THE LAST BOY OUT

Ok, I know this sounds really bad, since I'm referring to my children leaving in the morning. Just for clarification: I am not saying that I'm glad to get rid of my boys, since I really do enjoy having them around on the days that they are home from school (most the time, anyway :0).

But most school mornings are incredibly hectic for our family. Is this a familiar situation for anyone else? I know things would probably run smoother if we all got up earlier, but even on those rare cases when I do, most times it's just hard.

Five people leaving to work or school from 8:00 AM to 8:27 AM = CRAZINESS. What with getting boys out of bed, in the shower, lunches ready, breakfast made, boys eating enough breakfast, lunches in backpacks, jackets and shoes found and on (why are those items often never to be found with two minutes left until it's time to walk out the door?!), coats on, family prayers said, teeth brushed (ha), hair combed...whew! That exhaustes me even to type all that!

I must mention here that I am not the only one working on making the morning work: it's wonderful that my older boys can and do get themselves ready (even if they need a bit of prodding out of bed sometimes), and my husband and I work together to get everyone out. I'm so grateful I don't have to do it all by myself!

So now you can better understand why I should homeschool, be better organized, get up earlier...or, since I don't do those things, why I feel somewhat relieved and grateful at this sight: the last boy out, on his way to have a good day.

Now I can sit down and eat my breakfast.

GROSS-LOOKING FUNNY FOOD: EYEBALL PLATTER

Halloween has just passed and I have to say, I love Halloween food and am so grateful for how fun food is to play with. Of course, I have five boys, and boys do tend to appreciate more gross stuff than girls do (on the whole, that is), and I love seeing their enjoyment in eating something a tad on the disgusting-looking side.

It's amazing how much more and easily my boys will eat an unknown food sometimes if I name it something yucky. I don't do it very often, but last time I made something new and named it goblin brains, I met with a very appreciative audience. So sad how uncooth and low-brow we are...

But there are so many cute and fun and slightly to very gross-looking Halloween foods. Here's a snack I tried this year. Yummy, cute, a tad disgusting in the thought (eating eyeballs, you know), and not un-nutritious. A perfect Halloween snack! I got the recipe from this site. Here's my 8-year-old with part of his snack.