I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Ours was ok minus some stressed mom and naughty kids moments (with tears on all sides,) Hubby getting called into work briefly and Ava sleeping through dinner. But it ended up well. Dinner was good and then Ben and I went on a nature walk together in the rain. We came home, Ava was awake and then we all had pie together (minus Grammy who was upstairs taking a nap.) When asked what he was thankful for Ben replied he was thankful for his toys and his family..in that order.

I have actually two different set of pictures to post. I was going to save one for tomorrow but as we will be in the car driving for about 13 hours I thought Id do it all now. I have a million and three things to do (like pack everything) but Im sitting here instead. Because I like to procrastinate...alot.

Here are the treats that I made for Ben's class. They had a whole week of learning about Native Americans which was great for Ben because he is very interested in all that (which is why Im hoping to be able to make him a tipi for Christmas.)

*Side note: I always thought it was teepee but apparently its tipi. So much for my good spelling eh?*

These are Tipi cupcakes treats. There is a cupcake inside the sugar cone, pretzels for poles, and melted chocolate and green sprinkles for grass. I got the idea from These are a few of my favorite things. I used the idea of one of her readers and used a pan with wadded up tinfoil to keep the cones upright. My problem was that I tried to bake way too many at once (because I was in a huge hurry) and so the baking time was a little off, some done before others, etc.

They were very last minute (ie -the day of...with about 2 hours to do everything, including buy the stuff) and did not turn out as cute. I really wanted the leaf sprinkles but there was nothing like that still available. But now I know and Im going to buy them early so I can make them again. Even though they were rushed I still thought they were pretty cute and the kids loved them which is what really counts. Ive been really trying to dampen my inner perfectionist when it comes to crafts etc. Especially on something like this where I know that the kids will like them no matter what and its really just me that has the issue with the final presentation.

The next thing I have to share is something I made for my nephew. So Lu if you dont want to know what he's getting stop reading now.

Sew,Mama, Sew! had a link for this awesome Rocket Man. When I saw it I just had to make it. Its so stinkin cute. And I love how it turned out! It has a few issues but again its that whole perfectionist thing. I think for my first soft toy it turned out pretty well. Although it did make me realize (or remember) that while my machine sewing is pretty good, my hand sewing skills really need some help. Which is weird because I can crossstitch fine and embroider somewhat but my regular hand sewing is pretty crappy. But anyhoo..here are the pictures of the rocket and little astronaut that I made.

We are leaving first thing in the morning for our vacation. I might post while Im gone but probably not. Thank you for reading along with me this month and Im hoping that I will keep up the semi habit that I formed this month and post on a regular basis. And Im hoping that in December I will have a whole bunch more crafts/gifts pictures to share with you..because that means that Im doing what Im suppose to! Alright off I go to do laundry and pack.

Busy Slacker

I've been totally slacking in my posts. So much for posting everyday. But Im not going to beat myself up for it because Ive done way better this month than ever before so thats a positive. Although Ive been slacking in my posts Ive actually been quite busy in my craftiness. I actually got a couple of Christmas presents done and some other things as well. I cant tell you all in one post because then Id be out of things to talk about again.

Ive had somewhat of a time frame on getting items done. I had to make something for B's teacher first because he goes on track break starting tomorrow and wont be back until after the first of the year. Then I wanted to get all of my "Oregon presents" done before we drove up there this coming up Sunday. As some of you know I am notoriously bad about getting things mailed on time..even if its all packaged up. I just cant seem to make it to the stinkin post office. Well I am not going to have everything done but I did get some of it done so Im actually pretty pleased with myself. If I can stay this on track for awhile I wont be running around like a chicken with my head cut off at the last minute. But dont hold your breath on that one.

For your viewing pleasure here is the tote bag I made for Ben's teacher. I used fabric by Alexander Henry and a tutorial from here. What do you think? Its big enough to fit a couple of thin binders in. I was pretty pleased as the only other bag Ive made was the Diego backpack that I made for A's bday. Which leads me to a quick little side note. B was very impressed with the bag I made and wants me to make him a backpack "that he wears on his side" (ie messenger bag) and I am to use flame fabric. So I just might need to add that to my Christmas to do list. Ok enough already. Here are a couple of pictures and Im off to bed. Yes its early but Ive got lots of cooking tomorrow and Im worn out from making tipi cupcakes (which I will post pictures of tomorrow so check in.)

