Whew!

Halloween and All Saints, all done!  The party last night was fun.  I was very, very stressed by the time I got there, but we managed to fill in the last few gaps with games and prizes.  I relaxed as I realized that most of the pressure was coming from myself and not others' expectations of me!  The kids had a lot of fun, as usual, with the games.  There were long lines to play!

These are just a few of the games---mainly the ones I was responsible for providing!

St. Cecelia's Musical Mystery/Cake Walk

My St. Agnes---next year I may need to make her a new costume!

Bl. JP II running the bingo game.

Pinning the halo on our favorite new saint.

St. Nicholas's Coin Toss

I got to visit with some of my friends as I made the rounds, making sure the teens were staffing the games and not just taking over playing them.  One very popular new attraction was the St. Nicholas Coin Toss that I got from Charlotte---the boys just loooved slamming those bags of gold up against the wall and watching them drop into the chimney!

We said our family prayers when we got home, and I took the advice of a grocery-store cashier:  I took an hour-long hot bath with a large glass of wine and a book!  It was awesome!

Obligatory Halloween Post

Our Sunday dessert were Candy Corn Cupcakes which we whipped up out of the box of coconut cake.  The lighting is terrible and somone pointed out on FB that they look radioactive!  They were yummy, though.  Everyone thought the orange-flavored buttercream was genius!

I post this bad picture, of cupcake and Katie, because I want you to see it and her black fingernails with spiderwebs.   She's so creative!

Pip went out as Mojo Jojo from the Powerpuff Girls.  He made his hat out of posterboard and duck tape (white and silver).  The cape is an old, purple, crushed velvet maternity top that I turned into a cape.  I don't know why it came out royal blue in the photo!

The pumpkin: They did a great job on the creative aspect, not to mention the execution.  Katie thinks the little pumpkin being eaten looks bored, not scared.  

Meg went as Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls.  Her BFF went as the one in green, whose name slips my mind.  I made both of their costumes, and I wanted to make a mask of the big eyeballs, but they weren't into it.  So they were very simple.  Fine by me!

Pip and his cohort went to every house in the neighborhood, as usual.  He even dropped off his first pillowcase halfway through and pick up another!  Meg had about half as much, most of which she put in the "Do Not Like" pile.  :-)

We made up a few "movie theater bags" for special events, and I'll let them eat it at certain times for a couple of days, and then we'll get rid of the rest.  Thank God the days of 4-5 kids trick-or-treating are over!  I remember one year with a laundry basket full of candy!

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Now, it's on to the real feast:  All Saints Day!  I was running around, printing, laminating, and generally planning party games yesterday.  Let's pray that we have all we need!  I'm very thankful for all those wonderful bloggers that post their pics and their ideas every year!

Halloween Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...Dark and Cold.  I guess it's going to be a chilly All Hallows Eve!  Maybe I'll stay in while the kids collect candy.

I am thinking...Not.  No time for deep thoughts.  Just trying to keep all the balls in the air!

I am thankful...For the opportunity to see my college boys this past weekend.  It wasn't an ideal weekend for Pete, but I was glad to see him.

From the learning rooms...It was a very "light" week last week, in terms of book learning.  Between my "mental health" day and subsequent illnesses, not much got done.  I expect today and tomorrow will be fairly light, as well.  Today, we'll definitely be focussing on religion and the 2 important feasts this week.  All Saints and All Souls, not halloween!   :-)
I think I'll have to find some supplemental reading for them, so they can be learning while I'm busy.

In the kitchen...Dinner for tonight will be a simple egg dish.  Simple, because everyone is busy getting costumes on.  High protein, because they need a solid foundation to put all that candy on top of.

Last night we made candy corn cupcakes using up the box of coconut cake mix.  Very simple.  We put a dollop of the white batter in the cups first, then dyed it yellow and added that to the cupcakes.  Finally, we dyed the rest of the batter orange and finished off the cupcakes.  They're not perfect because the orange batter is heavier and sinks down into the center, but cute.  We frosted them with orange-flavored, orange buttercream.  Everyone loved this dessert!

I am wearing...Workout clothes.  Ever hopeful.

I am creating...more to-do lists.

I am going...to run lots of errands to get things I need and things that we need for the All Saints party tomorrow.

I am wondering...Why the dog didn't eat his breakfast this morning.  He ate about half.  And this boy is usually pacing the floor for a good half-hour before mealtime!


I am reading....  Very slowly, though.  Enough to know that 1 cupcake last night was one too many, however!  Everyone I talk to who is reading it is appalled and gives up wheat almost immediately!  I think he needs a second book, though, on corn.  Corn is a similar product:  so genetically modified that it wouldn't exist in its current form without human assistance.

I am hoping...that Pete is not allergic to the new puppy.  He played with Gus most of the day on Friday, and by Friday night had some itchy bumps.  Saturday, he was literally covered in hives!  Gus is the only thing new in the house, so I don't know what it could be.

I am looking forward to...the weekend.  Already.

Okay, maybe it's not quite that bad!  I am looking forward to the All Saints Day party being over.  I know I should be looking forward to the party itself, and I'm sure it'll be fun, but it will be a long day of prep and then cleanup afterward.

The thing that I really like about our homeschooling group....and maybe this is true of homeschoolers in general, or Catholics, in general....but lots of people who are not assigned cleanup duty will stay to help, so it usually gets done pretty quickly.

I am hearing...Dh outside, scraping the ice off his car.  It's time for the annual garage cleaning that will allow him to park inside!

Around the house...Trying to keep the house neat for my ongoing mental health.  I was so frustrated about something Saturday (oh, yes, the HIVES!) that I really tried to declutter and simplify in some areas because sometimes all I can control is my house.  Do you do that?  Go through a purging, decluttering cycle when you feel like life is out of control?

One of my favorite things...Curling up with my husband at the end of the day under the down comforter.  I love my bed.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Halloween, All Saints day Mass and party, All Souls Day Mass, AHG board meeting, cleanup in an old cemetery on Friday.


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