Halloween Costumes In Progress II

L is being the fish from "The Cat in the Hat" for Halloween. Below are two pictures. The picture of the orange fish is my inspiration. The red fish is L's costume in progress. L doesn't like anything on his head, so I opted for a shirt without a hood. I have a few scales to sew down. I need to add the eye(s). This is the back of the shirt. I may put scales on the front of the shirt I may not. We'll see. :)

Halloween Costumes In Progress I

I am working on our Halloween costumes. This is great for me (or us) because D and I usually know what we want to be for Halloween but don't start to put the costumes together until about three days before we need them. So, to be doing this so early is exciting. N wants to be the Cat in the Hat. I have his costume done. D and I are going to be Thing One and Thing Two. L is going to be the fish....if I can figure out how to make him look like a fish that is. So here's N is most of his costume. I have black sweat pants and white gloves to complete the outfit. I bought the black shirt. I tied the red bow out of three inch satin ribbon. I cut white felt into the shape of the tummy. I sewed the red bow to the white felt then attached the white tummy to the black shirt using the adhesive backing that's already on the white felt. I also secured the white tummy/bow to the shirt with a few sections of stitching for good measure. I bought the hat at a local costume store. I'm still debating on attaching a tail to the pants. I think people will know who he is w/o the tail so I may exclude it. We'll see... Now I'm off to work on "Thing One" and "Thing Two." I'm keeping these very simple. I bought two red t-shirts at Micheal's (they are two for $5 right now). I purchased two pieces of white adhesive backed felt and a black fabric pen. I'm going to make to big circles out of the felt. I'll write "Thing One" one one and "Thing Two" on the other using the black fabric marker. I will secure the circles to the shirts using the self adhesive backs and a few sections of stitching the same way I did for N's costume.

Mark Twain Quote

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~Mark Twain

I just found this quote on a neat blog. This blogger is about my age. She has five kids. Eeek! She and her family live in an RV and travel the country without having a permanent place to call home. Double eek!! I have no desire to live in an RV for more than five-ten days and I have no intentions of selling our permanent residents, but this quote does makes me think of myself and how I need to do my best to get out and explore more. I find myself getting stuck in a pretty tight routine. Routine is definitely good for my boys. They seem to do better when they know what to expect next. However, sometimes I need to break us a little free from our daily grind and go somewhere.. See something new and refreshing. As a Mommy (I'm too young to call myself Mom.) of two little ones I am finding that sweet spot where I can push the envelope just enough so that we're all having fun, learning and exploring without pushing too far and causing my kids (okay, the whole family) to be fussy and "out of whack" for three days.

My husband and I get a chance to have date nights every once in a while...okay, we rarely go on a date night. It's usually in the afternoon/evening. We're usually home before 7:00. Some day when the kids are grown we'll revel in the fact that we can return home past 8pm! But I don't want to wish things away. I don't want the boys to grow up too fast....Anyway. I digress. When we go on said dates, I always tease my husband that I'd love get out of the house and go out to eat or see a movie and it'd be great if we left the city limits. If we leave the county it's super exciting! When we do get the chance to leave town to see a movie, go out to eat, see new scenery we return feeling rejuvinated. I wonder if the kids get that feeling after we go some place new.

When the boys get older and can travel more easily I'd like to set out and see as many states as we can. I'm excited to see their faces when they see new landscaping, cultures, etc. Until then we'll have to plan smaller, more practical short trips that everyone in the family can enjoy and tolerate! With winter just around the corner we need to get out and do a few little travel days before the bitter cold winds and snowy weather settle...Ooow. I think I just gave myself a cold shiver after typing that. :)

Apple Orchard

We went to the apple orchard/pumpkin patch this weekend. We had a lot of fun. Here's a picture to prove it.