Fun Chaos!

 Well, another All Hallows Eve is in the bag.  We had a few false starts for costumes, a couple were vetoed because despite all the grand faith in their Momma's abilities I definitely am not as good at the crafting things as they think.  

Smarty's group for drama worked out a theme for group costume, so they were Loony Tunes.  He decided Daffy Duck was who it was going to be, so we started thinking of ways to make that work.  Foam for a hat/head, suit for the body.  Thrift stores were our amazing source for supplies and we were lucky to find a suit that was perfect!  I helped only very minimally and the rest was all him, and it turned out wonderfully!

Daffy and our own little "Sylvester"

Sergeant was determined to be Scarlet Spiderman, and that would have been awesome, but I got around to ordering the morph suit too late so we needed a backup.  Another trip to the thrift store turned our boy into Sherlock Holmes, inspiration of Robert Downey Junior's interpretation of the role.

So dapper!

Sanding a walking stick and finishing painting a hat/head were designated outdoor activities.

Now, the girls were far more difficult and time consuming.  They wanted to be "cat-people," there is an actual name for it but I can never remember what it is... so we set out to look for faux fur to turn into tails and ears.  Guess what? No faux fur.  Like, anywhere.  So we started a search for how we could troubleshoot that, and it turns out it can be made with yarn!  So we turned our time and efforts to making millions of tufts of "fur.

After we made so many of these I was going crazy with bits of yarn everywhere, we brushed them out to fluff them up and started gluing them to the fabric that would be the tails.

So.  Much. Fuzz.  But looks so pretty! I was crazy pleased with how these ended up looking, especially after so much time was put into making the individual pieces.

Found some makeup for Girlie, and suitable weather layers for everyone, and we were good to go! Just needed to turn our pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns and we would be good to go.

Not a lot of seeds in this year's gourds, but they were roasted up and devoured within an hour of coming out of the oven.  Girlie carved the mammoth, Monkey the cat silhouette, and I'm not sure what to call what Smarty and Sergeant did... but that's them!

 When all was said and done we had a lovely front porch, ran out of candy to hand out, and everyone had some fun.

There were times I felt overwhelmed with what needed to be done for this past weekend but breathing through it and remembering that there was an end date helped.  I kept calm and helped a few children through their own stress reactions.  There is all the time in the world as long as we don't leave things to the last minute.  Which is hilarious for someone like me to say, because I often feel why do today what can be put off until tomorrow?  But I'm learning.  :)

Costumes and Snow

My memories on social media this week have reminding me that we often have snow by now and that time really does move quickly.  Pictures of our not-so-little-anymore children, stories of shenanigans and parenting woes.  Fall has often meant transitions for us too.  Often Hubby has been away for most, if not all, of the month of October, especially in the last near-decade.  

Social media has also been showing me bits and pieces of past Halloween costumes we've made or bought.  These last couple weekends have been used for supply shopping and material preparing for this year's lineup.  We have already had a few tears over "THIS IS GOING TO TAKE FOREVER!!" but we're getting there with the countdown only a week away.  I really like that I'm making the kids work on their own, with help, instead of the other way around this time.  With work and the solo parenting I just wouldn't have the time before my energy wears out at the end of the day.  Plus this is teaching them to curb expectations to whatever reality is.  So out goes the most involved, super complicated costume ideas and in come ones we can manage.  It'll still take a long time, especially for the girls' ideas, but it's going to look awesome and they'll feel the pride that comes with the work too.

Yesterday evening Monkey had the best thing ever happen.  She has been hoping like crazy for the white stuff to fall from the sky.  Like, since September.  We had rain all day yesterday, mixed with some frozen stuff at times, but before supper it turned white!  She ran outside onto the deck and made a snow ball and just stood with her hand out for a bit.  It isn't going to stay, but it was a nice start to the winter season.  

