My poll strangely became some other random poll, so I took it down. Before that, though, I am proud to say that my spider pumpkin was winning, 8-6. That'll show Steve for calling my pumpkin "elementary"!

Last night, for the second time in a week, some loser came and knocked on our door after dark. Both times Steve wasn't home, and it freaked me out. I realize that someone who is intending to rob us or worse probably isn't going to ring the doorbell to try to get in, but still. Last time Steve was almost home, and I flung the door open, thinking it would be him (and for some reason not wondering why he would be ringing the bell). It was some creepy guy trying to sell me some oil changes. Gah! Go away! So last night, Emma and I were sitting in the living room and at almost 9:00, the doorbell rings. Almost 9:00! The dogs went crazy, and Emma started to get scared while whoever was on our porch rang the bell, then knocked, then rang again. I want to get a No Solicitors sign, but Steve said probably no one would pay attention to that anyway. For awhile, after Emma being woken from her nap twice in one week, I had a sign that said, IF YOU FEAR FOR YOUR LIFE DO NOT RING THIS BELL, but that one mysteriously disappeared. Someone needs to start a "no-housecall list" like the no-call list. Seriously.

There's a saying that goes something like, "Picking up your house when you have kids is a lot like shoveling your driveway when it's still snowing." This is so true. Emma can take a completely spotless room, and trash it in under five minutes. Then, getting her to clean up after herself is like pulling teeth. Whenever I ask her to help me pick up, she'll sigh heavily, then sit on the floor and say, "Makes me very tired. I'll just watch you do it." Um, no. The only way she'll ever clean anything is if there is something else she wants to do, and I say we can't do it until we pick up first. Then, she'll pick up a toy, take it in her room, apparently get distracted in there, and come out with three different toys! Most of the time it's easier just to pick everything up myself, but I'm trying to get away from that because I don't want her to just expect that I will.

Happy Halloween!