If you want to be cool...

Alright my peeps, here is my little "shout out" for the day. Actually, I read some commentary on what was and was not acceptable candy to hand out for Halloween - a.k.a. a "kids won't eat this" (and they'll egg your house! *Okay, it didn't say that, but it should have) kind of list. So, the dude was SO wrong!! Check it out here. But, don't waste your time because his list was lame. I am going to post my list, because it is the most correct and hopefully it may save some of you from being Halloween candy losers. Plus, if I post it now, I won't be picking on anyone because how am I to know if they are handing out a no-no candy or not.

You should consider making a better decision if you are thinking about handing out the following:

1. Halloween taffy: this is the BIGGEST no-no. Bleh! We are talking about those taffies wrapped in orange and black paper. COME ON people! I wouldn't feed those to my enemies, let alone my friends, or innocent neighbor children. Just not cool. I distinctly remember shunning ALL houses that gave this. We had a network setup and we would relay messages, such as "Don't waste your time there, they hand out that crappy taffy" I'm serious. Except, one year, this house that was notorious for the stuff suddenly decided to hand out something awesome, after I had skipped them. I was like WHAT THE CRAP! anyway. Don't pass it out or you'll be lame.


2. Nuts: sounds weird, people do it. Don't. It's stupid.


3. smarties: I do like the occasional smartie, as do my children. But, what smarties say about you is that you are cheap. Nobody wants to go to the house that hands out cheap candy. People shun you. Not outwardly, but they do, inside their brains.


4. Tootsie rolls: I actually like tootsie rolls. They are yummy. Many people hate them, especially the big fat ones.This goes along the same lines as smarties though. Don't be cheap. Plus, if you buy the big back of "tootsie fun", you know with suckers, tootsie rolls, flavored tootsie rolls, etc. Some poor children are inevitably going to get left with the rejects: the stuff nobody else would take.


5. Generic sucky/hard candy crap: those random strawberries, butterscotch, and other hard candy wrapped bliss....just don't do it. Unless it's a werther's original, keep it to yourself. (The strawberries are good though)


6. licorice: BLEH! of course this is an entirely personal opinion, but BLEH!

Okay, that's my list of "probably should make a better decision" candy. Now for the good stuff.

You will be exceptionally cool if your candy bowl is rocking the following: (in no particular order)

1. nerds: they are just awesome


2. blowpops, ring pops, or caramel apple suckers: No people, not just any sucker works. Tootsie pops, not so much. Dum dum, a favorite, but I can guarantee the kids won't be chomping at the bit to get to it. So, keep in mind, when going for suckers, pick blow pops, ring pops, or caramel apple suckers.


3. Reese's peanut butter cups: the big ones. Not the miniature. Although, I have been hard pressed to find the minis at anytime other than easter.


4. taffy: laffy taffy to be specific. But not old hard laffy taffy from last year...not cool.


5. Mini candy bars: not "fun size" - mini.


6. Any sour: the best would be cry baby bubble gum (it's got the best of both worlds, sour and gum, kids like gum) or warheads. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.


7. Skittles: these were always the first to go. Who doesn't love the mini packs of skittles. The mini m&m packs are yummy too.


8. Cool toys: Did you ever have houses that gave bouncy balls, or stickers, or play dough. Those people know what it's all about! The candy is awesome, but sometimes something unexpected is all the MORE awesome. Novelty toys. Go with it. We do. Check out oriental trading for fun options


9. Sticky hands: These things ROCK! Somebody should serious hand these out. I'd change my costume and come back. (these ones pictured glow in the dark. Double cool.)


10. pop rocks: too cool for words!

So, feel free to add to this list (I may or may not agree). That's all, I was just kind of on a rant because this "expert" got it ALL wrong. Oh, and no matter what you choose to hand out, the worst mistake you can make is only giving one piece...it makes you seem stingy. (Unless, of course, you are at a trunk or treat with a million kids...that would just break the bank!)

Plum Forgot

By the by, baby is crawling. Started about Saturday with the "thrust- plop" and is now successfully booking it. Keeping his mommy forever on her toes. The silly thing even tried to pull himself up on furniture today. I'm not feeling it... So people, after approx. 3 months of rocking, baby is rolling! (and quite pleased with himself) So send him a shout out. I'm sure he'd appreciate it.
Baby is just shy of 9 months old. (Pretty much on track for a Bowen babe)

Ooky Spooky Fun!

folding arms was the only way we could keep Cooper from picking his nose.

Tonight for FHE we did PUMPKINS!! Yay! The kids started out painting theirs, then when they saw me carving mine, they wanted theirs carved as well.

