Monday, October 31, 2005

My First Trick-Or-Treat

Well, obviously I've lived through Trick or Treating's throughout my lifetime. But I've never participated in one until now.

I was raised without Trick or Treating for two reasons: we lived in a rural area where kids didn't come to your house even if you wanted them to, and we didn't believe in celebrating Holloween because of it's pretense of Evil.

So this is the first time I've gone door to doorstep and asked for candy. Well, actually, Pumpkin asked for candy. But I took her!

Last year I sat at our doorway waiting for the first costumed child to walk up our porch steps. And when it was 2 minutes past 7:00 I panicked and began to cry because no one could tell our porch light was on since it was still light out. But only seconds later I nervously handed our first patron their prized sweets. And we were out of our two bags of Snickers 10 minutes later (turns out over 500 kids showed up last year here - out neighbors across the street go ALL OUT for Halloween and draw quite a crowd.)

Anyway, this year Pumpkin had seen enough on cartoons and TV to know the gist of it, and she's so not shy anymore!, that I knew I wanted to take her. Rugger stayed home with Boom to pass out candy since he wouldn't get into it and he's running a fever right now.

Anyway, we put the bunny suit that her Grandma (MIL) got her last year, and I even painted her face white with a pink nose (she like the nose) and black whiskers. She smeared it twice before we even left the house, but it was worth it anyway.

As we walked from house to house, I felt sort of shy and new at the same time. Everyone commented on my little bunny and how cute she was. She was great at saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank You." And half and hour later she was ready to go home ;) Little feet can only walk so far, it seems. If she had had her cousin running around with her, it might have been a different story, but his grandparents are in Warren, and so he wasn't with us.

I also felt a bit guilty. Part of me knows there are Christians who are very much against Trick or Treating. I used to be one of them. I'm still not completely sure what is okay or not. But I like the idea of dressing up, and getting candy isn't so bad, either. I know there are evil roots behind the tradition, and I'm still not into the ghouls or goblins, witches or ghosts, corpses and blood.

But I felt like tonight I took part in a tradition that most Americans have been celebrating for generations. I felt part of our neighborhood. I relished sitting on the porch with our Jack-O-Lanterns lit and Boom's students coming to say "hi." I enjoyed seeing neighbors and strangers all being polite and smiling at each other's costumes.

I had fun. And for me, tonight, that's all that matters.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

My Pumpkin Princess

Well, she turned three on Monday. And she's been talking about birthdays in general for so long that I'm not sure she knows exactly WHEN she turned three, or that after this week it's not her birthday or anyone else's for quite awhile. But at least this year she knew to look forward to it. And I hope her party on Saturday goes well. I got her balloons and noise makers because to her that means party, and it's the first she'll have had them (the noise makers, that is.)

Tonight at Cubbies she got a little present. They were generic My Little Ponies, and when I asked her is she had gotten "My Little Ponies" she replied, "No!, Their MY little ponies!" Ah, yes. Three and not willing to share. Which means poor Rugger is getting shoved quite a lot lately.

Speaking of which, the little cuddle has apparently been attending "Tantrum Throwing 101" because he's gotten very good at it. I knew he would months ago when he used to put his head to the ground and pout if he didn't get his way. Now he resembles more of an angry bull...

And he has yet to say a word. I'm beginning to wonder if he'll be the type to spout a whole sentence when he DOES talk...

Pumpkin is also very into the imagining and role playing thing. I've been "Pumpkin" all week and she's been "Mommy." She pretends her animals are in distress like on Go Diego and rescues them. And she names her baby doll (which is clothed in pink) baby "Joey." She insists he's a baby boy. Before I gave her the doll for her birthday, she had been on a kick with her "baby froggy." A little bath toy which she would put under her shirt and proclaim to be having a baby, then pull out and he is born. She wrapped him in a washcloth and kept good care of him.

