Happy Halloween!

Today seemed to be all about the wearin' the costume, puttin' on the charm, and gettin' lots of candy.

Spencer's preschool had a Halloween party and the kids got to wear their costumes and share goodies. (Read: why did I even buy candy this year? Spencer's class could have supplied it.) I couldn't get Spencer to pose for a picture, so no dice. Josh was very upset he didn't get to wear his costume and go to the party. So I let him wear his costume to pick Spencer up. What a cute lion! (But oh-so-cowardly!)


After preschool we visited Lance at work, where the boys worked the charm like nobody's business. The ladies were falling all over themselves, shoving candy at the boys and cooing and showering them with attention. The boys lurved it. And scored a LOT of candy.

This evening we had our friends the Souths over for dinner and trick-or-treating. We had our traditional mummy-dogs (hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls). I also made sandwich wraps that were cut into pieces and were supposed to look like a spinal column when stacked on each other. Yeah, not so much; they kept falling over and such. But they were yummy, and that's what really matters, right?

After dinner it was time for the main event: trick-or-treating! Spencer had been asking me for over a week "How many days until trick-or-treating?" We were both excited the night was finally here! It was really hard to get anyone to hold still for pictures. It's as if they were already on a sugar high.


Don't you love Lance's skull t-shirt? I do. That's why I bought it. And made him wear it.


Here's some trick-or-treating action shots. I just realized that Spencer kinda looks like some sort of freaky black octopus monster or something. Hmm.



Okay, now he's a bit more spiderish.


I don't know if Josh truly understood what was going on, but it only took him one house to figure it out! For about the first five houses he would run down the driveway to us yelling "I got candy!"


And for something even cuter than that, check out this video. Josh shows exactly how to eat a lollipop. I might be a bit biased, but that kid is cute. I'm just sayin'...

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And here he is in a bit of a post-trick-or-treating daze.


Once again, Spider Spencer couldn't hold still long enough for a decent picture. I think I sense a theme with that kid. (Which, come to think of it, will be the theme of most Halloweens to come. Can't. Hold. Still. Too. Excited. Too. Much. Sugar. Must. RUN!)

Ah, our pumpkins. I decided to go traditional with the faces this year. (Read: I was too lazy to get all fancy with the drill.) But I think they turned out pretty well. Josh and Spencer really liked them.


I can't take, ah, credit for the one on the bottom left, though. That one was Lance's. It was supposed to be a donut with a bite taken out of it, but something went horribly awry. Josh and Spencer kept asking what it was.

Being the extraordinarily mean and terrible parents that we are, we let the kids each eat one piece of candy and then put them to bed. And being the wonderfully caring and thorough parents that we are, we are now going through Josh and Spencer's candy and 'taking care' of any suspect pieces. (i.e. Eating the best stuff.)

And now the kids are in bed. Lance and I are lounging on the couch, eating the suspiscious candy, and watching the traditional Halloween night zombie movie.

Life is good. *nom*nom*nom* Really good.

Happy Traditions

I think Josh and I started a new tradition today.

As I gutted four large pumpkins, Josh sat at the counter and watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" on our laptop. We laughed at Snoopy's antics. We felt hopeful for poor Linus. We decided no one would be handing out rocks for trick-or-treating tomorrow.

It was a good day.

The Bottom Line

Poor Joshie has been battling a severe case of diaper rash lately. Not sure what that's all about, but it's starting to clear up. (Aren't you so concerned...?)

This morning I was changing his diaper. When he winced and pulled away while I was using the first wipe, I thought it was because the wipe was cold. (Yes, we're bad parents and don't own a diaper wipe warmer. Oh, the crushingly deprived childhood our kids are having!)

Me: Is the wipe too cold?

Joshie: No! Owie!

Me: Oh, your bottom still hurts?

Joshie (in all seriousness): Yes, my poor little bottom!

Lessons learned: when kids use phrases like "my poor little bottom", you absolutely must scoop them up and smother them in kisses, despite their protests. Also, kids listen and will eventually mimic everything you say. Beware.

Self-portrait Tuesday - Balloon Face

I Made It Myself - Spider Costume

I'm not sure why, but Spencer really wanted to be a spider for Halloween this year. (He was Spiderman last year, so maybe this year he wanted to be Spider Spencer...)

Anyway, I figured I could find some sort of tutorial or pattern or something online.

No luck.

In the scary spirit of Halloween, I was left to my own devices.

No problem. Mostly.