Black Friday Excitement

I got the flyer today in the mail. Black Friday in next week and all the stores are gearing up for one of the biggest shopping days of the year. In the past Ive gone out on the day after Thanksgiving and done a little shopping. Nothing crazy like waiting in lines starting at o'dark thirty but I do use the sales and early start time as an excuse to go and do some shopping by myself. And Im sure this year, things being as they are, the sales will be even more appreciated.

I had kind of forgotten that the "Big Day" was next week until I got the flyer in the mail. I got giddily excited about all the sale items. I found myself thinking that maybe I should get up even a little earlier so I could be one of the first people in the store. There were some really good sales..and coupons too! The store? Joanns Fabrics of course. Yes, I know Im a big dork. Todays events totally proved that to myself. Because I really was excited about the flyer! So much so that I temporarily forgot that Im suppose to be Christmas shopping for other people not myself. Althoooooough, technically, if I buy fabric to make other people things, then it really is Christmas shopping, right?

Tooth fairy duty

After much wiggling, whining, and screaming at me to get my fingers out of his mouth..Ben finally lost his first tooth. He looks so stinkin cute! I just keep watching him talk so I can see the little empty space in his teeth. I remember being excited as he got his first teeth and now Im excited to see him lose them. I did learn something about myself as we waited for this tooth to fall out. I am as fascinated by looe teeth as I was when I was a kid and the loose tooth was mine. I was constantly wanting to wiggle Ben's tooth myself and kept trying to bribe him so he would let me pull it out. It did finally fall out, in the middle of class of all places, and then we moved on to the next great part of losing a tooth..the tooth fairy.

You would think that since this tooth has been loose forever that I would totally be prepared for the tooth fairy's expected arrival. Not so. Of course, if you know how I like to procrastinate you are totally not surprised. About the time we are sending Ben to bed is about the time I start thinking about tooth fairy duties. Then the whole mom-guilt-I-can-be -crafty-craziness starts. Its his first tooth! I should do something special, something more than shove the $1 under his pillow like dad wants to do. And this is where is comes in handy to have several different craft interests..'cause that means I have alot of crap laying around that I can use for last minute stuff (OH NO! I just totally sounded like my mom in that sentence..she would love it.) I made Ben a little tooth pillow shaped like a tooth. It has his name embroidered on the front and the back has a little pocket where the tooth/tooth money can be put. Of course while Im doing all this Hubby is just rolling his eyes at me and shaking his head at me. I had wanted to put the gold Sacajawea coins in the pillow but we only had one of those so we went with half dollars. Im not sure what I had against paper money but I just felt like it was suppose to be coins! We agreed that $2 was a good amount for his first tooth and from then on he'd get $1. I went upstairs, took out the envelope I had sealed his tooth in from under his pillow and slipped his new little tooth fairy pillow in its place. Thank goodness he's a heavy sleeper.

At this point Hubby had gone to bed long ago. I then decided that the tooth fairy should leave him a little personal note. So out came the markers,glue, and glitter. As the glue & glitter wouldnt dry for awhile, I just propped that note up on the counter downstairs so Ben would see it when he came down.

Fast forward to the morning..Ben loved it all and thought it was all great..which caused me to give Hubs the "see I told you so" look. Fast forward to me taking Ben to school. I park the car and start to walk him in. The very first child we encounter runs up to Ben and says "I lost a tooth!" and points to a gap in her mouth. Ben, equally excited, says "me too!" Then the girl declares "I got $20!" TWENTY DOLLARS! Are you people kidding me? I knew we were on the cheaper side of the doling out money but really? Don't people know we have a recession going on?

Ben's reply was great. "Holy Cow, 20 bucks! I only got $2" and then he walked away. I was worried as we kept walking that he was going to be upset as he kept muttering something about $20. "You know, different people get different things. She got more money but you got $2 and a cool new tooth pillow." He looks up at me smiling his little gap toothed smile and quite sincerely said "And I got a note from the tooth fairy too!" And thats just one more reason that I love my little guy.

Silent Sunday

Im totally stealing a friend's idea and making Sunday a picture only post. Sunday is actually more like Saturday for our family since its Hubby's first day off of his "weekend." So it is the one day of the weekend where everyone is home. We have family time, church, etc. So on Sundays I will just post a photo or two. Some might be recent but mostly I'll look through the older pictures and post some of my favorites. Enjoy.

October 2005

He loves me!

