Halloween 2007

Terrific evening. The weather was wonderfully mild, which really makes everything easier - no jackets, no umbrellas. Larry was stuck at work (final review for his status as a training store), so Matt took the kids around the neighborhood, along with our neighbor Phillip. Caleb was a pirate and Alana wore the same princess dress that she wore last year (it still fits fine). Matt wore scrubs that I got for him at work.

Alana had enough very quickly, so she came home and helped me, which was super fun. I refuse to purchase candy (it just feels like extortion from the candy industry), so this year I got Halloween bouncy balls. The parents are appreciative and the kids mostly just seem mystified. When someone approached us, Alana would say "Help yourself." She was adorable, quite the little hostess.

Caleb ran all around the neighborhood and got lots of candy, plus a few other things like Play Doh and glo braclets. After he got home, he ended up going back out with Phillip and Phillip's uncle (he and Larry had agreed to do three blocks this year, but with Larry out of the picture, he was free to expand on the original agreement). He was quite happy. Everyone was happy. Larry got home eventually and we all played cards, with the candy spread out on the table next to us. Matt picked out his favorites (anything with mint and all the Milky Ways) and I ate a couple of things (the Milk Duds hit the spot). I told Caleb he could pick out three things to eat (they had a big party at school already, so he'd been eating sweets all day), and he seemed satisfied with that.

Pumpkin carving

Nothing like leaving everything until the last possible minute. Still, we had great fun and the kids were so excited. Here they are with their pumpkins - Mommy helped with the carving, but the designs came from the kids - a scary face for Caleb's and and funny face for Alana's.

And here they are outside in the front yard, where the pumpkins will be on display for the festivities tomorrow.

Walk in the park

It was chilly, but we still had a nice walk, and then went to a local farm and picked some pumpkins for Halloween.

In this photo, Alana is perched on the frisbee golf goal.

North Area YMCA Halloween Party

SUCH a great time, and the Y had many healthier snacks like popcorn and granola bars, and healthier activities - one game involved rolling a huge cloth set of dice and then doing the number of jumping jacks indicated. Very clever - the kids had a great time and no one felt like they were gypped by a lack of candy.

Here's Alana sliding down the giant blow-up slide.

Here's Caleb and Philip playing a trivia game.

Caleb and Phillip went through the Haunted House (put on by the teen program) many times while Alana rested in the lounge and enjoyed her snacks.

BIG NEWS

LARRY QUIT SMOKING. He's been attending a class for several weeks (I saw the class listed in an announcement at work). And today was quit day. It was hard, but he started using the Patch, and it seems to really be helping. I'm so excited - he's quit several times before, but this time, he might actually make it! He told me that about 5 people at work were so inspired by his commitment tthat they're quitting themselves - that's got to help motivate him! Along with the fact that Caleb has gotten old enough to talk about smoking and how bad it is . . .

Back to the gym

I've worked at Upstate for over 7 months and finally joined the rec center gym today. I went last week on a visitor's pass, just to make sure that it worked for me. It's a very nice facility and not crowded at all. My plan is to go twice a week.

I really need to get more exercise. I took Roxy for a long walk every day while I wasn't employed (I think we missed two days in six months). I still walk her most days, but it's a very short walk now - there's just not enough time.

When I worked in downtown Philly I went to Lucille Roberts, which was right across the street. But it was harder to get there because there were so many great restaurants in the vicinity and lots of nice friends to meet at them. Here, there aren't many restaurants and, so far at least, only one friend to meet for lunch. There aren't many stores either - I used to run a lot of errands on my lunch hour. So here in Syracuse, I rarely leave my office all day and I think that's a bad habit to fall into.

It's only two blocks to the gym, so even when the weather gets bad, there's really no excuse not to get over there. Hopefully it will give me more energy too.

Birthday girl

We had a rockin' good time at Alana's 4th birthday party. The weather was absolutely beautiful, so the kids could play both inside and out. Larry and Matt helped decorate the entryway with plastic butterflies.

When the guests arrived, they decorated a bag for the butterfly hunt (later) and could make antennae out of pipe cleaners (I'm wearing mine in this photo). We also had temporary tattoos if they wanted them.

For lunch we had Make-Your-Own-Pizza on Boboli crusts. We had tons of great toppings available, including sausage, ham, pepperoni, 4 colors of bell peppers, mushrooms and pineapple. It was a huge hit. Not surprisingly, Caleb made a meat-lovers special and Alana had plain cheese.

After eating, we went outside to collect the foam butterflies that I hid in the bushes - one area for the older kids and one for the younger kids. I had two prizes, which worked out well - Phillip collected 17 butterflies to win in the older kid category (a dinosaur drawing book) and Nicole collected 10 to win in the younger category (a Hello Kitty book). (Caleb collected 16 and I think he was pretty disappointed to lose by 1.)