Cooper painted his black and got a scary face. Mine is a ghost face (spooky). And Kami wanted a ladybug, which I could not do, so we settled on a beautiful pink and purple cat.

We placed them on the back porch this year to hopefully avoid smashed pumpkins... we will see.

I must say, even the walmart's pumpkins were $4 a piece (eek!) they carved very well. Honestly, I think they might be a special jack-o-lantern pumpkin. No lie. All in all, we had a fun night together. (Daddy took the picture and he was on gut duty. Which he did wonderfully. He even saved all the seeds for me. YAY! We love every second we get to see our daddy!)

A little useless knowledge:

Why Carve Pumpkins?
The story of the Jack o'Lantern comes from Irish folklore. Jack was a crafty farmer who tricked the Devil into climbing a tall tree. When the Devil reached the highest branch, Jack carved a large cross in the trunk, making it impossible for the Devil to climb down. In exchange for help getting out of the tree, the Devil promised never to tempt Jack with evil again. When Jack died, he was turned away from Heaven for his sins and turned away from Hell because of his trickery. Condemned to wander the Earth without rest, Jack carved out one of his turnips, took an ember from the devil, and used it for a lantern to light his way. He became known as "Jack of the Lantern."

Today's Events

Okay, actually these are yesterday's events...but I didn't get to blogging them.
Fun things; yesterday Kami and Cooper were sick so Brandon and I did the church swap. I stayed home during sacrament meeting and then Brandon stayed home during primary. I am the primary pianist and our primary program is next week. (Let's just say they needed me)
It was kind of hard to be there without Kami....ironically. Usually it is kind of a fight to get her to stay with her class, etc. But, I just missed her yesterday. They were doing fun things and I knew she would have loved it.
Of course, after church was nap time (duh!) And, of course, it was taking the kids forever to succumb to sleep. kam was up every other minute "Cooper not in his bed." ... Well, finally Brandon had had enough (remember he is our nap ...) He didn't spank any bums but he definitely rose his voice. He came back to take a nap and I could her Kami sobbing "I didn't mean to get out of bed. I'm sorry...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Oh, it broke my heart. She thought her daddy was mad at her. (which he was...you don't mess with Brandon's nap time) Well, the sobbing went on for about 2 minutes. I was sure I could take no more. Than I heard this, "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I'm just a little girl." OH! Break your heart precious! I, of course, made Brandon get out of bed that very second and go comfort his daughter. But seriously, how cute/sad is that?
Kami has been making me so happy lately. She is such a little helper. So fun!
We needed a nice relaxing day, so after naps we watched "Meet the Robinson's" - AWESOME you should rent/buy it. It's on my Christmas list. Cute, cute movie. I can't understand why it didn't do better at the box office...?!
Oh, and we ate this. YUM! I think we have officially found our Christmas morning breakfast. Pair it with some bacon and scrambled eggs and we are set. Of course, breakfast casserole would be missed, so maybe we would do both and be true little piggys! Best thing, we are having the leftovers for breakfast this morning.
That's probably all.

Getting Out

You would never know that we had 8 inches of snow exactly one week ago. The littles and I went to the park for a nice break from the house. The weather and my littles were beautiful. Enjoy the pics.

Landon fell asleep on the way there.

I love this face he's making. Classic. (I had asked him if he knew how to smile. This is what I got)

But Kami smiled for me. Look how cute she is.
Here she is pretending to take a nap like Landon. She forgot to close her eyes.
Look at those crocodile tears...sad :(Mommy and her boys. Not loving my face but TOTALLY loving Landons.I think he looks like his grandpa Bowen in this pic. Not sure why.I was trying to get all three...not so much happening. Cooper would not stay still (surprise!) We will try this again because it definitely has potential for astounding cuteness!

Child Speak

Kami has been saying the funniest things this week. Here are my top three faves:

1. "I just came out to see why Cooper is totally freaking out!" haha. "Totally freaking out" (he, by the way, had fixed something and was completely proud of himself and "totally freaking out")
2. "Oh dang it!" I think she had forgotten her baby doll outside or something...
3. "Here mom, you need take these and put them away because I keep getting into them." This was said about a bag of chocolate chips. hehe. I definitely thought of you Gwen when she said this.

I Loose Again

Baby said his first word today. Guess what it wasn't.... Guess what it was?

Da-da. In all it's glory. It was beyond adorable though. Seriously, he kept calling out to his da-da. TOO CUTE. A little bit of a bummer, but not so much. I will get it on camera for you.

