a spider, a gymnast & three little dinosaurs

As I was eating a Milky Way & Smarties out of someone's candy basket tonight, I was reminded that I should document our little brood in their Halloween best.  Last year was a "grab whatever you want out of the dress up bin" year which was a blast & so simple. This year I had a request from an adorable five year old that could not imagine dressing up as anything but a spider which got my wheels turning & my sewing machine sewing. We ended up with not only a spider but an Olympic gymnast & three dinosaurs....

 

 

Our trio of dinosaurs were hilarious & enjoyed every second of wearing those spiked tails! I had seen a tutorial for a dinosaur/dragon tail quite some time ago & thought they would be wonderful to have for just playing  at home with the boys.  Once I started looking around on blogs I found another tutorial for the hoodie + spikes to pair with the tail. I was soooo excited to get started! First stop was Walmart to find the jackets, next two stops Hobby Lobby & Joann's to get felt for spikes, thread & poly-fill.  I stitched two pieces of felt together in a triangular shape then trimmed off the excess. To make the hoodies I cut the jacket straight up the middle on the back & hood. I then pinned all the spikes in place & stitched it back together. It was incredibly easy compared to some previous costumes we have designed & completed.

 

The tails were a little more involved & kept me up late a couple nights in a row but as usual the hard work paid off when our three guys donned their tails & were ready to explore the neighborhood, pumpkin bucket in hand. The tail tutorials I looked at were for a long straight tail that mostly dragged along the ground. I decided to cut them to be shaped more appropriately for running around & not tripping over each other. I followed the same steps in making the spikes & sewing them into the top seam of the tail. They are stuffed with poly-fill & hook onto the boys by an attached fleece belt secured by Velcro. It is easy for them to put on/take off on their own...WIN WIN WIN!

 

The final result....

 

 

Arlo was born just a month before Disney's The Good Dinosaur was in theaters. The main character is non other than ARLO the dinosaur! So here he is....our very own Arlo the Dinosaur....

 

I must be part T-Rex because I just wanted to gobble him right up! While we are on the subject of that certain type of dinosaur, I must mention that Owen has spent the majority of his life pretending to be a T-Rex.  It all started with the nickname "Mighty-O" from one of his NICU nurses. That name prompted the purchase of a shirt that had a T-Rex on it & said "Be Mighty." I then found a larger size of the same shirt that needs to be moved along to the "save for Arlo (the dinosaur) bin" because his belly hangs out. That phrase is something I never thought I'd say about Owen! Anyway, we often say "Be Mighty, Mighty O" & he is! He gets those little T-Rex arms up to his chest, roars fiercely & runs like mad through the house. Love me some Mighty O!

 

Anson also joins in on the ferociousness at a moments notice with similar arm positioning & a scary roaring face. He was proud to be a dino!

 

 

Dinosaurs aren't always scary....

Now onto the Valentine ladies who we can thank for getting the ball rolling on costume design.  Since the Summer Olympics Charlotte has been extremely interested in gymnastics. In fact, all four kids deemed our ottoman as a vault right smack in the middle of the living room.  We were shocked we never had to take a trip to the ER due to injuries sustained on our homemade piece of equipment.  As we watched Team USA compete the girls would argue about who got to be Simone Biles or Lauri Hernandez. I was laughing to myself thinking about how my cousins & I did the exact same thing with Saved by the Bell characters. 

 

My parents bought Char a leotard for her birthday & she, in true Charlotte style wore it all day long, all night long for multiple days (weeks) in a row. If I forced her to take it off & sleep in regular jammies she would be at my bedside by 6am asking if it had been washed so she could put it back on!  She was SO very excited when we gave her the thumbs up on wearing it to Trick or Treat.  It was by far the easiest costume of the bunch since all I had to do was make a gold medal! I used the top off a jar of applesauce, covered it with gold glitter paper & attached a USA ribbon. She felt like a million bucks!