A little moment to prove that big brothers can be sweet sometimes:

I was finishing getting Ava ready to leave the house this morning. She had a cute outfit on and I was braiding her hair. I finished and she stood up from the couch. Ben looked her over and then declared loudly "Ava looks pretty!" She got the happiest smile on her face and said "Ben loves me!" as she gave him a big hug. Ben kept the love fest going by returning her hug...gently. I reminded Ava that Ben always loves her..he just likes to tease and torture her alot too. And then I made sure to point out to Ben how happy his little compliment made her and wasnt that nice? He smiled and agreed but then of course had to add "and I like to tease her sometimes too." Oh brother!

Committed

Im committed to this blog y'all. I got up out of bed to write this. Which might or not might not be the reason I felt the need to imagine that opening line with a southern drawl. But..I havent taken my Ambien yet so things shouldnt get too crazy. I have absolutely nothing to share of any substance or wit and am posting for postings sake. Exciting for you as a reader, I know.

I can't even think of a witty story. I was just sooo tired today. It was one of those days. The days where you feel wiped out but think you're just being a little melodramatic. And then you look in the mirror....and scare yourself. Even though you actually applied makeup this morning. Yep, it was one of those kind of days. I know I really looked bad because I came upstairs tonight and Hubby was ironing his clothes for tomorrow. A task that he usually tries to con me into doing for him. "You're ironing?" Was I hallucinating? (Ok thats really not fair to him because he does iron his clothes alot..but it sounds better for the story the other way dont you think?) "Well you looked really tired so I thought I'd do it." Wow! I knew I looked bad but obviously it was alot worse than even I thought.

I am now off to bed. I do apologize for the pathetic post. The only other mildly entertaining story I had was about the sad state of my underwear but there such things as sharing too much.

But it was so pretty

I bought Ava a Christmas Dress at Costco. Odd place I know, but it was so purty. And I knew that if I waited too long it would not be there later. Because you know how they have limited numbers of some things and you snooze you lose. So I bought it.

And then I felt guilty. Because we are suppose to be really saving money. And only buying necessities. Because besides Christmas shopping and all that jazz we also have in November life insurance payments and car registration due. Did I mention how pretty the dress was?

I returned the dress. It occurred to me that I really didnt need to buy a fancy dress because we dont dress fancy for Christmas. And I didnt have any parties that she needed to be Miss Fancy Pants at and....because the dress didn't fit. It made the decision so much easier and less painful. And I probably wouldnt have made the wise choise to return it otherwise. Besides, she can wear the dress I bought her last year for Christmas card pics.

Whats that you say? You didnt get a card last year from us? Here's a little hint how that photo shoot went.

It pretty much went downhill from there. The good thing is that I bought that dress a little big so it still fits this year. So be looking in a mailbox near you for a card from us featuring a hopefully smiling child in a cute green dress. Oh the other good thing about the botched photoshoot? I still have the cards that the pictures go in and they dont say "Happy Holidays 2007" or anything like that so I can totally use them this year. Woohoo.

But does He love it?

We were driving in the car today and Ava was chatting away a mile a minute..as usual. Her topics of conversation would vary wildly from one minute to the next-I have not idea where she inherited that from. Certainly not me. Hubby has quite often asked me to explain my though patterns to him so he can see how I arrived at a new topic from the previous one we were discussing. It is often a wildly convoluted and barely decipherable path.

We were talking about something and then Ava asked where Heaven was (I think she was looking out her window at the clouds.) Before I could even start to answer she was ready with her next, and more important, question.

"Does Jesus like pink? Do you think He loves pink? I hope He loves pink! Because some boys like pink you know."

She seemed genuinely concerned about the question so I felt I should answer something. I told her that I figured since God made everything that He also made the color pink so I was sure that He loved it.

"Oh good. I love pink too."

Way to go, Dad

Thanks to Hubby's poor tv viewing choices while he was watching the kids I am having to say things that I never dreamed of to Ava. This is my favorite one from today.

"Its not going to snow in your room and there is not a yeti in there. Now go take a nap."

Thank you Sci-Fi channel.
Thank you b-movie Yeti
Thanks again Hubs!

