I lost my funny

I have a problem. I know...I have many problems, but this problem is making the whole blogging thing not work for me. I lost my funny. It's gone. The thing is, if I knew where it went, I could get it back, but even that is too much for my brain to handle.

I miss it. I wrote a few posts last week that I never published because they just weren't that great. I don't know if it is because I was gone for so long that I forgot how to be funny, or if it is because I am running out of material (though the three maniacs do make me laugh every single day several times a day. Unless...egads...perhaps I was never funny in the first place...bite your tongue)!

I am just having trouble translating each event on paper. Too many of the funny things are location jokes--you had to be there to find them funny. Which is a shame because I feel quite certain that you would laugh. Guffaw even at times. I know you think you don't guffaw, but you do. And if you were here for some of the happenings with the maniacs, you would recognize your guffaw. Or chortle. Only, these days, my material is lucky to get a slight giggle and I am pretty sure that even that giggle is meant for something that happened earlier that was much funnier than my writing.

Usually I would sit at the computer and start typing with no idea of where I was headed (which was pretty evident in my writing). Now I'm finding that I may need some direction. Please share any ideas or topics you either want to address or you think will bring me my funny back. Don't be offended if I don't use your topic immediately--the words aren't as plentiful these days, so it may take some time.

If you would practice your guffaw or chortle now, I would really appreciate it. Seriously--now. I know it's not funny, but if you practice doing it every time I write something it will become automatic for you to laugh at it and would take a lot of pressure off of me. Thanks. Hopefully tomorrow the funny will find me, since I'm clearly incapable of finding it.

This is NOT a date!

Yesterday was not a good day for my son. He just woke up with an attitude and when I told him to go upstairs to find his "nice" self he told me that his "nice self" ran away and would only come back if I got him a 3DS. He will be missed...

So after getting in trouble like forty-seven times, we all went out to wait for the bus. He barely gave me his cheek to kiss and then he was gone. I hoped that after school would prove to be better, but that didn't pan out for me either. At dinner he got in trouble for antagonizing his sisters and not sitting at the table properly. He then got in trouble for tackling his sister and making her cry. Not. A. Good. Day.

When I tried to tuck him in, he refused to look at me. I crawled next to him and tried to put my head under his face--to see his eyes and make him laugh. His response?
"Eeww--I don't know what you think you are doing, but I am not going to kiss  you on the lips. This is NOT a date!"

And to think that at one time he wanted to marry me!

Mouths of babes...

Addison: "Bwrayden, I can't find my folder [for school]--do you know where it is?"

Brayden: "No."

Addison (getting upset): "But I have to find it! Ryan do YOU know where it is?"

Ryan: "No."

Addison (frantically): "Where IS it?!"

Brayden: "Why are you getting so upset?"

Addison (exasperated): "Because I don't want to end up like YOU two..."

I hope this is even half as funny as it was when it actually happened this morning--I love that the five-year-old already knows she needs to be more together than the rest of us!

Hawkeyes--NOT a repeat and and extremely concise (considering the source)

Playing Slap Jack with my children, my son was dealing from the bottom, the middle, other people's hands...

Me: "You need to put the cards into a pile and give one to your sister, one to me, and one to you...one to your sister, one to me, and one to  you...one--"

Brayden: "What's the big deal? Why can't I do it MY way?"

Me: "Well, you need to do it the correct way so that you are able to play cards with others. Like maybe you could join our card games when we play with Grandma and Grandpa."

Ryan: "Yeah, and you'd better make sure you do it the right way when you play with Grandma. That woman's eyes are like a HAWK!"

My children make me smile...

Still in October

I'm not sure I want to remember these old posts!
http://anothertiredmommy.blogspot.com/2011/10/always-second-fiddle.html

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RYAN!

My RyKat is SEVEN today (of course, THIS was Saturday)...so many things to say about her, but sticking with my plan! It's another short one--I hope you like it...
http://anothertiredmommy.blogspot.com/2011/10/no-nudies.html

There needs to be an APP for that...

I guess I should have the goal of getting on here at least once a week this summer. That's reasonable, right? Of course, I haven't even been able to manage once a week since early April (I don't think.  No--I don't think, but that's a story for another day...), so I'm not sure how it is going to get better. Perhaps I think that having three fighting and screaming children hanging on me will help me in my quest. It won't. Although the material is flowing, I am far too frazzled and emotionally exhausted to form sentences, let alone type them out for people to read.