 

Eloise, oh Eloise. Never a dull idea! I'm not sure why we were surprised with her answer when I suggested that she be a fellow Olympian. She of course said "no" just like she did the year she was Captain Hook after suggested that she be Tinkerbell ; ) Being a spider was the only thing she was interested in! We worked together to make all her dreams come true by way of a combination of a few patterns.  I ended up cutting the side seams of a black shirt & attached four men's dress socks that she stuffed with poly-fill.  When I first explained how the "legs" would be attached she got really upset with me saying she wanted to crawl on the ground like a real spider & those silly dress socks weren't strong enough to hold her up.  She was dead serious.  I talked her down & let her know she could still crawl if she wanted to.  She insisted on the lovely fluffy turquoise boa to be used somewhere on her costume so on Halloween eve Robby helped me attach it with black electrical tape after I broke the needle on my sewing machine trying to sew it on. I was SO glad he was there with his fantastic idea to insure Lolo's genuine smile....

Oh, that hat with the eight eyes! She insisted so I made it happen! That sticky web did it's job & caught all these cuties...

 

One last important picture of the seamstress with her crew. Elo was looking for her next meal, Owen & Anson may be doing the same while Charlotte, Arlo & I were grinning away.

Trick or Treating was great in our new neighborhood & the kids quickly remembered the routine. Arlo took a ride in the wagon with his cute little tail sticking over the back. Once we made it home we passed out a bit of candy then looked at some candy then ate some candy then the kids passed out....then I ate some of the newly acquired candy. I love candy.

Just a couple days earlier we carved our own pumpkin. We skipped that tradition last year so this was really the first gooey pumpkin experience for Owen & Anson.  Everybody got to help though...

 

We always name our pumpkin & this year the name was "Toothless" in honor of our very own Toothless girl. Robby carved the pumpkin's grin to match Charlotte's haha!

 

That little Arlo, he often steals the show! It's hard to believe that he was just two weeks old this time last year, dressed in a little bat onesie, snuggled up & hardly able to keep his eyes open. This year he was squealing, walking around & touching all those sticky pumpkin seeds!

in my own little corner....

In the Rodgers & Hammerstein Broadway production of Cinderella there is a song that I love called "In my own little corner."  I'm not sure what I watched as a child since I never saw the Broadway show but it was something on TV or VHS that had Cinderella as happy as could be spinning, dancing & singing around a chair in her own little corner which was separated from her "real life." The phrase "in my own little corner in my own little chair I can be whatever I want to be" has always stuck with me & last summer after receiving some birthday money I decided to make my own little corner....with my own little chair.

A friend of mine called one morning & said she was driving down the street in her neighborhood on bulk trash day (as she often does) looking for "treasures." Her first find was an old ugly chair which she grabbed in case I wanted it. Shen knew we needed a couple more for our dining table since we never have enough for guests when we host dinner.  I was excited & shared that I really wanted one to have "my own little chair" for my "own little corner." Within the next two weeks she called to say she came across another beat down treasure, a desk that could use some TLC. She offered home delivery & even hauled it into my house since I was with child.

Both pieces sat around for a month or so until my in-laws kidnapped the Fab Four. I dragged the chair & desk to the entry way, threw down some tarps & got to work.

I wish I had a "before" picture of the chair....it was ugly but had great potential. When I flipped it over to unscrew the seat cushion I saw that it was made by Ethan Allen. Pretty good for a side of the road pick up!

List of repairs/upgrades:

• chalk paint- Robin's egg blue on the desk & a creamy white on the chair-it was my first go round & I was surprised with it's simplicity
• new fabric to cover ugly seat cushion
• the side of the desk had a lightweight board that was falling off so I ripped it all the way off to find an oval shaped hole that was about 4 inches in height. I was not in the mood to wait until Robby was home to figure out the proper repair. I ended up using duct tape on the inside to attach the oval piece that fell out. Good thing I didn't really care too much about "looks" ; )
• new drawer pulls
• slight sanding on some uneven surfaces prior to painting

Other additions to complete the corner:

• I used the blue & white to paint eight frames my mom bought at an estate sale while we still lived in Orlando. I wasn't sure why I never painted the wretched gold frames until the idea for my corner came about. They were perfect.
• some chalkboard paint
• a cork board covered in same fabric as the seat cushion with a clip attached
• a cute birdie with a hook
• all the meaningful designs & photos within the frames

I couldn't be happier with the final product & the thoughts it has brought about in my mind...looong post in which the title & thoughts are all tied together in the end. For now, here's the completed corner-

"Rooted & Established in Love" Humble, Texas + Dearborn, Michigan. I do love how identifiable the state shapes are. I know there is more to Michigan but I decided to stick with the "mitten" as the girls call it.

