Buccellation

Steve was gone for a few days (business - alleluia) and the children and I muddled along as best we could without him. I don't think I have ever taken for granted - exactly - his contributions to the household routine but I certainly had a new appreciation for him as I got the twins into the car for the zillionth time in order to trundle back/forth to school/therapy/school. Meanwhile Caroline chose this period to have a growth spurt and she kept asking for something to eat or looked accusingly at me as I hurried her through breakfast in order to get Patrick to school on time. Edward (who is always peckish anyway) clarified their position: "I'm hungry, Mommy. I'm hungry in the car!"

As a complete aside I think the notion of being marked "tardy" is anachronistic. The days in which a young scholar might be tempted to pass some of the morning hours at the ol' Fishing Hole are far behind us. What kid has enough control over their morning that they are personally responsible for being prompt or otherwise? Granted, just once Patrick might remember before I am in the car with the engine running that he needs to wear shoes and wonder where those shoes might be; but for the most part if Patrick is late for school it's because I was busy dragging Caroline out from under the bed not because he stopped en route to whittle himself a slingshot.  

Anyway to keep up with the ravenous beasts I started packing dry goods into my purse which I would lob at the twins over my shoulder as best I could while keeping my eyes on the road. It was a little like Pin the Tail on the Donkey meets feeding time at the seal tank and the back of my car now looks as if Graham Cracker Mountain was hit by a meteor. I hope you realize that it is only my affection for you that is keeping me here when I should be shop-vac'ing.

Hey! Speaking of Pinning Tails. Very important. I had signed up on the first day of school to act as Room Parent for Patrick's class but then I didn't hear anything about it again. I was sort of hoping that my role - like Flower Painter in Ordinary - might be more or less honorary (unless it involved filing - I love filing) but an email from the teacher yesterday addressed to me and my fellow volunteer leads me to understand that the intended function is closer to a Mistress of Revels.

The teacher would like us to organize an in-class Halloween party for the 29th to last approximately an hour and a half and which will possibly include a viewing of Charlie Brown among other activities TBD.

So my question for you is: aw damn it.

I'm really not good at this sort of thing. I asked Julie (who is) and she suggested stations like Identify the Gross Whatsit by touch alone (what do you use to hide the peeled grapes that allows for hands to go in? sincere question) and Bobbing for Apples. I nixed the bobbing on the grounds of utter wetness and added Decorate Your Own Halloween Mask but that's all I have. Suggestions - any suggestions; all suggestions - appreciated.  

What else?

Edward is being released from speech therapy in a week or two. I was surprised because I thought he would keep at it until he was, um, a nationally celebrated sports broadcaster?  but I guess our goal was just getting him to a range of age-appropriateness. It's hard not to compare him to Caroline

[In the car, Monday, after purchasing five gallons of raspberries at Sam's Club -

Caroline: Shall we have strawberries? Let's have strawberries!

Edward: I don't have any stawbewwies but we have razbewwies, ok Tararine?

Caroline, waspishly: It's KAH-roline.]

who speaks very clearly and tends to still speak for him.

The preschool sent home a note saying that they will be doing a Halloween parade so feel free to costume et cetera. I asked Caroline what she would like to be and she said, promptly, "A bumble bee!" I said, oh, ok, bumble bee, check. Then I said, "Edward, would you like to wear a costume for Halloween?"

Caroline said quickly, "He's going to be a witch."

I said, "Caroline do you want to be a witch?"

And she said, "No. I. Want. To. Be. A. BUMBLE BEE. He's the witch."

I said, "Edward can be anything he likes. Edward, what would you like?"

And Edward, always helpful, said, "A witcth!"

I took them to Target later in hopes there was something I could just buy (Patrick, outraged, later: BUY? We do not BUY costumes in this house!) and held up every piece of acetate toddler buffoonery they offered. Butterfly princess? Fairy princess? Woodland fairy princess? Hey! Matching his and her GARDEN GNOMES anyone?

No. They said no. No wings, no hats, no beards, no tutus, no dinosaurs. I saw a turtle thing that Edward hesitated over for a minute and then I realized it was designed for a dog and Edward ultimately rejected it anyway. Finally Caroline saw a pair of cheetah ears and a matching tail and that was it for her. So long bumble bee; hello jungle cat.

Caroline said, "I'll be a cheetah and Edward can be a friend who comes to the zoo and then I'll scratch him."

Edward looked worried. Again.