Then we went inside for butterfly cupcakes (the idea for which lead to the entire party theme!) I had made strawberry and vanilla, which satisfied everyone but Adam, who wanted chocolate (he's an riot, with his angelic face and devilish spirit, and not just about the cupcake selections!)

Then we had an orgy of gifts to open - gorgeous stuff from everyone, including Polly Pockets, My Little Petshop, a wonderful DoddleBear, a pink guitar, and tons of dress-up stuff. Alana loved everything. Here she's wearing the Snow White outfit from the dress-up set she got from Grandma Bobbie and Grandpa Burt.

Our guests seem to really enjoy themselves and I had a good time too. Another successful event planned and produced by Parties by Danielle.

After the party, our neighbor friend Maddie helped Alana move the butterflies from the entryway to her bedroom ceiling. She was very excited to sleep in her "butterfly room" tonight.

Alana cut her own hair

It was only a little piece, just above her ear. She said it was an accident, but I think it was more of an experiment . . .

Trip to Niagara Falls

Horseshoe Falls (the Canadian falls) from The Maid of the Mist boat. =>




We look pretty soggy at the end of our ride on The Maid of the Mist (Caleb is showing off here, but he spent the ride on the inside deck, while Alana wanted to stay on top - and got really wet!)



We also look soggy after our walk in the "Caves" (when Larry was young, you could actually walk in the caves behind the falls, but now you walk along a wooden walkway in front of the falls).





The American falls at night (they're lighted with colored lights, but it's hard to get a good photo - Larry tried repeatedly).





At the Aquarium.

New glassess

After much delay, I finally got my new glasses (the vision coverage doesn't kick in until 6 months after I started working, and then I had to wait even longer because the the insurance plan didn't have me in their records, requiring additional phone calls to the personnel office, etc). The dirty little secret about these - they're bifocals! I'm having a little trouble getting used to them, but I think I'll like them for reading once I do.

ADDENDUM (11/2/07): I never did get the hang of the bifocals and I tend to read by looking underneath the lower edge. Maybe I just didn't need them yet (though apparently Larry does!)

Casey the Devil Cat

Caught Casey in a proprietary pose on the hood of my car. Classic cat attitude.

All dressed up

Alana just loves dressing up, and she'll be getting some proper dress up clothes for her birthday this month. In the meantime, she makes due - with this adorable result.

Simchat Torah

The kids had a wonderful time at the synagogue's celebration. They marched around at least half a dozen times, but I kept missing a better picture, so this is the only one I got.

Here, Alana sorts through the treats she got.

War, what is it good for, absolutely nothing

Danny ships out to Iraq tonight, to join the 3rd Brigade in Kirkuk. He's convinced that this is a fairly safe area, but that's not what the news says:

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSKHA243542

KIRKUK, Iraq, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Abu Mohammed, a 60-year-old Iraqi Arab, moved to the oil-producing city of Kirkuk 28 years ago because of incentives that included a home offered by Saddam Hussein's Arab nationalist government. But times have changed in Kirkuk, a mixing pot of Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Turkmen and Armenians 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad which is potentially Iraq's next flashpoint.


Gads, what's "safe" in that cauldron anyway? I'm sick to my stomach every time I think about it. Since I haven't been upset enough, I decided to peruse this site, listing all casualties in Iraq:

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/2007.02.html

The only good thing about it - I didn't see anyone from 3rd Brigade and only one casualty in Kirkuk. What the hell is "a non-combat related incident"? It seems like there's a hell of a lot of those, especially for a war zone. Who knows how any of this is categorized? It's a crazy business.

I don't know how I'll last for 15 months. I just pray that it doesn't ruin him completely, assuming he comes back in approximately one piece. Such a waste. All I can think about is the stories I've read in Newsweek - the soldiers who spend all day shouting "Shut the fuck up" to Iraqis; the guy who said, "It's an easy job, you just drive around all day, waiting to get shot at. But you have to hate Arabs."

I feel more mad than sad right now, though I've been on the verge of tears all week. We took him to dinner at TRH last night (along with his lovely friend Michael, safely in college at Georgia Tech), and it's all I could do not to lean across the table and slap him. Stupid boy! Who volunteers for a bloody, mindless lost cause? Where's your sense of self-preservation? Goddammit.

Squirrel thieves

We got some dried corn along with our pumpkins during our apple picking outing this weekend. We added them to the decor in front of our house (I bought the mums on Friday). But this morning, there was no trace of the corn, other than a bit of husk. My theory is that the local squirrels made off with them.

Another lovely fall day

Caleb really wanted to stay home and play computer games, but once we got to the park, he and Phillip played for ages on a big pile of dirt, pretending they were digging for gold. Alana joined them, after collecting leaves and berries for Show and Tell on Thursday.