While I was cleaning....

Here is what happens when I decide to clean and William is in the basement "playing with legos."  I found it on my computer and laughed so hard I played it 5 more times.  And now I have a glimpse into how his mind works.

Good grief!

Owen has always had a fondness for the Peanuts characters.  It's classic Owen  You see, he tends to be an old school guy.  He's also not a huge fan of Halloween.  Owen once said while trick-or-treating, "I'm cold and I'm miserable."  His theory: why go out in the cold when there's a big bowl of candy being dispersed at our front door?  He thrives on comfort.  He has sat on Santa's lap and requested an electric blanket and a back massager.  I love that he is his own man - just like Charlie Brown.  So when Owen made known his desire to be the world's legendary blockhead, I was determined to make this a Halloween he would never forget.

Target showed me the love with the perfect shade of yellow polo shirt.  I sewed on a black fleece zigzag and truly thought that this would be the easiest costume I've ever made.  All I had to do was make the head.  First, I tried a punching ball balloon because it was a circle versus the normal balloon shape.  I thought I was genius.  Until the balloon deflated under the weight of the first layer.   It was a very sad sight hanging from our swing set.  Take two, another punching ball balloon - maybe the first one was defective?  Not so - another sad mess.  Take three, a hard plastic ball from Toys R Us.  One week, 6 layers of paper mache, an Xacto knife, flesh tone paint, a black pipe cleaner, a styrofoam ball sliced in half, and a sharpie marker later, I shout SWEET VICTORY!  Every painstaking moment of this never-ending craft project was worth it to see Owen walk in his school's parade, receiving compliments at every turn.

My child, the shy one, the one who puts himself in the background, the one with the sometimes fragile self-esteem was able to hold his giant head high and be the beloved character that is Charlie Brown, that is Owen.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

I'm so proud of Caroline and her recent donation to Locks of Love, an organization that accepts ponytail donations to make wigs for cancer patients.  It was a long year and a half of growing out her hair.  There were days when she loved having long hair and a ponytail.  Then the summer came and her hair was not so cooperative at swim team.  But through it all, she persevered and was counting the days until her haircut.  I loved that this was a goal she set for herself, that it was sometimes hard, that its only purpose was to serve others and that she felt rewarded by the spirit of giving.  I told her that she is a girl wise beyond her 10 years.  She understands that she is only one person in the world, but that one person can make all the difference to another person.  These are the moments I wish for my children- moments that I feel will make them the most fulfilled in life.  Plus, can you tell how much she loves her new haircut?!
Caroline, you are beautiful inside and out, a shining example of service and your new haircut is the BOMB!

 

Crunch

An afternoon of boredom disappears when you announce that you are going on a nature hike.  All that is needed is 1) a preschooler and 2) a bag to collect autumn treasures.

Then a little brown paper and contact paper and you have the perfect craft for the preschooler to show off at the dinner table.

Happy Fall!  May you enjoy the crunch of leaves beneath your feet.

It's October - time for the art wall to change.  This is my cheap and easy way to decorate my living room for Halloween.  I'm a firm believer that anything crafted from a paper plate or tempura paint is a masterpiece and I like to give these "Van Goghs" a place of honor.  Nothing you buy in a store could be cuter.   So here is what you do : 1) store the holiday art with that holiday's decorations and when you get out those decorations, 2) replace everything in a frame with aforementioned holiday art.  Put a piece of fabric behind the art if needed.  See how easy that is?  The bonus is that the kids love seeing art each year that they made when "they were little" (last year).

No, I did not paint the wall for Halloween - it is always orange.  And speaking of orange, I finally got around to making this ornament last night.  It was my first attempt at an embroidered felt ornament and I think I'm hooked.  The original tutorial can be found here:  felt bird ornament

I changed the color in order to match the orange bird that lives in our orange room.  And now this post has come full circle!  Tweet Tweet!

Fall fashions

Kit, Elizabeth and Sonali are dressed for fall in fab scarves and hair accessories.  Are you ready for crisp weather?

Squeaky clean fun

Hello friends.  Back from Disney!   One of those vacations that people either love or hate.  I happen to love it.  Aside from the obvious reason that my children are giddy the whole time we are in the "Disney bubble", I realized why I most love Disney World.  It is clean.  I don't mean that it is hosed down everyday and seems clean.  It is SPOTLESS.  Winding my way through miles of queue lines, I saw not one paint chip, not one circle of hardened gum on the ground, not one piece of abandoned trash.  I am a visual person.  So much so that I drive myself crazy.  I know every weed in my yard and every ding in our woodwork and it makes me nuts.  I'm sure there is some sort of name for this mental disorder - this insanity that makes me dream of home makeovers and whitewashing America.  But Disney- its like a magic pill.  Oh how I wish I could take Walt to lunch and thank him personally for quieting my head of the visual madness.   But after a week, you do start to wonder what is going on in the world, outside of the fairytale utopia.   The re-entry is tough and the floors need scrubbed.  Back to reality.