My New Baby

I've Had ENOUGH!

Nicholas celebrated his second Halloween yesterday. He was only two months old for his first one. We dressed him as a lobster and carried him around to our neighbors last year. Andy stayed at the house, and the girls, Nicholas and I went trick-or-treating.

This year, it was just Nicholas and me. The girls were with their mom, and Andy was on an airplane somewhere, trying to get home to us.

Nick was a lion this year and a darn cute one at that! He helped me pass out candy, and once again, we visited our neighbors. They kept offering candy, but Nick has yet to enjoy the bliss that chocolate can bring! Well, for some.....chocolate doesn't do anything for me. So, we passed....

Went all out with the decorations this year. We had webbing, multiple carved pumpkins, fake spiders, howling things in the trees....it was too fun! Only scared one kid, but my brave boy wasn't afraid! He liked to set off the chattering heads and stick his finger in their plastic mouths.

But, by 7:00 p.m., he had ENOUGH of the whole Halloween gig. So, I changed him into his soft, warm jammies and got his bedtime bottle ready. One more pair of boys rang the bell, and with that, Trick-or-Treating 2007 was over.

Nicholas and I snuggled on the couch while he drank his bottle and immediately passed out. My little lion was obviously quite tired....which was GOOD, because Mommy forgot to turn off the howling things in the trees.....they went off all night, and they were right below Nicholas's bedroom window! I didn't discover my boo-boo until I heard them going off in the background of his baby monitor....whoops! Let's hope my neighbors still speak to me.....

I hope everyone had a Happy and SAFE Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Silly, FUNNY Halloween Card

Ultimate Toy Drive

Click Here for more information on helping.

Glitter Graphics

More fun with whacky text....this time, it's from glitter-graphics.com. These sites are great for generating silly, animated text that can be used on Myspace, bulletin boards, social networking sites, your own site, etc. They are also easy to do, so the kids can have fun with them!



I'll have to make sure I show the girls their names. Both girls like hearts, so these are both good ones for them. But they may like one of the other ones better. Maybe Taylor can add to her E-mails to friends....

This Doesn't Make You Cheap....

Need a nice dinner out? [I do, I do!!] Want to save some money, too? [Yes, ma'am!] Then check out restaurant.com. I use this site all the time -- even when I travel for work! I've gotten some great deals at really nice restaurants all over the country and saved some big $$$, too.

Right now, Restaurant.com is offering 70% off! This means their $25 restaurant gift certificates that normally sell for $10 have been reduced to just $3!! So, for $3, you get a gift certificate worth $25. Make sense? This is why I sometimes use these when I travel -- I get a nicer dinner, and keep my expenses low, so my manager doesn't get upset!

This offer is valid from October 24th to the 31st, so get yours today and plan a special night out with or withOUT the kids....CLICK HERE to get yours. And use the code TREATS. Otherwise, you won't get the 70% off.



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The Bug War

I've lived with my older brother, Scott, twice. The first time didn't end on the best terms [he's 13 years older and a "he"....and we're a lot alike]. But we gave it another try. I even helped him pack up his apartment to move into the house we would share.

Well, my brother is a pack rat, and he had tons of JUNK.....including some plastic cockroaches. While he wasn't around, I slipped them into my purse for later.

That started what has become known as "The Bug War" in our family. After we moved into the new house, I hid the cockroaches in various places -- under a phone receiver, on a kitchen shelf, etc. Once my brother started to find them, the game was on.

Next, he took a creepy spider decoration I had bought for Halloween and attached it to fishing line. This he attached to the toilet seat, so when I got up at 2:00 a.m. to use the bathroom.....yeah, I screamed when that big, black spider came flying out from behind the toilet!
This went back and forth, each trying to best the other with plastic snakes coming out of tub drains and spiders on fruit and creepy bugs under things. All fake and plastic, of course. It quietly ended, and I eventually moved out.

