Boo!

The excitement around here today was palpable. A subculture of little people in dress-up, allowed to run about the neighborhood after dark begging for candy? Why, this day is nothing but pure kid bliss. And what events lead up to this day! Visits to the pumpkin patch - and later the carving of those pumpkins, costume parades at school, trunk-or-treat parties, visiting the enchanted forest complete with music, magicians and a ghost or two. Not to the mention the many, many conversations about just what costume will be the perfect costume. Princess S was emphatic about dressing as a pumpkin (NOT a tomato). Wonderboy was a pumpkin at age 3, so she simply HAD to be a pumpkin. That is until she saw other girls dressed as........PRINCESSES!! What? We saw a small girl in school yesterday in head-to-toe princessness, and she whispered in complete awestruck reverence, "Mommy, she...is...a...PRINCESS?!?" I fear I have done her a great disservice by not disclosing fully - in advance - that this was a possibility for her. Oh well. The prospects of a bag full of candy will soothe even the most acute disappointment.

Shark attack!!

Sadly, the famous shark costumes my brothers wore disintegrated in the attic over time, but grandma J came to the rescue with the pattern and - ta da! - the tradition continues.

Happy Halloween!

If the universe is listening...

I don't want to move.

Just putting it out there.

Uber-cool websites:

http://www.delight.com/index.php

Just found this one, (through the website below) and it gives you a groovy new great deal or unique product each day at noon Central. I'm all about a great deal. E wishes I wasn't.

http://www.notmartha.org/

This chick is creative and crafty. This site is worth a peek now and then, and she often has links to other interesting sites. I think she might be obsessed with cupcakes. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

http://www.etsy.com/

About the biggest darn boutique ever. You name it, you can buy it there. The kids are getting customized super hero capes for Christmas from this shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5058462

http://www.kidonyc.com/home/

Perfect resource for the modern, minimalist kid in your life with discerning taste.

http://www.flensted-mobiles.com/

The coolest Danish exports I'm personally aware of. This charming little viking mobile hung in Wonderboy's room until we left the east coast and it has never surfaced since the move. Sniff, sniff. Anyway, how cool would it be to furnish a giant white room with nothing but a cushy place to lay and a smattering of mobiles hung above, AND not a thing to do all day but just lay there and watch them move gently around? Pretty darn cool if you ask me.

Adventure Buggy, how I love thee...

I couldn't babble on about absurd parenting products without paying homage to my Adventure Buggy. And I do have adventures with this Buggy. I think I may love this beloved work horse more than life itself, and I should because I had to plead and cajole my little heart out to talk E into this one. And then I had to wait twelve very long weeks for the thing to be made and make the long trek across the wide, wide ocean from New Zealand to my home here in the middle of nowhere. AND I left town the day before it's scheduled delivery by the UPS man (who is probably one of my most favorite people ever). So, so worth the wait. It's sheer genius based on the stack 'em deep approach. Mine is a lovely Mediterranean blue/aqua combination that just makes me feel perkier. The only downside to this work of art is that we never go anywhere without swarms of ogling moms - and sometimes dads - wanting to know the particulars.

And here is a glimpse of mine in action.

When did parenting get so complicated...and bizarre?

So I'm by no means an expert at this parenting thing, but I've got three who have all miraculously survived their first year of life without the help of some of the gadgetry marketed toward parents as life-altering, must-haves. Now, a few things fall under the category of CAN'T-LIVE-WITHOUT. Say, pacifiers, diapers, a good sling or other such carrier and maybe a stroller. But I'm pretty sure something is wrong with this:

That's right, little teepees for preventing those shooting streams when the cold air meets the delicate bits. If you need these, you're not fast enough at the draw, partner. And, you do not currently have enough laundry to do.

Another unbelievable product:

Why spit? Why, why, why? Ever seen those handy little travel-size box of wipes?

And the gadget that probably started this rant on ridiculousness:

The Baby Keeper. Is it me, or is this just wrong, wrong, wrong? Really. Who hasn't juggled a wee one through a restroom visit? It is a really, really complicated task, so I'd concede the idea is interesting, but wouldn't this just be asking CPS to visit your doorstep? Was it so long ago that women were being cautioned NOT to hang handbags or other valuables on the stall hook because savvy thieves were reaching over and swiping those valuables right while you're least able to do anything about it because your fanny would be hanging out? I've never seen one of these actually in use, so maybe I'm not the only one disturbed by this bizarre invention.

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may

I am not a green-thumb. By no stretch of the imagination am I a green-thumb. This fact alone drives my mother quite batty since she is an avid and dedicated gardener. Our scruffy yard and generally passe attitude about it throws her in to the depths of despair and disbelief. She simply cannot understand how her own offspring could be so terribly lacking in horticultural talent AND have had the misfortune to marry someone equally lacking (sorry E!).

So it is with dismay that E and I have watched one particular English rosebush in our backyard produce the most lovely peachy roses in abundance every year since we planted it four years ago. No degree of neglect or abuse that we have unwittingly dished out has thwarted this remarkable bush. In fact, it seems the less we do for it, the more it thrives (this does not hold true for any other living thing in our yard except the weeds). So it is for this reason that I must dedicate a post solely to our persevering rosebush and it's lovely, lovely buds which can be found in my kitchen from May through November...

-~-~-~-

The world is a rose, smell it and pass it to your friends. ~Persian Proverb

It's good to be 1!

