TOOTH FAIRY FAIL!!!

The Tooth Fairy screwed up Monday night, big time! Yes, I know it was Halloween and she was busy, but my son lost his first molar and she FORGOT him. Seriously, how do you overlook a 10 year old boy who lost his first molar? And it was a rough one coming out. It cracked first and came out in pieces. We almost had to go to the dentist for this one. Really, Tooth Fairy?

Luckily, I’m a FABULOUS mom who can explain these things away so my son didn’t feel slighted by her. I explained that on Halloween, a lot of kids eat a lot of candy, and have unfortunate accidents that involve losing teeth. So she has a lot of emergencies to keep up with. It seems that he, having been a scheduled stop, just somehow fell through the cracks.

I would have told him that had it not been Halloween, this wouldn’t have happened, but, well, the thing is, it actually has happened before. A couple of times actually. See, the Tooth Fairy is rather forgetful at our house. I don’t know why. Does she have something against me? Did I do something wrong to her when I was a child? Did I accidently see her?

Whatever the reason, I don’t know why she has to take it out on my kids! Lucky for her, she made up for it last night by not only remembering, but leaving MUCH more money than she usually leaves. I was going to hide out in my son’s room and wait for the Tooth Fairy so I could have a word with her about forgetting him Monday night, but, well, I forgot!

 

Karen

Monday Madness- Happy Halloween!

It's Halloween!  Always fun for the kids. I must admit, this year I've been a bit behind in fall decor. I just last night pulled out my Trick-or-Treat sign and jack-o-lanterns. I've been busy with other things. AS well, I'm a little jaded this year. Someone stole my kids' pumpkins right off my front porch. And I really don't have much of a porch. It's more like a sidewalk leading up to the front door with a nice sized landing space. Which means they had to come right up to my front door. Hooligans! May their candy be absolutely rotten and give them a good old fashioned stomach ache tonight. Hhmph!


And last night, in another brilliant move, The Hubs and I watched the end of, uhm, I THINK it was Halloween. It featured Jamie Lee Curtis and some guy in a mask and there were axes and knives and running people over with trucks. Pretty gory stuff with the masked guy popping out of creepy corners. Which was perfectly fine- until I had to take Lola for a walk on our deserted streets at 10 pm. Leaves make an eerie sound swirling in the wind. Quickest potty run ever!


Tonight we will also celebrate my mother's birthday. Yes. She was born on Halloween. A lot of things about me make sense now, don't they...  ;)


Yours, hoping you have a fun-filled trick or treating night!


Melissa

AND SO IT BEGINS…AGAIN!

Halloween begins my downhill spiral into my eating frenzy.  For the next 2 months, I will have to use every ounce of will power I have not to constantly be shoving candy and cookies and pie and potatoes into my mouth at every given opportunity. 

As I sit here, writing this blog post in my office, I can hear the “fun size” candy having a party downstairs, calling my name to come join them, inviting me to eat them.  Taunting me.  Laughing at me.  Yes, daring me!

But, of course Halloween is just the beginning.  Then comes the carb-fest of Thanksgiving.  Really, the turkey is only the centerpiece of the meal.  The decoration.  The main dishes are the mashed potatoes, the stuffing, the sweet potato pie.  And of course the desserts.  Oh, the pies and the cakes and the cookies! (Oops, I think I just drooled on myself!)

Then, the ultimate…Christmas!  Only, it’s not just the Christmas Day meal.  Oh, no.  It’s all the baking and the parties leading up to that lovely dinner.  (Not to mention we probably will still have leftover Halloween candy and desserts from Thanksgiving for a while!) So it’s an entire month of eating, or trying not to eat, all those unhealthy choices.

So what’s a gal to do?  Deep breath, repeat millions of times over the next 2 months: “I will be strong, I will be strong…!”

Karen

THE AFTERMATH OF HALLOWEEN

So Halloween is over, the decorations are put away, the costumes are put in the “dress-up” trunk, and all that’s left is about 25 pounds of candy, beckoning to your children, and worse, to you! What to do, what to do? You already gave your kids a free pass on Saturday night, and maybe even Sunday, to eat as much as they wanted (as long as it didn’t result in throwing it back up), but still, there’s 24.9 pounds left.

So should you let them have 1 or 2 pieces each day, making this haul last until Easter, when the next batch will take over? Or should you be the “good mom” and eat it for them, so they don’t get all that sugar in their bodies and in their teeth. (Because, after all, your body and teeth are already used to candy and sugar!) Or maybe it just slowly disappears into the trash can until it’s all gone, at which time, when the children ask you where all their candy is, you tell them that an After-Halloween Goblin must have come into your home and taken it all.

