Meet me at the Faire!

I've sat down to write several times recently, but I always get distracted. From the sounds coming from the kitchen (where Peanut is) I'll probably be getting distracted again. haha!

First of all, today is my youngest son's birthday. He is 4! I can't believe it. He has grown and changed so much this past year. He has become a sweet boy. He still has his moments, but really who doesn't have their moments. He has the sweetest laugh. He loves to play "spider" and his active imagination has created his friends, Jayden and Caden. He loves to help me cook and I'm sure he will be helping me later when I make his cake.

This past weekend was the local Renaissance Faire. I love that kind of stuff. I love to see the local artist show their work, I LOVE the costumes and the music. I got to see one Scottish dance. I have an idea of my own crafting that I could try and sell. I'm going to work on that for the next year. Maybe I can sell them next year at the faire.

Things have been so busy lately. I got to hear my oldest sons orchestra play last week and I'll hear them again at the beginning of December. My second son has started piano lessons. The younger kids always keep me very busy.

I've been so distracted so many times since sitting down to type, I can't remember what I wanted to say anymore. Oh well. Today, besides being a birthday, we have several errands to run and food to cook and a very special cake to bake.

Off to be busy!

Shoes make me late

I'm one of those people who are early to everything. I never like to arrive late to anything and perfer to be there 10 - 15 minutes before anything begins. I've always been this way. I have continued to be this way until baby #5 came along. She is 19 months old now and I can not get out the door on time for anything. I am always rushing out the door and usually yelling at my kids to get out the door too.

There are many factors which is making this so, but I think the number one reason I'm having a hard time getting out the door on time are kids shoes. We can never find shoes. I can't press them enough that when they take off their shoes to put them in their room, in their closet. The closets are always empty of shoes. We have to go on a shoe hunt for 2-3 kids every time we go out.

There are other things that make it hard to get out the door with the kids, but the missing shoes is the biggest obstical. I'm going to have to get a shoe basket and put it right next to the front door again. Something needs to be done about the shoes.

Lights

I'm not ready for Christmas and I don't want to put up the Christmas decorations just yet, but can I have Christmas lights up in the house without all the other decorations?

I love Christmas lights.

Weekend recovery

What a fun weekend. What a mess it left for me today. I knew the bug guy would be coming this morning at 10:30. My boys room was a disaster. Not only were there a great many books, clothes and stuffed animals all over the floor, there was a crushed popcorn ball, a dead half eaten apple, and several smashed peanuts. I didn't need the bug man to see that!

I cleaned all evidence of popcorn, peanuts, and apples from the floor of their room.

I've noticed an interesting thing about my kids. None of them are very neat, but considering their parents, I can't expect Mr. Clean for a child. With all the candy they got from Halloween, I've noticed that each child gets rid of their candy trash in different ways. Let me explain:

Son #1 - 11 years old (going on 15) - his candy trash is all over his desk and the floor. None is in the trash can that is sitting next to his desk.

Son #2 - 9 years old - Candy trash into the trash can! Hooray!

Daughter #1 - 5 years old - Candy trash goes right back into her bucket of candy. It isn't thrown away, but it isn't laying all over the floor either.

Son #3 - 3 years old - Some goes into the trash, some goes on the floor, some goes back into his bucket. There is potiential for good here, with a little work, he could be like son #2.

Daughter #2 -19 months old as of tomorrow - She can't open most of the candy and surprisingly, she doesn't each much of it. She will take a bite and be done, so I find trash and candy all over the floor.

Well, it's time to clean more before dinner preperations begin.

Annual October Activity

Materials needed:
4 pumpkins
5 children
4 pens
sheets of paper for all
table
cookie tray
1 large butcher knife
2 small knives
3 spoons
1 ice cream scoop
1 power drill
2 drill bits
Halloween music

Activity:
1. Obtain pumpkins and place on table.
2. Let the children gather around the table and argue whose pumpkin is whose.
3. Hand out each child a sheet of paper, but only have enough pens for 4 out of the 5 kids. Let the art and fight ensue.
4. Upon everyone reaching a decision about their jack-o-lantern design, draw the face on the pumpkin. Watch out that the 18 month old doesn't get a hold of a pen, she will draw her own scribbles on the pumpkin. Ooops, too late.
5. Mom and Dad are the only ones allowed to use the knives. Mom cuts off the lids of each pumpkin. Three year old will provide the sound effects of the pumpkin getting cut. Ugg, ooof, aaahhhh.
6. Now, let each child reach into the pumpkin and pull out the innards. New sound effects are heard: ewww, blech, blah. Use the spoons or ice cream scoop to get out as much as possible. Mom will finish getting out the hard to get stringy insides.
7. Watch Mom and Dad carve the faces. There's one eye, there's two eyes, there is the mouth. Let small children stick their arms into the mouth of the jack-o-lantern. "Ahh, it's eating me!"
8. Watch Dad use the power drill to create a crown around one pumpkin and hair on another pumpkin. See the cute little pumpkin curls left by the drill bit.
9. When all is done, try to clean the mess. Try.
10. Now, turn off all the lights.
11. Turn on several lights so Mom can get some candles and matches.
12. Turn off the lights.
13. Mom turns the lights back on so she can see herself lighting candles and not get burned. Put the lids back on the pumpkins and turn the lights off.
14. Ooo and ahhh over the creepy faces glowing from the table.

Success! Four very different faces glowing from the designs of four very different kids.

The cloud and the sun

A black cloud seems to sit over our house and van right now.

Still, we are doing what we can to get the sunshine to peek through. Service has become a big part of our lives. Working together can be rewarding. Snuggling the baby is always sweet. Trying to laugh and make more time for each other.

Yet, despite all this, things that have never gone wrong before are going wrong. It's odd how when you are trying so hard to do your best, things that have never happened before are coming at you left and right.

The cloud and the sunshine seems to alternate day to day, minute to minute of which is out in front. One day, I hope the sun wins.

Thank goodness for cool weather! It's 57 degrees and I LOVE it!

Thirds

Third time's the charm.
Trilogies.
Go down for the third time.
The third degree.
The third wheel.

There are a lot of phrases that have to do with "threes". Our dryer went out several months ago. I called the repairman's office. The receptionist recognized my name since I had called them two weeks previous because of my oven. When I told her the dryer was out, she replied, "These things come in threes."

Oh no! Don't tell me that. Well, she was right. The dishwasher has quit too. OK, no more appliances can go out, we've got our three - oven, dryer, dishwasher.

Saturday the SUV started having problems. The dashboard went out, completely. It's hard to drive when the speedometer doesn't work. Neither do the radio or the a/c. I could live without those two things if it were for the fact that when the dashboard went out, the heater kicked on and is now stuck on. I'm sorry, but in southern New Mexico, it's still warm. I don't need the heater, yet. This is the third problem with the SUV in two weeks - flat tires, bad muffler and now dead dashboard. That's three, no more problems with the SUV are allowed to happen.

Gosh, I sure hope there aren't many phrases about the numbers four or five.... I could be in big trouble.