On Halloween

My best treat is knowing that my missionary is happy.
Here he is, in his trio companionship at the Missionary Training Center:

2010.

It reminded me that I was in a threesome during my time at the MTC.

1986.

I do hang on to things...

except money, I guess.
Thanks, and a shout-out to my sister, who's skill of getting rid of stuff turns into my skill of collecting stuff.
We have enough Halloween costumes to dress a full-on kindergarten parade.
If you could live on dress-ups when a disaster struck, we'd be keeping the whole neighborhood alive.
Minutes before Morning Boy left for school, he was still deciding what to wear.
Thankfully, the Dracula cape (re-purposed witch dress) I stayed up too late sewing ended up being his final pick.  (Altho' if I could have chosen, he would have gone as Chef Boy-ar-dee!)
Off to school they all went this morning.
With my piano money in their pockets...
Fee for cap and gown.
Fee for yearbook blurb.
Fees for yearbooks.
Speaking of yearbooks, Enrique is in the Senior section this year.
How'd that happen?
Seems like yesterday we were off picnic-ing in the woods, celebrating his three short weeks in our family.

So that brings me back to my propensity to keep things far longer than I should.

See that lovely striped shirt I'm wearing?

Yup.  You've seen it before.

my list of skills continues to grow.

I'm not big on boasting.  But sometimes it feels good to toot your own horn.

SO, despite the fact that my laundry room is so full of dirty laundry you can barely walk in there, and that I'm not very good at encouraging my kids to make their beds and I procrastinate unpleasant tasks, and I am a perpetual piler... and I could fill a post with things about me that need improvement
HERE is what's going on that's good in my life.


(toot! toot!)

I got up at 5am and made my kids pancakes and bacon for breakfast today.

Yesterday I made a Manahattan Fish Chowder (with haddock and shrimp) that was A-MAZING.
(and I didn't even mind that my house smelled like fish)

I laughed out loud when, upon rousing my last child from bed this morning, she told me that in the middle of the night, her room mate was heard to say, in a very sweet and swooning tone, while sleeping:
"Oh Daddy, I love you; MMOOOoooooooooo!"

I cleaned my closet.

I called my parents.

I wrote my missionary.

This morning, in the rain, I ran my third consecutive MILE, without stopping to gasp for air.

I have eaten almost a complete package of Bob's Red Mill 100% Whole Grain 10 Grain Hot Cereal.
All 1 LB 9 oz by myself.

I have not forsaken the sacred tradition of breakfast dessert.  This morning I had a large bowl of vanilla ice cream sprinkled generously with Rice Krispies (why bother with milk and/or sugar?)

AND, today I get to have lunch with 125 kindergarten kids.

He's a keeper.

But what about his kindergarten photo?

I can almost hear the conversation.

Photographer:  "smile!"

MB: [smiles]

Photographer: "now show me some teeth."

MB: [gives him some teeth action]

Photographer: [click] "next."

We might be doing some retakes... 

but then I remember MY kindergarten photo.

So mothering is also about deciding which captured moments to hold on to.

(Mom?...)

Carpe Diem

There's nothing like a High School Football game.

Friday Nights, Crisp Fall Saturdays.

We love them.

We especially love the half-time entertainment.

I have an insider's appreciation for the hard work, dedication and time that goes into preparing for those shows.  We have two marching band participants in our family this year, and after five seasons, Enrique's time on the field is drawing to a close.

These are the Seniors in the Marching Band.

They have a good time together.

Enrique is an AMAZING trumpet player.

He has a beautiful solo in this year's field show.  He takes my breath away.

He also leads the band as co-drum major.

There are only four more home football games in the season.

Four more chances to see them march!

And can you see that glimpse of red near his wrist?

He has a few tricks up his sleeve.

It's fun to see him in action!

Pretty soon he'll be hanging up his hat and whistle 

and walking away from this phase in his High School Career.  

Okay, I'm bad.

My room is NOT done.  But i have made progress.  And I believe that was the caveat.  To have made progress.  There are pieces of floor that are now recognizable as floor.  So here I am, in front of the blog so I don't have to look at my closet.
AND, besides.
We struck GOLD in our mailbox today!  How could I not share?  Pictures of the missionary.  OUR missionary.  And that makes all the difference.

Here he is, in his dapper missionary apparel, looking all photogenic and somewhat organized.  Clearly, he did not inherit THAT trait from me (altho' I'll claim the slender (but masculine) wrists that he hates and the striking blue eyes).

