Could it be the last?

We have a middle schooler.
Dressing in costume to get candy from strangers is no longer acceptable behavior.
But he wanted copious amounts of candy.
So what does any self-respecting middle schooler do?
Well, you wear a costume that only a middle school gamer would love.

Can anyone guess who or what he is?
[crickets chirping]
Well, my uninformed friends and family, he is a Minecraft creeper.
Because I am such a cheapskate I scoured the internet for a like minded mother who blogs and found one.  Mama Needs a Hobby set me up.  That, a free cardboard box and a coworker with an awesome color printer and my middle schooler was ready to pillage the neighborhood.

My second grader had grander plans.
And I loved them.
We had found an gnome costume for Mr. Ollie Wienerkins.  Oh the universal shame for dogs on Halloween.  But we gloriously joined in the night of shame and dressed our dachshund like a gnome.  Anna decided he was Gnomeo to her Juliet.

So I was in charge of making her look like Juliet.  And, to be quite honest, because I am not full of vim and vigor these days, it didn't take too long to put it all together.  Here's the whole gang on Halloween night.



This years Halloween Party brought lots of little ones with their 'rents.  We kept it low key this time and I didn't go crazy on cooking and baking.  Gotta love warehouse shopping in situations such as this.  Plus friends who bring yummy food to share.

Here is my one easy but fun thing I did for food this year thanks to my obsession with Pinterest:



After all, who can resist jack-o-lantern vomit?

That and fake mustaches and you've got yourself a party!
I came across stick-on mustaches somewhere before the party and snatched 'em up! (I love the verb "snatch"...hmmm, but I digress).  And just as I thought, they were a hit at the party.  I love that a picture can tell it better than me.

There were all sorts of secret personalities that came out at the party that night!  Loved it!!

Before all the trick or treaters ran off to pillage we gathered them around the Magnolia tree for the traditonal Halloween picture.


The gaggle of goblins did not disappoint.

And while we out trick or treating we were serenaded by a mad accordianist.

Note: his mustache is real.

We all had a great time and I'm sure next year we'll do it again.  But maybe the creeper will stay home and hand out candy. Who knows...maybe he has another Halloween in him...we can hope.

Until then, here's hoping your Jack-O-Laterns light up the night so you can find your way home.

Dumpster Diving Clinton Style!

While I was out last night doing our bit for Mother Earth by recycling at Clinton's less than stellar recycling area I came across this little treasure in the metal recylcing bins.



I heard it whisper, "Save me, Kelly. I don't deserve this fate!". So I reached in there and rescued Miss Apple Tin from becoming a can or two of green beans. One woman's trash is another one's treasure. The Thrifty Chicks would be so proud of me!

Homage to Bakerella & her amazing Cake Pops

Forget Wilton cake decorating classes. Kiss Martha Stewart goodbye. I've found some Easter goodness that explodes on the cuteness meter. I want to introduce you to the preciousness that is Cake Pops. Cake Pops by Bakerella, I believe, might be the answer to the Middle East Conflict. It could bring down the barriers between Democrats and Republicans. It will at least make you the hit of any holiday or birthday party. The "awwww factor" with these babies is enormous.

Introducing Bakerella's Easter Cake Pops...(drumroll please)

Can you stand it?

Can you say, "Buh-bye Martha!"

And "Hello Bakerella goodness!"?

By now some of you are thinking, 'I must make these!". Well, you are in luck because she gives you a full tutorial on several different posts. I would recommend reading about her Cupcake Pops first to get a really good idea of the process. Hmmm, I wonder if while I'm visiting family there might be an opportunity for us to try our hand at these babies?

Well, what are you waiting for? Click on all these fabulous links and get your butt over to Bakerella's. She's my cuteness muse these days...Anna's birthday is gonna kick birthday butt.

Menu Plan Monday ~ March 23

Okay, brace yourselves...
Are you ready?
I...am...attempting...(oh God - breathe deeply)...to do something domestic.
There - I said it.
On my quest to gain control of my life (Ha! Just seeing it on the screen makes me laugh.), I have decided to begin to plan, in advance (because that's what planning is right?) ,our evening meals...at least four of them a week. And you, my dear friends and family, are going to help keep me accountable for those four meals a week. How, you may be asking yourself, can I keep Kelly on task with anything let alone something that requires an inkling of domestic skill?! The answer is simple. A meme.

What? You mean you don't know what a meme is? Oh, you non-blog reading people you! Uh, actually, confession time here...I didn't know what one was until about, oh, a couple of months ago. Let's see if our little friend, Wikipedia, can help us out on this one.

The term Internet meme (pronounced /miːm/) is a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an inside joke.^[1] The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although this concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.

