Luke, Leia, a koala and a cow walk into a bar...

So, here's the great thing about Mike - you can just show him and picture and say, "Can you make this?" and whammo! 5 straight years of Halloween costumes!  And now I've learned I can do this at Christmas too.  Wait till you see what he made them for Christmas. 

He uses the sewing machine once a year.  And fixes it about twice a year.  Those are the other two times when I am actually sewing and get the bobbin screwed up somehow and am just about to throw the whole thing threw the window and he comes to the rescue.  But that yearly, personal usage is reserved strictly for costumes.  Sometime early 2013, Olivia declared she wanted to be a koala.  I learned 5 years ago not to doubt these declarations.  She said she wanted to be a zebra in 2009 and I was sure she would change her mind and want to be a princess instead, so I did nothing by way of preparations.  Which is why we found ourselves in Wal-Mart, day of,  buying supplies and sent her out trick or treating with a warning not to lean on anyone's house as her stripes were still wet.

There were mock patterns and fittings and in a day and a half we had 3 costumes.  It is our practice to borrow or use hand-me-down for the youngest until they are at least 3, longer if we can swing it.

 Princess Leia and the neighborhood pirate, which, if you know Lilly, is pretty appropriate.

 It also seems appropriate for Greta to be Princess Leia and not Princess Belle or Jasmine or something dainty like that.  She looked more natural with a silver and purple taser than a wand.

Face paint and head gear - that is my job at Halloween.

 That's all! Moo!

Time for change

Every roommate I have had since seminary has known "the green thing." There has never been the perfect spot for it or the perfect use for it, but I have LOVED it!  Some friends were renovating their kitchen when I lived in St. Louis the first time and these cabinets were coming out.  I would have taken them all if I could.  I painted it this lovely green over its original white.  It still has the black and white contact paper inside.  Sadly it has been in our garage since moving to SD.  (Sadly for me.  I don't think it bothers Mike much.)  But recently I talked him into letting me put it on the back porch so I had a place to store outside eating stuffs and whatnot.  And it is about to become "the yellow thing" and will match another antique item my roommates have always persevered.

 
Two of my favorite things 'til I got married and had kids.
 

Staying in touch with the crafty side

It is easy for me to put off silly little projects like this because really who has time to make a fall pillowcase when no one has clean underwear? But I have found that when I make time to do these little things...I don't know...it just makes me happy. And hopefully it makes them happy too. And it usually relieves a little stress...for a minute, until I realize all I have neglected to do it. We were in JoAnn fabrics back in the fall and the kids asked for fall pillowcases. Seemed like an easy request. You just sew two rectangles together, right? I let them pick out the fabric and this was the result.

Wazup?

A short story by Olivia McBride

(As dictated at the lunch table several days ago)

Peaches, Peaches Everywhere Peaches

One time I was feeding Baby and she dumped the bowl upside down and...EVERYWHERE PEACHES. Not one single place in the house didn't have peaches. So I called my husband and I was like, "Husband Baby spilled peaches everywhere." And when my husband got home he said, "Who put the peaches all over the house?" And I said, "Audrey." And he said, "Well this is no reason to call me home. Just clean it up." And I said, "Well, I have a baby and it's no use cleaning up when you have a baby." And he said, "Okay, you give me the rag and I will clean it up. That is how I will help you." And it took us 11 minutes to clean up. Umm Hmm. Peaches. Everywhere. In the sink. In the bath. There was not one place that was not covered in peaches.

The End