This picture of Caroline amuses me. It also amuses me that when Patrick was their age I used to pick up the play room every night and I maintained category bins. Ah. Yes.

Oh speaking of Caroline, they were not able to recreate the eye crossing at the opthamologist and the doctor suggested that what we are seeing in photographs is an (ha ha) optical illusion caused by the wide bridge of her nose and the corner of the inner eye giving the impression that the iris and pupil were closer. However the right eye did not react normally and the doctor was not entirely sure why. So no glasses or patches for now but she wants to (ha ha) keep a close eye on her and we're to come back in six months. 

For reference pediatric opthamology appointments last about twelve dog years and they really really suck so in case you have one in your future I recommend: lots of food, lots of books, a laptop, some crayons and a steamer trunk full of toys. Consider yourself warned. 

Patrick brought home a letter yesterday, which started "Dear Parents, Your child has expressed an interest in running for service team representative... ."

I asked Patrick, "You want to be on the service team?"

And he said, "What's the service team?"

So I read him the letter and he repeated his question and I said I did not have the slightest idea but it sounded a bit like what we used to call student council and it would involve representing his class at school meetings.

At which point he said, "Our teacher asked and about ten kids including me raised their hands which cuts it down to a one in ten chance but a lot of those were girls so I might be able to get most of the boy vote so let's say I'm up to 1 in 3. My speech is going to be 'I think I would be an excellent class representative because I am great at expressing myself and I will work hard to make sure everyone - boys and girls - has a voice in our class and the school." Also I have some ideas, such as a student "recess mother" who would make sure people are playing nicely while watching out for the smaller kids and I hear that kickball has gotten a little dangerous so we want to look into that too. But I'm not just about safety, I'm also about fun... ."

And I blinked at him because for someone who claimed not to know what I was talking about he sure seemed to have a stump speech prepared. I wished him luck in his campaign. He thanked me. 

Edward likes football (unlike Patrick who loathes it and Caroline who sobs on Sundays, "Noooooo! No football! Watch a little something else! Noooooooo! NOT FOOTBALL!") and he will happily sit on Steve's lap for extended periods of time shouting "Tack'l him! Tack'l him!" at the referees and the mascots and the cheerleaders.

His Nerf football is his new constant companion and for some reason he fancies himself as the punter, carefully arranging the ball at his toes before booting it and running after it. About half the time he runs smack into a wall, which I think indicates an actual vocation for the sport. Go Bear.

And that's what's going on with us. No new Someone scheduled yet, Paxil still making me sort of sleepy. Don't forget the Halloween party ideas, I need them.

Comments

[Penny]

Just wanted to say that I love Caroline. She has such spunk! All three of your children are my kind of kids! Also wanted to say, I am so glad my homeroom parent days are over and I can just look back at the memories. It was always so much work and those kids tired me out. Sounds like you will have a lot of ideas to draw from. Good luck. Love your writing!

[liz]

May I suggest that you choose any of those games that don't include food? A lot of kids have food allergies or restrictions.

I vote for hangman, halloween-themed Mad Libs, face painting, pumpkin or trick-or-treat bag decorating.

[Alice]

I had to go to http://phrontistery.info/clw1.html to find out what "buccellation" meant. The first place I found it (http://tinyurl.com/35q8co3) left me even more mystified (the definition there being "e method of stopping an hemorrage [sic] by applying a piece of lint to the vein or artery." Who knew your dryer could be such a lifesaver? Anyway, I was sorry to see that the first site I mentioned didn't include "callypygian," an awesome word I heard from a very learned and proper widow acquaintance of mine to describe one of her favorite Red Sox players.

[Teri]

BUY? We do not BUY costumes in this house!

Patrick cracks me up. Perhaps he would like to make costumes for everyone -- all requiring hats, I think.

[Genevieve]

Sounds like you have a lot of good party ideas!
A couple more for you - Halloween cryptograms, sudoku, etc:
http://puzzles.about.com/od/holidaypuzzlesforkids/a/HalloweenKids_5.htm

And a party game tricked out for Halloween: come up with some possible Halloween costumes, write the name of each on a label, stick a label on the back of each kid. Each kid has to ask other kids questions to find out what costume he's been labeled with. With this bunch of kids, you can go for harder ones than "Dracula" and "mummy" . . .

On watching football, I am emphatically with Caroline, but this year I am outnumbered. So Sunday afternoons/evenings I find myself something else to do. Will be happy with the season is over. But Edward shouting "Tack'l him!" at the mascots might win me over.

