no costume, no candy

Ugh – I’m becoming a Halloween grinch just when Halloween is taking off and becoming a huge holiday. You’re surprised, I can tell. After all, what’s not to like about little kids dressed up in adorable costumes? And adult parties with fun drinks and silly costumes? And all that candy?? I’ll tell you – teenagers out begging for candy.

I think the trick or treat stopping age is somewhere around 23 these days. We get more teenagers at our house than any other age group. I’ll admit, most of them are well-mannered and dress up – sometimes quite creatively. But others? They are rude and don’t even wear costumes. They’re just out begging for candy.

My neighbor gave me the idea to make the teens sans costumes do a trick to get their candy. I was all for it – you want something from me? You gotta bring me something. In one group of teenage boys only one was in costume. I told the others my rule and they looked completely dumbfounded. Once they realized I wasn’t joking they tried to talk their way out of it. Their costumed friend was giving them all sorts of fun ideas to perform but they were sticking to their guns. Finally one of them looked at me and said “I will not degrade myself for candy.” I laughed in his face and said “Really? Just what do you call walking around begging for it then??” And then they left – with no candy from my house. It leaves a sour taste in your mouth that even candy-stolen-from-the-kids’-bags-when-they-are-in-bed can’t get out.

I want my Halloween filled with excited 4 year olds, assorted witches, super heroes and animal costumes. Not surly teenagers with lame costumes and lamer attitudes. Sigh…

But all is not lost when I see how much fun these three had:

So in honor of the holiday that is all about candy, here’s my personal Top Five Halloween Treats:

1. Snickers – next to the turtle, it’s the world’s most perfect candy
2. Fun size Crunch bars
3. Twix
4. Baby Ruth bars (again, fun size. Full size these are too much for me)
5. The beer(s) I drink while handing out candy non-stop for 2 hours. Oh – and the apple cider/whiskey witch’s brew from the neighbors’ party (hey, I said the list was ‘treats’ not ‘candy’!)

Ahhh… November is here. Let the countdown to Christmas decorating begin!

Seven days and counting

It’s Fall Break in this neck of the woods. It wreaks total havoc on my work schedule to have the kids home for two days. Not because I can’t work with them in the house, but because I feel compelled to plan fun adventures with them when they’re on short breaks. I wonder if it’s physically possible for me to have a school break with no adventures planned???

Yesterday it was a visit to a new dunes park on Lake Michigan and pumpkin hunting for just the right squash to be carved on Saturday. Today it is a drive south to play with friends (and an Aunt) at the Children’s Museum. It’s fun, I do love getting out & about with the kids. But it does destroy any plans of a clean house – I’ll tell you that. Hopefully the company coming this weekend will be forgiving!

So, what fun has burst into my life this week? Where did I see a glimpse that made me stop and smile? Let’s check out Grace in Small Things #39

1. K’s face when she realized that she cut all her times at her first swim meet of the season. And that was after a week of being sick and not practicing.

2. The looks on the faces of 5th graders when I whipped out a carving knife in their classroom this week. I was there to help cut up some pumpkins for a class project so they knew it was coming but I suppose it was still a bit surprising to see something like that come out of a mom’s purse. Not every day that you walk into an elementary school with a lethal weapon!

3. The pop of color that explodes when you turn the corner. A tree with bright orange leaves against a background of trees with brown leaves. An unbelievably red tree standing all alone. It’s been a good fall for leaf colors up here.

4. Sunshine. It’s a rare treat this week (month) so every glimpse feels full of grace.

5. A hike along the sandy dunes of Lake Michigan:

Is there grace in a countdown?? Anticipatory grace perhaps?? Seven Days… Seven days from today and I’ll be driving far north into the beautiful state of Michigan to spend a long weekend on the shores of my most favorite Lake with my most favorite person. I’m looking forward to an easy-going weekend with no kids or laptops in sight. That’s something worth a countdown!

food thursday: meatball soup

This time of year we have soup about once a week. I almost always make soup in the crock pot which makes it very convenient for those busy nights. Note: I use a big crock pot, if you don’t then you should cut the broth/water and meatballs in half but leave the rest the same. Here’s one of our favorites:

Meatball Soup
In your crock pot combine the following
6 cups beef broth
2 cups water
1 (15 oz) can of white (cannellini) beans
1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Now make some meatballs. In a large bowl combine:
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 TB parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 lb ground meat (I use turkey)

– Mix it with your hands until everything is incorporated into the meat. Now roll small meatballs (think quarter to half-dollar size) and drop them into your soup.

– Cook on low for 7-8 hours. Or on high for 3-4. For the last 30 minutes of cooking time, put the heat on high if it wasn’t already, and stir in 2 handfuls of fresh chopped spinach and 1/2 box of small pasta (alphabet pasta or star shaped pasta for example.) If you’re not home 30 minutes before dinner don’t stress: just take 15 minutes, stir in the spinach while you bring water to a boil on the stove. Cook the pasta and just stir it in before serving.