I want to develop an App (BAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry--those of you who know me know how LUDICROUS the idea of me developing anything really is quite comical! (I want the joke to be that I cannot even develop film, but I'm thinking that would be an anachronism at this point in time--yes, I get it--I'm old.)

So this APP that I speak of would somehow be able to read our thoughts--only the ones that we want it to read--so that when we are so exhausted we don't even have to speak. OR, when the point we are trying to make is trapped in our brain, said APP will be able to decipher it for us. Like the thoughts you are having RIGHT now, knowing that you will never get back the last two minutes that you spent reading this...


Anyway, if I could have that APP then I would be able to post daily--maybe even three or four times a day (don't panic--it ain't happening!) and there would be less rambling (NOW you perk up?!) because it would be able to decipher my point. All of my entries would go from forty pages to four lines!

I'm most excited about this fictitious APP because I am an AMAZING writer. In my head. Before I go to sleep. And in the shower. Or when I'm driving. Really--I am. I don't want to toot my own horn or anything (yes I do...), but I have "written"  (in my head) some H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S material in the past--some things that had me laughing so hard that I got soap in my eye or had to pull over the car. I have even gotten out paper so that I could write down my thoughts, but they are never there when I need them. MOST inconvenient. So now I am only mediocre and my musings will forever go unheard. Until I get that APP...

PLEASE validate me...I'm needy!

I've been thinking (I know--no good can come of THAT...)--it would be nice to know more about my posts. You know--like which posts are funnier than others (TOASTER) or just as funny or maybe not funny at all. I haven't gotten a lot of participation when I do these...participation things on here (Meme Monday), but I'm willing to take that risk.

Half the time Almost ALL of the time, I just sit down and start typing with no idea of what I want to write. I type like a lunatic for twenty to thirty minutes, hit publish and hold my breath waiting for my daily affirmation in the form of a comment or a "like" on facebook. OR I wait for someone to tell me that it is all gibberish and I should consider therapy over blogging (or at least along WITH blogging). I know--you can tell that I do all of that since most of what I write is nonsensical rambling, but would you scroll down my ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-NINE other posts to see A. If you like ANY of them and 2. Which ones you like the most? I know it's presumptuous to say, "Which oneS you like the most," but I want to get some real feedback here. You can TRY to like more than one, right? Surely you could like five or six out of one hundred and THIRTY-NINE...right?  Helloooooo...? Cricket...cricket...OH--you must be READING and THAT is why you aren't answering! You had me worried for a second...

Not so "wordless" Wednesday

So this is my first "Wordless Wednesday" and here I am using WORDS again...oops! I think we BOTH know that I cannot POSSIBLY go completely WORDLESS! I also don't know what pictures I should be posting, but here goes:



HA! I know there are words, but those words are oh-so-very-funny!



I think we can all agree, this couldn't be more perfect for ME!


And finally, for my Jersey readers (or anyone who has heard anything about Jersey)...



...and this is REALLY what people said about Camden when I first moved here! I guess that makes ME Simba! Not the FIRST Disney character I would want to be, but it could be worse!

So much for being "wordless!" I'll try again next week!

Everything (well--almost everything) is stolen...

There are SO MANY THINGS for me to discuss, I don't know WHERE to begin! FIRST, I have to address the fact that someone on facebook must have plagiarized my blog. Tell me THIS doesn't sound just like most of what you read on here EVERY time I write something:

Tony Truscio's Photos

I would take action, but--LOOK--something shiny! Where was I again? Oh--facebook. So I want to create "tabs" on my blog and I have NO IDEA how to do it. One tab I want is "Funny Facebook Findings" (I know--it's overkill on the alliteration--I LIKE it, so leave me alone!) and another is "Funny movie/TV quotes." I know--that one needs work, but I'll have time since I HAVE NO IDEA how to do it! I also want a tab for Braydenisms, Ryanisms and Addisonisms(?) Addieisms...? There are others, but I really hate when people say what they are GOING to do instead of simply DOING. That said, I would like to share some funny facebook findings with you. Don't go--even if you HAVE seen them splattered all over my facebook page and again on yours, you MAY learn something new and you MAY even LAUGH. OR you will be bored out of your mind and annoyed that you will never get this five minutes back. It's hard to say, but why not give it a chance?

The first thing on my list is a headline from LifeScript (which I don't even REMEMBER what it is or WHY it is sending me facebook headlines, but anyway). It reads: 

Now Demi Moore is rumored to have a substance abuse problem. Why do so many celebs get into the addiction cycle? 

