Often times he will send home articles that Bob Rybarczyk has written and say that it is exactly what he is thinking. Today he sent home Halloween Can Be Humiliating for People Too. BigGuy sent it home with this statement, "I sleep-write this column." Needless to say every year I badger him to dress up for Halloween with us. Every year he suggests some killer costume, I deny his request and he never dresses up. Click on the name of the column from today and you can read what BigGuy has been thinking.

Enjoy - the guy really is funny as all get out.

The Beat Goes On

The other day at Target the kids and I were torturing BigGuy. He had kinda hit his "point" (parents know what I am talking about) - trying to distract the kids to help him we went to the music department where SuperStar was trying to figure out how to spend some of her birthday money. Spidey and I were entertaining Babers by pushing buttons on one of those machines that lets you test the music on different Cd's they are selling. Apparently the quick changes made from one venue of music to another did not help BigGuys nerves. However, for fun I decided to buy a CD that we don't need called "1967 The Summer of Love". This is the year I was born, only in the winter - so my parents didn't have any of the fun that was apparently had that summer because they were too flippin' exhausted from my keeping them up all the time. Then again, I probably was the perfect child and slept through the night by summer. Anyway, we have been listening to the CD - okay, the kids haven't listened happily, but I do get to choose too and it can't all be girl rock music like they request.

So................I have always kinda loved Sonny & Cher (the Monkees too - and whoever sang Jesus Christ SuperStar - the older kids in the neighborhood used to have me sing it over and over again, wait, I am SuperStar aren't I?). My love for Sonny & Cher goes back to watching their show when I was a little kid. My dad worked 2nd shift and he was never at our house when the show was on (mom, my sister & I watched) and I was certain that Sonny was my dad (must have been those mutton chops he wore) and Chastity was my sister (I guess I didn't care who that made Cher - my mom did have long hair like hers, but she was with us watching so it couldn't have been her). One of the songs on the CD is The Beat Goes On - you are listening to it now if the music link is working. While not my total favorite, I do like the song. Then, when the children were out of the car and I could actually hear the words in the song I realized something - nothing has changed in the past 40 years!! They talk about Mini Skirts being the new rage - well, how many times a week do we hear about how short the skirts are and how some celebrity or another has forgotten their panties and gave a big picture opportunity to the cameras? Teenyboppers run the world - please, everything is basically geared to sell to our teens today and we are always hearing about an incident - both good and scary bad that involve the teens of today. "Grocery stores are Super Marts" - today Super Marts are Mega Marts - just last night I was watching a show about the Evil Empire (Walmart - nicknamed by a friend) and how they are basically the worlds largest distributor world wide. So many people feel that if you have an Evil Empire you really don't need to shop at another store for a single thing. There are other phrases that catch directly to today as well - but none more so then talking about men continuing to march off to war. I saw the other day that our countries loss in lives is up to 3,828. Nothing like the Vietnam War that the Bono's were referring too (211,454)- but needless none the less. Just found that interesting - a song that was big during the Summer of Love, 40 years ago, still being pretty much about the same stuff going on today.

Fundraiser Land

Generally I know it is not good to swear, but it is really hard not to Swear to Goodness about this - so instead I will Pledge to Goodness in a dramatically sincere way that We Have Moved to Fundraiser Land. It isn't as flat as we were lead to believe, it is as windy as we were lead to believe, but no one warned us that this area loves to have a fundraiser every week!!! I don't know how to express the feeling of peer pressure that I am feeling to support all these things. BigGuy is fine with not supporting things (I should follow his lead) - but the kids look at you with those big eyes and say things like, "But I have to help......(fill in group here)" - and many of them are good causes. Just off the top of my head these are the ones that are ALL selling now -
School - Kathryn Beich (a bevy of stuff that is interesting, but not really needed - and very yummy candy) - the kids love this because they can earn useless stuff they think they can't live without.
United Way - although BigGuy says this isn't a fundraiser, we have to donate $1 each day in order for the kids to participate in whatever fun thing they are doing - kinda like BigGuy bought the $20 shirt for his work to be able to participate in the jeans days on Fridays (another fundraiser - so that is 2 more).Market Day - buy grocery items that are delivered either to your door (this is if you order - which we haven't forwarded to you to save you the feelings of guilt) or to the school to be picked up. Some of the stuff is good - at least that we have purchased. So this is an ongoing every month fundraiser for the school. Now, Next month it is a special program that you can sell pies (supposedly to die for) and earn extra for the school. Need a holiday pie or cheesecake? Let me know.
Girl Scouts - they are selling non-cookie things, candy, trinkets, paper - great organization, but we just pestered people to buy KB stuff - yet this is a great group to support (speaking of which - none of you stopped me and I am now the leader - I do believe I have also been kicked out of my 12 step Volunteer-a-holics program - thanks SS!! I phoned you every day looking for help and where were you??? In MN - argh).
Scholastic Book Fair - we all know what this is - another great way to support our school. Yet it costs money. Plus, I just placed to Scholastic orders not knowing that there was a book fair coming. Ugh! We will probably use this to score some Christmas gifts - I bet I see Santa there.
Tag onto Book Fair - if you donated a $1 then you can help to make sure a child in your school that can't afford it will be able to purchase a book too. How can you NOT support that? It is only $1 - until I add up all the other stuff from the other fundraisers.

