phew!

The annual Halloween party is over. It was a HUGE success, between the younger kids party and the older kids party, we had over 150 kids show up! I took some pictures of random things to give ya'll an idea.

>
Our greeter, he's a little stiff


















The redneck tooth fairy and Mesmerelda the witch. See what I have to deal with?
















Our Special guest, Bootylicious






















One of the more popular games for the younger party, the gross out grab. THis year we had frog eyes, entrails and brains to find the tokens in.


















The older kids were happy with just grabbing each other!

















The biggest success of the night was the haunted walk. We wanted to do a hayrack ride but it was too muddy so we did a walk around the yard with several scary scenes. THe little adrenaline junkies LOVED it! It was a great time but oh so tiring,

Call me grumpy

As you all probably know, Nebraska finally adopted a safe haven law. Last year when I was talking about this, they were one of two states in the entire country that had no safe haven law in place. The nitwits that passed this very important piece of legislature left the age limit at 18 years old. People have been taking advantage of this something terrible: there was a man who brought in 9 of his children, a woman drove from Michigan to drop off her teen etc. So, shamefaced and freaking out, the people in charge went back and amended the law to make the age limit up to 3 days old. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081020/ap_on_re_us/safe_haven
Basically, you have to make up your mind before you leave the hospital. It was one of the most lenient and now is one of the strictest. I have a couple of thoughts on this. It pisses me off it took this long for the lawmakers to realize that the law was needed. I mean, seriously, every other state in the union recognizes the need. And what special kind of stupid does it take to make the law up to 18 years with no threat of prosecution and not expect some serious repercussions? Of course there is going to be people taking advantage of the no-prosecution-dumping ground for teens. OBVIOUSLY there are people who can't cope with kids. Should these children be forced to stay where they are abused, neglected or sometimes killed? But then they also are prosecuting the parents that are trying to use the law. When they made the law, they should have made an age limit of like 6 months or something and then came up with a solution for the older children that was still free from prosecution. I think people should be held responsible for the children they make, mothers and fathers, BUT there are situations where people are left feeling overwhelmed and make really poor decisions. I believe there should be something these people can do to make a better situation for everyone concerned that doesn't involve being arrested.

I am recovering

This weekend was my annual birthday breakfast (using the term lightly). We had to have it a little late this year because of my mother in law's massive surgery and health issues. She is all healed up now and it was time to get away. My five sister in laws and I went and stayed overnight in a condo in downtown Omaha. We all met up and had a couple glasses of wine. I have discovered I do not care for red, I prefer a sweeter white. Pretty sad I am coming to this realization at 34 but hey, better late then never. Anyway, Cindy brought sushi for all the girls to try, that was kinda funny. I have had it before (thank you Jen-o) but not with the wasabi/soy mix. The other ladies tried it and were, shall we say, less then impressed. It was fun watching their reactions and I appreciate Cindy broadening our horizons. I got to open all my fabulous gifts, all of it was wonderful, especially the extra cash. HA HA HA
We went out to dinner at a restaurant that was just a block away called JAZZ. It was a little place with a live jazz band playing on a little balcony above the diners. I should have been warned when my stuffed mushroom appetizer cleared my sinuses that they really, Really like their creole seasoning. I doubt I would go back because that isn't my cup of tea but it was so much fun trying something new. And the dessert was AWESOME. And we got some really cool bead necklaces that my girls just thought was the best gift.
After our dinner adventure, we went to a haunted house. I don't like these things but it was the second year in a row that I got roped into going. Dianne, Deanne, Michelle and I went in while Cindy and Wendy waited outside for us. Michelle gets some twisted thrill off of scaring herself spitless. We are always teasing her about it, so it was funny that all the "ghouls" that were wondering around as we were waiting to go in spooked her and left us alone.
Then we went to the store and got some snackys and more wine. On the way back to the condo, Cindy's car died. We think her alternator keeled over, so it wasn't going anywhere. We tried jumpstarting it several times in the middle of the intersection and finally ended up pushing it 1/2 block to a parking lot. That was a picture that would have been worth a thousand words let me tell you!
Finally at 1 in the morning, we got back to the rooms and visited a little more, I took a whirlpool bath and nearly went swimming the thing was so big. Deanne helped me light candles all around it, it was soo wonderful. Micheel and I got to sleep at oh 2:30-3 and were wide awake for some ridiculous reason at 6:45. Deanne had the concierge bring up bagels and fresh fruit for breakfast. Then we started our day shopping for the Halloween bash for the kids in our town. We finally got back to our neck of the woods around 6. We helped Jason, Bob and Ronnie hang the black plastic in the big garage. I finally got home to sit at 8, I was so wiped out. Chick wanted to show me the class ring she picked out, see my gifts, and visit cuz she missed me. I felt bad but I was so tired I went and laid down by 9 and was dozing by 9:05. And I slept hard till 8 this morning, it felt great.
There is lots to be done this week, treat sacks to assemble, olives to slice, hamburger to cook, treats to make, decorations to hang, Kool aid to make, serving trays and bowls to clean, games to set up, garages to clean, a hayrack ride to mapout and stage, and a ton of miscellaneous things that come up. It is so worth it though, the kids are thrilled with it and come away with a good memory. It makes such an impression, the parents are asking if we are having it again because their kids are still talking about how cool the last one was. The really cool part is, the noodles we sold in September paid for everything we needed to pull this off.