Ok, so maybe it's not. Especially because this poor guy won't be opening any presents, partaking of any birthday cake, or enjoying any festivities of any kind. At least not in the next few days. And to add insult to injury he is in the worst stage of a cold: tired, whiney, and a runny nose that just won't quit.

But! We do have a small triumph to share. Bubby is officially a walker. Drum roll please.........

Not that this is exactly breaking news. He's been on his feet to varying degrees quite a lot in the last 6 weeks or so, but he's really got it down now. And he is SOOOOO proud of himself.

So, come see grandma, and maybe we can share a cupcake or something.

Burn baby burn!!

The other day Bubby, Princess S and I were walking home after safely depositing Wonderboy in school, when Princess S asked me to sing songs to her. I asked what she wanted to hear a song about and she thought for a moment and said Ladybugs! I wracked my brain for a minute and the only thing I could come up with was a little rhyme mom taught me when I was little for sending a wayward ladybug on its way home. So I sang to S, "Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home. Your house in on fire and your children will burn!"...Whaaaa? Who would tell their three-year-old that horrifying little rhyme? Me apparently. And my own mom too, I guess. She looked at me in an appropriately horrified way and then began to try to sing it herself. Since that day she has asked to hear it over and over, and she sings it herself, only her version goes like this: "Ladybug, ladybug fly away home, your house is on fire and your children will be fired!" She sings the end with her best growly, demise-style voice and adds wiggly fire-like finger gestures. I've tried modifying the words to create a perky cheerful, not-depressing version, but she's not interested. She only wants to hear of the burning babies. I've created a monster who fantasizes about the sad, sad demise of ladybug babies! I've awakened a very morose and previously unrevealed facet of her personality!

Well, this morning I googled the rhyme and discovered I had it wrong. So if anyone needs to be set straight on how to appropriately send a ladybug on its way (although I'm not sure the correct version is any less horrible), here it is:

-Ladybug! Ladybug!

Fly away home.

Your house is on fire.

And your children are all gone.

All except one,

And that's little Ann

For she is hiding under the frying pan.

If the pumpkin fits, wear it!

Today we trekked out to our favorite pumpkin patch to ride a tractor-pulled wagon out to the patch to hunt for the coolest, biggest, smallest, bumpiest, greenest, fattest pumpkins we could find to pile up on the front porch. On the wagon with us was another family - 4 boys and 1 baby girl, the oldest of which was no older than our own oldest. Gulp. Each day with our own 3 busy ones is chaotic, tiring, joyful, frustrating, dramatic, aggravating, blissful, rewarding, agonizing and so much more. I truly cannot imagine having five young children (like my own mother had by my age) and maintaining any degree of sanity. But this was a happy and well-behaved brood today. Well-behaved and well mannered. It was actually my own son who busied himself telling (loudly) the wagon load of pumpkin patch visitors how funny it would be to be scared, not just out of one's pants, but also out of one's underwear, leaving one standing there nekkid. I seriously wonder if it's better to know what this kid is telling strangers, or to stick with the ignorance-is-bliss stand on things. There is a little knot in my stomach that developed when I got my parent/teacher conference appointment and I realized I will soon be face to face with one person who has probably heard A LOT of this boy's stories. I sort of take a no-news-is-good-news approach with the kindergarten teacher and his teacher at church. I generally avoid eye-contact with these two. Whatever they've heard, it probably isn't good. And if not exactly bad, at least a wee bit mortifying.

Anyway, I digress. The day was very enjoyable, although incredibly muggy - 90 degrees and 93% humidity in October?? Stupid Midwest weather. What's more, I was truly grateful that I only had to count to three when counting the number of little heads buckled in the back seats. And to be fair, Bubby is like two kids squeezed into the packaging of one.

And because you can never have too many cute-kid photos...here's a few more:

Oh, and growing older has its perks - "Lovely" ones.

Things you probably don't know about E

- If he didn't believe it would be wrong, he would clock Rick Steves over the head and take his travel show.

- It seems he is secretly attracted to older women. His crushes include Julia Child, Paula Deen and Miss Marple. So I guess the older I get, the more secure in our relationship I should be... provided I learn to cook better, or make a hobby of solving murder mysteries in my spare time while wearing a tweed skirt and sensible shoes. Strangely, he also likes Penelope Cruz. She isn't old ... does she cook?

- He has a disturbing knack at turning virtually anything I say into something vulgar and suggestive. Anything. Thankfully, he does not do this within earshot of anyone else.

- He likes shredded cheese over waffles, followed by syrup (blech!). This is a problem for me considering my food-segregation issues. I'm pretty sure waffles and cheese should not be combined.

- He really loves it when you tell him he's acting like a martyr. Really. Try it and see.

- He can't stand it when someone leaves the table without pushing in their chair. He will push in the offending chair with dramatic flourish to make sure you understand how much your rudeness has inconvenienced him.

- He cooks - but steer clear of the kitchen when he's working. If you enter the workzone, all bets are off and he will make you his next sous chef victim. Oh, and he's really bossy in the kitchen, so this is a fate you will want to avoid.

- He does not like marigolds or geraniums. I don't understand this given his generally cheerful and sunny disposition.

- He is a complete Masterpiece Theater junkie. Loves, loves, LOVES Masterpiece Theater. This might account in part for his crush on Miss Marple.