. . .And I do my little turn on the catwalk. . .

I almost forgot to post this, but it's something I do NOT want to forget. A couple weeks ago Richard and I went to a women's club annual fashion show. This is a big fund-raiser event in Naperville at one of the posh country clubs. It includes lunch, a silent auction and a fancy fashion show. We were enjoying this afternoon with about 400 women from the area. Richard was invited to go AS A MODEL. He, along with the mayor, a Chicago area radio DJ, and a local college Dean of Fine Arts (or something) were asked to join the professional women models to show the men's line. So, there he was, strutting his stuff on the catwalk to the applause of all the women. I didn't have my camera and the pictures I took with his phone didn't turn out because I just didn't know how to work it very well. Bummer. But take my word for it, he's. . ."too sexy for his shirt."

Twilight trailer

This is for you Maddie (and all other Twilight lovers out there.) A new trailer you may not have seen yet. Click here.

I Voted

Yay! I'm so glad it's almost over. I'm so tired of political debates. "Can't we all just get along?" (My favorite Rodney King quote.)
I am very fearful for the future of our country. I'm also extremely cynical and have almost lost all hope that it will get much better. I have lost a lot of faith in our government and our leaders. I think most of them are corrupt and have their own selfish interests at heart (both sides). I think we're in for big trouble and all I can say is. . . get your food storage ready. Sorry for the downer (wha-wha). Are any of you more optimistic? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Pancakes

 
I love 'em! And why do I love them so much? Because my kids ALL love them too. This is the one thing that they beg me to make on a regular basis. They eat them 'til they're stuffed and wish they had room for more. I have heard them say many times that I should open a pancake restaurant. They also think I am somewhat of a pancake artist, which they think could be the draw for the restaurant. I am proficient with Mickey and Minnie and have been successful with Goofy and sometimes Donald. My Mickey always wears a top hat and bow tie, but I serve way more Minnie's in this house. I can do hearts and stars on request and any name you want.
Pancakes are my affirmation that I can cook good stuff that everyone likes. They are the standard for sleep-over breakfasts. And every guest agrees--They are yummy. My kids especially like my homemade syrup (which isn't really mine. It's the same syrup my mom used to make). If you've never tried it it's super easy and really yummy.

Syrup
1 C. packed brown sugar
1 C. white sugar
1 C. water
Bring to a boil and then add 1 tsp. maple extract. Serve hot.

On one condition

Lauren was experimenting with the power of publicly guilting parents into doing what she wants them to do. This was the note I found written on the driveway the other day after she was begging me to go out and play soccer with her, but I just did not have time to do it. Apparently she thought I wasn't showing her any love. I didn't get the word "me" in the photo, but it was there. I'm sure you can figure out where it goes. And just so you have an idea of the scale, here's the whole thing.

Just in time for all the neighborhood families to walk by and wonder who the mean parents were that didn't love their children. Nice.

Happy Halloween

This was the year of many costumes. Several years ago we decided to start getting a new costume only every other year. This because our costume trunkS were becoming very full and I figured that we really had a pretty good selection on hand. There was no need to put effort, time, or money into this every single year. Well, this was the off year and instead of picking a costume and "being" that thing for the Halloween season, my kids (in very predictable fashion) couldn't quite decide or wouldn't until the last minute. So, we ended up with a total of 9 different costumes this year. None of them great and unbelievably bad photos of the ones we were even able to get. So, here's what we ended up with.
Ward Party
Ellie-Minnie Mouse
Lauren- prom queen vampire (no photo)
Emma- witch (no photo)
Maddie- Bella from Twilight (no photo)
They were all so busy running around doing stuff, I never got a chance to get a photo of them.

School
Ellie- Princess (photo shows under skirt all bunched up)
Lauren- Scary vampire

Trick-or-Treating
Ellie-pioneer girl
Lauren-rock star?
Emma- vampire (it was handy because Lauren had just taken it off)
Maddie- nothing. No trick-or-treating anymore. She stayed home and made the traditional chili

It's embarressing really, but oh well. They had fun and got gobs of candy, and isn't that what Halloween is all about anyway? Wait, what is Halloween about really?
The weather was PERFECT. Better, even, than most of our Sacramento Halloweens. We were out in short sleeves and it wasn't even cold. Now that is what makes a great Halloween to me. We couldn't have asked for better.