The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin

I love October. Growing up, it was generally during the last week of October where Houston got its annual two days' worth of fall (which translates to 75 degrees. anything lower than that was "winter"). Here where it gets cool enough on some October days to justify a sweater and even s'mores over an open fire, this is what happens to a pumpkin.
Reese & Makena identify their favorites
The men gut and dismember the pumpkin. A true dad ritual.
While the kids are silly and swinging
S'mores with 6 kids and an open fire pit is a little overwhelming. Somehow we managed to keep all children, dogs and most toys from getting charred.
Travis got marshmallow duty with each kid.
Reese decided it was her calling to direct traffic around the fire (note leftover s'mores on her face)
Brett with his final product (we call it a redneck skull with West Virginia teeth)

Swine Flu Musings

We're coming out of the Swine Flu at our house. Makena and Reese both had a relatively easy battle with it that lasted from last Thursday until Saturday/Sunday. For us, it really wasn't as bad as all the hype. Our poor (lucky) kids got to subsist on movies and whatever random food they agreed to eat. Here are some of my observations from our quarrantine.

• At the end of the fairy tale, Snow White rides off into the sunset with her prince to go to his kingdom. Why? He's just a prince and, presumably, there's still a king in his kingdom doing all the important stuff. We never hear of any king in Snow White's home kingdom and the Queen gets offed at the end of the story. Why doesn't Snow White take the prince back to her kingdom where there is, presumably, no one running things? Buh? What are we teaching our daughters? Get a spine and go run your own kingdom!
• Mary Poppins, after giving Jane and Michael medicine magically flavored like strawberries and cupcakes, takes a spoonful herself and declares "ah..Rum Punch!". I never noticed Mary Poppins liked the bottle before. That could explain some of the dancing penguin scenes.
• Any movie is made better and more enjoyable when watched in Mommy & Daddy's bed. This could explain the scratchy throat I have.
  

Lyrics

We are now the proud owners of a three-CD set of kids' songs. 130+ snappy, snazzy tunes to keep your preschoolers singing at the tops of their lungs all around town. Thanks, Christine. Here are some of the songs included in the collection:

• "Ankle" Doodle Dandy
• Clementine- have you ever listened to the words of this macabre, incestuous song? In the first verse, Clementine kicks the bucket- drowns, to be precise "she is lost and gone forever, Dreadful sorry, Clementine". Then Clementine's lyricist lover pays her tribute with these words: "How I missed her! How I missed her, How I missed my Clementine, But I kissed her little sister, I forgot my Clementine." Niiice.
• Hole in the Bucket- this one prompts Makena to sing/yell at Reese "DEAR HENRY, DEAR HENRY" anytime Reese approaches me and asks me to fix anything.
• Waltzing Matilda- this Australian classic is sung by a Scottish man with a very thick accent. Confusing to me, but this is the hands down favorite.

A few random pictures. These are their prized princess nightgowns (thanks, Tara!)
Here they are ready to leave for gymnastics. Their cheapskate mom finally bought them leotards so now they can hang with the coolest kids in the class.
This one made me laugh- I went into Reese's room to wake her up from her nap one day only to discover she had relocated the menagerie of animals, books and pillows from her bed and recreated it directly under her bed. She was out like a light.

Garden update

I know you've been waiting for this one! We closed the books on our summer garden about three weeks ago. The tomatoes were still going, although not strong; the bell peppers were on their last leg; the jalapenos are actually still up there (couldn't stand to toss them- they're producing like crazy)...it was the okra that was killing me. Our six okra plants were each over six feet high! I was harvesting a least five or six pods every day. We've got more okra in our freezer than I know what to do with- if I call you for a new gumbo recipe, you'll know why.
A good chunk of the reason Brett and I decided to start P90X was because of the ridiculous amounts of fried okra we ate this summer. I mean- yum!- but not so good for the waistlines.
Anyway- we've planted what will have to pass as a fall garden for now. I was surprised at how hard it was to find seedlings for fall veggies. We really only have a mix of lettuces and broccoli but, with eight broccoli plants out there, we've got our veggies covered for a while.
And, for good measure, here's a picture of our newly naked fenceline. Those outbuildings you see in the background are two neighbors' away. We can see clear across clown-neighbor's yard and intrusively into the yards of two people we've never been privy to before. Be sure to take note of the falling-down fence- this picture just happens to include a section of the fence where all the rungs are present. Not intact, but present. There are other sections that have only two, one and even no rungs at all. That's not an illegal hazard or anything. Pool. State law. I'm just sayin'.
Here's the best picture I could find with the bushes in their former state of shade-and-screen-providing loveliness.

September wrap-up

We seem to have sped through the last half of our month and *poof* here we are in October. Since returning from the beach, we've started back to school, started soccer, started gymnastics and been teased and taunted by hints of fall weather. Since the birthday party I haven't gotten my camera out much so I don't have any more Pulitzer-prize winning photographs to share. Instead, here are a few thoughts and experiences we've had lately.

• A four-year-old and a three-year-old fight about the stupidest things. "She took my baaaaaby doll!!!" "She told me it's raining outside!!!" "You're only in the three-year-old class and I'm four!!!" (??)
  
• A four-year-old will argue with a fence post. "Mommy, what are we doing after lunch?" "We're going to the library." "No we're not."; "Mommy, can we go swing outside?" "Yes, but we have to wait until Daddy finishes cutting the grass." "He's NOT cutting the grass!" (cue Brett walking by the back door behind the mower); "Mommy, is Texas playing today?" "No, they don't play again until next week." "No, they play tomorrow."
  
• Our next-door-neighbor recently scalped the 20-year-growth huge bushes that a) provided us a significant amount of afternoon shade and b) provided us a very necessary screen between our yard and his. If I were to chronicle this clown's antics over the last 6 years you'd be blown away. This last maneuver is likely to be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Stay tuned to see if I call the city and report him for a falling-down fence around his pool/property that isn't up-to-code. Yes, I'm that vindictive right now.
• Brett and I are a month into our new workout routine. Check out your local infomercial channel for TMI on P90X and there you have it. I actually like it- it forces me to work out almost every day. Some days, though, I have to do the workout during the day when the kids are here- they LOVE it! Makena jumps around doing "tires" and little Heismann poses and they will both sit through almost the entire ab routine. Hilarious!
• Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), since most evenings are taken up with jumping around the living room like fools (ie- P90X), we're way behind on our fall TV. What sad little lives we live.

I don't have any more gems for now (aren't you glad?). I think of great and witty things to post during most days but, as you can see, don't manage to get around to posting them. I'll try to be better in October.