Halloweensie Contest

THE 8TH ANNUAL HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST!!!!!
~ FOR CHILDREN’S WRITERS ~
AAHHHRRROOOOOOOOO!!!!!

(from Susanna Leonard Hill’s Blog)

The Contest: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (children here defined as 12 and under) (title not included in the 100 words), using the words shiver, cauldron, and howl.  Your story can be scary, funny, or anything in between, poetry or prose, but it will only count for the contest if it includes those 3 words and is 100 words (you can go under, but not over).

Here’s my entry…

How Do Ninjas Trick or Treat?

Ninjas tip-toe street to street,

Faces covered don’t you peek.

Cauldrons filled to the brim,

Ninjas leap limb to limb.

What’s inside? Hold your nose,

Icky, sticky, stinky toes.

How do Ninjas trick or treat?

Dance and prance to a beat.

Howls heard far away,

Ninjas rush to save the day.

Cauldrons filled to the brim,

Tip and spill, leave faces grim.

One Ninja shivered, one Ninja shook.

Two Ninjas sprinted to the nearest brook.

Cauldrons empty, sticky toes no more,

Toes hop to the brooks bumpy cool floor.

Ninjas tip-toe street to street,

home at last ready for sleep.

Muffins with Mom - National Carve a Pumpkin Day - 3 ways to celebrate

Photo Credit: Good Housekeeping

It’s the time of year where kids are going to Trunk or Treat parties, harvest gatherings and door- to- door trick or treating. It’s also National Carve a Pumpkin Day, celebrated on October 31^st. This is a good opportunity to involve the entire family in creative fun.

Put a different spin on your Halloween festivities. Here are ways to celebrate National Carve a Pumpkin Day:

1.      Hold a contest – gather the family and carve pumpkins together. When the carving is complete, determine the funniest pumpkin, most creative pumpkin, or scariest pumpkin.

2.      Cook something pumpkiny – not sure that pumpkiny is a word, but it sounds fun. Bake pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pies or pumpkin muffins. Of course, you must carve a pumpkin first.

3.      Have a pumpkin story time – after carving pumpkins as a family, gather in your favorite cozy spot at home and share pumpkin related stories.

Most of all, have fun. The emphasis should be on the process and not the end result. Happy Halloween.

If you want more ideas on ways to celebrate National Carve a Pumpkin Day check out the article, 40 ways to celebrate National Pumpkin Day. Click here.

What would you add to this list of ways to celebrate National Carve a Pumpkin Day?

Fun Friday – All in a day’s work - The bird lady

photo credit: VideoBlocks

This week has been super busy, so I've grabbed a blog post from my archives, that I had fun with. Enjoy...

I am not a bird whisperer by any means, but my employee (Mary) has become our in-house expert at handling birds. No, we do not work at a bird sanctuary, but a community center. Our facility is a place for physical activity, family gatherings, and youth programs. Not for stray birds seeking to have a little fun.

It was a warm sunny day when Mary called me from my office and said, “Angie, we’ve got another bird at the entry door.” It was the second time within two weeks that a bird had gotten into the vestibule area of our center. Stuck between the outer double doors and the double doors leading inside, the bird was hiding somewhere unseen.

I walked to the door, followed by Mary – dubbed by me as the bird lady. I gave her this name because she reminded me of the bird lady from the movie Home Alone 2. She had no fear of birds. In fact, since Mary had just scooted a bird out of the center a week prior, I should have let her lead the way.

Assuming the role of fearless leader, I was the first to walk through the double doors in search of the bird.  I peeked behind a couple of pillars, no bird. I looked up at the ceiling no bird. Then out of nowhere, the bird swooshed up in the air. I screamed and ran back through the door to our lobby area and told Mary, “You’re on your own from here.”

After Mary roared with laughter, she asked me to bring her a cloth so she could gently escort the bird back outside. I’m all about empowerment, so I let Mary take the lead on this situation and I followed her direction. Yes, empowerment, that’s what we’ll call it (wink). The bird was released and I was glad Mary was a part of our team.

Every day is different in our office, but there’s never a dull moment. Thanks team for all you do to make our place operate smoothly.

What has been your recent, All in a day’s work experience? Was it something that happened during your daily at home parenting?