Don't Try This At Home

Pass the Torch Tuesday

If you've never been to Kelly's blog over at Pass the Torch, you are missing out. She is all about catching our kids being good. Her tag line is "If we believe youth are our future, we are procrastinating." She hosts Pass the Torch Tuesday every week. From her site:

Pass the Torch Tuesday is an opportunity for bloggers to celebrate the ways they see kids/young people doing things RIGHT! These are the little things we witness everyday, that make us proud of and hopeful about the generation to whom we pass the torch.

This week I'm submitting my post about Max and his golf outing. Max went out of his comfort zone and great things happened for him. I believe it's hard for us leave our "zone" as adults and I remember the pressure and anxiety of doing it as a kid. I'm really proud of him.

Stop by Kelly's and read some of the others who are catching our kids doing great things!

JOLs (That's Jack-O-Lanterns to You)

Tonight the chilluns scooped out pumpkin guts. I hate pumpkin guts. I do not like slimy. Luckily, they didn't get that I was forcing them to scoop out all four pumpkins; they thought they were lucky enough to scoop out all four pumpkins! What can I say? I am the female version of Tom Sawyer. Everything sounds fun with Mama Chili says it: Hey kids! Wanna scoop out some pumpkin guts? It's really fun! Oh, but I don't know...it's usually an adult's job. Maybe I better do it...Really? You think you're old enough? Hmmm. OK. We'll try it.

Of course after the guts are gone, you have to carve the things. Now I love Halloween, but really? I do not like to get my hands dirty. Stuff gets under my nails and I cannot stand it. That's where Husband comes in. He spent a good portion of his afternoon printing and enlarging different patterns to carve into the pumpkins. Thank goodness carving is "mans work". Saves me from having to go all Tom Sawyer on his Halloween booty.

The finished products (which I have to admit, are fantastic! I have really good delegation and management skills!):

Make sure you click on the picture to get the full effect. We use red Christmas lights instead of candles. They are mucho effective. You should definitely try it.

Top row (r to l): a cat (Wild Thing's) and a menacing JOL (Max's)

Bottom row (r to l): funny face (Husband) and a skull (mine)

Halloween Open House

 Welcome, everyone, to the very first Halloween Open House! I hope you will join me as we celebrate autumn. I know the actual title of the event states it's a Halloween open house, but really, I would just love to see how you decorate for autumn in any way!

Antique Mommy, I saw your few pumpkins. They'll do! (If nothing else, just take a picture of your neighbor's yard with the three blow-up pumpkins and say it's yours.) Green3, I know you have a mum or two--don't you? Christine, you have stickers on your door, I'm sure of it. Anyone and everyone is welcome to participate!

Now without further ado, I give you the Chilihead House of Halloween:

Welcome to my home! My husband put together this inviting little arrangement at our front door. The pumpkins will soon be jack-o-lanterns and ready to light the way of trick-or-treaters on Tuesday. Meanwhile, who doesn't love mums? My favorites are the dark red ones (as seen in the very back). Husband prefers the brighter yellow and white mums. I suppose it's all about compromise, right?

Step right on in so you can get a better look at the decorations! I won't bore you with the piddly stuff like the wire skeleton in the bathroom or the stickers on the kids' windows. Let's move right to the BIG decorations, shall we?

As you enter my Halloween home you'll immediately notice I have a large collection of Dept. 56 Halloween houses. For some reason these houses are actually part of the Snow Baby Village, go figure. (Before I show you the pictures, let me apologize for their arrangement. I did not put down the black fabric I usually do so that all the wires are hidden and it looks like the buildings are on dirt. I was just too darn busy with this and this. Next year!)

Now, across the room we have this arrangement to show off my vintage and new-but-looks-vintage decorations. All spider-webbing is courtesy of Max and Wild Thing. They are quite handy with a web.

I usually display my glass ornaments as well. However, as you can see, Oscar sort of put a crimp in my plans this year. Something told me it just wasn't a good idea to put out the glass bulbs this year.

Please come into the dining room for a little snack. Our Witch's Apothecary provides a ghoulish environment for your dining pleasure.

