Fall, Pumpkin, Autumn, Harvest, Whatever

I know, I know. It's been a while. I promised pumpkins and costumes and corn mazes and such, but every time you've opened the Darby blog for the past few weeks you've gotten the angry stop-being-such-assholes-Mississippi blog. That one took a lot out of me, and I had to regroup. I want to apologize to my 2 fans for not getting the Halloween photos up before Target put out their Christmas cards, but sometimes I guess I don't have my blogging priorities straight.

We just returned from a fantastic wedding weekend in Memphis a couple of days ago (I have a new sister-in-law, and she's really, really cool and from Chicago. Although she only lived here for, like, a few months, but that doesn't really matter), and it's high time I get a little more organized. By the way, Mimi is OBSESSED with the idea of weddings and getting married now. At the moment she has all of her Fisher-Price people and EI-EI's (of course, those are the farm animals) all lined up in a nice semi-circle, and she informed me that they are getting married so they can dance. Well, of course that's why people get married. She's got this all figured out.

In only a couple of days, my family will begin arriving in Chicago for Thanksgiving. No, you don't have to read that last line again. I am indeed hosting Thanksgiving this year. Yipee! And I'm not ordering take-out. I've flipped through the pages of my November Southern Living so much that I'm afraid it may fall apart soon, but I believe I have settled on some really fab recipes. I'm trying an all new line-up for the dinner, so fingers crossed that all the kids and my picky father will find something that is "fair." "Fair" is my father's word for "it's not as bad as rat poison." He used this word to describe Clint when he first met him, but now I'm pretty sure he is my dad's favorite son-in-law. I know my sister only looks at photos and never reads, so she'll have absolutely no idea that I've said that. My attempts at unpacking and cleaning and doing laundry have been futile -- which, by the way, I washed ALL of our dirty clothes the day before we left Chicago AND the day before we left Memphis, but somehow I still have, like, 3 loads of laundry. But I'll stop talking about housework because a very wise woman told my sister (who never reads my blog) that no one wants to hear about how many loads of laundry you've done this week. They want to hear about where you've been and what you've seen. So I guess I'll get started with the Autumn Harvest Pumpkin Extravaganza . . . otherwise known as October.

First of all, Mimi LOVES being in school. It's only 2 half days a week, but it's enough for her to bring home some really funny material. She talks about their daily "bathroom trip" and how they sing a song called "Scoot Against the Wall, Against the Wall" on their way to potty . . . and how she never uses the bathroom at school because it's scary (Great. She already has a public bathroom complex.). They sit criss-cross-applesauce during circle time and must yell things like "FALLLLLLL!" and "OCTOBERRRR!" and "TWO-POWSAN-UH-LEBBIN!!!" (which I think is what year it is) because this is the way she responds when I ask her questions. They have show-and-tell every day, which is fantastic for a little girl who loves to perform. Anywho, there was a fun Halloween party at her school, and of course it was a great photo-op.

By the way, I must give Mimi's costume credit to Amy Norris. You should totally stalk her blog because she's a lot funnier and more creative than I am. Which is why I stalk her so I can steal her really great ideas. I did ask her permission to be a copy cat, but I think I would have stolen the idea of cow pants with pink fringe regardless of getting her blessing. Amy, someone just needs to post YOU to Pinterest. Anyway, Mimi found this hideous pink pony costume for Halloween, which she decided she hated about 10 minutes after having it on her little self (check out the neglected thing on the floor), BUT she still wanted to be some type of cowgirl.

Catch a lion by the tail . . .

I'll have to say her little friend in the photo has probably the coolest Jessie costume ever -- I mean, red glitter boots and hat. How can we compete with that?

Face Painting by Miss Kelley. I think she should start a business. And her whole 80's fluorescent American Apparel get-up made me love her even more.

Mimi's favorite party activity -- painting a pumpkin with ridiculous amounts of red paint. Somehow that pumpkin made it's way to a really high shelf in her classroom and hopefully someone really smart has chunked it in the trash. And check out the Edward wanna-be sitting next to her. And my brave girl wasn't even frightened of him . . . even though I was a little.
Now I must back-track a little because, well, that is how I downloaded the photos, and I'm a little too lazy to put them in order. We finally visited Michigan, and, oh, I will be back. We drove along the southwest coast, and there are so many cute towns and beautiful views . . . and why have I never known about this? Whenever I think of Michigan, I think about those loud, obnoxious boys who go to PCB for spring break every year and Detroit. That's it. But now I have a beautiful view of Michigan . . . pretty beaches and boutiques and sand dunes and wineries and a really cool pumpkin patch.

Before we left, I tried my best to herd my kittens onto the couch for a matching-pumpkin-shirt-that-mommy-made-photo, but they had other plans. I have about ten shots of poses that are very similar to this one. And I totally came up with the pumpkin shirts on my own. Because no other mom has ever thought to sew an orange pumpkin onto her toddlers' t-shirts.
Awww . . . isn't he so cute? No, you can't have him. He's all mine. And maybe a little Clint's but mostly mine.

Okay, maybe he's half Clint, but I pretend he likes me more.

Hmm . . . which pumpkin goes best with my shirt????

Cute, cute, cute, cute cute. I'm so cute I can just lie on the ground and you'll still take my photo."Wa-HOO!! Yee-haw! Gitty-up, little buddy! Ride like the wind, Bull's Eye!" And she yelled these phrases NON-STOP while riding her little pony that went in circles.

As happy as a girl should be who's inside a giant plastic jack-o-lantern.

I had my camera ready as soon as I heard Mimi's voice at the end of the corn maze . . . but then there was no Mimi. I yelled for Clint to make sure everything was okay, and Mimi screamed to the top of her lungs, "WE'RE OKAY, MOMMY! BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE FINISHED!!!" She loves to be lost in the middle of tall corn, I suppose.

Surveying the maze.

My chirrens love some livestock.

Hmm . . . maybe this one matches better . . .

Phew. We're getting closer to the end. Finally on to Halloween.

I have decided that Mimi needs to become best friends with two little girls who live a couple of houses down the street. They're around her age and blonde and have a fun mom -- what else do they need in common? So we went to their house prior to trick-or-treating for a little pumpkin carving fun.

"Just give me an ice cream scoop and a pumpkin, and I'll show you a good time."

Sweet Little Lion Man.

Awww . . . you can't have this one either. Trust me -- I've tried to take him. He belongs to my sweet neighbor, and I kinda think she likes him.

I have a few other photos I took on my phone (because my camera died OF COURSE) of Mimi and her buddies trick-or-treating, but I can't seem to figure out where photos from my new phone are on the computer. Sigh. I think I've had enough photo fun for the night, and I need to get Miss Priss in the bed. So maybe next time I'll have wedding and Thanksgiving fun . . . or maybe another rant and rave session. Nah. Maybe not.