Weekending

Here are a few pictures from our Halloween Weekend.

We enjoyed our usual fun~Halloween Party to kick off the weekend, Pumpkin Carving the day before Halloween, and FANTASTIC friends to Trick or Treat with.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend too!

We love this handsome little guy. I shower his soft baby skin with kisses more than he might like.
After Trick or Treating the boys are reaping the rewards.

Friends!!!

Super Friends!

A Very Very Mad Hatter!!! Only her mom would know the real truth and she is definitely MAD!

Jason's pumpkin and Nishan's

I am biased, but are these not just awesome?

I of course think so!

Getting into the mindset to eat chocolate covered bugs. Umm...GROSSE!!!

And he is the first one to chomp one down.

So proud of himself to solving the dilemma of hating the feeling of pumpkin goo, but not letting it stop him from the carving fun.

She is a funny girl this one. Zari will do all on her own, with no help. As her mom, I declare a little crazy right now and I felt the above picture is enough said!Ohhh, but here she is just like and Angel.

Momma is a piggy, Nishan is a gun toting Shakespearean, and Zari's self expression says it all.

The weekend ends amongst our fantabulous friends and a bit of trick or treating.

This Moment

Today I am inspired by Amanda Soule of http://www.soulemama.typepad.com/ to give {This moment} a try.

{This Moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

A Creative Day in Our Home

While my little one napped and I chatted away on the phone with a friend of mine, I cleaned out our Closet Garage only to realize I totally did follow through last year with my goal to throw out all of our Halloween stuff. I remember distinctly repeating to myself that we needed to par down and that it was just stuff. If it was not sentimental than it needed to go. We generally jet over to the Dollar Store to do our decorating and make a few things here and there, so no big deal. Except I think I may have thrown out our Trick or Treat bags. My first thought was it did not matter, as Pillowcases are the coolest trick or treat bag around, right? YES, totally, except when I was a kid I always the lofty goal of filling the whole thing up, and well, it never happened, not even once! You know there are those things that you remember as a child and you do not want your kids to have to go through it, because it sucked for you. I know I cannot protect them from everything, but this one I can. After sweating and breathing pretty hard during my phone chat and rummaging through the closet garage to come up empty handed, I remembered last year I had come across a box my mom had handed down to us. And, in it were two patterns for some pretty cool trick or treat bags. I cut some of them out last year and the rest while still chatting away. Maybe just maybe this will be squeezed in and accomplished before trick or treating on Sunday.
Coral and Lillitha got into our Art Cabinet today and wrangled out a few projects. The two of them diligently worked on this mosaic together and presented it to me gleefully. I love that they began with a white canvas and painted it black to look like grout before gluing on all of those tile pieces. Though, I think that I am even more in love with the fact that they worked so well together and both enjoyed themselves.

And here is a pile of cards that all 5 of us made using a Marble Art kit. I have never done this before and it took quite a few times of trial and error, but totally worth it. The kids were way impressed and did not want to stop for anything! I mean anything, friends dropped by to pick up a few things and they worked through while I stepped out for a few minutes, I made lunch and they let it get cold while still marbling.

You really cannot mess this up. The learning curve for us was getting enough paint into the water. We were a little skittish at using too much when we first started. You need a lot to get it to look anything like the pictures in the directions.

I am thinking a bit ahead this year. We usually become a factory during the Holiday Season, producing up to 20 of the same gifts. This year it may be one of a kind and this will hopefully make less stress and more fun. A set of these cards with store bought envelopes tied in Raffia will be just perfect for some recipient out there. Shhh...we already put your name on there.

Once we tired of Marbling we thought we would give the Japanese Paper Folding Dye a try. The directions said you could do this with paper or fabric. We did both and the paper was flop for us. The fabric turned out beautiful and vibrant where it took. I think we may have gotten a bit ambitious and used too much fabric. The ends took well. The middle not so much, as I think that the dye could not bleed all the way through. We tried a few different folds so it is not perfectly symmetrical, but we are all pretty happy with the outcome.

This newly dyed fabric is going to be sewn into another batch of Holiday Gifts. We have the perfect something in mind and the perfect somebody. Another Shhh...in place.

We ended the night while cooking dinner by sponge painting these jars green. I came across this a few days ago

http://morningsunrae.blogspot.com/2010/10/sweater-jack-o-lantern.html

and would like to make something similar using the green painted jars and this sweater. We shall see what the kids and I come up with. Nishan would like to make Frankenstein or a Hairy Werewolf.

To keep it real, I felt compelled to take pictures of what our house looks like on days such as these. When we craft all day, something has to give. Today, that something was laundry. Loads and loads of laundry to be put away amongst other things you might catch a glimpse of in the picture.

I would be lying if I were to say that it was just one thing that was left astray, so I took a picture of our kitchen floor. Where there was fun had, there will always be a mess. We had fun today and that is my excuse.

A day like this just cannot end without a bit more to do. I sign off tonight to make a few more rounds on this pile of yarn.

