Happy Halloween!

What a weekend!! Here are the kids in their costumes:

Evelyn is a Hula Girl; Gretchen as a Renaissance Princess;

Sylvia is Super Girl; Peter as Frankenstein.

I got lucky when Sylvia said she wanted to wear Gretchen's Super Girl costume I made last year. One less costume to make. It was cold here, so she wore a red sweatshirt underneath when we went out.

I've had this costume for awhile-- got it for Evelyn when she was 4 and I had to hem about 6 inches then. I'm so glad I didn't cut it and only sewed it up. They play dress-up with this a lot, along with some of the other play clothes we have.

I scored some vintage crowns at a yard sale, and she was going to wear this one with her hair pulled up, but at the last minute, she decided she didn't like her hair up and wanted it down, so she switched to a heart crown.

They are great crowns-- made from metal with rhinestones, unlike the cheapo plastic ones they sell now. I found 3 of them and got them all for $1!

Evelyn as a Hula Girl. She made the lei herself from cut out construction paper flowers and beads. She worked one night on this and then said it was going to be her costume for Halloween. I had no idea she wanted to be a Hula Girl. Originally, I was going to make a "grass" skirt out of strips of fabric, but then I saw this dress in the rag pile. It's a size 4, way too small for Evelyn and it had some stains on it, which was why it was in the rag pile. I cannibalized it, cut off the top part, added elastic in the back and fleece all around for fringe (also for covering up her boobies as the top barely covered anything). The dress part was a faux wrap-around dress, so that was easy to take apart and sew the sides up, add elastic to the waist and ta-da! a skirt!

Then I took some fleece and made a little fringe anklet for her, since that's what Hula Girls wear!

My sewing machine decided to crap out on me in the middle of sewing the fleece on the top, so a lot of this was done by hand-cranking the needle. The grabber part of the sewing machine isn't working anymore, so I had to manually pull the fabric through. An easy costume to make, but made difficult with the stupid sewing machine.

Peter's Renaissance Faire costume I made last month, when I thought we would go to the Faire. It's a Robin Hood costume, and I was going to make the hat to go with it, but never got around to it. I used a pair of his pants and a shirt for the basic pattern and pretty much winged the v-neck opening. Pretty good, if I may say so.

I spotted this Frankenstein mask in the dollar bin at Target, and it was too cute to resist. I knew it would go great with the Robin Hood outfit. It was hard enough trying to get a picture of Peter in this, and he barely wore it when we went trick-or-treating. Oh well. It'll go in the dress-up pile for the kids to play with.

The mall was a madhouse! I couldn't believe how many people were there this year! Holy cow! 2 years ago was fun with the girls and Peter in the stroller, and lines moved fairly quickly and e completed the circuit in about 45 minutes. This year, ugh. Andrew and I are not big fans of crowds and though I have a bit more patience than Andrew, this was definitely trying. It doesn't help when people keep cutting in front of you and it took more than 45 minutes in line just to get 8 stores. By then, Peter was an angry squirmy thing trying to get out of our arms and we don't dare let him go because surely he'll get lost among all the costumed kids. I'm sorry, but I walked off with Peter in my arms and Andrew and the kids followed.

After a quick talk with Andrew, we explained to the kids that the mall was just too crowded for us to handle and if they were alright with it, we'd just buy them some candy instead. They seemed fine about it so we went out to eat then stopped at the store for candy. When we got home, we had a little trick-or-treating at home, with Grandma, Daddy and I in separate rooms and they got to knock and yell "Trick or Treat!".

Saturday morning, we went to the Library for pumpkin painting and I found out a church not too far from us was hosting a Trunk-or-Treat. We decided to take the kids there to make up for the mall and what fun that was! It was small-- maybe 15 cars there, but it was so nice. They decorated their cars, and dressed up in costumes and some of the treats weren't just candy-- they got boxes of crayons, christian-themed coloring books, pencils, stickers and tattoos, those popular rubber band bracelets and to top it off, hot chocolate with whipped cream! After we got home, we let the kids have another round of in-house trick-or-treating to wrap up the Halloween festivities.

