More Haunted Happenings

We continued our haunted happenings throughout the week. On Tuesday night we carved pumpkins.

Sis wasn't feeling so well that night. She had a fever, sore throat, and headache. She stayed home from school the next day. I seem to have a touch of it this weekend, thanks Sis.
Bug did pretty good at cleaning the guts out of his gourd. Sis did step in and help him finish it up. Such a sweet sister.

I was surprised to find out that Ricky had never carved a pumpkin before. I am so glad that we have the opportunity to share our traditional holiday experiences with him.

On Thursday night we went up town to the local merchant's Trick-or-Treat with a Cop. We love to attend this function every year. It is really a neat idea. As a fundraiser for December's Shop with a Cop charity function (where low income kids get to shop for presents to give) the local merchants block off 3 blocks uptown and open their doors to trick or treaters. We get to see a lot of familiar faces and mom benefits too by getting a few discount coupons & the opportunity to window shop.

After our excursion uptown I dropped Bug off at his school for the 3rd grade Fall Fun Festival. Unfortunately this year I was deemed uncool by him and not allowed to attend. It's both sad and happy to watch my little boy assert his independence. He had a lot of fun with his friends under the supervision of the school staff. The kids got to play Halloween Bingo, balloon volleyball, and musical chairs. Normally the school has a marshmallow roast too, but it was raining off and on that night. During this time Sis and Ricky were uptown volunteering at a haunted house with Sis's dad. One of his friends was putting on the house in his store as a fundraiser. The kids had a lot of fun working there and Sis may even have a couple new babysitting jobs because of it.

On Friday night, while Sis and Ricky worked the haunted house again, Bug and I ventured up to the YMCA for their Halloween Under the Big Top event. We enjoyed hot dogs, chips, and popcorn while playing various carnival type games. Bug won a cupcake at the cake walk, had his fortune read, and played games such as the bean bag toss and knock down the cans. I had an amusing time watching an old friend try to keep his 3 year old from saying Captain America, which unfortunately always comes out 'Cap'n Nigga'. Bug and I came back home to enjoy take out while watching Halloween movies.

And Saturday was Halloween....

Bug thought up his hobo costume and Sis and I had a lot of fun pulling it together for him. We even cut apart an old pair of cleats to show his toes. He got so many compliments and extra candy for his costume that he has declared that he plans to be a hobo again next year!
This is the gravedigger that Sis and her dad put together to watch over the cemetery and helpfully spook a few people
Bug making sure all the tombstones were in place. Our neighborhood gets into Halloween and we have one of the three cemeteries adorning the block.
We were ready for the beggar's to start trick or treating. Unfortunately there are a lot of kids sick with H1N1 around here right now, so we didn't have very many kids come by at all. Sis and Ricky stayed back to pass out candy while I took Bug begging. Rumor has it that they were giving handfuls of candy to the kids that we knew :)

I was hoping to get to go to a haunted house or forest this year, but my Halloween night plans fell through. I see that Halloween falls on a Sunday this year, maybe that will be incentive for me to finally clean the garage and basement and have that Halloween party for the little ones like I've wanted to for the last several years.

Halloween Happenings

Anyone that knows me knows that I have this bizarre fascination with the upcoming Haunted Holiday. I'm not really sure why I do, but I have always loved Halloween.

This year it took me a little longer to find my spooky spirit. I usually have the tombstones and other decorations up on October 1st. On the 12th Sis finally had enough of my malaise and put the cemetery up herself (pictures to hopefully be posted later).

It was time to get my tucas in gear & enjoy some fall festivities so the kids and I ventured out to some of our favorite celebrations.

First stop was the pumpkin patch and corn maze.

Sis has a tendency to choose pumpkins a little on the large side. Can you handle it Sis?

Bug found one a little more his size. Ricky is carrying mine so I can take pictures. I didn't get a picture of him with giant gourd, but it's pretty comparable to mine.

Then it was time to embark on our journey through the corn maze. Bug did a pretty good job of guiding us so we didn't get lost.

Bug thought he could push me off the path and into the field.

He was wrong. Bug ended up in the corn instead.

Sis was having fun picking ears of corn. Naughty Sissy.

Our next stop was Living History Farms where Bug went trick or treating at all the old stores, listened to a spooky story teller, and enjoyed popcorn and hot apple cider.

