Halloween Came Early

And we are so happy it did! We will be on an airplane to Disney on Halloween this year, not that we're complaining, but we are glad we got the chance to dress up and trick-or-treat with our friends.

Miss Minnie. Appropriate I thought.

And please meet Cinderella, otherwise known around the house as Cindy (or Lewis, but that's a story for another day). Miss Cindy couldn't be bothered with a photo so I had to catch her on the fly.

And here we have the very handsome and powerful Clone Trooper. May look slightly familiar as this is a repeat of last year. Easy and cheap, I'll take it! Mr. Trooper is seen posing with his very good buddy Darth (aka Maddox).

There were over 40 kids.



The party was at a forest preserve park. The trick or treating took place down a path through the woods. It was gorgeous and really fun! Check that box and now back to planning for the big trip. Happy early Halloween!

My Little Martial Artist

One of the perks of putting the girlies in morning class is that I get to spend some quality time with my little guy. I love that he and I get to hang together without interruption and I think he does too.

One of the things we just started doing is Tae Kwon Do. Well, he participates and I get to be the goofy mom watching on the sidelines, beaming at every accomplishment.

This sport is right up his alley being that it is very disciplined and goal oriented and let's be honest, if it involves kicking, punching and general pugilism, he's in!

In other news, we are taking a little family vaca. We leave halloween day and get to stay for a whole week. My brother and sister in law and their 2 kids and my mom are joining us. Here is a picture of our countdown calendars. 

Can you guess where we're going??

Meditative Walking = Inspired Thought

What the hooey is that? Well, I was standing in the grocery isle the other day and I saw an article on the cover of a women's magazine and it said "Lose 9 lbs. every week". Skeptical but intrigued, I grabbed a copy and gleaned as much as I could in 3 minutes. The gist of the concept was that you can increase the loss of belly fat by meditating while walking. No music, no TV, no books, just positive thinking. Apparently it has to do with hormones released when you focus on positive things in combination with light to moderate exercise. Do I believe that I, or anyone for that matter, will lose 9 lbs a week? Absolutely not. But a little positive meditation instead of trash TV can only do good things, right? 

So I jumped on the treadmill a day or two ago and forced myself to exercise in silence, focusing only on my thoughts. Don't get all excited, I didn't lose an extraordinary amount of belly fat, but what did happen is my mind went bonkers. I started with thanking God for all of my blessings and then the creative stuff started pouring out. I created a line of little girl clothes in my head. I got all worked up about it that I hopped off the mill at the end of my workout and headed straight to my good friend, JoAnn's. Here is the first finished piece. 

I have been wanting to make a jumper forever but just never have. This little frock is made of the same polyester herringbone that I used for my own dress. The ruffle down the center was made by cutting a plaid cotton double the length of the dress x 6". I created a tube, pressed it flat, gathered it to the length of the dress and stitched it down the middle. I added the ruffle before constructing the dress so all ends are tucked in. The shoulder straps are obviously secured with covered buttons. Love those!

Now lets be honest, will I really produce a whole line? Probably not, but I will get back on that old mill of mine for some more meditative walking. Go ahead, try it and let me know what inspiration you conjure!

Today's Serious Gratitude

I worked ridiculously hard to get Sam and the girls' school schedules coordinated. I was pretty sure that Sam would be put into PM kindergarten so I was first in line to sign the girls up for PM preschool  (not that I needed to worry, no one wants PM preschool anyway). Now, 3 weeks into the school year, I realize why no one wants PM preschool. It stinks! PM kindergarten is great. Sam is not napping anymore and we have time for lessons and homework in the morning which we both love. By the time lunch is over, Sam is ready to head off to class. Bliss. The girls on the other hand are exhausted and come home from school cranky and overtired. Mom is running from one school to the next and that short hour and 45 minutes alone goes by far too fast to get anything accomplished.

The good news? The girls' preschool teachers teach a morning 3s class and a set of triplets never showed up. My girls started AM preschool this morning and I am over the moon! Sammy gets a little one on one time with mom (and dad on Fridays). He is starting Tae Kwon Do on Monday and wednesday mornings next week. Life is good, God is good. I am so grateful that my ill-fated plan was easily remedied.

Quick Question

Does anyone know of a good fashion sewing site? I simply adore Ravelry because I can find a pattern for anything and see what so many other knitters and crocheters are working on. I would love to find something similar for fashion sewing. Does this exsist?

Gratitude

It's one of the most important components to a fulfilling, successful life if you ask me. If you can't see and be grateful for what you have and receive then you will never find true contentment. I am desperately trying to teach this to my oldest child. Some come into this world with a  natural sense of gratitude and some come with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement. My child was born with the latter. I know that this is a problem with American youth in general but I have to toot my own horn and say that we have not overindulged with no expectations. There are very high expectations in our household. Reminders of his blessings come daily from his parents. Why can't he internalize this gratitude concept? 

A long time ago my wise and all knowing mother told me that I cannot make him understand, all I can do it continue to say it and trust that one day he will get it. I have seen that process happen. As he grows and matures, I see our hard work paying off one little insight at a time. Today we struggle. It is 9:30 Sunday morning and I am sitting in the concession area of the ice rink typing this. We will stay here for an hour and then hop in the car and go directly to the baseball field where his dad, who is the coach of his team, will be waiting to coach him on to victory. Our lives revolve around this child at the moment and that is ok. We chose to do this with him and for him but it has come at a high cost. Date nights are at the rink, all of our extra money has been pumped into his athletics. His siblings' had to forgo their extracurriculars because there is no time or money for it. I don't want him to feel bad about it because we don't, I just want him to appreciate it. I guess we'll just have to keep reminding him because I don't want to have to take it all away. But rest assured, if that is what I have to do, I will. Parenthood.... whose idea was this anyway?

In Celebration of Reclaiming Me

And to lift my sometimes sinking spirits, I hit the Nook. I haven't tackled a big project in a while. Life has been a whirlwind to say the least. Nap-time, which is my favorite time to spend in the Nook, is nearly non-existent these days. The littles are in afternoon classes now. Not my fave but what can I do? Next year when Sam is in first grade, the girlies and I will head back to mornings but in the meantime I have to work with what I've got.

Anyhoo, here is what I have been up to. I bought this book a long time ago and had yet to make a single thing. This tunic dress screamed my name and I was more than ready for a challenge.

This dress was fun. It has darts, a big center pleat and a cool collar, all of which are new to me. Sometimes a forget how good it feels to learn something new. 

Overall I am happy with this little number. I was impatient and rushed through the hem which means that I am gonna have to take it out and redo it. Oh well, one day I will quit doing that....maybe.