Why So Serious?

Meyson was The Joker for halloween. He and Brad went to see The Dark Knight a few months ago and they have both been talking about it ever since. It was very important to Meyson that his costume was as accurate as possible. He did a great job on his make-up and was delighted to receive several compliments as we were out and about tonight. Check out these pictures. I hope they put a smile on your face.

Brianna decided Sarah Palin was a little too normal for halloween night, so here she is as a dead prom queen.

Cody, Carson, and Memphis stuck with their original costumes except that I added a few streaks of color to Memphis's hair. Batman became Batpunk.

They all got way too much candy and will be on a permanent sugar high until Christmas when they will receive stockings full of...what else but candy? Yay!!!

George

A few weeks ago, we noticed that we had a visitor outside one of the windows in our homeschool room. He (we decided it was a "he" not because of anything having to do with his anatomy, but because none of us were excited about the thought of baby Georges) built his giant web there and has been camping out waiting for...well, hopefully for food and not because he really likes us.

George arrived at an opportune time, as we had just been discussing how spiders eat. Since the kids have seen Charlotte's Web, they know that spiders drink the blood of other bugs they catch. But, they wanted to know what happens to the rest of the bug's body. I had no idea and when George showed up, I was doubtful that he would provide the answer.

Fortunately for our little homeschool, he proved me wrong. One morning, George caught a fly in his web and we watched as he wrapped it in web, carried it to the center of his web, and proceeded to eat the whole thing.

Cody and Meyson were fascinated with watching the show. This is when Meyson named him George and I became grateful for a little real life science added into our curriculum. I began to wonder what else George would show us. But the next day, he was gone and we haven't seen him since.

This has Meyson and I a little on edge. We really liked George when we knew where he was. Now that he has vacated his web, we are a little worried that he may have liked all of the attention he was receiving and come inside for a closer look at us. In fact, sometimes at night I have to whip the covers off because I just know George is crawling up my leg.

You can see here how he compares in size to Cody's hand:

These pictures were taken through a double paned window, so he is even bigger than he appears.

If you happen to see George, don't send him home. He was fun and educational for a while, but I do believe I am over it.

Happy Fall Ya'll

The halloween season used to be a big deal to me. I used to let two little girls peruse the costume sections of the McCall's books at the craft store. Then we would pour over every conceivable fabric in the store until we had found the perfect ones for their chosen costumes. I would spend $30 easily by the time we had left the store, and then I would spend hour after hour slaving away at the sewing machine, often whispering angry words at it.

Now there are six children who need costumes and the ritual has been reduced to a wild rummaging through the closets to find anything that will work. Why don't I just start a month earlier and sew all of their costumes? Because, I'm not (completely) insane.

Here's how it all turned out:

Carson is Snow White. I dug out the old dress that I had made for Cody a few years ago, borrowed a curly black wig, threw in some white tights and black mary-janes that we already owned, and voila! A beautiful Snow White costume for zero dollars and zero cents.

Cody is Hermione from Harry Potter. My mom gave me an old nun costume which I cut down to Cody's size, we borrowed a Gryffindor scarf from Bri, painted a wooden dowel brown for a wand, and braided her hair early in the day for wild Hermione hair. Again, zero dollars and zero cents.

Brianna is Sarah Palin. This was Mamaw's (Brad's mom) idea and we loved it. I inherited a skirt suit a couple of months ago that was perfect, she already had the glasses, and we spent some time straightening her hair and putting it up in a Palin-esque manner. Free again.

Bri would only commit to the Palin idea if I agreed to be Hillary Clinton. Now let me just make it very clear that I am not in any way endorsing Hillary, I just happen to resemble her more than McCain. I'm not sure that everyone at our church carnival got the joke.

Silas is a mandrake. You know, the screaming baby plants that they re-pot in the first Harry Potter? I started with the ladybug outfit that I made for Cody. Obviously, I did not use the red part with the black dots on it. Brad and I cut some leaves off of his canna plants and I attached them to the ladybug bonnet. She was the cutest little killer mandrake ever.

Memphis is Batman. The bodysuit cost me $3.99 at a thrift store and the cape was one that Meyson had used in the past that we cut down to fit Memphis. He's not a fan of Batman really, but it was the only costume at the store that would both fit Memphis and cost less than $20.

We went to the annual festival at our church this evening and the kids had a blast. Memphis in particular was so much fun to watch. This is the first year he really understood what was going on.

He found a big mural with the beloved Bob and Larry on it and his reaction was priceless.

He is much more brave and skilled at climbing than we thought he would be. I really thought he would need some help climbing up the ladder in the big inflatables, but he not only did not, but climbed them like he had done it a thousand times before.

