decision made–thank you for your help!

I took each of the boys to the new school to let them see for themselves, and ended up with a tricky situation.

Exacto dug in his heels saying that he absolutely did not want to change schools.

Fluffy said that it looked wonderful and he looked forward to going there next year, but really wanted to finish this year of homeschooling.

Hummer insisted that he also didn’t want to change, but I could see that he would benefit immediately by the switch.

But the openings were for the older boys, which brought in Hummer only with “sibling preference.” Without siblings attending, he would go into the lottery pool.

Lots of prayers went up from this heart during those couple of days we had to decide. And I was SO GRATEFUL for all of you who emailed or commented. I was amazed at the general consensus! That really helped me have the courage to decide and do what we did. . . .

Even though it caused me the grief of giving up my dream of having all my school kids at the same school, and totally went against my inclination to try to control—especially when it comes to influences on my children—, I yielded to the quiet heavenly prompting that Exacto should be allowed to choose for himself.

I am still sad about it, but feel that it was/is right. (Although I do hope that he may change his mind yet. . . :o).

With Fluffy, I agreed that he should get to finish his year with Mommy. We have already spent hundreds of $s on books and are having a wonderful time.

And for Hummer, I felt that if it was meant to be, he would get in through the lottery.

Rather sheepishly but with that undercurrent of peace that always signifies a right path for me, I informed the school of our decision.

Three days later – while we were on our way home from a weekend in Utah – they called to say that Hummer’s name had come up in the lottery. (Two were called before him but declined).

It was a difficult week. Hummer really had made a connection with his teacher at the first school and there were lots of tears and even some anger. I started to second-guess the decision and even shed some tears myself when we went to say goodbye to his teacher. Thank goodness I’ve learned to lean on an answer even when the initial peace is no longer present.

I was torn between sharing his pain and jealousy that I didn’t get to go to this school. I’ve told him several times that I wish I could come with him every day and learn what he is learning. He smiles and says he wishes that, too. :o)

We’ve had to scramble to get him clothes that meet their dress code and he’s had to learn to write in cursive flying by the seat of his pants (I wonder how Captain Literally would handle that? :). Latin is great but he’s nervous about the first day of karate tomorrow. Anyway, like I said, I’m jealous.

And, amazingly enough, he seems really happy now! I hope the worst is already over. He is being wooed by books and stories like Mary Poppins and Rip van Winkle and I’ve heard him humming Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra in the bathroom. There are other children of our faith who attend there, who introduced themselves after seeing his CTR ring. “I’m a Mormon, too!” :)

Next year Fluffy will join him there, and the year after, Rosebud. But for now I think our little trailblazer is going to be just fine.

real time news–a decision to be made

I thought when school started it might be easier to keep up with weekly posts. Obviously I forgot what it’s like to homeschool AND have kids in public school and have a sweet 3-year-old who needs plenty of attention.  (Aren’t they like the black hole of attention at that age? :)

So, apologies for the very sporadic posting. There are also computer issues involved, but I hope to have those resolved soon.

Meanwhile, I need some advice / counsel from you, if you have any for me. (Please!)

Just as we were moving I heard about an excellent charter school here in Fort Collins. I heard it was so amazing that there were people driving 45 minutes every day to take their kids there. I got on the website and saw that yes, it looked to be an amazing school, but admission was lottery-based and that there were a huge number of applicants in the lottery pool. It was the weekend of our move into the rental here and I just decided it probably was too late to try to work it out for this year.

We signed them up at the local public schools, which are all very reputable in this particular area, and I felt like things would probably be just fine.

School started and we decided to homeschool Fluffy. The other two have had a relatively tough beginning, but are starting to settle in.

I found myself still thinking about this charter school. It is a K-12, with free tuition. It is classical / core-knowledge based. Its website had me practically drooling all over my messy desk, with its amazing curriculum and teachers with doctorates and the fact that they always have June, July, and August completely off and Latin starting in Kindergarten and all kinds of cool stuff.

