This is my 400th post! Four hundred posts! I certainly have had a LOT to say. Maybe I should start writing something meaningful, like those people who spout nothing but inspirational sayings. After all, the other day I was having a cup of Yogi brand tea, and on the teabag it said “The only tool you need is kindness.” I thought this was beautiful, somewhat flawed, and also Ha! You said Tool! So maybe I have not evolved enough to the point where I will be writing and/or quoting inspirational sayings. Although, here is a lovely quote from the painter Bob Ross:
“Just a little bush, and here’s another one. This one hangs right over the edge of the cabin. He’s watching everything … make up little stories about the plants and think about the little creatures that would live in here. There’s probably all kinds of little squirrels and rabbits and just a multitude of things that you may never see, but they’re here. They’re here …”
Again, maybe I’ll just stick with my regular programming.
Here we are in November, with the excitement of Halloween behind us. The kids went out trick-or-treating with their dad, and came back with an enormous haul of candy. Do you have rules about candy consumption? When it comes to Halloween, what works for us is the tried-and-true rule that there are no rules, also known as gluttony is self-regulating. I essentially let my kids go to town on their candy and I find that within a couple of days they are not interested in it. The problem is, we often have Halloween candy last us until Easter. I am going to follow in the footsteps of some of my friends and freeze the little chocolate bars and/or chop them up for baking. I also encourage the spirit of giving and sharing with others, which is how my friend ended up with those horrid little toffees that only she likes. “Are these the gross candies she likes?” Mark said, holding up the orange and black wrapped toffees. “Let’s put them in a special pile!” Jake encouraged him. Also on the way out: Cheezies for their grandpa and for a friend with Celiac, plain potato chips for their teacher, and Wunderbars for their dad.
Check out our spooky decorations! They managed to lure in eleven trick-or-treaters, which is high for our street.
Jake with his booty. Am I the only one who kind of dislikes when the kids get miniature Play-Doh? Also, notice that Jake got Old Dutch Salt and Vinegar chips and I DID NOT steal them. I think I deserve a reward. He also got one of these:
It’s a hard-core Christian tract! Hey, I don’t have a problem if someone has a good relationship with old JC, but I WAS a little startled to find this in the candy bag. Also I am dying of curiosity as to which neighbour was handing these out.
I was at my parents’ house on the weekend and made off with some old pictures, notably of me in Halloween costumes. Here is me at age six dressed as a gypsy:
Check out the crock pot and mug tree in the background! Not to mention the dark brown fridge. Remember the days of making costumes out of household items and ending up as a gypsy or, in the case of my husband, a hobo? The days of dressing up festively as itinerant fortune tellers and/or the homeless are gone, I guess. Gone with the days of having ceramic frogs to hold SOS pads.
This is the first year I have ever purchased a costume for my children. Normally, my mother – who is handy with the needle, whereas I am decidedly NOT – makes them, but I felt kind of sorry for her with Jake’s request to be Spider Monkey from Ben 10, and so I bought them. It felt a bit like the end of an era.
Here are the boys trick-or-treating together for the very first time. They are one and two years old. CUTE.
How was your Halloween?
The ceramic frog! My babysitter had one of those!
Oh, Bob Ross. “Happy little trees….”
Happy 400 posts!
I think we got a Christian rant last year. I was like, “Um?”
Bob Ross sounds like he’s on something. We didn’t get play doh but I think it’s a cute idea – what’s your beef with it? There’s always some candy where I’m like “what the hell? Where did they get these? I would have bought these!! What store was hiding the good candy?!” And my kids self-regulate pretty well, but I do know kids that will eat until they barf, so I guess it’s kid-specific.
happy 400th post. That’s pretty cool.
I can’t stand when people hand out playdoh. It always makes such a mess at my house. Give me chocolate (I mean give the kids chocolate).
When I was a waitress, someone once left me a tract AS A TIP. People who give tracts to save themselves money/kindness REALLY lose their message.
(The tract I got also reprimanded me for wanting money. Apparently money is “of this world,” whereas salvation is of TRUE worth.)
Thanks for keeping to your regular programming. Mug tree and brown fridge. There are some memories.
LisaDay
400?! You mean we’re supposed to be keeping track of things like that. Man I’ve been doing this blog thing all wrong….damn it.I blame it on the cute photos of your kids…and all that candy.Congrats on 400!
OMG, when I read that quote from your tea the first thing I thought was “ha ha, *tool*.”
I still hope to grow up someday.
Love how Jake’s nose is still red from being outside getting his bounty.
Congratulations on 400 posts! You rock the kazbah! What’s the proper present for a 400th post anniversary? Paper? Gold?
Everyone should have a gross candy pile! And I love that one of your neighbors was handing out religious literature! In cartoon form, no less!
Bob Ross was someone that I would have probably shunned in real life, but I liked him on TV. He was mesmerizing. Plus I could turn him off.