Do you celebrate Halloween? As a kid growing up, we dressed up and went door to door and called it "Trick or Treating". We never, ever did any tricking. Hmmm....must not of been allowed. As I grew older, I "Trick or Treated" a lot less. Now that I have kids, I certainly have mixed emotions about "Trick or Treating".
How about this...
Do you celebrate Fall Harvest? Our church does have a Fall Harvest and it is just that. We celebrate, Jesus and fellowship and the harvesting for preparation of the approaching winter.
Regardless of what you call it, there is a history behind it all.
Here is something taken from History.com...
"Halloween has long been a favorite holiday, a day for trick-or-treating, parties, costumes and candy. Where did these Halloween traditions come from, and what was their original purpose? The one-hour documentary The Real Story of Halloween uncovers the true history of the holiday, from its sacred roots to today's secular celebrations of hidden identity and marvelous masquerade. The special explores Halloween's origins, tracing it back to the Samhain festivals of the ancient Celts, when communities would gather around November 1 to mark the end of summer. This was also the time of year when the spirits of those who had died were thought to return to visit their homes. As a result, ghosts and fairies became associated with these observances, including the Roman festivals of Feralia."
Whatever you call it or however you celebrate it, remember to keep it safe for everyone!
Showing posts with label halloween. Show all posts
Showing posts with label halloween. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
It Was Just Halloween
Ok, I admit it. I have been out of the loop. I mean way out of the loop. Wasn't yesterday Halloween?
Oh no! Today is the 8th of November. Where do the days go? So much is still going on around here. I think that home schooling the boys is what takes up most of my time. Oh don't get me wrong, I love it and wouldn't have it any other way. But it sure can eat up some hours in the day. So can doctor appointments and laundry and dishes and this and that. LOL
My sister Janet was here for about 4 days. Sometimes I think I have a mental block when she's in town. I have to admit, this time while she was here she stayed with my mom. My mom had surgery on the 31st and she is doing really well. I didn't have to run from my house to my moms house and then back again. That was a blessing in itself. And my sister actually came over and helped with school. It was pretty darn cool. I was actually able to see the boys doing school work while I piddled around the house doing a few very needy chores. It was like the boys had a substitute teacher. They even acted like they had a substitute teacher. It was kinda funny.
The real funny part about it all was that my sister got us turned around driving home from the airport. Then she got us turned around driving back to the airport. Gotta teach her how to read the map and directions on my laptop. It sure is hard to drive and navigate all at the same time. Especially when your navigation is on the laptop. It's ok though - we didn't get lost (which I never get lost), and we made it to the airport with time to spare. The worst part was having to get up at 3:30 am to pick her up at my moms house at 4 am and then drive to the airport. I don't generally go to bed until around 1 or 2 am. Shoot, I was having to go out of bed about the time I usually go to bed.
I had planned for a couple of days to take the boys to the University of Florida Gator homecoming parade. I even ask Janet if she would like to go with us. I had thought about it and mulled it over - the whole parking and traffic thing. I finally figured that we could all park somewhere and then take the city bus to the parade. Kinda kill 2 birds with 1 stone thing - parade and riding the city bus. I wanted to give our boys the experience of riding the city bus and they all wanted to ride. Except for JD, he is always a little apprehensive about new things. He did just fine with it.
So I checked out the bus schedule and the parade schedule online and I had a plan. We headed to our early doctor appointment and then to the parade. The doctor appointment is a whole different story (and yes - I got it all fixed). We parked our car at the mall, called Janet to find out about how long it would be before she got there. And as luck would have it - she rolled in with about 30 seconds to spare. 10 am and we are on the bus, headed to the parade. We had to hike across campus but that was fun too. We walked down the street where all the floats and bands were lining up. I think walking among all of the people in the parade was more fun than watching the parade. We lucked out again when we went looking for a place to sit to watch the parade. We were able to sit on a block wall. Oh my goodness it was crowded but everyone was pretty calm. Ok - too calm once the parade started. Janet and I talked about how everyone seemed so dull - no cheering or clapping or such. Janet and I tried to get others in the crowd going and it worked for a minute or two but that was it. I am just happy that the boys really enjoyed the parade.
After the parade we had to hike back across campus to the bus stop. We only had to wait about 15 minutes and we were on the bus again. I thought it was pretty darn cool that we only paid $2 a person and we could ride all day long as many times as we wanted to. Now the boys and I are thinking that we will do that again. We will make it an all day trip in the city and visit lots of places and ride the bus from here to there.