As Promised

Remember a while back when I promised something phenomenal for you guys? If you don't, don't worry, I kind of forgot... typical. I haven't exactly perfected my tag for it...but oh well.
Here is the gist: I post pictures of things I found that I like. Only three this week. (I have more, OF COURSE! But I can't just throw it all out right now, now can I.) That's all. Merry Christmas...or should I say HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Post your favorite surfing finds in the comments. (if you feel so inclined)
I'm making these for my Halloween recital. I haven't yet decided on popcorn balls or rice krispies... either way, how cool is that?These are just caramel apples with spun sugar. Pretty cool. Not a project for this year however.

For this you take a black garbage bag, cut it in 2 inch strips (leaving it attached at top) and then grab and pull. These are a fire hazard, of course, so....yeah, they won't be hanging at our house.

For the Love of

(Cooper has a "baneee" on his lip because he had a cut under his nose that he and his sister deemed bandaid worthy. I thought it was cute. If I had realized that this little insident would result in us having to buy a whole new box of bandaids, I might not have been so amused. Still cute though. The only way I could get him to hold still enough for a photo was to wrap myself around him and hold him still.)

I don't know what it is, but something about Cooper has just been so endearing lately. I lay in bed wishing I could go pull him out of bed just to kiss him and hold him and tell him I love him. Honestly, I lay in bed wishing I hadn't wasted my day not being with him. Actually, this little admission goes for all of my children. The days go by so quickly, I wish I wasn't so involved with doing the things I do so I could be more involved doing the things they do. And then I wouldn't have to lay awake at night thinking about how much I love and miss them...and they're only asleep.

But, back to Cooper. Something about this little boy is just tugging at my heart strings lately. He is so messy and mischievous. He is always into things, breaking things, hurting things...especially himself. But he is so full of love. He is such an affectionate child. Always hugging and kissing. Always happy to see you. He has more personality than a person his size should be allowed. His little scowl just about kills me. It is so hilarious! I'm pretty sure he is giving Jamison a run for his money in stubbornness. And he's only 2.

Lately he has become my little helper...ish. Basically he likes to help in the kitchen and he loves to crawl under beds and tables to retrieve stray toys and what not. But he feels so big and important it makes me happy.

He has one level to his voice: super loud. He is just so full of excitement for life and everyone in it. He reminds me of my brother Brandon that way. He is trying to learn how to talk and is getting clearer every day. Still not understandable, but the guessing is getting easier.

So so much love for this little boy. I am very grateful to have him in our family. He makes life exciting and unexpected... a very enjoyable, albeit tiring combination.

I love you poop! As Ni Hao Kai Lan (one of Cooper's favorite cartoons) says "You make my heart SUPER happy!" Cheesy, but so true.

A Thanks, of sorts.

I just wanted to share this. My digital camera's battery has been going dead for the last week or so. I've semi-looked for the charger but have come up short. Today my camera basically quit. So, of course I was in panic mode to find my charger. (I've got cute kids! They need to be in pictures.) I looked everywhere. I dumped out the basket it was supposed to be in. I dumped out every basket it wasn't supposed to be in (that's a lot of baskets. 10 to be exact). Still no camera charger. (and yes, I did re-organize my baskets after I dumped them, so points for me.) I was getting pretty bummed. I searched another cupboard and then set my sights on pulling out my bookcases to look behind them.
I just knew I was going to have to buy a new charger. I was preparing myself for the $150 we didn't have, and so I knew a new charger was out of the question. Needless to say, I was pretty bummed and discouraged.
I needed to make breakfast and so I left my frenzied search. It was then that a little impression came to my mind "go look in your purse." That seemed to be the most absurd place to look. Seriously? My purse...? Logic would just not put my charger in my purse. The impression came again.
Do you know what, I opened my purse, and there was my charger staring back up at me. I didn't even have to search through my purse (which those of you who have seen the inside of my purse know what a daunting task that would be...)
I wanted to post this to let everyone know that I KNOW my Heavenly Father answers MY prayers. He even answers the prayers I don't pray. I know this sounds stupid, but this was such a personal testimony to me of how mindful my Father in Heaven is of my concerns. I know this camera charger wasn't a big deal, and truly it really wasn't, but we are going through a lot financially right now, as I am sure everyone else is, and one more unexpected bill or purchase was really about to throw me over the edge. I know it sounds stupid...it's just a camera charger. But, my Heavenly Father knew that it ran deeper than that for me. And He answered the prayers I didn't pray to let me know that He knew and He would help me, lift me up, and support me through everything.
Our Heavenly Father is real. He knows us each individually and personally. I would urge you to take the time to thank Him for the little things He does for you every second of your life. Don't get so caught up in your trials and troubles that you forget to see that He is reaching out to help you. (know that this admonition is more for me than it is for you.)
I am grateful for my Heavenly Father's love in my life, and for His constant care. I am grateful that He directed me to my camera charger. I know it was through Him that I found it and I know that this direction was about more than just a stupid camera charger.

