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.

The Bottle Incident

We were sitting in the chapel at church, enjoying the service as much as we can with 5 little kids. One of my children wanted a pen to draw with. I picked up my bag and set it in my lap. Immediately, I feel a very cold wetness on my lap. At the same moment, my husband points to the floor and whispers, "Oh no!"

I look on the floor and huge puddle of milk is soaking into the carpet. I pull out the offending bottle from my bag. The lid wasn't screwed on all the way. My wallet is soaked. My cell phone is soaked. My checkbook is soaked. Next I pull out a size 5 diaper, open it up completely and then laid it down over the milk. I put my foot onto the diaper and pressed hard. Hubby leans over and whispers, "It's very absorbent." Thank goodness it was. We didn't leave too much of a mess behind us.

October music

In the Hall of the Mountain King

Night on Bald Mountain

Anything on the organ by Bach

The perfect soundtrack for this most spooky month.

Adventures of Peanut

The Microwave!

Yesterday I found in the microwave:
2 apples, one of them was half eaten
a bottle of children's Tylenol
a tube of antibiotic cream
a one cup metal measuring cup
5 napkins

Standing at the microwave was Peanut. She had pushed a chair up to the counter and was pushing all the buttons on the microwave. Thank goodness she didn't find the start button. The last thing I want to do right now is replace a microwave.

crazy week

This week's schedule:
Monday
2:40 pick up kids from bus stop
3:00 - meet with someone about a temp job for myself
after dinner FHE
run to grocery store
Highway is closed due to filming

Tuesday
7:30 am - parent/teacher conference for 3rd grader
Clean house like crazy
laundry
2:40 - bus
5:00 - dryer repair guy comes
6:30 - Cooking club - Fondue at my house!
Highway closed due to filming

Wednesday
clean, laundry...
1:30 pick up 2 kids from school
2:20 dentist appointment
Highway closed due to filming - it will be horrendous to get to the dentist
7:00 - Cub/Boy Scouts

Thursday
9:15 - 18 month well baby check up - can you believe it?
11:00 - RS meeting at my house
2:40 - bus
3:15 - parent/teacher conference for kindergartner
4:45 - pick up son from science club meeting
At least the freeway is opened
not sure where cleaning will come in
send out weekly newsletter

Friday - so far it is open! I'm sure something will come up though, it always does.
2:40 - bus
clean/laundry... always

Saturday
Highway closed again, but evenings now
pot luck in nearby state
5:45 - kids Halloween party - I don't even have costumes yet!

This all might not be so bad if the highway wasn't closed most of the time due to a film being done on our highway. I'm not happy with Hollywood this month.

Photo-less

My one year old took my camera, put it in the bathroom sink, and turned on the faucet. I won't be taking pictures anytime soon.

How did she get up to the sink? She pushed a chair up there, of course.

How can someone so little be so destructive?