Right now I am so enjoying them. Rugger is getting into more things than I can think to find since I can't imagine why he's want to get into them, and Pumpkin surprises me daily with new things she learns. Tomorrow I'm taking her skating for the first time with the local homeschoolers group. I hope to meet some people and make some friends. But it will be hard to keep quiet about my plans to unschool, since I know people say, "Don't label yourself," and "don't talk about methods." But I'm so excited about unschooling...Oh, well.

I found a lady here in Jamestown (well, not HERE, of course, but close enough that it might as well be) who does clay and is on CLAYART, which is where I found her gallery. We haven't met in person, yet, but she's been VERY helpful in her e-mails and I hope I can learn much from her. I can't wait until football is over and I can think about getting the garage wired and fire up the kiln. Of course, inevitably, I will shatter a few pieces (she said everybody does throughout their career) but I'm hoping SOMETHING makes it through the whole process. Then I can get started on making gifts for family and friends! What better excuse than that to do what you love!

And I have a confession to make. I didn't think I'd care that much, but I'm hooked on Sudoku...are you? My family gave me some sheets and I can't help it...I love it.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Tad Bit Jealous

Okay, so my feelings aren't all that stellar lately!

But, I was watching That's Clever on HGTV today and saw a man who (with his son) makes these flea characters out of metal. He welds them and such. It was so neat! So I checked out his website, and I SO want, like, half of his stuff! You can catch them here.

I want the trombone player for my dad (mustache and all), the football scene for Boom, the pottery guy for myself some day (if I ever do get it going and get a wheel,) and I can think of one for just about everybody I know, almost!

And I just wish that I could do something this cool and enjoy it and have others enjoy it and make some money, too.

But as it is, I can't even seem to figure out my clay. I don't know if it's too wet, dry, or what. I get very frustrated sometimes because I keep feeling like I should be good at SOMEthing, and yet I never feel like I "find" it. Boom has football, my MIL does gardening, my Mom is good at housekeeping and cooking, my sister is becoming a writer, and I...I just keep trying.

*sigh*

But at least I won't give up. Not yet. I still have faith that I can make the clay work. I just have to figure it out. I will search for a workshop or something, but I'll get there.

If there's a "flea" on that website that describes you, let me know in the comments!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Feeling Cheated

Well, no Nemo for me, at least for now. About a month ago I bought (at least I thought) the Finding Nemo DVD for Pumpkin on ebay. It was a money order or check only, but I didn't mind because they had 100% postitive feedback. And they had to wait 10 days for check to clear. So I wait but 3 days after I send my check I see that their user ID is no longer registered. I e-mail them and they tell me it's a mistake and they are trying to clear it up. NOPE. My check was cashed, but no DVD. And ebay won't refund because it's under the $25 limit.

All I can say about the guys who pulled this one on me (and I suspect others...there were many movies for sale when I "bought" mine) is: JERKS!!!

On another note, I'm hoping I started my period soon. I actually took a HPT today because I had bad cramps Friday night, then nothing until today. I was worried they might have been implanting cramps, but the test says no...thought I'm still waiting for AF. I don't want to be pregnant right now...I've been waiting 21 months for this month to come and go and me not be pregnant...I can't do that close of an age gap again...let alone the extra bed and van and everything else we'd have to adjust to...

So I'm hoping these cramps move into something more serious by tomorrow...

Thursday, October 13, 2005

At Least Something Works - And I'M "IT" !!!

Well, I've been tagged. Thank you, TD!

But, I didn't think Blogger copied text, or at least it didn't the last time I tried. So I tried downloading the Blogger for Word, and wouldn't you know it can't find the path (I'm assuming to my internet connection.) Same as Mozilla Firefox...it just keeps searching for the page and times out. I can't even set it to my connection like I do in IE...and I get so frustrated with technology. If you don't have the latest or the greatest, or understand how to program yourself, you are basically, pardon me, screwed.

Anyway, I really wanted to do this tag, it's my first *blush*, but I couldn't stand the thought of typing it all down, so I tried by chance to copy and paste...and wonder of all wonders, it worked! Though I have to do some formatting...it's all there. So, here goes:


First the rules:Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog's name in the #5 spot; link to each of the other blogs for the desired cross pollination effect.