We also enjoyed a hayrack ride. Bug took this picture of me while we were being pulled on the bumpy path. Good job Bug! Maybe I should consider getting him a camera for Christmas?

I'd say the kids had a lot of fun!

The roasted marshmallows on our way out. What a perfect end to a beautiful afternoon.

On Sunday we decided to continue our adventures and check out Spirits in the Garden at Reiman Gardens

Bug got to touch all sorts of interesting things for a treat. Here he is petting a hissing cockroach. I am very glad they had hand sanitizer everywhere!

He also got to play a few games for candy. Once again we were served wonderfully warm popcorn and cider.

We told Sis that she had to dress up this time so she threw on her cowgirl hat.

Notice that Bug had on a different jersey on Sunday? He can't quite decide if he's a hawkeye or cyclone LOL.

We have sat and watched a lot of our favorite spooky movies and have our yard all decked out. It is finally starting to feel like Halloween around here.

A thought on Identity

photo courtesy of Andrew Hefter

~ The value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose. ~

Richard R Grant

I stand corrected...

Remember this little guy from my post yesterday?


This afternoon I received an email from the dear Professor Eckerman. He wrote:


"I thought you might be interested to know that the picture of the snake you took at ledges is actually a full grown, adult brown snake (Storeria dekayi). I see those quite commonly in Iowa. Most people don’t realize that there are several really small snakes in addition to the larger ones we are used to. However, I realize that this is little consolation. Having any snake thrown (or kicked) in your direction is usually unnerving to most people"

He would know, as his chosen profession requires a great knowledge of things most girls would call creepy and crawly.

Just out of curiosity I did a tiny bit of research tonight. It seems the brown snake is quite common and unexciting. I am, however, considering introducing one to the flowerbed that was so generously over-populated by slugs this summer. He ought to be a nice companion to the Gardener snake that is residing under the front porch.

"For other species commonly referred to as the brown snake, see brown snake.
The Brown Snake is a small species of colubrid snake native to most of the eastern half of the United States, through Mexico and into Central America. The epithet dekayi is in honor of Portuguese-American zoologist James Ellsworth Dekay who collected the first specimen in Long Island, New York."

~Wikipedia

So my gratitude to Mr. Eckerman for saving me from this faux pas. And for the record, I was more unnerved by Sis screaming. I was, in fact, quite oblivious to the fact an airborne snake had just passed me by.

This has made me wonder how many other small details we over-look everyday. Isn't it common human nature to lump the subjects of our daily existence together?

A busy life is a happy life

“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever...”

~ Isak Dinesen

I haven't been a very good bloggy friend lately. I haven't been keeping up with my postings and I haven't been very diligent about reading the posts of others (except for the select few that I am compelled to keep up with even if it means burning the midnight oil to do so, and even then I've been bad about commenting).

As is always the case when I inadvertently turn my back on the world, I have been out lovingly enjoying my children. I am exhausted. Sadly, I am looking forward to a weekend continuing the war with keeping a clean house (and I will win this battle. Oh yes, I will).

Here are a few little updates from our wild last few weeks:

Bug was excited to enjoy a ride on Thomas the Tank engine with Lydia, Calvin, & "Grandma" Barb. He loved using Lydia as an excuse to ride, as "he's too old to really like Thomas," you know.

Bug roped his Dad into taking him to JAKES Day, where he got the opportunity to try his hand at archery for the 2nd time. He is proud to tell anyone that will listen that he can hit mostly in the red, which is "almost a bulls eye".

Bug is earning his way towards his own archery set selling popcorn for Cub Scouts (watch out SIS!). If you are interested in helping him, you can click here:


http://www.trails-end.com/estore/home_alt.jsp?_requestid=48063

I got the opportunity to spend one more enjoyable afternoon at Ledges with Sis and Ricky before the weather took a turn towards winter. Here Ricky is threatening to dump Sis in the creek for being sassy.



Ah... young love.

We were about a third of the way through the park when Sis thought she caught her ankle in a small branch. She looked down to see this, and immediately kicked it right toward my head. It missed me by inches and it took us a minute to figure out what she was shrieking about.

The baby bull snake landed unscathed but a little irate. Luckily there were no signs of his mama close by or I think we would have had to carry Sis the rest of the way.

