Candy-Coated Contraception

hot dang. we just survived the tornado that is 9 adults and 2 children under the age of 7 in a 900 square foot house for a weekend. i would have been such a whiner had i lived in the days of tenement housing.

but we had a great time and the weather was phenomenal. we all dressed in costumes for the halloween festival we went to, and it was so nice, we didn't have to bundle up too much.

over the weekend we ate our weight in sugary delights. multiple crates of cookies and cream puffs and cupcakes and candies and caramel corn that my grandma made and brought (she's famous for all things diabetic-coma inducing). plus, my family is really sneaky about using sweet jello dishes as side dishes with meals so that you can still have dessert afterward. PLUS, at the festival they passed out lots of candy and chips and cookies and stuff.

so my teeth are cavitatng (word?) as we speak and i'm in kind of glucose shock right now.

but. the house. is quiet. tra. la.

the relatives who were here were all women. most of my family is composed of the fairer sex. so when aunts, grandma, cousins, and 2nd cousins get together- we're a loud, rowdy, estrogen-y bunch. and they're all wonderful. everyone pitches in to help make and serve the food, clean up afterwards, etc. this is an annual thing we do, but this is the first year w/ little kids.

and these kids are sweet and loving and delightful. but also totally exhausting. i think they had a good time. we got them all dressed up in their costumes for saturday night and the little one was a vampire. she had this little bodice dress w/ long flowy sleeves....which was really cool until i took her to the public restroom at the festival and when she came out she announced to me (and the restroom at large), "i dropped both my sleeves in the toilet." she was pretty matter of fact about it, and once i'd established that it was into a toilet of #1 and NOT #2, we just rolled 'em up and kept on truckin'. :)

they made us laugh all weekend with their antics. but by the end of the weekend ("she got a quarter and it's supposed to be my quarter!" "can i have another cupcake? i've only had 3!" "DID YOU FEED YOUR GUM TO THE DOG??") all cousins of reproductive age were brainstorming ways to reinforce the barricades they use around their uteruses.