One more Moore

Tomorrow, Mama...Tomorrow

Tuesday:
"Henry, can you come here & try on your costume so I can see if it's too big?"
"Tomorrow, Mama...Tomorrow"

Wednesday:
"Henry, it's tomorrow, can you please come and try this on so I can fix it?"
"It's too big, Mama, it's too big. Tomorrow."
At this point, he's pretty much forced into it and hating every minute of it. It was on & off in 10 seconds.

Thursday:
"Henry...."
"It's too big, Mama. Too big. Tomorrow"

Friday: Same story as Thursday.

Saturday:
"Okay Henry, it's 'tomorrow' and time for you to come and put your totally awesome Peter Pan costume on"
He won't budge. There are tears. He won't go near the thing.

Bribery. Hey, I'm not above it. "Henry if you put this costume on, we'll get you a special, special treat. A train!" "Okay, Mama" He  practically ran into my arms, in slow motion (imagine if you will), put his arms up for the shirt, put the green tights on and on went the hat. Shoes: check. Done 3 minutes later. On the way to the party he can't stop talking about his cool red feather in his hat. A $4.00 bribe. Totally worth it. The thing about our little Henry is that he's not too keen on new things. He doesn't like new shoes, clothes, etc.,.   He usually needs some gentle nudging (sometimes bribery) and then once he does it, he's happy as a clam. So glad he did it. He's carrying a felt satchel that was whipped up about 15 seconds before it was time to go, after realizing we didn't have anything for him to put his treats in. The other side has a big red felt feather stitched onto it that matches the one on his hat. I'm thinking that treat bags need to be part of every years Halloween costume making. Remember last year? Yeah, I think I'm gonna do it. It's gonna be tradition.
He had a bit of a fall in the kitchen because the bottom of his little mocassins were too slick.  We threw on two big strips of velcro which did the trick. Until Henry had to walk outside on the carpeted hallway. Each step was like walking on fly paper. Each step was a major effort. It really was quite hilarious. We couldn't stop laughing and Henry, well he was mildly annoyed about not being able to walk like a normal person. But he was such a sport and loved running around outside for a few hours, playing in the leaves and going trick-or-treating.

Sorry I've been so scarce around these parts. We are moving this Saturday.  This is a major, major weight that we've been carrying and we are feeling so very grateful to finally have found a place that's going to work for us. We've been looking for over 10 months.  We just got  boxes today and I  have 4 days to pack up our place. That's gonna be loads of fun. Really. Feel free to come by and help. I know you are all dying too. I promise, I won't put velcro on the bottom of your shoes.

Happy Halloween!!

xoxo

p.s. So thrilled for the Sox! The best part: getting late night calls from old Boston friends, wanting to share in all the happiness. We miss you guys!!

Halloween....it's almost here!

Our little Halloween party last Friday night was a hoot! I wish I took a picture of the night- but alas, I did not. Too busy playing with kids, eating food and having great visits with friends. I realized that I haven't really posted any Halloween decorations of our place. We went kind of low key this year.

If you can believe it, we still have 2 bins of Halloween stuff that's not making it's way out. I just don't have it in me. But what I'm liking: The crows. Simple, throw one on a  lamp or on a pumpkin, we've got 3-4 in our living room. I'm grooving on them.

I wanted to make something for the kids, as a little party gift that they could take home so I decided to make some bat & pumpkin bean bags. We played a little bean bag game and then they got to choose which one they wanted to take home.

I still haven't made Henry's costume yet, that's gotta happen this week before Saturdays Trunk-or-Treat (no, Henry wasn't even dressed up for his own Halloween party. I'm hoping he's not scarred for life.) Anyway, this years costume has lots of green...any ideas?? Fleece: check. Felt: check. Green Tights: I'm in a bit of a panic trying to find these...anywhere I can get them in the greater LA area?

We made a pot of chili, and the recipe was such a cinch. I don't have a lot of chili-making experience. It has always seemed too time consuming, the kind of thing that took all day to prepare. I found a great recipe on Allrecipes and made it for the first time a few weeks ago and had to make it again for our party. Here's the recipe:

Chili

• 2 pounds lean ground turkey or beef
• 1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
• 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 cups canned red beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:

1. Place ground turkey/beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2. Add all ingredients to a large kettle. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

We topped ours with sour cream, diced onions & cheese.

Anyway, we had a great time and as soon as the last person left, Henry turned to me and said, "Let's do it again!!!"

I'm sure you've been hearing about all the fires here. It's just awful. I can't imagine losing everything. Henry's been rubbing his eyes alot and I wonder if all the smoke in the air is starting to affect him. The closest fires to us are in Malibu and really, it's not that far away- maybe 20 minutes. I'm not sure what to do for him, besides keeping him inside. Here's to hoping that the fires start to die down soon! 

Happy Wednesday!

p.s. HOLY CRAP- can you believe the Red Sox?? Well, yes I can. They are brilliant. Unbelievable. Bring on the Rockies!

A most perfectly, pumpkiny day

On Monday we went up to a pumpkin farm in Moorpark. It was overcast and chilly and so very Fall. We loved it, especially  Henry.

My little pumpkin-kisser carried about a dozen pumpkins from the ground onto the bales of hay. Lining them up just so. And then the kissing began. I think he kissed nearly every one.

There were a TON of gourds, everywhere you looked. We had a great day of tractor rides:

Pony rides:

Chickens:

And lot's of searching for just the right pumpkin:

Henry picked out 2 little gourds and a tiny little pumpkin. And this one, got a great big hug:

We are having a little Halloween party on Friday for some of Henry's playmates.