On the way home was the most gorgeous sunset I've seen in awhile. Pretty pinks and purples. I wanted to stop and take a picture, and by the time we stopped, it started to fade a little, but still pretty nonetheless. Of course we stopped at the cemetery just down the road from us for this! A fitting location for ending the day!

Happy Halloween!

*boo!*

That Was Quick

Well, that was fast. Gretchen went from single tooth gap to...

taken 10/14/10

...double tooth gap in less than 2 weeks!

taken 10/26/10
We have Peter to thank for that. They were scuffling over who gets to sit in the recliner and Peter's foot somehow ended up in her mouth and bumped her tooth loose. Blood everywhere, which made me think it was something horrible-- like a split lip. After cleaning off the blood, there was her tooth, hanging by a little piece of skin. Plucked it off and ta-daa!!
Bad tooth fairy forgot to put money under the pillow (again!) and after a quick call to 1-800-Tooth-Fairy, she found $2 under her pillow after breakfast.
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We're going trick or treating at the mall tonight. I thought it was on Saturday and planned to work on their costumes today, then I checked online and found out it was tonight! Ack! After a quick scramble, I made Evelyn's costume last night. Sylvia is wearing Gretchen's super girl costume from last year, Peter is wearing the costume I made for the renaissance festival that we never did go to, and Gretchen is wearing a renaissance princess costume that I bought for Evelyn when she was 4. Thank goodness for not buying cheap-o costumes that rip the first time they get used. I had to hem the princess costume 4 years ago, when Evelyn wore it, and now, 4 years later, after I let down the hem, it fits 6-almost-7-Gretchen perfectly!
(pictures coming next post!)

Kid's Workshop

Did you know that Lowe's hosts workshops for kids? Home Depot does, too. I knew about it, but never had the chance to go-- always something coming up to prevent us from going, you know, the usual family of 6 happenings. I happened to read somewhere that Lowe's was having a bat workshop for the kids and since we are big lovers of all things Halloween and a bat would fit right in, I signed the girls up. Andrew had to work that day, but I was determined to go anyway, making sure my Mom would come along and help with Peter.

They had a great time!! They got free aprons and protective eye gear, and a patch after they were done building their bats to sew on the aprons. It was difficult at first when Peter was between my legs and grabbing stuff from the kits, and then Mom buckled Peter into a cart and wheeled him away screaming. Once out of sight of me, he calmed down and Mom cleverly took him to the halloween/christmas displays to make him happy. Meanwhile, I was able to better focus on helping the girls and I realized I had "helped" them hammer on all the bat wings backwards! Oops! So I had to undo my mistake and then correct them. Would have been done sooner if not for that, but we were there about an hour.

We'll definitely go again, the next workshop is periscopes!! I loved those as a kid!

Fall Fun

What is it about piles of leaves that kids find so irresistible?

Flinging leaves in the air and burrowing underneath?

I like walking on leaves, feeling the crunch-crunch and I love the smell of leaves.
Oh! Those lovely smells of Fall-- leaves and fireplaces!

But I never cared for rolling around in the leaves. If I did, it was at the encouragement of others and it was forced enthusiasm. I hated the little bits of leaves getting into my clothes and hair, and who knows what kind of bugs are lurking around in there.

And our leaves? With cats, dogs and chickens?

Oh, it's bath night for sure after this!!

But they're happy, and that's what matters.

:o)

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About Time!

Gretchen has been nursing this loose tooth for weeks. She would show everyone how loose it is, wiggle it with her tongue, but then the minute I try to get close and pull it, she backs away and clamps her mouth down tight. It was practically hanging by a thread by the time I pulled it out!

We tried to bribe her with tooth fairy money, or put a little scare into her by saying she might swallow it while she ate, but she was stubborn about her tooth. She'll decide to let me pull it and then just as I get my fingers on it and get ready to pull, she'll grab my hands and keep me from pulling it.
Then finally-- she let me pull it and it popped out easily. Little bit of blood and a whole lot of cheer! A phone call to the tooth fairy that night and in the morning she got $2 for her front tooth! The two front teeth have higher tooth fairy rates than the other ones that only get $1.

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Grandma and Grandaddy came over to visit the next day and what do ya know-- the tooth fairy left $5 for her over there!! Apparently, the tooth fairy got her routes mixed up. So $7 total for her front tooth-- not bad! Gretchen cleaned up! All on her own, she put $6 in her piggy bank and kept out $1 for herself, "for the yard sales," she said.

