We Miss Alec
Published by Michele on December 1st, 2007 | Tagged Uncategorized
We all miss you and can’t wait to see you for Christmas!
With Love: Mom, Nana, Nannie, Donald, Wrangler & Biscuit
You can make your own free studio quality video at Animoto.
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Find great gifts with this free guide
Published by Alec on November 25th, 2007 | Tagged Christmas, Freebies & Contests
My mom wrote a free guide for holiday gift ideas to share with you.
It has great ideas for presents in it.
It’s free to read, print and share.
Click Here For Your Free Gift Guide
I hope you like it!
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Dad still has it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Published by Alec on November 13th, 2007 | Tagged Current Events
On my new bike I was trying to do bunny hopes and i asked him if he knew had to do any tricks and he got some air when he did a bunny hope and did all kinda kool tricks.
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Birthday
Published by Alec on November 13th, 2007 | Tagged Current Events
for my bday I got a specialized bike the new one. It is a fuse3. Also I got 75.00.
Comment now »Halloween Pumpkin Tips & Reviews
Published by Michele on October 9th, 2007 | Tagged Halloween, Product Reviews
- One of the biggest things to remember is to not carve your pumpkin too soon or it will be mush before Halloween.
- To help your pumpkin last longer, seal the exposed edges to keep it from drying out.
- If it’s going to get cold enough to frost, bring the jack-o-lantern inside for the night.
- By day, keep it out of direct sunlight.
- An alternative to actually carving the pumpkin is to scrape out a design, without cutting all the way through. By taking away part of the darker orange, leaving the lighter color showing you allow your creative work to last longer.
- For the longest lasting results and the most fun for all ages, try painting pumpkins! Below is a review for an awesome eBook to help you achieve the perfect pumpkin.
Product Name: Pumpkin Painting: Anyone Can Do It, Really eBook
Submitted by: LeaAnn Massey; Covington, IN
Rating: 10
Description: 29 page eBook that includes:
14 pumpkin painting patterns
7 step-by-step instructions with pictures of each step included
Instructions for transferring or drawing the patterns onto the pumpkins
Supply list
Accessories List
Tips for bringing your pumpkin to life
Ideas for creating your own ideas
Review: This book is great! I’m in no way creative or artistic, but now that I have this eBook, I will look like I’m the craftiest parent on the block. Shh! Don’t give away my secret ok?
My kids no longer have to look at all the other pumpkins in the neighborhood with envy or beg me to buy the pre-painted ones to keep them from getting smashed every year. Now, we’ve got the coolest pumpkins on the block and the little rascals who smash them every year wouldn’t dare touch these works of art!
The easy to follow instructions and pictures made painting our pumpkins so simple. There are lots of patterns to choose from and I don’t have to worry about drawing directly on those lovely orange bumps on the pumpkin and totally messing it up. With the tips the author gave for transferring (tracing) the patterns, I had no problems getting the look I wanted.
The kids love painting their pumpkin faces and we love the fact that our pumpkins last well past Halloween so the kids can enjoy them well after all the other pumpkins have bid their final farewell for the year.
And the best part, we have a blast creating our pumpkin people. This Halloween we’re going to create a family of pumpkins based on our own personalities. This should be good! It’s a good thing there is a googly pumpkin in this eBook!
For more details or to aquire this eBook click the link below:
Pumpkin Painting: Anyone Can Do It, Really eBook
Halloween Movies For Family Movie Night
Published by Michele on October 7th, 2007 | Tagged Halloween, Movies
Having a Halloween Movie Night for your family is a great way to celebrate the season together. Although it would seem that blood and gore should be the central theme of a Halloween movie, try some of these all-family favorite flicks instead.
“ It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown ” – Not much needs to be said about this movie. It’s a family classic and will be for years and years to come. Purchase the DVD and keep it in your family’s special movie collection.
“ Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie ” – Rated G - Perfect for the younger set, Winnie The Pooh and his engaging set of comrades will get even the youngest goblin in the mood for the big night.
“ E.T. ” – Rated PG - The whimsy and imagination of this timeless classic remind us that the impossible truly is possible when we believe. (Remember this can be emotional and a bit scary for the younger kiddos.)
“ Monsters Inc. ” – Rated G - This movie provides a funny and non-threatening take on the relationship between “monsters” and humans.
“ Casper ” – Rated PG - In this Steven Spielberg live action movie, human actors and a special effects “Casper” shows everyone’s favorite ghost in some funny and compromising moments.
“ Bednobs & Broomsticks ” – Rated G -This timeless Disney movie, has music and mayhem and lots to keep the little ones engaged.
“ Scooby Doo’s Creepiest Capers ” – Not Rated - This is a funny collection of Scooby’s spookiest cases. Along with his goofy group of cohorts, there are always a lot of giggles when Scooby Doo is on the screen.