So here is the thing

I should be getting combat pay for having to wake a teen and get her off to school. My own little version of Katie Kaboom (it's a cartoon about a sweet all american girl complete with dimples, till she loses her temper and then all you see is a mushroom cloud). I love my daughter and I truly feel for her frustration but DAMN! She was in hysterics this morning (less then 20 minutes of getting out of bed in a great mood) because her shoelace wouldn't tie exactly as she wanted it. I am sitting here going, seriously?
Mike's best friend and his niece are getting married. It's kinda odd, although we do get some good jokes out of it: Uncle Brother being one of my favorites. He is going back to Iraq today for the last 9 months of his tour. The really depressing part is, his unit already has a redeployment date for the next time. Things change so quickly, especially in the military, I only hope that this is one of them. It is really hard being a military spouse, I don't know that I would ever want to do it again. Not that it would ever come up again, I am just saying.
411 is a girl scout nut selling fool. She loves going around talking to people trying to get them to buy stuff. One of my 7 circles of hell, but she grooves on it.
Bubba is bummed now that Lil Zach left. Then we find out his other friend, Jordan, is moving to Missouri. I really like Jordan, he is a very polite kid. You know the kind, the kind you hope your kids are when you aren't around. Figures he is the one moving and not the really obnoxious one.
Mr is loving kindergarten. He trys to say he doesn't want to go for form sake but is the first one out the door every morning.
We went through the re-licensing interview and are just waiting on our new license to come in the mail. Not that we are using it a whole lot. We did get a call for a group, 2 sets of twins, all under the age of 5. There isn't enough Prozac in the northern hemisphere for me to want to take on that many more.

on the calmer side

It is my first solitary day for like 2 weeks now. We had company, which was FABULOUS, and then Chick was ill with a stomach ache for four days. I took her to the doctor yesterday and she said that Chick has excess stomach acid and gave her some medicine. What really seemed to work though was when she didn't have to go work on the big group project that was due today. I think she stressed herself out over it to the point of being ill. She is sensitive like that.
My sister in law Michelle 'boo'd' us, so of course I had to 'boo' others. For those of you that aren't familiar, a 'boo' is like a may basket, a little goody bag with a cute poem on how to pass it on. I ended up 'booing' 4 people and not one of them acknowledged it. That is so frustrating. Just something a little fun and people are such poopers.
I have decided that a diet is in order, there are alot of really cool things happening next year and I don't wanna look like stay-puft for them. And I am making Mikey do it too cuz I am that mean. We will see what we see.
The annual halloween party is in 2 weeks and we haven't even started planning yet. The fundraiser (remember all the noodles?) did really well, so we have plenty of cash for the things we need, we just have to decide what it is we need. We are breaking it up this year, younger kids party first and then a break then the older kids dance/karaoke party. It makes it alot more fun when the kids appreciate what you are doing for them. I am really getting excited about it.

HELP!!!

I was talking to my sister this morning and she would like me to make her an IOWA quilt. What the hell would an IOWA quilt look like?

What a week

Here is the latest quilt, I had to wait till after the wedding because it was their gift and I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Stacy and Curtis has a beautiful wedding. Wendy will probably post pictures on her blog. Since my camera took a dive onto concrete off the top of the fridge, I don't use it unless I absolutely have to.













And speaking of have to.. here is my company I have had this week. My stomach hurts from laughing all week. I give HUGE props to their grandparents; after their mom died, G'ma and G'pa stepped up and raised them along with their sister. Zach is 32 , Seth is 23 and Regina is somewhere in the middle. They all still respect and honor their grandparents. They raised them right, even if they are extremely ornery. ;)