Nevermore

In an attempt to get into the swing of Halloween, we did a couple of fun things last night...





Carved pumpkins:

Danced to "The Monster Mash"

And we read "The Raven" by Poe. Brian is notorious for his intense imagination that sometimes (often) makes scary stories a little too real and freaky. So, while I was reading the poem to him, his palms were getting sweaty and he kept looking over his shoulder to make sure nothing was sneaking up on him. When the last stanza was complete, we took a few minutes to talk about the poem.

Me: Wouldn't that be scary? What would you do if a raven were sitting above your bedroom door and just watching you and would not leave?

Brian: I'd just shoot it in the gut and throw it out the window.

(Sorry if that offends anyone who may be reading this.) I thought it was hilarious because that was a good solution and was something he could think of doing that would take some of the terror out of the story for him. After a good laugh, we decided that poem wasn't so scary after all.

More photos to come later today of costumes and parties and all the fun.

Happy Halloween!

Pandora

While using one of my favorite websites this week, I came across a lovely song, new to me, that is now heavily on my playlist:

Dark Waltz by Hayley Westenra.

Much to Chris' chagrin, I can listen to it on repeat for quite a while before I get tired of it.

If you have not found Pandora yet, you should take a minute to go there sometime. It's a free service, based on some really cool music science that is a great way to find new music that is somehow related to other music you already know. All you've got to do is think of a song (any song!) or artist that you enjoy listening to. Type that in and they'll create a streaming radio station of like music.

I tried Josh Groban and had a couple hours worth of fun music to work with. Also, try something like Ella Fitzgerald and you can find a wealth of tunes...

I'm planning on using Pandora a lot during Christmas. They have all the 40's Holiday Hits you could ever want.

If you try Pandora, leave a comment to tell me what song or artist you entered. I'll try it out myself!

Snow Angel

First real snow of the season... And it was a beautiful, sunny day, too.

Abby made good use of her new snow gear, and covered the lawn in footprints and snow angels while the big kids were still at school.

Hooray!
Both of the girls have been fans of eating snow... We have taught them not to eat colorful snow or snow from parking lots.

After finding out that they needed to be taught those things since they were actually eating questionably-sourced snow.

It's much better when it's fresh and clean.

I have a confession to make

Whenever I hear those OnStar commercials on the radio, I have to turn the station.

Or else I will cry.

Hearing the frantic Mom calling OnStar to unlock her baby from inside the car... Gets me every time.

Kind of pathetic, I know. And, no, I'm not suffering from pregnancy-induced emotional hyper-sensitivity.

Also, old Hallmark commercials used to make me teary, back in the day when we had TV.

What is a sure-fire tear-jerker for you?

As Requested

Abby played photographer this evening. Amidst all the pictures of her toes and the front of the oven, there was this one of me at the dining room table. It's not the best ever, but is pretty nice for a almost-4-year-old.

Plus, as requested, I am posting this photo that you might be able to use to see my new haircut.

Voilà.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I come from a family of terrific chocolate chip cookie makers. Usually mine are not nearly so good as Grandma or Grandpa's, and Chris is pretty much the reigning cookie professional in our home. Tonight I made a batch that turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself. Even with all the extra "help" I was getting from the three monkeys.

We sat down at the table with a plate of cookies and glasses of milk at bedtime... Abby dips her cookies in milk, and wanted to check to see if too many crumbs or bits of cookies were now in her glass. I loved the way she was examining the bottom of the drink. Sweet little Abigail, always makes me laugh at her new antics.

Mrs. Sarah Palin

No matter what your political persuasion, please consider this:





I think the world would be a better place if Mothers were in on the Big Decisions that are made.



I can't help but think that there would be a lot more peace and dialogue if more political meetings began with catching up on how the sons and daughters of leaders were doing. Don't you think there would be a stronger peace process if each leader knew about the family and loving care that the other leaders had for their children?



Why was there such a backlash when Sarah Palin met with Hamid Karzai? Bloggers and pundits made no bones about mocking the apparent simplicity of their dialogue, pointing to it as an example of her inexperience in leadership.



"Photographers and the TV crew were asked to leave after about a half-minute of recording Palin and Karzai. An exchange clearly heard above the clicking of cameras involved Karzai's son, born in January 2007.


"What is his name?" Palin asked.


"Mirwais," Karzai responded. "Mirwais, which means, 'The Light of the House.' "


"Oh, nice," Palin said.


"He is the only one we have," Karzai said."





I believe that only good can come when we put children first. Their safety, health, and freedoms can only be protected when we think of them and act for them.



Maybe the way out of this Big Worldwide Political Mess isn't some Big Worldwide Solution. Maybe it's simple things, like teaching and loving our children.



Maybe having a Mother (or attentive and involved Father) in Leadership is just the solution that we can all work toward.

Shiny Red Shoes

Is it inappropriate to wear red patent shoes to church?

I hope not.

Because I am so going to do just that tomorrow.

(Got these funky new shoes in the mail today.)

Car Track

Brian loves his Hot Wheels vehicles. He's accrued quite a collection over the years, and yet he knows each one individually. Their strengths, their weaknesses, the special features which sets them apart from the others.

This morning he built a track by taping together 3 tubes with purple duct tape. I was pleased to see that he'd created a graduated cylinder of sorts by labeling the tube with different distances...