“ Wallace & Gromit, The Curse Of The Were Rabbit ” – Rated G - The cool part about this movie is that these characters, even though they seen completely real, are made out of clay. Kids will love to see the inventions that Wallace comes up with and may even want to talk about what inventions that can create.
“ Nightmare Before Christmas ” – Rated PG – Although there is so much going on in this film that is great to bridge Halloween and Christmas, younger kids may find this one a tiny bit creepy. Stay close to them and the whole family can enjoy this one that has music and great-looking scenes.
Comment now »A Brief History of Halloween
Published by Michele on September 27th, 2007 | Tagged Halloween
Some trivia about Alec - He was born on Halloween! Being as it’s relative to this site’s namesake, we may as well report on it!
The History of Halloween
What we now know as Halloween has a long and complicated history. It doesn’t come from just one source. It’s a blending of religious rites, superstitions, customs and traditions and has become what we know today as a night of costumes, parties, candy and spooky stories. By combining elements from the Celtic druids from 2000 years ago and the Roman Catholic Church, we have what it is recognized as Halloween.
The word Halloween itself traces back to “All Hollows Eve”, the night before the Catholic tradition of “All Hallows Day”, also known as “All Saints Day”. November 1 was set aside to honor the saints of the church. Due to it being the same date as the ancient Celtic new year celebration, Samhain, elements of both have blended together over the years.
There are many different conflicting stories about the Celtic celebrations at this time, with some claiming human sacrifice had it’s part. However, more recently it is thought to have been a fire lighting ceremony, symbolic of the old year ending, and the new year starting. The families would put out all the fires in their homes and go to a common light source – a bonfire tended by the druids. They would take home some of the fire to relight their own hearths.
Trick or treating also has had some varied opinions on its origins. Some stories indicate that people would dress up as scary beings and wander the streets in an attempt to avoid being possessed by the spirits of the dead who were wandering on All Hallows Eve. Others connect it to the practice of “souling” on November 2, or “All Souls Day”, where beggars would wander and beg for soul cakes in exchange for praying for those who gave.
The trick part came into play in the 1800’s and 1900’s with something called “mischief nights”. Immigrants from Scotland and Ireland would play pranks on Halloween night. By the 1920’s, people started to organize the kids into a “trick or treat” night, to help avoid the tricks by taking them door-to-door to collect treats.
The jack-o-lantern has had some bad press over the years, with some people believing a story that the druids used candles made of human fat, put in carved pumpkins to light their human sacrifices (after going door to door, looking for someone to sacrifice). Not only has research shown that the druids did not perform human sacrifices, they couldn’t have used pumpkins as they are a North American plant.
There is also an 18th century legend about a man named Jack, who tricked the devil into climbing into a tree and trapping him there. After Jack died, he was given a light in a gourd to see by while wandering - neither in heaven nor hell. It was quite common to carve out things like turnips or beets to be used as lanterns. This was adapted to the jack-o-lantern made with pumpkins popular in North America.
It is easy to see that Halloween has a varied and often confusing, history. There are many sources and legends that have blurred together over the years. While no one may know the complete history, it is fun to see where some of the traditions may have come from in the past.
References:
Rupert, Dennis. “The History of Halloween- It’s Probably Not What You Think.” The History of Halloween. 29 Dec 2006. 21 Jul 2007 http://www.new-life.net/halowen1.htm
Wilson, Jerry. “History and Customs of Halloween.” History and Customs of Halloween. 2002. 21 Jul 2007 http://wilstar.com/holidays/hallown.htm
Do You Blog? Need More Exposure?
Published by Michele on September 15th, 2007 | Tagged Uncategorized
If you are new to blogging as Alec is, then you know the frustration of getting traffic (visitors) at your blog. It’s alot more work than you anticipated, isn’t it? Well, BlogRush might just be what you need!
You simply put a small widget on your blog which shows other related blog links, and in return they show yours as well. You can also receive A LOT more FREE traffic by simply referring other others.
Their video can explain it so much better than I can. So go check it out. It’s a FREE service and could be just the thing you need to take your blog traffic to the next level! Click here to try BlogRush and let me know how it works out for you!
Sincerely,
Michele (Alec’s Mom)
Happy people
Published by Alec on September 9th, 2007 | Tagged Memes
Say something about each member of your family that you think they would enjoy hearing.
I would enjoy hearing people getting along.
What kind of people are the luckiest people in the world?
Bill Gates
What color reminds you of happiness?
Blue
What makes a happy family?
every one loving
The States I Have Visited
Published by Alec on September 9th, 2007 | Tagged Vacation & Travel
In my life i have been to 16 states. What about you? You can email me all the states you been to. The states that I have been to the most is New York, Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma.
create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out our California travel guide
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