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The other front tooth is wiggly now, and I'm pretty sure I could pull it out, but she probably won't let me until mid-November or something. In the meantime, she'll let me wiggle it and run off before I grab it! I love that girl! :o)

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To Clean, Or Not To Clean

I am not the neatest person in the world. Four children make it harder to keep things clean as it seems like stuff is constantly shifting, like sand grains blowing away from sand dunes, rising and lowering with the wind. I have a counter by the stove that can never be cleared away, try as I might, and is always piled with incoming mail/newspapers/library books. When I need to use three burners on the stove, I have to reorganize the pile on the counter and more than once, paper has gotten singed (thank goodness it's an electric stove and not a gas stove or else it would be 'whoosh!' and not singe)

I do my best at keeping the house clutter free. I beat back the rising tide of laundry only to be drowned again in a couple of days. The dishes pile up quickly and I hate doing dishes, especially ones I only just washed 10 minutes ago. Sweeping is a constant as is wiping up spills, drips and messes. Books are always being pulled out to be read and not always put back right away. I feel like I am always picking something up-- spilled puzzle pieces, dumped game pieces (thanks, Peter), over-turned apple box scattering apples in the sunroom, tipped over clothespins... And this was just in the morning.

For sure, a white-gloved finger would be very dusty after swiping along the door frame and window trim. For sure, I wouldn't want to eat off the living room floor, knowing who and what has been traipsing all around, leaving behind goodness knows what, but the dishes and forks are clean. Beds are not always made, though Mama's is. Towels are not always hung neatly, but they are clean. There's finger prints of paint under the light switch in the bathroom, but the fingers are now clean. For sure, it's a lived in house.

I don't want to be constantly cleaning in order to maintain a spotless house. Yes, I envy those perfect-looking rooms you see in the pages of magazines, but I know it's a lie. They've been cleaned and buffed and spit-shined by a multitude of people then photographed in perfect lighting to bring out the best features of the couch/floor/rug. Even bloggers cheat when they photograph rooms for show and tell and messes get cropped out or the one room is kept clean while the rest of the house is messy. Then there are the exceptions to the rule, whose homes really are neat and tidy and nary a wrinkle in the bedspread. They probably have no kids and no pets, or maybe they're OCD, or maybe, and I say this with a little pang of jealousy, they're one of those people that clean when they're nervous or anxious or excited. When I'm nervous or anxious or excited, I eat.

I've tried it once, to be always on top of messes, put things in their place, sort mail before it piles up, clean spills before they get dried and sticky, wash dishes as soon as they hit the sink, do laundry before someone runs out of underwear, take out the trash before it smells, sweep up paper scraps before they slip under the hutch, wipe up paint before they dry onto the tablecloth... It was exhausting and I wasn't happy. I had no time to enjoy life because I followed it around with with a broom and dustpan, focused only on the messes it left behind. I missed out on enjoying my meal because I fretted about the dirty dishes. I paid no mind to the lovely pictures my children made because I only saw the paint spills and paper scraps. That's no way to live.

I accept the messes in my life. I beat back the clutter and every now and then, clutter wins. I accept that 4 children can be messy, really really messy, like poop running down their legs messy, but I love them, messes and all. As long as I can still reach in the middle of the pile on the counter by the stove and pull out the exact paper I'm looking for, then the clutter is under control. If I can see that my floor is clean, maybe not eat-off-the-floor-clean (who does that anyway??), and I can lay down on the floor and wrestle with the kids without getting up looking like I've been tarred and feathered, I'm good. Life is messy. I can embrace the messy.

Does it mean I never get frustrated? Do I resign myself and my house to pig-pen status? No, I still get hissy fits about the messes. I yell at the kids for making a mess of the just-folded pile of clothes on my bed, waiting to be put away. I get upset when the floor I just mopped now has chicken poop tracks from someone who forgot to take their shoes off before coming in the house. I growl in exasperation when I pick up yet another book or movie off the floor. I yowl in pain when I step on another jack/lego block/barbie shoe and holler for the kids to come and pick up their toys.

