Costume Ideas

Thank goodness my kids come up with their own ideas for dressing up on Halloween!
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Carmen decided early that she wanted a Mulan-type costume, so I kept watch for a silky robe at Value Village ($7) and she sewed the wide belt to complete her look.
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Chloe had long-planned to be a geologist (she's studying rocks & minerals in school) which involved a lab jacket, a sack of rocks, and various tools. Then last night she decided the lab jacket was too long to dance in at the school sock hop - this might sound like the makings of a Halloween costume emergency, but she pulled out the cat ears and tail from the dress-up box and was very happy to be a cat. She meowed all morning.
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In case I ever do get the job of suggesting costume ideas, I took some photos of my favorites at the Halloween Parade this afternoon:
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Clark Kent is so much cooler than Superman.
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I'm sure this one isn't P.C. (so many Halloween costumes aren't) but these boys had the details of down-on-their-luck all the way down to the bags of empty cans.
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"Little Old Lady" is a costume I could probably pull together at the last minute.
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I'm sorry I caught this cutie adjusting her costume. Her mom made it from an actual Twister game. The jaunty little hat on her headband is the spinner! The boots were thrift store brown before her mom spray-painted them, and she had lots of plastic jewelry accents - just adorable.
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S'mores, anyone?

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Here is our principal. He and many of the staff did a pageant theme. He is wearing a sash that reads: Miss Guided. Other teachers included the math teacher wearing her usual calculator costume, but this year with a sash that read Miss Calculated. Another teacher dressed Flash Dance style and her sash read Mrs. The 80's. Other contestants included: Miss Spelled (shirt covered with incorrectly spelled words), Miss Demeanor (inmate costume), and Miss Fortune (fortune-teller costume). It was a great group costume idea!

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Adding sunglasses and a white cane to a referee costume? Brilliant.
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The paper bag princess made another appearance this year. I'd actually like to see this teacher do her Dog the Bounty Hunter costume again - now that was spooky.

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Steven missed the Halloween Parade - he stayed home sick all week. He was probably better today, but we decided to save his strength for his football game tomorrow. Does that lack some Halloween spirit?

Thanks, Martha

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We had a good time making your bat silhouettes.

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Now: Any suggestions for decorating outside?

(Some people fear that our house looks like we don't even celebrate Halloween.)

(We're so concerned about what the neighbours think.)

Getting Halloween All Sewn Up

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Carmen's costume for this year required a teensy bit of sewing, which I was really happy not to do. This girl is getting so useful - I'm sorry to send her to school tomorrow.

Refueling

What do you eat for a bedtime snack after a double-header?
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(played his final regular season football game this afternoon,
then had a hockey practise tonight)
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Four slices of raisin toast and 2 large glasses of chocolate milk.

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Cross Country Running

Last week I got to volunteer as a course guide at the cross country race hosted by our school.
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I was at the top of the hill, which the runners had to climb twice from two different approaches. It was a fun spot to cheer the kids on as they met the most challenging part of the course.
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Carmen was easy to spot in her pink shorts and I could see her coming from a long way off. (Reminded me of Steven in his green shorts.)

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Chloe was more difficult to identify from a distance. I almost missed catching her with my camera as she ran past.

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I'll have to keep an eye out for colorful athletic shorts in her size to help her stand out in a crowd.

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But maybe not this year.

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Today's race was cancelled for snow if you can believe it, and that means we only have one race left this cross country season!

Tailgating

Shouldice Field is going through major renovations this year, creating 3 artificial turf fields with new stands, scoreboards, and lights. It will be great in the future, but it's a pain right now.

Because of the limited available fields during renovations, half of Steven's games were moved to Sundays which he wouldn't play in. Ken explained this to the coach during try-outs just so that we were clear and upfront from the start. I don't know what happened, perhaps we weren't the only family unhappy with the 32 year tradition of Saturday games being broken, but the league revisited the issue and rented additional fields around the city to keep the games on Saturday.

So for now we are enjoying a full game schedule sitting in the back of Ken's truck, which is much better than sitting behind the end zone (the other option) while the new stands go up. I think we should start bringing our BBQ.

Customer Service

Score one for the Crocs company. Did you know that if your son breaks off the rivet of his Croc riding his youngest sister's bike that Crocs Inc. will ship you a lifetime supply of new rivets for free, and they'll even be cuter than the original rivet?

But you'll need a U.S. mailing address, so thanks for letting me ship to your cabin, Erin. And for my local friends in need I'm happy to share.

Buzz

But before we get to him, allow me to introduce:
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Cassie (or) Bear - the largest puppy in a litter of German Shepherds born on Sunday morning at Carmen's riding barn. Gail, the owner/instructor, says Carmen can buy the naming rights for $500. I say no, but that doesn't stop Carmen from dreaming. If this puppy is a girl, Carmen would name her Cassie; if this puppy is a boy, Carmen would name him Bear.
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And here's Buzz. He's a former Polo Pony that Carmen is now teaching to ride English.
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I like Buzz, but I think his rider is cuter.
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Someday my kids are going to look through our old photo albums and say, "Mom sure did like those sunbeam shots."
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Well, I have no idea of what it takes to teach a horse a new riding style.
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However, I do know someone who is enjoying it.

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Sixteen Candles

This morning right after Jaclyn went out the door I pulled out my baskets of birthday-partification to get ready for tonight. Steven looked at my supplies and said, "Does Jaclyn know you're doing this?"
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Those words haunted me all day. No, she didn't know. I wanted to surprise her. The party wasn't a surprise: She texted (or facebooked?) all the guests herself. She chose chocolate cake, pizza, pop, and chips. But I chose the rest and I fretted all day because of Steven: What if she didn't like it?
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She did.
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She liked the piano (Kit Kat) birthday cake.

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She liked the lanterns and tissue paper flowers.
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She liked the candy on the mantle, a subtle nod to Sweet 16.

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And who wouldn't like presents?
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So, really, all I've learned is that Steven doesn't want a grand piano cake or tissue flowers at his 16th birthday. Check. Got it.

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Carmen and Chloe, however, can't wait to have a party like this.

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The kids, I mean teens, played Wii and played the piano (and not just Jaclyn) and had elastic band wars.

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Jaclyn opened presents, casting the wrappings at her feet.

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You know, for a couple of weeks now I've had several people say something to me about how crazy/worrisome/surprising/life-changing it is for me to have an almost 16-year-old. Every time someone remarks on this I brush it off because it seems very natural to me to have a girl this old.

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Until.

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Until I had a moment as I pierced the cake with the candles that read 'Sixteen'. It hit me, briefly: She is so very nearly grown up.

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The kids (I keep calling them that) tried to light a fire in the rain using batteries and steel wool (science geeks love this).

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They got sparks, but no fire.
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And now they are settled down in the family room watching The Holy Grail. Jaclyn has the best friends - I love their laughter. What a lucky girl.

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