It looks traditional and intense and family-centered all at the same time. And I could have all my school kids there at once, even when Rosebud’s in Kindergarten and Exacto’s a senior!

I decided to get started with the process of getting everyone in for next year, if possible. Last night I went to a Parent Information Meeting with a few questions in mind and planned to get us into the lottery and hope for the best for 14/15.

The lady running the meeting found out what grades my boys are in and said that this is very unusual, but she actually has an opening for one of them, and with the sibling preference program they have, ALL of them could start attending THIS YEAR.

I thought, well, maybe after this semester is over – don’t wanna switch them right in the middle. But she said that they don’t take new enrollments after October 1st.

So now we have a tough decision.

Exacto and Hummer are not super comfortable at their schools yet, but have passed the worst of the new kid awkwardness as far as I can tell. And Fluffy is loving homeschool.

But this charter school is the school of our dreams. It is what we would have wished for them all along ever since Exacto’s 1st year of school. It is close to CSU campus and DC could drive them in the mornings. They could all be in the same place and have an incredible education for free. It has to be now or not till next fall, after they’ve had a year in their current situation to get more comfortable.

Is it worth a huge upheaval again for them? Please tell me what you think!!!!

the pit and the pendulum

Down -- steadily down it crept. I took a frenzied pleasure in contrasting its downward with its lateral velocity.

To the right -- to the left -- far and wide -- with the shriek of a damned spirit; to my heart with the stealthy pace of the tiger!

I alternately laughed and howled as the one or the other idea grew predominant.

~Edgar Allen Poe

I am so silly! I felt all lame about my last post because all week there were zero comments, and I figured well, it had just been so long since I wrote that obviously no one was reading my blog anymore. Then today I logged in to add something to my sidebar, and saw all your comments waiting for moderation! Thank you so much! (I've turned off the moderation now. :)

I have thought and thought about the things you said, and am so grateful for the wisdom you shared. I feel better about how I'm doing. I think you're right--I do still have the most important things in the right place in my life.

You know, last year my only real goal was to enjoy my life, especially my children and my last baby during her year of babyhood. I wrote about that, as you may recall. :) I achieved that goal brilliantly--it was truly one of the best years of my life.

Unfortunately, while it is very rewarding as a mother to simply enjoy your children, it is not very good for your house. My house was *not* tidy! I started to get embarrassed at having to apologize when people came over for the same messes that were there the LAST time they had come over. I began to mull over the fact that I am raising future homeowners and parents and wonder how they will remember my homemaking skills. And, as I tripped for the umpteenth time over the pile of framed pictures waiting to be put back on the walls of the boys' room--a pile that has sat in our hallway for a year and three months now!--I made a solemn vow that my children, and especially my daughter, would certainly NOT remember their mother as such a slovenly housekeeper, even if it meant less enjoyment of my time with them!

It is a challenge to raise 3 boys and 1 girl in a 3-bedroom house of less than 1400 sq ft. Sometimes I start to bemoan my fate, then of course, I try to repent for being ungrateful. I am so inspired by my mom's parents, my Grandma and Grandpa McCleve, who raised their ten children in a 2-bedroom house with ONE bathroom. And not only lived to tell about it, but have an amazing, faithful set of posterity to show for it! I am so spoiled with my 2.5 bathrooms, etc. So yes, I know I can do it, if they could do it with less.

Our whole philosophy with the house when we bought it was to live in it for a few years (we took an adjustable-rate mortgage), then move to a bigger one. We figured that probably DC would have a new/better job by then and we would have to sell anyway. Seven years and a major recession later, we are definitely rethinking. The good news is that the adjusting rate has actually reduced our mortgage payments! (Score!) But now what do we do? The market is great for refinancing with a fixed rate, but we really feel like we are splitting at the seams. Refinance or buy bigger?

