HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

BOO!!!

Did I scare you??  I love Halloween!  Not as much as my sister mind you - she is Halloween crazy!  We have discussed the possible need for an intervention when she heads for the Halloween department at Target!  Every year she throws this fabulous Halloween party for her son, his friends (and some of hers!) and she goes all out (or so I hear - we're too far away to actually attend ;( )  Anyway, I love it too, but I pale in comparison!  This year my kids are even more into it than usual - don't know why but Big S was about to jump out of her skin on the way to school today!  We had the Kid's Bop Halloween CD playing and she was rocking out!

Anyway, I am looking forward to the fun of the day!  I will have LOTS of pictures later, stay tuned.......

Girl Scout camping trip

So, Big S's girl scout troop went camping last weekend (cabin, not tent, let's be clear on that!!)  and one of the tasks in front of them to earn one of their badges was to build a fire...

  
it looks promising!

 

the beginning of something... will it catch??

the moms have earned the fire starter patch!!  yea for us!!!!  

next season's winners...

I enjoy Dancing with the Stars but don't often get a chance to watch it, so if you hate spoilers don't look at the picture below!!

I got this picture from "still crazy after all these years" at www.ccdmom.blogspot.com and thought it was so hysterical I had to put it on my spot too!! I am refraining from making political comments because it has gotten so ugly that I can't stand to hear all the back and forth anymore - this on the other hand I enjoy greatly!!

family self portrait

So, I took the girls' pictures yesterday for our Christmas cards and we decided to do a family portrait with the self-time on my camera - it could be worse!  The goal is to make it b&w so all the jersey colors are less obvious - everyone has on a jets' jersey except me - mine is a GB Favre but since the # is the samd it will be fine in b&w!!  This will also appear on our Christmas cards most likely so sorry to those of you who will have to see it twice!

to the pumpkin patch....

Little G's girl scout troop went to the pumpkin patch/corn maze/apple orchard the other day and I thought I'd post a few shot of that beautiful October day in the midwest!!

Little G looking for the perfect pumpkin

Little S on the hunt too - she gave up, her perfect pumpkin just wasn't there that day!

Bid S found her pumpkin but wasn't thrilled with having to lug it back through the apple orchard to the car!!  As one of the 2nd graders said - you picked it, you carry it, if it's too heavy, don't pick it!!  Words from the wise!

Just a little perspective of how tiny Little G is (on the right) her friend is NOT big for her age!!

Some pumpkins waiting for a home....

When good pumpkins go bad....

Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund walk

 Saturday we participated in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes.  This was our second year walking on the Steppin' For Sarah team and it was a wonderful day for a wonderful cause!  Our friends' daughter was diagnosed 4 years ago and I believe the team as a whole raised about $17,000 for juvenile diabetes research!!  The day was beautiful and there was so much to do before and after the walk - they do a really great job putting the walk together!  We'd be happy to walk without any of the frills, knowing what a great cause it is!!

Little G, Litte S and Hubby on the route by the river - more than halfway done!! 

Big S toting her backpack - apparently she needed some supplies with her!!

Part of the crowd ahead of us heading over the river and to the finish line!                             

Our team was a top family team!!  Go Sarah!

 

A picture of our top fundraising competition within the team!  He and his wife were a couple hundred ahead of us - we'll get them next year!!!

If you are interested in supporting JDRF or finding a walk near you go to  www.jdrf.org !!

my babies are growing up!!

So, school pictures came home yesterday and hubby took his copies to put in his office and this morning he sent me these images!  The quality isn't great, but you can't miss the obvious - they grow up so fast!!

 Big S - 3rd grade, 4th grade and now 5th grade - going on 15!!
 Little S - 1st grade, 2nd grade and now 3rd grade!!
 Little G - Ki, 1st grade and now 2nd grade!!

Hard to believe they used to be so tiny!  Big S and Little S were both under 6lbs when they were born!  Truth be told, they are all still small compared to their peers, but big when they are trying to curl up on my lap!  My how time flies!!!

Hubby's back

After 2 weeks in the UK for work, hubby is back!  We are all quite happy - there were some ggod times in the estrogen only house, like when the rabbits got loose in the garage and we spent 45 minutes flushing them out, like the week of bookfair in which the girls spent as much time with me in there as they did in their classrooms that week and of course when they got to come listen to me speak at Bible study at 8:30pm thursday night cuz I couldn't leave them at home alone that late at night!  I'm sure they appreciated my examination of the Stations of the Cross from the prespective of Jesus' Sacre Heart, but it did get them home later than I would prefer!  He even met us at the pumpkin patch with Little G's girl scout troop - the girls were thrilled!  He on the other hand was toast!  Jet lagged, exhausted and really wanting a shower after traveling for about 10 hours!  

Yesterday me and Big S went for our hair appts - she got quite a trim - agout 4+inches!  I had decided several months ago that I wanted to go dark in the fall and so I did - well, we tried!!  My girlfriend is in the final month at cosmetology school and she does a fabulous job, but sometimes when you are there, there are too many cooks in the kitchen - that was the case yesterday!  Amazingly she and I both pointed to the same dye swatch the very first time, so we both knew what I wanted and how to get it!  Being a student, she has to have a teacher sign off on her formula before she mixes it and the teacher told her to add some red to prevent me from getting too ashen - a reasonable point.  Well, it didn't work out that way of course!  The red she told her to use had a blue base (rather than an orange base I guess) and my hair picked that up and although I LOVED the depth of the color and darkness, it had a purple hue that apparently was quite noticable in the light!  Big S said it was perfect for Halloween!  Just what I had in mind!  My friend was really upset because she did what she was told instead of going with her instinct and she was right!  Anyway, they used some sort of clarifying concoction on me - it involved salt, peroxide and some other stuff - anyway, the purple came out, but so did most of the color, bummer.  So, I am going back on friday to try again - the way we wanted to this time!!  Fingers crossed!!!