Really, LifeScript? REAL-LY?! We are now able to write things like "...RUMORED to" followed by questioning celebs and their drug usage based on...RUMORS now?! I do not have any feelings for or against Demi Moore, I just have a BIG problem with the fact that we can now readily admit that we are basing the terrible things we say about people on rumors instead of fact. It used to be that writers had to at least PRETEND to have solid proof. Now they are just like, "Listen to THIS rumor...can you BELIEVE celebs have these drug problems?!" Speaking of DRUG problems...:

David Hughes

I LOVED this when I saw it and isn't it SO true?!  We've blurred the line between parenting and abuse and even made it so much more difficult to parent now. Everything I do is met with guilt and uncertainty and I am P-R-E-T-T-Y sure my parents didn't have that problem. Insecurity is not a helpful trait to have when raising little people. Just sayin'  

Talking about insecurity, my friend's daughter and the tiger in this picture seem to be just secure enough:

Liz Kapelus

  Speaking of HUNGRY...

...NOT that the tiger is hungry. I'm pretty sure my friend's sweet daughter is, because aren't kids ALWAYS hungry when you take them to the zoo or...ANYWHERE that isn't your kitchen table for an actual MEAL that a parent has prepared?!

How about THIS:

 Jackie Connolly's photo

As a crazed lunatic mother trying to keep it together, I can't help but think of horribly sadistic things to make me smile. YES, SMILE. And laugh. Out loud. To steal a line from The Middle (Which you REALLY need to be watching if you aren't already) "Don't judge ME. People do Meth!"  (And they DO).

If I don't get a laugh out of someone else's pain, I get one from being incredibly goofy. For example,

THIS:

Tom Jones's photo

OR THIS:

Mobile Uploads

I am actually ASHAMED to admit to how often I repeat these lyrics in  a week. SOOOO ASHAMED...

Speaking of shame, here's an idea

Tony Truscio's photo

for those in your life who may draw shame for one reason or another...you know--maybe this person has a blog that rambles on AND ON...or something like that...

 My last few favorites speak directly to my life.

Will Shafer

I'm pretty sure this is MY fridge. Oh no--wait--there isn't disgusting food growing on the outside of it and there is actually a message of SOME kind indicating that someone ANSWERED the phone and took a message...

Add caption

I get most of my laughs from facebook status updates, though now that I am blogging, I don't keep track of them as much. My friend, Jim kept me entertained for over a year with his updates. I seriously looked forward to them every day until the facebook intervention of 2009.  At that time I was given a limit as to how much facebook time was considered unhealthy. I was about five times OVER that number, so I broke away from checking updates. 

Today, Jim wrote:  

Sometimes I get emails that have so many possible sarcastic responses that I'm just overwhelmed and I have to answer them seriously. I call this irony paralysis.

I call THAT extremely funny. AND extremely true. 

Yesterday he wrote:

"OK so until Tom told me just now that it was real, I thought this line that Newt Gingrich wanted to build a city on the moon was some kind of joke. Seriously people that guy is batshit effing crazy. Santorum would be a better president."

I love this more because I find Jim to be one of the most intelligent voices when it comes to politics and he usually stays pretty level. And if he is calling for SANOTORUM over Newt, trust me--there's a problem!

My friend whose daughter I have never met. but am convinced is somehow my daughter, Ryan's twin,  frequently posts about her conversations (and I swear she needs to write a book with the same name)

Fromthebackseat: 

‎"Noa, can you bear to buy the hot lunch at school today?"

"Yes."
"Good, because I'm running really late and that will save me a lot of time."
"Wait! What does 'bear to' mean? Can I change my answer?"

"FromtheBackSeat: "I don't want to have only one life!"
FromtheFrontSeat: "Well, some people believe in reincarnation."
FromtheBackSeat: "But I don't. Plus, I would want to know all the same people I know in this life. And when you get old you get forgetful. So in the next life I wouldn't recognize anyone."

AND

OutforIceCream: "Noa, will you share some hot fudge with me?"
"No."
"Why not? I always share with you!"
"Mom! Just think of how long you were alive before I came along and all the hot fudge you had all to yourself!"""

