Halloween Scrooges

Wow, lately I stink at blogging. Sorry about that.

So. It's Halloween. We're not doing much. Little Boy is too young to understand trick-or-treating, and I don't let him eat candy anyway, so that's out. We are going to dress him up and take pictures (we already had the costume---I wouldn't have actually bought one unless we were going out tonight. Which we're not.).

Luckily, my parents aren't really doing anything tonight, either. They don't get very many trick-or-treaters at their house anyway, so they just turn out all the lights and pretend they're not home. We're going to go over there and pretend we're not there, too.

And, uh...we might also take advantage of their big-screen TV. Lots of scary movies on tonight, you know.

Video Monday: Guitar Edition

I didn't take any photos this week, so here's a video. Isaac's playing in the background.

Teaching

"Your students deserve more than your knowledge. They deserve and hunger for your inspiration. They want the warm glow of personal relationships. This always has been the hallmark of a great teacher."

Gordon B. Hinckley - Oct. Gen. Conf 1965

I try to remember this one when I'm teaching the little kids in Sunday School.

Photo Monday...I mean, Saturday: Little Boy / Grandpa Edition

Looks like I haven't blogged in a few days. Without further ado:

Little Boy loves to play Isaac's guitar. He must have the shoulder strap over his shoulder just so. And he does try to use the guitar pick sometimes.

 And now, I have a couple pics of my dad. Dad's birthday was last week. We celebrated.

 

Here he is praying over his cake. Just kidding, he's really conducting us while we sing "Happy Birthday."
 

Dad's cake had seven candles. He insists that's because he's turning 70 (he's not). Looks pretty good for a seventy-year-old man, doesn't he?

Saw This At My Credit Union Today....

"The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can."

- Robert Cushing

Happy Sunday, plus Quote of the Day

Photo by adwriter, via Flickr

"I fear sometimes we see the Lord's love only in the big events of our lives; we must also see His love in the smallest of things. Don't underestimate your ability to share His love through a simple, genuine gesture such as sitting next to another sister and making her feel welcome."
-Bonnie D. Parkin

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Church Quote of the Day

 Teacher: "Have you ever had a coat drive at your school or collected food for the needy?"
Kid: "We're HOMESCHOOLED."

Happy Weekend!

see more puppies

All in the Family

I was just reading Talk To Me Tuesday over on Tip Junkie, where there's a post about family-themed Halloween costumes---and I remembered the one-and-only time my family had a sort-of theme going on at Halloween. I don't have a picture of this (sorry) because it was at least ten years ago.

This was when my sister was still a baby. My mom dressed her in a black sweatsuit, with a white stripe down the back, and made a stuffed skunk tail that fastened around my sister's waist. Then my dad, who works at an oil refinery, borrowed a gas mask and a hazmat suit from one of his coworkers. Good thing my sister was too little to remember it later, huh?

Photo by Invisible Hour via Flickr

Buying-In-Bulk Quote of the Day

Andrea: "I think Costco is a strange and wonderful land."

 "Life often feels like a great pile of obligations, frustrations, and disappointments. But the Lord is there, always the same, His arms still outstretched. When we feel overwhelmed, we have to remember the peace He has spoken to us on previous occasions. His peace brings comfort and strength; the world cannot give that to us."

 -Kathleen H. Hughes

Happy Weekend!

www.nataliedee.com

Teething

Little Boy is teething. He's getting some molars at the back right now; I don't know what they are, or when they're supposed to come in---I'm too lazy to look it up. But they're there.


He's usually a pretty easy teether. I've heard some scary teething stories from other moms. Little Boy gets a little grouchy, and he drools. That's about it.


Today was funny, though. Little Boy was throwing huge fits after he got up from his nap. More than I-just-got-up-and-I'm-still-tired fits. I couldn't figure out what his problem was. It took me awhile to remember he was teething. I don't know how I forgot---I saw the teeth, and I've seen the droolage. Just mommy forgetfulness, I guess.

What's For Dinner Tonight?

Well, I'll tell ya. Because it turned out better than I thought it would, and that puts me in a recipe-sharing mood.

Fresh Corn & Tomato Soup
(This was originally from Real Simple, but I changed it a bit.)

1 T olive oil
2 large onions (I used onion powder)
4 cups corn, fresh or frozen
5 cups chicken stock
2-3 large tomatoes, chopped salt pepper dill sprigs (I don't have fresh dill, so I used about 1/2 teaspoon dried.)
sour cream

 Heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Cook onions for about 10 minutes if you're using them, then add the corn; otherwise, just toss the corn in there with some onion powder. Add chicken stock, let mixture boil, then cook on a low boil for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop tomatoes and add them to the pot. Stir in salt and pepper to taste, plus the dry dill if you're using it. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and fresh dill sprigs if you've got 'em. Serves 4. That means leftovers for us. I served the soup with some cheese toast. I would've gotten out some fruit, too, if I'd had time. Oh well, at least there were vegetables in the soup.

Spookables and Terribibbles

I've been trying to create an age-appropriate Halloween for Little Boy. For the last week or two, I've checked out Halloween stories and videos from the library. He probably won't remember this Halloween next year, but at least he'll have a vague idea of what's going on right now. His newest words are "buttin" (pumpkin) and "doast" (ghost). He loves that doasts say, "ooooooOOOOoooo". And he loves to point out buttins wherever he sees them.

Last night we watched Frankenpooh and Spookable Pooh (from the library, of course). Little Boy doesn't usually get to watch an hour's worth of cartoons, so it was quite an event to him. Lucky kid.

Photo Monday: Princess Edition

Little Boy went to a princess-themed birthday party yesterday.



Cute, huh?

 
Each of the kids decorated a crown. Little Boy, being a boy, got to put car stickers on his. He loves it. He calls it his "taw hat."



This is the birthday girl, opening Little Boy's present to her. It's a fun little jar filled with "Magical Princess Cookies." Some of the cookies have Disney princesses on them, and some of them are pink with sprinkles.



Happy birthday girl = successful party.
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Birthday Party Quote of the Day


 Princess Party Guest, pulling shiny plastic crown off her cupcake: "We can't really eat this because, well, we could, um, choke and die."