Holy HALLOWEEN, Batman!

We continued the tradition this year, and had our annual "Ford Girl's" Halloween party.
We had a dance off...

and the winner was...

...Annie! Nobody was surprised :) She also won "tastiest treat..." which were the cutest "owl" cupcakes ever...wish I had gotten a picture!

We had a costume contest...

...and Laszlo won. He was DEDICATED to this costume...he even danced in it! Very impressive indeed!

The night was great fun...with delicious food, awesome costumes, and even better company...

Of course we HAD to have our "ensemble" costumes. Ladies and gentlemen...I present to you Batman and the gang: 

From left to right...The Riddler, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Batman, Batgirl, and Robin...

Happy Halloween everyone!

Pumpkins, Palm Trees, and Pranks

The thought of having children at this point in my life sends me into an immediate panic. Don't get me wrong...I have the baby bug, and it very often bites me. Quite viciously. There have been many moments when Graham has had to console a very distraught wife as I lament the absence of a baby. But then I quickly come to my senses. Adding a baby into the hectic mess that is our life would be a recipe for absolute and total chaos. At least for now and the foreseeable future.Which is why I need niece/nephew fixes to tide me over.

I get to watch my cute boys while their mom and dad are at work a couple of days every week. This Tuesday I was able to take Noah to Oma's Pumpkin Patch...just the two of us, and we had a blast. Despite the fact that Noah did NOT want me taking his picture (Notice the ever-present frown??), I still managed to get a few cute shots...

Papa and Nana came home from Maui this week (jerks), and of course arrived with a plethora of gifts for the babies...including these RAD Hawaiian get ups. We had quite the laugh.

And on a funny side note...Graham played this joke on TJ today.

Graham decided to take off up the hill in TJ's car and hide it from view. In my opinion, that's what he gets for leaving his keys in the ignition. Plus it's funny to see how high pitched his voice gets...so it was definitely worth it! Like father like son. My dad CONTINUES to leave his keys in the ignition (often with the car still running) despite the fact that he has had his car stolen THREE times because of it!
These guys. They never learn. But that's "Big T" for ya!

Why I'm GRUMPY

These are the things that are currently making me extremely grumpy...(pardon me while I complain for a minute)
1. I spend AT LEAST 2-3 hours a day planning lessons. Some days it's even longer. Like 5 hours. Grrr. See exhibit A.

Exhibit A: Lesson Planning.

2. My classes are huge. 40 kids per class. Can you imagine what it's like to grade papers for classes of 40 students? No? Well I'll tell ya. It's not fun. I know, I know...that's the reality of teaching, but I still want to complain about it!

3. My husband works 40 hours a week and goes to school full time. When he IS home, he's doing homework. So...do we get ANY quality time together?? Not really. This is what I'm MOST grumpy about. I think we've been on one date in the last two months. Our Friday nights consist of homework and lesson planning. Fun, huh?

4. I haven't been shopping in a really long time. My wardrobe is suffering.

5. I haven't been able to READ since this semester started. For a girl who reads a book a week on average...this is KILLING me!

6. My parents are in Maui, and I'm here.

7. And the doozy?? If you've never heard of the PACT Teaching Event, then consider yourself lucky. It sucks. And I spend WAY too much time working on it. But since I have to pass it in order to get my credential, I can't go crawl into a corner in the fetal position and ignore it for the next two months (which is what I want to do). I just need to keep telling myself I'm ALMOST done!!!!!

After this unloading of negativity, I feel the need to quickly count the things that DO make me happy. Creamy pumpkin hand soap from Bath and Body Works (yum), the 20 minutes of snuggling I get with my husband before we fall asleep, Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal, my bedazzled West Hills t-shirt, how long my bangs are getting, and the fact that it's October. That about sums it up.

Bling.

Ella esta Loca...

A certain neighbor of my parents, who will remain unnamed, is absolutely, certifiably CRAZY. Granted, the woman IS in her eighties, and MIGHT be going senile. I do not dismiss her "issues," and I recognize that she is "not all there." As such, I am sympathetic to her stiuation. However, this does not dismiss the fact that she is nuts.
Here's the skinny on the situation.
My parents built a house in Eucalyptus Hills about three years ago. Crazy lady, let's call her "Betty," informed my father that his house was a "monstrosity." Here are a FEW (only a few...the list is endless) of our run-ins with good old Betty.

