Ghost Suckers and Ghosting

I say "sucker" and Chris says "lollipop" - let's call the whole thing off. But, oh - if we call the whole thing off, then we must part. And, oh - if we ever part, then that would break my heart.

So, both sucker and lollipop are OK.

The girls and I made ghost suckers (lollipops) last night. You take a round sucker (a Dum-Dum or Tootsie Roll Pop work great) and place it in the center of an open white Kleenex (facial tissue) or dinner napkin. Wrap the tissue or napkin around the top of the sucker. Secure the tissue/napkin with either a rubber band or a small piece of ribbon. Draw eyes and a mouth on the face of the ghost and you are all set!

So - those are the ghosts.

We then put 5 ghosts into several bags, and added a drawing of a ghost and a "poem" about Ghosting. What is Ghosting? It is when you sneak out in the dark of nightfall, dressed all in black, and creep up to a friend's doorstep and ring the doorbell. You leave a little bag or basket of goodies (candy, apples, ghost suckers - whatever you like) and run like heck. The friend opens the door and finds the goodies (they have been Ghosted) and they are instructed to Ghost two more homes. You display the drawing of the ghost in your front window so people know which houses have been hit already.

This was huge a few years ago, and nearly all the houses had the ghost drawing displayed. Most people have now given it up. We never will. LOL!! It is TOO MUCH FUN!! I prepare all the stuff, and Chris and the girls sneak around to a few neighbors. I also drove the girls up to May's first grade teacher's house (which is maybe 15 houses up the street from ours). FUN!

We always tumble back in the house in fits of laughter, after having been STONE QUIET while out. LOL!! It really is fun. If I can figure out how to post the drawing and poem here later, I'll leave it for you all.

In past years, we have driven to Grandma's house, our social worker/friend's house, and other far-away abodes. Not this year. We remembered it tooooooo late. You are supposed to start this at least a week before Halloween.

I had the girls Ghost our own home, too. I went to the door and faked my surprise at the bag of ghost suckers. I thanked the invisible ghost and didn't even hear the muffled giggles from around the corner. No, really - I didn't hear them AT ALL. Seriously.

Here are the ghosts and Ghosters.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! It is my favorite holiday!

-Holly

Another Shiny Quarter

May has been fiddling with one of her top front teeth for about two weeks now. Tonight, she PLEADED with me to tie one end of a string (dental floss) to her tooth and the other to a doorknob. LOL! I refused. I told her that SHE may be ready, but her tooth may NOT be.

But, her Daddy decided otherwise. The two of them sneaked off and did the doorknob thing. Without luck. But, just before sleeping, as I was reading to the girls, May yanked that baby right out of her head! She says, "I guess the tooth WAS ready, because both roots are dissolved." LOL!! That cracked me up.

I told May that the Tooth Fairy should leave this tooth for ME (May always writes a note to the Tooth Fairy and asks to keep her tooth) because I paid for half of it! May had a big and fast-growing cavity between her two front teeth and I had them filled with a white filling. You cannot even tell! Dr. Adam does beautiful work!

So, in the morning, May should have ONE SHINY QUARTER (if she has the same tooth fairy I did) and I should have May's tooth under my pillow. :-)

Pajama Day

This is Red Ribbon Week at school. That means fun themes each day to help the kids say "no" to drugs.

Today was the day for wearing pajamas to school. "Turn out the lights on drugs."

I decided to wear my snowman flannel PJs (fun and modest) all day. It was a little warm (mid 60's) for flannel PJs today. Phew! I had a lot of fun inside the school, as I brought a pumpkin to donate to May's class, and May's backpack (she forgot it this morning, and I took pity on her when I took the little girls to school). I am always amazed at how many kids in other classes I know as I make my way through the halls. I have volunteered giving Chinese New Year presentations, and reading library books in the classes, for several years now. The 3rd graders this year also know me from the medical exam in the Immigration unit. I just love these fantastic kids and this fantastic school!

May wore her pink Disney Princesses PJs. Irene wore her PJs with frogs and moons. Jane had on PJs with sock monkeys (I love those!).

