Hmmm

I was in the grocery store today and popped into the bathroom. All stalls were occupied, so I patiently waited my turn. From the end stall came the clear conversation of a mother and her child, which included phrases like, "Whew, that felt good to pee that all out!" (the mother) and "I hate toilet paper!" (the young child).

OK, that was weird.

So, the stall opens and they come out. And thankfully, went right to the sink to wash hands. I couldn't help but notice that the mom was quite tall and morbidly obese. No judgment here, I just had to move past her, so it couldn't be missed. The daughter was a different matter. I don't think she could have been older than 3, and with big brown eyes and sudsy hands, she turned to her mother and said, "Momma, why are you so very fat?"

Awkward for all involved.

Recipe Shift

The Recipes Column is getting pretty long, so I am moving it. It will take me a couple of days, but there is one new recipe (thank you Kris) already posted.

If anyone has recipes they love that they want me to post, just send them to my email.

Random Recipes

Another one Bites the Dust

Ellie just came into the room where I am working and asked if she could please start home school.

I was hoping I had a few more months. . .

'Tis the Season

. . .for Christmas shopping. While I quite enjoy noticing something that someone would like and giving it as a gift, I do not care for Christmas shopping for my kids.

First of all, there's all of the pressure. Every year needs the perfect gift for each kid. I didn't set this expectation. I guess society did, but in spite of my best efforts I cannot shake the feeling that Christmas should be special and magical.

Of course it should.

Which was really easy when they all loved the same things and a $5 Barbie under the tree was the most magical experience ever. It was even still OK when Legos were their favorite toy and we then spent 6 months cursing them when finding them with a bare foot. Christmas has been great at any point in the past 10 years when I have been able to get rid of loads of crap in the months leading up to this delightful magical day. But this year, I just don't have it in me.

I am just having real issues with what to get the kids for Christmas. We have toys and clothes and shoes coming out of our ears. There is enough paper in this house to warm a large family for years, should they choose to burn it. We do not need live animals, electronics, video games, or stuffed animals. We have all of those in abundance.

I can't spend enough money to take a great trip or even a not-so-great one for that matter. Last year, I was so evil, I wrapped a bunch of giftcards for them, except I put "To Mom, Love Rebi" and on down the line so that the cards were all mine to dole out as I wanted.

So, suggestions needed. What do you give the kids who want everything which is expensive, need nothing of value and store junk?

NaNoWriMO!!!

Every year, there The Office of Light and Letters sponsors the National Novel Writing Month:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
(beware, they are up and down a lot due to server traffic)
I really wanted to this year, but I just can't put 50,000 words on paper in November. I have hopes of forcing myself to write a novel in January, but without anyone to be accountable to I will probably stall out. So, I'm passing the torch to Rebi for now. My turn will come, just not for a few more years.

Rebi has decided she is going to write 40,000 words by the end of November. If you're 12 or under, you get to choose your word count. Here is a sample of her writing:

I take a deep breath of the crisp air. I step into the forest and start running. The wind plays with my long blond hair and tickles my ears. I feel the cool ground beneath my bare feet as they dance across the ground. I hear the noises of the animals in the trees. They scurry away as I come by. I see a crow fly up into the air, its dark body a silhouette against the light morning sky. I step over a rock in my path and keep going. I don't know where I'm going. I just run for enjoyment. It's my routine every morning I go out and run until I'm worn out, but today I feel like something special is about to happen.

A Public Service Announcement

1) Never leave toothpicks on the floor.
2) Should you step on a toothpick and a piece of it breaks off in your foot, it is not a good idea to wait several months before consulting a doctor.
3)The cost of removing aforementioned piece of toothpick stands to run into the thousands of dollars.
4) Should you get to the point of surgical removal of toothpick, be sure your insurance pays more than 50-60% of any claim.

Happy Halloween!

Somehow, I managed to not get a picture of Tyler, even though he has worn his costume 4 or 5 times now.

Halloween was a free-for-all, as always. Dave took everyone trick-or treating while Tyler and I took Shari and her kids to the airport ( we were not at all happy to see them leave. Come back soon! In fact, when I told Ty I had a headache, he told me- with big weepy eyes- that he had a "crying ache" because he missed Marshall so much already). I returned home to a phone call that Dave had lost a couple of kids, so I grabbed Ty, threw part of his costume on him, and drug him around to search for the lost ones.

We finally all met up at a friend's house, where there was a giant blow up pumpkin, which the kids were having a blast rolling around in. The fun ended around 9:30, and all of the kids came running to greet me. It was then that we realized (from the hideous stench) that the entire park they had been running, rolling, and crawling around in had been recently and freshly fertilized with manure. I seriously had to hang my head out the window the entire way home. They had poop on their clothes, in their hair, covering their feet. . .How does one roll around in manure and not smell it???

And Rebi wants me to be sure to tell everyone that she was not rolling or crawling in anything. She does admit to running through it, but she swears she had shoes on (mine, of course and they are very covered in poop as well).