A Deep Rooted Flaw

Tonight needs to be spent FINISHING up a few gifts and possibly even beginning a few more. I am now laughing, whole heartily laughing at myself. "Why?," you ask. Because I think, no, I KNOW that I have a problem. A very, very deep rooted problem. It definitely stems from my mothers side of the family. I simply do not like finishing things. NO, actually I LOVE finishing things, but I always get to this place where things are just about to be finished and than I HAVE to set the project aside so that inevitably I am knee deep in life's other offerings and low and behold the gift I set aside a few weeks ago needs to be done NOW.
I simply cannot hide this from anyone, because if you know me, I am 100% sure I "owe" you a gift. I can also guarantee you that it is a wink away from being finished sitting in a sterilite box in my craft closet. I am so sick and twisted that I wrap it up all nicely and get it out of eyesight. This is where the sick problem lies. Just because it is out of sight, does not mean it if off of my to do list that I constantly carry around in my head. It sings to me day in and day out. I am sure I have gone to bed and possibly even awakened to me setting a timeline to get it to you by your next birthday.
The point is, I think I always need something to do. I need a lot to do. When I do not have things on my list to check off I feel empty and lost. So, if you happen to be one of my dear friends that is awaiting a promised gift, you can pat yourself on the back right now and praise yourself for helping me feel alive and happy.
You will indeed receive your gift as I have put in place some very strict rules for myself.
#1-Nothing can come in the crafting room unless something has gone out
#2-The same as number one
#3-I work on an "on-going" gift for at least 20 minutes each night
#4-I actually take the time to get the gift to the receiver
#5-Everything that makes it into the crafting room has a pronto purpose
I recently finished up and delivered to my father a crocheted afghan I worked on for him all summer. It was the best feeling to finish it up and be able to take my time with the finishing touches. Through that process I became very aware of my crazy need to tuck things away before finishing them. I promised myself I would no longer do my out of sight but not out if mind thing. The reality is I am totally afraid of finishing something and being completely unhappy with the outcome. My dad's afghan really helped me with that. Unfortunately, I took a few steps backward after finishing up my daughter's birthday gift. I do not hate it, but it definitely has room for improvement.
Tonight, I would like to finish her second gift. Again, I keep putting it off, as I have a bit of the perfectionist flaw and a lot is a stake if I am unhappy with both gifts I made for her. So, I am signing off in hopes of finishing up a gift and hanging my most recent sewing/ craft project for our home. Once the gift is washed and dried and the project hung, a few gifts are next in line that have been in the closet for close to year. Gasp...they will be done in less than a month for the soon to be one year old, because, "I think I can" stick to this new plan of mine!

Harvest Season

Our harvest season has had a very slow start. We did not have much to harvest as a friendly gopher reaped most of the benefits of our garden. Unfortunately, we did not make it apple picking. Our visit to the pumpkin patch was pretty much a bust.

Thank goodness we are in the season of change as our season turned and we are now harvesting crafts and a bit of food.

I saw this idea over here http://ahandmadechildhood.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-make-pumpkin-garland.html and decided we were going to make one of our own.
My kids did a few stitches here and there, my littlest did almost all of the stuffing, and my son had a blast cutting out the Jack o' Lantern faces. The picture above is from the inside of our entrance/ shoe room. The picture below is from the outside view of our house. We decided to go two sided.
I really loved the idea of making these, http://gardenmama.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/10/my-entry-2.html
We cut out pumpkins and brought out the watercolors one morning. To the dismay of all of us my kiddos found the newspaper and watercolors to be enemies. So, we tried coloring a few with markers and decided hanging them as is was best for us this year. Maybe next year we will have more patience to give the water coloring another try as it does look quite spectacular.

My son is in love with anything that he deems scary at this time. "Bats are symbolic of scary," he had declared and wanted to make bats to hang around the house in the spirit of Halloween. We used an old egg carton, paint, yarn, and a glue gun to create these very scary bats.

This wreath is a favorite of mine! Lillitha constructed this last year with me. She placed every flower, pinecone, and cat tail in its location and than allowed me to glue it with her closely watching over me. I hope it will last for many more years as it brings a smile to my face each time I pass by it.

Here are our sugar pumpkins ready to be roasted in the oven. The smell of these pumpkins today brought this Fall Season alive for me. Today is this first day I have felt like yes, it is indeed Fall. I generally love this season and try to drink in all I can of it.Things are different this year, I did not have that warm fuzzy feeling that has followed me in past fall seasons.

Things change and dipping my fingers in the warm water to separate seed from gunk, I began to feel Fall settle into my being.

Our pumpkins line the porch stairs and greet visitors and us alike into our humble abode.

Zari is helping mash the pumpkin so we can freeze our puree to be used in a requested May birthday Pumpkin Pie.

Lillitha thoroughly enjoyed all of the tactile activities making pumpkin puree entailed.

And here is what we reaped from four small sugar pumpkins a whooping 11 cups of puree. Hurray!!!