Here we 4 are in our jammies (I am normally a Clinton Mama for Obama, but today I was a Pajama Mama for Obama. LOL!):

Pigtails

When I was a girl, pigtails were braided and ponytails were not braided. Now, they just call braids "braids."

The girls have been on quite a braids kick lately. I am thankful that my Arthur is far less painful in my hands than in my knees! LOL!

My girls all want curly hair. Isn't that always the way? The staight-haired girls want curly and the curly-haired girls want straight. My girls love the waves that remain after the braids are removed. They want to sleep in braids so they can awaken to curly hair. LOL!

Here are two pics of May's pigtails/braids the other morning. She had gotten up early and picked a jeans jumper, with jeans underneath, and a jeans jacket. She wanted her hair "just so." I kidded her that she must be campaigning, because she looked so great! (She is running for Mayor in her classroom's "town.")

(The girls all dress themselves and pick their own clothes. Usually, with success, as I am constantly complimented on how they look. The other day, Janie picked a purple top and purple pants. Good, right? Each had a very playful snowflake print. To me - one print and one solid. The Rule. I could NOT convince Jane of that. LOL! So, off she went to school with her mismatched snowflake top and snowflake pants -- and a STRUT and a BIG SMILE. That is worth more to me than matching clothing. Did I mention that she dug the top out of the back of her closet and the sleeves were about 4 inches too short?)

May has always had a hard time "posing" a smile. These two pics show that clearly. LOL!

My daughters are my treasures.

-Holly

Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze

A week ago we went to a fabulous pumpkin farm in Vineland, Colorado (to the southeast of Pueblo). http://www.pantaleofarms.com/greatpumpkin2.html

The weather was perfect. Everyone was in a great mood. The day was just wonderful!

They had several inflatable fun things (haunted house, slide, jump castle) that Irene and May loved! Janie spent lots of time taking her shoes off, nearly summoning the courage to try one, and then changing her mind and putting her shoes back on. Sweet girl.

Chris and May did their annual tradition of a trip through the corn maze. Normally, they are out in 20-28 minutes. This year, it took them over an hour! Irene, Jane and I wound our way through the pumpkins to the end of the corn maze and waited for Daddy and May. Everyone who came out of the maze this year was SOOOO happy and relieved! It was hilarious! Moms holding babies were thanking God breathlessly. LOL! Teen-aged boy threw themselves on the ground in mock relief and happiness at the end of it! LOL! Middle-aged women arrived arm-in-arm and nearly cheering! LOL! I swear, it was too funny. Finally, May and Chris emerged. They were also happy and relieved - and told us about how HARD the maze was this year (our third year visiting this farm).

We picked out 7 pumpkins, ranging from big and round and orange (me) to tiny and green and oval (May)! Even a couple that had hourglass figures. LOL!

I love this place because it is real. You have to walk through dried mud, snarly vines, and sometimes even get to break your pumpkin off the vine! (Note that in one of the pictures, Janie holds up a tiny pumpkin still attached to the vine.) The corn maze is long done and the corn that is left in the stalks is dried. Irene was FASCINATED by this. She found one on the ground and played with it for the longest time. They grow all kinds of other produce, and the roasting of the green chilis smells sooooooooo good! They had horse rides and hay wagon rides, and loads of other amusing things. It was so much fun! But -we are there for the pumpkins and corn maze most of all.

There were large flocks of migrating birds that periodically blackened large parts of the sky above us. They looked so lovely above the corn maze.

On the drive home, we passed many agricultural fields filled with various things. One that caught my eye had MANY sunflowers! I had to take a couple dozen shots of that alone! They are so amazing looking! They always seem to have personalities to me. We have a children’s book about some kids who plant a circle of sunflowers one summer and play and sleep out among the huge flowers. Then, fall comes and the sunflowers fade away. But, they keep some seeds to plant the following year. It is a lovely book.

Is there anything more beautiful than a pile of pumpkins in your kitchen after a fun trip to the pumpkin patch?

-Holly