Loving Patrick's "We do not BUY costumes in this house." Maybe he could make something for the Halloween party?

[Emily]

I had to post another idea. I can't remember if Patrick is a Harry Potter fan but I bet the kids would love this. Get those Bertie Bott's jelly beans and have kids guess the flavors, whoever guesses the most correct wins.

Here is the link on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Bertie-Botts-Jelly/dp/B0002AB4KS

They do seem a little pricey though, maybe you could find them cheaper elsewhere.

[elsimom]

mini donut on a string - yes!
Lollipop ghosts - Yes! (my children love these even though I think they are ridiculously simple).
You can also do a ghost craft where you drape muslin over a ballon and wet it down with spray starch (I'm sure you can find instructions on the interwebs).
Candy corn bingo. (regular bingo or halloween word bingo, with candy corn as your markers).
Relay races:
carry cotton balls in a big spoon.
costume relay (run to end of room, put on various clothes/masks - take them off at the other end, your team mate puts them on - back and forth.....
Pass the orange with your neck (my daughter just did this at brownies - apparently it's just as hilarious as I remember).
If you want to decorate sugar cookies and you do not want to make them yourself - there is a business in St. Paul called Two Smart Cookies - I believe they will make and deliver them, and they use whole grains in their recipe. We used them for some corporate events and they were DELICIOUS! (And very reasonable, last I checked).

Patrick's speech made me laugh and laugh. He's all about the issues! And very boy/girl bipartisan, it seems.
My daughter (same age as twinks) keeps telling us she wants to be a chicken nugget?!

[Kara]

I was a helper mom for the Halloween party at my daughter's preschool last year. We had "pin the (yellow triangle construction paper) nose on the pumpkin" and if Patrick's teacher would be up for it, we let the kids wrap toilet paper around the teacher to transform her into a mummy. They LOVED that!
Also, there was a pumpkin hunt, we bought enough pumpkins for each kid to find a pumpkin hidden somewhere in the room.
There were also mini foam crafts and coloring pages. Simple can be fun, too.

[Jenny]

When my daughter was in Kindergarten I was a room mom. For Halloween we played "put the bat in the attic" (pin the tail on the donkey). I made a large cutout house-black, glued onto an orange poster board and little gray bats. The kids took turns like you do in pin the tail. I think we put numbers on the bats. I know the teacher asked to keep all the stuff I made. We also played Skellootie. It was a cartoon looking skeleton divided into six parts and as you rolled the dice you got to glue down a piece to make your skeleton. It was played like the game Cootie. Hmmm...I know I made some gross out food from a kids cookbook but can't recall exactly what. I don't think we did a Halloween craft, but there are tons out on the web. Have fun!

[Elizabeth]

Wait, what? What happened to Patrick's letter a year costume? I don't even remember what letter he was last. C, maybe. He could make Caroline and Edward be letters too and see how many words they could spell together.

[Becky]

Haven't read all the comments so forgive me if I'm repeating party ideas.

Fill a big mixing bowl with water, add marshmallows (big ones, not mini), give the kids a straw and see if they can suck a marshmallow out of the bowl. Less messy than bobbing for apples.

Get empty milk cartons and the little candy pumpkins. See if they can hold the candy up by their nose and drop it into the carton.

Target sells different crafts for Halloween. I've seen paper bag puppet witches and monsters or craft stick projects.

[Crystal]

Duct tape?

[Allison]

I'm a teacher and have used gross food substances to have kids write stories - it's a play on the "identify the whatever" thing, but they have fun being as absolutely disgusting as they can be and then sharing it with each other.

[Pam L]

Such good party ideas. I love the mini-pumpkin hunt idea, always fun to find stuff you can keep, and the decorating a trick or treat bag. Maybe a store that has paper bags with handles would donate them? Fun, creative AND useful.

[Betsy]

We're wacked out religious zealots and don't observe Halloween so I got nuthin' for you there; but I wanted to tell you that if it makes you feel at all better, your playroom looks like ours on a *good* day. My favorite thing about our playroom is that the door closes. The mess isn't there raising my blood pressure if I can't see it, right?

Also? I love, love, love your kids. And I'd vote for Patrick if I could. Twice.

[erin]

No real Halloween party ideas except to say that I loved the "how many words can you get out of 'Happy Halloween!' or 'Halloween Pumpkin' game when I was a kid. (Heck, I still love it.) Also, no Halloween party is complete without music and that means.... The Monster Mash. They sell those mix cds of Halloween music, spooky sounds, etc. That would be great to have going while they're doing the activities before the movie. So, The Monster Mash. Seriously, you gotta do it. It was a graveyard smash.

