Happy Halloween!

One of my favorite things about Halloween is that I get to eat candy that I would normally not spend money on when I'm at a store. Take Milk Duds, for instance. I LOVE Milk Duds, but I don't think I've ever actually bought them. I mean, do they even have Milk Duds in the check out line? I don't think I've ever seen them in a store at all, come to think of it. So as I sit and make the effort to chew my milk duds (not an easy task), I see disapproving looks coming from Mark. He thinks it's mean to dip into the kids candy buckets. I have many points to dispute this thought:

1) Mark doesn't like our kids to have much candy in the first place.
2) I am a self-proclaimed candy addict and it's impossible to see massive amounts of chocolate without indulging.
3) Our kids are getting old--we did 2 neighborhoods instead of just our development and both kids have a rediculous amount of candy.
4) If we don't help the kids eat it, it will last until January, and I personally don't even like the candy to infringe on our Christmas cookie season because there's already so much food to enjoy during December.
5) Isn't it the God-given right of every parent to dip into their kids Halloween buckets? I mean come on--my mom did it. It's the circle of life!

Anyway, we had a GREAT Halloween this year. Mark got to go trick-or-treating with us for the first time in years. Jake had a fun class party and school parade that Rory and I got to help with. And we had a blast running into so many neighbors and kids from school that we're getting to know. Sometimes suburban America is nothing short of wonderful. =)

Pumpkin Time

I am a person of tradition. If something is done one year, it must be done the following year. My mom did it this way growing up, and I think it's just bred into me now. Although my mom does say that when we were kids, if she let something go or we skipped something, I was the one who demanded that things go the traditional way. I was not a fan of change--I think it made me feel secure and I liked knowing that our family did things certain ways. I feel it's really important to help create a feeling of security, fun, and festiveness in my kids lives, so they can look back at their childhoods and proclaim to all the world the way things were done in our family. I'm thinking this mostly pertains to holidays and special occasions, but I've seen it creep into other facets of our lives too.

So in saying all this, it's hard to let go of a traditional fall activity this year, but it's with good reason. We have carved a big jack-o-lantern every year since before we had kids. Usually it's the week before Halloween. Last year we made a huge event out of it, first carving the pumpkin, then having hot chocolate with pumpkin peep marshmallows, and finishing by watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Obviously, this is the most fabulous event in my mind because I'm so psychotic about fall, and I planned to make it an annual family evening.

BUT...I didn't count on life changing so much between then and now. First of all, Jake is in school, and on top of that, we are involved in so much more now than we were when we first moved here, and we finally know more people. This week, being the week before Halloween, is CRAZY! We had a costume party with our Young Adult (college/career) group from church, Rory has a Halloween party with her library story time class, we have a friends costume party and bonfire with a ton of people from church Thursday night, and then Friday Jake has his class costume party and parade at school, which Rory and I will also be going to. There was simply no time to carve a pumpkin! I'm willing to let go just this year and not freak out about it, because the kids are having SUCH a fun week with alternative festive events, instead of our little homemade one. But rest assured, it's in the back of my mind to pick back up next October. Maybe we need to do it 2 weeks before Halloween...

21 days and counting until the constant beating over our heads that is campaign commercials comes to an end.

40 Things You May Not Know About Me

Someone challenged me to do this and it was hard, but fun.


