Big Plans

Max at Cornbelly's last year. We want to go again this month soon. Very soon, because Halloween is upon us!

All of a sudden, the weather turns cold and I feel Halloween coming on. Before the weekend I think I was in denial that it was coming. But give me some cold rain and I rush out and buy Halloween decorations. I also have a Halloween to do list:

1) Try Max's dragon costume on him again to see if it fits. Here he is last Halloween:

2)Try JB's old monkey costume on Benny. Max wore it at 15 months, Ben is 10 months now. Or should I get another animal from Costco before they are all gone?

3) Go to a pumpkin patch and hay ride with friends. Here we are last year (I was almost 8 months pregnant)

4) Decide which other place would be fun too. So far I have heard of three or four different places that offer trick-or-treating for kids in costumes, rides, face-painting, animals and other frivolity with different themes -- pioneer village, old shoppes, mini-animals, large inflatables -- which one to pick?!

5)Bake bake bake. Orange orange orange. And black.

Camping

I have more pictures from Dads and Kids last month. Max and JB went. Next year, how about taking baby Benji-boy, huh honey? Maybe not? Ok.

Curls

Whenever I think Max's hair is just getting too long and it needs a trim, I look down to see an even cuter and curlier sight. Why struggle with scissors near sensitive ears when you get so many compliments on his fair locks?

A bowlful of sugar helps the breakfast go down

Did you see the bews this morning about cereal? Here's the link to the Consumer Reports study.

It made me think fondly of my childhood. Bring up the subject of cereal and people start talking. They talk about what they ate, what they wanted to eat, what their moms let them eat, and what their friends' moms let them eat. Doesn't it always seem that when you went to another house, you would be struck by cereal envy?

We went through phases in our house. I remember Muesli, various granolas, soaked barley, cream of wheat, oatmeal and the like. Also store-brand Cheerios and Fruit Loops (something like Os and Fruity-Os). In college I remember trying my roommate Jodi's Marshmallow Mateys and wondering why I hadn't lived before. She also taught me the joy of a bowl of cereal in the evening for dessert. When I lived with my sister Rebekah during college I would often eat her Raisin Bran Crunch. JB and I buy that stuff now whenever it's on sale. We also like a type of granola that comes in a two-pack at Costco, but that one has raisins and we try to find the type that doesn't have raisins. It's in a yellow box at the grocery store. I just can't remember the name. We buy that on sale too. Cereal is expensive!

Anyway at work I did the story this morning of the sugary study. A few months ago I did a story on how cereal makers are shrinking the boxes but charging the same. It's a sneaky way to raise the price without you knowing. The same thing has been happening to ice cream. Not nice.

Things I love

Some random things I love.

-The obvious -- my boys' smiles and my man's handsomeness, kindness and humor.

-The colors yellow and red. I love my red purse, my black and red Italian purse, my big yellow bag, my red shoes and my -- wait, no yellow shoes. That's totally fine.

-My new kitchen decorations from last week's Oh Sweet Sadie sale.

-This refreshing linen spray from Thymes. It smells so clean and fresh. But this picture of it on the dresser looks like alcohol!

-"America's Funniest Home Videos." I laugh until I cry when people fall down. I don't believe they are suffering, because would they really send in the video if they had seriously been hurt?

What are some random things you love?

Some things I don't love

-Crumpled newspaper. I always have to fold it back up nicely. JB is quite patient with this behavior of mine.

-Twice now in the last week I've had my windows rolled down in the car to enjoy the cool breeze. Each time I've smacked a mosquito snacking on my arm. Ugh.

-I'm fine with other people wearing socks in the summer. But I can't do it. My feet feel hot, constricted, and confused. So I wear sandals or flats or heels without socks. But now that it's fall, I can with a clear conscience wear socks because I love my boots. It's almost boot weather, yippee!

-Apostrophes. I'm far from perfect at grammar, or at this crazy English language of ours with all its rules. But apostrohpes used incorrectly are a sore spot. I think we just type so fast we don't realize our pinkie has popped it in again when we add an s to things. "Its" and "it's" (it is) can also be confusing for some people. I've done it, and I hate it.

Examples from my everyday life:

Incorrect usage:
The Smith’s live here
Happy Holiday’s
Local Author’s come together for benefit
Go Ute’s
Cd’s and DVD’s for sale
It happened in the 1970’s
Its time for lunch
The cat lost it's tail

Correct usage:
The Smiths live here
Happy Holidays
Local Authors come together for benefit
Go Utes
CDs and DVDs for sale
It happened in the 1970s
It's time for lunch
The cat lost its tail

Anybody else have any weird pet peeves?

Other things my little boys love

My boys love rocks, snails, hammers and strong hard wood.
Benny thought these rocks and dirt were pretty tasty in our backyard.
Max meanwhile used a toy hammer to work on his playset, and had me hand up a spare piece of "strong hard wood" for him to work on.
The term "strong hard wood" comes from a Noah's Ark storybook we have, where Noah built an ark from strong hard wood. Max can no longer separate those terms in his vocabulary.

After his construction project he helped me hunt for snails in our flower beds. By the way, I am not a gardener and really have no idea what plans we have in our beds. I try to maintain what the previous homeowners planted before we bought the house four years ago. Max is fasinated and repulsed by the snails at the same time. As am I.