What's it like to get married on Halloween?

Mr. & Mrs. Scary

10 years ago today some of the strangest things happened...

A girl dressed up as Pocahontas came to the bridal suite and I thought she was going to sing...but she was there to do my makeup.

Drag queens dressed my dad in earrings and a feather boa while they waited for the stylists to finish with my bridal party.

A woman dressed as a bride showed me around the ballroom so I could see the tables all set up.

ScaryMom and "other" Halloween bride

The cocktail hour became cocktail 2 hours because the food was great, the jazz music was soothing, and everyone was enjoying it.

My new husband twirled me around the dance floor like a pro and we nailed the dip at the end.

Dancing with the stars

My dad gave the most heartwarming, sentimental, and tear jerking toast...to my mother, "his bride of 32 years".

I did my best Tina moves on stage with the band when they sang "Proud Mary".

My husband got up and danced with the band when they played "The Way You Do the Things You Do" - Jerry Garcia style.

Masks of all kinds appeared around 11:00pm and I think people actually got up to do the Monster Mash.

A Jr. Monster

My 85 year old grandparents somehow agreed to come and enjoyed themselves. This was the last major trip of their lives.

I watched my dad do his signature dance move, "the mojo" one too many times.

Oh no, here comes the Mojo!

Really drunk trick-or-treaters hopped on the wedding busses that took the guests back to the hotel.

A life-size cut-out of Austin Powers greeted people at the morning-after brunch, "Hello Baby!"

For me, it was the greatest weekend of my life. We spent too much money on it, but we have memories and stories to last a lifetime. People are still talking....

Happy Anniversary to us Mr. Scary! I love you.
Mrs. ScaryMom

This post is dedicated to the only other man in my life, my Dad. He always loved a good party and lived his too-short life to the fullest. I miss him every day.

It's not that I don't love my kids....

I know what you are thinking, "What kind of mother starts out a statement like that?" Let me explain...

This past weekend I got to enjoy the pleasure of taking care of no one...but myself.
I went up to a friend's cabin in the Poconos and enjoyed time with my college friends. No twins, no husband, no internet.

For the first time in a long time my first thought was not about the Twofer, what they were doing, or what I can feed them for breakfast.
It was about ME for an entire weekend.

The only whining I heard was from the wind outside.

The only fight I witnessed was between my friend, and the cork stuck in the bottle of wine.

I ate my good 60% chocolate without hiding behind a door (I'm not wasting good chocolate on the Twofer).

And I swore like a sailor and loved it.

Getting there I was so Scary, that when my friend bought her kids "trip gifts" I actually said, "My gift to the twins is that I actually come back from the trip".

ScaryMom (far left) and friends

But by the end of the weekend I had softened. I actually came home Sunday a changed woman. Unplugged, de-stressed, and ready to take on the mound of laundry and the backlog of emails without hardly a palpitation.

And, dare I say, I came back a little less scary.

With that, I'll do a quick Let it Go on Tuesday. Today I'm letting go of:

1. The pressure to celebrate 10 years of marriage in a BIG way when all we really want to do is go out for a great meal and watch a movie.

2. The fear I have watching the twins riding a horse that is trotting...with no hands!

3. The fact that there are only 24 hours in a day and I need to sleep for at least 7 of those.

What are you letting go of?
ScaryMom

This isn't something you see everyday

I read about this in the local paper but finally saw it with my own eyes - a homemade electric car!

The woman's husband made it for her to use on quick trips around town. Now that gas is dropping along with the temperature, I wonder if she'll stash it for the winter?

I like the idea of something simple for all the running around I do, but there's something very Flintstones about this one and I don't know if I'm secure enough to really use it.
I'd have to pimp it up with some fringe, rims, and a shiny grill. Definitely paint it black.

Any ideas?

ScaryMom

A Kid’s party with no gifts? Think of the trees we’d save!

OK, so this is really cool. I came across this company on twittermoms and had to give them a little plug because it's such a cool idea!

I've mentioned before that kid's birthday parties (including my own bash for the twfoer) can often get over-the-top. And I can't even begin to think about how eco-UNfriendly that 5-year party was! Well ECHoage can help parents make their child’s party a little greener, a lot less messier, and helps engage ALL participants in a discussion about giving. Plus, the birthday boys and girls are loving it because they get to pick one or two BIG gifts and they FEEL GOOD about their choices.

Here’s the scoop:
When you sign up to ECHOage your party you pick an online invitation design, pick a charity, and invite your guests. Guests are encouraged to give a secure online gift of money instead of a wrapped present when they RSVP. ECHOage then pools the payments and sends half to the charity you chose. The other half is sent back to you to purchase one BIG gift for your child.

Here's why I find this so attractive (and y'all know how I love to make lists)

• Greener, Cleaner, and Nicer Online invitations mean less paper.
• Fewer packaged gifts means less paper, plastic, and packaging to discard.
• Guests have the opportunity to learn about charity and the gift of giving to others instead of bringing a wrapped present.
• Birthday boys and girls get to choose which charity will benefit from their generosity and leaves them with a really good feeling.
• Secure online giving is easy and parents don’t have to shop, wrap or remember a gift (yea! no more leaving the gift on the kitchen table!).
• Host parents can choose to include their child in choosing the BIG gift, or surprise them at the party!

Resistance?
ECHOage has thought of just about every concern too so check out their FAQs if you are considering an ECHOage party. Even if you aren’t ready to have an ECHOage party, they have great language to use when you sit down and start talking to your kids about charity and what it means to give.

Here’s a big Twofer Thumbs Up to ECHOage for the One Gift-One Cause birthday party option!

Feeling a little more socially responsible,
ScaryMom

Public Service Announcement

Those vacuum packed "bricks" of coffee hold more than the cans.

Coffee grinds

I'm trying to be a little more green and a litte more frugal, so I recycled the empty can and refilled it.

This picture doesn't include the 3 huge scoops that I had put into the coffee maker already and the stuff on the floor.

Love to start the day cleaning. At least it wakes me up a bit.

SM