Happy Halloween!

This was the year that D "got it" and he was EXCITED!! Except when it was time to actually go out trick or treating, he wanted to watch his movie. Once he got out, there was no stopping him. However, we almost ran out of candy. Good thing D is young b/c the candy that he wouldn't eat, we "recycled".




The last 24 hours have been fun and full. Pumpkin carving, school Halloween party and then Trick or Treating. PHEW!! Time for some rest and relaxation.

Random items

Potty mouth Mommy:
D's preschool has a from-the-car drop off area. Mom's don't have to get out of the car to drop their kids off at school, the teachers come to the car to get them. So we're waiting in the line on Tuesday and there is a car ahead of us who pulled up to the door area. D obviously thought that we were going to be next b/c the next thing he does is throw his hands into the air and proclaim "aw crap!" NICE!! I put my head in my hands and realized that I've got to clean up my potty mouth.

The Mommy look:
I took D to the park on Saturday and we started at park the backside of the elementary school, but then moved to the park which is a city park. There were older kids at the park who had their bikes and skateboards on the equipment. I generally tell these kids (cuz I run into a lot) that for the time that little kids are around I'd appreciate if they'd not have their "toys" on the playground equipment. I have yet to have a kid ignore my request. So, these kids stopped their "playing" and moved onto racing each other in foot races. GREAT!! It's fantastic to see 12-13yo's actually playing.
As we were playing, an older (mid-upper 20's) man starts walking to the playground and the kids seem to know him and go over to him. The man enters the playground area talking on a cell phone and proceeds to drop a few F-bombs. WELL, I shot this man a "Mom" look b/c in the very next instant he looked right at me and said "sorry, really Sorry." "It won't happen again". WHEW!! I got it! I've got a MOM look that will even bring adults to apologize for their behavior.

Pumpkin guts:
A few months back a friend of mine posted something on a web board about using a canning lid to scrape the guts from a pumpkin. Well, today I decided to test it out. FANTASTIC!! Holy moly! Why didn't I know about this years ago? The canning lid doesn't have a handle, so no getting that caught on the opposite side of the pumpkin or your own arm. The lid fits perfectly in your hand, has a sharp enough edge to get to the pumpkin core in just a few swipes and it doesn't bend!! If you haven't carved your pumpkin yet, try this and if you have, put it in your mind for next year.

Sniffle snuffle cough cough

I've figured out that I get sick around Halloween every year.....well, at least this year and last year. I was thinking back to Halloween last year and I missed the Halloween bunco b/c I was hacking and wheezing. Same this year. UGH!! I've been disinfecting this house like a mad woman, but it's not helping. My cold is just going from bad to worse. I still sound like Kathleen Turner - the deep breathy voice. GREAT!!

D is coughing and has a runny nose, but nothing like what I have going on. Pretty much the entire month of October has been either D sick, me sick or the both of us sick.

I'm ready for change and I'm not talking about the election either.

Pumpkins here, pumpkins there, pumpkins flying everywhere!

Yesterday we got up and ready to go to the local pumpkin patch. FUN FUN FUN!! Even for the $8 each price of admission (you get a pumpkin of any size with that admission), it was well worth the fun.

First, we had to get ready for the day. D put on his orange shirt and then we spiked his hair. Well, with the spikes, must come color. ORANGE!! It was awesome!

The pumpkin patch had all sorts of fun things to see and play on. A huge hay bale pyramid, a corn sandbox (a big giant pit of corn kernels), pony rides, hay ride, pumpkin patch, face painting, petting zoo, pumpkin launch. The camera battery died before we were done for the day. We got 2 HUGE pumpkins and walked away very happy people.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

YAHOOOOO!!

The cake is DONE!! And it's cute! I'm also adding pictures of the disaster cake that I made 2 weeks ago.



Ok, the monkey has no hands. I just couldn't figure out how to make them and have them look right.

I'm baking....again

Yes, I'm baking another cake. This one shouldn't be too difficult. It's a monkey cake. It should turn out to look like this, but I think/hope mine will be cuter.
Hopefully the cake disaster I had 2 weeks ago will not plague me this time. I've already baked the cakes, I'll make frosting tomorrow and start assembling. If my blogging suddenly ends...well, I've made a frosting rope and hung myself with it!! HA HA HA!

If it wasn't so funny it would be tragic.

Ok, I'm going to have a mini pity party.

This is my birthday weekend and it's completely gone to hell. First AF made her arrival yesterday with a vengence. Cramps and moodiness galore! FANTASTIC!! D is FINALLY on the mend from being sick, but he's very whiny. I have a cake to bake for someone that WAS to be delivered tonight.....WAS being the operative word.

I got the Monster Truck cake baked and put together, and I was making the frosting for the cake. THE FROSTING!! I was ALMOST done. D wanted to help, but knowing he was sick I was just letting him watch. I had just finished coloring the frosting the exact green color it needed and D sneezed into the bowl!! OMG!! There was nothing I could do. I had to dump the ENTIRE batch of frosting. I had used the last of the powdered sugar as well. SO I put on my shoes and headed to the store. Get out of the store with my sugar and more butter (just in case) and I see that my cell phone has a voicemail. It's M and NOT good news.

