Happy Halloween!

This year we have in our house an Indian Princess (with a baby in a papoose), convict, and the Indian Princess's pet cat, Gumdrop. (And a baby with a panda bear hat, not pictured because she was eating breakfast. Go Giants!)

Philately

My nine year old boy is a cub scout. He's working his way through the bear book right now, and I love watching him find new things to be interested in.

Like stamps!

He discovered that you can earn a belt loop (very exciting to have tons of little metal belt loops packed onto those cub scout belts) doing this. I decided to be generous and donate some of the stamps I randomly happen to have to the cause.

When he was trying to figure out where to put the stamps, I remembered this great picture from Martha Stewart Kids that I had torn out years ago (sigh. How many other great projects did I not tear out? Come back, Martha Stewart Kids! Is it wrong to miss a magazine so deeply?)

(And while I'm scanning old MS Kids pictures, look at how sweet this little album is -

And this!

And - are you kidding me?! Have you seen this sweetest dress ever?)

Oh my, I'm getting distracted.

Back to business: does anyone want to swap post-cards with us, to trade some stamps? Email me - it could be fun, right?

Water lilies

This last Friday in my daughter's class we made water lily pictures, inspired by Monet's.

We used water color pastels, which are so kid-friendly: I had the kids fill their whole page with color (the more complex their color combinations, the better), and then with water and a brush, turn it into a wash.

After the pictures dried a little (they were really wet!) they layered in lily pads, and flowers.

I thought their pictures were dazzling. I know we see Monet's paintings everywhere, all the time, and I think that over-exposure sometimes dulls me to how brilliant his painting was. I was looking at some of his water lily paintings (he made over 250 of them) - and they took my breath away, the range of color and feeling. I love the more abstract ones.

Go look, if you haven't seen them in awhile.

boo!

When we moved into our neighborhood, the first Halloween we were "boo'd" and since then it's been one of our favorite October traditions. If you've never heard of this, click on the link - it's fun & neighborly.

Also, do you see that broom on the door? It smells really good, like cinnamon. My husband likes to stand by the door and smell it. He asked me if I could get him one to put in his car (he drives a mini.) Maybe I'll surprise him one morning and tie it from his rearview mirror. I think it would make me smile all day long imagining such a huge car freshener in such a little car.

I hope you have a great fall day!

When all else fails -

- make toast!

This is my new go-to mantra. This fall has been busy for our family and I just sometimes need to take a minute and eat some warm bread with butter. I'm sure you can relate.

Here's my recipe (it freezes really well, is light enough for PB sandwiches, and makes five good size loaves). It will make your house smell so good. And, FYI, I substitute honey for the brown sugar, and add about a teaspoon of cinnamon.

the benefits of boredom

I'm of the school that says that parents do NOT need to entertain their children. "I'm bored," is a swear word in our house and my kids have learned not to say it. Instead, they create their own fun. This morning it was paper num nums taped to the seven-year old's chest, and a baby to nurse on them...

Team Coco

Here's a little Coco for you to make your weekend fabulous... (Katie, you know I'm thinking particularly of you!)

What was twenty minutes of peace worth to you today?

For me, the bougainvillea. It no longer has any blossoms below the four foot mark.

Totally worth it.

If you have any pictures of what twenty minutes of peace was worth to you today, send them! It would cheer me immensely (*this might be the start of a 3 year old support group. But I would also accept submissions for other ages, having personally witnessed the damage that six year olds, in particular, are capable of.)