All in all we've had a pretty alright week.  Food was made, clothes got cleaned, cuddles were had, physical activity happened.  Another week down with laughter and tears, anxiety and tools to deal with it.  Not too many balls got dropped, so I call that a win.  We've video chatted with Hubby, watched a few fun movies, had some junk food along with healthy, and got a few things done for the costumes, that I'm sure will be AMAZING! This week they'll be finished off and take a few pictures so we can share them :)

Cats and Space

 Well, another couple weeks has passed and with them the obvious passage from summer to fall.  There is frost on the ground most mornings now, a definite chill to the air.  Hubby was able to sneak home for a week from working away over Thanksgiving and it was a wonderful week with him here and our hearts full.  We had glorious weather, lots of family time, some friend time, and no one wanted the week to end.  But it did, as all things do, and we are back to plugging away at life until he can come home again.  

A couple weeks ago the Littles and I tackled the basement, finally tucking away the last handful of opened-but-not-unpacked boxes from the move at the end of June.  There really wasn't much work to do, just needed focus to get it done, so we did.  When it was nearly finished the Boys asked if they could rearrange the furniture down there as they had an idea or two to optimize the space.  I totally understood their urge - I was (and sometimes still do) rearrange furniture just because.  I'm sure it drove my parents crazy when I was constantly doing it to my bedroom when I was younger, and I love that Hubby humours me in it as an adult :)

I left them to it, with instructions to ask for help if they needed any, and I went upstairs.  No one was allowed in the basement until they were finished and they did a "big reveal."  They did a terrific job!  Lots of sitting space for movie nights, things organized, and lots of space for play/exercise.  

Last weekend while Hubby was home we introduced the crew to Sherlock Holmes, the one with Jude Law as Watson and Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock.  OMG, there is a new obsession in the house!  Hubby and I have always liked that interpretation of the classic and I am thrilled the Littles do too. 

The kittens (I can't remember if I mentioned we got 2 kittens this summer...) have been growing and going crazy.  The Gremlin (using nicknames here too) is a tuxedo cat, and The Void is black and SO FLUFFY!  They like to play in the sink while water is running, licking tooth brushes, and knocking over their water dish, especially when it is first filled thereby making watery paw-prints all over the house.  There are days I don't see them at all from the time I return from dropping Monkey off at school until the after school chaos starts.  There are days they harass me, sitting on my keyboard, climbing on my shoulders, demand love and attention.  Yesterday was one of the latter ones.  I opened the fridge, the Void jumped into it.  I made a cup of tea, The Void had to sniff and supervise.  I brushed my teeth, The Gremlin was making sure I rinsed the sink.  I put on my makeup and The Void "helped."  I am grateful for these fur balls, though.  They have added to the home and are terrific at helping feels that happen in times of upheaval.

House Keeping

So... it's been a really, REALLY long time since I've written!  It has been busy, ups and downs.  I won't go over every minute detail; it would ramble.

We have bought a house!  Now all the kids have their own rooms and as part of making that space theirs we've undertaken giving everyone a wall to paint their own colour :) A few weeks ago Smarty picked out a colour and he and I did his wall.  The following weekend was Sergeant's turn, and this weekend we did the girls.

It was interesting, the whole project from picking colours to getting it on the walls.  The boys were the fastest to choose- they looked at the choices and made a quick choice.  The girls, however, took a lot longer.  For the longest time Monkey had it narrowed down to her favourite 13 shades.  Girlie was quicker in her decison, though.  I think everyone did well.  And everyone held roller and brush to get it done.

Monkey decided on Sophisticated Lilac.

Smarty chose Platinum

Sergeant chose a colour with the name "100 mph"

Caicos Turquoise for Girlie

Everyone is super pleased with their spaces, and I am so proud of how they did! They learned about taping the wall, using the brush to do the edges, how to not put too much paint on the rollers.  They learned about waiting for the paint to dry before taking the tape off, and how to make sure the coat is even.  

I found it a lot of fun, and I discovered places on my arms and face where the paint ended up that I didn't expect!