3 Reasons to Smile

My Halloween Cuties!

I never win anything...really!

Until today!

Yeah, I won the darlybird giveaway from Leslie at A Room Somewhere!

See what I won:

http://www.aroomsomewhere.net/2008/10/darlybird-giveaway.html

Tagged...

I was tagged by Kim to post the 4th picture in the 4th folder on my computer. Here it is. This is my elle at about 4 months. Elle was born with a beautiful bald head. All of my babies were. After two boys, I was so excited to make her as "girly" as possible. I covered her in pink and flowers. And...at all times she had a bow on her head. I would take a q-tip, dip it in corn syrup, and stick on her bow. I carried around a bag of pre-tied bows and a little container of corn syrup just in case. It is hard to find a picture of her as a baby without a bow on her head.

Now, I tag Kristy and Keri.

I am a bad...no, good mommy!

Back when I was teaching I would have been appalled at myself.

Today, I surprised my kids and took them out of school early. I wouldn't tell them where we were going. They were thrilled when I revealed that we were at the movie theater to see High School Musical 3. As we were walking through the parking lot, I overheard Max whisper into Cal's ear, "Don't act like you are excited. It is girly."

We joined about 40 pre-teen girls in the theater. In the opening scene, Zach Efron's face appears on screen. Holy cow, these girls went crazy! Giggles and screams! It was like Beatle-mania. I remember going to see U2: Rattle and Hum in junior high. I am pretty sure I never shrieked in excitement over seeing Bono...and, I liked Bono!

If you are a HSM (that's how we do it) fan, you will not be disappointed. It is cute and I even had to hold back some tears in the last couple of scenes. Those high school graduation scenes get me.

Oh, Toro pride lives on...
*I'm raising my hand in toro sign right now.


FYI- Max loved it, of course!

a Taste of Fall

We took one last trip up north to try to catch the leaves turning. Two weeks ago, they were still green and I've had a yearning to see them red and gold. So, we took a drive. On the wind up through the canyon, I hoped to find a sea of fire-bright leaves from east to west. Instead, we found trees that seemed to have skipped a step and gone from gorgeous green to dull, dead gray.

Disappointment.

Still, we enjoyed two cool days soaking up the fresh air and barbecuing under the pines (and Elle and I drank our fair share of hot chocolate!). It was a good weekend.

And...on the way home, the leaves had turned-

beautiful golden brown and amber.


Perfect.

Another Case of Croup

Poor Calvin...a few weeks after Max, Cal has come down with a terrible case of Croup. He has lost his voice, has a nasty barky cough, and is running a fever.

Pumpkin Party

The kids came home from Tucson with some pumpkins yesterday. After a trip to the drugstore for some carving tools, the kids had at 'em!

I was tagged by my good friend, Kim. Ok, here goes...25 things you may or may not know about me!

• I had shingles when I was 10 years old.




• I used to be a member of PETA and defaced stop signs by putting "eating meat" stickers under the "STOP"!




• I am addicted to magazines and have about 10 subscriptions.




• I hate Pepsi! Yuck




• I was a certified aerobics instructor long ago.




• I don't like people touching my food and can't eat a meal at a restaurant if there are fingerprints on my plate!




• I went through a serious "hippie" phase as a teenager, listened to Simon and Garfunkel albums incessantly, read everything I could about Woodstock, and attended peace rallies with my fellow granola friends.




• Urban Cowboy is one of my favorite all-time movies!




• I was a break-dancer back in the day...yes, the parachute pants and all.




• I can't stand Michael Moore or Ann Coulter, but I think Bill O'reilly and Bill Maher are awesome!




• I graduated college Magna Cum Laude, but I failed my driver's test in high school!




• I am extremely indecisive!!




• I love Mad About You reruns and think Paul and Jaime have the ideal relationship.




• I have curly hair and don't embrace it at all.




• I like alone time...going to movies, out to eat, shopping, reading the day away in a bookstore...I don't have the need to have people around all of the time.