1. Green is my favorite color (okay, so maybe you know that one since practically all my clothes and half my shoes are green)
2. I grew up the oldest of 4 kids with a single mom.
3. I love hiking and canoeing.
4. I’ve had 8 holes pierced into my body, and only the first two are left.
5. I had my gallbladder removed in college.
6. I wear sneakers every day (although since Christmas, my Crocs are giving them a run for their money).
7. I saw a real Viking ship sale into Dublin, Ireland the only time it’s ever happened since the invasions thousands of years ago.
8. Once the weather is cool, I burn candles every day.
9. Ever since I was a little kid, I have fainted EVERY SINGLE time I’ve puked.
10. In 9’th grade after puking, I fainted, then simultaneously split my chin open on the bathtub, and burned my arm (2’nd degree!) on a radiator. =)
11. For someone who hates working out, I was a pretty good athlete back in the day and actually won athletic awards. (it’s okay—you can giggle at that one).
12. New Hampshire is my favorite state.
13. I love oldies.
14. Growing up, my walls were covered with hockey posters, but now I know nothing about it and football has taken over.
15. I took a cake decorating class.
16. My mom let my sister and I have friends sleep over just about every weekend of my life.
17. I used to play the piano, flute, and guitar.
18. I went to a boarding school in NH for my last 2 years of high school.
19. My sister is tall, blond, trendy, and runs marathons, while I am average, brunette, wear the same clothes forever, and hate exercising, but we make each other laugh a LOT!
20. I’m in love with New York City.
21. As a kid, I took ice skating lessons and gymnastics.
22. I'm a big-time morning person.
23. When I'm sick, I babble the ears off of whatever person is near me and don't realize I'm doing it.
24. I have 14 rubbermaid bins of Christmas decorations.
25. My cousin and I once spent 9 hours straight swimming and playing in a NH lake.
26. My favorite part of the day is choosing my morning coffee mug.
27. My laundry room walls are covered with pieces of my history and things that make me smile.
28. I still like toys and cartoons just as much as when I was my kids' ages.
29. My husband and I are extreme opposites, but a lot alike---it doesn't make sense, but it works.
30. I love sleeping with the windows open and piled with quilts.
31. In 8'th grade my friend and I used to go to Au bon Pain every Friday night and order a ham and cheese croissant and Coke for $3.33.
32. I always considered myself a city girl, but lately I'm wanting to live in the country (as long as we're close enough to drive to the city).
33. I realized recently that my love of old movies stems from the fact that my mom and my grandmother always did too, and I've become determined to pass this on to Rory (along with our love of books). She just watched her first Shirley Temple movie.
34. I biked for an entire day around Cape Cod and the next day, literally could not sit down.
35. My ringtone has always been "Over the Rainbow" with a few others thrown in seasonally.
36. For someone who's not that into clothes, I have 2 and a half drawers of graphic tees.
37. My favorite food is a really well done Italian sub.
38. I have a GIGANTIC collection of cookie cutters.
39. I watch all my Christmas DVD's in November so in December I can watch the movies that are on TV--I even love the cheesy ones on Lifetime every afternoon in December.
40. I eat popcorn about every other night.

My Favorite Month

"October is the glory and magnificence of the year's late afternoon."
--Hal Borland (The Twelve Moons of the Year)

The Man With the Spatula

Most people probably wouldn't look at Mark and automatically assume he's a cook. And he probably wouldn't call himself one, but I must proclaim to all the world that he has a gift. I think this gift involves spatulas. I'm telling you, anything he touches with a spatula turns to gold. Mark has been making pancakes with our kids on Saturdays mornings since they were old enough to stand on a stool. But it's his omelettes that have so impressed me over the years. I've been making my own omelettes since I was a kid, but once we'got married and Mark made me that first omelette years ago, I don't bother to make my own anymore. I don't know what he does to make them so perfect, and I think I've decided I don't want to know. I love cooking, but it's kind of fun that his are so much more yummo. The really cool thing is that he seems to have so much fun making them that he doesn't mind if I randomly ask for one. This weekend the spatula gift was confirmed. I was sick with a knock-me-over kind of cold and no food sounded good to me except for mild things like soup or english muffins. Mark made me the most delactable grilled cheese of my life. It wasn't anything fancy--plain white bread, one slice of american cheese--so I don't know why it tasted so good. I guess I'm just chalking it up to my husband's gift.

September, Here We Come!

