Sunday, October 31, 2010

Holy Halloween!

Last night was Trick-or-Treating here in Selinsgrove. 
For some reason, they assign a night and a time for this celebration. 
(Yes, I know it sounds strange, but I LOVED having a time limit, because we were done at 8pm, and had no one come after that.) 

This year, I decided to give out juice boxes (or Capri Sun pouches).  I had purchased 200 in preparation for this night.  I had been told by some people that the street we live on is THE place for trick-or-treaters, and I thought 200 was a good estimate. 

I was SO wrong.

Trick-or-Treating was scheduled to start at 6pm.  Right on the dot, the doorbell began to ring. 
 I saw lots of cute costumes, and people were THRILLED with the juice boxes, even the teenagers. 
I never had time to shut the door, the kids just kept coming. 
At 6:50, I was down to my last juice box. 
Yes, 200 kids in less than an hour.
SERIOUSLY??
I panicked for a bit, then remembered the candy the kids have been accumulating from previous Halloween parties.  I ran and grabbed a bucket full of their candy.
I started to hand out the candy one Tootsie Roll at a time.
It sucked to go from hearing exclaims of delight (Cool!  A juice box!  Thanks!) to a barely audible "thank you."
Even then, I ran out of candy at about 7:20.  Luckily, a friend of mine showed up in the nick of time with a car full of candy from a Trunk-or-Treat.  She immediately brought me some candy from her car which lasted until 7:45, at which time a turned off the light.  (It was scheduled to finish at 8, so I didn't feel too bad about shutting down 15 minutes early).
When Rocky got home, he told me that our street was by far the busiest.  There were hardly any people on the streets just one block up and down from us. 
We had a band on our street, and the police were our keeping an eye on everything and handing out glow sticks to all the kids.  It was quite the event.

I have a small gripe about some of the trick-or-treaters. 
If you are not old enough to hold your own bag, then you are not old enough to ask for candy.  I couldn't believe the amount of parents with babies that were getting candy for them.  I know the babies aren't going to be eating it.

Next year, I will be purchasing 300 juice boxes, and then turning off my light when they are gone.  I am pretty sure we saw over 400 kids, but I really don't want to have to buy 400 juice boxes (or even pieces of candy for that matter).  We will see how it goes!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

I Know, I Know!

Yes, I have been HORRIBLE about posting lately.  Not sure where all the time goes, but it seems to be slipping by at an alarming rate! 
We are all enjoying our first BEAUTIFUL east coast fall.  The colors are just gorgeous, and the weather has been perfect. 
I have been keeping busy by being crafty.  I have taught myself how to crochet, and have been busy making scarves, and ear-warmer headband things with flowers on them.  I will have to post some pictures. 
I have also been reacquainted with my scrapbooking!  It has been so long, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get back into it, but a friend of mine has asked me to make her a baby album, so I had to get going!  I have really been enjoying being creative again.  I will post pictures of the album once I get closer to being done.  Plus, having a Cricut makes me want to experiment some more!
My organizing business has still been on my mind.  I do need a name for it.  Any suggestions? 

Friday, October 8, 2010

Seriously?

What was your worst birthday? 
Mine was yesterday.  I have never had a bad birthday.  So I guess it was about time. 
But, seriously? 
That morning was pretty normal, waking up with the kids, getting ready for school. 
I have to admit, I was a little peeved that Rocky didn't volunteer to take care of it all since it was my birthday.
And then the obligatory phone call from the parents to wish me happy birthday. 
That's when it happens.
"Um, honey, we have some bad news."
My grandma died. 
She had a heart attack earlier in the week, so I knew this was a possibility, but to find out first thing on the morning of your birthday kind of puts a damper on the rest of the day.
I have lost both of my grandmothers in the last 6 months, and since we have moved so FREAKING far away, I have not been able to make it to either funeral. 
Now, besides mourning my grandmother, I also have to deal with the guilt of not attending the funeral. 
I know it is OK, my family all understand (at least they tell me they do) but I still feel guilty.
I should be there with my family. 
But I can't.
I was asked to send some stories of my grandma to my mom, and here are some of those:
She loved to tell people the story of when she watched my when my sister was born.  Apparently, I was horrible and hid under a booth at McDonald's and refused to come out.  Also, when she took me to the nursery to see my sister, I told her I didn't want that baby (she was way too red) and picked out an African American baby to take home instead.
She also loved her cats just a little too much.  My mom got after her once because the cats were licking the butter on the table.  Grandma tried to explain that her cats were like her kids, and we share with our kids.  My mom didn't buy that and replied with, "Mom, my kids don't like their butts."
She loved her kids and grandkids a lot.  I always felt loved and special around her. 
She will be missed.
I hope this is the worst birthday I will ever have.