Late Halloween Post

We are huge movie fans, and nothing helps get us in the right holiday mood than watching our favorite repertoire of festive movies. With Halloween being Jim's fave, of course we had to see our cheesy old school horror flicks. Pretty much all B movies. We try to branch out each year to find some new favorites, but keep on coming back to the same ones. I would like to add that none of these are that scary. Here's the list of our 2008 picks:

First, we saw "Black Dragons", with Bela Lugosi, 1942.



Then "House on Haunted Hill", with Vincent Price, 1959.



Next was "The Screaming Scull", a good one! 1958.



Then "Chamber of Horrors" (or "The Door with Seven Locks") 1940.



Then we saw one we liked a lot, "House of Dracula", with Lon Chaney, 1945.



Next was "The Mummy's Ghost", 1944.



And then "Frozen Alive" made in 1964.



Next, Bela Lugosi as "The Ape Man", 1943.



Another favorite is "Werewolf in London", 1934.



We branched out a little bit and saw more contemporary films such as "Boogeyman", 2005...



And "Hocus Pocus" with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, 1993.



Then one we see every year and is one of our favorites is "Horror Hotel" (AKA "The City of the Dead"), made in 1960.



And last, but certainly not least, what would Halloween be with out watching the Great Pumpkin with Snoopy and Charlie Brown?



Yep, we enjoyed ourselves. Soon it will be time to start with the Christmas movies! I know everyone has got their favorites, and so do we! Happy Holidays to all!

November Roses

We've had "unseasonably" lucky weather lately. I think it was in the high 60's today. I've been watching our roses bloom outside my kitchen window with wonder and awe at the lateness in the year. What a splendid thing to see! Just two little pink roses bursting into life. Aren't they lovely?

Also, our bushes out front are blooming uncharacteristically. I think they are amaryllis?

I just thought I would stop and smell the roses!

Gratitude

I appreciate everybody's commiseration, compassion, empathy, sympathy and encouragement. It was definitely a rough day. And I know I'm not the only one that has awful days- it's the typical life of a mom of kids. It just felt good to get it out there, to know I wasn't alone. (Sometimes I really feel alone out here!) So, thanks everyone for boosting my morale. The kids got sick that night by the way, but I am counting my blessings. Because we didn't have to pay for our yummy dinner that night (thanks to Ma & Pa Feagin), and the kids weren't way too sick. Just hoarse with runny noses. I've noticed that my levels of tolerance really fluctuate from day to day. Today is a good day. Most likely because they actually took naps. I never understood how difficult it was to be a mom until I was one.

We haven't seen the carrion since. And our cat is okay, by the way. At least the one we have left is. (We used to have 5.) Thanks for asking! Hope everybody else is hanging in there too! :-)

Is it selfish to complain?

I just need to express myself. To vent. My kids have been testing me in every capacity lately, past mental and physical exhaustion. I find myself snapping so easily, and the little things are becoming mountains of disaster, in my eyes. Sure, you're supposed to laugh at things that happen, but it sure ain't easy. I used to be so laid back and in control. I wonder what happened...

Earlier this week I found a daughter covered in mommy's lipstick, and the rest of it all over the walls. A day or so before that I found a naked boy during naptime with no diaper, and poo smeared all over the sides of the crib and the walls, and through all the mesh of the sides. Not to mention the little monkey flung some of it onto the carpet and I stepped in it. (Did I mention we just had our carpets cleaned?) Yeah. Smelled great.

Well, today was no exception. It's actually a beautiful, gorgeous day outside! I can appreciate that, as well as the fact that the kids let me sleep in until around 9 am. But I did wake up with a spasm in my left shoulder. Otherwise, the morning didn't start off so badly, especially since I knew Jim was home all day and would help me entertain the kids and take care of them. So then he decides (After all) thet he's going to go to this Brooks Robinson (Orioles) auction where he was going to get some minor league stuff for his collection. Sure, why not? He will pay for them out of his own personal baseball fund. And while he was out, he would run all the other errands- taking ebay to the post office to ship, take the car for a tune-up, drop off some local orders & so on. Sure, why not? He left the house saying he owed me. I will remember that...


So, he left and things went smoothly. Ffor a little while. Then a couple of huge, black vultures were hanging out on our back porch and Elena and I were watching them. "Baggeye Birds!" (Bad guy)
So was spooky our cat...from a few feet away underneath them. I was worried at first, but then told myself they only eat dead stuff. They were just poking around. See her at the bottom of the picture below?
Luckily our garbage was covered! Then I got to thinking about our cat that disappeared in April. I wonder if they found her? Maybe up on the roof? Who knows. I was also thinking I was glad I wasn't superstitious. Wouldn't that be considered a bad omen in some cultures? Who knows.


I didn't have any time to think about it because all of a sudden Aaron was screaming upstairs. I ran up and he was sitting in a puddle of aftershave and trying to get stuff off his tongue with his little hands. NOOOO! So I stuck his head under the running water in the bathtub to get any of the alcohol out of his mouth and eyes. And Elena hears it and comes running thinking it's time for a bath. Who then slips in the puddle and lands flat on her back, smacking her head on the ground. Waaaaaaa! I feel the same way, girlfriend. So, since her hair was soaked in Bay Rum aftershave, I decided they would both need to have a bath. At 11 am. On a saturday.


So, we got that all done with and it seems that was the end of it. Then Aaron peed on the floor after wiggling away before I could get his diaper on. Do I believe in omens now? Perhaps.


Yep, Jim. You owe me big time!
Does anyone have any advice on surviving two toddlers? Because that's what it feels like I am barely doing right now. Surviving. All I know is that from now on I will keep all the doors shut at all times, and never put kids to bed in just a diaper.

