When I was little

I loved coming home from school to find that our house had been decorated to reflect the seasons and holidays. There would be little displays set up on end tables, and fuzzy cardboard jack-o-lanterns and scarecrows on the walls. I think there was a witch one, too. Anyone else remember those? The ones with the little bit of black fuzz accenting them? Then there were the school Halloween parties. Packing up your costume to take to school. Worrying that you wouldn't know how to put it all together and hoping that you would win the costume contest. I'll have to dig up the pictures from the year I won as a skunk. And home-made costumes. I swore until a few years ago that my children would always have homemade costumes like I had. Working at the Halloween store the last few years ruined that idea! Back to the school parties. It was always so exciting to come in from recess and gather around the bathroom area helping each other with costumes. Or coming in from an activity and seeing the desks transformed into our own little treasure spots. Cupcakes, candy, red punch and sometimes, for those lucky enough to be in class with the Blair kids, special decorations like the ones below. Bonnie made ceramics and would make one for every kid in her son and daughters classes. Amazing! A few years ago my mom passed them on to us to use in our homes.

The black cat is one of my favorites!

This guy came with lollipops in the tops of his hands.

The house has a light that goes with it.

This year I split up the little trio of ghosty jack-o-lanterns. The crazy thing is that each of us kids have some that are different. Bonnie must have made hundreds of these over the years. I really should send her a thank you note letting her know that her crafts live on.
I was talking to my mom last night and realized that the month of October is crazy for our family. We see a lot of each other but it's almost always at the store. She had no idea that I had decorated my house and that I forced myself to do it this year (I had convinced myself I was too tired and hated halloween already) all because I remember how exciting it is when your a kid. I love hearing Spencer tell people how "spooky" he thinks our house is! So here's a few pics of our spooky place.

The Chair, The Girl, The Cast

The story isn't very exciting. It's just your basic "little girl stands on a chair and then falls." Just like moms and dads always warn. When this little girl fell, she stuck her hands out to brace her fall. After much crying, her dad noticed that she was babying her right arm, cradling it to her tummy. He decided to test her pain by offering her a fruit snack. She held her snack in her hand, with her arm still bent across her tummy and instead of lifting her hand to her mouth, she tried to lower her mouth to her hand. So he decided a trip to the E.R. was in order. The dad called the mom who was working at the Halloween Store and calmly and casually says, "I'm taking her to the E.R. She fell off a chair." There was a baby screaming and wailing in the background so the mom insisted that the dad meet up with the grandma. After all, the mom knows what it's like to take 3 kids to the regular doctors office and she can only imagine what the E.R. would be like. So, the grandma meets the dad and the mom gets there last. The little girl seems fine. She's even moving her arm. But soon the Doc comes in and shows them the x-ray. There was a hairline fracture right below her elbow. The little girl goes home in a splint and a sling. The silly mom thinks this is all she'll need for 6 weeks. But really she needed a real cast, and luckily only for three weeks. The little girl is doing great and is finally figuring out how to get up when she falls and has even started raising her casted arm. Not much longer and she'll figure out that casts make great weapons.

Whenever you mention her 'owie' she points to it and then makes this face...

The Other Night

I finally got to spend some time talking to one of my favorite people. I had been waiting and waiting to hear from him. In fact, I had started to worry a little that I may never hear from him (it's a condition I have, I swear). We had a wonderful time talking and it was great to have someone listen with few interjections. There was no back-talking, no whining, no distractions. He was completely fascinated by what I had to say, I could tell by all the oohing and aahing. I enjoyed watching him as much as he enjoyed listening to me. I can't wait to visit with him again.

Catching Up, Again

After being without a modem for a week, I sat down tonight to do some quick catching up. Instead I was taught a lesson. I was reminded again that I take so much for granted. That I don't stop often enough to enjoy what I have. That when I start to feel like my own life is overwhelming there are others out there who have so much more at stake. Tonight I am grateful for my three beautiful children. I am grateful for a husband who works two jobs so that I can stay home. I am even grateful for my dumpy little double-wide that we rent because to my kids, it's home. I am grateful for the gospel. And for family and friends. I am amazed at the strength of others.
Tomorrow I hope to be patient, generous, loving, and supportive. I hope to remember to slow down and enjoy the amazing blessings I have.

Starting with these three (actually four!)...

Question

Q: What's worse than a elbow fracture?

A: An 18 month old with an elbow fracture, cast, and little white sling with teddy bears on it.

*Pictures and story to follow

For Journalings Sake

I'm going to be brave, for journalings sake, and post a few pictures of my house. One day after I publish this lil' blog of mine, I want my children to see a few things other than the stuff about them. So, here's my attempt at documenting a few spots in our house and sharing a little about the things I like to do.

~I love old things. The shelf in the picture came from my Grandma Goude's mom and the basket the books are in came from a 2nd hand store. I also have a habit of never finishing things...Notice that the bottom shelf is empty.

~Same area, slightly different view. I love to take pictures but can't ever decide which ones I really like so I end up keeping all of them. I love to read and am glad that both of my children seem to love to also.
~I made those pillows on the floor. A couple of years ago I figured out how to run a sewing machine all on my own. After wanting to learn for years I was pretty proud of myself for sitting down and just figuring it out. I can't sew well but I can sew enough to make a pillow or two. Now I'm just frustrated with the lack of fabric stores here.

~I love to constantly change my decorations around. Our house is too small to rearrange the big things, like furniture, so I make up for it by rearranging the little things. It drives Jason crazy. I rarely feel like any spot is exactly the way I like it so I'm constantly tweaking things. This spot used to look like this...

Spencer loves to sit at the desk that's barely seen and work on his puzzles, or any other activity he's trying to keep away from Sophie. Next change for this area: new photos.

After looking at the pics of a few other areas, I realized I have a lot of finishing touches to do before I publicly post them. Maybe that will be motivation enough. The bad habit of never finishing things is to blame, again.

Oreo Lovin'