Our seeds waiting to be salted and roasted or separated to become sprinkled as toppings.

Yummy!!!

Although our season started off rather drab, tonight I sit and relish that things are in full force. Our home is decorated and it smells of fall cooking. Yet there is still much to do and much time to do it in.

A Few Things I Did Not Do Today

I did not take a shower before taking my gals to their Saturday practices. Instead we ate breakfast together and took our time getting out of the house. No rushing and chaos!
I did not sweep the floors today because I chose to cuddle my kids in bed hoping ever so hoping for a mid afternoon nap, but instead turned into one big long pillow fight and no naps.
I did not do the dirty dishes from a late snack tonight, because I chose to hold my gal on the couch like she asked.
I did not fold and put away Mount Laundry. I chose to look the other way and say screw it, today is about being here with my kids and husband. It is the weekend and here with them putting smiles on our faces is where I want to be.
Tonight I write this post to keep myself focused on why I chose to not do these things. I will not stay up into the whee hours to accomplish these things. I will smile when I have to wipe my feet clean on my jammy pants before crawling in bed, I will have my gal who I snuggled on the couch get sudsy with me and clean dishes tomorrow, I will chuckle tomorrow while folding laundry at the memory of our pillow fight. Tomorrow is a new day for new memories and maybe some of those will include tidying up, but today was about good old fun without a lot of the to dos!

Kitchen Chatter

For the last 5 mornings I have woken to the exact words, "Mommy wake up, I want you to cook me an egg!" Cook an egg at 6 in the morning is not quite what I had ever imagined I would be doing at 6 am!!! But, I am am mom, a mom of 4 little ones, and cooking eggs is just one of the things I do at 6 in the morning.
With my eyes still half way closed, I find my way down the stairs into the kitchen where I begin my day. I sometimes wonder if I am ritualistic. I make coffee while my kids talk louder than I care for. To get away from the noise, I make my way to opening all of the blinds in our house room by room and picking up the nights pillows and blankets that are strewn about. Ahhh...the pot of coffee is brewed and ready to be sipped out of my favorite mug. This my friends is pure bliss and now makes that incessant chatter like music to my ears.
So, we sip coffee, chat away, and make breakfast each and every morning together. Together is what is important to me.
Our family does a lot together and much of this time is spent in our kitchen creating meals. I absolutely delight in the moments that our hands are busy cooking and our mouths are busy sharing ourselves.
I have found that especially with my children when their hands are busy they seem more free and open to let their words escape their heads. I find that they are more honest and raw, unhindered.
Today in our kitchen we shared time and tales making popcorn/ pretzel bars. They were as much fun to make as they were to eat!

Fave 5 Night

Right now in this moment I list my fave 5 of today:
1- Listening to my dear son and his friend "outdo" each other in who could eat more tortas.
Funny boys!!!
2- Seeing my eldest Daughter smile in delight upon hearing what role she was chosen for in
her Much Ado About Shakespeare acting program!
3- Still chuckling to myself that my almost two year old already has a style all her own.
Tonight she is sporting purple fleece footy pajamas with a tank top shorty over the footies
and Pink Cowgirl Boots to top off the look!
4- Loves seeing my children's sister/ brother relationships unfold in such a magnificent way. I
was raised as an only child and am just amazed at how beautiful the sibling relationship is!!!
5- Grateful that my husband helps me every night so that he can ensure he gets a few
quite moments with me before I lay my head to sleep.
Good night and shall we meet again tomorrow.

Intention

Intention is ALOT, or at least it is to me. I have more than a few intentions and most of the time they are very well meaning, and some of the time well they are not so well meaning. Yeah, I am human and I do not live in a glass house. I hope to live long enough that all of my well meaning intentions make it to life! As for the not so well meaning I really do not have enough time to dwell on them so they generally just dissipate after I spew them out on a family member or dear friend, and sometimes both as one is just not enough to kill the fire.
Anyways, my intention with this Blog here is to keep it rolling!!! I would like to stop posting once every 6 months or more about how I am going to start it up again!!!! Aha! Intention is everything! It goes so far with this blog that many many many times during the day I think to myself that "this" is a great blog post. Too too many of the "this's" have flown away to never make it here.
So, I have decided that I need to take the time to write in this space, just like I take time to do dishes, tidy our home, cook 3-12 meals a day, do laundry, taxi my four lovely children to places and more places each and everyday. I have new bedtime ritual of working on my current crochet project for at least five minutes every night before I turn off and it has been so positive, I believe this will be a step in the right direction too.
When I first began this blog I envisioned one thing, than I began reading blogs and thought I would model mine after theirs', and than I went back and forth, and finally I came to light bulb moment when I realized, "HEY", I am me and we are we and this space is going to be just that!

P.S.: I am fully aware that according to spellcheck ALOT should not be capitalized, but I wanted it to be, to ensure you caught my drift. And of course"this's" is not a word, but it works and makes sense to me for what I am trying to get across.