Or this from my friend Jen's son who sounds like he is going to be the next Michael Corlione:

"Will is on a roll tonight. He's calmly refusing to go to bed (finishing a new puzzle on the kitchen floor). He says, "I'm just here to have fun, Mom--not to complain. That's what kids do--we have fun. Unless you don't let us do what we want. Then we get agressive. And then you have to be careful with us." Uh--should I consider this a threat?!"

  

This I took from my husband's friend, Don:

"I volunteered in Alex's kindergarten class this morning. I took three things from my experience. One, kids are awesome! Two, teachers don't get paid enough. And three, I miss being in an environment where picking your nose is socially acceptable."

...and his friend, Julie shared this:

Dylan's refering to his testicles as his 'consequences...'" 

To which I responded:

 If only more boys felt like that...(Just kidding!)

I included the "just kidding" because this week has been full of defensive people who don't yet know that I think pretty much EVERYTHING is funny and a joke (Unless it's from my husband. Or my children. Or if it's REALLY early. Or late. Hmmm...)

Speaking of private parts and people justifying  their jokes, take a look at this post stolen from my friend, Tricia's page:

Some people are really just ungrateful boobs no matter how much you bend over backwards for them and go above and beyond. Nothing will make them happy.

• .
• • Maybe they weren't breast fed enough as infants, thus making them unsatisfied in life. Ironic that you called them boobs, don't you think?
    

    Wednesday at 10:36am ·  ·  2
  •  Unfortunately I dont there is any correlation between my boobs and them...
    

    Wednesday at 10:37am ·  ·  1
  •  ooooooooooh sooooooooooooo not what I meant! I meant the boobs I have dealt with... lol
    

    Wednesday at 10:37am ·  ·  1
  •  Now this is funny!
    

    Wednesday at 10:38am ·  ·  1
  •  Boobs make me happy
    

    Wednesday at 10:43am ·  ·  1
  • 
    

    At least NOW you are laughing--at least I am laughing anyway...
    

    Wednesday at 10:55am · 
  • I hope you know I am only joking, and it was all meant to just make you laugh.
    

    Wednesday at 10:56am · 
  • 
    

    I don't know who could read this and NOT laugh!
    

    Wednesday at 11:08am · 

This made me laugh (from my friend at The Joyful Jungle):

 "Emma and her little friend from school decided tomorrow would be a great day for a play date. Problem is, neither of them know their phone numbers, last names or addresses."

The next two appeal to my former life as an English teacher and a student who actually CARED about how many spaces there should be between sentences.

AND

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html

.

Did you click on it? DID YOU? Good. My friend Melissa (find her at Adored Before and  Designher Brand) touched on grammar in this update:

"We're at the point now where punctuation is all but ignored in text conversations. Capitalization, you're on deck. Spaces, you're probably next."

I stole this next update from Juliana (a woman I respectfully call "The Child Whisperer" because Brayden was lucky enough to have her mold him when he was a toddler):

"The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson."

How about my own post last night:

Braydenisms:" Do you have to PAY to get a job? Then why doesn't EVERYONE have one?" "When I get older, I am gonna stay home and make my wife work. That is if anyone WANTS to marry me!" "Remember when we lived in our "mansion" and Daddy just stayed home and played on the computer? Now YOU just stay home and play on the computer..."

And that is JUST what I am doing, isn't it?! I will close on this quote I stole from my friend Gayle at 

 The Farmer's Daughter of Fredericksburg:

"I think this quote is so applicable to motherhood: 'The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes selves with everyone else's highlight reel.'"

As long as we are all as happy as THIS girl (or her camel) at the end of the day--or EVER-- life is good!

Tripping

I gave MY kids a terrible Christmas present...

So I viewed this link on SuperMomWannabe's blog and I couldn't stop laughing. After sharing it like a thousand times on facebook, I couldn't resist doing it to my own children. I'm sure I am too late for Jimmy Kimmel's show, but it was still fun. I found it HILARIOUS, but they are MY children, so of course I did. Admittedly, my video isn't HALF as funny as the previous clip, but I had a ball doing it! After we stopped taping, my daughter said, "I DO like bananas, Mommy--I was just kidding~thank you for thinking of me!" and gave me a huge hug and kiss. SOMETIMES, the madness is worth it...