So I guess the reason I explain all that is because it shows why I am trying to glorify our house. :) We figured that if we stayed, it sure needed to be decluttered and reorganized so that we don't have to sleep on our stuff (it sounds ridiculous, but I can't help but think that's the way we're headed!). And if we sold we'd need to declutter and reorganize and decorate. I figure, if we're going to spend money on decorating to sell a house, by golly I want to enjoy it, too, not just the people buying it!

Hence the very ambitious house goal.

I have a friend whose house is always amazingly clean and beautiful and well-kept. She seems very balanced, and finds time for husband, children, calling, hobbies, staying in shape, etc. I guess I just thought I could reach for that myself. But it's not me, apparently! I think people like that require less sleep than I do. Of course there are always hidden struggles, too, for people who seem to have it all together. (I know if I ever *did* get it all together, my struggle would then be to remain humble! ha!)

So how to avoid the pit of failed goals when the pendulum starts swinging back? How do I balance enjoying the precious time with my family with taking care of their needs and having a "house of order"? I will let you know when I figure that out!

Meanwhile, instead of trying to finish that list of house projects by the end of the year, I am feeling like it would be better to keep it as a next-step list. I'll try allotting some time every day to it (at least during the summer) and just do the tortoise thing.

And regarding the waist measurement goal, I think you're right. It's too much to do 8". Maybe just to see some progress in the right direction (decreasing instead of ballooning!). Anyone have an abs routine they're in love with?

Thanks for listening. Some real catch-up posts are up next on the menu. . . .

Goals Progress Report : a post to help you feel very good about yourself :)

Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward.
Victor Kiam

As Heroine Worshipper so tactfully pointed out in his comment on my post, um. . .<cough, cough> 5 months ago, the blogging thing hasn't been working out so good.

I love the story about Sis. Hinckley's personal scripture study project. She reported to her daughter: “I have a new project to read one chapter a day from each of the standard works. I’ve been on it four days and I’m only three days behind.”  Gosh, it helps to know I'm in good company. :)

But rest assured, I have not given up! Never, never, never!

 

I want to share with you just how progress on my goals has gone through this mad, wonderful year so far. You will leave my blog greatly encouraged, I hope.

(Plus, I spent a lot of time on that gorgeous graphic to the left, and darn it, I want it to get USED!)

What can I say? My charity never faileth. :)

 

 

~ Daily scripture study and prayer

This is perhaps the ONLY goal going well. And, oh crumb, I just realized I haven't done it yet today. . . arg.

 

~ Develop my romance with DC – ENJOY :)

Hmmmm. . . . things are going better than a year ago. It is awesome to have Exacto old enough to babysit--we've started going on REAL dates again! Still plenty of room for improvement. DC has a funny quote: "We interrupt this marriage for the raising of children." It's not THAT bad, but I think we are at the peak of our family's parenting demands right now. Any suggestions for how to stay close when you're both up to your eyeballs in real life?

 

~ Consistency in time with Exacto, Fluffy, and Hummer – ENJOY

Super Kid dates, piano lessons, one-on-one time after school (stations), reading books together, paydays, etc.

Doing pretty well here, too. My friend Suzanne asked about how we do the "stations." After school is normally insanity here. If any of you have more than one child in school you know exactly what I'm talking about. Why is life such that dinner must be made at the same time as a toddler's natural fussiness which is also the same time that one must go through reams of paper daily, signing, deciding where to put, checking calendar, etc. etc. plus deal with homework, practicing, etc.? It is the bewitching hour. ('Cuz I get be-witched! Get it? :)

Anyway, we have a little system that has helped. It's a little OCD, but the boys seem to enjoy it, and I definitely do. They rotate through stations, and we set the timer for 10 minutes per station.

