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Friday, September 30, 2011

Countdown to Halloween

 The official changing of the kitchen blackboard.

 Bits of costume already arriving.

 Trying out the twirlability of a new petticoat.

Someone wants to be Alice in Wonderland this year. Since we will be doing many layers due to what will likely be our coldest trick-or-treat experience in a long time, what you see here are some of the under-layers to the costume (which has yet to be delivered). Armwarmers, tights, petticoat and even a white rabbit purse, all from one of my favorite online places, Sockdreams. The petticoat is sparkly. I am in love with this little girl art punk look thing she's got going on.

 Surprise! That's my guy, the blur zipping past.

Loving this white rabbit bag. Alas, it is very shallow and won't work for a candy bag and my girl won't let me do surgery on it to remove the stuffing to allow for such use. She said she'll carry her flashlight in it. Cute though.

I know it isn't even October yet, but the leaves are turning rapidly around here and the air has been COLD for a long time. It feels like it is past time!

Anyone else planning their Halloween costumes yet?

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Goodbye Germs!

We are all feeling better around here, so today we all pitched in and scrubbed down the house. Be gone all you germs! The kids were eager to help with the chores.

And by chores I mean doll laundry.

My son wasn't really helping with the doll laundry, I suspect he was more interested in standing (jumping, ahem) on the bed and then jumping onto the floor. And this all made me happy because it means everyone is feeling better!!! Yay! Happy, non-mucus covered chaos! Oh how I missed it.

The clothes on the line belong to this cutie.
Internet, meet Elizabeth. Elizabeth, the internet.

This summer my daughter saved her money and bought herself an American Girl Just Like Me doll. If you are familiar with American Girl, you will know that this is quite an accomplishment. Personally, I couldn't justify spending that much on a doll, but my daughter has always been good with money and driven to succeed. She had a plan and now she has a doll. And I am proud of her.

This photo is of Elizabeth's homecoming. Much happiness this day.

American Girl doesn't make boy dolls... duh. Right? Otherwise the company wouldn't be named American GIRL. However, my boy was feeling left out. I've run into this situation before. Only this time giving an American Girl doll a haircut wasn't a realistic solution. However, I did come across  CJ, from BFK, Ink., except he was only $23 when we bought him.

CJ is perfect for my guy and I like that CJ came with a journal that he likes to write in. My son really picked up on that and always has him writing in his journal. CJ is short for Charles James which combines the first names of my husband's and my favorite grandfathers. I love happy coincidences like that. So my son got his 18" doll too, Elizabeth has a friend to hang out with, and all is right in our now healthy world.

In case you are feeling worried that my son only has dolls to play with... don't. Being the youngest boy with a much older brother and a father that kept many of his toys rocks. We've got 'boy' toys coming out of our ears. However, my daughter loves to play with them as much as he does. We are equal opportunity toy enjoyers around here. :)

Wishing everyone a week where doing the real laundry is as fun as doing doll laundry. If only!

Friday, September 23, 2011

A post where I prove that illness has addled my brain...

Okay, before I start posting pictures I need to layout a few things to explain why this post is proof of my mental decline. So here you go - backstory.

• I bite my nails. It is just something I've always done and likely always will.

• I do a lot of messy, hand-drying-out, nail-breaking kinds of crafts.

• While I am usually quite clean, my nails aren't what you'd call 'groomed'.

• If I were to be honest, my nails are just a couple steps above 'feral child', minus any dirt that might be associated with such a term.

So yeah, me doing a post about painting my fingernails would be rather, uh... Pointless? Ridiculous? Gross? Yes. Yes to all of that. I am guessing that you know where this is going, so yeah, those with weak stomachs might want to click away.

But hey! It is Friday. And I am on cold medication. So let's do it anyway, shall we?

For some reason my husband and I were having one of those late night, illness-induced seemingly deep but not really actually about anything conversations. Somewhere in between the topics of money, art, football, circuses, dolls, and tissues that already contain lotion, we started talking about manicures. My husband had been sort of mesmerized/horrified by a set of nails on a woman he saw earlier that day and he was wondering why people decorate their nails so much. And while I have NEVER actually had a manicure and can't imagine having a stranger touch me for that long ***shudder*** I do think that it is art. I mean have you seen some of those painted, gem-covered, foiled, stickered, beaded creations out there? I've always been fascinated with it all, but I'm a realist. The first time my nails click on my keyboard, they are going to GO. Can't. Stand. the. CLICKING. Goodness. No touching, no clicking... Sensory issues much?

So yeah. Cold meds. No sleep. Brain spinning. Not much energy to do much past showering and making soup. Yet bored. My daughter offered to paint my nails. (My daughter, btw WILL likely be the kind of girl that is very familiar with manicures in her lifetime.) So one thing led to another, which led to another, which led to this.

Yep. I zentangled my nails.

And remember the backstory? Try to ignore the shortness of the nails and lets pretend that cuticules don't exist in general, okay? Also, elephant fingers. Okay... now that I am done being insecure. Let's talk zentangled nails, because seriously? THISISSOCOOL! You can DRAW on your fingernails?!? Seriously? I've missed the opportunity to decorate these little tiny canvases that go with me everywhere for the past how many decades now? Ahem... Well. Enough.