Im soo cold

Its like 60 degrees out and Im freezing my butt off. Which would be fine if my butt was really going to fall off and it wasnt just a figure of speech. I know, I know..Im a big wimp. But seriously. Im cold. And Im inside, fully dressed-including shoes and socks, with a light blanket on top of everything else. I think Im going to have to go lay in bed to warm up. I think that my discomfort is in a large part due to the arthritis in my back. Once it starts to get cold my back just aches and aches and thats all I seem to be able to think about...that. I. am. cold! If the kids were asleep, I'd go take a bath. But theyre not and they would just bug me incessantly. I could lock the door but Ava would just keep knocking until I got out and let her in. Actually now that I think about it, it is almost bedtime for them. I mean it is bedtime, right? Once my body adjusts to the weather change its not so bad. For those of you thinking "ya right, Im remember the tier sweater," just hush. I dont want to hear it lol. Let me delude myself that I'll get warmer once I adjust to the new fall weather.

Goodbye to the king

Ben & Tut

Ava & Tut


Ava sharing cheese & love with Tut

You were our first baby. You've been a part of our lives for more than 8 years. We've had you for a long time but I thought I still had more time with you. I was never that big of an animal person until we got you. Here are some things that I totally loved about you and will miss.

You thought you were a dog. You fetched, went to the door when the doorbell rang, and loved to be patted hard like a dog does.

You could open doors. And when we moved to a different house with new doorknobs you were a little pissed that you couldn't open those..but it didnt keep you from constantly trying.

You always laid on my side. Even when Hubby drug you over to his side you would promptly get up and come back over to mine. I miss having you lay against my side and being able to feel you purr.

I love that you were so tough. Even a large police k-9 new better than to mess with you.

You were so tolerant of Ava and would let her carry you around even though you were almost strangled in the process.

As much as I would complain about your mewing if you were hungry and how I would have to escort you to your food bowl..to show you there was food in there...it really didnt bother me..because you were Tut.

You were such a good hunter. I couldnt feel to sorry for the birds that you caught because for pete's sake you were wearing a collar with a bell. Although I didnt really appreciate you bringing the birds inside to show off.

The whole family misses you. Its been almost 2 weeks since you disappeared. We like to tell ourselves that maybe you're taking a vacation at a quiet family's house for awhile. But I think Ava knows the truth and has put it the best.

"Tut is in heaven and he is Jesus's kitty now. Jesus likes petting Tut."

Im no rat

We had playgroup today at our house. It was lots of fun as usual and as usual someone had to puke/poop on my rug. No really. My house gives off some kind of vibe. Because I know it doesnt happen on a regular basis at other peoples houses. And I kid you not..it happens every-single-time at mine. Probably because Im one of the least likely people to freak out about it. I mean after orange stains from Ava spilling dog shampoo and strawberry milk stains from a tipped over cup (which in hind sight should have had a lid) whats with a little baby puke. So not a problem.

Sometime during the playgroup Ava got injured. Do I know this because she came downstairs crying or worse yet made me run up the stairs? Nope. She comes down for a snack and I immediately notice the large purple bruise under her eye and on her eyelid.

"What happened to your eye? Are you ok?"
"I dont want to talk about it." (really thats what she said)
"Did someone hit you?"
"Nope"
"Did you fall"
"Nope"
"Did someone throw something at you?"
"Nope"
"Ava what happened to your eye?"
"I dont remember."
Which is the preschooler equivelant of I was in the shower, sleeping, while reading a book excuse (all favorite inmate excuses when questioned about an assault in case you were wondering.)

All the boys when questioned agreed that Ava either fell going up or downstairs. Pretty good as they didnt have much time to get their alibi together.

I never did get a straight answer from Ava. Hubby was able to get a little more out of her when he got home by subtly threatening the withholding of goldfish rations. Apparently she was laying on the floor and someone stepped on her eye as they were sliding down from the top bunk. But she could not identify the culprit as her eye was closed and then "the whole shoe was on my eye so I couldnt see." She did say which two suspects were wearing shoes at the time but once again refused/had amnesia as to which one it actually was...because her eyes were closed. I'll say this, the girl knows how to stick to a story. Im just wondering as to why she was so set on not revealing what really happened when she was clearly the victim? Whats the preschool threat equivalent to cement shoes or sleeping with the fishes..or since we live in Las Vegas..taking a long walk in the desert? Apparently I might need to look into that.