For those of you who would like a nice neat ingredient list. Here it is:
6 cups beef broth
2 cups water
1 (15 oz) can of white (cannellini) beans
1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 TB parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 lb ground meat (I use turkey)
2 handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 package of small pasta

what not to wear

I’ve been trying to channel my inner Stacy & Clinton lately. You know – the hosts of What Not to Wear? I love that show. They take some poor unsuspecting woman and, without her knowledge, video tape her wearing her yoga pants and holey jeans and then bring her to New York City to show her how to shop for more attractive clothes. They even give her $500 to shop with. Dang – I need to get on that show!

It’s not unusual for them to have some poor bedraggled, stay-at-home mom on the show. She still wears her maternity pants because they are comfortable. She doesn’t own a shirt without a stain on it. The only dressy clothes in her closet are from some cousin’s wedding a few years back and they don’t even come close to a flattering fit.

I’m not in that bad of shape. BUT the common theme you hear from Stacy & Clinton is that you don’t have to dress like no one is going to see you. Comfort doesn’t have to mean slouchy/dumpy/ugly. And then they dress her up in fantastic jeans, pointy toe shoes and send her on her way.

To ruin her clothes when her kids spill paint on them or splash mud on them.

I’ve been making a decent effort in the past few months to try to dress… well not like I’m just working from home all day. I even bought some jewelry people. And I wear it! Just yesterday I wore a cute layered top (with a v-neck because it’s more flattering), some boyfriend jeans and a long funky necklace. (but no pointy toe shoes) But here’s my dilemma. There are some days, yes Stacy & Clinton even days where I leave the house, when I have to wear kind of slouchy clothes.

Take today for example. I’m going to help in K’s classroom. Now normally when I’m working in the school I do indeed try to dress with some tiny bit of style (still no pointy toe shoes, those things hurt). But today… well today I’m going to be chopping pumpkins and scooping out pumpkin guts and I’m going to be doing it in a room of 5th graders… some of whom are boys.

I could wear my orange long sleeve shirt with my new cream colored scarf. Maybe some long earrings. It would be both cute and Halloween festive. BUT seriously… pumpkin guts!! So I’m wearing my old levis and a long sleeve IU t-shirt. I’ll probably even wear gym shoes.

Stacy & Clinton would be soooo disappointed.

the morning person

I read an article last week that talked about how morning people are different from night people. There is literally a difference in the brain chemistry. Some chemical or hormone that fires up to make us productive and energetic literally kicks in at different times in some people. You can fight it but your body wants to be more productive at a certain time of day.

Me? I’m definitely a morning person. Most days I wake up before anyone else in the house with no problems. I’m not a grouchy morning person. I don’t drink caffeine (at least not in the morning, the diet coke doesn’t start calling me until around noon). And I’m ridiculously productive in the morning. A typical morning at my house involves me sitting at the computer by 6am answering emails, writing this blog, reading a couple online newspapers and moving thru a few small work projects. Then I eat breakfast and read the Chicago newspaper. That’s when the kids start trickling downstairs. They are pretty self-sufficient when it comes to breakfast, J is the only one who needs much help. So while they eat I read a chapter to them from our latest breakfast book. Then I’ll pack lunches and snacks, read through any school papers that were “forgotten” during homework the night before, help J get his clothes down and feed his fish. Then I’m back on the computer trying to grab a few more moments to cross something off my list, I might start a load of laundry, pick up the living room floor. When we’ve got five minutes until it’s time to leave I give the warning, help find various items of outdoor attire, tie shoes, etc and then we walk to school. And it’s only 8:30.

I move at a pretty good pace through my morning, working out, running errands, volunteering at school. But after lunch? I start to slow down. I find my mind wondering what Facebook might have to show me. I read a couple blogs in between my work projects instead of just plowing thru them. And then somehow I’m always amazed that the girls are home from school already and it’s time to start the post-school to pre-bedtime rush.

When I’m really stressed or busy I’ll get up even earlier. Adding hours to my day can be a huge help and for me there’s no question that they have to be in the morning. I’ve even been known to do my grocery shopping at 6am. I can’t pull an all-nighter. I’m not sure I even did in college, though I remember trying once. If we’re going on vacation I’d much rather go to bed at a normal hour and wake up super early to get going than drive late at night. Yep, definitely a morning person.

I’m predicting that two out of three of the kids will be morning people too. Though I can’t quite decide which one will be the night person. E is almost always the last one out of bed but she fades quickly at night when she’s tired. Plus she’s almost always cheerful in the morning. K is usually an early riser but she tends to push tasks like homework until late at night… are procrastinators always night people?? J is the one least likely to be a night person – he’s an early riser and immediately ready to be active, play etc.

It kind of makes me wish there was some test to tell me when this magical energy-chemical is firing up in their brains so I know when to get the most out of them. Then when I need chores done I can make the morning kid do them before school but hound the night kid to get more done after dinner. Oooo… just think how much more I could squeeze out of them in our ‘quick like a bunny’ world!!