Since having my kids and becoming a stay-at-home mom, my life has been very slow, for lack of a better word. I've had all the time in the world to do things. Once we moved to Columbus, it became slower than ever because of not knowing many people. I became involved more than ever in my online world, which involved numerous blogs I read, browsing for any and everything, and of course, facebook. Suddenly, life isn't like that anymore. For the past 6 or 7 months, we've been busy, but it seems since July, busier than ever. It's a good busy though--getting Jake started in school and all the meetings that go with that, starting with the Young Adult group at our church, doing a rediculous amount of fun area things with friends to get us through my most hated month of the year (swelteringly miserable August!). I guess all this is to say that I hate the fact that each blog entry seems farther apart than the last. As I go about my day, so many things pop into my head and my brain starts automatically writing my next entry, but then I don't get a chance to sit down and actually type it in, or when I do, I'm tired and I just want to vedge. It's frustating because this is such a fun outlet for me. Anyway, if you're still checking this silly but hopefully slightly interesting blog, I'm hoping things will even out sometime soon, maybe after my mom flies home next week and we're finally settled into a normal routine around here.

Here We Go Again

Just bear with me here, people, as it is time for my very annual lament about how summer is too long and it’s time for the magic of Fall.

I’m ready for jeans.
I’m ready for Ohio State football.
I’m ready for Jake to start school.
I’m ready for my brown sweater coat.
I’m ready for leaves to change color.
I’m ready for socks and sneakers and boots.
I’m ready for apple picking.
I’m ready for clean crisp air.
I’m ready for my green puffy vest.
I’m ready for pumpkins.
I’m ready for hay rides.
I’m ready to wear my first ever official OSU football jersey on Saturdays.
I’m ready for warm spicy candles.
I’m ready for pumpkin bread and apple crisp.
I’m ready to change my living room décor to autumn stuff.
I’m ready for a new TV season.
I’m ready for flannel pj pants and hooded sweatshirts.
I’m ready for homemade soups and stews.
I’m ready to wrap up in quilts in my cold house.
I’m ready to swap our American flag with our OSU flag for a few months.
I’m ready for the fact that once fall is here, the magic of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas closely follows, but with enough time in between to revel in each one.

So very much to enjoy...

I got to share the Lord's Supper last night with some girls in a very intimate setting. What a unique experience...to sit and take communion with a group of girls who I barely know yet, but who I feel close to because they are my sisters...

Little Things That Make Me Smile

"Don't you just love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address..."
--Tom Hanks in the movie You've Got Mail
I know I've used this before in a previous post, but it's honestly one of my favorite quotes of all time. And it's getting to be that time of year. Not fall yet, unfortunately, but since it's almost August, the stores are packed to overflowing with school supplies. As a kid, one of my favorite things in life was shopping for each year's supplies. I loved choosing a fun tissue box, a new pencil case sporting whatever I was obsessing over that year, and I still remember every trapper keeper I ever had. What's better than fresh pencils and crayons? Now that Jake is starting Kindergarten, once again I get to relive fun things through my kids. A few weeks ago he picked out a Batman backpack, and last week we got everything else on his supply list. I can't believe he's old enough that his existence now requires a batch of #2 pencils! So this is a fun new phase we're entering, but something I've been doing in August for years now is restocking our own personal house stash of crayons. You know how it goes...after a while you have a plastic shoebox size container of all broken crayon bits and pieces, complete with stray papers that have been ripped off the crayons along the way. Well, every August I stock up on 10 cent boxes of brand new Roseart crayons to last us another year. And hey, if you're feeling crazy, go for the 22 cent Crayolas!!

Reasons I Haven't Been Blogging Lately...

--3 week vacation to PA and Boston

--Picnics at the park

--Painting projects around the house

--Lots of kiddie pool time in the backyard

--Pool and ice coffee time at friends' houses

--Christmas shopping (that's right...have you seen the clearance toys out there? June and July are goldmines!!)

--Spending time with Mark before he started his summer job

--Painting polka dots on Rory's toenails

--Fun crafty projects with the kids

--Guitar Hero with Mark and quality Wii sports time with the kids

--Saturday morning farmer's market

--Library reading club

--Dinners with friends

--Quality time with ice cream cones

--Grilling outside instead of cooking inside

--Summer movies at ornate old theatres, in the park, and at the dollar theatre

I have to say, for someone who claims to "hate summer," I sure have been enjoying myself!

