Halloween Done Old Skool

Happy Halloween!

As I was looking through some old pictures, I came across this little gem. Halloween circa about 1978 or 1979. When costumes were homemade. And creative.

Presenting: Kim the Alien.



I remember this costume and I remember my mom telling me numerous times to sit still while she tugged and pulled on my hair and twisted it into tin foil.

And, now I'm wondering if my mom was doing this to me while she had a gin and tonic in her hands.

And giggling hysterically that I fell for this and allowed her to do this to me.

And then taking me to the school carnival dressed like this (because that was when people weren't so politically correct and you could still dress up for the school carnival.)

Oh well. I think that I won the costume competition that year. If I didn't, I was robbed!

Thanks, mom.

And thanks for capturing this on film so you can forever remember what you conned me into doing.

Happy Halloween! And don't forget to take pictures of your kiddies this year.

It is perfect future blackmail material.

Palin Stumps in Fredericksburg

Sarah Palin came to stump for her party in downtown Fredericksburg yesterday and my friend Emily invited me to go with her. I was excited to go and see for myself what was going on instead of listening to all of the rhetoric(some valid and some not valid).

It was also an excellent opportunity to photography history.

Since I got back, I've gotten emails and calls that range from "you went to see that woman!" to "I can't believe that you've defected" to "wow...she's my hero."

But rather than go off on some rant about how it's okay that I went to the rally even if I don't necessarily agree with her or her party and there's no reason for me to have to defend myself or how we're never going to solve anything if we can not recognize others opinions, I'm just going to post the pictures.

So, enjoy. Or don't. It's your choice.

I chased this woman down to get a picture of her. I love the plunger. That's so cleaver.



Joe was well represented other than the lady above. Some folks changed their signs to make them more personal though. I should have made a sign that said "Kim the maid." LOL.





I saw this as humorous. The funniest thing is "an" should have been used instead of "a." :)



The Republicans are all about free capitalism and the rally was no exception. There were street vendors hawking shirts, buttons, signs and just about everything else under the sun.



I loved the homemade signs. They really allowed people to vocalize their opinions in a creative way (which I am all about.)



This one was my favorite. He got picked to sit behind Palin in the bleachers.











My girl Emily showing her support for Palin.



And, last but least, Palin did give a speech. There was nothing negative about the speech or the crowd. Everyone behaved themselves.






I was born in October and my sign is the scales. I firmly believe that there has to be some balance - everything can not be so far one way or the other. If we don't learn to stop yelling at each other and start listening to each other, we're never going to solve the problem.

I mean really. Check out Emily and I. She parts her hair on the right. I part mine on the left. But we can still agree to disagree and can - wait for it - still be friends.



So, before you flame me for the fact that I went to the Palin rally (gasp!) please know that there are far worst things that I could be doing than educating myself on the days events. That's what I hope for Shane and Owen. That they learn to look at both sides of the coin before they make a decision.

This rally didn't really sway me one way or the other but it was cool to be a part of history. :o)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

We're already doing the reducing.

And we definitely reuse things. I don't think that poor Owen has had many of his own clothes since he was born. Most have been through Shane already. And some through Sheldon too as a matter of a fact.

And we're big into recycling. When we went to Pawleys Island this summer, we found the local recycling center. And used it. No need to trash South Carolina when we don't even trash our own state of Virginia.



So you'd like to live by the slogan reduce, reuse, recycle. Who doesn't? It makes you feel good and is helping someone else in the process.

Well, there's an easy way to do all three at one time.

And one that won't require you to load up your car or van and haul everything to Good Will. (Although, that is a fine option too.)

It's called freecycling.

You know the old saying: "One Man's Junk is Another's Treasurers."

The whole point of freecycling is that useable stuff doesn't get dumped into the landfill.

And, it's as easy as signing up for a list serve and finding a new home for your stuff - all via email.

Once you have found someone to take your junk (which isn't difficult, by the way!), you just put it on the porch and *poof* it disappears!

Easy cheesy.