Now that I know that yesterday wasn't Halloween, I think I can finish my week. LOL
Oh no! Today is the 8th of November. Where do the days go? So much is still going on around here. I think that home schooling the boys is what takes up most of my time. Oh don't get me wrong, I love it and wouldn't have it any other way. But it sure can eat up some hours in the day. So can doctor appointments and laundry and dishes and this and that. LOL
My sister Janet was here for about 4 days. Sometimes I think I have a mental block when she's in town. I have to admit, this time while she was here she stayed with my mom. My mom had surgery on the 31st and she is doing really well. I didn't have to run from my house to my moms house and then back again. That was a blessing in itself. And my sister actually came over and helped with school. It was pretty darn cool. I was actually able to see the boys doing school work while I piddled around the house doing a few very needy chores. It was like the boys had a substitute teacher. They even acted like they had a substitute teacher. It was kinda funny.
The real funny part about it all was that my sister got us turned around driving home from the airport. Then she got us turned around driving back to the airport. Gotta teach her how to read the map and directions on my laptop. It sure is hard to drive and navigate all at the same time. Especially when your navigation is on the laptop. It's ok though - we didn't get lost (which I never get lost), and we made it to the airport with time to spare. The worst part was having to get up at 3:30 am to pick her up at my moms house at 4 am and then drive to the airport. I don't generally go to bed until around 1 or 2 am. Shoot, I was having to go out of bed about the time I usually go to bed.
I had planned for a couple of days to take the boys to the University of Florida Gator homecoming parade. I even ask Janet if she would like to go with us. I had thought about it and mulled it over - the whole parking and traffic thing. I finally figured that we could all park somewhere and then take the city bus to the parade. Kinda kill 2 birds with 1 stone thing - parade and riding the city bus. I wanted to give our boys the experience of riding the city bus and they all wanted to ride. Except for JD, he is always a little apprehensive about new things. He did just fine with it.
So I checked out the bus schedule and the parade schedule online and I had a plan. We headed to our early doctor appointment and then to the parade. The doctor appointment is a whole different story (and yes - I got it all fixed). We parked our car at the mall, called Janet to find out about how long it would be before she got there. And as luck would have it - she rolled in with about 30 seconds to spare. 10 am and we are on the bus, headed to the parade. We had to hike across campus but that was fun too. We walked down the street where all the floats and bands were lining up. I think walking among all of the people in the parade was more fun than watching the parade. We lucked out again when we went looking for a place to sit to watch the parade. We were able to sit on a block wall. Oh my goodness it was crowded but everyone was pretty calm. Ok - too calm once the parade started. Janet and I talked about how everyone seemed so dull - no cheering or clapping or such. Janet and I tried to get others in the crowd going and it worked for a minute or two but that was it. I am just happy that the boys really enjoyed the parade.
After the parade we had to hike back across campus to the bus stop. We only had to wait about 15 minutes and we were on the bus again. I thought it was pretty darn cool that we only paid $2 a person and we could ride all day long as many times as we wanted to. Now the boys and I are thinking that we will do that again. We will make it an all day trip in the city and visit lots of places and ride the bus from here to there.
Now that I know that yesterday wasn't Halloween, I think I can finish my week. LOL
Monday, November 05, 2007
Trick or Treat
Our small town closes it's main street every year for Halloween. If you only walk one way down the trail, it's about 1 mile long. So really it consist of at least 2 miles. All of the businesses along the main street give out Halloween treats to the Trick or Treaters. All of the little goblins and ghost and whatever else might come along walks the Trial of Treats. You can see so many adorable costumes. I love the way parents pull their children in wagons.
I told our boys that they would love the Trail of Treats. And they did! They are all ready to go again next year.
We walked the trail for more than 2 hours and the boys bags were full. Of course we snacked along the way. We saw many friends that we haven't seen in a while. I was so happy to see my cousin and her children. At one point in I was the nanny to her 2 children. They were awesome! It was such an honor to me and Superman to introduce our boys to everyone we talked to.
I told our boys that they would love the Trail of Treats. And they did! They are all ready to go again next year.
We walked the trail for more than 2 hours and the boys bags were full. Of course we snacked along the way. We saw many friends that we haven't seen in a while. I was so happy to see my cousin and her children. At one point in I was the nanny to her 2 children. They were awesome! It was such an honor to me and Superman to introduce our boys to everyone we talked to.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Pumpkin Carving
I was amazed when our boys told us that they had never carved pumpkins. I am still amazed about it. People just take so much for granted. Such a simple thing as carving a pumpkin for Halloween and they had never experienced it until last Wednesday night.
