Trick-or-Treat 2010

We loaded up the wagon with a cooler full of beer and Capri Suns, glow sticks and bug spray and trick-or-treated the hood with Wolverine and Tinkerbell and our friends the Aukamps and Patricks. 

The kids got a ridiculous amount of candy.  It was a sugary success.  Happy Halloween!

Balentowski.o

My cousin Cheryl came for a week long visit.  She arrived on my birthday, Saturday evening, and we kicked off her visit with class and rented the horror film The Human Centipede.  The movie was so incredibly disturbing that it took me hours to fall asleep that night.  I highly recommend it! 

Sunday afternoon we drove up to Columbia to check into the Hilton for the night and see our favorite comedian Daniel Tosh Live.  I scored great seats front and center and Tosh was so funny our cheeks and stomachs hurt from laughing!  

After the show, we ran into Daniel Tosh at a club and got our picture taken with him.  He looks completely different in person. 

On Tuesday we took the kids to Kiln Time to do ceramics.  Growing up in Newburyport, my grandmother and Cheryl's great-grandmother, Mimi, owned a ceramic shop so this was one of those sweet nostalgic moments that made us feel special for passing on our family craft as well as our family lunacy. 

  

Wednesday evening we did Bottles and Brushes.  The painting was Sunset Over the Battery.  We wore our Fugu Tour t-shirts to support our cousin Dickie's art tour- "Fugu and Beyond, The World Tour".

After the art class we kept it classy by going to the local biker bar, Richard's, for a few drinks and a few twirls on the dance floor.  We left our mark on the women's bathroom door! 

On Thurday we took the kids to the Scary'um Aquarium and got to pet a baby alligator! 

After our morning at the aquarium, we went to Poogan's Porch for a lovely Southern lunch.  Named after a dog, Poogan's Porch is famous for being one of the most haunted restaurants in America.  We had no run-ins with any ghosts but the Gouda Macaroni and Cheese and the Fried Green Tomatoes more than made up for it! 

For Cheryl's final day, we made Mexican Sugar Skulls in preparation for the upcoming Day of the Dead and we just felt like we needed to keep with our crafty theme of the week. 

We ended her visit with cocktails on the dock, followed by Skittles vodka shots, beer, more beer and then more Skittles vodka shots.  It was a fantastic week fueled by booze and giggles.  I love me some Cheryl.  One day I hope we marry and adopt Chinese and African babies together! 

Bottles and Brushes Part III

To celebrate my 37 years on earth, the girls and I got together for another Bottles and Brushes class.  My cousin Cheryl was here visiting for this one so it was super silly.  

We painted a Sunset over the Battery. 

I painted this one for Currier.  I know it's no dragon, but it'll do!   

My Little Entrepreneurs

Today was our community yardsale and Currier and Rya got up bright and early to sell donuts and coffee to the browsers.  They made a lot of people happy and they made bank! 

Friday Favorites- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens

My dear friend Ella let me borrow her Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens to try out.  I've been playing with this sick lens all week.  I love it! 

Speech Therapy

Rya's speech therapist, Lindsay, comes to our house every Monday morning to work with Rya.  Since we started these sessions Rya has been saying more and more words and even starting using two word sentences.  I'm so proud of her. 

And The Winner Is...

‎"Rya found the soggy skittles" - Charlotte Scott
*Charlotte, let me know your address so I can send you 25 clams! 

(For those who don't get the quote, I've been soaking Skittles in vodka to make Skittles vodka for my cousin's visit coming up this weekend.)

Thank you to all who participated. 

Other notable quotes that made me laugh...

Laura Veal ‎"Another Saturday night around the Balent house!"
Stephen Cynewski "Candy overload!"
Matt Winger "I remember my first Jack and Coke."
Hilde Phipps "Halloween candy does NOT cause a hangover!" or Whaddya looking at? I always sleep here."
Michelle Trafton Kimball ‎"HEY .. check me out .. I saw my MOM doing this last weekend."
Rachel Kaufman Ginsburg ‎"Momma said there would be days like this."
Robert Lavoie ‎"I shouldn't have taken all of mommies happy pills." or "These time outs go on forever and ever and ever."
Vicky Shipman Staggs "WTF!!! I thought that was MY sippy cup."
Shutterbug Mama "Sugar Coma."
Daniel Flores "Mom sold my bed for her liquor habit, now the stairs are the replacement. Thanks mom, great parenting."
Karen Landes "Timed Out in Time Out" or "Stairway to Heaven: Maybe Tomorrow..."

