October Catch Up (Will I Ever Catch Up?)

Since becoming a Mommy, there are two crafty things that I try to accomplish each year: a homemade, home decorated birthday cake and homemade Halloween costumes. I have not managed both each year but 2012 happened to be a good year on all fronts. And if you happen to be wondering how a mother of three boys five and under manages things like this, my solution is pretty easy: do with little to no sleep for a couple of nights. I've survived little sleep with three newborns over the past five years, I figure I can survive a few nights before a birthday/Halloween without too much difficulty.

First up, the big boys wanted to be bats for Halloween. Iain told me last Halloween he wanted to be a bat this Halloween. Naturally I waited until the final hours to make sure he didn't change his mind. He didn't. This coming year he and Aidan want to be skeletons. I'm starting their costumes tomorrow.

The bat costumes were a combination of this (love you, Kellie!) pattern for the top and inspiration from this costume from Pottery Barn. I bought inexpensive black jogging pants for the bottoms hoping that this would allow the costumes to last longer as they grow.

Initially I was going to make the wings out of fleece like the Pottery Barn version but, after a consultation with a friend at the local fabric store (it was a total fluke that we both happened to be there at the same time for an invitation only members sale event that totally worked out for me in the consulting department), A suggested chiffon for the wings and what a great suggestion that was as the wings ended up draping beautifully - perfect for flying boys!

An 'in progress' shot of the wings. Notice the free hand chalk marks on the section I cut?

One of the cutest bats EVER!

Aidan found the fleece too warm to wear jogging pants in the house. I love his little chicken legs ;)! 

Finn wore the costume I made for Iain on his first Halloween. 

The tail of this costume is STILL my favourite part! 

DH was away during Halloween this year. I was wondering how I would manage trick or treating with all three boys and giving out treats. Mom and Dad nicely volunteered to help me out with that and came to the house in time for me to bring the big boys out. Mom watched our door so that none of the neighbourhood children missed out on treats.

Iain was pretty cute about trick or treating. Historically we have only brought the boys to two or three houses because of their ages and our desire for them not to have too much junk food. At five this year, Iain was much more aware of what trick or treating meant (treats!) but still naive enough for us to get away with one more year of only going to a few houses. Our conversation:

I: Mommy, can we maybe go to three houses this year?

Me: You know what, Iain? I think we might even go to SEVEN houses this year.

I: Seven! Wow!

And he runs off to tell Aidan how they might get to visit seven houses this year. So cute. And if anyone is thinking that the boys got ripped off this Halloween, please note that they were also involved in two Halloween parties in addition to Halloween night. Their treat bags were bursting this year and that was only from two parties and seven houses. We will likely need extra treat bags next year.

DH and the boys usually carve the pumpkin but I had to step up this year. Pumpkin carving is reserved for Halloween day and that nearly killed poor Iain. He doesn't work well with anticipation and even telling him that pumpkins carved too early will 'sink' didn't prevent him from asking me every. Five. Minutes. For. Days.

At this point the boys could be heard saying "EWW! Gross!"

Everybody has a turn.

I think the finished product is pretty spiffy myself!

MIA: September Part Two and Into October

September also saw jam sessions.

And brotherly love. Aidan really misses Iain's 2.5 hour absences.

Excessive book reading brought on by regular library trips (guaranteed to provide a few peaceful minutes for Mommy. Can't wait for Finny to start reading ;)!).

Naturally, lots of general silliness!

And just a beautiful hint of what we were up to in October...

Words to Run From

Here are some words you never want to hear your three year old call down the hallway from the bathroom after he's been sitting on the toilet for awhile.

"Mom!!! Da plastic tings. Doze plastic glasses. Dey fell in da towlet!"

"WHAT?!?"

"Yeh. Dey fell right underneat my bum!"

I have no idea how I'd understand the terror that a conversation like this might create. None. Sigh.

MIA: September Part One

When I haven't written a blog post in awhile, a good friend of mine in beautiful Kingston, ON sends me an email to check in. Thanks, M! I really, really appreciate it. Other than being very, very busy, I have no good reason for not writing. Seeing as a picture is worth a thousand words, here's  a glimpse into some of what we've been up to since my last post:

Look, Ma! No hands!