On Wednesday I surprised the boys by buying them each a huge pumpkin. They wanted to buy one at the beginning of the month, but I have seen what a pumpkin does ones it is carved. They sure don't last long. I promised them at the beginning of the month that I would buy them each a pumpkin when it got closer to Halloween. When we got home with the pumpkins, they wanted to carve them right then. I ask them is they could wait until their dad came home from work and we would all carve them together. All 3 of the boys were just fine with that. After supper the fun began.
MJ and I were in our front room (the one we use for the classroom) with a serrated knife, trying very hard to cut the top off of the pumpkin. I heard these 3 giggling and I snuck around the corner. Superman and his bright ideas - using the electric knife. Smarty britches!
The electric knife thing was pretty cool, but we all got our hands gooey - even Superman.
Let the carving begin!
This is WW's masterpiece!
This is JD's masterpiece!
This is MJ's masterpiece!
This is our first year of carving pumpkins for Halloween with our boys. Now it will be a family tradition.
On Wednesday I surprised the boys by buying them each a huge pumpkin. They wanted to buy one at the beginning of the month, but I have seen what a pumpkin does ones it is carved. They sure don't last long. I promised them at the beginning of the month that I would buy them each a pumpkin when it got closer to Halloween. When we got home with the pumpkins, they wanted to carve them right then. I ask them is they could wait until their dad came home from work and we would all carve them together. All 3 of the boys were just fine with that. After supper the fun began.
MJ and I were in our front room (the one we use for the classroom) with a serrated knife, trying very hard to cut the top off of the pumpkin. I heard these 3 giggling and I snuck around the corner. Superman and his bright ideas - using the electric knife. Smarty britches!
The electric knife thing was pretty cool, but we all got our hands gooey - even Superman.
Let the carving begin!
This is WW's masterpiece!
This is JD's masterpiece!
This is MJ's masterpiece!
This is our first year of carving pumpkins for Halloween with our boys. Now it will be a family tradition.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
In the Middle of
Right now I am in the middle of a lot of things. And in general, that's how it is. Some people call it to many irons in the fire. Regardless of what it's called, that's where I'm at.
My family is running from here to there and we seem to be just spinning our wheels. Even with spinning our wheels, things are getting done. Granny Karen is coming home tomorrow from rehab. I am thinking of taking the boys to Publix on Saturday for the pumpkin painting fun. My sister is flying in on the 30th. She even said that she would go Trick or Treating with us. That's gonna be a blast. My mom has surgery on the 31st. I'm still giving Tigger some meds. I just have a couple more days of that. It's not to bad if you hold him right. Yeah - and just how do you hold a cat to shove a pill down his throat? Very carefully!
No matter how many loads of laundry I do in one day, it always seems like the laundry basket is still running over. At least the boys have picked up a lot of the chores and they are even starting to do them without being told. Sometimes I have to give gentle little reminders, but I can deal with that. Every Sunday I assign different chores to everyone. Instead of us trying to remember them, I post them on the refrigerator. I know they all see it on the refrigerator because they drink tea like it's going out of style.
I've been working on a couple of crafts. Yes, more than one. Go figure. I just finished a beautiful baby blanket for a friend. About a week ago, I started an afghan for one of the boys for Christmas. It's camo, which is all 3 of their favorite colors. I wonder how in the world I'm ever gonna tell them apart. Oh well, I'll worry about that later. Today I started making a few more cloth bags. I make them from pants and shorts that the boys have outgrown. Some of the clothes I can pass down but most of them I can't. My boys like to play in the dirt and help their dad with working on greasy stuff. Some things you just can't shout out. LOL
One of most impressive crafts right now is plastic bags. Oh yeah, back on the eco thing again. By the way, I stay on it. Before we started using cloth bags (recycled from clothing) we would get lots of bags every time we went grocery shopping. I searched online and I found an awesome way to recycle them.
Marlos Crochet Corner has this awesome Plastic Tote Bag that you can make. There is a link on the website for the instructions on cutting and tying the bags. Once I get enough of the bags cut and tied, I'll start crocheting them. I thought that I would make at least one bag (probably many more) and use them when we go grocery shopping. I'm not worried about any certain color pattern right now. Most of my bags are white with black writing on them. It's silly for me to go out and find different color bags, that really defeats the purpose anyway. And if this works out, I thought that I would ask my friends to save their bags for us.
Superman has come up with the idea that we should make Christmas stockings instead of buying them. Of course I have all this material that I hoard, so it won't be difficult finding material to use. He has the idea that all 5 of us can make them one weekend. It sounds like an awesome family project to me. I'll have to let you know how that goes.