I Gave My Kids a Terrible Present ~ Jimmy Kimmel's YouTube Challenge | SuperMomWannabe.com

Blogging and Skiing and Babies

How can the back crawl? This is the sentence I was given to "verify" my blog with a place that may or may not pay me to advertise for them. I really have NO CLUE what I am doing these days. One morning, with encouragement from my brother, I decided to start typing--this time, for others to read. I even posted some things that I had written for no particular reason and saved for no particular reason. I know that I want to write--I just didn't know where or how to publish. Blogging seemed like a great answer and I really enjoy it (aren't you glad?!). Unfortunately, it is a little more complicated than this non-technologically-savvy former school teacher/stay-at-home mom can handle. I honestly thought I would just type, people would read and companies would pay. Wouldn't it be great if it could be that easy?! I guess if it were that easy, EVERYONE would blog. Wait--everyone IS blogging!

I have a master's degree--surely I can figure out what I'm doing here and make money doing it. Right? I think I need to go back to changing diapers. What I need to do is figure out how to make money so that I can HIRE someone to take care of...well, EVERYTHING except for the writing on the blog. I could email my writing, they could proofread, because I honestly don't ever do that--SUCH a horrible thing for an English teacher to admit--though not the WORST offense I've committed against my English-teacher persona...but I don't even LOOK at my writing after I type it because if I DID, I would NEVER publish it. I am incapable of looking at ANY work without seeing errors and I am not confident enough in my own work to publish it without worrying or being embarrassed. If I hit the final period and quickly hit publish, it is out of my hands. This logic probably makes no sense to anyone but me, but that is the case with A LOT of my...reasoning.

 Nikanomics for instance. My husband coined this term in early 2005 to describe my "ability to find deals." Those quotes are there not because HE admires my ability to find deals--they are there because I admire my ability to find deals. I'm pretty sure HIS definition of Nikanomics has something to do with buying things we don't need and spending money we don't have, but THAT is looking at a half empty glass, don't you think? This is the same logic I used when I was trapped on a mountain (you say hill, I say mountain) in Ellicotville, NY when I was in high school. My mom borrowed my aunt's skis for me for my first time skiing. They were CROSS COUNTRY skis, which could explain all of the falling and tripping and crying. It also explains how my skis crossed each other making me tumble and lose one of them while I was in the middle of the mountain, terrified. "She's skiing on ONE ski!" escaped the lips of those lucky enough to witness the debacle. Small children whipped by me, shooting snow in my face, pointing and laughing and when I was finally approached by someone I knew, I calmly said, "It's fine. I'm waiting for the helicopter." "The HELICOPTER?!" "Yes. I am going to wait for the helicopter to come and get me. I WILL NOT go down this mountain--the helicopter will take care of me. I'll just climb up that little ladder thingy."

After several hours and NO helicopter, I finally eased my way down the mountain--ON MY A@##--only to be greeted by the same little punks who had blown snow in my face. Not my proudest moment and I swore I would NEVER ski again. Luckily in college my roommate wouldn't let me give up on skiing. Our senior year she took me to a place outside of Rochester and I used actual DOWNHILL skis. WHO KNEW?! It took me HOURS (and a few Hot Toddies--no not men, drinks, though I'm pretty sure the cute men inspired me as well!) to even GO UP the mountain, but when I finally DID, I made it down without incident and was able to do it three times before they closed.

Unfortunately, my time between ski trips was so great that I was never able to REALLY get over my fear. While I was in grad school, I went with my then boyfriend and some friends who all were able to ski right out of the womb. They went up the hills without trepidation and I decided to hang out and wait for them at the lodge. That of course was NOT cool and they wouldn't hear of it. They all said they would sacrifice their fun and stay with me on the bunny hill. MORTIFYING. My boyfriend was the first sucker hero to get stuck with me spend time with me.

As the children and other beginners (...other CHILDREN) went up the T-bar gracefully, I slipped and slided like a bear on roller skates. When we approached the top, I could feel the sweat forming on my brow. My boyfriend kept reassuring me, telling me I would be fine, but one of the worst parts of skiing for me is getting to the top of the mountain (okay--I KNOW it was a hill, but it FELT like a mountain!) and exiting the J-bar, T-bar, chair lift--whatever. WITH. GOOD. REASON. My boyfriend elegantly exited the ramp as I tried to ski away, but I wasn't able to move. Terror washed over me as I lunged forward only to remain where I was. Well, not where I WAS exactly...the bar had SOMEHOW worked its way up the back of my jacket and began CARRYING me down the mountain. I was floating in air like the freakin' coyote after the road runner gets him that ONE last time before he FALLS OFF A CLIFF! The "ride" stopped and the person running it put it in reverse so that I might find land again. I swear the same kids who shot snow at me years ago were ON THAT T-BAR laughing at me that day. I don't blame them--if I hadn't been laughing hysterically, the mortification of what had happened may have caused me to stay at home. FOREVER.