"Um, you may want to pick up more cake mix b/c the dog just ate your cake".

OH. MY. HELL. (thanks Casey for this phrasology)

Back into the store I trudge to grab more cake mixes dreading the fact that I'm going to be up VERY late and that I have to start over. The "new" cake is baked and cooling. The basic frosting is done to assemble the cake so once it's cooled, I can assemble. Once put together, I can then get to the nitty gritty of frosting this damned thing.

Doesn't look good for Birthday Breakfast out tomorrow morning nor does the family trip to the pumpkin patch.

Oh and the topper to EVERYTHING......I have a coldsore!!


******adendum******
I woke up this morning to find all the truckbed sides to the truck cake had fallen off during the night..... HOLY HELL!!!!

What would you do?

I can't wait to see the responses I get to this blog cuz it's an interesting choice with no right or wrong answer.

Let's say you're given the opportunity to donate some money to a desperate family who would use it to feed their children, but were only able to do so if you donated the same amount of money to someone you knew would use it to buy crack. Would you do it?

I'll give you my answer later.

Sickies everywhere....

I'll start with the darned dog. More than 3 weeks ago, Dakota had surgery on his foot to, hopefully, fix this thing that keeps happening. Months ago, I wrote about Dakota having that pine branch stuck in his paw. Well, the site kept getting infected with this pussy ball thing (almost like a pimple). The Vet gave us more antibiotics (and it would go away, but return) so finally she stated that maybe she needs to really open up the area and make sure that ALL debris is gone. WELLLLLL - the puss ball is back again!! grrrrrrr. Poor Dakota is back to wearing his cone around his head and back on antibiotics. I just don't know what to do. I'm keeping his cone on his head until I know all the infection is gone.

Sickie number 2 - D. He has CROUP. There is no mistaking the barking seal cough that they get. Plus he keeps getting a fever. We're on day 2.5 of this, so today my job is to disinfect this house. It's supposed to warm up a bit this afternoon, so windows will be opened and bleach water will be wiped over all surfaces, doorknobs and light switches. I want to be rid of this virus as fast as possible. I ran to the movie store yesterday and rented a couple movies for him, we've watched them 3-4 times each already. I can't have D play too much b/c any activity starts him coughing and croup is not an illness where coughing is good.

Vaporizor - CHECK
Apple Juice - CHECK
Vodka - almost empty....er....I mean.....hiccup.

Clorox, here I come.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One! that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either for us or against us. There is no middle road here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

SARAH PALIN: Where's MY gun? That chicken's got no choice!

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty ! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side.' That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

EVERYONE'S GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heartwarming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one???

Run Forrest....er...Christine Run!!!!

I had a friend running in the Portland marathon today. I got this CRAZY idea to go cheer her along the way and ended up having a GREAT time!! I called up a mutual friend this morning to see if she wanted to go and away we went. Thank goodness for GPS.

So, we started at mile 17.5.....well, we started the wait at mile 17.5. When we got there, Christine was only at mile 14/15...and walking! So, we waited and waited. We saw all sorts of people running, old, young, fat, skinny. Christine and I kept in touch via phone and texts. Then she went running by.

I thought that would be it. I mean, it is raining today and pretty cold - in the 50's. Nope, we decided to mosey onto another spot. We ended up at mile 24 with LOTS of time to spare, so we walked around Portland for a while. While doing this we happened upon an Office Max and being cold we went in. It was there we decided to buy materials for a sign.

Sign made, we went back to the marathon and waited. Christine was more than surprised with our being there, but also the sign!! We were on top of a bridge, so she went by and we then went down the stairs to meet her again when she passed under the bridge. We saw all the same people running, they probably thought we were a bit strange for being at 3 different places. Christine was GREATLY surprised by our presence again. This time, she hugged us. She was so happy to have friends out to support her.

Standing in the rain for hours at a time doesn't sound like fun, but when it in support of a friend, it's well worth it.

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No Privacy - Oh! I have boobs!!

You know, it's bad enough that I can't even go to the bathroom by myself anymore. Instead I have an inquisitive 3yo asking me questions ranging from what he's watching on TV to why Mommy doesn't have Lightening McQueen underwear.

NOW, my last private alone time has been compromised. The shower. D all of a sudden has an interest in taking a shower - with ME!!! For the last few days, I cannot take a nice HOT shower where I can be quiet with my thoughts and let hot water wash my cares away. Nope, now it's all about luke warm water and answering another gazillion questions. D finally realized that mommy has breasts today. "Mommy, is that?" he asked. As if I only have one. After some simple questioning, I finally realized what he was talking about. Then he stated that mine were bigger (duh), that I had two and that when he gets bigger than his will get bigger. hmmmmmm.....

Looking at his sweet face, I couldn't crush his dreams of bigger breasts. He has plenty of time to realize and learn that he won't get boobs like mom.

Ho-hum. I know that in 10 years I'll be complaining that I don't have any hot water at all b/c he'll have used it all during his OWN shower.