I don't think she quite believed us that the snake wasn't out to harm her.

It was a beautiful day and we will all miss strolling through Ledges barefoot. I hope spring gets here soon.

Now that Sis is done with softball it's time for Bug to play soccer.

It is strange to see him so aggressive on the field, a big change from his usual demeanor. I'm thrilled he has found a sport he enjoys. Even if it means mom wearing two sweatshirts just to watch!

I took one day off work last week to help chaperon his Cub Scout Den on a trip to the zoo. It's amazing how much energy 8 boys can have when they're this excited about something.

Bug got to impress the boys with his tale about picking up a jellyfish at Virginia Beach this summer.

One of the few times we managed to gather all the boys in one spot.

Bug got himself in a little bit of trouble with me for tormenting this swan. He didn't learn his lesson until she nipped him. Boys will be boys.

They slowed down and gathered themselves together again to watch the seals perform their tricks.

Chance, Bug, & Blake. These boys seem to be pretty inseparable this year.

We even managed to squeeze a school dance into our busy schedule. Sis and Ricky attended with their good friends Mallary and Patrick. Everyone gathered at our house for pictures before the big event.

Sis's pretty wrist corsage. Unfortunately all the flowers wilted to the point we won't be pressing these.

Sis and Ricky looking so grown up.

Of course, I made her pose for a picture with me.

They can't be all grown up all the time, now can they?

It's been a busy few weeks, but very enjoyable with our vast difference in activities. I am insanely considering an offer to take over the position of Pack Chair for Cub Scouts. I don't know, do you think I could find the time?

One day at a time

This has been the common sight and discussion around our house this week.

Poor Bug!

We did get good news at the clinic on Monday though. After three x-rays and a lot of poking, prodding, and bending, it was determined that Bug had a bed sprain at the third joint of his ring finger. The sprain is down low enough to affect the adjoining digits.

The treatment is pretty much the same as what we've been doing. Ice three or four times a day, Motrin as needed, and the finger splint.

Hopefully he will be feeling well enough to start weaning him off of the splint this weekend.

There is already some improvement, especially with the bruising that was very prevalent on Monday.

He was feeling well enough (with the help of bandaged fingers and Motrin) to play soccer Monday night. He even scored the first goal for his team. Way to go Bug! He told me after the game that his loose tooth bothered him more than his hand. Last night he lost that tooth and earned a dollar from the tooth fairy.

A Typical Boy

I am amazingly far behind on blogging. I'm not sure if all of our summer adventures are going to make it up here. Between a very hectic schedule, school starting, and the fact that my laptop was down for almost two weeks, I just haven't had the opportunity to share the fun that we've been having.

And now that I'm back online, the first thing that I get to share with you is not fun or happy.

Bug has proven once again that he's a typical accident prone 8 year old.

Yesterday Sis and Ricky decided to take him to the park to play with Ricky's brother. The boys decided that they wanted to take their skateboards and try out the skate park. That was the part that I thought I should be nervous about, but I was wrong. Bug could have gotten hurt anywhere. He didn't even get hurt while skateboarding. He tripped as he was running around on the grass outside of the cement ramps. He fell and landed on his right hand.

The older kids rushed him home convinced he would need to go to the hospital. I probed at it, gave him some ice and Motrin, and sent pictures to a couple nurse friends of mine. They both agreed that he could very well have a broken finger or two. They also both agreed that a trip to the ER would just be a waste of money. The ER doctors would just suggest the same form of treatment plus a splint until his regular Dr could see him on Monday.

So we decided to avoid our second ER visit of the year and keep him comfortable until Monday. We purchased a finger splint (which he thinks is amazingly cool), ice it down several times a day, and give him pain reliever as needed.

One of the pictures sent to my nurse friends. The fingers in question are his ring finger & pinky with the ring finger most likely broken.

A second picture sent to them showing the swelling and curvature in question.

Taken today, now I'm starting to question if the pinky is broken too.

Notice the swelling between the 2nd & 3rd joints on his ring finger and discoloration at the 2nd joint. I', pretty sure the Doc will x-ray this one.

This is his left hand, just for comparison sake. Notice the gash on his ring finger here? Another typical boy incident playing with a sled on concrete... don't ask LOL.