Boo Ya'll!

Is it bad that I'm starting with the cupcakes? probably. Earlier this month we got in the mood by turning these Nanacake chocolate multigrain cupcakes... er muffins....

into spooky skeletons!

And the big day involved a little bit of sewing for me. Nbear decided to be a Ninja, in perfect keeping with his desire to dress up as real people: Carpenter twice, Fireman, Policeman and a soldier.  Jbird was a knight. Check out the shiny suit. For the picture he threw in some fangs so spice things up.

We made our rounds with our friends which included a mummy in a complete state of unravelling

and the proverbial vampire victim.

My friend Bud will be very disappointed that I dressed up as nothing but a mom standing in the street while the kids made the rounds. Some just like to do things a little bigger. Literally.

Hope yours was happy!

Was it really that long ago?

This week has seen a temperature shift. It is chilly, overcast, rainy. And that means I'm baking and making soups. I wish my family loved soup as much as I do.


So it seems odd to look back at these pictures to a warmer time. With sunshine, shorts and sandals, sans socks.

The boys spent a morning preparing a tea party - denuding the yaupon holly bush of red berries, smashing them, mixing with water, straining and then serving.




I just liked this one. This boy has a sweeeeet tooth.



Ghoul & The Gang





Previous years we treated (because who tricks anymore?) with friends in a "planted" neighborhood. (i.e. we sugar-careful parents selected healthy treats to leave at the neighbors' houses for when we came to the door. granola bars, pretzels and nuts galore... It's really all about the process of costumes and friends, right? right? I haven't damaged my children irreparably?) This year it was full-on door to door chocolate. And as they lorded over all that they conquered, I was astonished at my candy repertoire; there were literally dozens of different types of packages of candy before me and I could identify with complete accuracy and clarity the contents of each; deftly singing "sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. almond joys got nuts, mounds don't."





The boys have had the habit lately of picking up the camera to capture something to remember, so when I dump the camera bits onto the computer I am met with several shots of something unexpected, like this playdoh turtle. I wonder if she had a name.




And speaking of remembering things, In Nbear's class they set up an altar for Dia de los Muertos, the day to celebrate and remember those who have died. I decided we should have our own altar at home.



Contents:
Photo of Grandma Hubbell at the beach
Photo of Me & Bruno in San Diego
Photo of Betsy & Bailey
Photo of Grandpa Alden
A postcard from Salt Springs because it is near Quaker Lake where my Great Aunt Mabel and Uncle Gene lived in the summers
Lilies because Betsy liked them, in her crystal vase
A trivet from Grandma Hubbell
A paintbrush from Grandpa Alden's workbench
Bruno's purple leash
Lace doilies from somewhere in my family
A tin of guava paste, scavenged from Betsy's pantry
A cup from my great Aunt Ann and Uncle Dick for me when I was born
A small dish of pine nuts for Betsy because she really liked them (the squid ink that she was always searching for to make black pasta was respectfully in absentia, because I can't find it either...)
And marigolds, because that is traditionally part of the Day of the Dead altar and they are growing in my garden.

Boo Ya'll!

A little election diversion, posted while the rest of the world is literally glued to media outlets waiting for the news.



Trick or Treatin'
We had a full on police force for the night out, where we went door to door in a friend's grandparent's neighborhood where us anti-candy moms have planted Halloween "goodies" like granola bars! dried fruit! graham crackers! (when Nbear is old enough to read this, I'm SO busted!)




The full lineup. While Jbird seemed to have developed an oral fixation on those cuff-a-links, Nbear seems to be totally enamored with the snow white princess. aw.






and speaking of love, Smith and I also celebrated a stealth anniversary night out. He had free tickets to a book reading (lots of folks in town for the Texas Book Fair.) I didn't feel like forking over the big bucks for a sitter and offered that he should go with Sinda, because she would totally enjoy it and it would be a small token of thanks for the myriad cool things that Sinda does for us. Like this: She opted not to go because "um, isn't that ya'lls anniversary? and can I watch the kids for you while you guys go out?" see? isn't she the coolest ever? Without her, our anniversary may have come and gone unnoticed for our own self-absorption. So she did watch the kids and we saw (and heard) Peter Sagal and Scott Simon read from their latest books. AND! My bonus of the evening is we had a small, teeny tiny, brush with fame. Smith and I popped out for dessert post-reading and the waiter informed me that the person who had been sitting in my exact chair mere moments before we arrived was none other than Claire Danes.

Halloweenies

Do ya'll wake up to find faces in your fruit? Apparently I do. At least it was smiling. Boo!



Prior to the big trick-or-treat event, every halloween should had a banging loud marching parade. I highly recommend it. Sort of makes the post treat sugar high something to look forward to.







For even more pictures, please see my flickr posting of Halloween pics.