A real ghost story

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In honor of Halloween, I am going to write about a true ghost story. I have never seen one myself (and I'm thankful for that). My husband, Dave, saw one when he was in college and I believe it was real.

Dave worked in a restaurant on Saturday mornings early to do prep work for the day. (Background: In this restaurant the kitchen was downstairs and the bar and dining area were on the first floor). In these early mornings, Dave cut up vegetable in the kitchen with the cook and a cleaning would come in to clean the main floor. Dave went to the bar area to get something and saw the top of a little blonde head bobbing up and down behind the bar bouncing a ball. Dave said hi to the little boy, who was the cleaning lady's son. Dave got what he needed and headed back downstairs. When he got back there the cook said the cleaning lady wasn't coming so he would have to mop the dining room. Dave started to explain that the cleaning lady's son was upstairs when the cook explained he had seen the ghost. Apparently many people who worked at the restaurant had seen him in the early morning or late night and always when they were by themselves. Very creepy if you ask me. I'm glad I didn't work there.

PS For those of you who know me in real life, it was the first location of the restaurant where this happened. Not the converted Post Office.

Ghosts of Halloween Past

With Halloween approaching I got to thinking about the costumes the kids have worn over the years. Here are some of my favorites:

Caitlin gets in touch with her inner rock star.
(Funniest Costume)

Caitlin looks so angelic in her fairy costume. I love this shot.

(Best Photo)

I made this costume for Davey and me last year. I needed something that used the baby carrier since Davey slept in it so much when I took Caitlin to classes. He is the bee and I am the flower. Best part it required no sewing.

(Best Handmade Costume)

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Blurb. Be sure to check out the contest at Parent Bloggers Network and Blurb to make some really cool photo books.

Fibbing

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When I asked Caitlin why she drew on her lips with the purple marker she said it was because she didn't know how to draw on paper. Hmmm...where do kids learn to lie and lie so badly.

Just like daddy...

Ok first don't forget to enter my pay it forward contest to win good stuff. What you win will be a surprise. If you are really curious, go to this post to see what I gave my last PIF winner. To enter just comment on this post.
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When I went to shut Caitlin's door last night, I found her still holding her sippy cup. It reminded me of her daddy during college. Hee hee.

PIF winnings and new contest

I recently won a Pay It Forward contest from Emily at her blog. She sent me all this great stuff. Caitlin is loving the yummy chap stick. I love the cool hairbrush and mirror that folds together. We all have played catch with the ball. And when Dave saw the gift card to Cold Stone Creamery we went that night for dessert. Yummy! Thank you Emily and congrats (she just had a baby).

So now I'm hosting another pay it forward contest. If you win you agree to host another PIF (Pay It Forward Contest) on your blog or do something nice for someone else and let me write about it on my blog. Let's keep the pay it forward theme going. To enter simply leave a comment on this post. If you want a theme, tell what a scary story or your favorite Halloween costume. You have till Monday, November 3 to enter.

Leaf Bouquet and Silliness

So my kids love being outside. Don't they all. Anyway the falling leaves provide for lots of fun. They love to jump and stomp them. They also really love collecting pretty ones. So we decided to make a leaf bouquet. I think they look quite pretty. The color and the leaves themselves don't last too long but neither do cut flowers. So we go out every other day to make a new one.
Because I act like I'm 12 years old, I had to take this photo of this mushroom. Is it not the most phallic looking mushroom ever? It looked even more phallic when it was standing straight up before Davey kicked it.

Weekly Winners

Here are some of my favorite fall scenes from the week. I love the colors.




Go to Sarcastic Mom's weekly winners to check out some great shots.

Maximus the Wonder Lab

Maximus in his leaner years.

We got Maximus a week after our honeymoon. We almost took home the wrong dog. The dog breeder's 10 year old daughter loved Maximus and didn't want him to leave. So she switched his identifying bracelet. We were leaving with another puppy who was shaking when the dog breeder realized the mistake. She came running out and stopped our car just in time. (We would have figured it out eventually since the dog we had was female and Maximus is male.) She handed me Maximus, who immediately snuggled into my shoulder. I knew he was going to love us and him us.

He is beautiful.