"Though inland far we be

our souls have sight of that immortal sea..."

--William Wordsworth

"Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us

think things we like to think."

--Robert Henri

"Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought

of which the sea would not be a part."

--Hermann Broch

"A person should go out on the water on a fine day to a small distance from a beautiful coast, if he would see nature really smile..."

--Augustus William Hare

"There is indeed, perhaps, no better way to hold communion with the sea than sitting in the sun on the veranda of a fisherman's cafe."

--Joseph W. Beach

I am very happy here in Columbus. I've fallen in love with the city itself, but I do have one complaint--it's inland. This has been a problem for me and probably always will be, no matter how at home I am here. I once read that if you're born near the ocean, your connection to water never goes away. I find this to be irrefutable...

Out!

So much happening, so little time to write. We're heading on our annual journey to the hills of Pennsylvania this Saturday. As usual, Mark will be working 3 weeks of basketball camps, and the kids and I will be off on adventures to Boston, the beach, visiting old friends, and many peaceful mornings on campus, feeding the psychotic geese, blowing bubbles, riding bikes and whatever other whim takes over us. I already checked my dozen books out of the library (I do a LOT of reading on this trip), bought all our fun vacation snacks, and have the kids little backpacks filled with all sorts of goodies and surprises.

Something a little extra exciting for me this time around is that as of tomorrow, I'm done with my babysitting job. I am so thankful it came along when it did because it was an absolute answer to prayer. It's been 4 months of Monday through Friday 7:00a.m. to 5:30p.m. And now, IT'S OVER!!!!!! I can't explain to you how thankful I am to be spending the rest of my summer with my own two kids. The older they get, the more fun I'm having, and I am psyched to be just us again, and to have the freedom to say yes to whatever comes along because I won't have 4 or 5 (depending on the time of day) in tow.

So we're ready to get our lives back, we're ready for a fun vacation, and we'll be really ready to come back to Columbus and jump right back in to the fun and contentment we've found here.

An Ice Cream Awakening

I guess every area I've lived in has their own local ice cream place from Richardson's in MA to Mannings in PA. I finally got a taste of Columbus' Graeter's. I'm a creature of habit and that habit usually goes for a coffee chocolate chunk (Starbucks Java Chip...the best there ever was) or mint chocolate chip. But my friend told me about Graeter's famous black raspberry chip and I don't know if it was the weather or my mood or Lydie's excitement, but I was convinced I had to try it. I don't know if I will ever get anything else at Graeter's. It was HEAVEN ON EARTH!!! Black Raspberry Chip melting out of my waffle cone is a great way to spend girls night out.

Take Time for Summer's Pleasures

That's the slogan for Country Time Lemonade. Doesn't the name Country Time Lemonade conjure up familiar images? Things like big yellow houses with porch swings, kids running through fields in summer, and lemonade stands on street corners with misspelled signs. I think Country Time's advertising department was successful since I'm pretty sure these images are memories of old tv commercials. Every summer of my life I've reconnected with this drink. Growing up my grandmother (who lived across the street) always had some in her fridge. As kids we always managed to mooch something off Gram at least once a day. In the summer for me it was the lemonade. It was mostly pink lemonade, but sometimes she went with the original. Grammie was a brand name kind of lady so there were no generic substitutions in her house. When it came to the lemonade, I was glad about that. Over the years in my own house I've tried to carry on this tradition of making sure there's always a pitcher of lemonade available during the summer. I've experimented here and there with cheaper brands, especially since I'm a faithful cheapo Aldi shopper but always end up coming back to Country Time because I don't like the koolaid-esque taste of the others. Don't get me wrong--I love Koolaid, but for the fruit punch and berry flavors. Lemonade is something you just don't mess with. I hit the jackpot today because a local store is having a Buy 1, Get 2 Free sale on Country Time. I bought 6 and calculated that they cost about 76 cents each! That should get us through at least the rest of this spring...