In the next day or so, I'll tell you all about our pumpkin carving that we did last night.
My family is running from here to there and we seem to be just spinning our wheels. Even with spinning our wheels, things are getting done. Granny Karen is coming home tomorrow from rehab. I am thinking of taking the boys to Publix on Saturday for the pumpkin painting fun. My sister is flying in on the 30th. She even said that she would go Trick or Treating with us. That's gonna be a blast. My mom has surgery on the 31st. I'm still giving Tigger some meds. I just have a couple more days of that. It's not to bad if you hold him right. Yeah - and just how do you hold a cat to shove a pill down his throat? Very carefully!
No matter how many loads of laundry I do in one day, it always seems like the laundry basket is still running over. At least the boys have picked up a lot of the chores and they are even starting to do them without being told. Sometimes I have to give gentle little reminders, but I can deal with that. Every Sunday I assign different chores to everyone. Instead of us trying to remember them, I post them on the refrigerator. I know they all see it on the refrigerator because they drink tea like it's going out of style.
I've been working on a couple of crafts. Yes, more than one. Go figure. I just finished a beautiful baby blanket for a friend. About a week ago, I started an afghan for one of the boys for Christmas. It's camo, which is all 3 of their favorite colors. I wonder how in the world I'm ever gonna tell them apart. Oh well, I'll worry about that later. Today I started making a few more cloth bags. I make them from pants and shorts that the boys have outgrown. Some of the clothes I can pass down but most of them I can't. My boys like to play in the dirt and help their dad with working on greasy stuff. Some things you just can't shout out. LOL
One of most impressive crafts right now is plastic bags. Oh yeah, back on the eco thing again. By the way, I stay on it. Before we started using cloth bags (recycled from clothing) we would get lots of bags every time we went grocery shopping. I searched online and I found an awesome way to recycle them.
Marlos Crochet Corner has this awesome Plastic Tote Bag that you can make. There is a link on the website for the instructions on cutting and tying the bags. Once I get enough of the bags cut and tied, I'll start crocheting them. I thought that I would make at least one bag (probably many more) and use them when we go grocery shopping. I'm not worried about any certain color pattern right now. Most of my bags are white with black writing on them. It's silly for me to go out and find different color bags, that really defeats the purpose anyway. And if this works out, I thought that I would ask my friends to save their bags for us.
Superman has come up with the idea that we should make Christmas stockings instead of buying them. Of course I have all this material that I hoard, so it won't be difficult finding material to use. He has the idea that all 5 of us can make them one weekend. It sounds like an awesome family project to me. I'll have to let you know how that goes.
In the next day or so, I'll tell you all about our pumpkin carving that we did last night.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Full Calendar
Have you ever wondered when it will every end? What ever "It" is. Well some days I wonder. This whole month has been a month from - yep - you guessed it. Oh yeah - and we are only 11 days into this darn month. What will the rest of the month bring?
Granny Karen has had her knee surgery this morning. MJ has surgery on the 23rd of this month. And my mom will be having surgery on the 31st. I have heard all my life that things come in three's. Will the surgeries are certainly coming in three's.
My October calendar is certainly full. And now I have to write more things on it. I think it may just be full after this. LOL And I just got a call from my sister saying that I need to pick her up at the airport on the 30th of this month. I knew about it but I had kinda forgotten. Just as long as I don't forget on the 30th I'll be ok.
Our weather was much cooler this morning. It was very nice to walk out the door and not feel like you're walking into an oven.
Yesterday the boys and I decided that we would have class on the road. We had a doctors appointment for MJ and from there I wanted to run by the book store. I couldn't find any books by James Patterson on sale. I did buy another "Wee Sing" cd for the boys. I love these little songs on these cd's. Once we left the book store, we decided to go over the Target and just look around. We have been looking for some Halloween cookie cutters and couldn't find them anywhere. We found them at Target, they were right inside the door and they were only $1 a pack. Pretty darn good deal.
We have been doing a little paper mache'. It is so very messy but so much fun. We are making pumpkins. I really have no idea how they are going to turn out but right now they look really cool. We started out with a balloon and then we started layering the paper mache'. We tied a string to the balloon so that we could hang them to dry. We are making them in a couple of stages because we want them to be sturdy. I'm excited about decorating them!
WW is baking cookies right now. He just said to me that he has never baked cookies before. I bought a roll of the toll house cookies and I got him started baking and off he ran with it. Chocolate chip cookies too! Yummy!
Even though our calendar is full, we are finding time to have fun and spend time with each other. It's very important to enjoy your family no matter how busy your life becomes or how full your calendar gets.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)