Behold the bunkmates.

Behold the towering blond.

My heart runneth over.

These two are companions.

Elder Mecham is from Las Vegas.

He's the district leader, so he holds the key to the PO Box for their group.

Also known as the GOLDEN KEY.

This is the district.

They spend 10-11 hours each day together, speaking Spanish.

Yonder will be the only one going to Panama.

They come from 

North Carolina, Arizona, California, Utah, Washington and Nevada (and Massachusetts!).

Next month they'll be going to just as many different and unique places in the world.

dang!-ling the carrot

When I have something to report in the way of progress on the big bedroom clean-up, I will blog next.
I'm goin' in....

He partied in spirit.

Birthday boy, Birthday Joy

some of my favorite things:

Brown paper packages tied up with strings!

I give up on wrapping paper... really.

I mean, why bother?

It gets ripped off and thrown away.

You can bag your groceries for free in the brown stuff,

and how cute does it look with a ribbon?

I grew up with gifts wrapped in the comics, or just plain newspaper, for that matter, and it never mattered to me--it was always about what came inside the wrapping, anyway.

And since we're on the subject of favorite things, how about this birthday mugshot:

All wrapped-up in my favorite hugging arms.

And since those hugging arms are in Alabama for a couple of days, I needed some form of substitute comfort while he's gone.  So I made two pies last night before bed.  An apple, and a pumpkin...so I could enjoy another morning favorite:  breakfast dessert.  Or, in this case, dessert for breakfast.  It was pie for everyone!  With a cup of warm cider or hot cocoa, of course, since the frost was everywhere, and our bus stop temperature was 38 degrees!  

Mmmmm... a good, crisp, fall day today.  Another favorite.

Which, by the way, happens to be the birthday of two of my very favorite people 

(and how lucky for ME to be related to them!):

Happy Birthday Becky and Ben!

XOXO

Got an email from the school today...
I was confused.
"A representative from University Cap and Gown will be at the HS on Oct. 26, during all lunches to measure seniors for their caps and gowns."
How did this happen already?

FIVE was amazing!

Happy 6th Birthday to our little Caboose.

He lives everyday to the FULLest, sun-up to sun-down.

Being the youngest means learning to work from the best worker, learning the importance of man-to-man combat from the Nerf-gun master, learning a love of books from our reader, learning that laughter is as necessary as water from the laughing-est, and learning to plan at least three birthdays ahead, from the best family event planner.  There is a definite advantage to being the youngest, and he gets it!

He made being five something to long for;

...Here's to being SIX!

I must have done something wrong.
I must have had a perfect childhood.
I must not have enough to worry about.
The stress Gods must sense that things have been going pretty smoothly at our house.
*
This is the letter that came home from the elementary school yesterday:
*
Dear Parents,
There is an outbreak of lice in your child's classroom.  All the children in the class have been checked.  I am including a pamphlet with information.
Please call with any questions.
Sincerely,
[The School Nurse]
*
NO, School Nurse, YOU may feel free to call ME.  Because the only question I have is WHY??  Regarding any other lice-related questions, I have become the expert.  I do know that the months of August, September, October and January are the peak months for lice infestations... but why oh why do parents continue to send their children back-to-school with lice to share?
And WHY does it keep happening in my little town?
In MY childrens' classrooms?
Why is it, that in ALL of my childhood and early adult years, I NEVER experienced this ugly phenomenon?
Why must we continue to be plagued by the fear of  this pestilence?
This enormous affliction?
This epidemic that leaves us paranoid?
WHY this curse?
WHY must we live with this scourge?
This blight?
Lice outbreak:  I shake my fist at you!
(and while we're at it, I shake my fist at YOU, cold and flu germs!)
I say NO!  You are NOT welcome here.

P.S. My kids do NOT have lice.  They ARE going to school with tightly braided hair smelling of coconut and tea tree oils.  This is where I really begin to ponder the benefit of online courses.  Do they offer those for elementary school subjects?...

Concept of time

For me?... two years sounds like FOREVER.

Fall 2006

I still love our backyard as much if not more.

Dear Yonder,

Look out!

 This guy's a party--WAITING to happen.

speaking of favorites

 there's no better way to spend a day than with this group of ladies at the temple.  The air felt very tropical and muggy, and the foliage around the grounds gave the day a Florida-feeling.  Not bad for the last day of September in Massachusetts!