But I pick my battles. As long as the kitchen, bathrooms and living room are clean, and the doors to the bedrooms can be shut, I'm happy. When company comes over and it takes me less than 30 minutes to give the house a quick clean-up before they get here, I'm happy. When we go out for the day and I come back in the house, I sniff the air, and if it smells good and not like the litter box/dog/poopy diapers, I'm happy.

Someday, when I can put something on the table and it's still there an hour later; when I can buy yogurt and it's not gone within 5 minutes of putting it in the fridge; when I can leave the toothpaste on the counter and not find it squeezed out in the sink; when I can wash the windows and not find nose smudges immediately after; when a clean piece of paper doesn't get scribbled on and stays in the printer paper tray; when I can fold clothes, walk away and they stay folded; when I can leave a glass half full of tea, it will still be there 10 minutes later, I'll know the kids have gone and moved away. I'll miss them, won't miss the messes.
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Good Day for All

It's been a real pleasant day for all of us. I needed to run into the big town for some banking, and since Mom needed to do some banking, too, we took the kids along. Andrew was at work this morning, so it was just us.

Usually, in the van, Peter starts to fuss and protest at being in the car seat, but today, he went right to sleep. The girls all brought little activities to do in the van, so it was quiet from them, too. After stops at the banks, I needed to stop into the drugstore. This particular chain gives me trouble in my hometown when I break out the coupons and do my extreme coupon shopping. I shop there in spurts, inspired by a good sale, then swear off going back after a failed trip, only to repeat a couple months later. They almost never have what I need, the store is messy with stock in bins along the aisles that need to be shelved, the diagonal arrangement of their shelves is confusing even years later, staff argue with me about my coupons and the total I need to pay never matches what I figured beforehand. Andrew has even asked me why I keep going there when I leave so frustrated and pissed. I can only think that when I have read from other websites that people love shopping there and when they tell their success stories, I get a little frustrated-- why can't I figure this place out?? I have CVS figured out, why not here??

I decided to give the drugstore (yet) another chance only because they had certain cold medicines on sale and 3 out of 4 kids are sick. This time, I'd try the one in big town, hoping for better results. Just walking in the door of the drugstore and I could already see the difference! Their store was so neat and the shelves were not arranged in that weird diagonal way like the one I usually go to. Sale items were clearly marked and not sold out (gasp!) and I was able to find everything on my list without any trouble. Even the cashier was ready for me, spotting the coupons I had in my hand and asking if I was doing separate transactions (I was). Clearly, this was a cashier used to coupons. Finally, a pleasant transaction without one hiccup and I walked out feeling pretty good and not one ounce of frustration.

I bought $73 worth of stuff and paid only $1.98. Keep in mind, drugstores are overpriced to begin with, and I would normally never shop there unless there was a sale, and every single item I bought was on sale. Combined with coupons, it all makes for a really good deal. I bought mostly pharmacy items-- several cold and cough medicines for children and adults, cough drops, lip balms, and excedrin. Non-pharmacy was 4 bottles of body washes. My medicine cabinet is good to go for the next few months, barring any major health issues. ~knock on wood~ Anyway, I'll definitely go back to this drugstore and stay away from the one that gives me a headache.

After that, we had lunch at taco bell. I had coupons for free drinks, so lunch was pretty cheap for 6 people. There was a nice old guy with his wife handing out tootsie pops to the kids, and they gave mine 2 each. The kids were pretty happy about the lollipops. Then while getting the food, the guys in the cook area gave each of the kids free cinnamon twists! What a day for them! They ate quietly and even Peter seemed to be on his best behavior, instead of climbing over the partition between booths. He must not be feeling 100%.

It doesn't take much to make me happy, and it certainly is nice when things go smoothly and unexpected surprises pop up. I was in such a good mood that even when the 'check engine' light came on in the van on the way home, it didn't dampen my spirits. Hopefully it's just the sensor, it's given us problems before.

Andrew had a good day, too. He got a card at his regular spot at the mall. The boss recently let a co-worker go, so he'll be getting more hours until a replacement is hired. He got a little raise, and with the extra hours, it'll add up.

I'll end the day with 'Good Night' and hopefully I'll have some sweet dreams. :o)
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