My Little Bro

My youngest brother Tommy turned 21 last week. Being 10 years apart with other siblings in between, it's almost like we grew up in 2 different families, but I think all 4 of us kids were always close back then. It's so hard to believe he's this old. In my mind he's still the 6 year old kid he was back when I left home for boarding school, dribbling the basketball like a pro, never without a baseball hat, dressing up like every movie character he ever saw, and taking his wagon around to all the neighbors yards pretending to be a landscaper. =) To this day he is still the coolest kid I've ever known. I think the majority of people who read this blog know Tommy's history. He needs Jesus. Keep praying.

Since they both love cartoons, Jake has always loved watching movies with Uncle Tommy. =)

Here's the Story...

I recently introduced my kids to an American Institution, but not purposefully. For my birthday I got The Brady Bunch Complete Series on DVD (I bought it myself, of course) and it's now one of the most fun things I own. It's a special collector's set and comes in a green shag case--SO COOL! The Brady Bunch, you may ask? Yes, the Brady Bunch. I have loved this show since I was a little kid and remember watching it almost everyday after school for years. Now whenever I catch it on TV Land, or whatever channel it's currently showing on, I realize how much I still love it. The music, the voices, the story lines...everything about it is rediculously familiar, and therefore, is just plain comforting. So I decided to take the plunge. Since I bought it, I've been watching a couple of episodes here and there for the past few months, and didn't realize that it would reel in my two preschool age kids. Only the earlier seasons seem to keep their attention, probably because the kids on the show are younger so the story lines are easier to follow. They know the words to the song, and seem to have a special interest in Bobby and Cindy. =) They especially like the classic camping episode when the tents fall down on them, the one where Bobby enters an ice cream eating contest, and also the one where Bobby and Cindy get lost in the grand canyon. I have to admit that I'm glad they like it and considering how things on TV have changed quite a bit over the years, I know it was money well spent.

Childhood Attachment

Meet Cinderella. She's been Rory's best friend since last September, when she received her birthday present from Grammie. Rory sleeps with her every night, plays with her everyday, and sometimes, is even allowed to take her in the car or to the store. Cinderella has been a great friend, and has taken quite a beating. She's already had a patch job on her rump and her gloves have needed restitching too. I firmly believe that the Disney Store puts out a quality product, but when a little girl's love is this deep, even Disney Store products need some fixing up. Cinderella's been getting dirtier by the month and finally today I decided she needed a bath. Rory handed her BFF over to me with a very serious and concerned look when I told her Cinderella needed a ride in the washing machine to get clean, but her look also said, "I trust you." I'm so not kidding. So here we sit, with baited breath, hoping the gentle cycle doesn't do too much damage.

Rory opening up her present

The first hug

A child's love...right before I took her for her first bath =)

Another Friday...Another Movie...

"Life is an occasion. Rise to it." --Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

"See that girl, watch that scene..."

Mark has always been somewhat picky about the music he listens to. He likes mostly the latest in Christian or worship music (your basics: Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Jeremy Camp, David Crowder Band, Hillsong, etc.) He also, being an athlete, likes your basic Jock Rock--anything that gets you pumped up--a little Van Halen, a little Def Leppard, a little Eminem, a little House of Pain. You get the idea.

I have always liked pretty much anything and everything except for R&B. I love rock (harder rock, indie rock, folk rock, soft rock, classic rock, alternative rock...get the idea?!), oldies, country, eclectic, classical, showtunes, crooners...I don't claim to love hip hop, but even I have my weaknesses for certain songs.

So imagine my amusement this morning when I woke up to my big tough guy husband whistling and singing along to Abba's "Dancing Queen" (which was loudly playing on my clock radio) as he went about his morning. My groggy first words upon waking up to this brand new day were, "Wow, nobody can resist a little Abba."