Halloween Festivities of 2012

Halloween – the holiday that keeps on giving.

We had 6 different Halloween celebrations this year.  And on top of that, the husband was pulling some crazy long days [working until midnight or later and getting up at the crack of dawn to continue] in order to meet an October 31st deadline.  Needless to say when the calendar flipped to November 1st I was quite relieved.  I adore the month of gratitude and giving, especially when it is mixed with  vibrant autumn colors and cool, crisp air – the perfect weather for sipping hot cocoa.

But back to October for a little bit longer.  At the beginning of the month I made Eli a batman cape at a Relief Society activity I attended. Ever since then he has worn it every day (even though he has never seen a Batman show in his life).  As Halloween approached we unexpectedly found a zip up batman coat for under $10 at Costco and hence his costume was born.  Eli decided to add some black mittens and his rain boots to complete his ensemble.

Cory originally wanted to be a zoologist for Halloween this year, but as the day approached, he went back to his tried and true firefighter outfit.  I think it is what he is most comfortable in.  (He must take after me – I have never been a huge fan of dressing up.  Something about drawing attention to myself.) For the last five years this is what he has been for Halloween.  That’s OK though, it’s right up my alley – nice and simple.

Together Keri and I brainstormed things that she likes and enjoys.  She loves everything about gymnastics so she decided to be a gymnast this year.

 

The above two pictures were taken at the Trunk or Treat party put on by the youth of our ward (aka church congregation).  [Randy decided to stay home with Ari since it was raining; this also allowed him to rest a bit since he had been pulling so many late nights.]

When we first set out to go trick-or-treating, it was still a bit rainy like it usually is in Western Washington. However, after about 20 minutes, the clouds rolled on through and it was a perfectly mild night for Halloween – it has definitely been a while since I didn’t shiver while taking the kids out.  The night wasn’t quite as magical as last year [Eli's boots ended up really bothering his feet so we had a grumpy 4 year old for most of the evening], but it was still enjoyable.

When Halloween finally rolled around, Eli decided he wanted to be a fire fighter just like his older brother.  It’s a good thing we have two very similar rain coats.

I must admit I am a little embarrassed by the amount of candy my kids managed to haul in this season. I should try and find a local dentist who will pay them for their sugar loot … at least for the most part they don’t gorge themselves on it. It helps that I keep it out of sight and out of mind – though I really need to stop munching on it myself .

Capturing The Moments

Keri started 4th grade when the new school year began in September.  So far 4th grade definitely seems to be a transitional year, a year of growth from being a young elementary school student to learning how to get ready for middle school.  The students seem to be taking on more responsibility, their school work has become much more challenging and they are realizing how difficult life can truly be. It definitely isn’t always black and white.

Each month Keri has an at-home project for school that she must complete and then give an in class presentation on what she learned.  This month the project is about Family Celebrations and Traditions.

I used to think I was a decent journal writer, decent meaning frequent … or at least when memorable events happened.

I also used to think I was a decent photographer, decent meaning someone who captured the every day life and other holiday events that occurred (not necessarily meaning the photos turned out expertly).

However, as Keri and I were going through old snapshots to look for pictures that captured the family celebration she chose to honor (our annual Christmas Eve Dinner with most of the family on my side who live in Los Angeles), I realized that my ability to record our family history has been anything but proficient lately, especially during the last couple of years.  I think having three little ones in the home has something to do with it.

Capturing the moments and preserving family history has also been on my mind a lot because my last living grandparent (all 4 of my grandparents were alive most of my life), my Grandma who is 89, was just diagnosed with lymphoma.  This just makes me realize even more how precious life is and how important it is to capture and preserve our time together.

Lately my philosophy has been to capture the moment purely in my memory, but I realize I want to strike a good balance between living my life and preserving it.  I want to have more pictures of our time together with friends and family, and I also want to make sure I capture the simple moments, the mundane moments and the ordinary moments.

I realize, too, that I want to start zooming in less on some of the pictures I take. I want to remember what the floor looked like with toys strewn around, what the kitchen island looked like when all the Christmas Eve dinner was sitting on it and what items sat on the bookshelves and fireplace mantles.

Anyway, here are a few snapshots I have taken so far this Fall. [But first, a quick side note.  In my previous post I was lamenting the fact that summer was over, but let me tell you, Western Washington has had an exquisite Autumn so far.  We have had many days with lots of brilliant sunshine. I am in love!]

One other thing I am quickly realizing – I need to give up my camera shyness.  I typically don’t like to look at pictures of me, so normally I make sure I am the one behind the lens.  However, that doesn’t do me much good if I am trying to capture and preserve our family history.

