Looking Back at Costumes Past

Halloween is tomorrow. I have two kids very excited about the prospect of heading out to Trick or Treat. Tomorrow they get to wear their costume to school in the afternoon. There is an assembly, a costume parade and then games and fun. I LOVE that our school supports Halloween, and our traditions. I love how excited my kids are about it.

 

I can hardly believe that we've been dressing up little beings for Halloween for over 10 years. We are hoping the snow holds off, so they can get out and get their candy tomorrow night... But the forecast isn't great. Though, it's the adults that care about the cold temperatures, the kids don't even feel the cold. 

 

Here's a look back at Halloween's past:

 

4 month old Baby Mason

 

 

Pumpkin Boy [snow on the ground]

Loved the Pumpkin - a redo!

Cowboy Woody and Strawberry Head baby Madelyn

Buzz Lightyear and the Little Green Alien

Spiderman and Pumpkin Girl [good use out of that costume]

Skeleton and a Spider Girl

Bad Spiderman and Chicken Little

Captain Vizsla [Star Wars] and Jessie

 

 

Little Red Riding Hood and Pirate Mason

Another thing that has changed...

I went to my very first dance, in Jr. High School. I guess I would have been in Grade 6, because I went to Jr. High from Grade 6 to 9. It was an after school 'Shag'. The gym was dark. Loud music played. The boys stood on one side of the gym, and the girls on the other. It took a while before even the girls, danced together.

Last night we went to the Halloween Hop at the kids school. I was first introduced to this when Mason was in Grade 1. At first I thought it was INSANE, to be having a dance so early in life. But it was a family dance, so all the 'family' came. 

Since being shocked a number of years ago, this has become a highlight for these kids each year. They LOVE it. The lights are off, there are flashing lights, the music is loud [and good] The kids are all dressed up in their costumes. Everyone dances. There is a concession stand with drinks and snacks [because even for the kids, snacks play a major roll] 

Last night, I was thinking back to my first dance, where I probably never danced with a boy for at least 2 years, and I watched this unfold...

My little Butterfly Girl and Batman...  Grade 2 people... I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling when she gets to her first junior high 'shag' she won't be standing up against the wall. Nope, not this one. Enjoy.

Breakfast Talk and Future Thoughts

Currently, in grade 2 Madelyn is working on a unit called Small Flying and Crawling Animals. This couldn't be a better fit. Seriously it's as if it were hand picked by Miss Madelyn herself. Seriously, small flying and crawling animals... Be still her beating heart. They have divided into groups, she chose the bat group, but agonized over the decision because she had to choose between that, bees, spiders or ladybugs. 

She has spent the better part of 6 weeks learning all sorts of trivia, about all sorts of critters. She has taken a grasshopper to school, and held it under the smart board, in her hand, so that everyone could get a good look at it. She's taken a found moth wing to school. She collected information on crickets and took that to her class to share. She's even working on a little project at home, to take in for her teacher. Just because.

Her class room has also had a tarantula, a scorpion, meal worms and pill bugs. Guess who got to pet the tarantula? Guess what the tarantula ate? Crickets... [I think that was a bit hard for this hardcore bug lover to learn, but hey, she also learned about the food chain...]


Yesterday morning, as I was getting the kids lunches made, and they were sitting at the kitchen table eating their breakfast, I was privy to the following conversation. [Madelyn was feeling badly, because the critters were heading back to where ever it was that they came from...]



mg: "Mason did you get creatures in your class room when you were in Grade 2?"
mk: "No, nothing like that."
mg: "I'm going to miss them"
mk: "Things have changed drastically since I was in Grade 2, Madelyn.
mg: "How?"
mk: "Well for example, do you know the Grade 3's got to make brownies? Yeah... They did. They got to make brownies because it has something to do with Rocks & Minerals.
mg: "That's neat."
mk: "Yeah. Because do you know what I got to do in Grade 3? I got to smell sulphur"

Had I been sipping coffee at that time, I think it would have sprayed out my nose. It was just so funny to hear them talking like that. And to hear Mason say how DRASTICALLY things have changed in the past 3 years...

