Pumpkin Goop

It's that day again - the one where grown-ups make silly faces on big orange guords and then light a fire inside, all for the entertainment of little people in costumes.

I had the wonderful pleasure of carving four such guords (also known as pumpkins for those whose brains are little fuzzy from drinking too much apple cider). They turned out quite nicely, if I may say so myself, but I was covered from head to toe in pumpkin goup and seeds (my kids helped a little with that).

It's all fun though - part of the yearly tradition. As I sat with my pumpkin-stained pants, poncho, and sombrero passing out candy this evening, I thought, "What could be better?"

Happy Halloween!

Cookie Dough and the Zoo Creatures

Do you remember Cookie Dough, the guinea pig? She was a visitor at our house about a month ago. Well, today Cookie Dough had a big adventure. She was minding her own business, poking around in her woodchips, when a representative from the zoo arrived in the classroom.

The zoo representative had some creatures of her own. Creature number one was a hawk. As soon as the hawk came out the box, he zeroed in on the poor little rodent. Fortunately, the cage was between Cookie Dough and the hawk. The hawk charged at the cage and ended up getting his beak stuck.

As if that commotion wasn't enough, creature number two was introduced. Creature number two was a three-year-old alligator. As soon as he came out of his box, he saw Cookie Dough. He squirmed right out of the zoo representative's hands and landed on top of Cookie Dough's cage.

Needless to say, the zoo representative quickly gathered up her gator, hawk, and whatever other creatures she had, and headed out of the classroom. Cookie Dough definitely looked good enough to eat!

Whipped Cream

Today I made the mistake of letting my six-year-old son have free reign of the Redi Whip can. I had put out a piece of pumpkin pie.

"Can I put on the whipped cream?"

"Okay," I said without giving it much thought.

In a matter of seconds, he had whipped cream piled on the pie, whipped cream in his milk, whipped cream on his plate, whipped cream on the table, and whipped cream all over his face.

"What are you doing?" I bellowed.

He grinned. "More whipped cream?"

In the Dark

Yesterday we had a power failure for about eight hours. This was great excitement for the kids, especially when it started getting dark. They ran around bumping into things. They hid in corners and jumped out , scaring the living daylights out of each other. They pretended to be ghosts. It was all great fun.

Meanwhile, I was trying to teach piano lessons by the light of a flashlight. (I did warn the students beforehand that we were out of power, but they too thought it was great fun to play in the dark.)

"Mom, why did they invent power?" my daughter asked. "We really don't need it!"

Halloween Bash

I'm exhausted. I just hosted a halloween party for about a dozen kids. Boy, do those kids know how to cause a raucus! I spent hours, no....days, decorating the house and making the food. I had a vegetable cemetary concoction, apple lips with teeth, mummy fingers, and more. The only things the kids wanted were the mummy hot dogs, rotten apple apple cider, and cupcakes.

After the kids left, I looked around. There was toilet paper all over the living room floor (from the mummy wrapping contest), apples still bobbing in a tub of water, and an assortment of paper plates, cups, and food remains all over the kitchen.

I sat down and sighed.

Then my son came running in the room.

"Mom, that was the best party ever! Can we do it again next year?"

Picture Perfect

Do you know that saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words?" My son's school picture says that and then some. On picture day this year, I was in Israel. Grandma and Grandpa were in charge of watching the kids.

I don't know what went on, but I had to look twice to make sure that was really my kid in the picture. His eyes had bags under them, his hair had a bad case of bed head, and his lips were all puffy from a run-in with a kid on the playground. He was a mess.

My son came over and looked at his picture. "I think they did something wrong with my head," he said.

Yeah. Something like that.

Poo Patrol

Today I salute all parents and keepers of creatures that require waste removal. It's not a fun job, but it is certainly one that is necessary.

As a mom, I have changed numerous diapers (probably numbering in the millions), and cleaned up several accidents. As a pet owner, I have cleaned bird droppings, frog goop, dirty fish water, and cat waste. Today I cleaned a turtle turd. Soon I will be picking up dog doo. (Sigh.)

So here's to all of you involved in the waste management of your creatures. Cheers!