Random Thursday

E has a Halloween party tomorrow night and I waited until the last minute to put together his Jedi Robe to add to his Luke Skywalker costume. I followed this online tutorial. I haven't really sewed anything in a long time, but I'm always inspired by projects I find on this site. Everything Dana makes is so fun and she just whips things up; I am a bit envious of her sewing creativity and talent. Back to the robe; I will have E try it on in the morning before school and after some measurements, I'll have to get it all hemmed. Hopefully it will be ready long before 5:00 pm tomorrow.

This weekend we are getting family photographs taken by Blue Lilly Photography and I CAN'T WAIT! Wendy and Tyler travel all over the world taking photographs and they are coming to Boston! I'm hoping to learn a thing or two from these talented artists as well.

Autumn is in full swing here in New England. The ride home from work has been really beautiful this week with all the colors of the leaves. Before long, our entire yard will be covered in leaves, glorious leaves!

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree”

-Emily Bronte

My "Pick" for the Photos of the Week

Yes, today we have more than one.

They were just too good that I couldn't stop at just one.

First up we have Little Miss sitting on the throne with her crown. Crown idea taken from here.

...and this sums up Little Miss' favorite pasttime these days. UGH! I actually thought she was getting better about it, but because she has had a bit of a cold, she's been digging. I'm going to have to blame this lovely habit on her older brother...sorry E, but you have definitely helped your sister to master the art of boogies!

And for the grand finale...

Some good ole "nose picking quotes" to end the post

"You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose."

"You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't wipe your friends under the sofa."

"I know he picks his nose. I felt under his furniture."

"If I had a million boogers, I'd still pick you."

"No ones finger fits as comfortably in your nose as your own.”

Random Thursday (a date late)

Yes! This is the new weekly title of my blog post, originally titled Random Thursday. I do realize, there have been more Random Thursday (a date late) posts than those actually posted on the correct day, but hey who really cares?

I needed an adolescent picture of me to bring to work for a guess the teacher photo contest. Mom dug this out of the pile. This is now hanging outside the guidance office. In this picture, I look soooo much younger than the kids I work with.

I think this picture was taken as I walked into a surprise party. Check out those socks and the tucked in shirt...classic!

Here is my little man with his new "do". If you ask me, he looks pretty darn cute in his "faux hawk"! After getting his haircut, he walked by the mirror, took a glance and said, "I look good!" Yes you do handsome!

And this week was a big week at Tae Kwan Do; E got his high green belt and his new (costly) sparring gear...ouch! This picture cracks me up every time I look at it. I hadn't even seen Little Miss in the picture when I took it, but then when I uploaded it, I couldn't stop laughing. Excuse the blur; that's been happening a lot lately.

Happy Weekend to all! The two little cherubs and I will be spending our weekend at dress rehearsal and recital. E will be doing an acrobat number to "I Don't Want to Work" and Little Miss will be tapping to "On the Good Ship, Lollipop."

Pictures coming soon....

"You can dance anywhere, even if only in your heart."

~Unknown

Thank You..

....to Sarah over at Memories on Clover Lane who linked me yesterday. It was exciting to have some company over here. I'm hoping some of you who visited with me will stay around for while. But, if not, thanks for stopping by anyway. It was fun!

"No one can deny the excitement of visiting another world."

-Barney Oliver

DIY Halloween Invites

For the past few years, we have been hosting a Kids' (or is it Kids?...technically, I believe it makes sense either way) Halloween Party, because with all the time and effort that is put into picking out the perfect costume, Halloween lasts a little longer when you have a party to celebrate it.

Here are this year's invitations.

I found these great Martha Stewart Halloween Treat Bags (for less than $2.00 for a bag of 12) at Christmas Tree Shop .

I searched for a vintage Halloween image on Google and put this insert together in less than 10 minutes on Picasa. It's not the greatest thing ever produced, but hey, it's cute, cheap and serves its purpose. The background is a combination of two "papers" I found online.

The kids then put the inserts into the treat bags, exposing only the

"peek a BOO" at the top. Fun, fun!

"Eat, drink and be scary." ~Author Unknown

PS I never liked Halloween, but with kids, it's different. I like it because they like it. It's still such a silly thing to me, but to see them get all excited about it, it's completely worth it.

DIY "Stained Glass" Pumpkins

Supply List:

School Glue
Paint brush
Plastic Plate
Orange Tissue Paper
Black Paper (construction or tissue)
Green Paper (construction or tissue)

1. Tear the orange tissue paper into small pieces (Little Miss insisted on using the scissors; they're still considered a novelty to her.)

2. Spread the glue with the brush onto the circular center of the plastic plate. It is best to put the glue on in sections, as it dries quickly. Place the pieces of tissue paper onto the glued surface and be sure to overlap the pieces. You do not want any of the plate showing through.

3. When the entire circular section is covered with tissue paper, let dry.


4. Unfortunately, I do not have a photo for the next step (oops...some day, I'll get this DIY thing right). After letting it dry completely, you are going to peel the "stained glass" pumpkin off of the plate. This is most easily done if you turn the plate inside out. Usually the kids like this part the best.

5. Make a jack-o-lantern face with paper. In the past I've used tissue paper, but we didn't have any, so the kids cut out pieces of construction paper for faces and stems.

6. Hang in a window. These are not the best photos, especially with the screen door in the background, but, they look really great in a sunny window.

Note: I have used this project in the classroom with 5th and 6th graders to practice expository writing.. I demonstrated the project, they created a pumpkin and then had to write the step-by-step process with how to do it.

You can also do this at Christmastime and make Christmas ornaments.

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion." ~Henry David Thoreau

Picture of the Week

These are the pictures I usually get, but just don't post all that often. E puts his arm around Little Miss and squeezes her neck too hard, causing her to have a bit of a fit. This picture tells the "real" story.