Who Put the End in Weekend?

The weekend that got away. Oh where, oh where, have my Saturdays gone? Oh where, oh where can they be?

On Friday night, we attended the annual pumpkin carving party. Food. Wine. Bonfire. Garage filled with tables upon tables of kids and adults carving pumpkins. The event is punctuated each year with our friend Brad carving a pumpkin with a chainsaw while the votes are tabulated.

Carving with a chainsaw

A few of the many pumpkins waiting to be judged

Saturday, we stood in the chilly autumn air, covered in blankets, to watch Son #2's Little League team (finally) beat their opponents. After suffering loss upon loss, it felt so good.

And Sunday, after brunch with my girlfriends, Son #2 and I hit the batting cages. I seriously should have worn batting gloves -- I never realized how much hitting a baseball hurts your hands! Ouch.

 Next time, I'm coming prepared. And I'm taking no prisoners.

Photo Per Day #1: I want candy

Finally, the much anticipated first installment of my month-long, Photo Per Day series. I can feel the excitement building already. Heading out of the gate with not one but three pics of the loot from last night.

Son #2's collection. He was home first. Such a good boy.

Son #1's slightly larger collection (he arrived home 35 minutes after his 9:00 p.m. curfew) -- including the three Naruto Kunai knives that I skillfully made for him out of heavy folded paper, eye bolts, black duct tape and purple cord. Martha Stewart eat your heart out.

A close-up of the prized possession in Son #1's collection: a rubber ducky. So needed, in fact, that he and his friends started in another neighborhood to get it and then made their way back home. Note the fortune cookie to the side of the duck. Do you think that came with the duck or that another family ran out of candy and supplemented with "dessert" from their Chinese takeout? I'm voting for the latter.

Monkey Turns Seven

Happy birthday Monks!

Son #2 is on the couch wearing a blue robe (that's covered in basketballs, footballs and soccer balls). He's wearing a Clone Trooper face mask, holding his drum sticks, and singing the Ramones, "shoot 'em in the back now."

It doesn't get much better than this. You just never know what to expect with kids.

Speaking of which, while trick-or-treating the other night, I warned the kids, "Do NOT say anything bad about the candy anyone gives you." Why? Because last year an old man was handing out Necco wafers and all the kids were saying, "Ew." To his face.

This year all went well until we got to one house where Son #1 didn't say "Thank you." I asked, "Dude, did you even say thanks?"

"No, she smelled like Subway."

Subway. Eat Fresh. And stink up the house, apparently.

Intergalactic Planetary Mom

When I told Son #2 that I would come home early tonight to go trick-or-treating, he jumped up and down a couple of times and gave me a huge hug.

"You're the best mom in town. In the world. Wait, you're the best mom in the universe. Except for that one mom on the planet Zircon -- I heard she's pretty awesome."

Happy Halloween!

I went to my girlfriend's house last night for our new tradition: a pumpkin martini. Vanilla vodka, brandy, pumpkin pie spice mix (from a can), cream (whipped or otherwise) and a dusting of nutmeg. Yum!

I had one last year at a cute little cafe on Park Ave., Cibon, that was soooooooo good I couldn't get it out of my head but they haven't had it on the menu since. Believe me, I know. We've gone back twice (once last fall and again last week) and I've now resorted to calling beforehand. No such luck.

And, although it is the last day in October, it is gorgeous Indian Summer day today -- perfect for Trick or Treating. With only one exception, it has been warm on Halloween every year since we moved to Rochester. That's four warm Halloweens in a row. So I get to go door-to-door with Darth Vadar and Jack Sparrow while the hubby entertains all of the kids who come to our house. I'll cash my chips in and man the door next year when it has to be cold, right?!

Which, on an somewhat related note, brings me to the following. I don't remember a single costume I ever wore on Halloween (as a kid) nor do I think there are pictures of any. I may have gone as a member of Kiss once; I vaguely remember my face feeling super itchy one horrible night. But I do remember, as clear as if it were yesterday, my same pumpkin-martini-pouring-girlfriend going one year, when we were really little, as a ghost. Yep, the white sheet with two eyes cut out. Why is this image so clear? Because as we ran between houses in the dark, she continued to trip on her sheet and fall down -- all night long.

Not sure it was ever funny to her but almost 40 years later (yikes), it's still funny to me!

Yard Defender

Our front walkway courtesy of my husband.

Note: Idea co-opted from Extreme Pumpkins author Tom Nardone as seen in USA Today.