I used polyfil to stuff two pairs of black tights. Notice how it's kinda working it's way out of the tights, making hairy spider arms. As I explained to Spencer, hairy spider arms are waaaay scarier than smooth spider arms. (Think tarantula vs. daddy long legs. Hairy = scary.)

I tied the tights at the end and then sewed them to the sides of a black, long-sleeved shirt. This would later prove to be a mistake - you can't wash a shirt with spider legs sewn to it. Ooops. So I had to cut them off, wash the shirt, and then I just safety pinned the legs back on. Because I'm lazy and didn't want to sew them. Again.


I used yarn to connect the arms together so that when Spencer moved his arms all of the spider arms would move. (Yes, I know the yarn is blue and not black - but that's what I had on hand and I didn't want to buy anything.) I used arm because thread, even quadrupled, is not strong enough to withstand a four year old! I also used snaps to attach the spider arms to the arms of the shirt. That way Spencer can detach them to wear a coat, like he'll do when he wears the costume to preschool on Friday. (Whereas he'll probably just wear his coat underneath the shirt when he goes trick-or-treating. Fat spiders are cute.)


The hat, I think, is the best part.


I took a fleece hat I bought on clearance last year and added spider fangs and extra eyes. The eyes are ping pong balls that I cut in half and drew black dots on. I used a small hole punch on the side and then sewed the eyes to the hat through those holes. The fangs are made out of black felt that I sewed together and stuffed with polyfill. I kinda wish I had made the fangs stick out in front of the hat, under the eyes, but oh well. Didn't think about that until later, and I'm not willing to redo them! (Plus, spider horns are kinda cool, right?)

The shirt has a pirate skull and crossbones on the front, which, as I also explained to Spencer, makes him a much scarier spider. It shows he's very poisonous. And he isn't afraid to make you walk the plank, matey.


I'm kinda cheap when it comes to Halloween costumes. Ten bucks is about my limit. You have to be extra careful when making homemade costumes, because all of the little things can really add up. Here's a breakdown of what I had to buy for this:

• New black shirt - $1.99 (Goodwill)
• Two pairs black ladies' tights - $1.98 (Goodwill)
• 16 oz Polyfil - $2.50 (Hobby Lobby)
• Ping pong balls - $2.50 (Wal-Mart)
• Fleece hat - $.99 (Old Navy Clearance last year)
  
• Black flannel - $0 (already had)
• Snaps - $0 (already had)
  
• Yarn - $0 (already had)
• Thread - $0 (already had)
• Black sweatpants - $0 (already had)
  

Grand total: $9.96. Awesome.

And here's the little spider himself:


I think it turned out pretty cute! And, more importantly, Spencer loves it. I'm not above buying Halloween costumes. But you have to admit that there is something extra cute about the homemade ones.

Did you make a Halloween costume or anything else this week? Post it here and join the I Made It Myself fun!

A Conversation 14 Years too Early

Today I did a Britney and drove with Josh in my lap. Oh, don't get all shocked and appalled - I was just pulling the car into the garage from the driveway. I figured we'd probably survive the 30 foot drive.

Josh happily hopped into my lap, expertly grabbed the steering wheel, and said "Go!". Five seconds later the drive was over and the following conversation took place:

Josh: Go car! Go!

Me: We're all done. Time to get out.

Josh: No! Drive! Me drive now!

Me: Nope. Mommy drives. Let's get out.

Josh: No no! Mommy out. Me drive more.

Me: Let me get this straight - you want me to get out so you can drive the car.

Josh: Yes.

Me (getting out of the car and pulling him with me): No. Out.

Josh (in all his Joshie anger): BAAAAAAAA!!! NOOOOO! Me drive!!!!!

It's tough being two.

Fourth Annual Donut Party!

Last night was our fourth annual donut party. (Or partay, as Lance and I have taken to calling it. Because this is turning into one serious shindig.)

We did a few things differently this year. First, we had a theme: ZOMBIES! Second, we cooked and glazed all of the donuts beforehand, rather than doing it during the party. (Some people were sad they couldn't glaze their own donuts. Thoughts? Votes one way or the other?) And third, it was held on a Friday night instead of the usual Saturday, which I don't know if it made any difference or not, but there you go.

But most everything else was the same as usual. Monsterous amounts of donuts where consumed. (I forgot to count how many donuts - but I made three batches, so that's A LOT. How much? Well, that's 30 cups of flour, people.) We played a few games and people won fabulous prizes. And I forgot to take enough pictures. Ah, tradition.