We have only been in school for two months! How are we dealing with this? Well the Kathryn Beich thing the kids did do last minute - they sold some stuff, will receive some of the crap (I mean prizes) and everyone is happy. School Book Fair - I will buy some books for holiday gifts. The extra $1 for a student - each of the kids used allowance to donate - this gives them an experience to help others through donations. The United Way fundraiser - well, I told them that BigGuy and I would give them a big chore each day to complete that would earn them the money to participate in those - today is sweep the garage out - tomorrow is scoop the cat litter - the next day will be pick up Jakey poo in the yard. Market Day - some of our friends are interested in trying out the pretzels and we buy at least one or two things a month that really are helpful to have - pies though, I just don't care much for pie (plus I make them really well), but if you all want one let me know. Girl Scouts - well, we can't do them all and I did just give them $20 to join and sign up to be the leader - that should do. We will be calling ya all for cookies in the spring though!

They are Onto Us!

"I used to believe my father about everything but then I had children myself & now I see how much stuff you make up just to keep yourself from going crazy."
StoryPeople

Recently SuperStar keeps calling us out. "I thought you said you knew everything" is a phrase I have heard her say to BigGuy and I several times now (more me then him). Guess we will have to start watching that 'Smarter then a 5th Grader' show - that should help until she is in 6th grade.

