Trick or Treat

Took these two kiddos out for an hour of neighborhood trick or treating and had some fun wearing my own spooky mask and black cape. I scared a few toddlers and Dominik and Alice loaded their bags with treats before heading home. A really fun night!

Midnight

I felt a little bad about posting our Sugar here for National Cat Day yesterday, as our sweet cat, Midnight, was left out. So, today is his chance to be in spotlight. I love you, boy!

Sugar

Three words :  

National Cat Day

A thing of the past

Today I am grateful for friends who send greeting cards straight from the heart. To get something nice or interesting in the mail seems like a thing of the past.  What a treat to receive a Halloween card from our dear friend, Lisl.

Dom

This kid...is something else.  He is 8 and never stops talking, singing,dancing, being crazy.  He likes math and science but reading, spelling and vocabulary are not his strong suit.  We have been working on his weekly spelling lists and he managed to bring his Spelling Test score from -24 to a -14.  He's proud of himself as he should be.

The annual carving

Since Halloween is 5 days away we thought we better carve up some jack-o-lanterns so they were ready to go for the big night.  Dominik decided to go with a white pumpkin this year, and once we started digging we realized its exterior wall was about 4 inches thick!

The kids did all of the designing and Brent and I did the carving.  Once the muck was sorted we roasted the seeds. Great activity for a blustery day.

Thrift Stores

I love second hand stores and we have a lot of Goodwill stores around Tacoma. Today when Alice and I were scouring Goodwill for the remaining pieces to her Halloween costume we ran into these guys. Just goes to show you that one person's trash is another person's treasure.  In this case, one person's awesome craft project is another person's cause for uncontrollable cackling laughter, or potential for serious creepy nightmares.

Burgers and Tater Tots

It is Friday evening, and what a week it has been!  We realized that every night this week was an eat on the go dinner or sit down on the couch and eat dinner.  We made a point of setting the table tonight and sitting down as a family to eat our grilled burgers and tater tots.  Mmmmmm...I love Friday nights.

Sheesh!

It's only October 23rd, and I got this in the mail today.  On one hand it makes me stressed about holidays just around the corner. On the other hand this magazine totally reminds me of the Sears Holiday Wishbook Catalog we would get each year when I was a girl. We would pour over each page of amazing toys, daydreaming.   Then the things we really wanted  for Christmas we would circle in ink for our parents to see.  So funny!

But, it's October!  We haven't yet had a chance to enjoy Halloween yet...Sheesh!

Elton

As I drove home from Seattle today the traffic was especially awful and rain was coming down, sometimes in buckets. A full two-hour commute home today would have really tweaked my last nerve if it wasn't for Elton.  Just when I thought I was going to lose it, the song Goodbye Yellow Brick Road came on the radio.  I took a deep breath and belted out the lyrics along with Elton John and suddenly all was well with the world again.

Ru Paul

I was scrolling Facebook on my phone today and my daughter glanced over just when this photo came up.  "Who is that, Ru Paul?", she asked.  I had to hold back the giggles.  

If my kid is more familiar with Ru Paul than Oprah Winfrey...my work as a parent is done!!

Lisa Ling

I could write a novel  about all of the fantastic things that Lisa Ling has done and what a brilliant journalist she is. Currently she has a show called This is Life that airs late at night on CNN. And by late at night I mean 10pm, so I wouldn't be able to watch it even if I had cable. 

She recently joined forces with Hilary Clinton to eliminate the gap in success between low and high income children. The project is called Too Young to Fail.

A good day to honor the Orange Orb

I really thought that this year the kids would be perfectly happy picking out pumpkins at the produce stand or at a grocery store.  Nope.  Actually,  Dominik didn't have much of an opinion but Alice really wanted to hold onto the tradition of driving out to the pumpkin farms in Puyallup or Orting.  Today we did just that...and it was fun. Both kids got enormous pumpkins and I treated myself to a new squash I hadn't tried before.

Memories

Today many of us gathered at Meadow Brook Farm in North Bend to remember Elizabeth McGuire.  This was a woman known by her sense of adventure and passion for teaching.  I knew her best as my dear friend Lisl's mom.  It was a beautiful memorial gracefully decorated in shades of purple and filled with stories, tears, many laughs and most of all, memories.  I am so glad we shared this day with Lisl, her sister Renate and all the great friends and family that knew and loved Elizabeth.  Lisl and Renate posed for a quick snapshot below.

Ah, Friday my Friend

Why go to some hipster cool bigger-than-your-head burrito joint when you can make them at home?  Best way to round out the week on a tired Friday evening. Got a fork?

Cheers for teachers!