Tag

Okay Tiffani...I don't usually do these things, but since you're new to blogging...JUST KIDDING! I LOVE these things. (That's because I am a egotistical cheese butt)
So, 7 random things: (that most people already know because I talk a lot)
1. Lunch is my least favorite time of the day. What do you make for lunch?? Sandwiches? BLEH! I guess I would eat salads everyday for lunch but Brandon is not so much a fan. So yeah, I hate lunch.
2. I have a weird fetish/pet peeve about eyebrows. It really bugs me if people don't tweeze their eyebrows. (Please, don't be worried, I'm not shallow enough for it to bug me if friends and family don't tweeze, it's basically something I just hold against movie stars/tv people) I don't know what my problem is! Take for instance, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", with Sara Jessica Parker; CAN NOT watch that movie. AAGH! I just want to jump into the tv and tweeze her eyebrows. I have problems. (P.S. With that being said, please, nobody look at my eyebrows.)
3. I was a math major in college (terrible college student, by the way) I really have an unhealthy relationship with math, especially algebra. I could pretty much do it all day long! (By the way, if anyone has an extra math book laying around....I'm just saying, I could take it off your hands. They can get pretty heavy, I don't want you to get back strain or what not.)
4. I have always wanted to be a draftsman and design houses. Always. (at least since high school) I love construction. One of my favorite smells is a freshly framed house. I love walking through them and envisioning what they will look like. It also reminds me of my dad. I would love to design and build a house one day. Just to see my vision come off paper.
5. High School Musical: STUPIDEST SHOW EVER! Seriously, I hated it...Is there something wrong with me? Everybody loves it. I want to barf. Quite honestly, I have watched it about 4 times. Every time I say to myself, there must be something wrong with me, maybe I just didn't watch it correctly the first time. No people, it just isn't a good show. It's lame. Please do not take offense, every one who reads this blog, because I am pretty sure ALL of you loved it. I, by no means, think you are stupid or lame for liking it. Seriously, I don't. If anything at all, I get the feeling that I must be stupid for not liking it. But honestly, so not a fan! uugh! (that is the sound of me throwing up a little in my mouth.) By the way, if you hated it as well, could we maybe form a support group?
6. I love clothes. I don't buy clothes. Heck, half the time I don't even wear clothes (unless pj's count as clothing) But I really like them. Especially skirts, dresses, sweaters, and shoes. Oh, and coats and exercise clothes. And pants...and necklaces and bangles. That's all. I don't like those ugly pants that go up to your boobs though. Somebody should just tell people that isn't a good look. No matter how model hot you are.
7. I love rain. I love Pottery Barn. I love fall. and I love cooking/baking and planning parties/events. And...that will be all

So pretty much since Tiff tagged the only people that read my blog....I will tag the following people who might...maybe...once in a while. I tag Jen D. (my cousin's wife), Bambi P. (my cousin), Auntie Mo (you know who you are), Jandee Jo, Kim B, Emily W, and Melissa. If I didn't tag you (and your upset) it is just because I recalled you having done one of these recently. Or, you don't update your blog. luvs.

Creatures of Habit

I have been noticing a bit of a trend going on in our house. Apparently, certain occasions call for certain rituals. Two occasions in particular. First we have Sunday afternoons. In Brandon's house growing up, Sunday afternoons were for naps; a custom Brandon would very much like to continue in our house. While we have yet to embrace it whole heartily, there is a ritual, a tradition of sorts, that is of utmost importance to Kami. It would seem that Sundays are for nachos. Every Sunday when I ask what we want to eat when we get home from church Kami always replies nachos. In fact, on a couple occasions I suggested something else, even made something else. Kami exclaimed both times "No mom, I'm not going to eat that. Sunday is nachos!"

Cutest thing, a couple Sundays ago, before we got out of the truck, Brandon asked the kids what we were going to eat. Cooper looked sheepishly at Brandon and whispered as quite as he could "dog dogs". He wanted hot dogs. Apparently he was nervous about what Kami would think. It was so cute, like it was some special secret. Cute kid.

Tonight I learned of another ritual/tradition I was unaware of. Kami came up to me and said, "Mommy we need to make hooding (pudding)" I must have looked at her a little quizzically because she asked "Is tonight family hoe leaving (family home evening)?" "Then we need to make hooding!" I guess we've had pudding for fhe treat on a pretty regular basis. She must think it is a necessity. Silly girl.

....We do really like pudding....