• I don't like meat in my Mexican food. Anywhere else is fine, just not in my burrito!




• My first year of college, I paid someone to do my end-of-the-semester project. We had to write a computer program and I was completely ill-equipped to do so. I am still ashamed.




• I like to shower before bed!




• I have belonged to 3 different churches, all of them drastically different...like I said, Indecisive! As Ulysses Everett McGill said, "I guess I am the only one that remains unaffiliated."




• I love, love, love Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou! see above




• I am a slave to the calendar. I HAVE to plan. I try to be more impulsive, but it goes against my nature.




• I am extremely open with my life. I will share the most personal details with strangers.




• I was a die-hard feminist when I was young and thought all women who stayed at home were wasting their true potential. I am more enlightened now, still a feminist, and think women should do what fulfills them!




• I am terribly competitive.




• I don't really enjoy weddings. In fact, they make me kinda sad. How sad is that?

There you go, a little insignificant insight into me.

Now, I tag you, Bri.

Get on it!

Mom's Closet

My mom and brother-in-law Casey working

My parents' cabin isn't quite completed.

There are still small repairs to be tended to and some decorating to be done.

While we were there this weekend, over and over, I heard us attempting to make sure we kept the cabin just as my mom had planned it. When looking for a place to put away folded blankets, my sister asked my dad where he wanted them. He thought about it and finally said, "I think your mom wanted them in the closet upstairs."

I wonder if my mom really cares. Probably not, but we do.

While placing framed pictures around the rooms, one of us started to rearrange some decorations, and stopped when we all protested, "No, Mom wanted it like that, with that picture right there."

Would she really care? No, but we do.

The first time I stayed at the cabin after my mom died, I walked upstairs where my parents' bedroom is. I was looking for some warm clothes (I am never prepared for the weather) and I opened the door to their closet. Inside, waiting on the shelf, was a neatly folded pair of my mom's pajamas.

I recognized the pastel plaid print.

Next to them was a pair of heavy winter slippers. I am sure she had left them just like that for the next time she came to the mountains.

When I saw them there months ago, I remember thinking, "We will need to clean out this closet."

The rawness of her absence didn't allow me to do it then.

And...the comfort and solace it brings me won't allow me to do it now.

Each time I visit the cabin, I wait until all of the excitement of our arrival settles. When it is quiet I walk up the stairs and into their bedroom closet.

Her clothes are still there. Her presence remains.

It is funny. Very soon after my mom's death, my sister and I cleared out our parents' house of her things. We got rid of her clothes, jewelry, shoes, and only kept a few sentimental things for ourselves.

It was healing for us.

Still, however, I have a hard time being in their house.

Maybe it was because she was sick there... I walk in and can still see her asleep on her portable hospital bed in the front room.

Maybe it is because I can see my mom and I sitting on her bed together with a pen and pad of paper planning her funeral.

Maybe it is because I remember standing in the kitchen, talking with the hospice nurse about who to call when she passes away.

There are so many sad memories for me there.

There are no sad memories at the cabin,

only joy

...and her pastel plaid pajamas!

Cabin Crafts

A couple of days in the mountains...just what we needed. We decoupaged Halloween treat cans, decorated sugar cookies, and played a mean game of hide-and-seek in the forest.

In Need of a Rust-Colored View

We're heading up to the mountains tomorrow to catch some fall leaves and lounge on the hammock in the brisk autumn air! My sister and I have lots of orange and brown projects planned for the kiddos!

Not enough time...

Not enough time in the day! I seem to be uttering these words often lately. Along with the Fall, a surge of creativity has hit me with full-force! I spent the last several days on all kinds of projects... homemade donuts, a tutu for Elle's Halloween ballerina costume, and a window banner for Elle's room.

I have checked these projects off my list and just as I was ready to take a breather... I opened my Chasing Fireflies catalog and found all kinds of new things to add to my project list! NOT ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY!

Night at the Park...

Taking advantage of the cooler evenings here in Arizona.