Election Day

(by Andy)

Our kids got pretty into the election process. During the conventions they got out flags and were waving them around, chanting slogans, etc. Warren must've talked about the election at school recently because he was telling people about it on Monday. My sister posted about one experience.

Anyway, last night three-year-old Abigail asked me who I voted for, for President. When I told her I voted for Ron Paul (I wrote him in), she laughed at me, "Oh, he's totally not going to win."

Later five-year-old Warren asked me, "Dad, did you know you're really not going to win?" "What do you mean Warren, I'm not running for anything," I teased. "No dad, your vote. Your vote is not going to win." "I didn't vote in order to win," I told him.

Apparently he felt like he didn't get through to me, so he tried again at breakfast today, "Dad, that was a really stupid thing you did, to vote for Ron Paul." "Really, Warren, why was that a stupid thing?" "Because he didn't win." "But Warren, John McCain didn't win either. Did everyone who voted for John McCain do a stupid thing?" "No, dad." "Why not?"

He didn't really have an answer for that, besides that "the people who voted for not John McCain or Barack Obama did a stupid thing".

I can't blame him for absorbing the conventional wisdom of the country, but I am really wondering what specific experiences led him to feel so strongly about this.

Here's a funny Norah Jones song about election day that Bekah found through Pandora, My Dear Country.

Scarier Than Halloween

What's scarier Halloween? You'll know by the end of this post. Halloween was great fun.

Our day started with pumpkin pancakes--which Warren had the idea to also cut into pumpkins with a cookie cutter--and apple cider syrup (recipes below, if you are interested.) We set out our jack-o-lanterns at our neighbor's annual display (we weren't going to be home to check on them) and set off to trick-or-treat our neighbors. Our kids didn't even recognize our next-door neighbor in his redneck costume! After our neighborhood, we headed over to Grandma Lindy's house for dinner and more trick-or-treating. My favorite was Avery. Our other kids just didn't get it when they were around her age, but since Avery had Abigail and Warren to watch, she ran enthusiastically to each door, feet going so fast she almost looked like a real fairy flitting around. Andy's only regret was that he didn't think to attach a bell just over her booty that would've jingled as she ran, like the original Tinker Bell had in plays. Our kids got pretty tired--especially Warren--and on the way back to Grandma's, Avery sat down on the curb and commanded me, "Sit! Eat!" So we took a break and ate some candy. It was sweet, and funny, since a little girl came up to us and said, "Trick or treat!"
By the end of the next day, the kids had eaten, with my encouragement, all of their Halloween candy. It's so great to have that over with.

So, what is scarier than Halloween? Making political phone calls. I spent Monday morning making calls to get out the YES vote on AZ's prop. 102--the marriage amendment. I was fidgety and stumbling over words. I once called the state constitution the state consti-ta-tion, which sounds an awful lot like constipation. I did get better, especially at the answering machines, but I think my heart still raced a bit every time I got an actual person on the line. Generally, though, most people were cordial, some even very kind. I had only a few "bad apples" and mainly they were just tired of political calls. Who can blame them? The 3 hour morning actually went by quickly, since I ended up sitting by my good friend Marily and her husband Mark. We laughed and bantered between calls, trying out responses that we would never actually say on the phone. Marily even wrote out our message as a rhyming poem and pretended to leave it on someone's answering machine. I'm glad to do my small part for an issue I care about, but I have to be honest: I'm glad it's over!

Apple Cider Syrup
1 cup water ( I used all juice and no water)
1 cup apple juice or cider
1 Tb. lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tb. corn starch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine dry ingredients and mix well. In a sauce pan heat water, apple juice or cider, and lemon juice. Slowly add dry ingredients, stirring as you add. Bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Lower heat & simmer until desired thickness. Serve immediately. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge & reheated in the microwave.

Pumpkin Pancakes
2 c. flour (I use whole wheat)
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. baking powder
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. ginger
1/8 t. ground cloves
1 t. salt
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1. 3/4 c. milk
2 T. veg. oil

1. Combine flour through salt in large bowl.
2. Combine egg through oil in a small bowl.
3. Add the small bowl of wet ingredients to the large bowl of dry and stir just until mixed.
4.Spray hot griddle and cook.

