For All You Halloween Moms Out There...

On your blog you have posted, your neighbors you've "ghosted"

With goodies that you made from scratch.

The candy--you tried it, forgetting your diet--

And you went picking at the old pumpkin patch.

The jack-o-lanterns you carved, but your kids didn't starve

'Cause you made them their favorite chili.

The classroom fun's ready, the games you'll hold steady,

Looking chic in a costume that's silly.

You'll go to the parties, you'll give out the Smarties.

You'll hang spider webs and light candles, too.

Tho' you might feel a bit batty, don't say anything catty...

Just be glad your li'l pumpkins love you!

At 5:30 everything will start to come all apart--

But you'll fix and you'll patch and you'll stitch,

And if kids start complaining or the weather starts raining

Don't let this Halloween turn you into witch!

Here's wishing you all a headache free holiday!!

Love, Gab-lin

Gee, Thanks!

Me, to my 3-year-old, after his bath: "Mmmmmmm! You smell so fresh and clean!"

3-yr-old, after sniffing me back: "Mmmmmm! You smell so nice and ...BROWN!"

(I was wearing a brown sweater. I hope that's what he meant...)

Annual Halloween Feast

The Menu:
Chips, Salsa, Crudites and Pistachios
Spooky Spider Punch (apple juice with plastic spiders frozen into the ice cubes)

Strawberry Spinach Salad & Rolls
Bug-infested Jello (more plastic flies and spiders...hopefully "unleaded"!)

Dinner in a Pumpkin
Ghost Cake with Flaming Eyes

The Decor:

Anything plastic, orange or black from the dollar store

Let kids get creative!

The Guests:

Our own little goblins

&

Some frightfully delightful cousins from Telford!

Dinner in a Pumpkin:

Brown 1 lb. ground beef with half a diced onion, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. basil, 2 tsp. garlic salt, 1/2 tsp. fresh pepper. Stir in 1 large can tomato sauce and 2 cups cooked rice. Pour into hollow pumpkin shell, top with pumpkin "lid" and bake on a cookie sheet for 1 1/2 hours at 350.

**Note...this is NOT my favorite meal in the world. But my kids just love eating out of a pumpkin (except Sam...he was grossed out). And at least I didn't serve Halloweenies!

Ghost Cake with Flaming Eyes:

Bake favorite cake in a 9x13 pan. Frost with white frosting. (I like spice cake with cream cheese frosting.) Draw a ghost on top. Use two half eggshells to hold the eyes. Soak two sugar cubes with lemon extract, place in shells and then light with a match. Very cool and very spooky!

Let's Do Lunch

I am wishing we could all just meet up for Mexican today at noon. My mom, my sistas, inlaws, cousins, aunts, friends and all you super-cyber-blog-buddies out there! We are all so witty and pretty and fun on our websites...do you think we could actually be friends for real? Would we really get along? What would we discuss? Would we even recognize each other?

You might not recognize me because I'm a lot taller on my blog. In real life, I am short...not petite, tiny and adorable like Kelly Ripa (who I saw on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ once....she has the body of a nine-year-old boy). I am just short. A regular body on stumpy legs. This makes clothes shopping difficult. Grocery shopping, too. (Just last week, I had to hoist my youngest up onto my shoulders to reach the stainless steel wipes on the tippy top shelf in the cleaning aisle!)

I would probably be wearing my favorite jeans, long-sleeved Old Navy tee, and a hoodie or corduroy jacket...depending on my mood and water-retention level. I have hoodies and corduroy jackets in almost every color. I think they are flattering for us buxom types. Currently, the red one is my favorite. I wear a lot of red.

Since the weather is getting chilly, I'd probably put on my favorite brown cowboy boots, which--although scuffed--add almost a full inch to my stature. You might notice I'm not much of a jewelry person...maybe silver hoops, the heirloom diamond from my husband's grandmother on a chain around my neck, my anniversary band & mother's ring on my left hand, and a silver Citizen watch. And, if you think I smell good, chances are it's Ysatis. My signature scent since high school. I wear it to feel young, I guess.

Being the great friends you are, you would not comment upon the huge, unsightly blemish blazing proudly on my chin. Instead, you'd compliment me on my French manicure. Thank you. Yes, they are my own nails and I did them myself in bed last night. Once I stopped biting them, I realized I'd inherited my mother's super-strong claws, and now I take great pride in hand grooming. Maybe I'll be a model, ala George Costanza, someday.

