Pumpkin Carving

There is something about having children that seems to make the holidays more fun and exciting. Halloween is no exception. Even though Nick and I always carved pumpkins each Halloween before having children, now that we have kids, this activity is an absolute necessity. It all begins with the annual trip to the pumpkin patch, followed by extensive research into pumpkin templates and patterns, a family vote, and then of course, the actual act of cutting and carving. In years past, the children have always wanted to make pumpkins with silly faces. This year, however, we managed to sway the vote in the direction of something a little different. Something that would allow Nick to attenuate his need for surgical perfection. The haunted house template we chose wasn't really that difficult, but it provided a sufficient challenge and Nick seemed pleased with his results.

Now, while some of you all can manage to carve several pumpkins for your Halloween display, we seem to only be able to manage one large master work. Perhaps this is because our very small children genuinely do so much of the work. The process goes something like this:

First, cleaning the outside of the pumpkin removing all dirt and imperfections.

Second, removing the top of the pumpkin. Nick generally draws the lines on the pumpkin and lets each child make some of the cuts. This is the only part of the carving the rest of us can take part in.



Third, allowing ample time to explore the pumpkin's mysterious insides. This exploration always begins with the youngest of our children first. It is quite entertaining to see their reaction as they feel the stringy, gooey center of this large, orange orb. It generally begins with only timid touching, but gradually gives way to more intense squishing and eventually scooping. At our house, the job of cleaning out the pumpkin belongs entirely to the little ones.



Once the stringy seeds are removed from the pumpkin, and a few are washed and set aside for roasting, then Nick and I take back over momentarily to thin out the pumpkin's fleshy walls. This is a recent addition to our pumpkin carving process, but after discovering several recipes that call for fresh pumpkin, we just can't let any of the delicious orange matter go to waste.

After the pumpkin is carefully scooped out, then the actual carving takes place, an activity, as I indicated above, performed principally by Dr. Hoskins. (Carving the pumpkin and the Thanksgiving turkey are about as close as he gets to performing surgery these days!)

When the carving is complete, we turn out the lights, place a single candle inside the pumpkin, and let the kids watch the little dancing flames until one of them gives in to the temptation to blow it out. That usually signals the beginning of baths and bedtime, and the close of one of my favorite nights of the year.

Here are the kids sitting on the porch with this years finished product. Way to go Nick! The pumpkin turned out great!

Autumn Fun

Autumn, with its cooler temperatures, changing colors, and general feeling of nostalgia, is by far my favorite season. There is just something about it that seems to cause an increased desire for meditation and reflection, something about it that makes you want to hold hands and cuddle up with those you love, something about it that leaves you feeling warm and content inside. It truly is the forerunner for the upcoming Christmas season.

As well as eliciting a host of warm and fuzzy feelings, there are so many activities that make Autumn wonderful. I love pulling out the kids' new fall clothes, wrapping them up in sweaters, jackets, scarves and hats, and taking them on afternoon walks or bike rides. I love taking drives to see the fall foliage in all its beauty and splendor. I love fall camping, roasting marshmellows in our fire pit, and drinking hot chocolate or hot apple cider. I love fall baking with freshly picked apples, pumpkin, and all of the autumn cinnamen and spices. And of course, I love the traditional fall outings we all seem to take each year---a journey through a corn maze, a family wagon/hay ride, picking pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. It just wouldn't be Autumn time without these simple activities, especially while there are little ones around. And so, of course we take them, and we post photos of them on our blogs.

Nick and the kids at the Apple Ridge Orchard Corn Maze.



Maddi, Spence, and Emma holding hands and leading the way through the maze while Nick and I casually followed behind also holding hands and proudly admiring our adorable posterity.



Nick and the kids at the Tweite Family Farm and Pumpkin Patch.



And, a new Fall activity, compliments of the great state of Minnesota. At first I was troubled by having an October snowfall; however, since it only lingered for a day or two and the temperatures came back up for the rest of the month, I decided it was not worth fretting over.

Confessions

So, I don't know if I am having a guilty conscience or what, but I feel compelled to come online today and make a small confession. For those of you who know me well, this post will come as no surprise. But, for all the rest--well, prepare for a glimpse into my inner world. Okay, so here it is:

I have an addiction to ridiculously expensive children's merchandise.