Cars that were heavy enough to go only to the first marker were deemed"Lame," while those that made it to the next marker were called "Not So Good" and those that made the entire trip were "Very Good" in Brian terms.

I just thought it was cool to see the scientific process at work with my little man.

From WBEZ in Chicago

If you ever call me during the day, you'll probably hear the radio on in the background. Unless I've made it over to the radio to turn down the sound. But, during most of my day, I've got NPR streaming into my house, car, workshop, iPod, whatever.






Sorry, Dad. :)






One of my favorite shows is This American Life. Ira Glass has a speaking style that is unmistakable, and the show is a weekly compilation of non-fiction stories.

Monday mornings are made better for me as that is the day that I put the TAL podcast on my iPod at my workshop and get to hear the update for the week. You'll be glad to you took the opportunity to hear episodes such as The Super, The Enforcers, The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar.

Click here for info on the free podcast download.

Wondering how the current economic situation came to be? Find a great explanation in The Giant Pool of Money and Another Frightening Show About the Economy. Makes me feel kind of glad that we didn't sell our house yet.

Stay tuned for more notes on cool NPR shows. Coming up, I'll tell you about my love for Fresh Air, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Talk of the Nation, Weekend Edition, and All Things Considered.

Lego Conference

We were all in our jammies during the Sunday Morning session of General Conference this past week. We borrowed an idea from a blogger friend and tried the Lego project out...

While Conference sound and video streamed through our computer, we kept our hands busy building with the immense Lego collection we've accumulated. Our goal was to use every single piece, and we got pretty close. It was a nice way to spend a couple of hours.

We found that it was actually possible to listen to the speakers, and the kids were getting some of the message as well.

When the final prayer was said and the hymns were sung, we put all of our creations together in a massive Lego castle / robot / creature scene.

How do you spend your Conference weekend?

72 Hour Kits

In an effort to follow counsel, we have been working on our emergency preparedness for quite a while. Just a little at a time, usually.

Anyway, this last Friday night we spent on a Family Datenight, out to the shops collecting items for 72 Hour Kits for each family member.

We've done a pretty thorough job of creating "Jump Kits" for everyone, should the situation arise where we can't stay home during an emergency. As you can see from the photo above, the kids' kits are a tad on the heavy side, given the ratio of the kids' size. And we don't have their allotted water in their bags, as that was just too heavy.

Here's a sample list of what they do have in their packs, though:

Food for 3 days

A little toy or game

Soap, toothbrush, toothpaste

Emergency blanket

Flashlight

Whistle

Basic First Aid supplies

Couple Water Bottles

Pocketknife (Brian only so far)

Small notebook

Other things that I can't remember right now...

Things I still need to put in:

A copy of our Family Emergency Plan (where we will meet, important phone numbers)

A change of clothes

Matches

Pencil

We found these great resources to help us with our kits:

http://www.ready.gov/

http://www.fema.gov/

http://www.redcross.org/

We've taken a couple evenings to talk with the kids about Emergency Planning, hoping to make sure they are not freaked out about what we are discussing. Mostly, it boils down to the fact that we live in an area of earthquakes and freezing weather, often windy, usually dark this time of year. We just want to be prepared in case an event makes it provident to be away from our home.

We don't quite have a 3 Month Supply of food. We'll keep working on that, too. We've started a water storage system, we've got our emergency kits in the vehicles, and we are hoping to get a generator this year.

Seeing people evacuate (on the news) from storms and fires always makes me examine my situation. If we had to leave Palmer (and, specifically, our home) today, how would we do? What if we had to stay in our home for an extended period due to earthquake, pandemic, etc? Not to be alarmist, but you've got to think about it.

I don't think it would be something I'd be nearly so concerned with if I didn't have 3 great kids relying on me to figure it out.

What kinds of emergencies do you have to prepare for in your area? What sort of preparations have you already made?

To Be Filled

Earlier this Fall, Stephanie, Mom, and I picked a bunch of raspberries. I wish I had counted the gallons, but I didn't. Something along the lines of 5 gallons, if I had to guess. (Do you remember, Mom or Steph?)

Anyway, the berries were lovely and sweet and just perfectly tart. We cleaned them, smashed them, sugared them, and cooked them. Then, into the jars and a hot bath for sealing.

Raspberry jam is one of my favorite things, as enjoying it through the dark winter reminds me of the warmth of summer. My garden did not do so well this year, so this jam will have to singly represent a season of work.

I had intended to share some of the many jars with friends and family, but am finding myself a bit stingy with the results. So, I'll try to pass some along, but please don't take it personally if you don't receive any in the mail. Of course, you are always welcome to drop by for a bit of jam and bread at the Gooch home.

Good Questions

Brian: Dad, do all cars need hoods?

Chris: No.

Brian: Then why do they have them?

Brian: How long does it take to fall out of the sky?

Chris: Eat your food and I'll tell you how long it takes to fall out of the sky.

Brian: What I'm talking about is skydiving.

Brian: Does that phonebook have every phone number in the world?

(Asked at bedtime snacktime tonight. All in the stretch of about 45 seconds.)

Reminds me of a funny joke...

Q: How many 8 year olds does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A: Hey, wanna go ride bikes?

Love those boys.

So, how long does it take to fall out of the sky?