While I was sewing the envelopes this morning, Henry said, "I want to sew with you, Mama!" So I put him on my lap and he helped to guide the vellum through. He was so proud of our little invites and carefully put them in our Halloween bucket and proudly carried it around to all the neighbors. He can't stop talking about the  "Halloweentime" party. I am happy to say that he was just introduced to "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" and loves  it (esp. 'Snoofy'.) It's one of those moments where I realized I've succeeded as a Mother. LOL! 

An afternoon at the Skirball

On Wednesday, my old Boston gal-pal Heidi and I finally made it to the Noah's  Ark exhibit at The Skirball. It's a new exhibit that just opened this Summer, but as you can imagine there was a pretty hefty wait to get tickets. Things seemed to have settled down and on Wednesday, there was hardly anyone there. Perfect.

It was really incredible. I mean look at the Zebra. Keyboard mane and all. It's interactive, so everything is meant to be touched and gently played with. You could spin the back/bum of the zebra in circles. Very cool. It's not everyday you get to spin a zebra's bum.

And how about this 'gator? It was a violin case and the eyes were molded out of a pair of womens black leather gloves.

A noodled porcupine?? Brilliant.

And how about this owl creation??

This elephant was up on the 2nd level of the ark and so Henry & I climbed up this rope wall thing and if you pulled the rope, the elephants nose flew up and make a big "prrrrrrrhhhh!" noise.

This was one of Henry's favorite parts. On the right side of the ark, you could load the animals onto this conveyor belt and then turn the big steel wheel to make them go up, up, up and when they finally got to the top they dropped down a chute into a basket so you could do it again and again. And again.

One last photo: (maybe)

This was really cool. Henry's cranking the water pump and as he does, it causes the rain to fall and the ark to rise (he's holding onto an elephant that he latched onto the second we got there and held until the minute we left.)

The Noah's ark exhibit is permanent, so if you get a chance, head on over. It's incredible and  the kids will have a ball. At the Skirball. Muhaha.

Sorry for all the pics! It was really dim in there and so some came out grainy. The Halloween stuff is finally coming out this weekend (I'm so ashamed! LOL)


xoxo

What a hoot!

Thanks everyone for all your supportive thoughts and calls and emails. I received so much great  advice and I have to share 2 things that cracked me up.  I got an e-mail from my dear friend Jill today, whom I had recently told that I just wanted to "scream," to which she replied, "...and if you must scream, this is the season to do so!" Oh, Jill, so, so very wise beyond your years. And Heather who said, "I have no idea what you are battling and it doesn't even matter. What matters is the totally classy and rad way you are going to fight your way out of it." Okay that made me laugh, thanks Heather. I WISH I could be totally  classy & rad while fighting my way out of anything!!I think it just felt so much better to get it out there, off my chest. It was interesting to read about others who said they were in the same place, or recently had been. I've been so self-absorbed in everything that's been going on here that it never really occurred to me that right now, out there, others are struggling too. I know, it's absurd. I realized, I just need to pull my head out. I just need to serve others. I used to be so good at service and doing things for others, but I haven't done anything  for so long, I've just turned into this little hermit crab. So now, things are a changing. Neighbors are getting cupcakes.

I picked up this magazine while I was in Utah last month and was chomping at the bit to make these guys. There's a ton of other great recipes in there that I can't wait to try. Aren't they a hoot! LOL!  We made carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Henry and I just delivered them to some neighbors upstairs and we will be out delivering some more tonight. I think it's just what this little family needs.

My MIL's birthday was Thursday and so at 9 p.m on Monday night, I decided I probably should make something for us to send. When I first started sewing, patterns were just beyond me, so since then I've been coming up with patterns on my own, which is by no means an easier solution. I pulled out the dozen or so apron patterns that I had and decided on this one. Man, it's so much easier when everything is already measured out for you!! What had I been thinking?  This was Butterick #6567, Apron A, and it came together quite easily, and my MIL is just as much as a Halloween nut as I am, so I hope she likes it! Now if I had mad sewing skills, which I do not, I would SOOO be this for Halloween:

Miss Pumpkin??? It's beyond brilliant. I want to be her so very badly, but how would I ever do that hair?? (okay the hair should be the least of my conerns..) My recent haircut, which is a short bob, would just ruin the whole effect. And where would I ever find a hat like that? How much yardage would a dress like that take? I fear  I would just wear it all year long.

Oh well, here's to dreaming!

xoxo

Somewhere over the rainbow...

I've been feeling so sad lately. So out of sorts. Feeling left behind. Forgotten. Feeling like sometimes I may have just been given more than I'm able to bear. Ever feel like that, too? I have much, much to be grateful for. And for those things, I am. But I am in a horrible funk that I can't shake. I feel like I've been here for far too long. I feel like I'm 2 steps away from a complete and total nervous breakdown. Maybe I just need a really good cry. Don't worry, I'm not going to have a total freak-out. I don't need my neighbors to show up with muffins or anything. I'm just feeling very heavy and waiting, praying for things to change. Still. I'm hopeful they will. Someday.

I came across this song tonight. I've never heard this version before. Chris says he's heard it once, on a fishing show. I really like it. I'm not taking any responsibility for the cheeseball graphics.

So until then, I sit, waiting for my troubles to melt like lemon drops, high above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me...