Golly, it’s Halloween!

We put off pumpkin carving weekend after weekend, evening after evening, and suddenly it’s Halloween! Mads had soccer in the morning, but WZR and I were excused from sitting on the wet field. After lunch, we got down on our knees and started the carving, I had gotten a flimsy set of tools, but they helped, despite the main tool snapping in half. Mads had fun digging out the goo. It was a family affair, with WZR prancing around the circle while we were hard at work. The final products justified our efforts and delay.

Next, we went to a members-only party at the Little Gym, where Mads won “funniest costume.” The kids had a lot of fun tossing balls and crawling through a mountain of foam.

The Ragamuffin Parade was a little wet, but we did get to parade to the fire station, where a haunted house, ice cream, donut holes, popcorn, and coffee were waiting.

Finally, we hit Joanne Lane for some trick-or-treating. The houses are a little too far apart and the houses a little too sunken in from the road. Briar Oaks Lane had lots of kids running around in packs. We drove through Salem Road, where there were bonfires and A LOT of people, but THIS is clearly the place to be on Halloween night! This is where we will come next year. Happy Halloween!

Finally Friday

I had started out the morning very gung ho about going to either the Maritime Aquarium or Fairfield’s town center for more Halloween fun with the kids, but by 2 o’clock, I wasn’t so sure anymore. I was feeling sluggish and WZR was dripping everywhere, so I decided it was best to rest up for Saturday’s events: soccer, pumpkin carving, party at the Little Gym, Ragamuffin parade, then trick-or-treating.

I did enjoy a nice stroll and got some shots of fall colors, though. I picked up some maple leaves and put them between wax paper. I should iron them at some point.

Thorough Thursday

This has been a busy day! First I dropped Mads off then went home and took part in a 2-hour webinar to fulfill my licensure requirements. Then I did some last minute preparations for the Boo! at Bisceglie and went to pick up Mads. Off we went to Bisceglie and set up the table. It was a nice gathering of 9 moms and about a little over a dozen kids. There were plenty of snacks and treats to go around. I lined up the kids and paraded them around the tot playground, stopping at various stations for treats. It was great! After that, we cleaned up and we went to a birthday party at Kids U in Norwalk. A driving adventure in that I drove past the entrance twice going both ways. Other than that, it was fine. The party was 90 minutes and we drove home in the dark (gasp!).

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

“And you didn’t even say ‘thank you,’” the lady sneered as I walked around her car to get to my trunk. I need a bigger shopping cart. I pack things on the bottom that like to slip out when I slide the cart down the slope. Today I was holding two 8-packs of Bounty and pushing the cart. Of course, the 10-pack of juice boxes decided to slip out. The lady told me that it fell. I remember saying, “Oh” and backtracked. I also remember thinking, “couldn’t you have helped me pick it up?” Unfortunately, I don’t remember if I said, “thank you” or not, because I thought it would have been my natural response when she told me. I answered, “I did.” I was thinking, “of course, I did.” She said she was sorry, but she didn’t hear me. Eventually she drove away, but left me pondering about it all day. Maybe I didn’t? I’m sorry if I was too preoccupied to say, “thank you.” So, it was a wordless Wednesday…

Recipe: Easy Baked Turkey Ziti

What I used:

• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter (or less to grease baking pan)
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 jar of pasta sauce (I had baking sauce)
• 1 box of ziti
• 1/2 bag of mozarella cheese
• parmesan cheese

How I made it:

1. Preheat oven at 400 degrees. Grease baking dish or pan.
2. Cook the pasta according to directions on box.
3. In a pan, cook the turkey and chopped onions.
4. Add the sauce to the meat/onion combination. Mix well.
5. When pasta is cooked and drained, layer pasta in dish/pan.
6. Add half pasta sauce and spread across pasta.
7. Sprinkle mozarella and parmesan cheese on top of sauce.
8. Layer the remaining pasta and repeat steps 6 and 7.
9. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 10 minutes.

Comments: This is actually something I used to make in college, so I didn’t follow exact measurements. Came out good anyway.

