Trick Or Treat

Yeah! Costume pictures, in the afternoon before trick-or-treating.

Hunter went straight for the sandbox.

Ben went for the swing.

Look at what we found on the top of the swingset... our very own Halloween spider. Theo was meesing around with him, and I got this picture of him. Yeah, I've come a long way from being scared of spiders.

I tried to get a full body picture of Nemo sitting on the grass, and he was NOT having it. He wanted to mow the lawn instead.

I'll settle for this.

Oh my goodness, I love this next picture so much. He's playing peek-a-boo with daddy.

Ben's trying to get Hunter to pose for the camera.

Here Nemo mowing.

I love his little fish tail wagging.

I love how Hunter is looking right at Ben's costume, as if he's making sure it is Ben.

Benjamin was dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow, but he called himself Captain "Hook" sparrow, b/c the only pirate he really know is Captain Hook from Peter Pan.

Dad took the boys trick-or-treating.


There they go...

And what did I do? I handed out candy to all the little boys and girls--looking like this.

Then Hunter came and sat with me and handed out candy. He loved this, he looked all the little munchkins and ate his M & M's and Reeses pieces he got from his trick or treating. Daddy took Ben a little longer.

After dad went in to put Hunter to sleep, Ben and I handed out candy. He ate some skittles, and a chocolate bar.

Julie, Joey, and Joey's Grandma stopped by, making our evening complete.

One trick or treating mom offered to take a picture of all us together.
Happy Halloween everyone! Wish you were here.

Tuberose Blooms

This was my first time growing Tuberose. I picked up a bulb at the Dane County Farmer's Market this spring, and thought I'd surely screw it up. But here we have it...my Tuberose is blooming magnificently, and it smells incredible. Really incredible. Tuberose is most popular for it's use in fine purfumes. I love it. Just FYI: it grew in a pot on the patio all summer, and I brought it in before our vacation, where it has happily lived in our bay window ever since.

Pretty Girl gets another bird... next week a new friend.

Theo went in to work at 3:30 in the morning yesterday, and was home in time to hunt a little. He took Laura to our local public huntung land, and they kicked up 2 birds, which flew in opposite directions; Theo was able to bring one pheasant down. Laura fetched it up, and they brought it home. Here are the proud hunters and their trophy once more. So proud of them!

The Eve Before Halloween

Last night we carved 2 pumpkins. The boys are not able to handle knives yet, so Dad digs the goo, the boys watch, get their hands dirty, and then the pumpkins are passed on to mom for carving. I usually make some pretty elaborate pumpkins; in the past I've done haunted houses with wires and bats flying overhead, cats silouettes, and I've added gourds like Martha Stewart to create ears and such to the pumpkins. This year, I went back to the basic scary faces... Halloween snuck up on me... I'm seriously contemplating funkins faux pumpkins next year, so I can do an elaborate job, and have them forever.

Each year, without complaining, Theo scrapes the innerds right out of the jack-o-lantern's for me.



Of course, Hunter assumes the pumpkin guts are edible.


Let's take this stuff outdoors! I stayed outside until 10 last night decorating. I moved the black birds to my bird feeders and bird bath and made them visible with candles in some jars I painted orange and yellow years ago. I put plastic spiders crawling all over the doors and pumpkins, and mice crawling on the house. I freehanded some bats, ghost and spiders on big black cardstock, and put them in the windows, and set the lights just right. The bats looks awesome, if I do say so myself. Pictures to come tomorrow, as the camera was dead when I was finished last night. I was adding strands ghost lights, and even putting glass jars crawling with spiders in the garden. I have a spooky-sounds CD, a feathery witch hat, & cat "mink." It's all too much, and it is tacky, but I'm a nerd, and it's fun. I am the OG Whitetrash Martha. Last night, just I was packing up shop, a cat walked by, and when one of my headstones began screaching at it, the cat pauses and assesses the situation... when he sees the demon in the tree, he runs like hell. If it scares an outdoor cat, it's sure to scare the kiddies.

Happy Haunting everyone.

A Sunday Afternoon

Theo has been teaching the boys to throw, catch, and tackle.

After browsing through my files, I think these are the best pictures of taken of Ben since spring. I am still warming up the new camera. This is us playing outside yesterday, after we watched the Bear's lose and pretty much X-themselves out of the playoffs.

Cottage Living inspiration

I just got my November Cottage Living, and I was so thrilled to see an brief article on forcing bulbs indoors for Christmas, and topping them with succelents. I have been obsessed with succulents lately, and have been bringing my potted ones indoors to save them from the freeze that is sure to come. I also just planted my Christmas paperwhites last week, and my Amaryllis is well on it's way to blooming. I was bummed the pots looked so empty with just the little bulb heads poking out of the plain dirt. How much better do they look with these brightly colored sedum Angelina, Blue Spruce, Elizabeth, and Hens and Chicks on top? When they all fill in, it will look even better.

This is the center of my dining room table right now, happy little plants, including my orchids from California, Agapanthus from my grandma's front yard, bulbs and sedums... oh, and my Halloween Candelabra.

If you want to give this a try, sedums need full sun (8-10 hours a day). You'll need a south facing window, and the plant should be front and center to the sun. Bulbs will need sun until they blooming, but moving them from the sun when the blooms open can extend the bloomtime, the sedums won't mind less sun temporarily. I plan on just pulling the shades half shut, and 5-6 weeks from now, when these bulbs bloom, my Christmas Tree will block some of the sun then, too. Don't over water these guys, it will cause both the bulbs and the sedums to rot. Sedums store water in their leaves, so they can go a long long time without. Also, make sure you have a well draining pot, and it wouldn't hurt to mix in some rocks or gravel with the soil. After the bulbs bloom, pull them out, and repot them in some empty dirt or peat moss and store in the basement until spring, then bring them back outside for a second show. I've had my amaryllis for years, and it comes back religiously following this method.

Brothers Interacting

Just some pictures of the boys in the kitchen goofing off.

Just Adorable Boys

Aren't these just the cutest pictures ever?