You would notice I play with my hair a lot and kind of glance around during conversations. I don't mean to. These are just nervous habits and, although I think I'm pretty self-confident, deep down I'm sort of shy and might be just a bit overwhelmed by such a dynamic crowd of ladies.

You might need to remind me to slow down on the chips and salsa, too.

I would definitely order shrimp fajitas with double beans, no rice. Something diet to drink. And I would let you have my guacamole.

I'd probably ask you lots of questions, because I like to listen. But if you got me started on books, music, movies or my children, I could talk your ear off. I have also been known to give my share of opinions and advice...solicited or otherwise.

You guys would need to figure out the bill and tip and all that good stuff, because I am not too hot at math. But I would give you all a great big hug and we'd have a hearty laugh and promise to get together again soon.

Darn, it's already past noon. Oh well. Dinner, anyone?

p.s. Please RSVP and let me know what you'd be wearing and ordering and discussing...see you there!

Why We Can't Get to Bed Before 9:00 pm in Words and Pictures

Back in the good old days, I was proudly known as the SLEEP NAZI. Babywise, Healthy Sleep Habits--Happy Child and The Seven O'Clock Bedtime Book were my bibles. Everyone knew that I had my kids in bed by 7:00 pm, if not earlier. Hey, I was with the crew all day long and they couldn't tell time and it got dark very early. So, why not?

Putting my kids down early was a source of great pride and joy. By 7:30, I had a clean house and a sleeping foursome. I could enjoy my favorite TV programming, a good book, and--on the rare occasions my husband was in town and not at a church meeting--some adult conversation. I could get a babysitter and shop at Target, completely kid-free. I was very smug. I was a great mom and I knew it. And, geez, why wasn't everyone else doing the same thing?

Well, I shoulda known.

Nothing lasts forever, especially with growing kids around. So, using the above photo collage as my visual aid, I'll give you the lo-down and maybe you can write in with your suggestions.

Yesterday:

1. The kids were playing beautifully in the yard together. I find that the more dangerous or messy the activity, the less they fight. So, when they decided to pull all my dead lily-branch-thingies and tie them together to make boats, I was okay with it. Better than watching Nickelodeon, right?

2. The boats were SOOO cool, they had to walk through the deep dark woods to the stream behind our house and see if they would float. A little nature and exercise, fine.

3. Dad came home and grilled our dinner. We HAD to eat outside on the patio. Great...the family meal, very important.

4. Dad made everyone clean up the mess outside. (He's the meanie...love it!) Plus, someone had to do the dishes...and I think we can all guess who. At this point, everyone was begging for cookies and ice cream. Actually, I wanted some too, so we all sat down for ANOTHER meal at the formerly clean kitchen counter. Yeah...yeah..yeah...more bonding time, great!

5. In theory, this would be the time when one parent bathed the twins while another parent assisted with homework. (You may be wondering why we don't do homework right after school. Well, we just don't. My kids are hyper little critters and need to be outside while the sun shines.) During this study/bath/bonding time, there were several phone calls and a couple of naked people just running around the house. The (3rd grade) homework proved too difficult for the on-duty parent (even though she had at one time been a 3rd grade super-student and even a 3rd grade teacher...hello!). So a mid-stream parent switch was necessary. More screaming, more phone calls, more nudity...you get the picture.

6. Once the twins were finally wrestled into bed and the homework was completed...including the always-painful read aloud and writing in the dreaded reading log, kid #2 reminded me of PICTURE DAY. This meant extra-thorough showering, toothbrushing, clothing selection and rolling her hair in rag curlers...because even though she is adopted, she somehow inherited my stick straight hair. OK, we were slowly inching our way closer to bedtime.

7. Just as we had their heads on the pillow, ready for prayers and lullabies...KNOCK! KNOCK! Who's there? The neighborhood BOO, that's who! OHHHHHH the inhumanity! Everyone was out of bed, tussling over the candy, fighting over the bucket, crying about who got to tape the ghost to the door, eating more than their allotted single piece, running back to the bathroom to re-brush, needing drinks of water. Gee, thanks, neighbor. Next time why don't you just throw a brick through the window? It'd be less hassle and mess...

So...that is why I am cranky today. And that is why no one got to bed before 9:00 pm.

Two Years Ago

This photo was taken in 2005. My darling mother-in-law made these fall outfits for the cuties. She is a saint. That has not changed. Jake enjoyed making goofy faces. That has not changed either.