Fear not, for I have a couple of great suggestions on how to make everyone happy! We are going to divide all our candy into three piles:

1. Icky candy that the kids don’t like and will never eat.
   
2. So-so candy that they don’t love, but would eat if there wasn’t anything left that they really like.
   
3. Yummy candy, and if you touch it, they will come after you.
   

Pile number 1 is going to school, where a wonderful family is collecting candy to send overseas to our troops. Isn’t that a fabulous idea? I’m a little ashamed that I didn’t think of it first!

Pile number 3 will be eaten, of course!

Pile number 2 will be sold. To me. For $ .10 each. Crazy, right? I know, but hopefully crazy enough to work. I’m banking (no pun intended) on the fact that they will want money more than they want the candy. They seem VERY excited about this, but we haven’t actually done the deed yet. So what will I do with this candy? I don’t know. I’ll either send it to work with DH or send it to school for the troops. It doesn’t matter. What really matters is that my kids won’t be eating it, but they won’t mind. In fact, they’ll (hopefully) be happy to get rid of it, and to gain a few bucks.

So that’s my plan. What’s yours?

Karen

Friday Funny- Happy Halloween!

So my son has been learning to tell jokes. He was making up his own, with the success rate of about .05%. We tried to explain to him things that were funny, why other ones were not funny, but he just wasn't getting it. So Dad took him to the library to get him a joke book. I bring you today's crop:

What kept Count Dracula's wife up all night?

His Coffin.

Mwwaaahahah!

Okay, okay. Why was the skeleton angry with the other skeleton?

Because he had a bone to pick!

HAAHAHAHAAA!

And here is one for the adult crowd. . . What kind of bees produce milk instead of honey?

Boobees!!!!!

Yours, hoping you have a wonderful and rainless Halloween,

Melissa

Tuesday Tidbit- Halloween List

We all know it's coming. Orange and black is everywhere. It happens the same day every single year. You would think by now I would be able to remember everything. Uh, no. Not unless I write it down. So to prevent some unwanted boo-boos and disappointments this Halloween, let's think it through while we have a few moments. And of course, I will start making the list. (What else would you expect from me?)

1. Costume-check! My kids are making something of their own from their closet this year.

2. Candy- nothin' but chocolate, baby!

3. Something to hold the candy in- a basket, a pumpkin or you can go completely old school and use a pillowcase. (Now we're talkin'!)

4. Flashlight WITH BATTERIES. It's the batteries part that usually leaves me scurrying around.

5. Camera WITH CHARGED BATTERIES. Charged would be the operative word. Yeah, I know. I will do it the night before.

6. Remembering which house to skip because it freaks out my little boy. He's never forgotten it- from three years ago. They set up their garage as a haunted house and now he won't go anywhere near that house on Halloween night.

7. An easy dinner- Doesn't have to be junky, just easy. Maybe something in the crockpot.

8. Warm shoes and coat and we are good to go.

Good thing I'm thinking about this now, while I'm not in panic mode. Let's hope I revisit this on the 29th!

Yours, trying my best to plan ahead,

Melissa

HALLOWEEN: THEN AND NOW

When did Halloween become so expensive? Don’t you remember when we were kids (yes, in the “olden” days – is that even a word? Olden?) and we just found stuff around the house to use as a costume? Or at the most, Mom would sew us something. (I still remember my Greek Goddess costume that my mom made. It was a long white dress with gold ribbons sewed on to it. Sigh!) But to buy a costume? NO WAY!

But now, nobody makes costumes anymore. In fact, if a kid were to make one up, they would probably be a big ol’ nerd! The prices on these things are outrageous, especially considering they are worn only once or twice (if you’re lucky), never to be seen again. And it’s not just the costume, it’s all the accessories that go with it. You can easily spend $50 or more PER KID on Halloween. Not to mention the candy. If you live in a neighborhood with TONS of kids, like I do, the bags of candy really start adding up.

So look at this picture:

This is me with my two sisters in the 70’s (no, I don’t know what year… well maybe I do, but it’s not important). Yes, yes, I’m the cute cat in the middle! Margee is the Indian and Mindy is the Hobo. Look at these costumes. Do any of these look store-bought to you? Of course not, and half the fun was in making the costumes.

Now, take a look at my boys with a friend:

There is not even the slightest chance that I made these! And notice how they all have the mask and the gun that goes with their costume? Very coordinated!

So what will we do for Halloween this year? Perhaps make a costume to teach my boys a lesson in creativity and frugality? No, I don’t want them to be dorks so we’ll be buying something I’m sure!

Karen