Oh and speaking of graveyards, I really like the edible graveyard in a dixie cup idea someone mentioned higher up in the comments. But maybe I'm just morbid.

Your kids are adorable, as usual. I'm voting for a football player costume for Edward. Definitely sounds like something he'd be into. If not, maybe a deer (like the ones he carries around?) or a race car driver or a race car, but umm. good luck finding that costume - you'd have to make it. Perhaps Patrick can help. Can't wait to hear what Patrick decides on this year.

I would definitely vote for Patrick. He's basically Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes.

[Corinne]

It's not that I didn't *believe* the story about Caroline climbing out the window, you understand. But looking for her in that photo for several seconds, before noticing her ON TOP of the furniture, made it a little more real. God help you, woman.
Was your ped. opth. as deft as ours was? I've never seen someone so quick with a scope. I swear she sidelines as a magician.

[ali]

Maybe you could recreate the white chocolate/twinkie ghost cake craft Patrick brought home from nursery school oh those many years ago :). Or could you just repost the picture...I remember laughing so hard.

[craftyashley]

Dude. Pediatric ophthalmologist appointments DO last forever. I took one of the twins- only to have her tell me I need to come BACK with the other twin. We're going on Monday, and I am really really not looking forward to it. Glad to hear glasses are not in your future!

As for the party: How long does that Charlie Brown movie take? There shouldn't be a ton of extra time you have to fill up- right? Good luck on that one. I am never signing up for anything like that!

[Kristy]

Halloween Party: stations where they make treats (healthy-ish) of course. Creepy Crawly Cracker--cracker with cheese spread (or peanut butter), chow mein noodles for antenna, half cherry tomatoes for the body, cucumber triangles for wings. Slimy Swamp Juice--any mix of fruit juice, some 7-Up, gummy worms, and for effect, dry ice. They scoop it into a cup and drink it. Popcorn Hand--Fill one of those plastic food-handling gloves (not to be confused with the purple latex gloves used in OB/GYN appts) popcorn, but first put one candy corn in each fingertip so it looks like a nail, tie off the end with yarn and stick a pastic spider ring on the finger. Voila! 3 stations, 20 minutes each, then watch Charlie Brown while chomping on snacks.

Can you tell I'm an infertile second grade teacher--I know way too much about Halloween in elementary school and purple latex gloves! Good luck. :)

[Erin]

For a MOMS Club thing I once did Apple Fishing, which was, essentially bobbing for apples without the whole "mouth and face in the water bit" which struck me as a) Gag- unsanitary and b) DROWNING OMG risk. So. Apple Fishing it was! I filled a big (BIG) bucket with a bunch of water and floated some apples in it. I then blindfolded the children (one at a time) and handed them a small colander with a handle. They then groped around in the bucket until they got an apple in the colander. The prize was the apple. It worked pretty well and the parents all appreciated that we weren't sharing mouth germs with everyone in sight in early October.

[Leah]

Oh I love this blog so much. Caroline seems like a fictional character--so funny and over the top!--but the pictures don't lie.

[BethF]

There are sooo many good ideas on here. We love Halloween here so I keep checking back for more ideas. Love the popcorn in a glove idea.

But can anyone share the white chocolate twinkie one? Is it just a twinkie dipped in white chocolate with choc chip eyes or something? Sounds kind of messy, maybe frost a twinkie?

[Hetty Fauxvert]

Your kids are truly adorable. Very nearly as cute as mine. ;)

Re the false strabymus (bridge of nose creating illusion that eyes are crossed): One of our twins did indeed have false strabysmus, which was what got us admitted to the eye doc in the first place. That one was (correctly) diagnosed with FS, which disappeared a few months later as he grew. The doc looked at his bro since he was there too, and discovered that twin#2 was seeeeeeriously far-sighted, which in a couple of months created *real* strabysmus, ultimately resulting in glasses, surgery (both eyes, no fun) and patching. (On the good side, his eyes are now totally non-crossed and his coordination has increased about 100%, now that he sees the world more or less correctly.)

In a nutshell, FWIW, after looking at those photos, I do not believe the false strabysmus diagnosis. I'd keep a close eye on her charming little eyes. If you see something funny before the six months is up, make them let you in for another appt ASAP.

[Lora]

Our school does stations for these parties...a craft station, a snack station, a game station and something else..I don't really remember this early in the morning. Plenty of good ideas on all that already by your lovely readers so I will move on to what I really want to tell you...