1. Blue Stocking: http://bluestocking.typepad.com
1. Simply Coll: http://colleenscorner.com/blog
3. My Boutiful Life: http://billi-jean.com/thebounty.html
4. Today's Lessons: http://todayslessons.blogspot.com
5. The Thought Train: http://thethoughttrain.blogspot.com

Next: select four new friends to add to the pollen count. (No one is obligated to participate and anyone can play if they want to).

Umm...to be honest, I don't have any blogging friends that I know besides the one who tagged me. I've visited other blogs, but I couldn't do this unless I knew the blogger better. So get to know me, already!

were you doing 10 years ago?
1995 I was a Senior in High School. That summer I had spent a week at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (AIP) and also visited the Pittsburgh technical Institute (where I actually attended.) I was a colorguard in my marching band and a valedictorian, though I turned down the offer to speak at graduation since I had only been at the school for 4 years and I don't like public speaking. (though I will do plays)

What were you doing 5 years ago?
2000 I had been married for a year and a half and we decided to send Boom back to school to become the teacher and coach he had always wanted. I was commuting an hour to work, so the moved benefited us by making it only 20 minutes. We watched Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlee over New Year's while we were sick with a stomach bug that lasted about a week. Thank goodness for the holidays or we would have missed more than one day of work! We were too sick and tired to care if Y2K actually happened, but figured we have a field, land, and can hunt for food. Our own natural gas well, and a generator...we were set. Thanks goodness we didn't spend time making gallons of bleached water!

What were you doing one year ago?
2004 I had just had my second homebirth with was a wonderful, serene waterbirth that I wish I could re-live over and over except the last hour and a half, until he came out, I'd also relive that. Then we moved into our new house and Boom started his new job as a teacher and head football coach of the local high school (the one he graduated from.) I was basically depressed, lonely, and stressed. My almost 2 yr. old didn't cope with all the changes well, and I couldn't even help like I wanted since I had a newborn to attend to. And all the boxes to unpack since Boom couldn't be home much, and all the furniture to move even though I was warned to take it easy. Basically, I was counting down to Christmas when Boom would be home for almost 2 weeks. And Rugger would be old enough to sit for 10 minutes or maybe even 20 while I baked cookies for the first time since he was born.

What were you doing yesterday?
The 12th Yesterday I was moving again, within my house. I moved boxes and crafts and craft supplies upstairs to the now toyroom. I moved clothes and clothes and more clothes downstairs to our current bedroom. This took me 3 hours. I made lunch but did the dishes while the water boiled for the macaroni (boxed version...first time in over a year for me, usually do the whole wheat pasta and velveta type cheese and milk.) Then I typed up the games for Awana and after Rugger woke from his nap, went back to sorting clothes and putting stuff in it's new spots. By the time I was done and had given the kids a bath and taken a shower it was 6 hours total. A long day. Which is why I did nothing today. Except rake the leaves in the front yard and play in them...first time I've raked leaves in my own yard! I loved it! We didn't have trees near the trailer.

5 snacks you enjoy
Chocolate Chip Cookies (though just about any cookies will do.)
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (though any ice cream will do.)
Fruit with that awesome Cream Cheese & Whip Cream Fruit Dip
Chips & Dip (never ever buy it, don't hardly ever have it, because I'd eat it all. I'm not a chip person, unless there's dip!)
Candy Bars (Especially Nutrageous by Recees)

5 songs you know all the words to
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Jesus Loves Me
The Star Spangled Banner
Praise Adonai
(I used to know a ton of songs by Audio Adrenaline, Newsboys, D.C. Talk, Carmen, Michael W. Smith, etc. Don't listen enough now...)