Weston Girl Scouts Annual Fun Fair

Too bad my kids were too tired for this on Saturday, but it looked like Mads would have enjoyed more fun and games. Maybe next year. There was also a tag sale, but I didn’t see any cookies for sale. At least they had nice weather. It’s just too bad it ended up on the same day as the Halloween Fair, where all the Boy Scouts were.

Meet Weston’s Most Frightfully Good Dancer

After the walk in Westport on Saturday, we went to the Weston Historical Society’s Halloween Fair. We were greeted by this friendly gent, who has to be the most frightfully (to WZR) good performer in Weston. As you can see, Maddy thought he was cool enough to jam with.

It was a really fun event, full of prizes from old-fashioned kids’ games like the bean toss, shooting gallery (with tennis balls), bowling, basketball, and frisbee toss. You can see Mads baring her new fangs. There was a pinata that wouldn’t  break despite being beat by sticks, bats, or WZR. Mads also enjoyed a pony ride, bouncy house (cool-looking one, but set up backwards), face painting, and crafts. There was a hayride offered, too, but Mads was not interested in getting poked by the hay. All the fun and games required tickets, but we didn’t have to buy any because generous friends of ours (one we met in the parking lot and the other at the fair) gave us their leftovers. Mads was even photographed for the local paper. We’ll see if she finally makes it in. As we were leaving, Mads was given more prizes to take home, including a witch finger and more teeth. The kids were both tired out from this event that they couldn’t stay awake for the Girl Scouts Annual Fair down the road.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

It was a fantastic day for a walk at the Sherwood Island State Park to help make strides against breast cancer. Our team of two moms from Weston raised $763 (Go Lyn). We thank our generous sponsors! The walk seemed short for 3 miles (maybe we’re supposed to do the route a couple of times?), but we stayed and enjoyed the beach after we were done. It’s definitely a family-friendly event. Having never been at the park before, we were impressed and we had a good time!

Weston vs. Westport Libraries

With the impending release of Snow White on DVD, I asked the Weston Public Library if we could reserve it. The response was that we could call in the morning and see if it’s on the shelf. If it is, it can be held for the day only. Well, I decided to try my luck with reserving it through the Westport Public Library. Lo and behold, I was only 2nd in queue and I was called within a week of placing the request. We picked it up today. I’ve been meaning to compare the two libraries:

Weston

• about 6 minutes from house
• new books can be borrowed for 2 weeks
• normal circulation is 4 weeks
• no online reservations available
• can renew once online
• book sale bin
• videos – 3 limit per family and 3 days, renew once
• longer story times for kids
• children’s room
• plant at front desk (courtesy of Weston Garden Club)

Westport

• about 15-20 minutes from house
• new books 3 days (express service) or 3 weeks
• normal circulation is 3 weeks
• online reservations available
• can renew 2 times online
• book sale bookcases and Friends of library book sales
• videos – no limit, 1 week, renew if not on hold
• shorter, but more frequent storytimes; there is one for kids under 2 years
• children’s ROOM
• more services, like travel for kids
• more programs
• cafe at main entrance
• library store at the front desk (No, Mads, we’re not buying anything today.)

So what? Well, if I’m interested in reading a new bestseller, I will fill out a little slip/or call the Weston librarian to place it on hold. That way, I can borrow it for 2 weeks when it’s my turn. If I need another 2 weeks, I can renew it online. The wait for the book is shorter, since the town is smaller. I also prefer our town library because it’s a quicker drive. Ha.

Sunday, Burny Sunday

I burnt the poor pot again as I was steaming squash for dinner. Sigh…

Mads had another great face painted by the lady with the cool glasses at the Halloween fair, BUT it took us FOREVER to get it off. Scrubbing it didn’t help. Two different kinds of makeup removers didn’t do it. Finally, I decided to peel it. That worked, but she was NOT happy with me. There were a lot of tears. Finally, 4 stories later, she fell asleep at 10 pm. WZR was still awake and wanted to hang with “dada”, who was zonked out. Finally, after crying it out for an hour, he fell asleep, too.

More to say about the walk and the fair later…