Thank you for visiting us today! I've enjoyed hosting you! I hope you'll all share your fall decorations with us!

Oh, one last thing.

BOO!

A Formal Affair

After our little bloggity lunch today, several of us decided to go shopping over at Grapevine. I bought a cheap necklace and earrings, some tights for Wild Thing, and a bottle of water. Oh yes. I was a big spender today. However, the highlight was when Jeana, HolyMama, Shalee, Shannon, and I decided to try on formals. Well, actually, SHANNON decided we all needed to try on formals. When it came down to it, though, Jeana took the picture and HolyMama soothed her baby (sweet boy that he is). The rest of us donned a formal and proceeded to look fabulous as only women who have given birth and have little figure left (speaking only for myself here) can.

As Shalee was zipping me, she happened to mention my, er, cleavage. Now normally I'm not that modest. My cleavage has been mentioned a time or two and I can laugh it off if not show it off. This time, however, was different. It seems my womanly figure has decided that frontal cleavage is not enough. No. I must now have back cleavage. In my last-ditch effort to either make you laugh out loud or completely gross you out, I share with you my most embarrassing picture to date.

Yeah. South Beach and Weight Watchers are getting a new groupie on Monday.

Off Like A Herd Of Turtles

Oh my word, y'all. I'm so late and so behind! I'm just now sitting down to pound a little "Bye! See ya next week! I'm off again!" post. I have exactly 22 minutes and counting before I have to pick up Shannon and get myself on the road to for this. In those 22 21 minutes I have to finish packing, get to an ATM, find something to eat, get some iced tea (I mean, really, some things are non-negotiable), kiss Husband good-bye, and hope I didn't forget anything.

While I'm off drinking margaritas with some of the coolest bloggers in Blogdome, please don't forget about the Fabulous Don't Try This at Home Halloween Open House happening right here on Monday! It's going to be so much fun! I really do hope you'll join me in celebrating Autumn. Even if you don't decorate for Halloween, I'd love to see how you decorate for autumn! It's such a beautiful season.

Have a wondeful weekend!

Bragging On Max

I have had two of the very best nights back-to-back. My kids have been so wonderful and Husband and I have been reveling in it. After tonight I just have to brag, and since it's my blog, I'm gonna. Many wonderful things have happened, but I don't brag on Max enough because he tends to be my quiet one. This is Max's spotlight post.

Max was asked to attend a golf clinic this evening. Actually, Shannon's kids were asked first, but they couldn't so she volunteered Max. Thanks, Shannon!

Max is shy to the millionth degree, so when I first suggested he attend the clinic, he was less than receptive. When he found out there would be competitions and prizes, he was even less excited. This is a boy who does not put himself out there at all. A little time and call to Dad was all he needed to convince him he would have a great time.

Max loves golf. He and Husband play together a few times a month. This clinic was right up his alley. He putted and chipped and practiced on the driving range. At the end as they were giving out prizes he listened as they named the third place score. It was 130. He was absolutely, no-questions-asked sure that he had not beat that score. He couldn't have been more wrong! He came in first! YES! My baby's first golf "tournament" and he won! His prize was a $45 gift certificate to buy golf balls. He is pumped. I have not seen him this excited about something since we started tennis this summer. Before that I can't even remember him this excited. My heart just melted when I saw him beaming when I got home.

I'm so proud of him for trying something new and then surprising himself. He did his best and it paid off. He tried something new and it paid off. I am hoping that this will be the start of a new confidence for my guy. Way to go, Max!

Blogging Buddy

This school year has been a little rough for me. Both of my children are in school full-time. I have missed them terribly. I spent much of the first month crying at silly things simply because I was so depressed they were gone. The house was so empty!

I had many things to occupy my time: working out, PTA, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, little errands that are easier to do alone, etc. I made list upon list of the projects I could start: quilts, hanging curtains in the kids' rooms, hanging hooks in the bathroom for towels, etc. I could not bring myself to any of these. I would see the kids off on the bus and come back inside and crawl into bed. Or I would come upstairs and read blogs for hours. Or play online Sudoku. Or online jigsaw puzzles. Or trashy gossip sites. Whatever. It didn't really matter because I just didn't care.

