from the mouth of my babe

"You know, most people think that book is about a pig and a spider, but it's not.  It's really about friendship." ~on the topic of Charlotte's Web,  during a one on one lunch with his principal.

In Which I State the Obvious

Motherhood isn't always what I expected it to be.  Oh, I expected the sleepless nights and the poopy diapers. I had been warned about the worry I would feel and the need to constantly check their breathing in the middle of the night.  I remember friends with kids sharing trivial triumphs with me as I lazily thumbed through my fashion magazine.  "Little Gus put his toe in his mouth today.  It was just soooo cute!  You should have been there, I mean, it was unbelievable."  

I knew I was signing up for a thankless job with little pay and minimal vacation or sick days.  

I knew I would love the little stinkers.  

I wasn't prepared for just how much I would love them.  

Sometimes when he makes eye contact with me, it makes my day.

Photo by Jack

Zat Gdavity, eet's a Killa

So far today:

I caught George in midair as he was rolling off of Stella's bed,

I caught a mug in midair as it tumbled from the top shelf,

And I stared at the effects gravity has had on my face for approximately four minutes.

All before 9:00 in the morning.

Is there anyone over the age of thirty who would consider gravity a friend?

George, the mug, and I will be taking our act on the road shortly.

And the Winner is . . .

The Cox Family!  Riverside, CA (English Speaking) won't know what hit 'em.

Where in the world . . .

. . . will Scott spend the next two years?

Guessing will now commence and I will send a handmade gift to the person who gets it right.

P.S.  The call is on its way here, so you have days.  Maybe hours.

Halloween

My fondness for Halloween springs from a lifetime of celebrating with the people I like most in the world. In Rosie’s World, holidays are family time. Even Halloween. Following is a synopsis of what we would do if we were near our extended family, and what we did instead.

The season kick-off is Karaoke Night the first Monday in October. Hubs and I usually rock the house with our performance of “Love Shack.” This year, Doug paid us a surprise visit the first week of October. He was taking a load (some kind of huge snowcat machine thingy) to . . . Vermont? Cross country, anyway, and he stopped in for a visit. It was an awesome surprise. Also, this happened to be my last healthy day of the month because . . .

. . . I got pneumonia, among other things. Maybe the bug hitchhiked with Doug to Kara in St. Louis. (I'm sorry if it was me.  Are you feeling better?  I don’t have a picture of me with pneumonia, among other things, but somewhere there is an x-ray of my lungs and a CT of my kidneys.)

In years past, we would go to the store or the pumpkin patch to pick out our future Jack-O-Lanterns. Not so, in Iowa. Around here, the pumpkin patch is in our backyard! That’s right, folks, our Jack-O-Lanterns are 100% homegrown. Seriously, folks, what don’t I do?

Trick-or-treating is always a big event. Complete with cousins and Lolo and Lola. Around here, we celebrate Beggar’s Night by trick-or-treating on October 30th. We had a huge group with all the kids on our street and their parents. Scott and Ed were the designated scarers at RosieHouse. They reported that the comments heard by the witches and ghosts on their way up to our door were as follows: “This is the scariest house yet!” Well played, brothers, well played.

In the Homeland, there is the Annual Family Halloween Party. And boy oh boy, do those Danes know how to PAH-TAY! Costumes, pinatas, ghoul-ash, singing, dancing, you name it, we do it. This is THE event of the season, the one that kicks off Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. It is also the event that I pine for with aching in my heart. Uncle Bill walking in with a pumpkin on his head. Aunt Kim and her Billy Bob teeth. Combining children, a big stick, a paper mache creation full of candy, and a blindfold . . . it’s a recipe for a severe case of homesickness when you can’t be there in person.

We got the next best thing, though. Aunt Kathi scratched that itch for me with a wonderful and welcome surprise package. A homemade pinata that she filled herself. That’s Scott in the background working a pulley system to make my uncles swell with pride.

We celebrated on Halloween Night by attending a super fun Chili Supper and Trunk-or-Treat. And of course, we all had different costumes. Pictured below: Scott (Bomber Pilot), Ed (Mad Scientist), Bob (?), Jack (The Karate Kid), Stella (Witch), Creed (Zombie) Not pictured: Rosie (Dorothy Gale), and George (lion)

You’d think, by now, we’d be Halloween’d out. Not so, good sir. The next night, we were invited on a “cruise” during which there was a vicious murder to solve.

Okay, so it wasn’t exactly US that were invited. It was:

SHIRLEY FROSTY, actress, writer, director

and

EDUARDO MARTINI, Argentinian Singer and all around Ladies Man.

Rosie Recommends

Son of Rambow: an import from England about a couple of kids making a movie. I love this movie. I’ve watched it twice this week. The soundtrack alone is totally worth it.

Opi Nail polish in Lincoln Park After Dark. Quite festive for October and if you paint your four year old’s nails at the same time, she sounds so funny walking around saying the name of the color.

Celebrity Challenge: A great game you can play anywhere, anytime. Some people are skeptics before they try, but most become converts after the first round.

John Frieda Frizz Ease Hair Serum: It really does cut down on the frizziness of my hair, and it’s the right price.

The long tail cast on method: This has changed my knitting life by solving the problem of a crooked edge on my pieces of knitting. Seriously, I can’t stop comparing old projects to new for my brothers, though I think they are getting tired of feigning interest.

The Biggest Loser: By far my favorite show on television.

Really good kitchen knives: By far my favorite cooking gadget.

Making your bed: Even if it’s right before you get in. Is there anything better than getting into a made bed after a long day?