Since I love all things nest related, there are two birdies on the desk one of which is not in view in the photo below but was given to me by my mom. It could not coordinate more perfectly with our bedroom. The bird below is Polish in descent & arrived via package straight from Poznan, Poland from my Jenny girl. I LOVE it for it's beauty but more so for the reminder of a dear family far away participating in something eternally beautiful.  The brown vase was a gift from my brother Scott & did not have a "home" until my corner received it's finishing touches. Along with a couple pictures I really like is a frame with chalkboard paint & "teach my song to rise to you" lovingly cut out by my cousin Kelly with her Silhouette Cameo.

These lyrics come from a Matt Maher song called "Lord, I need you." There are so many great truths in this song that are centered around our great need for God & how Jesus is our righteousness.  My favorite part says

Teach my song to rise to you

when temptation comes my way

and when I cannot stand I'll fall on you

Jesus, you're my hope and stay

I SO desire my song; my call for help to rise to the Lord when I am tempted to be selfish with my time, respond in frustration to the needs of my children or become completely overwhelmed with my responsibilities.

Anson frequently yells "Mommy I need you!" with the most adorable inflections. Robby smiles & sings to me " I need you oh I need you, every hour I need you!" What a tangible example of what our simple & immediate call to God should be like. I'm thankful for sweet Anson's reminder in my life right now even though I have to take a deep breath before walking to his room ; )

A favorite print  that says "dwell" with a birdie (surprise, surprise) was given to me by my sweet friend Amanda before we moved back to Texas.  It's within my favorite of the frames.

I wanted to include a "V" & found a burlap one that I covered with stick on pearls & attached to a piece of fabric I bought when I was pregnant with Charlotte. The small oval was in need of some chalkboard paint & a number "7" to represent our growing family.

Below is one of my favorite pictures of all time that was taken when the twins came home from the NICU & is next to a Willow Tree mama holding a baby. It was a gift from a special friend, it reminds me of the fullness of a mama's arms with one baby & brings about laughter when I picture what it would look like if those arms were full of five "babies."

The last frame is filled with something very dear. On April 13, 2003 I opened this piece of paper with the lyrics of a David Gray song. I answered "yes" which was my first stepping stone to becoming a Valentine...

While it has been fun to have my pretty little corner in our bedroom, I seem to not be able to spend much time in my own little chair or any time really as of lately.  I see it when I wake up in the morning, when I come to relocate Bella so she doesn't bark during nap time or from the chair I nurse Arlo in which is across the room. When I am in that spot I can hardly see it over the mound of unfolded wrinkled laundry that often finds it's home there until I move it onto the chair I nursed the baby in so I can go to sleep. It's a bad habit. That was not my plan for this lovely corner but I am realizing even more that it's really not about my plan anyway.

I picked up a new book called Teaching from Rest- a Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace by Sarah Mackenzie. It has been extremely encouraging, convicting & has provoked much thought about how to move forward resting in the Lord while teaching these little ones.

She quotes Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis...

"The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's "own" or "real" life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life - the life that God is sending one day by day; what one calls one's "real life" is a phantom of one's own imagination."

Reading that stopped me in my tracks. How often do I feel that my plan is interrupted & that my day is derailed by handling 1,000 other minor crises. It IS my "real life" which in the context of "unpleasant things" is full of opportunity to embrace what God has given me whether it be children, a husband or my responsibilities in our little Nest.

It seems that the quote disproves my initial thought about the line  "I can be whatever I want to be." ....while I sit in my pretty little corner in front of the desk I have forbidden anyone to lay a hand on.  Regarding the phrase "being whatever I want to be" or using the label "my real life" I must acknowledge that where I am in life is exactly where I have always wanted to be. I could not WAIT to be a mother & though I had an extremely small understanding of the challenges I would face, I love it.  