So let's do the official manicure shots that are all over pinterest. Because, why not?

 Ka-pow! There's even a layer of glitter there people.

Is this the end of my nail neglect? Perhaps. Or perhaps it is only a fever-induced dalliance into the nail arts. Only time will tell.

The official shot of what I used.

And there is a reason you only have a shot of four nails. Because it turns out that even while these nails are relatively subpar from what you find on the internet by means of nail tutorials. The four nails pictured look professionally turned out compared to the other six nails. Yeah... Gotta work on my left hand's painting/drawing skillz.

Anyway, there it is. We all survived, didn't we?

Wishing everyone a weekend of art in unexpected places and a whole fall/winter season of excellent health! I mean, who knows what I'll do if faced with another illness. Makeup tutorials? Can one zentangle their eyelids do you think? Hmmm...

Monday, September 19, 2011

Balance is good!

This is not a deep post as the title might imply. Nope. This is all about YAY! Look what I got! Early!

Isn't she such a pretty, pretty book? So coy? So mysterious?

I pre-ordered Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor weeks ago and thought it would be released on September 27th. Imagine my excitement when the book arrived in the mail this last Saturday! Ten days early! Love. This. Book.What could be better than a new, much anticipated book? Right? Well... 

Maybe I had already downloaded another book to tide me over until this one was released because I am all impatient like that. So well, TWO, new and much anticipated books is, you know - Even better. Even as it is a bit spoiled me-ish.


Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern... which I have to admit a photo of the cover on my Nook just doesn't have that same ummmphh does it? Oh, how I am loving this book. And I admit I enjoy holding my e-reader more than a bulky hardcover, so much so I am considering downloading Daughter to my Nook too. (Gasp! Right?) I never really thought that I'd get to that place, you know? Where I really prefer the ebook version over the actual book? Sigh... It sort of makes me sad in a way.

I wanted to get the Daughter of Smoke and Bone book in hardcover because I have a collection of Laini Taylor books and am sort of a stalker fangirl of hers. I even have art of hers on my wall from when she used to sell prints on etsy. See?


Ummm... What was I talking about? My inability to take clear photos anymore? Stalking? Picnik? (Which is the awesome photo editing place that let me plop that big arrow on my pic in less time that it would have taken me to open photoshop.) No? Hmmm... Oh, right. Books and how many I am juggling right now. And how I am so old that when I read for more than two hours straight I go a little cross-eyed/doublevisionish. What? We didn't get to that part yet? Well, its true. So the world has appeared a bit wonky to me lately.

So. Worth. It.

How is all this bookish gluttony about balance, you might be wondering? Well, my kids have been SICK. They've hit every lovely bit of nasty that a virus can produce with this round of illness. We've had a 24 hour stretch of constant intestinal strife and the sheet washing that accompanies it. We've had sore throats and tears. We've had noses so stuffed that the combo of every natural and modern drug remedy has barely allowed them comfort and the long nights of me propping pillows, getting water, applying nose strips and Vicks, and just sitting next to them willing them to breathe in a way that doesn't make me itch to call 911. So yeah. It has been a rough five days around here.

Having a couple GREAT books to grab in spare moments and escape my mucus-covered life has been soul-saving!

Wishing everyone who stops here a week filled with balance and pretty, pretty books!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Double Digits!

My little girl has turned 10! And if you are in any way aware of children's cartoon passions you will know what this means...

Only that she is old enough to venture forth into the unknown to hunt and train Pokemon. Of course! Don't worry, she'll return before next year in time to be admitted to Hogwarts at age 11.

Here's my little Pokemon trainer, blowing out her candles.

And my sloppy attempt at Pokeball cupcakes. These were so much harder to do than I thought they would be and required an obscene amount of red food coloring. 

Fun was had by all, especially this guy because his uncles were on hand to jump on:
You might be tempted to feel sorry for the uncle in this picture. Don't. He started it.
He always starts it. We try not to give either boy in the picture too much sugar.

And of course there were presents! Also, see this whole cluttered computer area? It is one of the projects I've recently tackled and it exists no more! Woohoo! Well, the computer still exists, but the desk and the clutter are gone. But that is a post for another day...

Check out this gorgeous wrapping job. Isn't it awesome? My sister brought this beauty and it was filled with a kit to make your own soaps. Something both my daughter and I are very excited to dive into! 

My husband and I put together a little backpack for her filled with things she'll need on her Pokemon journey while she is alone in the wilds. A little sewing kit, first aid kit, journal, binoculars (provided by my mom), and a starter Pokemon. (An Oshawott if anyone is curious.) I failed to take a picture of it. Actually, my picture taking skillz on this day were less than stellar all around. However, fuzzy pictures and melty pokeball cupcakes aside, it was all in all a successful day.

And, I am pleased to report that so much fun was had, my daughter has decided to stick around for awhile longer. Perhaps she'll just search for Pokemon while hiking our home forests and trails when taking family walks. It seems the whole venturing out by yourself at age ten seems so overrated when you really think about it. Sounds good to me! More time to prepare for Hogwarts!