Pumpkins 2012

Things have been SO busy lately.  I am totally exhausted. Beyond exhausted.

And yet despite it all, we still couldn't resist our traditional pumpkin carving endeavors.

This year we let the kids pick one design and then M and I picked another design.

The kids opted for Po from Kung Fu Panda:

We chose to do a the Mockingjay design from the Hunger Games:




But a little advice from me. After you print off your pumpkin design and cut it out, make sure you don't accidentally turn it sideways when you start taping it to your pumpkin:

As I started poking holes to transfer the design, I thought something looked a little odd, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  And then when it was already too late, I realized.  The bird is supposed to be flying with its wings up and head down, and not with its wings back and head up.  Luckily, once it's dark you can't see that we have the pumpkin turned on it's side!

Chimp Stamp

So there is this other mom at the kids' school.  I see her when I pick up Scott in the front hallway. I've been pondering something about her for awhile now because I don't have much else to think about while waiting for school to let out.  In warm weather when she wears a tank top (like today - 90 degrees on October 17th!!!), I can see that she has a chimp head tattooed on the back of her shoulder.  Yes, chimp as in a chimpanzee.

I don't get it.

I'm trying to imagine the situation in which a person thinks to herself:
"You know what would be awesome?  If every time someone comes up behind me they are accosted by a chimp face.  Preferably one where the chimp is bearing it's teeth in some sort of display.  (Display of what? I don't know what as I'm not Jane Goodall. Is it grinning? Is it about to rip my head off? The world may never know.) And the head should definitely be disembodied. Oh and I'd like this image to be a permanent lifetime commitment."

Is this supposed to be a turn on for guys? I can't imagine it increases her status among her girlfriends. Or am I the only girl who isn't gaga for chimps?  Cuz they kinda give me the jibblies.

Or maybe she's like a zoology major or something and feels the need to loudly advertise her zoologic expertise and/or unhealthy obsessions?  (But it's not like I have a circuit diagram tat on my upper arm or anything...)

Then again, I don't really understand tattoos in general. I could never be sure enough that I would continue liking something long enough to commit to it like that.  Does anyone less baffled by tattoos in general want to take a guess on the motivation of the chimp stamp???

Oh, and I'm really hoping to see her in a halter top some day because there is totally a part of some sort of striped tail peeking up from lower on her back! Raccoon? Lemur? Stripe Tailed Cat Tat? The suspense is killing me...