Em was sporting her "I-did-it-myself" pixie 'do. She went through an intensive six-month independent study barbering course. Actually I think she did Jake's too. Thankfully that has changed. Now she has enrolled in the "Customize Your White-Painted Furniture with Black Sharpie" home decorating course.

Luke was looking sad because I had taken away his blankie for the photo. The blankie-love has not changed either. Actually it seems to have become more intense as the blanket gets greyer and smellier.

Sam was holding his leg straight because he had just finished wearing a full-length cast for six weeks. He had broken his femur and wore a bright blue spica-type plaster thing all along his leg and around his stomach. Of course, he was not potty-trained at this point which meant that the whole thing was an E-coli breeding ground. Thankfully, this has changed, too.

Sometimes you need to look back to realize how far you have come...and that you never want to go back again!

Sundays

Growing up, my family lived the Fourth Commandment. On Sundays, we never went shopping or to movies or restaurants. We went to church each week, which took monumental effort.

After all, seven kids=14 individual Sunday shoes which would inevitably be lost or too tight on Sunday mornings. Plus there were four daughters, which meant four heads of hair to be "done." From an early age, I was chief hairstylist and my sisters still show me their scars from the curling iron. And, I say now what I said then...."Tough luck, ladies! Beauty is pain!"

Mom always got us looking fairly presentable. But she REALLY went all out getting herself ready. I remember watching her lay her clothes and accessories out on the bed. She was (and still is) always so stylish. She'd shut herself in the bedroom and emerge (usually while Dad was honking the horn) looking so glamorous with her silk scarves and stockings and high heels and smelling delicious. I was always so proud to have such a beautiful mother.


We wiggled and giggled our way through the three-hour block and then drove home. Mom usually had a post-Sacrament-Meeting-meltdown and then Dad would have his post-meltdown-meltdown. Then everyone would go crying to their rooms for naps and we'd all wake up a few hours later feeling much better.


Sunday dinner was non-traditional in our household. Thinnies (Swedish pancakes) or waffles were a favorite. Also, malts and cinnamon toast. We knew Mom was at the point-of-no-return when we had a Heidi supper which meant ham, cheese, crackers and fruit served on a paper towel. Mom and Dad tried to make it sound romantic by telling us that it was just what storybook Heidi ate in the Alps. We were skeptical, but gobbled it down anyway. Especially when Dad got out the sunflower seeds, scattered them on the table and allowed us to "peck" at them with our beaks. (Look, Ma, no hands!)


Usually, Sunday evenings, we would have some kind of family devotional. Mom would read us a story from a church magazine or the scriptures. Or the kids would put on a break-dancing demonstration. Our favorite Sunday devotionals were when Dad got out the slide projector and we watched carousel after carousel of old family photos.


I especially liked the slide shows. Being the oldest, there were at least 4,000 slides of adorable Baby Me in my stylin' bell-bottoms and stripey sundresses. With each child there were significantly less baby photos. Poor #7 had only 2 or 3 to call her own. Fortunately, she looked enough like me that Mom and Dad could tell her that, yes, she had also worn bell-bottoms and stripey-sundresses and wasn't it funny how she seemed like an only-child in all her baby pix?


Sundays were fun days.


These days I'm trying to carry on the tradition. Sundays can be the biggest challenge of my week. Church is a lot of work--before, during and after. But I love the spiritual boost it gives me. Also, I enjoy having all four of my kids clean and shiny at the same time.


Some people might think it's restrictive to keep the Sabbath holy. But, as a mom, I love having one day a week that is playdate/ballgame/birthday party/homework free. I love that I don't have to feel guilty about not cleaning or shopping or taking my kids to the zoo. I love trying to keep the day special and different from the rest of the week. It feels very restful and gives me the energy I need to take on Monday mornings.

Ugh. Monday morning...a few short hours away. Must go and soak up the last snatches of Sunday.

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

Life is so much better when Dad is back in town. Just today, he:

• made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast


• cleaned out the whole garage


• replaced all dead light bulbs (of which there were many)


• fertilized the lawn


• restocked the wood pile


• took all boys on traditional Saturday Home Depot/Taco Bell run so the girls could work out


• fixed my hope chest which the twins have been using as their life-size jack-in-a-box toy


• made pizzas on the grill for dinner


• supervised bath/story/bedtime so that all little people were in bed by 7 pm

No wonder we miss him so much!!