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.

Halloween 2012

I cannot believe it's been a year already since Halloween last year. Time is going at such a fast rate. The kids have been really excited to show off their costumes. They don't really care about the candy aspect of Halloween - especially T Rex. There is little candy that he actually does eat. You cannot even tempt him. However, showing off his costume...that's what he thinks Halloween is all about. 

This year was actually pretty great. The kids in the neighborhood were all dressed in non-scary costumes. We had a cute little Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, an elephant, cat, astronaut, fighter pilot. Nothing that terrified the kids when they answered the door. There was a house we went to that had scary sounds playing and that bothered Lil Sister but her super hero brother was there to protect her and she was good with that. Oh, we had to drive to the house with the giant Scooby Doo so they could get a closer look at it.

You can look back at this link if you'd like to see last year's Halloween.

However, if you're ready to see this year's costumes, keep reading, but first a sneak peak...

So originally, we were going with a green theme - Hulk and Tinkerbell. Then last week T Rex changed his mind and decided he really loves his Captain America costume and wants to keep being Captain America. By the way, he has the whole "method acting" thing down. When he is "suited up" as Cap, he IS Captain America. He will walk up to strangers and ask, "Hello, Citizen. Have you seen any villains? No? Well, I have to get back to my patrol and keep our streets safe." The kid is not an angry child so I think he was having a hard time pulling off the Hulk demeanor. He definitely is much more Captain America. He has worn his costume so much in the past 2 months that it was completely worn out. Therefore, we surprised him tonight with a brand new Captain America costume but this one with build in muscles. His dad already gave him a big, more authentic shield which he absolutely loves. 

Our little girl has been, for the most part, steadfast in her desire to be Tinkerbell this year. She had a last minute change of heart last night when I put on my cat woman ears and mask for us to attend a CAbi party, which she attended with me. It was funny, when we showed up she was dressed in her Tinkerbell costume and asked the hostess, "Where's the candy? I thought this was a candy party." We all had a great laugh over that. No wonder she was eager to attend. However, when all the ladies at the party swooned over her cuteness in her Tinkerbell costume, she continued to maintain her steadfastness of being Tink. Good thing. Her costume was entirely hand made by me and I did not think I could pull together another one on short notice.

The dress is a glorified tutu - tied style. I just attached ribbon at the top to make a sort of halter top tie and then another ribbon around the waist to give it definition. The wings are made of two hangers tied together and then an old pair of my hose were used to cover the hangers. Lastly the shoes were just an old pair of shoes I picked up at the thrift store and sprayed with green glitter and attached pom poms. I intentionally sprayed the pom poms with green glitter to add a bit more of a shimmery appearance. I think they turned out pretty good. Lil Sister LOVES them. I think I'll let her wear them as long as they fit. Maybe I need to make a dress or two that will match the shoes. I had her wear leggings and a long sleeve shirt because it does tend to get a bit chilly on Halloween here and the tulle the dress is made out of is quite itchy.

The kids were really anxious to hand out candy to the other kids. They stood waiting for quite some time before folks started showing up. It was kind of a slow year but maybe because it was a weekday night.

Here the kids are visiting the favorite house of the evening. This is where "Pumpkin Man" lives. The kids love visiting him. He's basically a scare crow with a pumpkin head and not scary at all. 

Grandma and Grandpa N came over for dinner on their way to square dancing. They wore the scariest costumes of the evening - clown suits. One of the charming aspects of this photo is our dog Anya being in the shot. When we were preparing to take the photo I said, "Alright I want a family photo group shot." She came running and just jumped onto the stairs and posed. It was quite cute.

A great evening. The kids each had one treat each. It was a little tough to get them wound down from all the excitement but it was worth it for all the smiles, giggles, and memories because next year will be here all too soon.

Halloween Art Projects...

Once a week during our home preschool time, the kids and I do an art project. Oh, we do plenty of coloring, drawing, and writing during the week but once a week I like to complete an actual project with them. 

This week they requested to do something with a Halloween theme. This year T Rex is less scared of the spooky creatures of Halloween. In years past we could not even go in the grocery store without tears when the spider would jump out or the witch would start talking as we passed it. This year, he LOVES it. He is especially fascinated by mummies. When I explained where they originated (so we added a little history lesson to our art time), he was really interested. So, we wanted his Halloween art project to be a mummy.

Lil Sister is still not so much into the scary stuff. Oh, it does not bother her as few things actually scare her, but she loves cats and all things with cats - especially black cats like her beloved Jenny Linsky. So, her requested project was to make a pumpkin cat.

Now T Rex devised his project nearly entirely on his own. He came up with the idea of how to make the mummy with shredded paper towels as bandages. I did have to draw the body (at his direction) and cut it for him but everything else is all his doing. Lil Sister's pumpkin cat did require more effort on my part but she still glued it together assembling all the pieces and drawing the face on it, too.

So here I present to you the finished products: Mummy and Pumpkin Cat.

I've decided I need to save these and put them out every year as decor. What comes from the mind of a child is just amazing to me.

(P.S. Work is awesome and things are really starting to click. I hit a record high for number of patients I saw this past Friday, and I managed to stay on time, help one of the physicians who was running behind, and make it home on time. T Rex Dad received a text from me in the mist of it that simply stated, "LOVE my job!" Oh, yes, I have finally entered the world of text messaging. I needed to for work purposes.)

More Crochet Projects...

Here are few of the recent additions to my crocheting repertoire...

Yes, all my own patterns, too. 

This was a request from my nephew for the girl he really likes (still not old enough to date). 

This photo shows size perspective. Plus, I love seeing my creations get snuggles.

Then the "Baby Hulk" as requested by T Rex. He's been reading a comic book where the Super Hero Squad gets turned into babies. Thus, he wanted a Baby Hulk. Here is my best interpretation. He's already requested a Baby Thor and Baby Iron Man, too.

Then, of course, Lil Sister wanted a Tinkerbell doll, too.

Lastly, "BaaBaa, the Baby Sheep".

I'm nearly complete with the first of my Christmas gifts and the bazaar items. I'll post more soon. I know I'm posting more infrequently but the bazaar preparations are keeping me busy. Plus, I sold three hats this past week and needed to get those done, too, as the profit is funding my bazaar creations. 

Punkin Patch 2012: Part 4

Right as we were getting ready to leave the kids felt inspired watching some of the other kids climb a nearby tree. I finally gave in and conceded to allowing them to climb as long as their dad was close at hand.

That is it. The punkin patch 2012. 

What a great time and a hearty thank you to those special folks who made the day possible.