Reflecting .....

The kids are at school ..... which means I have until 3:00pm to sift through their unguarded trick or treat candy. Ah, hello long lost Butterfinger. My sweet mini Twix, come to mama. And since they're "mini" size, which is short for miniscule, that means I can justify eating 4 or 7. That reminds me, I need to add Spanx to my shopping list.

Anyway, ALL this Halloween candy made me reflect on an event last year, which occurred the day after trick or treating. Shall I share it with you? Okay, if you insist.

On that rueful day one year ago, our boy came home from school literally doubled over in pain and in tears. Now, keep in mind that after four kids, I tend to subscribe to the "you're fine" theory and don't over-react in medical situations. aka: Walk it off, kid! But Evan was in such excruciating pain that I feared it was an appendix attack, or maybe a creature was about to burst out of his gut -- because I've seen the original "Alien" flick.

So in a panic, I called our family physician's office and begged them to see Evan before their office closed for the day. The doctor literally stayed past closing time to squeeze him in. After a thorough examination, the doc was stumped. He suggested that it was perhaps a punctured lung or a ruptured spleen. Is it just me, or is the word ruptured one you don't want to hear in the doctor's office?!

An x-ray was going to be necessary. On the way down the hall with my little guy who was hunched over walking like an 89-year-old man, Evan asked if he could stop in the rest room.

After a l-o-n-g time, he emerged from the bathroom, proclaiming that "I feel MUCH better now"! Uh huh. All that trauma over a bit of constipation.

In short: We made an urgent visit to the doc and paid $83 for the pleasure of taking a dump at his office.

The end. Ugh! On second thought, I'd better hold down my candy consumption a bit today...... After all, I do try to learn from our mistakes.

Cue the Horse-Drawn Carriage

Our 7th grader went to the "Under the Stars" dance at school last Thursday night, and looked entirely too grown up and adorable! She had a great time, and I'm so glad to see her joining in and enjoying middle school.

I don't know about you, but my middle school years were NOT my shining moments, as is evidenced by MY 7th grade school picture which I've posted.

What do you think -- does she get her good looks from me?

Oh Dear

I wish I could go back and edit my spoken words as easily as I can edit my written text. Just click and delete ... all gone. Erased.

I think it's hard to judge how much we should share with our kids. While I want them to have a carefree childhood and JUST BE KIDS, I don't want them to be sheltered to a fault. A fine line, would you agree?

The presidential election has been a big topic in school. That has, in turn, generated discussion at home, such as "what's the difference between a Republican and Democrat?" "Well, darling, one of them is led by Satan."

Seriously, we talked about some important differences. Although no party is perfect, one is more aligned with our Biblical beliefs, values and morals. The other leans towards supporting abortion and acceptance of same sex marriage, which the Bible clearly teaches is wrong. I attempted to explain those items in simple terms they could understand.

That's where I'd like to go back and "EDIT".

Because the morning after the election, the kids poured into my room, anxious to hear the outcome of the election. Upon learning of Obama's victory, this was their immediate reaction:

EVAN: "OH NO! ALL the babies are going to die!" (I think he just learned of Pharoah's similar decree in Sunday School)

NATALIE: "You mean I have to marry a girl now?"

Yeah. Maybe I should have left some of that out. Rewind and edit, please. I'd like to try that explanation one more time.

Simple Fun

Fall Fun .... and Flu Shots

Last Saturday our family took a little "field trip" .... no, not to the zoo. No, not to the children's museum. We went to get flu shots. Yay! Now THERE'S family bonding time.

With our travelling to Ohio for the holidays, we wanted to take every precaution to preserve our stellar health.

Like most things in life, the anticipation was worse than the actual event. The only one who actually took it hard and shed tears was Natalie. She was quickly consoled by a Dum-Dum sucker and a handsome Barbie sticker.

She further attempted to re-center herself by meditating on the swing at the nearby park.

It's interesting to me, to observe the differences in our children. Allison & Natalie are more cautious, whereas Holly & Evan subscribe to the mantra of "FASTER!! HIGHER!!"

It's the simple things in life -- like carefree playing at a great park on a perfect Fall day. With only the tiniest of band-aids on your upper arm as evidence of recent, and now forgotten, trauma.

Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet

Now I realize that people tend to have strong feelings one way or the other concerning trick or treating. Personally, I'm all FOR any opportunity to accumulate mass quantities of candy!

Alli (12) was a crazy Teletubby Clown;

Holly (10) was a stylin' hippie;

Evan (8) was a Cheesehead football player;

And Aerial's got nothin' on OUR little mermaid, Natalie (6) !!!


The kids even had fun dressing up Peanut in a Build-a-Bear costume, complete with crown! She looks so ..... um ...... pleased.

Some of my fondest memories involve trick or treating. I can remember dressing up as a princess bride and as Snow White.

What childhood costumes do you most remember wearing?

A Chuckle for Ya

This made me giggle -- hope you enjoy it! And NO, there's no boogie man at the end, like yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C64ZYuR7PuQ

I'll be posting Halloween pictures soon!