My kids are lucky this year because they each have fantastic teachers...possibly the best at this school.  Today we had parent-teacher conferences and it was impressive how much these teachers cared, and how hard they worked at making a difference in these kids' lives.

Phew!

Hooray for meeting a tough deadline of 5pm today while sequestering myself in my office for too many hours and all the while working furiously against the clock. 

So nice to be home eating tacos with my favorite man, girl and boy.

I Can Do This.

Considering my morning started at 4:30a and I'm smiling at 9:00p, I am living proof that this worked for me today...just 4 little words.

GeekGirlCon

We had the awesome opportunity to take the kids to a GeekGirlCon today in Seattle. It was an anime gaming convention with female power/science focus.  There was excellent people watching as the costumes were elaborate and full of life.

There were many amazing artists there and lots of fun merchandise. Dominik bought himself a hand carved magic wand and Alice bought some cool art piece. It was a great adventure. Here are a few costumed women getting ready to pose for the flicker feed coming from the event.

City of Murals

They call Tacoma the City of Destiny, but I think it should be known as the City of Murals. There are 100's of supercool murals on buildings all over this town. This one just went up last week on the side of a laundromat a couple blocks from our house. Love it.

Pizza and Potter

Last week we finished reading aloud to the kids Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  Tonight we get to sit down on the couch and watch the corresponding movie and the kids are so excited. Me too!  Before the movie, though, we ate some pretty fantastic pizza at one of our favorite joints.  A fun night!

What is that, rotting leaves?

It has technically been Autumn for a while now, but today...today it was Fall.  There was a chill in the air that only happens in Fall, and a breeze that shook the leaves out of the trees.  I walked out of my office building at the noon hour today and the smell of Fall just hit me...what is it exactly?  Slowly rotting leaves and plants in the garden beds?  Maybe, but it smelled wonderful!  This week the leaves actually starting turning color, and my favorite time of the season is when they have mostly turned but have not yet all fallen, so that is something I will look forward to.

John Lennon

If John Lennon had not passed he would have been 74 yrs old today. I thank John Lennon for being so many things but mostly for being the kind of person who truly made the world a better place.  I am grateful for the short life he lived so fully and for all he gave in those few years.

This girl

My daughter is such an amazing kid. I love that she has a mind of her own and she knows what she wants. I now drop her off at the Middle School nearby early each morning so she can be in orchestra. She gets out of the car and heads up the stairs of the school carriying backpack on and cello in hand. She looks incredibly grown up.  It's just...Wow.  I love her.

She hates pictures being taken of her so when I asked to take one this evening I wasn't surprised she said no.  She did, however, let me take a picture of her foot.

Gratitude

I am working with our Recruiting Manager on the hiring process for a Payroll Assistant. I was flabbergasted that we received over 150 resumes with the job only open for one week.  I went through them all, and what a learning experience!  Let's just that it has left me with a great sense of gratitude that I am not sending out my resume at this point in time.  So many great candidates out there...how on earth do you choose 10 or 15?

Pretty simple, really.

I decided many years ago that I had to rid myself of the extra negative toxic energy in my life. This meant cutting some people, among other things, out of my life. It was the best thing I ever did.  Staying positive is not only easy, it is necessary to keep me grounded and sane.  I mean, really, what is the alternative?

Getting in the spirit

Halloween is a great holiday, one of my favorites and I have loved dressing up since I was a small girl.  Today we were at Goodwill and had some fun in the Halloween costume section. My kids and I had a blast trying masks, wigs and hats on, giggling at each other and taking some selfies.  Here is Dominik and I as a Rooster and Horse. He later decided to get the Rooster for his costume this year.  

Pier Peer

Tonight we got to check out some cool marine life down on the Tacoma waterfront at a family event through the parks dept.  We watched on screen while     divers made their way underwater collecting creatures from the bottom.  We  then got to see and touch their findings back up on the dock. We also looked at lots of stuff under microscope which was super cool. What a great evening! This is a shot of us making our way to the dock tonight at sunset.

Home

It was a trying day. I am thankful I was able to work from home so that I could keep a close eye on a groggy boy who was recovering from sedation and a difficult time at the dentist.

Home...it's under-rated.

Curriculum night

Tonight I went to hear Dominik's teacher speak to parents about what her curriculum would be this year...such a great teacher and fantastic theories of teaching. They are learning so many cool things !

On the way home I caught a glimpse of the bright sunrise.  It had been awhile since I had seen one that I thought I would share it here. A nice end to the evening.

Rings of life

I saw this the other day and liked it. I especially love the image of the tree and its layers.  I often see my life this way, as a series of events that fate has presented.  Each circumstance influences the next, slowly creating a path by which I follow.