Through the "real life" days filled with much neediness, He is sufficient to provide more abundantly than I can imagine. He is making me into HE wants me to be & my hope is that my desire each & every day would be aligned with his. So, rather than the day dreaming about the "what if I.." that could accompany me staring at my own little corner from my own little chair, I should place these five in front of my corner & celebrate what God is doing in my heart through them....

Opportunities to love & serve unselfishly abound...

Tootles & the cast of Peter Pan

It all started a couple months ago when Robby could not resist watching the Robin Williams' movie "Hook" with the girls. It was followed by multiple showings at the Nest, many that included me as a watcher. We loved it, quoted it & the kids pretended to be characters. As time passed we realized that the girls had never seen the Disney Peter Pan so of course, we had to watch that on the next family movie night. It was decided around that time that Peter Pan would be our costume theme. My mind got to work, earlier this year than last thankfully ; ) There had been so much obsession with the two movies that one night when we were in Kingwood, I got up from the couch & moved to the guest room in the wee hours of the morning. My parents woke up to the girls screaming "MOMMY!" in the living room when they couldn't find me. They took care of them so I could continue on in dreamland, undisturbed by the screaming. Later that morning the girls told me that they thought Hook captured me! Haha! Definitely more exciting than just walking like a zombie to the guest bed....or is it? 

Once the week of Halloween rolled around we got our pumpkin & prepared for a relaxing yet festive evening. It started off quite exciting when I put some taco shells in the oven on "broil"and then....forgot about them. I walked back in from the garage & could smell something out of the ordinary & when I glanced over I saw flames from the shells up to the top of the oven!! I screamed "ROBBY!!! THE OVEN IS ON FIRE!" thankful that he was already home & could intervene. I'm sure he thought I was crazy, He ran over, opened the oven & attempted to pull out the baking sheet then decided to put it back in & think for a second about the safest way to put out the flames. Me on the other hand...I was in a complete panic yelling "do we need to call someone??" hahaha....like the fire department maybe? We have laughed hard since this event about my ridiculous comments & actions. I ran out the back door leaving it open & turned on the hose. Robby carried the flaming baking sheet out the back door & sat it down on the rocks. He did end up using the water hose (see, I was helpful). The boys watched in amazement from their high chairs saying "taco, taco, taco, taco, taco" over & over while the girls were so zoned in on their TV show that they didn't even notice! A whole new meaning to Torchy's Tacos right?! We still enjoyed our black bean taco dinner followed by moving out to the backyard to carve our pumpkin.

We started off with a little pumpkin drumming by the Fab Four. Owen was so attached to his "baby" this evening which was actually my baby when I was little. 

Eloise enjoyed the carving but was much more interested in the roly-poly who crawled all over her pants. This worked out okay since she might be the most dangerous around a knife ; ) Daddy got smart & moved our pumpkin up out of reach while all the little ones watched him draw on our design & carve away.

He turned out pretty cute thanks to the carver! After a short discussion the girls decided to name him "Jake" from Jake & the Neverland Pirates but shortly after renamed him "Tootles" after a character in Hook. He is an old man who says "I'm looking for something, I've lost my marbles!" Tootles was one of the Lost Boys & his namesake made for a great little pumpkin on our front porch for the week.

 Love my boys...wish they weren't out of focus.

Once Tootles was shining from the inside out, Anson spent the majority of his time in this position.

It worked out well that the kids & I spent the first week of October at my parents house. I am always inspired to be more crafty when in the presence of my mother & it's always more fun to go shopping for fabric together (with our four best friends).  We had a hilarious interaction while shopping with a loud bunch of children. This older woman stopped me & was trying to make nice with my grumpy three year old & twins who weren't having any of her baby talk. She of course told me I had my hands full...I did at that very moment.  I ended up having to exit the premises while my mom & Charlotte waited for our fabric to be cut. Later she shared that the older woman who had spoken to me also spoke to my mom. She said...and I quote..."She sure has her hands full, she needs a Valium or at least some marijuana or something!" Wow, we have never heard that one haha! Anyway, back to the costume making. Charlotte was given the task of making the first draft & I was super impressed. From left to right, top to bottom we have Wendy, Captain Hook, Peter Pan & Mr Smee...

