Boo to You: Year #5

Even though I am slow to get stuff posted here, I am still doing those things that have some of you fooled into believing I am a really, really awesome mom. (Okay, for clarification, I am an awesome mom, just maybe not as awesome as you think. This is really not all that complicated, I promise.) So, here goes: Year 5 of the neighborhood "Boo Bags." (Wait, have I really been blogging for that long? Very nearly! Time flies, as they say.)

{Assorted Goodies for One "Boo Bag"}

This year, I didn't worry at all if the "Boo Bags" (containers) held the same contents or even if the "Boo Bags" themselves looked identical. (See, I'm learning to let go of some of the small stuff!) One was a cute Frankenstein takeout container that I found on clearance and set aside last year, and the other was the first thing I could find on hand at home -- a Scooby Doo Happy Meal bucket from some point when the grandparents babysat last October, apparently.) And it's okay. I finally realized that nobody in the neighborhood is comparing notes, here. So don't stress over that!

Also, don't feel like you need to spend a lot of money. These were for sure under $5 each since I put stuff away after last Halloween, but even if you're going out and getting things right now after reading this, it can be super affordable. This year, I had two Halloween dog bandannas to give away, so naturally we selected houses that I knew had little doggies. That was my only criteria, really.

{One Finished "Boo Bag"}

{Another Finished "Boo Bag"}

Besides the doggie bandannas and assorted goodies (like notepads, orange or black votive candles, non-scary Halloween gel clings -- no food this year), I also enclosed the following:

• We've Been Boo'd Sign (printed on orange construction paper -- although after the fact, I realized that white would have made more sense for the ghost design) -- 3 of these (one for the recipient of our "Boo Bag" and two more for them to pass along.
• Poem/Directions -- again, 3 sets, including 2 to pass along.

Then, Logan and I passed these out while his big sissy was at school. (Thankfully, she didn't take major issue with this.) He was very enthusiastic with his help! This was about two weeks ago, and Mia insists that she has seen one of the neighborhood dogs sporting one of the "Boo Bag" bandannas. I honestly am not sure if this is true since I didn't see it myself, but how fun if that's the case. Have a safe and happy Halloween, everyone!

P.S. If you're interested, here is what we did for our "Boo Bags" in years past:
2013
2012
2011
2010

Creative Re-branding

The longer I work my business, the more I realize the importance of what to say -- or more precisely, how to say it. It turns out that the way that something is presented to someone can truly influence how they feel about it. Case it point: dinner with two sorta picky eaters...

We have recently discovered that they LOVE edamame. If you're saying, "eda-what?" I'm right there with you. I thought that this was just some creative re-branding for "lima beans," which is what these babies seem to resemble quite closely. Then I wondered why they taste different from the way I remembered. (And that was not fondly, in case you're wondering.) Why would my kids LOVE something that I hated as a kid?

A quick web search had me realizing that edamame is an entirely different bean: soy. The weird thing is that the kids aren't normally big bean eaters, but they really, really LOVE them some edamame -- or "eda-beans!" as they shriek excitedly when they see these on the table. (No, really, you can't make this stuff up. My kids go nuts for baby soy beans.)

{Edamame: It's What's for Dinner!}

My point? If I called these what they are -- immature soy beans -- my children would almost certainly turn up their noses and refuse to eat them. Admittedly, even I find that a bit gross-sounding. But when we call them "edamame" it sounds just exciting enough to be something that even the tiniest of food critics can get enthused about, without being over-the-top exotic and foreign (a.ka. "too weird to eat").

Translation: little people willingly devour second and third helpings of this stuff. Go, Mommy (and Daddy, because he was the one who nuked this particular bag 'o beans.) Creative re-branding = parenting win! Hats off to you, soybean marketing folks of the world.

September at Our House

To anybody who may have been waiting expectantly for more content on this blog, I do apologize for my life getting kind of crazy (even by normal standards)... Anyway, there is some great stuff here that I think you will enjoy!

9/1/14
L {listening to the ducks quacking at the Mill Pond}: "They're saying, 'walnuts.'"
I don't know, but it's cute.

9/1/14
L {on the drive home, it started to sprinkle and quickly turned to hard rain}: "I think the little rain drops told the bigger ones to come!"
Seriously cute!

9/3/14
L: "Mom, are beavers real?"
Okay, this is one of those times when I answer the simple question and then ponder it for a while wondering what he was really asking...

9/8/14
L: "Are teeth the same as bones?"
Me: "Yeah."
L: "So, some of our bones are showing?"
Well, sure, but I never really thought about it.

9/10/14
M: "When do we eat?"
L: "I want to eat Mama."
Me: "What do you mean?"
L: "As meat."
Me: "I'm not meat."
L: "Well, you are made of meat."
Me: "Okay, but we don't eat people."
Yeah, not gonna lie. I never expected to have to tell the children about my anti-cannibalism policy for our household, but there it is.

9/19/14
M: "I wish I could just snap my fingers like in Mary Poppins and my room would be clean... except I don't know how to snap... and it wouldn't work, anyway!"
You and me both, sister! 

9/19/14
Mommyism: "You shouldn't be riding a bike while wearing roller skates."
Another one of those things I never thought I would need to say...

9/21/14
M {windy outside}: "My dress is like a parachute."
Oh, see, that's just clever.

9/21/14
M {during dinner}: "Where do butterflies go when it rains?"
L: "Maybe a bird opens its mouth and 'atens' it and then it stays dry forever."
Kept my mouth shut here, waiting to hear what else he thought, but this seemed to be the end of that particular conversation.

9/22/14
L {during dinner}: "Mommy is the boringest!"
M {quite upset}: "No she's not!"
Cracked me up how vehement she was. Just depends on the day, I suppose.

9/25/14
L {looking at his drink package with a soccer player on it}: "I've never had a black person on this before."
Me: "What?!" {Okay, kind of concerned here!)
L: "Usually they're red or blue..." {Huh?} "But his jersey is black."
Me: "Oh!" {Relief...}

9/25/14
L: "I made up a song. It's called, I Made Up a Song." {proceeds to sing many, many verses, all the same: "I made up a song" -- all performed in a high-pitched sing-song voice}

This doesn't get old.... A little sarcasm for you, folks!

9/25/14
After discovering him pouring Elmer's glue on his monster truck track and then adhering vehicles.
Me: "What are you doing?!"
L: "I wanted them to be sticky and stuff."

Little boys and sticky situations... They just sort of go together.

9/28/14
L: "Ugh! You always ask me to do stuff!" {said to Brett after he asked him to use the bathroom before bed}
The injustice of it all!

9/30/14
L {while pulling into a parking spot at Walmart}: "Hey, there's seagulls in the road. That is not safe for them!"
Me: "Don't worry about them. They'll fly away if a car comes."
L: "I think they are looking for trash."
Yep.