Years later, it was my brother's wedding. It wasn't until THEN that I learned that I had WON The Bug War hands-down....something my brother would never admit to, but I found out a funny story from his good friend, Dave. He noticed a plastic spider sitting on an apple in a bowl of fruit and asked why it was there. Mom explained about The Bug War, and Dave was laughing so hard, he was crying. He then told us the following story.....

One of the "bugs" I had hidden during the war was a plastic leach. I had placed this leach on the rim of the toilet bowl in my brother's bathroom. My brother wouldn't see it until he lifted the seat to you know......

I guess Dave was at the house when Scott discovered the leach. Dave said he was in the kitchen waiting for Scott, and heard Scott SCREAMING! [I hate that I missed this....] He ran upstairs, and Scott had somehow found a two by four [in the bathroom????] and was ready to beat the plastic leach senseless......

This story is quite legendary in our family.....how I won The Bug War with a plastic leach bought for .50.

Do I LOOK Like a Shoplifter....?

Sunday night, I was flying solo with Nicholas and decided we'd go do a little shopping. A new super Wal-Mart opened near us, and I figured we'd check it out. I don't typically shop at Wal-Mart. I'm more of a Target girl and spend scary amounts of money there, but the W-M is closer to the house, and I wanted to check out their Halloween decorations.

Mr. Nick and I had a good shopping experience. We found some light-up pumpkins and other fun holiday stuff. I let Nick pick out a stuffed animal. He had been SUCH a good boy on the ride home from Columbus and while I ran errands. He liked this little, soft dog that barked when you squeezed it, and it was only about $7.....so, I got it for him. Grabbed some dinner items and other "stuff" and checked out. Paid, loaded our bags and headed for the door.

So, they have these greeters, right? I just thought they were there to say, "hello, welcome to Wal-Mart" as you walked in. Well.....when did Wal-Mart become Costco and want to check your receipt before you could leave????

The greeter [who was this small, older man and never cracked a smile] stopped me and asked to see my receipt as I was walking by.

Uhhhhh.....what????

I gave him this odd look and pulled it out of a bag. He stood there looking over it, and I noticed one or two people pass by with their carts and bags. Why wasn't he stopping THEM? So, I ASKED.

"Sooo....do you stop everyone?"

"No." Pause. Then he mentioned something about an "item" being outside the bags, and THAT is why he stopped me.

Well, that item was the $7 stuffed dog. I had pulled it from the bag as we headed for the door and given it to Nick. And for THAT, I get stopped and treated like I'm shoplifting....?

Come on, Wal-Mart. First off, I haven't stolen anything from a store since I was about five....not that you can tell that from looking at me......BUT I am relatively clean cut, and I'm in my late 30s and a mother with a toddler. I don't look like I need to steal, because I can't afford to buy something, and I'm certainly not a teen looking for a rush or thrill. Plus, if I were going to steal something, then do you really think I would run the risk of legal action over a stupid $7 stuffed animal??? The light-up pumpkin cost more! Heck, the raw chicken I bought cost more!

On top of that, the "greeter" wasn't all that friendly or nice about stopping me, because he felt the need to confirm the purchase of that stupid stuffed dog. And he had to MARK my receipt with his little highlighter. Are you KIDDING me????

As we left the store, I said to Nicholas, "We won't be shopping THERE again, baby!" And we won't. I doubt anyone at Target would have stopped me.....

Homecoming

This past weekend was Ohio State homecoming. We made a quick trip up North to visit the 'rents, see some other relatives and watch the game. Fortunately, the Buckeyes beat Michigan State and remain number 1. Woo hoo! I'm hoping this winning streak continues....I remember many years of being disappointed in the team....those would be the Cooper years. I'm a much bigger fan of Tressel.

So, this morning, we all met for breakfast at Bob Evans [minus the hubby who was on a plane headed for California]. Nicholas got to meet his Great Great Aunt Dorothy. She was sisters with my grandmother, Effie. And Dot and Nick share a birthday.

Well, off to bed! My brain is blah, and I'll have a busy week flying solo with Mr. Nick.