I want to see more cowboys

We took the kids to the bull riding finals tonight. Ava was excited to see the cowboys and the "big daddy cows." Actually once she saw the bulls she didnt mention them again. She did ask several times, during breaks or delays, when she was going to see some more cowboys. Can't say I blame her. Slap a cowboy hat on a man and there's just something about him. Of course with her, she just likes cowboys. He could be 85 and if he's wearing a cowboy hat she's impressed. We talked in the car about Ben riding bulls when he got a little older. Hubby asked Ava is she wanted to ride bulls. Ben replied for her..girls dont ride bulls-they just hand out tshirts and stuff. Thanks scantily clad Jack Daniels girls for giving my son that wonderful impression. And Im obviously going to have to work on the "girls can do anything" speech. Ava, however, could have cared less. She doesnt want to ride bulls..she wants to ride horses when she gets older. And then she clarified..and when Im this age too!

Thank you Pottery Barn

I have always really liked Pottery Barn. Or should I say Pottery Barn's catalog. As much as Ive drooled or coveted certain things I dont think that Ive ever actually purchased anything from them. Mostly because everything is so stinkin expensive. Their kids' catalog always has tons of cute ideas but at 200 bucks for a play tepee its once again just a fun catalog to look at but not actually buy from. But this year, in all my planned craftiness, I actually tore out a whole bunch of pages for ideas of things I want to make.

The cute autumn garland made out of felt leaves? So totally easy to make..even if you dont sew.

At Pottery Barn it costs $69. You could make it for very little out of pocket cost with a spool of ribbon, some felt, and some embroidery thread. If you arent feeling like doing any stitching at all then you could break out the puffy paint and the hot glue gun and you're good to go.

I love this tepee. And so does Ben. But like I said before, totally not in my budget.
Ive got to find the link again but I found a tutorial awhile back that shows how to make one of these out of a painters tarp and some bamboo poles, both of which you can find at Home Depot or other similar stores. Don't tell Ben but I think this is going to be one of his Christmas presents.

Im redoing the kids' playroom and bedroom. So Im always looking for new ideas for both of those rooms. I really like the idea of monogram letters for their room..maybe something like this..ok maybe a little simpler.
But instead of spending $69 (which seems to be a favorite price for items) one of these could easily be made from contact paper and an exacto knife. Ive been pondering on doing some sort of vinyl cling for their room but they are all so expensive..at least the ones I like are lol. But apparently you can buy contact paper in all kinds of plain colors and its just the right stickiness to be used on the walls but still removed later. As this is not going to be a Christmas present I'll probably revisit this ideas once all the holiday craziness is over.

I want one or two of these for the playroom and just might need to figure out how to make them. I know their are patterns out their for beanbags which could be modified fairly easily

And lastly, this thing is so stinkin cute that I think Ava needs one. Its not a simple straight forward one so it would take some work doing figuring out the pattern. In other words it probably wont get made but we'll see. Don't you just love it?

So thats my craft redo ideas for today. Unfortunately Im not as super crafty as all the people who make tutorials on how to make things or together enough like others where I actually put the helpful links to the ideas but Im working on it. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

Well lets hope

As this presidential race finally winds down I am finally going to way in. Vaguely. As Obama appears to have the election in the bag I can only hope that he will deliver even part of what has been promised. That the man that has been projected to us is the man that he is. I hope we do have positive change...because change in and of itself is not always good. Maybe you are thinking that things are so bad that any change is good. Oh my friends that is so not the case. I remember a local election for sheriff many years ago. Things were bad. We had hope as we saw the man we had campaigned for elected. Change was coming! And boy howdy did it. The man was not what he seemed. Not what we thought. And things became many times worse than before. Maybe that is why Iva had a hard time with this election? Maybe things seem too good to be true and Im just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I sincerely hope that is not the case and that we will have more and more positive things happen for our country.

Drats

Obviously I hadnt thought things all the way through. As part of my NaBloPoMo I was going to document all my craftiness as I tried to have more of a homemade Christmas this year. And to an extent I still can. I just can't post what Im maybe going to make my sister, nephew, bil, etc. You like how I threw that maybe in there? We'll see if my ambitions meet reality. I do know that I need to get my rear in gear and actually start getting some stuff done.

Todays post was totally lame I admit. Sad that the pathetic posts have already started arriving. But Im giving myself a little bit of leeway to try and get in the groove of writing each day. I think the hardest part is going to be figuring out when to actually write. In the morning I think I'll wait till the evening and by time evening comes around my brain is malt 0'meal so that obviously isnt going to work. Speaking of malt o' meal..I love that stuff and am glad that the cool weather is finally going to be here (it was 79 today) so I can enjoy it more often. Are you wondering malt o' what? Its like Cream of Wheat. And I'll go through phases where I could eat it a couple of times a day at least. Anyhoo back to my writing dilema. Im going to try writing in the morning or early afternoon (ie naptime) to see if that works any better. With that said, I'll see you in the morning.