Charlotte was the first to say that she wanted to be Wendy & we originally thought Eloise would be Tinkerbell but that little firecracker had her own plan that included a hook & sword. We just went with it....go with the flow works better when handling that sweet little thing ; ) My mom & I did not actually do much sewing in Kingwood but, since she was our chauffeur back to Dallas & then stayed for a few more days, we knocked out the rest! My first round for Owen's costume was made size wise from my memory while he was napping. Apparently I still picture him as a preemie because I could not even get the top on him & his Peter Pan hat looked like a yamika. Round two was a vast improvement. All items fit for each character & we could hardly wait for Friday to arrive! 

Enough stories & onto the cast....

Little Captain Hook was a bit grumpy during picture taking but then again, Captain Hook is a little grumpy anyway so maybe she was just playing the part well ; ) She LOVED having the mustache drawn on & thanks to GGran we had the mustache "paint" just in time. Since I couldn't drive, she picked it up on her way over on Halloween morning. We got the kids dressed & took a little stroll down to the bridge. I was thankful to have her assistance since it is far from safe to go there alone with our crew.

She was so pretty when she arrived on my front porch & said she was dressed as a Red Raider fan for Halloween, haha! SO creative! Anson did not like his hat & much preferred to be Captain Hook from the neck up which made for lots of laughs!

We chose for Anson to be Mr. Smee because his belly hangs out of his shirt on a daily basis. He was pretty adorable....sideburns, big brown eyes, belly button & all. 

and yet, another pair of brown eyes belonging to such a sweet boy that kept his hat on for Mommy.

We spent some time looking for turtles but decided it was much too chilly for them to be coming to the surface.

Love these two together. Peter Pan who we called "Peter Man" instead since that is what Eloise thought the title of the movie was for about a month borrowed Captain Hook's telescope. It actually belonged to Uncle Scott & Uncle back in the early 1990's & can be used as a weapon as well.

GGran & I had it made on the way home. Wendy Darling, being so motherly pulled the rest of the bunch home in the wagon...the whole way!

We got some naps in then donned our costumes once again & made our way to the Clark's house for Trick-or-Treating. Captain Hook was very upset when we arrived because Peter Man had rubbed off half of her mustache while riding next to her. We grabbed a marker & filled in what we could...it was half black, half brown & she didn't care. They hosted a wonderful (quick) dinner, had a fire pit out front & a HUGE pumpkin full of candy. Here are some of the kiddos we ran with...

Peter Man & Smee were a little protective of their wagon when Dorothy & a cute little cheerleader tried to "help" the baby boys.

and those little ladies up close...aka Karlee & Khloe. Then Charlotte & Owen the tiger who is Khloe's big brother buddied up long enough for a picture.

Kids swapped out walking & riding & we were glad to have a three seater wagon for the evening (and always).

Andrew, Khloe & a sticky lollipop...

Speaking of lollipops, O&A were delighted to have their first. They were pretty excited about all the candy & were screaming while we were walking. Rob was yelling to me requesting some baby friendly candy. We figured out Whoppers were perfect for these two & we sugared those boys right up to keep them happy. You should have heard Peter Man's unending happy squeals on the way home!

Hook & Wendy remembered just what to do & had a blast running from house to house. They were polite & could not help themselves so they started chowing down while still walking. I was shamed by one woman & wanted to say "You should see how many pieces of candy we gave those babies over there lady!" Charlotte looked beautiful with her hair pulled half up. For about 2.5 years she has refused to do anything to her hair other than leave it down but all of the sudden she is requesting a ponytail nearly every day which looks just adorable. While on the subject of hair, Eloise decided to lose the wig for trick or treating....must have slowed her down ; )

one last pic of the Valentine Six. The girls were sorely disappointed that we did not dress up. They really wanted Robby to be the Tick Tock Croc. Maybe another year ; )


It was a fun night with friends & we made it home, got the little ones to bed then did what all parents of trick-or-treaters do...raided the pumpkins! We enjoyed some treats while watching an episode of Dateline then got a fabulous nights sleep when all stayed in a bed (two in mine as usual) until 8 AM!

I can't post this without including a picture of our very own Nana. You can tell that she really loved her costume ; ) She is too old & feeble to trick or treat but sure looked cute!