Halloween Preview

This will be our third married Halloween, but our first dressing up. Naturally we're going all out. I really wanted to make our costumes this year, and yesterday I stumbled across the most brilliant idea for family themes costumes that really suit our family.

Claire is going to be a pink LEGO. First I measured the brick I wanted to duplicate. I wanted the proportions to be exactly right. I took the measurements in mm and converted them to inches. I took the foam and marked how big I wanted my pieces to be. I wanted crisp edges, but we don't have any power tools. So I used a kitchen knife and trimmed the loose edges with scissors. After hot gluing my circles on, it was time to paint. At first I used a spray fabric dye, but it was super bright and ran out quickly. Luckily, I had a can of hot pink from when I painted Claire's bow holder frame.
It came out like a sparkly tye-dye LEGO. I actually really like it. I'm just waiting for it to dry so I can piece it all together and try it on Claire! I'm really excited!



Now for Ross. I showed him this idea yesterday, but it took a little while to get him on board. Honestly, I just like having projects and having something to do during the day besides clean and change diapers. I was hoping he'd say yes, because the description said it would take between 40 and 50 hours to complete.

I spent the morning drawing out my diagram and getting the measurements of each LEGO part and converting them to Ross' height. It was actually a lot of fun and I really enjoyed doing math and using my brain. With my fruit bar breaks, I am in heaven.

I bought a couple sheets of poster board to make patterns for the round pieces that I'll use to cut foam later. One is currently being used as a drying mat for Claire's costume. I used a compass on the other to draw out my circles. Honestly, I'm a little impressed with how exact my measurements have turned out.



I'm REALLY excited about these projects. It's Day 1, and I'm having a blast. I hope that Ross' costume turns out as awesome as the original, but we'll see! More pics to come as the project progresses!

A Riddle For You.

What has two legs, two arms, and a tail??















If you guessed Claire, you're right!!

The Things That Matter Most.

It's a Monday morning, and this particular morning required a little extra uplifting. So I checked out the Mormon Messages on YouTube. I love these clips. They're short, to the point, and I always find exactly what I'm looking for. Today I watched one on enjoying the little moments. Judging by my laundry list of to-do's for the day, it was exactly what I needed. I looked up the October 2010 General Conference talk that was referred and dove in a little deeper.

"Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia—even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives...

"My dear brothers and sisters, we would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most. Let us be mindful of the foundational precepts our Heavenly Father has given to His children that will establish the basis of a rich and fruitful mortal life with promises of eternal happiness. They will teach us to do “all these things … in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that [we] should run faster than [we have] strength. [But] it is expedient that [we] should be diligent, [and] thereby … win the prize.”

Lately I've felt exactly like the first paragraph. I felt proud of myself when Ross would come home and I'd divulge everything I had done that day. Ross is incredibly supportive. With the pregnancy, I really don't make dinner all too often. I love that he doesn't expect a hot dinner on the table and a spotless home when 5:00 rolls around. Let's be real here. When I go to pick him up, I am by far the scariest girl on campus. My hair is usually in whatever kind of pony tail I quickly did, with a splash of who knows what on my pants. Let's not even talk about the make up situation here.

Last week I had appointments, meetings, and just things to do on every square of my calendar. This week is completely blank. I think I'm going to take advantage of that and try to focus on the significant and what matters most. If dinner, a clean house, and possibly some make up just happen to happen, that's even better!

Pedro Germs, No Returns.

When I was in second grade, my family moved to Oregon. I went to Mary Woodward Elementary School. It took a while to make even just a couple good friends. A few years later there was a new boy named Pedro. I don't remember how it started, but I remember the kids were mean. Really mean.

If Pedro bumped into someone, that person would then touch someone else and say, "Pedro germs, no returns!" It turned into a game of tag almost, and you did not want to be the one stuck with "Pedro germs."

A few weeks later, some friends and I started the "We Care Club" or WCC for short. I remember scribbling out ideas for club names and for some reason this was the one I decided was best. We really didn't do anything with the club, but the one rule we had was that we weren't allowed to pass on the "Pedro germs".

I kept a list of the popular girls' names and swore to myself that those would be my kids' names. For some reason I thought if I named my kids after a popular person, they'd be popular, too. That was my ten year old logic.

Now I have a kid of my own and another on the way I can't help but think of the saying, "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice".

I am overwhelmed by the responsibility and role mothers have, in a great way. And I'm so grateful for both of my mothers as well as the opportunity I have to be a mother.

Well, The Cat's Out Of The Bag.

That's right. Come end of March, Claire will have someone else to play with, and I'm sure Bells is grateful. Or maybe terrified that there will now be two monsters trying to claim her whiskers as prizes.

Everyone was getting suspicious with my constant, extremely picky snacking and numerous bathroom runs. I actually wanted to keep it a secret until right before we found out what we're cooking, but I'm already in the pudgy stage and now I can snack during church without shame. I was getting some pretty concerned looks when I pulled out my entire bag of cheeze-its a couple weeks ago.

While I'm finally adjusting to the shock of the kiddos being barely 16 months apart, we are thrilled with the news. I'm already plotting how to redecorate the nursery for two and where to move furniture.

This pregnancy is already completely different from the first. I'm still very very bossy about food in our house and Ross is coping beautifully. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful, supportive husband, though I'm sure he'd appreciate a sandwich or a home cooked dinner sometime soon.

Back To School.

Fall semester started today. Summer went by so fast, but I think Ross was ready for school to begin. I'm excited for him, though I am going to miss our lazy evenings together. Claire wasn't too sure about this whole school idea, either.

I love fall. I can't wait to break out my scarves, sweaters, and boots! Bring on the cold!

All Poor Claire Wants To Do Is Get The Kitty.

I feel like a terrible mom for sitting and watching this happen, but it was just too hilarious to not get on video! While Claire can't crawl, she actually is quite mobile. She is an excellent scooter. It doesn't matter where she starts, she will ALWAYS end at the family computer. I tried covering it with a blanket so it was "gone", but Belle just thought it was a fun hideout. All poor Claire wanted to do was play with the kitty.