Station 1 = chocolate milk and rest (IF you finished your chores before school)

Station 2 = show Mom your papers and tell her about your day (this is awesome because it's one-on-one and I can really look at what they've been doing)

Station 3 = play with Rosebud (this is the most brilliant part - fun for both of them and frees my attention)

Any homework needs to be done before or after this time. Practicing starts at 4:30pm, and finishing that is your ticket to dinner. (We follow Suzuki's credo that you don't need to practice everyday, just on the days you eat).

~ Spend some time “with” Benjamin once a week, either visiting his grave or working on one of his scrapbooks

Ouch. Ever since our church meetings switched to 9-12, we are STARVING after church and Rosebud is near exhaustion, so the cemetery tradition has fallen by the wayside. I do try to head back out there in the afternoon while she's asleep. No scrapbook progress. Zero. It feels okay, though. I'm not worrying about it, just a little wistful.

~ ENJOY Rosebud – Help her get on a sleep/daytime routine. Start reading to her and singing to her regularly.

Woohoo! I am happy to report that after a ludicrous amount of time (months, literally!) studying and preparing using Sheyne Rowley's Dream Baby Guide book, I implemented the system in March, and it worked like magic. I could kiss Sheyne Rowley, and I fully intend to if I ever meet her. Rosebud went from 5-6 wakings per night and sometimes no more than 20 minutes of napping for a whole day, to 12 hours solid sleep at night, and a nearly 3-hour nap like clockwork every single day. The reading and the singing are part of the routine now.

I plan to do a whole post on this (don't snort! I will! You just see!). The book changed my life, changed my parenting for the better--I wish I could have read it when Exacto was a babe.

~ Consistent exercise program / Reduce waist measurement by 8”

I have a specific plan for this (complete with rewards!) that I will share soon. . . .

Oh my goodness. I am ashamed and humiliated to admit publicly that this goal happened for all of about 2 weeks. And the worst part is that my "specific plan" included built-in fancy rewards every 4 months. Like flying to UT for the Carl Bloch exhibit and a couple of family events. I was to hold myself STRICTLY to 90% success rate, or no go. And guess what?

I went anyway. Naughty spanky me.

Is it even possible to take off 8" by the end of the year now. . . .?

It really is necessary to make progress on this. Heart trouble and high blood pressure are knocking at my door, due to some strong genetics, and my waist just keeps increasing!

~ Personal history / writing / blog

Write daily in journal, write weekly family letters

Come up with blog routine that I am happy with and can maintain

Journal and family letters, yes. Blog routine, nein. Much to my sorrow! To my credit, the sleep thing with Rosebud cleared up in March, but only a few days after that, I pulled Hummer out of public school to homeschool. Any regular time to myself that I had just gained went out the window immediately. It was wonderful and worth it. Just not good for any serious writing.

~ House – Declutter, Organize, Decorate as if to sell

One area per month – have notebook, make wish list, use budget

Jan: Downstairs closets,½ bath ~

Feb: Rosebud’s rm, closet ~

Mar: Boys’ rm, closet ~

Apr: Master br, bath, closet ~

May: Living rm ~

June: vacation :) ~

etc.

Oh, this one is classic. Want to know which month's project I'm on? Yep, January! Aren't you wishing you had joined me in my motivational house project schedule?

And yet, I am undaunted! Onward and upward!

Just for fun, though, I hope to show you soon the progress on January's. (I'm ridiculously proud of my little powder room makeover:). Almost done, having worked on it sporadically for the past 6 months. . . stay tuned!

 

 

 

Rosebud, 18 months old last week

My blog is having an identity crisis

Mayhap you have noticed.

Over the past few months, I have had lots of time to think and not very much time to blog. There were two major life changes that caused me to really do some soul-searching and discovering who I am now. And I have wondered whether or not to even continue blogging. Why do I blog, anyway? Why do I read blogs? And why do my little Primary kids at church think bodily sounds are funny? These are all deep questions that I have pondered and--I THINK--found answers to!

