Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween

I'm live blogging Halloween...







Only there's nothing to live blog...

In the past 90 minutes we've had 8 trick or treaters. We went all out for the yard decorations this year, too. We got the skulls at Target (that warn you, ominously, not to touch or handle the decorations too much. In my mind, that's scarier than the actual skull appearances.). We got the foam gravestones at Target. Of course we got the obligatory cobweb stuff. Which, what is that made of? I don't know.

Anyway, here is Rose #1. She is Dracula. Courtesy of a very fine face makeup job by yours truly. Immediately after the photo was taken she gagged on the vampire teeth and handed them, spit and all, to me. Sigh. Mom is always the receptacle of garbage and spitty vampire teeth.
Rose #2 is some sort of a skeleton robot. This skeleton killer robot has teeth. If you look very carefully at the mask you can see the human-appearing teeth. That's the scariest part of the costume to me. Who would put human teeth on a robot? Imagine collecting them and then having to WELD them to the robot head.
Rose #3 is a Bridesmaid from the Twenties (the nineteen twenties). This is the term I made up to cover the fact that her costume is actually a thrift store dress and a $3.99 hat from Savers with a little veil that looks like it could have been from the 1920s. Anyway she loves it.
Here's the Crew From Halloween 2011:
If you want to leave a comment and it is that I need to do something about the hostas in our front yard, you can just keep your comment to yourself.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Do You Dress Fashion?

On Saturday Rose #2 and #3 and I went to Cherokee Park to play. Cherokee Park was Guppy's favorite park, and we went there last year on her birthday also. This year was not so fortuitous. Rose #3 had to go potty as soon as we got there. I am often sort of annoyed when we reach our destination and my child immediately needs to visit the bathroom, especially when the destination is 5 minutes from our house and, since it's October, THE PARK BATHROOMS ARE CLOSED.

I have to take some portion of the guilt, though, as I did not coerce or even remind the Roses to go potty before we left.

So as we were trekking over to the bathrooms to see if they are open, I may have been the tiniest bit crabby. Rose #3, picking up on my annoyance, reflects it right back on me. She eyes me critically and says: "DO YOU DRESS FASHION? NO."

She meant, of course, are you interested in fashion? Do you try to keep up with the latest fashion trends? Do you attempt to look stylish (ever) or (when going to the park on a Saturday afternoon after a full day of housecleaning)? The answer, of course, is that I do not dress fashion....

But Rose #3 does. Proof (she forces me to lay out her clothing on the rug the night before so that she can see if it looks good enough to wear):

Further proof: she makes me take a photograph of the clothes so she can look at them on the camera for further indication of if they will look good.

OK, I may have made that last bit up. But the rest of it really happened!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Happy Birthday Mom


Today would have been Guppy's 69th birthday. We are hosting a birthday party for her tonight at our house. Is it weird to have a birthday party for your deceased mother? I don't care. Tonight we will gather to eat Savoy's pizza - they have sauerkraut pizza! - to drink wine, to eat birthday cake with pinoche icing (which is kind of yucky, I have to confess), and to play Bingo. I would trade it all for one more day with my mom.

She has missed so many things. Franny's birth, Duncan's birth, Eli and Brenna getting the wonderful news that they are expecting TWINS, Andy losing 100+ lbs, and all the normal day-to-day things that she loved to keep up with. I called her almost every day when she was alive just to chat and go over the events of the day. Things about her grandbabies, things about my job, things about just normal every day stuff. I still reach for the phone when I get in my car after work (I know! I know! It's a bad idea to talk and drive!). When will I lose the automatic reflex to call my mom when something happens?


I will post photos from the birthday party later. Mom, I miss you so much. I wish you were here with us.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Rose #2's Outlook On Things

Poor Rose #2 isn't feeling well today. She wrote me and her dad a note:



Dere Mommy I love you and Daddy so much I very very glad to have you as a parent you are teching me to learn my maners you tech me when I grow up I have to do a lot of work.

p.s. Do you like my drawing yes or no?

****

OMG, especially the last part. All I have managed to teach my child is manners (sort of) and the fact that when she grows up, she will have to do a lot of work.

I think we need some playtime around this house. A vacation, maybe. How can I swing that? How can I manage that? We could go somewhere close - Duluth maybe? Wisconsin Dells? Anybody have a good close-ish trip idea for a family of 5?

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Oh Yeah, The Other Stuff

You know that scene in Star Wars where Darth Vader is dressed up in his camouflage jammies, and he has to have a light saber battle?

Oh, no?

Maybe they didn't have that scene after all. But WE DID!

I really like how Darth Vader stands in the ready position, just waiting for his opponent to approach:
But wait! There must have been a costume change! Now Darth Vader is a cowperson with sunglasses, a gripper, a necklace, and a need for appreciation (get it - the clapper -appreciation?)!!
Rose #1 was of the opinion that I haven't been posting enough, and she was also of the opinion that I should have had a photo of her from the apple orchard - she was there, after all - and she's right on both counts.

Boy howdy, is it ever time for bed! Have a nice week, all.

Apple Pickin' (And Other Stuff)

Today we went to Whistling Well Farm, a fine pick-your-own apple place that hasn't been overly commercialized like some other apple orchards nearby. Guppy found Whistling Well and we've kept the tradition going. This is Baby Duncan's first year of apple picking:

There was much scrambling for a place to pose for pictures in a tree. Here's Rose #3, triumphant that she secured a spot:

And Rose #2, smiling very large:
Baby Franny was super happy to get her own apple, even though it was kind of a sour one. She kept making sucking noises, smacking at her apple, and then looking very surprised that it was so sour! Rose #1 is calling her "puckerface" as we sit here.
We tried so hard to get everyone to sit still for a photo amongst the pumpkins. And the SUVs, it turns out. Anyway, from left to right: Rose #3, Maddie, Beatrice (holding Franny), Rose #2 (behind, turning head away), Sam, Kate, Rose #1 (holding Chunky Dunky), and Gus.
It was a good day to be at the apple orchard, if a bit windy. We had a picnic afterwards, really going for that 100% Guppy Approval Factor, but it was very cold and windy. No one wanted to stay long - we just ate and ran, pretty much. Uncle Candle's wedding ring fell off as he was playing football with Uncle Rico, and it fell into the fallen dry autumn leaves. Luckily Uncle Rico was able to find it right away. Uncle Candle wrapped a band-aid around it so it wouldn't fall off again.