Tricks or Treats?

These are my two youngest boys, Mitchell (top) and Tyrone (bottom) looking like they're posing for mugshots in a police station. But in all reality, they're just posing for me after fun-night at school. They love to get their faces painted at any opportunity, and I'd say that these face-painters did a great job, especially on the spider web.

We just got back from trick-or-treating a couple of hours ago, and it was bitterly cold out there. I'm actually dreading what weather lies ahead for the rest of winter. Not that I don't like winter . . . it's actually my favorite season ~ I don't really enjoy the heat of summer and I'd rather bundle up and have to wear more clothes rather than reduce the amount of clothing I have to wear. I'm sure I'm in a very small minority when it comes to choosing winter as my favorite season. But the thing I love the most about winter is the hoar frost that we are so blessed with after a heavy fog. It is like God takes a huge paintbrush full of white paint and spreads it all over the great outdoors. It is breathtaking and always reminds me of God's awesome power and creative nature. But I don't like the piercing, bitter wind that tends to accompany the winter season. That, I could live without.

So, back to the tricks or treats . . . the boys brought in a lot of stuff just from going to 30 - 40 houses on our street (we have a pretty long street, with house numbers ranging from 100 - 500). After I "safety-checked" everything, they went to town on eating their candy. However, this year I put a limit of 5 items each for the first night. They seemed disappointed with that at first, but by the time they got to item 4 they were pretty much full of the sugar thing already and didn't even want more. So now we have enough candy to last until at least Christmas, and then they get another load, which will last until Easter, at which point more is lavished upon them. Yes, we have too much candy in the house for the majority of the year, due to these candy-infested holidays. Actually, in the process of packing up to move, I got rid of a bunch of last years' Halloween, Christmas and Easter candy. Thank goodness there are times that the novelty does wear off. Or maybe my will power kicks in a bit more and I realize that I'm in charge of what enters my child's body and they don't get as much as they used to. I'm not sure. All I know is that I was excited to get some of my own treats from some of the neighbors, as well as from my own boys, since for some reason they don't enjoy certain chocolate bars. But I'm not going to complain. I'm happy with pretty much any chocolate bar and lately I've really been craving chocolate, so it works for me.

The "tweens" and "teens" were out later in the evening, and I gave them all treats, so hopefully they won't pull any tricks on us overnight. We've been fortunate so far since living where we do . . . we've never been toilet papered or egged or vandalized or anything. I'm so glad and I hope it stays that way.

Au revior. Gotta go watch House.

Kim, Kimmy, Kimberly? Who am I?

So, before I continue on with this blogging thing, I wanted to clarify why I've chosen the name "Kimmy" for my official name to leave comments with, etc. Well, it basically comes down to the fact that "Kim" is a very common name, followed closely by the lesser-common name of Kimberly or Kimberley (mine is the "ly" spelling). I thought I'd be more original and use the name "Kimmy" for posting. Not too many "Kimberly's" go by "Kimmy". BUT, "Kimmy" is what my very dear friends and family call me. People who don't know this think that "Kimmy" as a nick-name sounds childish and immature (remember the character Kimmy from Full House? - ditzorama!). But it is those who are closest to me who have the freedom to call me by this name. It's sort of a term of endearment. I grew up with 4 older sisters and one younger brother (Scotty D - some of you may know him), and apparently I was called "Kimmy" or "Kimby" until I hit the public school system. Then my name got shortened to "Kim". Just like that. I'm realizing that people like to shorten names if possible. (More on that later, with regards to the names of my sons). I tried to expand my name to "Kimberly" in grade 5, but it didn't hold for long, especially with my friends. So, back to "Kim" I was. I tried to change the spelling later on in life (like, when I was in my late teens) to Kym, just for some originality, but that didn't stick either. So, here I am with the very common name "Kim", which I like, except for the fact that in the late 60's/early 70's a lot of people chose to name their daughters this name. And thus, there are quite a number of thirtysomethings with this name. The one good thing about it is that it's pretty much a no-brainer when you have to give your name to someone over the phone. I never get asked, "How do you spell that?" My last name is a different story, but I'll leave that for another day. And the fact that Kim is short for Kimberly is kind of cool too. I sign anything legal/formal/important as Kimberly. But, I never introduce myself as Kimberly, unless I'm speaking to someone who would have me in their "files" as Kimberly (i.e. Gov't of Canada, doctor's office, etc.).