That's not awesome!

We had a weird Halloween moment that I had to share. Prior to Halloween the local news channels ran a couple of segments about how law enforcement was going around to all the sex offenders and reminding them that they are suppose to have nothing to do with trick or treaters, children, etc. And we as parents need to be vigilant, go trick or treating with our kids and all that jazz. As Im not about to let my 3 & 6 year old go out by themselves its not a reminder that I needed..but hey thanks for the heads up anyways.

So we're out trick or treating. I walk up to each house with the kids but usually stand back at the beginning of a house's walkway and let them do their thing. A sad commentary of todays society is that I found my self inching way closer if a man answered the door by himself. We got to one house and a lady answered the door. Since it was a woman my radar wasnt instantly up and it took me a few seconds to realize that she didnt have a candy bowl in her hand. I started to get a little perplexed as I saw her reach into Ava's bag and I heard the woman say "Where's the candy?" She rummaged through Ava's bag as I finally decided that I probably should get my butt up to the door and see what this sketchy woman was all about. She handed Ava a dollar bill as I fake cheerfully pulled my children away from her porch. Ava was holding the money and seemed pretty happy because while she hasnt actually figured out that she can spend her money on things she does like the stuff. Ben was looking a little weirded out so I was all "oh look, she got some $$ instead of candy. Thats awesome." He got this pissed look on his face and said very indignantly "that lady took Ava's candy and then gave her money. Thats not awesome! She took her candy!" I had seen the lollipop in the woman's hand but hadnt quite realized until he said that that the woman had taken a lollipop out of Ava's bag and then given her the dollar. Not awesome indeed. Although a buck for a lollipop isnt too bad of an exchange rate. So just a word of warning. Be on the lookout for candy stealing ladies next year.

All month long

You'll be seeing much more of me on here. More posting I mean. I signed up for NaBloPoMo (which I can never type right for some reason.) If you have no idea what that is, it stands for National Blog Posting Month. The whole idea of it is to post every day for the month of November. Yes, I realize that it will be quite a stretch as the last time I posted was in Sept and I think 3 days in a row is my record for continuous posting. But hey, if you're going to aim you might as well aim high. Now I am not promising read-worthy posts every day. I can't promise that they will all be interesting..but I'll give it a try. My friends Lauren did NaBloPoMo last year and I have to say I was sad when Nov. was over because she went back to slacking on her posts..ok, not slacking, just not posting every day like I had gotten use to. So hopefully you will be able to get use to me posting every day and maybe it will even become a habit.



I was trying to decide if that should just be my post for the day (because you know, I should pace myself) but Im feeling like writing so here's a little post-Halloween something.



I have to admit there are things I really like about Halloween. Its not one of my favorite holidays but there are some things about it that I am really fond of.


*Pre-Halloweenish time (ie Autumn) means the start of all things pumpkin. I love me some pumpkin. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread, and of course Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Lattes.


*Getting the kids' Halloween costumes ready fills the previously unrecognized need in myself to be a costume designer. This year I didnt actually sew one of my own children's costumes (not counting some last minute impromptu mouse ears) so I had to volunteer to sew costumes for a friend's kids. Dishes in the sink? A husband with no clean underwear? Too bad, I have to sew!


*Halloween Candy (yes both words need to be capitalized.) Candy gained from trick or treating is one of a parent's least realized assets. I've heard of parents having their kids trade the candy for toys, throw it away (seriously?) and other crazy ideas. I want that stuff to last as long as possible. First, the unwritten rule is that all chocolate belongs to me. To be eaten by me in secret when the kids are in the other room and not realizing that Im rifling through their stash. Except Tootsie Rolls...I dont think those are really chocolate..just chocolate colored, which is such a tease. And I dont want to hide their bags of candy away so they'll forget about it. Why? Bribes people. Its all about the bribes. Or incentives as I like to call them..it sounds so much nicer. You want a piece of candy? Ok go pick up the shoes by the door and carry them upstairs. And it actually gets done! Dirty clothes picked up? Toys put in their baskets? Being nice to your sister? Candy is the magic word in our house. But there is a problem in that if we did it all the time the candy thrill would wear off. So we have to really enjoy Halloween Candy while its here...at least until we can start threatening about Santa..which has its own set of problems.