Halloween 2010 – A Firefighter, A Witch, and a Little Boy who refused to wear a costume

Halloween Night – Making Nice Monster Puppets

Halloween Night – Cory Cataloging His Sorted Candy

Halloween Night – Keri Cataloging Her Sorted Candy

Eli drinking the leftover of mommy’s hot chocolate.

Eli only ever wants to play with the real deal. Here he has an old digital camera with batteries and his cherished Dustbuster.

Happy Halloween (We Missed You, Daddy!)

The husband has been gone all week on a business trip.  (Who ever planned a business trip to involve Halloween weekend probably doesn’t have kids.  And while we are on the subject of not having kids , whoever enacted the time change law also must not have kids!?!)

Let me tell you it has been a long and tiring week, but I also know I was strengthened beyond my own means.  I never could have survived without all the prayers being said.  I even woke up with a lousy migraine this morning, but thankfully some medicine and 8 year old Keri came to my rescue. She “babysat” the kidlets while I attempted to get some extra shut-eye this morning.

Anywho, here are some fun pictures of our adventurous evening last night.  We first went to our Church’s trunk-or-treat party and then the two older kids went trick-or-treating in a local neighborhood.  (Much thanks to my dear friend who watched Eli for us so he didn’t have to freeze!)

Trying to get all 3 kids to look at the camera at the same time is not an easy feat.  Hence the candy wrapper and bulge
in little Eli’s mouth.

These two kids adore each other!  Best buddies!

Maybe our little 15 month old tiger should have been a monkey. He loves to scale everything!

The kids had a blast last night!  Cory declared that Halloween is his favorite holiday. Keri likes it second best, Christmas ranks first for her.

On the agenda for this week?

My husband is having foot surgery on Wednesday.  And there is supposed to be a three week recovery for it.  Hopefully it goes well and hopefully I will still be standing after a month long bout of parenting on the solo side !

How To Get Rid Of Halloween Candy

Do you have too much Halloween candy on hand from all your trick-or-treating munchkins? Or too much left over from trick-or-treaters who never visited?

Besides doing scientific experiments on it or running a small candy store where your kids trade in their treats for little toys or fun family outing coupons, try freezing some or putting it in your food storage.  We like to do this and recycle their treats into their Christmas stockings, Valentine’s Day gifts, etc.

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

It is hard to believe November is here. Thanksgiving (one of my favorite holidays) is in a few weeks.  And Keri promptly told me this morning that Christmas is in 55 days. Yikes!

A Woggle of Books

I adore libraries.

I love meandering up and down the quiet aisles perusing the titles of dozens and dozens of books.

I love holding a book in my hands and thumbing through  its pages which hold the words of a story waiting to be devoured.

Not only do I love finding great reads for me, but I also get a thrill out of finding literary treasures I know my kids will enjoy.  I can spend forever and a day in the picture book section of the library poring over all it has to offer.  In fact, I don’t think I can enter a library …  even when I don’t have kids with me … without stopping in the children’s section.  It is too enticing.

While in the library today with my three little ones, I absentmindedly picked up a Halloween book.  As soon as I looked at the cover I was flooded with a myriad of memories.  (Don’t you love it when something you see, hear, smell or taste brings back pleasant childhood memories?  I cherish these unexpected trips down memory lane.) Instantly I knew this was a book I wanted to share with my kids.

I remember reading this book, “A Woggle of Witches,” as a young child. I remember curling up on our family room couch and being fascinated by the paintings this author-illustrator, Adrienne Adams, created.

It was charming and magical.

It taught me that a woggle is a medium-sized group of witches.  It taught me that witches like to eat bat stew.  It taught me that witches get scared, too.

This book probably helped sparked my love for the Autumn season.

And now it has sparked my new obsession with the word woggle.

Woggle.  Woggle.  Woggle.

Although I think I am going to use it to mean anything medium-sized … medium being relative.

I should now hurry off and attend to the woggle of books waiting for me in the other room.

Hmmm.  Maybe the stack is more like a woggle times a woggle.  Or a woggle to the woggleth degree.

It’s Autumn Time

If you know me at all, then you must know that I positively adore Autumn and everything about it.

Crisp, cool nights.  Seeing the trees ablaze with color.  Relishing new beginnings that come with the start of a fresh school year.  The smell of pumpkin, mingled with cinnamon and other spices.  Snuggling under soft, cozy blankets on your bed late at night and early in the morning.  Sipping a steaming mug of hot cocoa.  Indulging in delicious pumpkin chocolate chip bread.

‘Tis the best season indeed.

And since we love Fall, we obviously have to decorate to help us celebrate.  The kids enjoyed helping me put up some simple decorations around the house.

For the last few years we have had fun making egg carton spiders, but this year we decided to try a new spider craft thanks to the generosity of California Raisins.  They sent us a package that included all the ingredients to make a batch of Spooky Raisin Spiders.