5 things you would do if you had a million dollars
Pay off the house and pay my parents back for helping us so much over the last 6 years
Save it for the kids when they need it (college or otherwise)
Give more to charities
Find the perfect land and buy it, then build the perfect house
Buy two new vehicles that are more spacious and versatile than the ones we currently have and which would be dependable for years to come

5 things you like doing
Talking
Reading
Meeting new people
Trying new things
Traveling to new places

5 bad habits
Talking too much and too loud
Yelling at my kids
Not getting into the Word or Praying everyday
Interrupting conversations
Forgetting things

5 things you would never wear again
Makeup (unless for a play or something, not for myself)
Pegged Pants
Banana Clips in my hair
Braces
Diapers (hopefully!)

5 favorite toys
Slinky
Hi-Bounce Balls
Mechanical Puzzles (ie. Rubik's Cube)
Glow-In-The-Dark and Light Up toys
Devil Sticks

Winter is on it's Way

The experts are saying that this is one of the most beautiful Autumn seasons ever, and it peaks this very weekend around these northern parts. Which means this week has been a lovely mix of reds, oranges, yellows, greens, and even purples. Add to it the dreary weather and it's been a pretty nice fall week overall.

But that means that winter is right around the corner. The Sugar Maples will loose their beautiful clothes and get tapped once again for their sweet sap. (I didn't know it eventually kills them until Boom told me...now I feel bad for the trees, and this town as most of the trees are the same age and starting to die in parts.)

And now with the double hurricanes the gas prices are expected to be 50% higher than normal. Not that I'm complaining. I'd rather have to pay higher prices to HEAT my home, than to LOSE my home altogether. But at the same time, we are doing what we can to keep costs down.

Which this week meant moving the upstairs downstairs. Namely, the room we all slept in upstairs is now in the toyroom, and the toyroom is now upstairs. (We all sleep in the same room.)

This may not sound like much, but it took a good 3 hours Saturday afternoon just moving the furniture, with my in-laws' help (grandma watched the kids, especially Rugger who wanted to go up and down, up and down with us...and grandpa helped Boom with the bigger stuff.) Then it took all of Sunday afternoon to rearrange the toyroom and find a place for everything. Then on Monday I didn't get to do anything, and yesterday I didn't get to it, so today I finally spent six hours taking the craft stuff in the big closet upstairs and bringing all the clothes and towels down from upstairs. I made countless trips, and found a place for everything in the end. I even cleaned the showerhead downstairs so I can enjoy a shower in it (either it's been bad since we moved in or Boom never noticed the diminishing spray.) All I did was took an old toothbrush and attempt to scrub it thinking it might be calcium build-up. Thank goodness we have calcium here and not iron...iron never comes off easy.

Anyway, I haven't been blogging because I tend to do things in "fads." I get on a roll, then I take a break, etc. I have had not much to talk about, and too much. Here's a summary:

I now enjoy Phantom of the Opera music after renting the DVD from the library. I want the real CD from 1986 now. Never knew it was so good. Read the book 5 years ago and liked it, but never heard the music. Don't know why.

Joined a class for 20 some things on Sunday mornings, and right now it's about decision making with a book called The Best Question Ever by Andy Stanley. Seems good so far.

Been proud of Pumpkin as she is SO social with her peers now, though shy initially. She loves her preschool class at church and Cubbies on Wednesday. She plays happily with the kids of the moms I occasionally get together with (a few in the last two weeks...when I get with people, it seems to be in lumps, and then a dry spell.)

I am so excited about unschooling. I love the book Christian Unschooling by Teri Brown and wish their website was still up. I talked with the lady in charge of our local homeschooling chapter, and unfortunately she isn't into the unschooling thing at all, so she directed me in all the wrong directions as far as how I need to comply to the law (I found a great forum at Yahoo for PA unschoolers.) It just fits with the rest of my parenting.

In light of the unschooling thoughts, I pondered once again that the choices I have made since being a parent have been the ones most difficult to travel. Little support. Much skepticism. And doubts as to the real reason I'm doing it. At least I have a stubborn streak to keep with it.

Speaking of stubborn, we went to a corn maze in Ohio (first I've been to one) and though my kids were falling asleep I kept up and got us through it. We were supposed to get a prize for collecting verses to a song and singing it at the store, but all we got was ONE apple. Bummer. At least the price was discounted since it was during the day...