I debated about whether or not to share some of this on here. But I decided, yes. Most of ya'll have been with me since my days of agonized, therapeutic posting about my grief. You also deserve to see into my heart now that things are better.

Life Changing Event #1 - Rosebud's birth. Oh, man. It has been so awesome. I feel soooo blessed and soooo happy to have her! Never having had a daughter before, it really has rocked my world. I have always thought of myself as a mother of boys. I think about and worry about many different things than when it was just boys. And of course, Mama's Boys needs a new title, definitely (more about that later. . . .).

Life Changing Event #2 - Shortly after Rosebud's birth, my doctor gave me the very unwelcome news that after 5 C-sections, my uterus cannot handle another pregnancy. He used words like "life threatening" and "very thin at the scar, like Saran wrap" to describe the situation in there. It has taken me months to even be able to talk about this without crying. I have always said that if I did have a girl, I'd have to have two at least, because she'd need a sister! I couldn't stand the thought that Rosebud will grow up with her closest living sibling being 6 years older than her. I felt like I was being forced into an early retirement. I'm only 32! That's way too young to suddenly not have any more babies to look forward to! I wondered what on earth there was to look forward to for the rest of my life that would be anywhere as awesome as holding my own baby.

For a while this kept me on my knees a lot, crying and praying about whether or not this is right. I didn't want to face the answer I was being given, that it is.  Hummer nearly broke my heart when I told him the news. He said in a shocked, sad voice, like he couldn't believe it: "No more babies?!" Although I still don't understand all of why life is so different in some ways than I thought it would be, I am grateful to Heavenly Father for blessing me with a measure of peace about it. And I am SO GRATEFUL for the five beautiful children I do have!

So who am I now? An almost-grandma is what I suddenly feel like! Silly, I know, but I can't help it.

Slowly but surely, though, I have started to realize and discover happy and true things about my new life. A few of them. . . .

~ Never being pregnant again means never facing the sickness and emotional trauma again - I can focus on being the best mom I can be to the sweet babies I have

~ I am hardly retiring yet. As Exacto recently reminded me, they'll still be here for a while!

~ I am DC's wife. Yes, sometimes I need to be reminded of the fact that he is my companion for life and for eternity, not just eternity :)! He will still be here when I AM a grandma, and he is here now.

So. . . .long story short: I am sorry for the very sparse posting. But I have answers now! I have decided WHY I BLOG and WHY I READ BLOGS. I have decided on a new blog title and done a lot of the preliminary designing for the look it will have. It will be unveiled sometime in the next decade, hopefully! And I have decided that little Primary kids just think almost anything is funny. (sigh)

(Anyone have any advice about whether or not to change the url? Or about making sure I can transfer all my posts to a new place, if I do change it?)

And soon, you can follow along with me if you like, as my life gets redefined. . . .

 

how rosebud gives me kisses :)

Head over heels and missing our hard drive

I wanted to have posted so much more in these past couple of weeks! Our sweet Rosebud has made us all completely in love with her. Was there ever a baby so doted on? :) I take picture after picture of her, pretty much every single day.

And the boys are growing and saying funny things and I want to share so much with you! Often, as I sit feeding Rosebud I am composing posts in my mind. They're really good, too! ha.

Meanwhile I feel so terribly behind in everything. Not just housework, but sending off birth announcements, thank you notes, etc. etc. And I don't really WANT to do any of that--I just want to sit and stare at my gorgeous little daughter. She is the awesomest.

Plus, now our hard drive has been deemed terminally ill, and I can't upload ANY PICTURES from my camera!! Another is on its way to us, and if the planets are aligned, I will install it soon and be back to better blogging.

I do have a question for ya'll, though. How late is too late to blog about something? I feel funny blogging about things before Rosebud's birth and Christmas, when it's already been so long. Shall I move on? Or risk getting further behind in my efforts to "catch up"?