The verdict?

The kids had a blast mixing up these no-bake treats in the kitchen and they loved decorating the spiders with colorful eyes and wiggly legs.  Since there is so much candy and sugar around Halloween time, it was nice to have a somewhat more healthy alternative.  (Although, for one of my kids this was especially healthy because she didn’t so much care for the taste of the treat, but she thoroughly enjoyed putting her creative skills to work.)

Many of you probably already have the ingredients on hand to whip up this in-the-kitchen craft-treat, but I am still going to offer one lucky US resident reader the chance to win their own Spooky Raisin Spider kit.

What do you need to do?  Simply leave a comment on this post before Tuesday October 20th.

If you want to be entered into this giveaway three times, then in your comment answer at least one of the following questions:

• What are you or your kiddos going to be for Halloween?
• What do you love about Autumn?

If you want to be entered into this giveaway five times, then write about this giveaway on your blog or your Facebook or Twitter account. If you do this, though, please make sure you tell me in your comment.

I hope you are having a …

Happy Autumn!

“So Cute It’s Scary”

Happy Halloween from our house to yours!

Keri, our fairy princess.

Cory, our firefighter … or “firefire” as he says it.

Eli, our little “so cute its scary” ghost.

Family photo from the annual Trunk-or-Treat party.

Our itty bitty mess free candy pumpkins.

Our kids giggling up a storm as they say, “Chicken boogers!”

Happy Halloween!

My Grandfather’s Funeral and Some October Activities

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to attend my Grandpa’s funeral in Southern California. Even though I am 32 years old, I had never been to funeral before.  I found it fitting that the first one I ever went to was so meaningful and tender. 

Of course many tears were shed by those in attendance, but we were all grateful that my grandfather was able to live such a full and complete life and that he is in a better place now for I know his spirit still lives.  He was just a few months shy of turning 90 when he peacefully slipped away.  My grandpa was always a very goal oriented kind of person and his goal was  to live until he was 90.  He basically made it to that major milestone.

I readily enjoyed hearing the memories and stories which were shared by the speakers.  Most of the thoughts shared were rather enlightening, some were even quite humorful.  The thoughts shared just further demonstrated the quiet wisdom my grandfather possessed. 

He was truly an exemplary teacher.  It was obvious that many, many people were touched and changed by the things he said and simply by the way he conducted his day to day life.   He was a kind hearted soul who never passed judgement upon any.

My grandfather left a remarkable legacy and I am grateful to be a part of his heritage.  His passing away has sparked within me an even stronger desire to get to know my ancestors better and to bring about honor to all of their names.

I am grateful my husband was so willing to watch Cory and Keri for a week while Eli and I were able to fly to my parent’s home.  Cory even got the stomach flu while I was away, yet Rudy still kept his head up and lovingly took care of him.

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And on a completely separate note, I wanted to re-share a few fun and easy Fall and Halloween activities.  I have posted about these before, but I thought I would briefly mention them again.

Mess Free Pumpkins are always a hit with the kids.  It is a great alternative to carving pumpkins, and the kids enjoy munching on the candy while they create their masterpiece.

Kids also get a kick out of making these egg carton spiders, especially little boys who adore creepy, crawly things.

And no Autumn season is complete without baking and indulging in Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.  I made some while on this trip to California and it was inhaled rather quickly.

And lastly, this simple Fall Centerpiece will always brighten up a room.

Happy October!

The Lowdown On Trunk-or-Treat

One of the moms in Keri’s first grade class recently asked me what we were going to do to celebrate Halloween. I casually replied that one of the things we like to do is attend our Church’s annual Trunk-or-Treat party.

She looked at me with this incredulous look on her face and asked, “A what kind of party?”

“A Trunk-or-Treat party,” I explained. Apparently this social phenomenon isn’t understood by everyone.

So what is a Trunk-or-Treat party? It is when a bunch of people get together (i.e. through a Church, neighborhood or school organization) to celebrate Halloween, but instead of going door-to-door trick-or-treating, you go trunk-to-trunk trick-or-treating. People park in a big lot, decorate their trunk and hand out candy to those dressed in costumes.

**Picture courtesy of Google. I was too busy following my trunk-or-treaters to snap any outdoor shots of my own.**

There are a myriad of benefits to this type of activity. For example, it prevents people from getting hit by cars (the parking area is normally roped off), the candy is safe (everyone knows everyone since you are part of a community) and it is an extremely family friendly environment.

If you don’t have one in your area, you should really think about starting this new tradition.

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For more Fall activities, check out Scribbit’s Winter Bazaar carnival. For more Works-For-Me-Wednesday participants, check out Shannon of Rocks In My Dryer.

My Halloween Pets

Have a safe and happy Halloween!