In Costume

Avery as Tinkerbell
With her short blond hair, her cute bootie and sassy personality, the costume just makes her that much more in character.

Abigail as Sleeping Beauty
This is pretty self-explanatory. Though I must add that Abigail's golden hair curls naturally at the ends in the same way Disney's Sleeping Beauty does.

Warren as (a very sad) Prince Caspian
He had just lost his sword for the 2nd--and final--time tonight for playfully walloping his sister in the rear. He even tried to buy it back with money. How do you explain to a 5 year old you don't want money, you want better judgment?

Apparently Avery wasn't pleased with my lack of Halloween Spirit and tried to dress me up with a scary face or something. Maybe like that scene in "Hook" where Tinkerbell watches as the little boy shapes the now old Peter Pan's face into what it used to look like...

I Know You Will Be Honest...

Tonight I was singing a favorite lullaby to Avery, "Child of Mine." It's a Carole King song from the album, "For Our Children." It was one of the first CD's my family ever bought back when we got our first CD player in the early 90's. Well, just after Warren was born, I saw the 10th anniversary edition of the CD for sale and bought it for old times sake. (If you're interested, it also has a rockin' Little Richie version of "Itsy Bitsy Spider"--my family once danced to it a a church talent show with my brother Brent all dressed up as a spider with stuffed black panty hose.)
Well, I'm singing the song, and I came to a line near the end: "I know you will be honest if you can't always be kind," and laughed inwardly because I finally understood that line. Here's why. Last week I made a comment about changing my clothes so I could play outside with Warren. He didn't understand why I was changing them and explained very matter-of-factly that the reason was "cuz' you're too wide and fat, mom." "What do you mean?" I prodded, interestedly. Kind of patronizingly he expounded, "The reason that your clothes don't look so cute on you is cuz' you're too wide and fat." I followed up with, "Do you know why I'm wide and fat?" "Yeah--it's cuz' you're old." Ouch. No, really, I wasn't offended or upset--I had quite the happy chuckle and then explained that because I am pregnant, 5.5 months now, I am growing as the baby grows. He remembered this, too, because I told this story a few days ago, and he cut in, "But it's because my mom is pregnant." Honest, if not kind.
Needless to say, later as I read this talk on unity, I shared with Warren the advice, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I didn't reference the wide and fat comment, but, I'm hoping his bright little mind will pick that up and thus avoid any future altercations that might involve an audience that doesn't appreciate Warren's "humor" the way I did.
It was a reminder for me in another way, too. Coming from Warren--and I know he really must think I am fat--I wasn't offended at all. I took his comment at face value, no strings attached. When he said it, I didn't let my mind start translating his statement to other meanings like, "And I am therefore worthless...ugly...lazy..." or "And that means he doesn't like me!" Yet, if someone else--probably anybody but my kid--had said the same thing, or even something slightly more tactful, I probably would've been offended, or felt poorly about myself. So this little story is proof to me that no one can offend me--I can only offend myself. To quote a wise man, "[I]t ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else."

3 Happy Faces. Sisters.

These were the faces created by Sarah tonight when she descended upon our house with 3 pumpkins, boundless enthusiasm, lots of patience and lots of love.

These are the 3 faces the smiling faces above created.
It's amazing how much easier a pumpkin carving tool kit makes the job.I love the enthusiasm Sarah has for holidays. I love doing special things, but sometimes the project has a hard time making it out of my brain and into reality. But Sarah makes special moments happen. I've always loved my sisters--I have 4, and now also a wonderful sister-in-law--but after reading this article, I am consciously dedicated to making them an active, living part of my life, not just people I see on Sunday or call to watch my kids. I'm not great at nurturing friendships; I admit I'm kind of a homebody with an independent streak that often makes me hard to be with, and I'm too opinionated for my own good and probably most others' comfort. But who better to wear off these rough edges than sisters?
More shots of the evening: