Halloween Preparations

The pumpkins at Walmart were large and inexpensive this year, so it was hard to resist buying three for carving. Seth was in a grumpy mood after grocery shopping for a couple hours with his sisters, but soon all three kids were busy scooping seeds and pumpkin guts and deciding on facial designs. I also made them say something "nice" about each member of the family, which stifled some of the bickering. No school today or Monday due to parent/ teacher conferences. We will be playing the "say something nice" game a lot, I suspect.

I was impressed with the kids' attention span and dedication to this carving project. I fully expected to be finishing up after them, but I was happy to wrong in this case.

All worked at the kitchen island, standing, for almost 2 hours. Whew! I carved Rebecca's pumpkin but Victoria and Seth worked completely on their own.
I am so proud of them. These are kids that would just a soon watch TV or play video games all day. Now to come up with a few more "old fashioned", unplugged activities.

Tonight, Victoria is making dinner. It's my plan that she does it once a week- plan and cook it. Gives me a night off (sort of), gets her off the couch and she can't complain that we eat the same stuff all the time if she has ownership in a meal once in awhile. She is going to make Swiss steak and cheesy broccoli. Pretty ambitious, but I know she can do it.

Halloween is a whole week away, but I couldn't resist candle testing the pumpkins when the carving was done. We may just put them out on the front porch, lit, tonight.
'Tis the season for early evenings,
crunchy dry leaves,
smoking chimneys venting cozy wood fires,
comforting meals,
extra layers of clothing,
and
cheery grimaces from carved gourds.

Happy Fall, Y'all!