Quick Vid

Here's a link to Elena playing in the leaves. It wouldn't upload to blogger, but it would to myspace. Hmmm, don't ask me!

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=45612173

Enjoy!

Fall Frolick!

Everyone else has been blogging about their rompings in the leaves. Here's our little romp! Aaron got really grumpy while I was raking up all the piles, so he was in bed asleep. Elena didn't really know you could play in the leaves- it was a new concept for her. She wasn't responding when I was trying to coax her to "jump" into the leaves. Until I said "Swim!" That she understood!





Then she proceeded to take a pretend nap right in the middle of swimming!



She cracks me up. It actually looks quite comfortable! I took a video or her playing too that I will have to upload later at my in-laws because my internet is way too slow. So stay tuned!

Later on tonight, I came home from work to an empty house and had about a half an hour of alone time! Ahhhhh. Anyway, I could have chosen to clean the house, or watch tv, but decided instead to carve our pumpkin. Heck, it's been a few years since I have been able to. So it may look a little...shall we say, amateur, but I like it. It's got character. I used the big scar on it to my advantage, making it into Quasimodo.


Pretty goofy, eh? Besides, who's afraid of a smiling pumpkin?



When I was cleaning out the pumpkin, I saved all the seeds because I think they're so good all toasted and seasoned. But I came across the weirdest thing! One of the seeds was beginning to sprout while inside its mother pumpkin. Is that normal? I ask you?? It was so odd looking that I got a picture of it. I hope it's clear enough to see.




I don't think I'll eat this one...

Trunk-or-Treat

Friday night was our annual tri-ward Trunk-or Treat in the church parking lot. We've always gone, even before we had kids, because- heck, it's Halloween! This year Jim dressed up as a red-neck trucker- complete with a baseball hat with nasty, greasy (fake) long hair coming out of it. Yep, it was his idea. You may ask yourselves if I dressed the part of his woman. I'll have you know that I did no such thing, nor was there any amount of money in the world that would entice me to do so. I had no original ideas of my own. (Short on time and brain power.) So I grabbed what was on sale: a Guenivere costume. Elena was my little pumpkin, and Aaron was my little frog. He played around in the trunk while I handed out candy and other goodies to the kids & teens. (James likes to give out baseball cards.) Jim took Elena around and made sure to get hoardes of candy for his own happy consumption. (Oh, but I made sure he shared!) The kids got a few pieces too. :)
Here's Jim making the rounds.

Before we all went outside we had a chili and dessert cook-off. I had no time to do the chili, so I made a bunch of cornbread to complement the chili. (I just realized I left my container at the church, oops!) But there was a lot of scrumptious food! And of course the winner for the most calories was the coconut cheesecake, of which I had an ample amount. While we ate, the breezeway had been turned into a play area with little jungle gyms and air mattresses for the young and energetic. Elena played a lot with her friend Courtney. Aren't they cute?

Here's a dorky picture of us, with the antsy kids.

They then had a costume parade around the gym, and then we went outside. It was such nice weather! In years past it has been too yucky to be outside and we had to decorate classrooms instead. So, we had a good time. Afterwards, we stopped by Jim's parents' house because his brother and wife (John & Cacilda) were in town and we wanted to see them. At that point I was able to get better pictures of the kids in their costumes.

My Lil' Punkin!

My Lil' Ribbit!
So hers was a little small, and his was a little big. But I had to use what I already had while they still don't care what costume they dress up in for Halloween! Jim's dressing up again friday to take Elena around the block. Better believe it!

It's Spooky Time!

Halloween is Jim's favorite Holiday, so we like to get some spooky decorations going on. Here is the front of the house, with our spoOOooky graveyard! This is normally our flower box. We also have a "bad guy rock" (Elena's pet name) which has a motion sensor and cackles evilly at you with flashing lights that say "Go Back". It's already frightnened off a few salespeople...I hope.







Inside we have our little spooOOooky village. We plug it all in at night for optimum effect. (Another freecycle find). Fun stuff, no?




We also have other festive odds and ends around the house- like the 4-foot glow-in-the-dark skeleton hanging on our front door! It's a fun time of year!

Help me!

The other day we were playing on a great big, very cool jungle gym, and Elena said something that really cracked me up. She was way up high above my head, grabbing the bars and crying "help me!" Which from her sounds more like "hehp meeee!" I should have gotten it on video because it sounded so cute. (She was just playing, not upset or anything.)


Ah, just the very place for a damsel in distress- a turret.

Oh, boy! We even found a tunnel!


And of course, Mr. I'm-too-good-for-these-manmade-playthings would rather delve into the more impressive aspects of the local flora. Give him a jungle gym and a pile of dirt, and this boy would choose the pile of dirt. And eat it too. Just like most boys, I'm sure. I had to fish out many a wood chip from his little toothy mouth.

We are so grateful to have this nice weather so late in the year! Keep those 70 degree days coming!

Weights & Measures

So, we finally made it to the pediatrician for Aaron's 1 year check-up. Elena was sad she wasn't getting checked out. She kept saying "Doctor!" and measuring her own head with the measuring tape. Odd, since she has never shown an affinity to doctor's visits in the past...it must be the doctor toys she has- stethescope, play needle and so on. I guess they did the trick!

So, at one year of age, Aaron weighs 25.5 pounds, is 31 1/2 inches tall, and has an average head circumference. This is the first time in his life, besides when he was born that he has been below the 90th percentile with his weight. Sheesh! Compare that to Elena at 1 year old: 21.7 pounds and 31 3/4 inches tall. He's my stocky little man!

With a nice 'do too...

I think he's doing one of his fake-coughs. Another Aaron game.