ranting and rambling

Today is it very overcast and we're expected to get some rain. If feels like fall. I have the kiddos over and we are going to do a scarecrow craft. Should be fun. This morning Austin and Lu watched vintage Disney Halloween video's on you-tube, which they loved. Then we started Charlie Brown but they were bored and off playing something else by then. I think I'll watch it later, for nostalgic reasons :)

My sister V and her family are at Disneyland this week. I am so jealous, well, that's not the right word, I am excited for them, it'll be SO fun. I talked to her on Monday and they were in line for Splash Mountain! How fun. I just want to be there too. I love Disney. Our trip last summer to DisneyWorld was SO fun, and I have been to Disneyland a number of times and always L.O.V.E. it! My dream is to go to Disneyworld again, at Christmas time, when Lu is 8-9 years old. I want to go when every one is old enough to have the stamina to spend hours in the park and to stand in line and stay up late and not miss a thing. I'll bring treats for Beloved to help him endure. It turns out that he is not, although I am sure he would not say this, an amusement park lover. When we were engaged (for those whole 4 months ;)) he had a birthday and I thought it would be so fun and wonderful to go to Disneyland, take the kids, have a magical Disney family fun time. He didn't want to go. He thought it was too expensive. I thought he was having "paying for the wedding stress" so we went to Knott's instead, and had a fun time, although he still thought it was too much. Little did I know that this was a theme that would follow us. He does go, mostly because he loves me and knows I love it, but I think he secretly, or not soo secretly thinks it's a waste. Anyway, that is still my dream. In the meantime I am trying to convince him to take a Disney Cruise next November. Wouldn't that be so fun. They have a 3 day Bahama cruise that the kids would love, and while not cheap it's not over the moon expensive and it's shortish so we could sample cruising and see how we like it. The problem is there are many, many places we'd like to go and we have to pick, and they all are $$, and some we wouldn't take the kids to and some we would so that is a whole other set of concerns. I'd like to go to Belgium while my parents are there. Especially if they are in Brussels. If they are in some little town in Northern France I don't know if I care as much. And there is still Africa. We'll see, maybe we'll just go to Wal mart and buy groceries but it's more fun to plan and dream about a day when we'll do more exotic stuff. (I am also planning a trip to Holiday in the Park this December~ I really wanted to go last year, even had tickets, but we had a lot of angst and conflict and bad weather and the girls ended up going but not me :( so this year I am "surprising everyone read:Beloved" with a day of park fun (which is not so secret since he reads this)~they have real snow there, and an Chinese acrobat show and fun rides and funnel cake! come on, who doesn't love that?)

On a different topic, I hate school fun raisers. HATE. Every year I sign a paper saying my children are not allowed to participate. And every year they go to the pep rallies and come home and beg. This year we had thought about doing the boosterthon. H filled out her donations form (unauthorized by me, no, more than that, despite being specifically forbidden to do so on her own.) She wrote down that Nana pledge $25 a lap a $750 donation. She got a huge prize, which she got to haul back today, and I got to chat with the teacher telling her no that is not right. Tomorrow is the dumb run and I'm thinking of keeping the kids home and sending no money. No laps, no money. Soooooooooo annoying. I can't even say. J is on her third fund raiser of the year. (sigh) Her's I hate but not as much. For one thing she is a born sales person. For another thing they go to concrete, specific things. Her wreath sales is going to help with the team's trip to State. The cheese cakes sales were for goat vet bills, and meat is also for the goat. I am not against helping the school, we send in money for trips and supplies every week it seems like. And I even chaired the carnival committee one year where we made thousands and bought playground equipment with it. I know the schools need our support, there is just something about all these fund raisers and selling of junk and pressure on the kids that I hate. And I hate when kids come selling to our house. I don't want $24 popcorn, or $8 wrapping paper~ I just don't. I liked the carnival because if you wanted to participate you went to the school bought your tickets and had fun. No one came to you to sell you something you don't want. Also I hate phone solicitors, same reason, if I want a newspaper/bug service/cable upgrade/free trip to LV/etc. I will go and find it; don't come to me.

that said we have wreaths and meat for sale?? any takers?