The Painted Pumpkin

The tradition we decided to start last year was painting pumpkins instead of carving them. (Yes, I'm talking Halloween on Thanksgiving Day.) Due to various reasons that didn't happen before Halloween this year. The kiddos had picked out their pumpkins and were adorable and Uncle LeRoy's Pumplin Patch, and were even more adorable as a bumble bee and Captain America on Halloween, but we hadn't gotten to the most fun part. Yet. So, last night, Thanksgiving Eve, I decided to let the kids paint their pumpkins. Figured they would get 30-60 minutes of fun, I'd get quiet, and we'd have pretty pumpkins the last weeked of November. You know, just in time to put away the fall decor and bring on the Christmas. Ya'll didn't know I was a procrastinator? Oh COME ON! 

Any way in which it came about, the kids DID have fun. Painting their pumpkins, themselves, and the tub. Yeah. There was no containing the creativity juices once they were flowing. That's okay, we were able to get some practice with being responsible for your mess that way. Cause I'm trying to teach them that. You know, clean up your own mess and such. Cause I'm a responsible parent like that. Hahahahaha. Okay, because I'm tired of cleaing up the mass of messes they make every damn hour. I'm lazy like that. Didn't know that either, did ya ;) 

It all started out clean and tidy....sorta.



E painting her pumpkin



...and M painting his.



Moving on to body art.



Full body art I should clarify.



And then to tub art.




I think her theme was TRIBAL.




Max's completed pumpkin. (He was fascinated that combining all the colors made BROWN!)



E's final version.



Final Step, Operation CleanUpChildren

Book It!

I was (am!) a voracious reader growing up. It is my sincerest wish that my children continue to share my love of reading. But, this isn't about them.

I am a series reader. I like singletons just fine, but I love finding and falling in love with characters and following them through multiple adventures. This love of mine started early. As in, EARLY. Here's a smattering of what I read growing up:

Baby-Sitters Little Sister Books

Baby-Sitters Club

Nancy Drew

Sweet Valley High

Do you know how many books are in each of these series? TONS. I'd have to google it to know for sure, and I really don't have time for that. I may have read the Little Sister books to completion, but I want to say I had matured and moved on in my reading with the other series' before they reached their conclusions. But every once in a while I would think back on them and wonder where would the characters be today? I grew up with these books, I think it only natural to wonder ; )  And, surprise surprise. I'm not the only one. What I love about Blog-land is that you inevitebly find somebody who has the same intersts/questions you do. And they've answered them! Woot!
So the creator of Sweet Valley High (did you know most of the books were ghost written?) wrote the sequal, Sweet Valley Confidential. No, not interested enough to read the book. The twins lost their appeal long ago; but I did have fun reading another blogger's play-by-play review :D  That left me wondering about...The Baby-Sitters Club. What happened to that beloved bunch of girls? Were Logan and Mary Anne together FOREVER? Kristy and Bart ever hook up? Is Dawn still a tree hugger? These are the questions people! And thankfully, there are answers! Go! Read! Be amused! Wonder no more!

In case you, too, love series, here is a current sampling:
Twilight (you know you wanna), Stephanie Meyer
The Belgariad and The Mallorean, David Eddings
Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
Venus Prime, Arthur C. Clark
Merry Gentry, Laurell K. Hamilton (warning: graphic)
Bride Quartet, Nora Roberts (my FIRST Nora Roberts read ever! Can you believe it took me 29 yrs?!)

Making it Pretty

Here are some detail shots of E's party decor, and a little of the prep work too ; )

Besides the fresh flowers, and the cupcake arrangement, the other flower decorations were "hand-made" flowers.

Petals = Lemon cake and Raspberry frosting, Stem and stamen = Banana cake with chocolate frosting. YUM

(final product for our "hand-made" efforts)

The Eleventh Commandment

Thou shall perceive happiness, health, and beauty in direct porportion to your weight and body size.

Outwardly, most people would read this and respond publicly with a "screw that" attitude. Inwardly? Yep. We live it as if it were a true addendum to the original 10 written in stone.

With every fiber of my being I can truthfully say I have never believed this. Perhaps it is easier for me because I have always been considered thin. But being thin has never made me happy.  I eat a lot. A lot. People, including family, watch me eat and wonder how I manage to stay so skinny. I laugh it off, while feeling decidedly uncomfortable with the inquiry. Are they looking for an answer? Do they think I have some secret dietary magic I keep to myself? I don't know why I don't gain weight (beyond the same 8 pound flux I've had since high school). My guess for myself is genetics and a high motabalism. And the part I stress the most, being thin does not make you healthy. I DO NOT consider myself to be a healthy person. I don't exercise, I don't eat well. I make horrible dietary decisions for myself. I recognize it, but currently lack the motivation to change it. *I do not inflict my decisions on my children*

Anytime someone talks to be about losing weight I try to stress that your weight is not a goal to be reached. If you want to change something concentrate on the inches/size you want to lose. Whatever you do, make sure it's something that is sustainable (as in exercise and diet changes). Looking back, I feel torn at having supported anyones goals to change themselves instead of encouraging them to love who they are. But I guess, since I don't love my body, I feel more secure in supporting their decisions since I can't practice what I preach and such. And exercise is healthy for you, so there's that. Or maybe that's just me trying to justify my actions.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling going on here. I read this post today, and it really resounded with me. Really articulates how I have always felt. Healthy is a word that encompasses so much, and I hope to live to see our society adapt to a, ahem, HEALTHIER vision of the word. So go read the post and come back and tell me your thoughts.

A Solution

I would love to take credit for this discovery, but in reality all credit goes to my girl Chibiko.

These frames are available at Target for $14.99. Talk about a Red Hot Deal : )

I'm going to have to get me some. We have an abundance of artwork that needs to be displayed properly. Not to mention protected from little hands!

To see them in action, visit Chibiko's blog post about Kids Artwork. Hopefully someday soon (you know, before the end of the year) I'll have my own and have them up to for display. *This is me dreaming*

HELP!

I'm not a good decision maker. We are FINALLY finished painting, and now onto haning our pictures. But appointing the place to hang remains to be decided. So, HELP! Let me know what you think in the comments. I'd put up a poll, but find that the blessed nap time is over ; ) And...THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP : D

First

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