Clothes, toys, whatever. It doesn't seem to matter what it is. If it is overpriced children's wares, I am bound to like it and inevitably need it. I swear, you could put me in a room with a host of children's items, brand and price tag free, and I would pick out the most expensive things in the room. I am just cursed with expensive taste. I love unique, boutique toys, hand-crafted wooden anything, and real-to-life miniature playthings. I also have an obsessive compulsive need to match my children's clothing and accessories. I can't seem to get past it. Time and time again I think I am going to be strong, but the addiction always seems to get me in the end. Whether its having to get matching Christmas outfits for all of my kids, even though the younger ones have practically perfect hand-me-down Christmas outfits that theoretically they could wear, or needing a children's microwave, toaster, and "kitchen aid" that costs as much as my microwave, toaster, and Kitchen Aid--I just can't seem to resist. And the more children I have, the more of a problem it is becoming. For example, EmmaLee and our new baby boy need absolutely nothing in this world. They ought to be the cheapest children in this world. But that complete and utter needlessness is exactly the reason I can justify buying them the most expensive things of all! After all, what does it matter if you blow their whole birthday or Christmas budget on one toy? Or spend their whole clothing account on an outfit or two? They've already got everything anyway, right? Right.

So, what brought this crazy confession to the surface today, you might be asking yourself. Well, the answer is simple. The UPS truck arrived today with the latest of my ridiculous expenditures. This time, the children's item was a simple Halloween costume for my oldest daughter Madison. As far as Halloween costumes go, the Chronicles of Narnia Lucy Costume I purchased wasn't really that pricey. The problem, however, was the cost to get it here from oversees. As it turned out, the cost of the shipping worked out to be almost as much as the cost of the costume, and when you're talking about British pounds, that's no small fee. So why this costume? Why not just buy the "American" Lucy costume that is in every costume shop from here to Texas and comes with free shipping? In lots of ways, I keep asking myself the same question. That is, until I remember again how silly the American Disney manufacturers are. I mean, give me a break. Shouldn't the American Disney store be able to create costumes that at least resemble the clothing that Disney characters wear in their movies? Can't Cinderella's dress look just like the one she wears to the ball instead of some glittered up strange looking gown that no real or animated princess ever wore to any place? Well, apparently not. But the company that contracted with the European Disney store, on the other hand, now they can make a dress-up dress. (Don't even ask how I went about discovering this little tid-bit of dress up trivia!) And not only do they make the most famous dress-up dresses, i.e. an exact replica of the gown Cinderella wore to the ball when she realized that "this was love" and had that crucial first dance with her eternal sweetheart, but they make an exact replica of Cinderella's work gown, her first ball gown, and her wedding gown too. And this pattern isn't just true for Cinderella, it goes across the board for each Disney character, from all of the Disney Princesses to, well, Lucy from the Chronicles of Narnia movie. And that is why we had to have this specific Lucy costume, ridiculous shipping and all. (The arrival of which prompted this silly post.)

But the story (and the confession) doesn't end there. Oh no, it couldn't be as simple as importing a Lucy costume and the accompanying shipping fees. You see, I am much more practical that that. After all, who would pay such ridiculous shipping fees for just one dress? Wouldn't it make more sense, with a flat international shipping rate, to purchase ALL of the European Disney dresses that you would ever need for both or your daughters. (All of the European Disney dresses that you don't already have, that is.) Well, I thought so anyway. It just didn't seem to be cost or time efficient to wait for the next birthday or Christmas to arrive where a dress-up dress would be an appropriate gift (and trust me, with my girls, this is every birthday and Christmas!) and then start the hunt all over again for one of these rare and exquisite finds, not to mention paying shipping all over again. And so, in my most sensible of sensibilities, I just figured out which dresses were missing in our collection, and purchased the rest of the ones we needed. And while the expense was, well, past ridiculous, I can't tell you what a weight it is off of my shoulders to be done shopping for realistic looking high quality dress-up clothes for my girls--forever. Now I can dedicate more time to figuring out ways to pay for the three piece Janie and Jack herringbone suits and hand-smocked plaid silk dresses I want to get my kids for their Christmas outfits in 2011. (Come on now, when you're as neurotic as I am, you've already got the outfits for the Christmas of 2009 and 2010!) Actually, now that I think of it, I don't have time for anymore confessions about whatever non-existent conditions I do or don't have. I've got way to many things to do and purchases to make. Bye for now--and be sure to watch for the Halloween post of Maddi in her fabulous Lucy dress.