I just had a Scooby Doo Mystery party and it was a blast...had an actual mystery to solve and all that for my 6 year old. Part of the mysteries to solve was the witches "spell box". Box filled with peeled grapes for eyeballs, spaghetti for veins, sponges for brains...you get the idea. I thought this thing was the bomb and I was right...it bombed. None of the kids wanted to stick there hands in there and we are talking 6 through 10 year olds. I would forgo the box of goo and sticky stuff...because even if you have kids that want to do it, you won't be able to have them ALL do it at the same time and the kids with their hands in the box are going to be yelling out "This is a GRAPE!" This is someone's lower intestine!" Unless you put the box in another room, the other kids are going to hear them and it will not be as much fun for them. Good luck...with the party and being the room parent, I know how much I appreciate the people that take the time to help my daughter's class.

[Suzanne]

Not exactly on topic - we don't celebrate Halloween here in the Netherlands and the only use I have for a pumpkin is soup - but after lurking for so long I think it's time I told you how much I enjoy your posts, and more specifically, your beautiful command of the language and your sense of humour. Thanks for the wonderful stories about Caroline and Edward that make me feel eternally grateful my youngest is finally (if only just) past that stage. Patrick's stories strike a chord as well, because our eldest girl has changed schools like he has and for the same reason. And until I read your post, I really thought ours was the only 7 yr old in the world categorically refusing to watch any non-animated films. (Teacher, rather desperately: 'Any ideas how to get her to re-appear from under that table?' Uh, no.) Although it is a thing from the past now, it was very reassuring to read ;-)

[Yasra]

so so funny. you crack me up.

[Kizz]

I heartily endorse the donuts on strings idea. You might also do either a pin the ____ on the ______ (hat on the scarecrow, mouth on the jack-o-lantern, broom on the witch) but turn taking could be boring. You could cut out construction paper pumpkins and construction paper jack-o-lantern elements and have the kids sort of Mr. Potato Head together a 2D jack-o-lantern with glue to take home. Extra fun points if there are also feathers and stickers and glittery whatnots they could also glue. Guess how many jelly beans are in a jar. Get those little tiny decorative pumpkins and let them paint on those with tempera or draw on them with markers. Maybe some kind of tossing game where you have a big drawing of jack-o-lantern and you try to aim bean bags into the mouth or eyes or something. Oh, oh, oh! They could decorate treat collection bags to take home and use for trick or treat.

Apparently I have a lot of pent up ideas for a classroom party. Who knew?

[Kizz]

One more thing. About the guessing by touch thing. You put a small bowl of [gross item like peeled grapes or spaghetti] inside a large opaque bag and firmly police the child, perhaps even using a blindfold, before they're allowed to put their hands inside.

[Sarah]

Not sure I buy the false strabismus idea. The only clue we had (in retrospect) to my daughter's eye problems was in photos. Can they tell if she has a difference in vision between her eyes (more amblyopia than strabismus, but still a problem).

Halloween parties - Stations are a good idea. Turn your friend into a mummy with toilet paper - we've always done this as race. Pin the Wart on the Witch. Musical tombstones. Cookie decorating. Is this the magnet school program, so many of the kids are bright like Patrick? Maybe some word game with Halloween jokes?

I don't really worry too much about tardy. The kids have to walk through the office and get a note. They don't need a note from me. I laughed at your descriptions of tardy in days of yore.

Good luck costuming up. I need a costume for me, to be worn outside in Wisconsin. The women dress as sluts Halloween trend is really frustrationg when I don't want to show that much skin and it will be darn cold out.

[lizneust]

Cotton ball, black paint, silver glitter and tooth picks and some soort of paint surface - bag, plate, whatever. Kids plop the cotton ball into the paint and make a good, messy blob. Then use tooth picks in the paint the draw legs and a web for their spider, which can also be highlighted with glitter.

I've also seen Halloween "wreaths" done with the outer ring of a paper plate and orange as well as black cotton balls.

Your children (and you) amuse me SO much. And I'm with you on the tardy. My 6 year old didn't get herself to school late - I did.

[Kathleen]

Don't forget the old standby of reading a Halloween themed book to the kids. I suggest that early in the allotted time before they all absolutely lose their minds.

[RocketGrl]

In small groups they could create a short story or skit around their costumes. The class votes on which is the scariest, funniest, most real etc. The more mismatched the better.

As if on top of the stack is the most natural spot in the whole playroom, Caroline kills me.