I've been cleaning out my closets and freecycling everything that I don't want. It's easier than loading it in the van and hauling it to Good Will.

And, frankly, it's better than stuff sitting in the corner of a room for weeks (okay, months!) until I get around to doing something about!

And, the fact that it makes someone else happy is just a bonus.

So, before you pitch your stuff next time, try to freecycle it first. You'll be amazed at how easy it really is!

Are You Smarter Than A Fourth Grader?

Here we go again.

Math.

Ugh.

It is the one thing that just leaves me shaking in my booties. I am reduced to a 1st grader when I see some of the kids math assignments. (Actually, I shouldn't say that because Owen is pretty good at math. Thank God!)

And, Shane's only in fourth grade. I can't imagine that it's going to go anywhere from here but downhill.

I'm in trouble. Deep trouble.

Regular readers of my blog (all two of you!) may remember my struggles with Owens' Kindergarten homework last year. Yes. I said Kindergarten.

Apparently, fourth grade homework isn't going to give me a break either.

So, instead of suffering through this by myself, I thought that I would suck y'all into my misery. On a Sunday no less. You can thank me later.

If it doesn't drive you nuts, please come live with us. I will gladly put you up and cook and clean for you because you obviously will be helping Shane AND Owen with their homework because I sure can't.



Have fun and post your answers in the comments section.

Even if it's just "I give up" because then at least I'll know that I'm not alone. ;)

Allergies and Kids

You have to be so careful these days about giving kids items made with certain ingredients. No more just grabbing a pack of cookies off of the grocery shelf and sending them into the school for a classroom party. Those days are loooooong gone.

Peanuts and Tree Nuts seem to be the biggest culprit. Nobody sends things into the school made with peanuts or peanut oil. One boy at the kids school is even allergic to pears and a few other fruits so you have to be very careful with the juices sent in as well.

The information on allergies must have sunk into the kids. I heard Owen open the door and ask his friends if they wanted a snack. Of course they said yes.

But before he gave them the snack, he asked if any of them were allergic to any foods.

How funny is that coming from a 6 year old?

Summer Concert Series

Ken was on a roll for a while getting concert tickets from one of his marketing representatives. When Duran Duran came around, he was lucky enough to score tickets.

The concert was in Maryland at the Merriweather Post Pavillion and one of our good friends Jen lives 10 minutes from the venue which was awesome because she knew exactly how to get to the concert - the back way. Sweet.

Getting to Jen's though was a challenge. We ended up getting lost in DC and turned down a one way street.

Going the wrong way.

And realized that we did it right in front of a police station. When the cop hit her lights and stopped us.

But, the cop was nice (I'm sure that they have bigger issues to deal with in DC) and led us to the road that eventually led us to the way towards Maryland and to Jens.



We thought we were getting lawn seats which was good enough for sure.

But when Ken went to Will Call, he came back with VIP seat tixs.

SCORE!



Now we know how the other half lives. We were in the middle of the venue in a section roped off with four seats, a table, a trash can AND a waitress.







The concert was good but re-visiting your youth so to speak makes you realize that "other" people are getting older.





So, thanks to Ken's company person for the tickets. They were awesome!

And, now I can check this off my list. Because I've been promising to get the pics to Jen since the concert. Yeah. I sux but I've already warned you that I'm really good about taking pics. Not so great about sharing them.

How To Tell It's Almost Halloween

Cruising through Wal-Mart grocery shopping today, I was doing my best to get out of that store without hyperventilating. I was flying past the isles when something familiar caught my eye.

So I backed my cart up (in a reckless way about hitting some little old lady in the process) to take a closer look to make sure that I saw what I thought I saw.

Yep. It must almost be Halloween.

And, I must have them. All three. No question about it!

Because I love them so.

I bet you do too. You don't have to admit it to me. Just smile to yourself as you grab your keys and head to the nearest grocery store.

You can say that you're going to pick up milk or whatever excuse you want. (You better pick up an extra gallon of milk so that's not a lie!)

But I know the truth.