To tide me over till I can use my own photos again, here are some favorites from Rosebud's first official portrait session. My sweet friend Andrea took these as part of a very special gift to us. She came to our house and took them 6 days after her birth, so Dec 27th.

 

 

 

And an excerpt from our dinner conversation tonight. . .

Hummer was naming his favorite teachers, in order, and then he said,

"Now I'm going to name the people of our family in order of my favorites."

Exacto covered his ears, and didn't want to listen, but Hummer was saying "One" for each person (ie we're all his favorites), so I told Exacto to listen. Just then Hummer wound up with "One, Rosebud" but he had skipped Exacto by accident, and we had to prompt him, and he said quickly, "Oh, yeah! One, Exacto" and then said sorrowfully, "I forgot Exacto."

We were giggling about that, and then Hummer looked up at DC patting Rosebud's back while he held her, and said, "Daddy, stop hitting Rosebud!"

I said, "That's patting, and she likes it."

Hummer, without missing a beat, "Well, you need a BURP cloth if you're going to do that."

By now Exacto and Fluffy and I were all giggling--but I was trying not to, since Hummer was looking at me--and so to change the subject, I said, "Hummer, are you going to eat your curry?" He responded immediately, "Yes, ma'am," and started spooning curry into his mouth.

I love that kid.

My beamish boys, and other courses on my mental buffet

My talented friend Snarky Belle does a post sometimes containing her thoughts on various topics, buffet-style.  I'm going to copy you, today, Natalie. :) My rambling mind is all over the place lately, and here are some of the places it lingers. . . .

         ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come to my arms, my beamish boy[s]!"  (they love it when I say that - I ALWAYS get a hug :)

Fluffy was alarming me lately with his habit of playing with his very nice CTR ring from Nana and Grandpa. I suggested that he substitute it for a new habit of pushing on his upper toothless gap as per instructions from the dentist. So now if you hear him gasp, and then look over to see him with his finger in his mouth, you know why! :)

Exacto suggested we start doing what Pres. Monson talked about - "And what have YOU done for someone today?" He has remembered to prompt us almost every night at the dinner table since! Amazing how much this has inspired me to do nice things I might not have otherwise done.

The other boys have been inspired, too! I went to pick the younger two as they started to walk home from school, and Fluffy was carrying Hummer's backpack. Later that night, he reported it as something he had done for someone today. :)

Yesterday Hummer said he was a "kissing machine" - "Whenever you make your skin touch me I will kiss it!" Let's just hope he keeps this game at home. . . .

*REAL TIME ACTION -- He just came downstairs (he's supposed to be in bed) and said sweetly, "I have a surprise for you, Mommy." He was wearing my fluffy purple slippers. He walked over and one by one, slipped them off and put them by my feet. He had warmed them up for me! :) *

          ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inspiration from Nie

I know this is all over blogland, but can I just say that Stephanie Nielson continues to inspire me greatly! I missed her recent appearance on Oprah (having no digital tv - I totally live in a bubble), but I read the article about it here.

This excerpt from it blew me away. . . .

Stephanie says she had a vision while she was unconscious, and she was given a choice. "[I was] with somebody who told me that I could choose to live and have a hard life, you know, embarrassing at times and painful. Or, I could just stay there, and there's lots of work I could do there too," she says. "But I thought of my children and my husband, and it was easy. An easy choice."

Wow. I have to admit, if I had the choice of whether to move on, or stay here, I would be sorely tempted to leave this fallen world. But I have the opportunity to be here with my beloved husband and children and WITHOUT the constant pain the she now faces!

Of course, she was like that before the accident, anyway. Her posts in the pre-burned days are filled with celebration of the simple moments with her children, of a beautifully deep love for her Mr. Nielson. Awesome.

NieNie, you have helped me to see what a gift each hour with my family is. Saturday night when I washed Hummer's hair in the tub, I thought of your gloved, pain-filled hands washing your babies' hair, and was filled with gratitude again for what you are teaching me.