But I did remember to take a few. Like this one, of the spread just before the undead (I mean, our guests) started gobbling them up. Notice the punch bowl? I love that punch bowl so much. (This year we had a green frozen brain in with the apple juice. Mmmm... brain.) The sign explains how to fill your own donut.


Oh wait, here's a close up of it. (I mounted all of the signs on cardstock like this. I think it looked cute!)


Here's where the zombie quiz, guess the confetti game, and kid toys could be found. (The glow bracelets were a huge hit - big surprise.)


Here's a copy of our Zombie quiz. It's a good thing we had this - a lot of people really needed to brush up on their zombie knowledge. (When the zombie outbreak occurs I'm not hangin' out with Melissa T. - she didn't get a single answer right!)

In the interested of higher learning we also had some zombie fun facts.


People were also kinda bad at guessing how many pieces of confetti were in the jar. (Okay, maybe I need to have easier games next year...)


Here's Spencer the Spider. Ferocious, no? (More detail on the costume on Monday.) Oh - those aren't horns on his head - they're spider fangs. Duh.


And here's Josh, the cowardly lion. In typical two-year-old fashion he kinda wigged out about the large crowds and wanted to be held most of the evening. Ferocious? No.


Heidi, Margot, and Andrea (and my arch-bunco-nemesis, Eli).


A few members of the Culver family.


The Crooks, who have never been known to turn down a free homeade donut. Ever.


Clark Kent and Peter Pan testing out Spencer's bunk bed. (I'm still impressed you dyed Sam's hair, Ginger!)


Paul and Misty - Paul won the Zombie Quiz with his answer that "Zombies are... what the LANers are like after a LAN party." Hey, the man knew how to cater to the judge. (That would be me.)


It was a full house. (And it got even fuller than this.) We either need to buy a bigger house or get rid of some of our friends. I'm voting for the first one.


My costume consisted of plastic ants glued to my face with eyelash glue. (The computer glow makes it all the more eerie, right?)


And finally, our annual Halloween Family picture. I'm still impressed by how many people thought that we had actually dressed up like zombies for the picture. (Of course, these people also probably think all celebrities really do have perfect bodies and that all photos forwarded to them are real.) Behold the power of Photoshop, people!


Thanks to everyone who came. We really do enjoy having this party, mainly because our friends make it so fun!

My Big Boy

Josh is so cute. (Dr. Destructo, but cute.) Lately he's been really concerned about being called a big boy. I admit, I have a habit of calling him "Babe" or "Baby".

Here's a short clip of him putting me in my place. I love the fact that he says it in such a babyish voice.

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Bean Bag Stand-off

Today I let the boys play with a pumpkin bean bag game we have. (Throw the beanbags into the pumpkin, that sort of thing.)

I left them in the room to play. Things were going well. Laughter. Giggling. The soft thud of bean bags hitting the walls and various other things in the room.

Suddenly - screaming. Yelling. Crying. Anger!

I let it go on for a while. If I intervened every time they yelled and screamed and cried... well, I wouldn't be sitting here blogging, for one thing. I'd never get anything done. Ever. Besides, they usually sort things out in a few minutes.

But after five minutes or so I decided just to stick my head in a see what the commotion was all about.

Both boys were laying on their stomachs on top of small piles of bean bags, facing each other, and screaming at the top of their lungs, "Mine! My bean bags!" Every once in a while they'd reach out to the other, as if trying to grab the bean bag treasures. Although they weren't nearly close enough to get them, this drove the other boy nuts.

Rather than play the game and have fun, they decided they could NEVER share the bean bags. Instead, they would rather lay on the floor and be upset.

Seriously.

They were so absorbed in this activity that they didn't even notice me.

It was like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. The butter battle and stars upon thars and all that. I tried to find some sort of moral or lesson out of the whole thing, but I just couldn't. My mind was a blank.

So I did the only thing I could think of. I shook my head, closed the door, and walked away.

(End of story: they stayed like that for over 10 minutes. Wierdos.)

Self-portrait Tuesday: Sadness

I am totally sad today for two reasons.

(That's me looking sad, in case you're wondering.)

First, I didn't win a single thing at bunco. And the prizes all involved pumpkins. Oh, the humanity!

Second, I found more Josh handiwork.


What up, Dr. Destructo?


I mean, how in the world did he even do this? He must have stepped on it or something, because I don't think he could have bent it like this with his chubby little arms.

Or could he?

I am living with a two-year-old Hulk.