I describe Maximus as slightly trained. He went to puppy school and was the star of the class. The trainer had us use dog treats as rewards. Maximus will do anything for food. He was the first in the class to sit, stay, walk on leash well, and play dead. Now ask that 100 lb. wonder lab to not jump on guests and he can't do it even with treats. The treats merely slow him down for the time it takes him to eat said pig ear (about 30 seconds). If he wasn't prone to weight gain, I would be more apt to reward him with treats to help control his behavior. He is currently on a diet. They say pets and their owners start to look alike, huh?

Maximus takes his floor cleaning responsibility very seriously.

When I got pregnant with my first, Maximus seemed to know before I did. He became super protective. We use to walk every morning at 6:30am. One morning we saw a jogger running by, Maximus froze, the hair on his back rose, and a low growl came out. He refused to move till he saw the jogger was out of sight. We had seen this jogger almost everyday for months. Somehow he seemed to think he needed to be more protective. I took a pregnancy test later that week and discovered the good news.

Maximus lets Caitlin play dentist and rest on him.

Maximus is a very gentle dog when it comes to the kids. He lets them poke him (sometimes in the eyes) and never growls. I wish he would at least move when this happens. He lets my 40 lb. daughter lead him around the house by the collar. If he didn't want to move he wouldn't. My 17 month old son has started to push him when he is trying to steal food off the counter. I guess you can say my kids are not intimidated by Maximus.

Goofy animal

Although he can drive me crazy with all his mischief (which is mostly confined to stealing food and chewing socks), I love him so much and can't imagine not having him around. He really is a wonder dog.

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Burger King Corp.

The Big V

Dave went under the scalpel today and got a vasectomy. I'm so proud of him for actually doing it. He made the consultation and a week later got it done. He told me if there was anymore than a 2% of sexual dysfunction that he wasn't doing it. When he asked the doctor about it, he laughed. He said if there was any chance of that would any male get it done. Good point. I think that helped ease that fear.

I'm glad that we both agree that two children is enough to complete our family. I have a couple of friends who want another and their husbands don't and vice versa. I imagine that is very hard. I couldn't imagine having another child or pregnancy but if Dave really wanted another I would have to consider it. I feel like my hands are full with the two of them so it would be difficult to do.

Another benefit is not having to take birth control pills. I've been on them forever or so it seems. I'm not sure how my body will handle the hormone reduction. When I got pregnant with the kids I got pregnant the first month with each, which not really enough time to adjust. We are fertile people so you see why we were looking for an almost fail proof option.

Dave just got back from the doctors while I'm writing this. Dave told me his doctor didn't have a very good bed side manner. Is saying "Here's our next victim" really the way to make a guy feel comfortable about getting a vasectomy?

Dave is recovering. He is a little sore. We will take it easy this weekend. I will try to keep the kids from hurting him. I better take them out.

Feeling better

I posted a while back that Caitlin was driving to the edge of sanity. She was really beyond cranky and argumentative. Well I think we figured out one factor that contributing to that state, constipation. Here is something I didn't know before I potty trained a child: a child can be constipated even if you is having bowel movements everyday. Caitlin is on Miralax too. So let's say everything seems to move easily too. I took her to the doctor's shortly after I posted about her behavior and the doc confirmed that it is a constipation issue. I guess if Caitlin gets really unbearable I need to suspect constipation issues. She went on a super Miralax regimen and all is well in the world. She still has her moments that frustrate me but she is SO much better than before. I feel bad that she was feeling crappy (sorry for the pun, I couldn't resist).

Weekly Winners

This was a good week for photo taking. We took a trip to the beach and to a fire safety workshop.

Catch me if you can.

Two toned.

Fall Flower.

Helping.

Tough Coat.

Sky High.

Silly Reflection.

Go to Sarcastic Mom's weekly winners to check out some great shots.

One man's treasures...

The Parent Blogger Network and Bill Me Later is sponsoring a blog blast about what objects men just can't part with. Often these treasures are kept in "man caves". Dave has one that he calls Dave's World. It used to have a pool table and a bar but when the kids came into our lives that was no longer a good use of space. He still has he room but now it is a TV room and office. One object Dave can't part with is the ugly faded now orange couch in Dave's World. It is really comfortable and a great couch for sleeping. I often find him napping in here.
Dave was a high school English teacher before taking his much better paid director of sales position. He keeps the English teacher paraphernalia that he can't bear to pack in his room. The Shakespeare bust and Mel Gibson's Hamlet poster reside there.