Imagine my horror, to how things have changed... Now in school there are ipads and mac books. Mason has accounts set up, and can check home work / hand in assignments and find out quiz results from home. Back in the day, we had spelling tests, he's got spell check. Back in the day if you were bullied, it happened Monday through Friday. Now if you're bullied, it happens 24/7. He wants to use the computer. I'm just so not cool with that. The kid is learning how to type. It's a different world out there for sure, so when he tells me how drastically things have changed over the past 3 years, I can't imagine how they will have changed 30 years from now.

I just hope that I can keep up with changing technology. So for the next few years at least I don't get the eye rolls and the 'Mum how would possibly know that?' questions... I've always thought I'd be a cool, hip mum, but maybe I won't be... Oh you kids, I need you to know, that ALWAYS, it's your best interest I have at heart.  I don't EVER want you to have to deal with any of the horror that seems to run so rampant. Don't EVER think you're not good enough. Don't EVER do something because some one says you have to, to be cool. ALWAYS know that you can turn to your Dad or I, no matter the situation. We are here to go to bat for you, FOREVER.

Getting Our Spook On

It's that time of year again. Halloween.

Message boards on pinterest have been full of Halloween ideas/crafts/foods since July. I tried very hard not to look at them. Although this is my most favourite thing to decorate for, I don't want to wish time away. Especially after the awesome summer/fall we've had. I'm in no hurry at all for this delightful weather to end. Every day we get closer to November with a nice day, means one less day of cold in my book.

The last couple of years, I've kind of had to drag my butt to get the decorating done. This year however, I was quite keen. We've made the leap from cute Halloween, to more of a dark Halloween. At the request of the kids who thought I had way too much cutesy stuff. [Seriously, their words, not mine]

Madelyn is still convinced it's not scary enough... I think she would seriously like jars with body parts floating around in them. I know she'd LOVE jars with critters of some sort in them... She is especially enamored right now with the hissing cockroach, thanks to research she's doing at school. She'd thinks 'dried ice' is AWESOME, would love to have a machine [we've seen them at the stores, and she can't understand why on earth I won't pick one up] She even asked me, "Mummy, can you actually buy fake blood?" I had to swiftly dodge that one, and change the topic on the fly. My idea of Halloween decor has NEVER gone hand in hand with fake blood...  

I had kind of a crow thing going on this year. I absolutely despise crows, my motto being the only good crow is a dead crow. But somehow, they just seem sinister and very Halloween-ish. 

A couple of years ago, I'd seen a photoshop tutorial here. On how to create 'fangs' on your pictures. It was right smack dab in the middle of the Twilight stuff. I got on board and altered my pictures. Quite pleased with the results. The pictures weren't updated this year, they're both missing teeth now.  It wouldn't seem quite as effective or scary with a bunch of teeth missing.

Every day for the month of October, I've tried to include something fun and Halloween-y in their lunches. I have found all sorts of lunch box jokes on the Internet, so every day they get a joke. This morning I upped the ante, and cut cheese into bat shapes [i didn't actually cut the cheese, i have little cookie cutters] The sugar cookie is compliments of Ama. Thanks Ama!

This is my screen saver on my phone. Isn't it awesome? Oh, how I love Halloween...

The girl has decided this year, that she's going to be a butterfly... Be still my beating heart. Last year she was Little Red Riding Hood, and before that I think she was Jessie from Toy Story. This is a great streak we're on. In the past, she has been a pumpkin, a spider and a chicken. Very adamant about all those choices, so pretty pleased that we've picked something very girlie a few years in a row.

Mason is still undecided about what he wants to be. He's had some terrific costumes over the years. It's sad that this dress up time is so darn fleeting.... Last year he was a pirate and he even let me put a bit of makeup on his face, a big step for him I'll tell you. 

I looked through the costumes of Halloween past just now... And got a little misty. I will do a separate blog post on that. Perhaps even include this years Halloween Costumes. I can't believe we've been dressing kids up for Halloween for over 10 years. [Yes, Mason just turned 10 in June, but we dressed him up for the first time when he was only 4 months old...]

