Halloween Chalk Talk

Today was the School Halloween Parade. Halloween seems to rival Christmas now; the kids came home with a bag full of candy from school alone! Here they are, marching around the blacktop:


My daughter has been obsessed with cats lately, so naturally that was her costume choice. Somebody was giving out plastic 'fangs', and even though all the kids complained how it hurt their gums they wanted to wear them anyway.

Here is my son in his bat costume. He had previously added a jester hat to go with it, and was dubbed a 'ding bat', but he decided it wasn't cool enough to bring to school. Too bad, it was highly original.

No halloween parade is complete without the appropriate accoutrements. This little party crasher is a regular at the school playground; her owners are students!

After the parade everyone gathered for a 'Chalk Talk'. Chalk artist Elva Hurst tells a story while drawing a picture to go with it. She starts with a blank canvas (which I had a picture of, but was too dark to post), and while a tape plays her story, the picture unfolds...in 20 minutes! She was too amazing not to share. This year's program was about school days when she was young. Elva went to a one room Amish schoolhouse. As she recounted her daily school days routine, she drew:

This picture was taken 10 minutes into the program.

Here is artist Elva Hurst posing with the final piece. The picture doesn't do it justice. After her work is complete, the special light above it can be changed to reflect sunrise, mid-day, sunset and blacklight. The colors she uses are brought out with each setting and is truly beautiful. The children loved it; their unprovoked awe was obvious!

An Ego is Born

As is our morning routine, I corralled my children into the bathroom to tackle them into brushing their teeth, brushing their hair and washing their faces after getting dressed for school. My son goes through stages of being very particular in regards to his appearance, other times in typical boy fashion he just doesn't seem to care. Today he scrutinized his hair carefully in the mirror.

Son: You know mom, the girls think I'm very handsome.

Me: Oh yeah? Which girls are those?

Son: Any girl I want!

He says this matter-of-factly, as if I was silly to even ask the question. He must get it from his father.

Tag!

Kristin at The Fertile Infertile bestowed this award and tag on my infant blog.

Now, the way this works, is I answer the following questions with single word responses (well, as best I can anyway), and pass the award on to 7 other bloggers. I'm not sure if I know 7 other bloggers. Kristin is probably trying to kick my creative butt in gear and say "Will ya write something every once in awhile?" Yeah, I had that coming. Do I have to be honest in these things?!?! Onward!

1. Where is your cell phone? nowhere (don't have one)

2. Where is your significant other? work

3. Your hair color? golden brown

4. Your mother? far away

5. Your father? with my mother

6. Your favorite thing? Just one thing? Does an inclusive term like 'my stash' count?

7. Your dream last night? don't remember it

8. Your dream/goal? having my own cross stitch design company

9. The room you’re in? family room

10. Your hobby? cross stitching

11. Your fear? alien invasion (not really)

12. Where do you want to be in six years? financially secure and running my cross stitch design company

13. Where were you last night? at home

14. What you’re not? tidy

15. One of your wish list items? new windows for my house

16. Where you grew up? PA

17. The last thing you did? stitched

18. What are you wearing? jeans and a t-shirt

19. Your T.V.? The news.

20. Your pet? 1 dog, 3 cats and numerous tropical fish.

21. Your computer? decent

22. Your mood? happy

23. Missing someone? yes

24. Your car? Ford Windstar (Mom mobile)

25. Something you’re not wearing? a sweatshirt (it's cold here!)

26. Favorite store? dunno

27. Your Summer? very busy

28. Love someone? with all my heart

29. Your favorite color? it changes

30. When is the last time you laughed? today

31. Last time you cried? the other day

I tag Jen of In One Ear, Venessa of My Life In Overdrive, Velda at Velda's Place, I'll have to return to this one later when I think of a few more...

Not Until I Get My Kiss

When you're a mom you're not just on call but on deck 24/7. It's part of the job description until kids bloom some independence with the where withall to execute it properly. I'm not sure when that happens, sometime in their twenties??? Thirties???

That being said, sometimes I feel like I'm out of gas. Lately I've felt like more of a maid and my kids think I'm their personal assistant and chef. Most of the time I have a sense of humor about it, but I haven't really been able to recharge in a long time. Before you bring out the cheese (to go with my whine)...

Today started with the normal rush-and-a-push (not to swipe from that Smiths song) to get the kids ready for school on time. On our way to the bus, my daughter stayed back from the others so I walked with her. She opened up to me about school, social troubles and all that's bothering her. It was nice that she trusted me with something so personal, that she felt she could open up those parts of her life with me. As we turned the corner, the bus was pulling to a stop. My son was at the door, refusing to get on. "Not until I get my kiss!" he told the driver. With a hug and a kiss, they both boarded the bus.

Sometimes it's hard to know the impact we have on our children's lives, or how much they appreciate our love. And little do they know how such small things can refill a mommy gas tank.

Marketing Madness

It's that time of year again...the early marketing push by toy companies, telling your children what they want for the holidays. Every commercial on Nickelodeon is followed by "I want that!" by at least one of my kids. My oldest tells me if it's on TV, that means she needs it and I have to buy it. Good thing for her, her parents have a good sense of humor. Recently it backfired on her though, as there was an oatmeal commercial on. For some reason she won't eat it. We told her we had to buy it, because after all, it was on TV!

I wonder what it must be like to be the child of a marketing executive for a toy company. Imagine seeing pictures of all those cool toys. Do they get free ones? And what if a Fisher-Price marketing rep has a daughter into Disney Princess? Does he/she cringe when their daughter begs for the Ariel Talking Salon? Do they stand in line for hours and shell out the rediculous full price for plastic like the rest of us? Does it kill them to know how much the markup probably is?
Not surprisingly, I've received Fisher-Price, Lego, and My Twinn doll catalogues in the mail this week. Invariably my children always want the most expensive item in it. *sigh*

Play-Doh Pandemonium

Opportunities present themselves in the oddest places. My kids love Play-Doh, most notably my 3 year old where it's been elevated to the status of gourmet food. This week she's been begging non-stop to play with it. After months of banning the stuff, I finally give in. "You're not going to eat it, are you?" "No, Mommy." Not wanting to tempt her, I give her one can. I reiterate that it is not to eat. She happily squishes, forms, stamps and creates. I work on other things while chatting with my friend Kristin. Suddenly, something is horribly wrong. My little girl is crying in agony, clutching her middle as she makes her way to the toilet. I scramble to assist her, trying to figure out why she's in pain.

"Mommy, there's Play-Doh in my butt!"

Her hands are covered in Play-Doh, which is now covering my toilet seat and anything else she touches. Emotionally I'm in an odd cross of concern for my child, pity because she hurts, and trying not to laugh. I wipe her gently, attempt to clean off the seat (with her on it), and diagnose her problem. I conclude either constipation or travelling bowels. All my baby can do is sob hysterically that Play-Doh is in her butt. Kristin starts laughing, which starts me laughing. I attempt to regain composure with little success. Shortly thereafter the pain subsides. For a brief second I consider resassuring her, but Mommy-brain took over. "Are you going to eat Play-Doh anymore?" She solemnly shood her head no.

A Mother's Worth

This is my Mother's Day gift from my children. Isn't it lovely? Pictures certainly don't do it justice! I've never had an orchid before, so I'm reading on how to keep one.
My husband and son had to go out this evening, so they took the opportunity to get my Mother's Day gift. Our son went directly to this flower. None other would do. My husband tried to direct him to other plants, and he said in a loud voice "Dad, stop being cheap!" A few bystanders couldn't help but snicker. Out of the mouth of babes... (I sure love that boy!)