[Kristen K.]

Hi, I've never commented before (I've been following you since May '07) but I just wanted to let you know I love your writing and I hope you never stop the blog. Just a few things I wanted to say... 1. I too have a 3yo girl who keeps me on my toes every single second of every day so your blog is a big comfort to me. 2. I recently saw "someone" about anxiety and possible adult onset ADD. Didn't get anywhere with the anxiety meds but was put on Adderall (which takes a while to get used to but it was so worth it for me) for the ADD and a nice side effect was a 99% decrease in anxiety. It's not meant for anxiety but I'm happy now so who cares? 3. I have read and reread all your past blogs and I have noticed a change in your writing possibly related to the "something". It's always about the kids now (by God I completely understand) but not much mention of get-togethers or outings or conversations with Steve or even a moment hiding in your closet with some wine. Please remember to take care of yourself too. 4. Is there any way to read your old blogs from Redbook? 5. I promise I'm not a cyberstalker or anything but you are a beautiful, flawed but honest, funny, smart, caring, (boring adjectives but seriously) neurotic, just plain real person and have a beautiful family (your kids and everything they say are just too freaking precious!) and I really admire you like a sister I never had but always wanted.
I don't know, I'm worried about you and I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you and your blog.

[geeky]

Long time reader, but I've been away for a while and I missed the Seeing Someone thread. Sorry, I'm childless so I can't help with the kids party, but I wonder, have you got your hormones checked? I was the world's worst sleeper until I had my hormones tested and my progesterone was found to be low. I started taking a bio-identical progesterone pill at night before bed and the difference is incredible. I was only in my late 30's when this happened so you are not too young to get your hormones checked. Good Luck.

[Jan]

I think I've mentioned this before, but in addition to sublingual melatonin, on my nurse practitioner's advice I use natural progesterone cream (Emerita, made from the wild yam) before going to bed. It helps me get to sleep as well as moderating hot flashes. It is entirely safe. A tube *is* pricey, about $30, but you only need to use a small amount. You also have to rotate where you rub it on each night on different areas of soft skin (inner elbow, stomach inner thighs, etc), but it's worth that minor annoyance.

[Jessica]

Ooh do the mummy game! Kids pair up, one stands with legs together and arms at sides, the other has to wrap them entirely in toilet paper. First team to create a mummy wins!

...ok, having never written this game down before, it's looking weird to me. And not very environmentally friendly. But we did it at every Halloween party I had as a kid and it was so fun.

[Laura GF]

Oh my gosh, Julia -- saw this and could not help but post the link here: http://myplumpudding.blogspot.com/2009/05/spaghetti-dogs.html

Yowza -- so easy, so unusual, so totally freaky.

[MsCellania]

Throw The Eyeballs Into the Far-Off-But-Not-Too-Far Buckets
10 ping pong balls. Sharpie dis-gust-ing eyes onto each one. Get 2 cheapo small buckets. Decorate however. Put kids on 2 teams and have them each toss 3 balls (you keep 4 as they WILL lose some in their classrooms) each and see who gets most eyeballs in bucket.

[Jan]

Here's the familiar "meat hand" with a few new pukables. The spaghetti hot dogs are pretty cool (ok, I love this stuff).

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/entertaining/ghastly-ghoulish-halloween-food-129044

[tgsdmom]

Kristen K. sounds like she read my mind and phrased it better than I could. (Even the date when she started reading the blog seems about the same as mine.)

Here's a whole lot of virtual support and care coming your way.

[Donna]

I'm exhausted just reading this. Also - really glad I'm not a room mother. I wouldn't know how to hide the grape eyes either.

As for tardies, you are so completely right - it isn't always their fault. I love the image of whittling slingshots. But I guess you'd get expelled for that these days, anyway.

[kma]

You might want to preview that Charlie Brown episode, if you haven't seen it in awhile. I can't remember the Halloween one specifically, but I've shown my kids a couple others and they're not necessarily...appropriate...by some of today's standards. The occasional reference to cigarettes and, well, those kids are just mean to each other!

[jace]

I love how Patrick is so flamboyant! I believe he will be the next Versace!

[new balance]

If a man empties his purse into his head , no man can take it away from him , an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest .

[new balance]

We cannot always build the future for our youth , but we can build our youth for the future .

[New Balance 574]

You have inspired me to adapt this project for my high school level design class.

[air jordans 1]

One mend-fault is worth two find-faults,but one find-fault is better than two make-faults.