Project Life: Weeks 37, 38 and 39

I can't believe it. This week I'm working on Week 40 of Project Life... Like, as we're 40 weeks in. You know, out of a 52 week year. That means only 12 weeks to go. [Now saying that, is depressing...] It it makes me realize how unprepared I am for Christmas so far. But then I remember I don't need to be prepared for Christmas at the moment, because it's only the first week of October... Week 40.

I can not tell you how much pleasure I have gotten out of doing this. Of keeping it up. There have been a couple of times, that I've somehow gotten a week or two behind, and it's a bit daunting... But then I sit down and catch up. Just like that. One thing, that has been a saving grace, is keeping a notebook to jot down the dates, and a thing or two that happened. You think you'll remember everything that  happens on a daily basis, but when you're 2 or 3 weeks behind, all the instagram pictures just look the same. And one thing you may want to know about instagram... As awesome as it is, it's not date specific... So if you want to remember something, trust me. Write. It. Down.

 

Well hello there you... She has wanted to be a number of things since the very idea of Halloween has come about. First a dead bride... Yeah, you read right. But that was met with a chilly reception. Then she thought she'd be an angry bird. Now, she wants to be a butterfly... Much better. Much. That really has nothing to do with Project Life, other than I see the angry bird costume in this photo... And that is what Project Life is all about... Capturing the Every Day. The same old, same old. Because there will be a day, when she will indeed want to be a dead bride, and met with a chilly reception or not, she will be. But for now... For now, she'll be a butterfly.

Up the Hill

I took the kids up to Nose Hill a few nights ago. The three of us were going for completely different reasons. I wanted to take some pictures and fiddle with my camera. Madelyn wanted to fill her bug catcher full of grasshoppers, and Mason wanted to walk up to Turtle Rock. [I don't know if that's what it's actually called, but I've been going up there since I was a kid, and that's what we called it. Plus, it actually looks like a turtle...]

We all got what we wanted out of our adventure. I snapped away like a crazy lady, Madelyn chased and caught bugs, and Mason got up to Turtle Rock.


I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but this has been the Best. Summer. Ever. Now, in my mind, fall has be slotted into that category too. It's been the best Summer and Fall EVER.  Since school started, they have worn shorts [or in Miss Madelyn's case, capri pants and dresses/skirts] nearly every day. I can't believe how nice it's been. The leaves are now in full changing mode. In a few weeks, [or days, depending on the wind] all the leaves will be gone, and we will officially know that winter is on it's way... Each day that we can enjoy this nice weather is a blessing. I got up to the hill too late to take nice leaf changing colour pictures. As you can see, the sun was just about to disappear over the hill.

I seem to have an obsession with sun flares... You might guess that yourself after looking at these photos. 
 

Of course, once we got up to the rock, Madelyn scurried up it, while mason seemed content to hang out below.

 

 Or, maybe lean against it a bit.

Kind of love these silhouette type pictures of the kids. Not totally black, but dark enough to see the outline of them.

 

 

 He eventually climbed up and found the perfect resting spot.

 

We had fun, we usually do. Even when Madelyn fell and skinned her knees on the way down, she was in good spirits. She had a bug catcher full of grasshoppers after all. [Though today at school she fell and re-skinned them. Only a little bit worse. It warranted a trip to the office to have bandages put on] She was feeling pretty sorry for herself when she got off the bus, but then remembered those darn grasshoppers that she had to feed, and all was okay...

Project Life Weeks 32 - 36

Don't mind me, but I feel a wee bit giddy. I'm caught up with my project life stuff. And by caught up, I mean, to yesterday... Teeheehee... Makes me feel good.

What doesn't make me feel good, the cold air blowing out of my furnace... That's right, I thought we'd got to the bottom of that problem last week, but it would seem that no. We didn't. We have a call in to the furnace company, so hopefully the weather will be decent enough for the next few days, so the trip doesn't have to be an emergency and cost us extra...

I hate it when you can't fix something yourself, you need to rely on someone else...

Back to my pages.  Here are weeks 32 to 36. Can you believe that there are only 16 weeks left in 2012? I hate to say that out loud, but it's true. Thought I'd share.

Still loving this project. Love it even more when I'm completely caught up.