When You "Can Burp at the Table"

As parents we make up rules and consequences we never thought we'd have to establish. Our latest rule is: You owe us 50 cents if you burp at the dinner table.

Last night, our first night of the 50 cent rule enforcement, JO lost a dollar. Since he was the child the rule was primarily targeting, I was pleased to have a zero loss dinner tonight. But what I wasn't expecting was CO, our not-quite three year-old, who announced tonight:

"I don't have money. So I burp."

We're in trouble with that one!

An Uploaded Picture For Your Viewing Pleasure

I haven't taken very many pictures lately. And I clearly haven't been uploading or taking proper care of my blog. Arah, who is a photography maven, emailed Halloween 2009 pictures she'd taken. I'm aware that it's April, but I stand firmly behind the old adage: "BETTER LATE THAN NEVER."

Themed Halloweens are my favorite kinds. 2009 was The Year of the Critter. I made a big list of creeping things I had patterns for and we each picked a bug or creeping thing from the list:

CO was a SNAIL

(Old Navy jammies, a rolled up beach towel, and thrift store eyeballs)

SO was a BUTTERFLY PRINCESS

(one of her princess dresses, pipe cleaner antennae, and Auntie Kiki's wings--thanks, Steve!)

JO was a ROACH

(butcher paper-covered cardboard shell, hands and feet sewn from brown fabric)

RO was a SPIDER

(googley eyes glued to a winter cap and, you can't his costume very well, it but his black sweater was edged with stuffed black socks on fishing line that moved whenever his arms moved)

I was a FIREFLY

(sequins glued to painted foam ball for the eyes, wings borrowed from SO's fairy dress-up dress, and a flashlight attached to the bottom of the wings)

BEN was a PRAYING MANTIS

(foam egg painted and glued to mask with both mask and claws sewn from felt pieces)

and

the dog was a BUMBLEBEE. . . for about two and a half seconds.

(not pictured)