Captain America for My Captain America...

I just finished this project in anticipation of my little guy's fifth birthday celebration. There is a story behind it that I wanted to share.

When I was about age three I decided my sister's collectable dolls had funny eyes. I did not like their long eyelashes. Therefore, I took it upon myself to pull all the lashes off her dolls. I recall being quite proud of my work and happily showed my sister when she arrived home from classes (she was in college at the time). My always smiling happy sister was definitely not happy with me. When I explained she stated she understood but tried to explain that it did not make her happy. I recall this as one of my earliest memories. Later my mom had a talk with me about not damaging someone else's property. It really stuck with me my whole life.

Fast forward about 30 years. 

I wanted to craft a Captain America for T Rex as a birthday surprise. I had been trying to work on it while the kids were sleeping but it just seemed that I was running short on time. Therefore, I started working on it while they were awake. He did not really take notice as initially it did not even resemble Captain America but rather one of my other Christmas craft projects.

I am usually pretty obsessive about keeping my craft items and supplies put away out of the reach of small hands. However, Lil Sister needed assistance in the restroom and I placed my items on the couch and stepped away to assist her. When I returned all my lose strings to the head and body of the project had been cut and cut way too short. I inquired of T and he simply stated, "Yes, Mama. I was trying to help you finish your project." 

At that moment I was quite speechless as I could just sense it was one of those key pivotal parenting moments during a stage of life when he would remember what took place. Plus, I was feeling grumpy that my work was nearly ruined. As I said, I was speechless so I called for my hubby to assist. I explained what had happened and he had a short but to-the-point talk with our son.

It seems he really did think he was helping me. In his defense, too, I did leave my stuff unattended and scissors are a big draw these days. We did have a conversation about other people's property and not changing it or defacing it. We praised him for immediately taking responsibility for what he had done. It was tough, however, to explain that the item he has damaged was intended for him and that it may not be ready in time for his birthday. He was pretty crushed over the whole ordeal but I felt good in how we handled it. Discipline is so tough but we just try to remind ourselves that by doing so now, it will lay the ground work for the future.

Well, I did manage to finish the project in time for his birthday celebration. I plan on leaving it by his glasses for him to find in the morning - early for his birthday but perfectly timed for his celebration. However, I was just so excited about how it turned out that I wanted to share my completed project. So thank you for sharing in the excitement with me. Oh, and when I shared my angst over the damaged project my dear mother just hugged me and smiled. Once again, things have come full circle.

Land of the Lost...

The kids don't watch much in the way of shows. However, we do allow a few select ones. The current favorite is from 1974 - The Land of the Lost. It was a Saturday morning show for kids about a family who fell through a time doorway into the "Land of the Lost" where there are dinosaurs and giant lizards (sleestak) as well as plenty of life lessons to be learned. 

The kids have been very much enjoying their viewings and this is how I can find them watching their show...

T Rex likes to suit up as Captain America complete with his giant shield strapped to his back. This way he can protect his sister from the dangerous dinosaurs and sleestak.

Fall Family Photos...

Thanks to our Good Neighbors D and M, we had a nice photo shoot by the river a couple weekends past (my apologies for the delay - lots of crafting going on). The lighting may have been a bit too bright but I guess better too bright than too dark. Oh, and there were lots of shadows, too. However, the fall colors were wonderful and there were still leaves despite the huge wind storm that hit a couple days before the photos were taken.

We are all amateurs and certainly not professionals taking this photos. However, some of them turned out great. What is wonderful is that our kids are getting to the age where we can actually do posed shots. We had their attention for about 15 minutes before we had to get moving. This is huge for us. Historically this has not been something we were able to do.

T Rex's face was intentionally in shadow because if the sun is in his eyes he squints and if we take off his glasses he is very unhappy because he cannot see and the only way he can see is if he crosses his eyes and those don't make good photos.

There are several photos. 

First the group family photos:

 

Photos of the kids:

 

The kids wanted to take a turn taking photos:

For the first time in a decade, some photos of us as a couple:

My sweetheart:

Me:

Once again, thank you to our Good Neighbors for their photo taking efforts. We very much appreciated it. Now we can pick some for our Christmas cards.