Dear Paul..

 

Dear Paul,

You made many hearts flutter with your gorgeous baby blues.  You championed many causes, made others aware simply by putting your name in front of ith to get their attention, chose to be a real man rather than a womanizer (which would have been any easy choice) and stayed with your lovely wife through thick and thin, filled many pantries and refrigerators with your fabulous foods, but most of all, I will remember you for a night that was probably nothing more than ordinary to you.  When I was 16, my parents surprised me and my sister on our way back from visiting family in Canada and stopped in NYC for a few days!  We were so excited to see the Big Apple!  One of those nights, we ate dinner at a restaraunt called a Dish of Salt and while our patient waiter was trying to take our order, my mother glanced across the room and saw you and your wife dining together.  She was totally start struck and tongue tied and I'm pretty sure that he gave up and came back later to take her order when she had regained the gift of speech!  As a teenager, I thought it was cool to see a star, for my mom, it was even more since she had adored him for a long time!  Thank you Paul, not only for all you did for the public at large, but also for all the things you never even knew you did that touched our lives and made us feel even the tiniest connection to you!  Rest in Peace.

Finally, the girls' weekend report!!

The destination this year?  Reno of course!!  We rented a house up in the hills with a very nice view of the golf course below and the hills beyond.  Of course all we really need is a place to sleep, a compfy living room with enough space for the 5 of us to sit, chat, eat, drink....  and a decent kitchen for Miss Bloom to work her magic in!!   It really doesn't matter where we are as long as we are together!! 
  and of course we always have our needles going while we do all the rest!!
 I believe that Miss Bloom may have started this one last year!!
 H doing her magic with the needles!!
 The ToeTat5 on the rooftop over Reno!  Friends are one of our greates gifts from God!
 Me and Ranch Girl
 H, Miss Bloom and Ranch Girl
 Jen, the Mom from Cheaper than therapy - one of the few times that the camera caught her before she caught the photographer looking her way!  I believe that she was playing "Butterfly Kisses" on the bottle!!

The trip is always too short and the time in between them too long.  The thing about the weekend is just being together, catching up on all the things that have happened during the year that never seem to warrant a seperate email or phone call, but always seem to come up in conversation when we are together.  It is knowing that there are four other women in the world who love for who I am, just the way I am, fat, thin, happy, sad, crazy...!  It is so great to just be together and hang out without any other distractions!  Those 3 or 4 days together are worth the 12 month wait each year!  Love you girls!!  See you next year in SB!!!

Sugar Skulls

So, are all of you familiar with the Mexican tradition of celebrating the Day of the Dead on November 1st?  Well,  we first became aware of the celebration because the Hispanic ministries at our parish hold a wonderful celebration and decoration the narthex every year.  Anyway, we are also big fans of the Indianapolis Arts Center (IAC) - all of us have taken classes here over the last several years including ceramics, pottery, photography, glass blowing...  So, the long and short of it is that IAC does this amazing Day of the Dead celebration that last most of the month of October and the first part of November every year!  The inside is decorated with all of these amazing alters and the grounds have shrines - all of which are made by artists and are absolutely amazing (once they're up, I'll post some pictures!)  Below is a modest (and small) example of some of the alters that are on display.

So, yesterday the girls and I went to IAC for the sugar skull making workshop.  We (and by we I mean me) messed up - thinking it was an open house workshop rather that a 3 hour workshop, we showed up late and missed the part of the workshop where you actually make the skulls, but we were still able to each decorate a skull, so here is the final product(s)...

 mine

 Big S and her sugar skull

 Little G and her sugar skull

 Little S and her sugar skull

It was a lot of fun.  They gave us some sugar skulls, brightly colored frosting and a baggie full of glitter, feather and other fun things to decorate our skulls.  It was a creative free-for-all and we had a blast!  We were the last ones to leave - we were having so much fun!  They gave us the receipe (but of course you have to have the molds to make the skulls in) so may be we'll be able to make them on our own one day.  Next year we'll know to get there for the start of the workshop so that we can make the skulls in addition to decorating them!!

Why I've been MIA....

So, I know that I've been MIA from blogland, but really, truly, I have a valid excuse!!  For the second year in a row, I have chaired the book fair at the girls' school.  Although it is a very successful event, it takes up all of my time for the week and a half - there is delivery, then set-up and decorating, then teacher preview day  - then the weekend to recouperate - then the book fair is all week 8am-3pm, plus one evening during the week then open again during our Fall Family Fun  Night (which is super crazy busy).  We usually raise a fairly good chunck of cash which we turn back around into book credits (which double our take) and put more books into our classrooms!  It's a win win situation, but I am usually dead tired by the end of the week.  It iw worth it and I love doing it, but it doesn't leave me any time for myself during that week and a half, so I apologize to both of my readers!!

 part of our book fair set up!  they did a GREAT job with the decorations!!  It was a safari theme this year!

My fabulous birthday surprise!!

So, I return from my fabulous girls trip to Reno to open the garage door and find my birthday present waiting for me!  Then the girls and hubby jumped out and yelled "surprise!!"  I was so excited!!  I LOVE my cute little green beetle bug!  The girls and I are having so much fun buzzing around town in it!!  The Armada is hanging out and we will use it for camping, Costco runs,road trips,  carpooling etc... but the darling Beetle Bug will be my every day run around town car!

Isn't it darling?  Here it is that night with the with the big red bow and all my hand made cards!!  Great present, huh?!?