 

          ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How the scrapbook is going. . . .

Last week I did only 3 pages. It is really hard work for me! I am not a natural scrapbooker, and delving deeply back into these memories is not easy. A couple of days I simply was not up to it.

Today I dove back in, though. I knew I had all day with no interruptions, so if I had to cry for a while, it would be okay. The scrapbook will be to share with anyone who would like to see it. (I hope people will ask to see it! :) But as I'm working, if I have a more personal, difficult memory resurface, I am taking the opportunity to write it all out in a different place, and let the grief overtake me again for a while.

I really think that this type of work is going to help me go into these last few weeks with more serenity and at the same time, remembrance.

<Here's the place where I scrapbook.

We bought this changing table a couple of months before Benjamin was born. I had never had one with any of my other babies, and I just thought I had to have it this time. :) I wish so much I had taken a picture of it with all his clothes on it! Janice and I had created a lovely, little organized spot where I anticipated spending many hours tickling and talking to him as I dressed him and cleaned him. After he died, and I put away the clothes, I realized that would be the perfect spot to put all the scrapbooking supplies for his special book.

I never cared for him physically there, but I have spent hours thinking about him and remembering him, even talking to him. It is a sacred spot to me.

(The 'C' and glow-in-the-dark stars on the wall came later on, when one of his big brothers moved into the room. . . .:)

         ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Halloween and its ramifications

October 31, 2007 was the last day I felt Benjamin move. I believe I even know the exact moment he died. At the time, though, I was completely unaware. Janice and I spent the day decorating the house for a family Halloween party. I helped with two class parties at school. The boys dressed up and we did trick-or-treating from door-to-door in our house. Then we stayed up late watching Ichabod Crane with candles going.

The next day when I came home from the doctor's office, knowing that my baby was dead inside me, most of the Halloween decorations were still up. There were candy apples in the fridge and silly little Halloween snacks everywhere. It is probably not surprising to you that from that time on, I have hated Halloween. A lot.

I have thought that this is not really a big loss--what is the big deal about a holiday that celebrates the macabre and gruesome? But I have started to feel bad lately that the boys sometimes feel a little left out at school. Well, Exacto doesn't seem to care too much. He feels a lot how I do.

But Fluffy and now Hummer seem to wish that I were a little more happy about Halloween. I don't think I ever can be. BUT I did get a good idea today! We can celebrate Autumn. I got the idea from an activity in this month's Friend magazine where it shows a family carving a pumpkin with a CTR shield instead of the traditional face.

I can see that it would be much better to make new family traditions to fill this space, rather than just resentfully waiting for it to go away! We do plan to start a yearly pilgrimage to see fall colors on 10/31 or thereabouts. We did that last year on 11/1, and it was so fun.

Will you share with me any ideas you have? Does your family have any traditions specific to the fall season that you love?

help! - silly putty removal?

*2nd Update: He emerged from the bathroom with a red scalp (from forcibly removing the silly putty), and only slightly pink hair. I had received a couple of your comments (THANK YOU!) and told him the ideas. He tried the hairspray, and then took a shower with shampoo, and it worked! Phew! I think I'm going to follow Tricia's good example and ban the stuff from our house. . . .

*Update: He has gotten the main mass out, but now the whole top of his head is tinged bright pink and is very sticky. Worst of all, he won't let me take a picture!! He locked the door when I went to get the camera.

Exacto's been in the bathroom for a long time with the door shut. I kept calling him, and finally I went up and asked him if he was okay. He said, "Yeah."

I said, "Well, what are you doing?"

He said, "Trying to get silly putty out of my hair."

Apparently he had put a ball of bright pink silly putty on his head because he thought it would be neat to see it turn into a "puddle" on his head, then take it right off. It didn't come off.

He said he's tried ice and that didn't really work, and then he tried hot water, and that didn't really work.

Any ideas?!!!