You're going to get these:




Be sure to hide them behind your wheat germ and Kix Cereal.

Because if your kids (or husband!) see them, they'll be gone before you can get a second bowl!!!

Next Time...Get Your Own Towel!

Sometimes it's funny to just be on the outside looking (or listening in as the case may be) to the kids.

Last night, Ken supervised their showers.

As usual, Owen must have forgotten his towel because I heard him ask Ken for a towel.

The towel that Ken brought him was obviously not acceptable because I hear Owen say "daaaaddddddd...that is a hair towel. That isn't going to do. It won't even go to my feet."

Ken must have told him to use it because I heard Owen say several times that it was a hair towel.

Hahahahahaha.

But...how did he know it was a hair towel? I mean it was. But how did he know?

Well, Owen. The moral to the story is that you should get your own towel next time or else you'll have to use a hair towel to dry off!

It did get me to thinking though.

Doesn't every woman have a hair towel? It has to be thin. And can't be too long for it to work right.

The hair towel for me has evolved. When I was little, I use to wrap it around my head and pretend that I had long hair. Now, it's just a plain old hair towel. ;)

Saturday Mornings - Old Skool

In honor of a lazy Saturday, here's a trip down memory lane for those of you who grew up in the 1970's. Enjoy!

I'm Good...Real Good

Well, it's been a while.

I've been on such a good streak.

No blond moments lately to speak of.

Until today.

And sadly enough, I didn't even realize it until I was walking with my friend Emily this morning. We stopped by another friends house while we were out and they were discussing the cost of upcoming field trips.

Since they both have children in the 4th grade, I was a little surprised when they said that the upcoming Jamestown field trip costs $30.

Huh?

I got the form last week and, being the super efficient person that I never am, instead of allowing it to lay on my counter for two weeks and hover over me like pesky tasks usually do, I glanced it over and sent it in the day after I got the notice. All super proud of myself for checking it off of my list.

I made sure that I sent in the right portion of the form (unlike last year) and attached a check with it.

For $6 dollars.

When I got home from walking, I looked at the portion of the paper that I did keep and it was $30. Evidentially, the $6 was for the parents following the bus.

Oops.

I'm good. Real good!

God. I am such a blond. Unfortunately, it's not the first time. Or the second. Or even my third.

But, unfortunately, since I didn't catch myself this time, Shane's teacher now realizes that I'm a blond being impersonated by a red head.

But, that's okay. Because I'm quite certain that it will not be my last!

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

Well, you know what he will do.

That mouse is just never satisfied.

He always wants more. More, more, more.

And, if you've never read the book, you should take yourself to the bookstore or library and obtain a copy.

Laura Numeroff is the children's author who writes the book as well as others in the series. If You Give A Pig A Pancake and If you Give A Moose A Muffin are two others by her that I love.

She was in Fredericksburg at a book signing at our local bookstore last year so I took the boys to meet her and get her to sign their books.





Her childrens books are just awesome. My kids have enjoyed all of them. The story is great and the illustrations are just fantastic.

My kids give them two thumbs up!

Yankees in Falmouth

Fredericksburg is rich in history. Particularly Civil War history. We are really lucky to live here because there are so many living history events. I belive the best way to teach children about history is through interaction and not just reading about it in the text books and listening to teachers who sound like Charlie Brown's teacher. Wa-womp-wa-womp-womp-womp.

A while back, I posted some pictures of the Memorial Day Ceremony at the Confederate Cemetery in Fredericksburg, VA. And, to show the kids both side of the story, I took them to Yankees in Falmouth, which centered on the Yankees role, and the role that Moncure D. Conway, a native of Falmouth, VA, played as abolitionist in the South during the Civil War.

Of course I had my camera with me (duh!). The Berdan's Sharpshooters re-enactors gave firing demonstrations and were there to discuss with the public "their" role in the Civil War. The kids also toured the Moncure Conway house, which is now a private residence but was opened to the public for the event.

Here are some pictures from the event.

Enjoy!












Hope you enjoyed the Yankees in Falmouth as much as we did!