So I am jumping on an Internet meme bandwagon called Menu Plan Monday. This meme was started by Laura, the creator of the blog, I'm an Organizing Junkie. Now, dear readers, she freely refers to herself as "the freak". Given I am a bear of very little brain and easily distracted by shiny objects, anyone who successfully has an organized life is close to a demi-god to me...definitely not a freak. She herself wrote,"I truly believe that menu planning is one of the best places to start in your quest to get organized". I am going to take her at her word.

Currently, according to I'm an Organizing Junkie, there are close to 500 women who share what's on their menu for the week each Monday. So every Monday from here on out, God willing, I'm going to be posting my menu for the week's dinners. Your assignment, if you're willing to accept it, is to leave comments each week...how was the "chicken cacciatore"?...why would you serve that?!...mmmm, sounds yummy, I'll be there on Tuesday...those kind of things. And those of you that subscribe by e-mail and e-mail me comments instead of putting them on the blog itself, try commenting on the actual blog...it's kind of addicting. Yeah, ya'll know I'm a junkie of another kind right? I'm working on that one too.

Want to see links to all those participating? Click on the logo below



So here's this week's menu complete with links to recipes if I found them on the Internet:

• Monday: Spinach quiche, roasted green beans, frozen grapes
• Tuesday: Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Tenders, Broccoli, Baked Pomme Frites
• Wednesday: Leftovers
• Thursday: Whole wheat pasta with Vodka Sauce, Green salad with vinaigrette, Garlic bread
• Friday: Zesty Corn Quesadillas, Baby spinach & mandarin orange salad, (and Margaritas if I'm feeling particularly sassy that night!)

So there it is. As I'm typing this at 10p.m. on Sunday evening, I must admit that there is a bit of peace knowing that I don't have to scramble tomorrow. I have a plan. It and I may not be perfect but it is a plan and I am only human. Wish me luck!

Guerilla Goodness Quaker Style

This week is Random Acts of Kindness week. Greenville Friends, the small Quaker meeting in Greenville, South Carolina we attend, has First Day School on the first Sunday of the month. It was my month to organize a lesson and I was very excited to have February because I had been reading about an activity a fellow mom blogger, Patience Sogaldo, does. She has her own blog, Kindness Girl, that I follow regularly. Along with her sisters, she also contributes to the blog Supersisters at PBS Parents(a great website I might add). She does a thing called "Guerrilla Goodness" which was my inspiration for First Day School. Get on over to her blog and read all about the history of Guerrilla Goodness. Maybe it'll inspire you too!

We set out to do our own little Guerrilla Goodness project in honor of Random Acts of Kindness Week. I talked a little about sneaky guerrilla warfare but that as Quakers we honor the Friends' testimony of peace. Kids love the idea of being sneaky! Hey, let's face it, who doesn't like being sneaky every now and then? So I told them we were going to practice sneaky guerrilla goodness. I caught 'em...their curiosity was peaked, along with the bribe of juice boxes and snacks later, of course. It was a joy to see the personalities of all the children, even the shy ones, emerge as they began to dive into all the crafty goodness. Seeing wonderfully loving sayings written by a child's hand makes a sneaky love note even better don't you think? I gave them some examples of sayings the kids could write but they began to come up with their own like:

• Love Your Sluf (translation: Love yourself)
• Think good thoughts
• The day is sunny, so are you!
• A three year old thinks you are cool!
  

As they were creating their notes they began to talk of who they would give them too. The list grew and grew. Some of them even decided to continue the project when they got home. We put of few of the notes on some of the cars in the parking lot and gave some to some of the adult Friends in the meeting for worship. The rest that they made they took home with them to practice their own random acts of kindness. I also made up a little "goodness bag" that had a few chocolate kisses, a heart sucker and two guerrilla goodness type cards printed from a website dedicated to anonymous kindness called Help Others. You can go there and print your own. It's lots of fun and does a body good!



So I'd love to hear what your plans are for this week of Random Acts of Kindness! Leave a comment telling me...that alone is a random act of kindness delivered to moi!

Great giveaways...

Okay, here's a quick post to let my economically savy friends and family know about a blog I discovered while blog trolling this morning. It's called A Contest Blog and if you click on it it'll take you right there. It has links to all kinds of blogs that are having giveaways. Generally, all you have to do to enter is post a comment on the blog. For instance, I entered a Lands End giveaway at Petit Elefant. All I had to do was leave a comment about the giveaway. And, hey, it's a blog with a french title! I have to plug it or the french professor might get cranky...uh, I mean, crankier. I love my cranky french professor by the way. Merry Christmas and Bah humbug!

The Great Give Away

Now I know my family and friends well. They like free...
If you want free and possibly something cool and homemade click on Sew, Mama, Sew a fabulous blog that I love. You'll find lots of people out in cyber-world participating in a cool experiment. For instance, check out this amazing give away at This is Life blog. I'm loving it and I think you all will too! Check it out...now...I said, now.