Getting candy was a huge thrill for Memphis and he soon figured out that he could charm his was to more than his fair share. He would skip the games and run straight for the person manning the candy bag, sign "more, please" and hold his bag open for them. Who could resist that? Nobody at our church apparently. He made quite a haul.

We knew it was time to go when he couldn't go two minutes without throwing a fit. His feet became immovable cement blocks and his voice went to full volume as he screamed his disapproval that he was not allowed to pickle fish for the 15th time. He would then become a limp pile of wailing flesh complete with a bloody nose. No joke.

The last time, I picked him up, potato-sack style, under my arm and walked very quickly toward the door with my hand over his mouth. I'm pretty sure that at least a couple people questioned whether or not he belonged to me. Yes, yes, the out of control, screaming banshee is mine. Thank you very much.

Total Freak-Out Deluxe

Some of you know how attached Memphis is to his blanket. In a previous post, I wrote about how he was attached to four blankets. Thankfully, he has cut down on the bulk. He still sleeps with all four, but we only have to cart the green one with us everywhere we go.

And I do mean everywhere. I am constantly grabbing it from him while we walk across parking lots and stores so it won't get so disgusting, but with as much abuse as it takes, it's pretty much always dirty. I'm pretty sure his teacher at PDO thinks I am an unfit parent.

This morning, we went to church. Then we went home to change clothes before going to my mom's house for lunch. Somewhere in the fray, we lost track of the blanket. Normally my first rule is: Grab the blanket, then the kids. After all, if we lose one of the kids, chances are someone will return them. If someone found the blanket, they would probably pick it up with a stick and drop it in the dumpster, which would be a tragedy. Today my brain was on vacation.

Memphis WILL NOT sleep without the blanket. One time when we misplaced it in our house I just put him to bed without it when I got tired of searching for it. I learned quickly that sleep with no blanket is not an option.

So, I began my search and rescue mission. I looked in every nook and cranny of the car and checked all of his usual blanket hiding place in the house. I had Brad on a mission to check out church while my mother conducted a thorough inspection of her home.

We were coming up with nothing and I was beginning to feel faint and queasy. I'm not sure the store where we bought the blanket carries them anymore, and even if they do, I'm not sure that Memphis would accept a replacement that is not worn and smelly.

In desperation, I reminded my mom that Memphis likes to shove his blanket into little places. One time we found it crammed into the under seat compartment of his Diego ride-on car.

She went on another sweep-through and amazingly discovered the blanket! It had been stuffed into a large, pink Barbie motor home. Apparently Memphis thought his blanket needed a vacation. Me too.

Silas' Take, Part 2

Hello again. I am four months old now and I'm doing so much more than I was the last time we talked. I weigh a solid 15 pounds now, though my feet haven't grown at all. I know because I found them the other day and I can almost put one whole foot in my mouth. My toes taste really good.

Also, my mommy started feeding me rice cereal. It's wonderful! The only problem is that my mommy is a little slow in getting the bites to my mouth. I find that it helps if I scream at her between every bite.

My mommy and daddy get so excited when I'm trying to do something new. They say things like, "Go Si!" and, "You can do it!" It makes me nervous so I decided I'm only going to do new things at my nana's house from now on. A few weeks ago, I rolled from my tummy to my back at Nana's and I made it look so easy that Nana thought I had already done it before. She didn't scare me with her yelling or anything. My mommy was sad she missed it.

That was so much fun that I decided to wait until I went back to Nana's to roll from my back to my tummy. I did that one after Nana put me to bed. My mommy was sad again and she told me I wasn't allowed to go to Nana's anymore.

I think my hands are possessed. They are always flailing around creating mischief. Sometimes they take my pacifier out of my mouth and I concentrate really hard to get them to put it back in, but they just won't do it. And watch out if you get close to me because they will reach out and grab your hair! I try to make them let go, but usually my mommy has to pry my fingers open. Sometimes my hands pull my dress or my blanket over my face and I freak out because I think I can't breathe. My mom has to help out then too.

Laughing is one of my favorite things to do right now. I just learned how. I laugh when my daddy laughs. He's a funny guy. And Meyson is funny too. I just love to stare at him and smile.

My little blond brother doesn't bother me too much anymore. Mostly because my mommy hovers really close when he gets near me. He is sometimes very sweet to me and kisses my head. I think he loves me a lot.

My sisters all think I'm a doll or something. They tote me around and wrap me in blankets and put stuff in my hair. Then I hear my mommy say, "Silas is not a doll," and she comes and rescues me.

Speaking of my hair, do you know what an afro is? My mommy says I'm going to have one soon and I've never seen one so I don't know what to expect. She says it's because my hair is getting so curly. Mommy likes to play with it and I love it when she does that.

Anyway, I think my mommy was joking when she told me I couldn't go to Nana's anymore so next time I'm there I'm going to try to sit up or walk or maybe drive the car. I'll let you know how it goes. Bye!