Caption This Photo Contest

Who ever comes up with the funniest caption for this photo wins $25.  Winner will be posted Wednesday at noon.  Good luck and make me laugh! 

Busted

If it's not Bruco up on the counters stealing food it's this one! 

Autumn in Charleston

Fall has always been my least favorite season, but in Charleston autumn feels like spring.  It's perfect weather for lunch on the porch.  Autumn in Charleston is delicious!

Final Dock Days

Last night a bunch of us Massachusetts transplants (picture excludes Erin and Trent because they're not Massholes) hung out on Lauren and Craig's dock for possibly the last time.  They bought a house in another community and although we're happy they found a new beautiful home, we're so sad to see them leave our neighborhood. 

The sunset was one of the prettiest I'd ever seen... making it even harder to say goodbye to this place. 

A Little Joy in My Life

A few days ago I ran into a familiar face at the library.  I said, "You look familiar.  Where do I know you from?"  She said, "Oh my God, COLEEN!?"  Once she spoke I realized it was a fellow Newburyporter!  Joy was a couple years younger than me in school but we took years of tap dance lessons together and then in high school she dated my brother's best friend so she was always hanging out on 10 Jackson. 

She lives here in Mount Pleasant now with her husband and two sons and if it weren't for that chance encounter we would have never known that we both live in the same city.  I teased her that we're destined to be friends and that she's stuck with me.  She teased me that the last time she saw me I was drunk at the Thirsty Whale with a beer in one hand and a butt in the other and if someone told her that fifteen years later she'd run into me at the children's section of the Mount Pleasant library reading stories to children she would have never believed it!

The other night I met her and her adorable boys at Sullivan's Island Fire Station for a parade/festival/pizza party.  The kids got to go on several different firetrucks and see a helicopter take off.  It was a blast for the kids and so great to catch up with Joy.

Halloween Activities Extravaganza

Day 3: Decorating the casa for Halloween

Day 4: Carmel Apples

Day 5: Halloween costume shopping. 

Promise kept = Happy Currier!

Pumpkin Patch

This morning we went to the Boone Hall Plantation Pumpkin Patch as part of my promise to do a fun Halloween activity everyday this week.  We picked a pumpkin, went on a hayride and jumped on the jumpy castles.  The weather was perfect (mid 70's) and the kids behaved.  It's simple and fun days like this that make me so thankful that I am a stay-at-home mom.  I have the best job in the world!

Spooky Haunted House

I promised Currier a fun Halloween themed activity every day this week.  This morning we made an edible haunted house.  By lunch time the candy had been eaten and the frosting licked.  This afternoon nobody napped.  It was scary!

Big Girl Bed

Saturday night was Rya's first night in her new big girl bed. 

So far she's doing fine and sleeping through the night without any late night sneaking into our bed.  I wish I could say the same for Currier.   

Bowling

We took the kids bowling for the first time over the weekend.  Aside from falling on my ass (Yes, I had a few beers but I blame the ugly shoes and slippery floors!) and Rya whining when it wasn't her turn, it was a really fun family night.  And seriously, baby bowling shoes are the cutest things EVER! 

Bottles and Brushes Part II

This month we did the Palmetto Palm at Bottles and Brushes.

It was a great group of fun ladies with mad painting skills!

Well maybe not mad skills, but pretty good?

Friday Favorites- Moxie Soda

I grew up drinking Moxie soda.  I realize it's not for everyone.  It has a rather bitter almost minty taste, but I love it.  It's only sold in New England so I've gone without it for a long time until a 12 pack showed up on my doorstep this week.  Thanks Art and Erin for giving me a little taste of home.  You guys are some of my favorites.