Lies....Lies.....Lies

On Tuesday I found out one of the biggest lies about Central Illinois. See, this week is posing to be very fast and completely full. Monday was a holiday for the kids - so needless to say we were busy, gym for me, gymnastics for Babers (at which Spidey & SuperStar dominated all the toddler gymnastic stuff - I suggested to them to think of themselves as role models and to only do things that toddlers could do so that they could try them too - I am pretty sure none of the 18mth olds were any where near being able to do the aerial flip off the mini tramp that Spidey did - ugh!!), after which nap time occured and then off to BigGuys work to beguile all his co-workers with our darlings sweeties. I can't even remember what we did after that (which means my mind has selectively chosen to omit that information for the safety of my children) and it has nothing to do with the lie anyway - so onward we go. I have been trying to get to the gym at least 4 days a week (successful to the point of it being 5 last week). Tuesday morning Babers and I were going to a M2M playdate and I wanted to start doing some bonding stuff with the members, spent time getting stamping stuff ready for a fun thing at the meeting the next day - Tuesday night I had a hair appointment (to get my hair cut a second time by the woman who almost cut it right the first time - she offered to fix it when I told her, for future reference, what I would like a bit different and that she gave me the best "almost what I wanted hair cut" ever) and dinner with a friend. Wed. morning was going to be M2M meeting followed by volunteering at the kids school from noon to end of the day - followed by being alone with the kids because BigGuy was in STL doing recruitment at Wash U. No workout that day. So that would be two days gone. We are getting close to the lie I discovered. Trying to figure out how to get a workout in and still do the other stuff I decided to bike from my house to the playdate across town. Googled it - only 9.2 miles - that meant 18.4 total, not bad, I could do that and feel good about not exercising on Wed. In STL my friend BL and I would do 10 miles (when I was working out really religiously) in 30 minutes. How hard could 9.2 miles be with Babers trailer hooked to the back. BigGuy suggested it would only take 20 minutes - now I knew that was a lie (but it isn't the one I am getting to) because Google said it would take me 20 minutes to do it in my car - so he suggested 30 minutes. Gotta love him, he certainly thinks a great deal of my abilities (keep in mind it has been a year since I have done any serious exercising). I suggested 40 (thinking I was probably wrong) and he said maybe, but he thought I would end up being early. So I budgeted for 40 minutes. I knew the roads, I drive them everyday, I wouldn't get lost. But there was the unknown lie. The "Central Il" is totally flat lie. That lie really hurt me. My legs, my butt, my lungs, my arms - every part of me. So - if you have been here just close your eyes (except that then you can't read this) and picture the roads. In a car they seem hilly in a soothing way. On a bike they simply suck (sorry can't think of a nice way to put it). They are all really long and slowly climbing hills. Then you get to the top and your downhill glory is sucked away by the tremendous wind beating against you that causes you to have to peddle to get down hill!! What is that about? So after I am too far from the house (and Babers has stopped crying - because I took his helmet off - yes, safety first, but we were going to be on the trail and the sidewalk the rest of the way and he was so pitiful and baby screams are not drowned out by anything and they make biking very difficult) I think - well, we are going right by BigGuys work I will just call him and have him trade me the bike for the car and then drive us home when the playdate is over. Only I can't. By the time I got off the winding roads and into the city I was already 5 miles in. My pride wouldn't let me stop, but I knew I had that out - and in the back of my head I planned to use it on the way home - because by the time I got back to his work I would have biked 13 miles and that is a good distance to be proud of. So we go the remaining 4 miles - It took me an HOUR to bike to the park!! I mentioned this to BigGuy later in the day and his response is a simple, "Gos, I was wrong about that." Yup! Anyway, I did impress the woman who are there - the playdate was nice and we head home. I get to BigGuys work - it is almost lunch time, he could easily use it to drive the bike, trailer and our lifeless bodies (because Babers is asleep and mine is close to collapse - I mean how is it that all the wind that I fought against is now in front of me again and instead of it helping me home it is pushing me back again - when does wind shift??). Only I can't call. Why? Because I made a comment about how it would be rewarding to actually have the hilly part back to my house be the part that I finish with. If I don't make it the whole way home BigGuy will be missed at lunch with his friend KD - whose wife is my friend and in my group and who will know that BigGuy bailed me out of my massive biking folly (not that she would laugh at me - she probably wouldn't have thought anything but, well she did ride 13 miles). So I kept going. And I did it. And my butt hurt really bad by the time I got to my house (padded bike seat for Christmas idea suggested here), but I did reach my house. Yea me!!!! So did you catch the lie? Central Illinois is NOT FLAT!! Don't be fooled - and if you are training for a bike ride - come here because the wind will kick your biking butt and really make you work - plus you can end at our house and we will give you a snack.

What we did last Weekend ~

These are fun pics from the Apple & Pork Festival we attended. We went with the our friends the "O's". It was huge - really - we expected a small thing like the others we had been to, but this one stretched in so many directions we just didn't see them all. We did taste as much as we could though - pork sandwiches, pork wings (ask BigGuy), hot dogs, ham & beans, corn bread, tea, apple fritters, funnel cakes, apple cider, cider floats, loaded potatoes, applesauce donuts, and that is just the stuff that someone or another in our group ate. Next year we will come better prepared.

Saddle Up

Okay, we are keeping in mind that our kids are still in the "tester" phase of their hobbies - so maybe this won't cost that much. However, SuperStar appears to be In Love with horses. This has been a thing for about two years now. Never really was exposed to horses, hung around people who rode horses, or for that matter rode a horse, but still - she has been smitten with horses. Spidey has always seemed to have a somewhat large fear of horses (because we have ridden tame trail horses). Now they are both riding them. Yesterday was their first lesson and their teacher (our new friend, MM) is already talking about SuperStar being a natural and we may be looking at competitions in the future. SuperStar is even talking about wanting to learn to muck a stall - so she may be serious. In the pics you will see them riding Remington, Dawson is fearless feeding Jack and the style they are riding is Dressage. The upside (other then the horses really are cool) is that the lesson is really close to home - in one picture you can see how close our house is - that is very nice.