That was fun!

It's a successful Halloween when we return home and the kids declare, "That was fun!"

This year we had Princess Anna, Red M&M, a Vikings player, and Olivia the Pig.

I am a room mother for Nathan's class again this year and I found this game on Pinterest.  We put three gummy worms on a plate, covered them in whipped cream, and the kids had to fish them out with their teeth and put them on the other plate.

After this game, Nathan told me, "That was the most fun I've had in years!"

Wohoo!  He and his friend Dawson really got into the game, as you can see.

It's been our tradition since having a Halloween birthday in the family to go to Grandma & Grandpa Melius' house after school.  Teresa always requests that Grandma wear her birthday cake costume. 

I surprised Teresa with a Barbie birthday cake.  Because I didn't realize Barbie was so tall, she received a two layer skirt!

We finished up our night with trick-or-treating.  We came home with bags of candy and Rachel only fell in one hole covered with leaves.  No worries--with a little help from her siblings, she was back up and ready to hit the next house.

Thanks to everyone who made Teresa's birthday and our Halloween extra special!

Happy 7th Birthday!

Happy 7th Birthday, Teresa Rosemarie!

It's a busy day of cake baking, costume wearing, and trick-or-treating!

It's beginning to look a lot like . . . Halloween!

Of all the available fall traditions, I have to admit that carving jack-o-lanterns has not been among my favorites these past several years of having kids.  As a child, I loved it!  As a parent, not so much.  

It's messy and involves sharp knives--not exactly the ideal kid-friendly activity in my book.  For the past few years, I have waited to see if the kids would notice or not.  They forgot at least one year and I breathed a (silent) sigh of relief as Halloween passed without my hand fishing seeds and guts out of a pumpkin.

This year Nathan remembered with plenty of time to spare.  We received some massive pumpkins from our neighbor's garden earlier this fall that were just begging to be carved.  We decided that Tuesday after school would work out best.

Landen prepped the table with our usual garbage bags and newspaper.  Then an amazing thing happened!  Each of the three big kids began carving their OWN jack-o-lanterns.  I was close by to supervise, of course, but I barely had to touch any pumpkin guts at all.  Wohoo!

As a side note, we discovered that the Pampered Chef My Safe Cutter knife works GREAT for carving pumpkins.  The boys used the two knives that I had from beginning to end and they wouldn't give them up.  Teresa was stuck with a usual paring knife, but that worked out just fine, too.

Rachel wasn't too excited about the whole carving idea, but she did show up to make some funny faces for the camera.  

Here are each of them displaying their creative ideas and carving skills--

With a row of jack-o-lanterns now lining our deck, it's beginning to look a lot like Halloween!

Moms' Night Out

Moms' Night Out was in theaters last summer, but it never worked for me to go.  Yes, it is true.  I couldn't even find a night out to go to a movie about moms!

I finally watched it on DVD and it was even better than I thought it would be.  It is true to life, funny, and inspirational, but not preachy.  I was laughing and also at times holding back tears at how much we moms have in common and the pressure we put on ourselves.

I was expecting to have most in common with the TV mom with which I usually identify (Patricia Heaton), but lead character Allyson (Sarah Drew) was definitely my near-mirror image in this one.  She is even a blogger . . . who sometimes struggles to have anything to say. :)

This movie is entertaining enough for men, but women will most identify with what these moms go through in their lives and their quest for just one "Moms' Night Out."

This is one I will be adding to my movie library.

A Big Day!

Today, October 27 is a big day in my family.  It was my great grandparents' wedding anniversary, my grandpa's Godmother's birthday (which I just learned), is my grandparents' wedding anniversary, my grandma's birthday, my aunt Marian's birthday and my cousin's son Jordin's birthday!  Whew!  With so much to celebrate, we had to start on Saturday!

Our family held a Family & Friends Open House on Saturday to celebrate my Grandpa and Grandma Kallas' 60th Anniversary.  Eight of their twelve children were able to be there, as well as in-laws, out-laws, grandchildren, and the like.

To add a little life to the party, my mom, aunts and uncles shared memories of growing up that we used as part of our centerpieces.  My aunt and uncle read these, and some more were added.  

My favorite story was from 1980-something when several (or all) of the 5 boys brought baby skunks into the porch.  Grandma was worried about the smell, but they assured her the skunks weren't old enough for that.  By that night, they called her where she was in town to let her know that they were "old enough."  

I don't know how my grandparents raised 12 kids, worked hard on their dairy farm, and still look so young for 82 and 88!

I love them so very much and they are an inspiration to me every day!