* She told my mom that she doesn't like her children

* She often screams at my brother if he pulls into her driveway to turn around.

* She yells at my dad if his dog is outside and even gets near her house.

*She also told my dad that it was her goal to get his dog taken away from him...and then proceeded to call animal control who had to come out and "investigate" (come on...they live in the country! Is it really that big of a deal if his dog is off a leash??).

* She also told my dad that he made a "huge mistake" when he built his house, and that she would make his life a living you-know-what because of it.

* She accused my mom of hating the military (where the heck did that come from??).

*She accused my sister of calling and "threatening" her.

And the WORST of the offenses? When my parents dared to build a porch in their front yard without pulling a permit, she hired a lawyer to formulate and submit a complaint to the county, thus halting my dad's construction for several months.

one end of the house

the other end of the house. yeah. it's a really long house...I couldn't fit it all in one picture.

the highly debated porch (still under construction)

So...this brings us up to my favorite of the Betty encounters.
 I noticed a couple of days ago that Betty was struggling to carry her groceries inside her house. My initial reaction was to ignore her struggles (I know, not my finest moment...but come on...the lady is MEAN!). But then my mom gently reminded me that we need to be Christlike (even if she is a beast), and be of service.
So I offered my help... and she refused it (big surprise).
She then proceeded to inform me (and here's the best part!!!!!!), that I needed to tell my sister that she (Betty) had called her son-in-law cop and told him about the threats that she (my sister) had been making and that he (the cop) told her (Betty) that she (my sister) would be arrested and...
(here's where it gets graphic)
"have all of her clothes stripped off, including her panties, and have her bu**hole checked."
-direct quote.

WHAT!?!?!?!

I had to hold back the laughter. I told her she was wrong about the threats, but thanked her for her concern about my sister's nether-regions.
Betty then called my mother the next day. I don't know what the point of her phone call was (and neither does my mom). I only know that she told my mom that I was a liar, that she was worried about my sister having to get her "fanny" checked when she got arrested, and that I was beautiful.
What any of these subjects have to do with each other, I'll never know.
But this is the way Betty thinks. Crazy right?

Oktoberfest, Ja??

We go every year...and then every year we complain about how crowded it is. But it's tradition right? And you can't give up on tradition!

Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me...

I hate flies. Loathe them. And there is no question in my mind where I inherited this loathing from either: my mom. I have childhood memories of my mom walking around her house with a fly swatter in hand in an attempt to suqelch the life out of any of these little nuisances who DARED enter the hallowed halls of her home. I too have this inexplicable aversion to the little buggers.
So, imagine my annoyance when I become aware of a fly buzzing around in my "house" last night. Unfortunately I do not have a fly swatter in my humble little dwelling, so I grabbed the next best thing: a shirt...which I intended to use as a whip of sorts. There was no question in my mind that I would quickly deal with the issue and return to my lesson planning.
Fast forwad FORTY FIVE MINUTES...and the dude was STILL buzzing around.
What had started out as a mild inconvenience had turned into my life's greatest mission... I WOULD KILL THE BUG!!
So I continued to stalk him...and he continued to live.
I'm telling you, this was the smartest fly on the planet. So many times, SO MANY TIMES, I thought I had him. I would scream out "Haha GOTCHA you little bugger..." and then proceed to do a victory dance. I would smugly return to my lesson planning (really captivating stuff on the electoral college)...confident in my supreme fly-killing skills. Then, inevitably...once I had gotten comfortable of course, he would show his ugly face.
WHAT THE HECK?!?!
Graham was quite amused as I ran around our trailer in my unmentionables like a crazy woman, screaming and whipping at the fly.
Then...the untinkable happened.
Graham, who was lying in bed, seemingly unconcerned with the invader in our home, caught the fly in his hand in mid air. Just snatched him right up...a total Mr. Me-yagi moment.
Seriously?
I had battled this jerk for over an hour, and he gets him in one shot?
My reflexes must suck.
So...I admitted defeat, and since we were so impressed with his valor, Graham let him go (outside of course).