Halloween

I doesn't seem like I should be that far behind, but we have too many things happen in a row around here this time of year, so if I'm ever going to keep up, you're all just going to have to put up with a few posts too close together.

Halloween is one of the big markers of the year because Ellie knows that this directly precedes her birthday. So it is super exciting. I had so many projects with the house going on that I decided I wasn't going to really do a lot for making the kids' costumes. I outsourced Charlie's (thanks again, Mom) and Ellie's was supposed to be a super easy, no-sewing project that would have taken less than half an hour. Supposed to be.

She was going to be a pink ninjago (think lego ninja). She was all excited to be this since that's what a bunch of her cousins were going to be. They are all really into this show, and when we visited last summer they all wanted to have Ninjago ("ninja-cago") parties at Grandma's house. Ellie loved it and was totally all about learning spinjitsu and everything. So about five days before Halloween I decided I ought to get her costume together. When I tried to do the hood part (using a long-sleeved t-shirt--I practiced with one she already had before I went and bought a pink one for the ensemble), she sort of panicked. It looked right, but she was a little claustrophobic having everything but her eyes covered. So she started to melt down and didn't want to be ninjago anymore. Soooo, plan B. Then she wanted to be "Super Martian Robot Girl," which is a real character. I'm not making her up. I asked her months ago if she wanted to do this for her costume, mostly because I loved hearing her say "Super Martian Robot Girl." It was all she wanted to be suddenly. So, off to the store to find fabric and figure out how to fashion a costume. To look like this:

No big deal. She's a great character. Other characters in the comic will be in distress because, say, they will be having a dance party and no one is dancing (yikes!). They will whine, "I need Super Martian Robot Girl!" and she comes, declaring, "Here I am to help!" Then she solves everyone's problem by pointing out that no one is dancing because there is no music, gets some awesome music going, and everyone is super excited again. She has a great theme song too.

Yeah, it's okay. No one else knew who Ellie was either.

Charlie was Pocoyo. Charlie looooves Pocoyo. Another obscure cartoon character. This one is very accessible on YouTube, do yourself a favor and find it on there. So charming. Little British baby who lives in this simple world with a duck (Pato) a dog (Lula) an elephant (Elly) and bird (Sleepy Bird) and narrated by Stephen Frye. Charlie adores these little videos. He jumps up and down, talks to them, laughs and is just overjoyed to see these little guys. Ellie likes them too.

No one knew who Charlie was either. But they all appreciated his efforts to say "Trick-or-treat" and "Thank you."

Charlie hates hats, but when he saw that he was Pocoyo, he went with it.

Super Martian Robot Girl also has a mask, but I guess a painted paper plate with large holes cut in it is not as scary as lots of fabric around your mouth. Either way, she kept it on all the time she was in costume.

Pretty excited about the green hair. The gloves and boots are shiny duct tape and velcro.

 Unfortunately, probably the best shot I got of Charlie's full costume.

 Not sure what she's doing here. Possibly a '4' since it's almost her birthday. The green is not as bright in the pictures for some reason.

Just ready to go already. Nice warm fleece costumes for a cold, drizzly Halloween night.

Speaking of bad weather, we found out at the last minute that we were supposed to have costumes for one of the events we went to. Not eager to spend a ton of time or any money on more costumes, this is what we came up with: struck by lightning. Mostly inspired by the old, broken umbrella I found in one of the boxes I recently opened up. To really get the fried look I just washed my hair and did nothing to tame it. Also, no covering the dark circles under my eyes to add to the dark, sooty look. Apparently all my grooming efforts are to try to make me look NOT electrocuted.

Saying Good-bye to Autumn

I've noticed that lately the kids have been living from one countdown to another. It's how their small world stays so exciting, I guess. Some are big events ("____ more days until Grandma and Grandpa come!"), some are small, but still generate big excitement ("_____ more days until we go to the doctor for flu shots!") Whatever milestone, big or small, we can look forward to, getting us out of our routine is exciting for a preschooler and a "tuggler" (toddler in Ellie-speak). A trip to the dollar store is an adventure, and a trip to the "humongous store" (Sam's Club) is epic. There's probably a lesson to be had in living life with so much excitement and optimism about the future. For me, though, it's usually just another enticement to hold over their heads to get them to behave ("Uh-oh. We better brush teeth and get jammies on if we want the baby-sitter to come play tomorrow . . .").

Usually it's Ellie doing most of the countdown. Charlie is pretty content to just be along for the ride most of the time, and gets really enthusiastic for when we tell him it's time to get excited ("Let's goooo!" "Let's go car!" "Let's go dressed!" "Let's go 'side!"). One of the big events for Ellie's countdown this fall (aside from finally getting moved into the house) was a big party for employees of the university and their families. I don't remember the name of the place it was held, but you can imagine the build-up of excitement for this little girl when she heard there would be face painting, pony rides, games, candy, and so much more. Kind of made it hard to keep up the the anticipation for preceding events, like filling prescriptions or going to the post office, I think any opportunity to leave the house is still a pretty big deal for her.

For Ellie, the party lived up to the hype we gave it. Here are a few pictures of our day.

Any baby who wouldn't hold still very well got to be a cat. Charlie rubbed most of his face paint off within about 10 minutes and just looked like he had a dirty face the rest of the time, with a particularly dark smudge just below his nose that we decided was just a charming Charlie Chaplin mustache and nothing more.

 Ellie still talks about how the red canoe was too wobbly and is sure that if we try a green one next time it won't be nearly as wobbly.

 This is (ahem) "fishing." More experienced wranglers in the family, don't mock. Brady was pretty disappointed with this set-up, but there it was.

 Ellie would not touch the fish once it was caught.

  She did amuse herself trying to teach me to use the "hoopla-lupes." Probably the most fun was wandering up the hill to the farm and climbing with her on the straw bails. I think I don't take enough time to just listen to this kid talk, and talk, and talk. I told her about how I used to help on my grandpa's farm, how we had straw bails just like these, how I drove and tractor (which I think all went over her head, especially the part about me having a grandpa), but both of us just rambling together was fine with her. We tend to appreciate these warm-enough autumn days more and more around here, knowing that we're already living on borrowed time from the long cold winter day ahead.