A few weeks ago some friends offered us a kitten. I discussed this option with Husband. We have had cats before and for various reasons we ended up giving them away. Wild Thing, though, has a love for animals that I can't describe. Husband and I have both been aware that the fish and the hermit crabs would not cut it forever. We decided we would take the kitten.

Oscar is now about three to three and half months old. He's still very much a kitten. He's also very much a part of this family. We all love him dearly. Although we primarily got him for Wild Thing, Max has loved him just as much. I have found that I am more excited to face my day now that I have a companion. When he hears the door open he comes running downstairs and abandons whatever game he was playing so he can greet us. When I do laundry he plays by himself in my room. When I blog, he comes and either sits on my lap or beside my computer. This kitten has made a difference in my days. I have always loved cats, but I do not care so much for pets in general. I am changing my mind.

A Halloween Surprise for Me

As I was arriving home with the chilluns yesterday, the postman was leaving my doorstep. "Mom! We got a package!" cried Wild Thing. "Let's go check it out!" There was much hustling as everyone scrambled out of the car to find out who the package was for (Shannon, if you must correct that sentence, do so, but keep it to yourself. ;)  ).

I was thinking one of the grandparents probably sent the kids something for the Big Holiday because, well, we have the most awesome grandparents in the world and they do things like that. But no! It was addressed to me! A special, super-surprise package all my own! And addressed in beautiful calligraphy no less! The giggling was immediate and immense. There is truly nothing better than getting your own surprise mail. Nanner, nanner kids. Put that in your pumpkin and smoke it.

I could keep the suspense going, but what's the point? I'm excited and I want to tell you how fantastic my friend Peach is! My friend Peach is very awesome. She lives in Georgia and has just been through a move and readjustment. She's been extremely busy with her own life. Even so, she thought of me and sent me this care package to brighten my day. And really, how wonderful is that? Thank you, Peach. I love every single thing. THANK YOU!

As you can see, Wild Thing and I will be the envy of all as we stroll through town in our Halloween flips. And I'll be cooking my ghoulish "ghoul"-ash while wearing my new oven mitts. And a book? Hello? How much do I love that?

And do you see that card? Handmade and beautiful. It deserves its very own close-up (although, really, I couldn't get a great shot of it because my camera suh-hucks. Sorry. Click on it to see it better.). You'll have to take my word for it: It's beautiful. I will be keeping it on my Bulletin Board of Beautiful Handmade Things. My BBBHT has such masterpieces as Wild Thing's self-portrait, Max's get well card he drew for me a few months ago, Stephen's (Shannon's son) skull and cross bones, Corrie's (Shannon's daughter) thank-you drawing, and many other masterpieces. Peach, you are in good company.

Thank you again, Peach. You are great friend and I appreciate your thoughts.

Don't Tell My Husband...

but I think I may be in love.

Seriously. How freakin' cool is that?

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

On our last night at Disney World, my mom and I attended Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. If you have never been to this event, I encourage you to go. The Magic Kingdom has arguably the best parade and fireworks of the entire year during this event. The only time they have more fireworks is the Fourth of July.

The Halloween parade is phenomenal. It begins with the Headless Horseman riding through the streets. A few minutes later the rest of the parade comes along and you are treated to characters in costume and an entire section of villains.

The absolute, must-not-miss, you-gotta-see-it part is the Haunted Mansion portion of the parade.

Hitchiking Ghosts

The Ghostly Ball

Grave Diggers

I have to just tell you that Captain Jack Sparrow posed for me and waited until I took the shot before he turned to the other side. My camera was acting up and I couldn't get it to take the photo! How annoying! At the last second it worked and I have this shot to show for it. I thank you heartily, Captain! (OH! And you really need to see the new Pirates of the Carribean ride. Outstanding. I mean it. Captain Jack Sparrow's likeness is freaky. Want to see what Johnny Depp did when he saw it? It's at about the 2:15 mark of the film.)