I’m participating in the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival this year. Don’t know what I’ll be giving away, but whatever it is, it’ll be announced October 27th. Come back and leave a comment when the post is up, and you’ll be entered to win something cool.

Having a halloween party this year? Celebrations.com is a cool place for simple planning tools that will make your party way more fun than you expected. The site features an interactive community space for sharing party ideas, recipes, photos and videos, so it pretty much has everything you need and more to make your party memorable. There’s also an insider blog on celebrity parties and several different seasonal themes that will give you a little extra inspiration.

I’m starting to catch the bug. I’m seeing pumpkins on people’s stoops and it’s making me really ache to go to the pumpkin patch and yank the Halloween decorations out of our shed. I wish I had the energy this year to really go for it. The food ideas on that site I was telling you about are so cool. Some are actually really disgusting (think shrimp made to look like brains), but some are super cute, like the spider guacamole. And there’s also ideas on how to host a Halloween wine tasting party for those classier folks who wanna play grown-up. I wanna do that so bad! Oh well, there’s always next year…and hopefully I won’t be pregnant then, so I can actually drink.

The baby has been kicking so freaking much! It’s hard to sleep. She seems to be most active at night, but I definitely feel her at least 3 or 4 times during the day, too.

I don’t remember Squid being this rambunctious inside there. The girl wants out. Or, as Jason so eloquently put it, “She’s ready to start pooping out of her own butt.”

Ever since we put our indoor cat outside with the rest of the outdoor kitties, we’ve been visited by a small critter known as Mouse. I heard it one night when I was lying with Squid in his room…a little scratching coming from the back of my stepson’s bed. Creepy. Then, the other day, Jason was down in the garage changing the dogs’ food bowl, and he picked one up in his hand! It was in the bowl, chomping on the little pellets. He dropped it right away and it scurried off. It’s a good thing it wasn’t me. I would have fainted, I think.

Damn rodents. First it was the gophers ruining our lawn and now mice? Seriously? That’s what I get for throwing my cat outside. She was really starting to get on our nerves, scratching up the carpet and meowing in the middle of the night. But now that she’s out, she won’t come back in! She really likes living out with the other cats, hunting and lying in the sun.

Got a problem with critters? We bought some traps, but I’m looking into a better solution. There’s a website that offers advice on how to get rid of unwanted animals and offers solutions such as squirrel repellent, rabbit fences and more. If your garden or house is being invaded, check it out.

We’re back from a short vacay at our friends’ ranch this weekend. It was relaxing, but it’s also nice to be home. Perfect timing, too, ‘cuz Squid came down with a cold. Poor little guy has been all runny and coughy. He’s actually much better today than he was yesterday. My mom mentioned it was the first day of Fall yesterday, also, which makes sense. The change of seasons always throws us off. Hopefully it will subside and there won’t be any more sicknesses this year.