Back to my point--logic. I employed my sense of logic when I went into labor with my son as well. In between tears and cries of agony, I "calmly" told my husband (in my "a helicopter will surely come to save me!" voice): "Just tell the doctor to cut me open and lift the baby out THAT way. Really. It just makes the most-AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHH SENSE. Have him cut me open and take it out. It's fine--I'll be fine if he does that. Tell him. Tell HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMM!" Needless to say, the doctor did not support elective C-sections while the mother was currently laboring a healthy baby (who CLEARLY hated his mother). Duly. Noted. What REALLY makes me laugh is that a story about how to make money blogging ended with the delivery of my son--and when I put it THAT way, it sounds so very wrong! Only I am able to go on THAT many tangents. Who will EVER pay me for THOSE?!

"Prewarding:" The Newest Thing at Our House

So I told you already that Ryan wanted to go as "fun" for Halloween, but "fun" changed each time we went somewhere.After she was "fun," she was (what she refferred to as) a "ghost bride." She wore a green and pink (BRIGHT green and BRIGHT pink) striped shirt, a pair of Addison's jeans (ie-two sizes too small) and an old sleeveless bridal costume that she got for her birthday two years ago. I seriously need to learn how to post pictures so you can witness her wardrobe! I also need to post their Halloween...creations...so that you can witness for yourself Addison's Batman/Snow White masterpiece or Brayden's Spiderman/Cinderella debacle. At least they are creative... We were pretty booked last weekend, which I liked. I love taking my kids AWAY from my house. Maybe it's because they fight at home. Maybe it's because they make messes. Maybe it's because I see ELEVEN loads of laundry and a food-covered floor that I simply refuse to clean staring back at me. Whatever the reason, my kids go out--A LOT! The Saturday before Halloween was a prime example. Addison's very best friend from school (and her mom) told us that our mall was having trick or treating on Saturday morning and a local glass-blowing museum (which is set up like the most adorable small town) was doing the same on Sunday. "Fun," 'Beauty" and Karate Guy ( before they "created" costumes, they decided to wear the costumes as they were intended--except for Ryan (who was "Fun"). Addison wore an old Belle costume and Brayden wore his Gi (Karate robe), tied a red rope around his head and called himself a ninja.) decked themselves out in their costume--ON THEIR OWN I might add-- to head out in the freezing monsoon that enveloped our town. I shouldn't complain about the weather--everyone else seemed to be fighting "Snowtoberfest--" we were lucky by comparison! We rushed from the mall to basketball practice with a pit-stop home to "lose" "Fun" and "Beauty." While at basketball, another friend called to remind me that her church was having a Halloween party-trunk-or-treat chili cookoff and they would love for us to come. VERY exciting. THEN ANOTHER friend (this story is making me look MUCH more popular than I am...) called to see if we wanted to go trick-or-treating with them at Walmart at four. Hmmm. As I was trying to figure out the logisitics, Brayden and I stopped at Shop Rite to find pumpkins. They were out, but luckily THEY were having trick or treating, so thirty dollars (and one excited boy with his own bag of candy that his sisters did not get) later (cider, donuts, pretzels, chicken...) we headed to a different store. I already complained about the price of the pumpkins in one of my last posts, so let's move ahead to when we got home. The girls were "counting" all of their candy from the mall. Brayden joined them and I attempted to fill my husband in on all of the events we may or may not be attending. Unfortunately, my children cannot be alone together for more than five minutes without fighting. As the arguments ensued, I found myself saying to my husband (seconds after I decided Walmart would be too much), "Maybe we SHOULD go to Walmart. If we stay here they are probably going to get in trouble and we may not even BE ABLE to go to the church party tonight..." I was lost in the thought when I noticed the look on my husband's face. "What?" "WHAT?! We are going to "preward" them now? Let them do something fun BECAUSE they are children who get in trouble so to prevent them from misbehaving we are going to take them somewhere fun?!" "When you put it THAT way..." I laughed. "And really," he continued, "how many times are they going trick-or-treating? WE went trick or treating ONE TIME when we were kids. Once. Brayden has already been TWICE, they all are going tonight AND tomorrow, AND IT ISN'T EVEN HALLOWEEN YET!" He makes a valid (if not uncharacteristically LOUD) point. When did this happen to me?