Another ugly thing that is kept in Dave's World is the Patriots wreathe his parents gave him last year for Christmas. Dave also had a huge cut out of Tom Brady in his classroom. Sometimes I'm really glad there is a room to put stuff like that. I only want Tom Brady in my living room if it is really him and not a cut out.

Faded T-shirts are another object Dave can not part with. He still has T shirts from high school, which he graduated from 16 years ago. There is one is particular that is so faded you can't read the writing on it. It is also so full of holes it can barely be considered clothing. (I couldn't locate that shirt so maybe it "disappeared" last time I cleaned his closet but most likely it is hidden for safe keeping.) Here is an example of a well loved T shirt from spring break 1996.
Don't forget to check out the Parent Blogger Network for blog blast details and Bill Me Later to get in the shopping express lane.

The cookbook I'm loving...

So I'm loving The Most Decadent Diet Ever cookbook. The best recipe I've made so far is for these brownie cups. OH MY GOD ARE THEY GOOD! The only have 54 calories per mini muffin size brownie. Everything I have made so far has been so yummy. My only caution is the brownie cups are so good it may be hard to control your portions (if you are like me). They freeze well so I'm hoping that will slow down my consumption.

The recipes are lower calorie and fat but you would never know it. If you have a hubby who hates low fat cooking you can easily fool him. I've made chicken enchilasagna, pesto parmesan crusted salmon, sweet and slim italian sausage, and supreme and slender french bread pizza among others. They are all relatively easy to make and not too time consuming. Prep time is less the 30 minutes. My only complaint about the book is there are not a lot photos. I like to see what the meal should look like so I can laugh at how it looks when I make it. The Most Decadent Diet Ever is making watching my diet fun again.

Weekly Winners

Sometimes it is the imperfect shots I like best. I love this shot even though Davey's fingers are in his mouth and drool rolling off his chin. Poor teething babe. He still smiles though.

I love this one of Caitlin despite the fact her hair is in her face.

Also go to Sarcastic Mom's weekly winners to check out some great shots.

Eeeewwwwhhhh!

Caitlin likes to climb into her chair seat by herself. So I clip Davey in his seat and then clip her harness. She was climbing in the other day and noticed an old bag of goldfish in between the two seats. She grabs it and starts munching. I think it is no big deal. They are probably stale but not harmful. Anyway I notice that she is pulling long blonde strands of hair off the goldfish. Then I realize that the strands of hair are not strands of hair but spider web strings. Ewww! I grab the bag from her and check out the bag and see this thick 1 inch spider ready to jump at me. I drop the bag and stomp it.

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Needless to say the car is getting a thorough cleaning and maybe a bug bombing.

Barack Obama Guys

Caitlin has recently discovered that people have different skin colors. We have talked to her about people may look different but different isn't bad and they probably like a lot of the same stuff we do. We even got her the Sesame Street book "Red or Blue, I Like You". I guess it is normal for kids to notice these things at her age. When we had the cable company fixing our cable, she said "Is that black man fixing our cable?" Nothing wrong with it I guess but it made me feel uncomfortable. I guess I worry about offending someone. We talked to her about not identifying someone by race. Instead of saying that black man just say the man.

This weekend we drove by a wedding and there were two African American men in tuxs outside the banquet hall. Caitlin says, "There are two Barack Obama guys." I guess this concept is going to take a while for her to get.

Weekly Winners

We have so many mushrooms around the yard right now. We usually only get them in the spring but it has been really rainy around here lately. I liked the shots of these mushrooms and Caitlin too.

So many

One among the green

Smirk

Also go to Sarcastic Mom's weekly winners to check out some great shots.

Our roof

We brought our house when we were young and dumb. We had a mortgage that required repairs to be done before the purchase could take place. During the inspection we discovered the roof needed to be replaced. The home owners did the work. I would never do that again. They did the such a bad job. The company that they hired didn't put in vital things like the vent or the ice guard. It is 7 years later and we had to replace the roof. It sucks to have to do something that shouldn't need to be done for 23 more years. If I had to do it again I would have borrowed money and would have contracted someone to do the work myself. Anyway learn from my mistakes, don't let the home owner do repair work for a house you are buying.

On the bright side the roof is pretty and not leaking anymore. Another bright side is the roof repair man. OMG was he hot. It made the inconvenience of the process a little more tolerable. I thought about taking a photo of him while photographing the roofing process and then sharing it with you dear internets. But then I thought that really crossed the line into creepy. So you will just have to imagine the blonde blue eyed muscled roofing man for yourself.