So, when naming our boys, we decided to give them names that could be shortened if they so chose to later in life. Their names are Thomas, Mitchell and Tyrone. We never call Thomas "Tom", we rarely call Mitchell "Mitch", but for some reason we call Tyrone "Ty" A LOT. In school my boys all go by their full names, except for Tyrone. He's in Kindergarten and the teacher asked him if he wanted to be called "Tyrone" or "Ty" at school. He chose "Ty" and I'm okay with that. I just think having the option to alternate their names if they choose to, is kind of enjoyable. I do know, however, people who despise names that can be shortened or lengthened. My best friend doesn't like names like that, and granted, the names for her kids can't be altered. So, I guess it's everyone's personal choice.

So, anyone out there with these "expandable, extensible, shortenable" names? Please let me know if you like this kind of name, the pros and cons, and your experience with trying to get people to call you by the longer version of your name, when they insist on shortening it.

The one thing I have come to realize is that your name is a gift, chosen by your parents, which will affect you in a positive or negative way throughout your lifetime. So for those of you who are expecting a baby, or planning a future with kids, give serious thought to the name of your child, as well as the initials that will be produced by name combinations. Sometimes I'm shocked at the initials babies end up with and I think to myself, "Didn't they write the name out and try out the initials before they chose this name?" I personally obsess over names, and even though my days of having babies are probably over, I still dream of "naming the baby." I love names and researching names and checking out their meanings and alternate spellings, etc. I think one of my favorite parts of pregnancy was picking the name. Anyone else enjoy this?

My Whole New World - Well, Maybe Not So New

Cheesecake. I love eating cheesecake. I love making cheesecake. Why do I have these pictures of cheesecake on my very first blog post, you ask? Well, I searched my digital photos and could not locate a picture of myself to use as an introductory photo. So, I came across this picture of cheesecakes I recently made for my new sister-in-law's bridal shower. Silly, I know. But, these creations actually tell a lot about me, for those of you who don't know me. I love to bake. I love to be creative with my baking. And for me, especially when it comes to cheesecakes, presentation is everything. These two cheesecakes happen to be Chocolate-Orange Cheesecake and Caramel Apple Cheesecake. The chocolate-orange is an all-time favorite, but the caramel apple was a first-timer and it was absolutely LOVED by all. I spend a lot of time baking and cooking. I guess you could say that baking, in particular, is my hobby. Other people have hobbies of scrapbooking, crafting, knitting, gardening, etc. But my hobby is baking. If I'm feeling stressed out, I usually get out my recipe books and search for something to bake. I have tonnes of cookbooks and I often will just "read" cookbooks. I dream about creating things just like they are in the pictures, and this becomes my challenge. My family enjoys my hobby. Yes, my husband and sons really "appreciate" my hobby.

So, I'm new to writing a blog. But, upon my own admission, I will tell you that I'm not totally new to the blogging world. It all started when my brother started a blog. Well, I'd read his blog every now-and-then. But then I noticed his "links" and that opened up a whole new world for me. A world that I appreciate and enjoy. There are many blogs that I read regularly, just for the encouragement they provide. And I feel like I know so many of you just from reading your blogs. For those of you who are expecting babies, I anticipate the arrival of your child and I haven't even met you! And for those of you who report on your children and life in general, I love reading about your world. It's a strange phenomenon, this blogging world. And due to future events pending in my life, I feel that I need to start a "blogging connection" with the outside world.

You see, we are in the process of moving. We currently live in a town of just under 5,000 people, close to a major city. Lord willing, if our house sells (it's been on the market for 6 days and we've had quite a bit of interest), we will be moving to an acreage in a different part of the province, about 45 minutes from the major city we live near, BUT only 20 minutes away from my husband's workplace. My husband currently drives a total of two-and-a-half hours a day to and from work, and it is taking its toll on him. So, we kind of need to move. He loves his job and we've always wanted to move to an acreage. Now seems to be time God's allowing this to happen, so long as we can sell our house. We have an offer on an acreage at the moment, and the final condition to remove is the sale of our existing home.

So to make a long story short . . . I really enjoy the daily human ADULT contact I have living where we do now, and needless to say, once we're on the acreage, I won't have that contact as much or as often. I think that maybe blogging would be a good way for me to at least get my thoughts out and have feedback from fellow bloggers and create a basis for some "adult" interaction every now and then. And that is why I'm starting this blog, Mission: Kim Possible! I chose the name because I have a God who makes anything possible, and He can do the seemingly impossible by using my life in this mission field we call Life.

I'm looking forward to getting to you all more through this world of blogging. Until next time, God Bless You!