Finn has perfected his sippy cup use. This child never has used a bottle. He's quite good at using this cup technique though.

I painted our front door.

First colour.

Twice.

Second choice.

Before.

Colour one

After.

Colour two.

I think the second colour is a bit more dramatic and adds more punch to the front of the house. Sadly, these pictures do not show what a difference colour number two makes. What do you think?

I received the yummiest box of yarn and a beautiful new knitting/diaper bag/purse as a thank you gift for hosting FIL and SIL in August. They are too generous as usual...but I'm not sending these babies back.

My new knitting/diaper bag/purse. I almost feel like a grown up again!

The interior is made of a wipeable fabric. Perfect for people who use cloth diapers. Or have children.

These colours were chosen from Knit Picks' Shine Worsted collection based on inspiration from Lucy's Attic24 blog. I love Lucy, her blog and her colour choices are a constant source of inspiration. FIL saw my dream order on the Knit Picks website and ordered the yarn in addition to the bag though we'd only discussed the bag as a gift. See what I mean about generous?!?

There was playground playing without Eldest. That was strange the first time.

We went on a jaunt through Bowring Park to enjoy the flowers and playground.

I am in the process of finding some life balance and got out for solo walks more often. These pictures are taken first thing in the morning just across the road from our house.

Be jealous.

Instalment number two coming soon...;)!

Making Painting Smocks

Over the summer, the school gave us an extensive list of school supplies to pick up. I literally went all over the city hunting down supplies and still didn't manage to get everything. Luckily, I put the word out to a girlfriend who helped me pick up two of the missing articles (who knew project style exercise books would be worth their weight in gold?). Thanks so much, L!

One of the items on the supply list was a painting smock. I had a look at what was available and then thought that I could make something just as nice - perhaps nicer - on my own. I found this gorgeous pattern and tutorial at Kellie's' Don't Look Now blog. The tutorial is wonderfully simple to follow, even at 2:00 in the morning when I do my best sewing ;)! I work best on a very, very tight deadline. Iain's first day of school being the deadline in this case). I copied the pattern pieces onto my USB stick and brought it to Staples. The pattern pieces were printed on 20 X 30 sheets at actual size. They printed beautifully and cost just under $10. Most everything else I needed was on hand due to many years of hoarding collecting bits and pieces of fabric and general sewing supplies.

I only made a couple of changes to the pattern. First off, I had some leftover nylon from when I'd made change pads for our first baby (Iain!) so I cut a solid piece to go under the front of Iain's new painting smock then basted it to the muslin I used for the front (and back) of the smock. This ensured that the smock is a little more water proof than when using just cotton.

The other change I made was to make up my own pattern for the front of Iain's smock. I found this super cute fabric at Walmart and couldn't resist buying it. Iain has been obsessed with going fishing this summer (and horrible parents that we are, we still haven't taken him out) so I thought that this fabric was perfect for him.

With that in mind, I designed a fish themed appliqué pattern for the front of his smock.

Voila!

I am thrilled with how it turned out.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to get a picture of Iain modelling it before he headed off to school and the smock went with him.

When I decided that I was going to make Iain a smock, a friend of mine asked if I could make one for her daughter, G, as well. She and Iain are great friends so this also provided me with the opportunity to make G a 'Happy First Week of School!" present.

What a treat - sewing with pink! Due to the serious lack of pink in this house, the opportunity to sew something using pink was great fun.

I more or less followed Kellie's appliqué pattern for G's smock.

My appliqué technique needs a bit of work but I am pleased with how it turned out overall. This style of appliqué is inspired by Maureen Cracknell, whose blog is a constant source of delight and inspiration.

And an actual modelled picture. By the look of those sleeves, I will be repeating this process come Christmas!

Rite of Passage

In what seems like a ridiculously short period of time, Eldest headed off for his first day of Kindergarten this past Thursday, September 6, 2012. He was thrilled!

WOO HOO! Says Iain!

Though I didn't end up shedding any tears at his school, the week prior to Iain's first day saw me in short fits of tears. To me, school is a huge rite of passage for both children and their parents and I was crying over the fact that 'this is it'.

From now on, we will have few days when I have all three boys home with me, days when we can stay in our pyjamas all day if we want or get up and get ready to hit one of the many programs or locations that have become so important to maintaining my sanity as the kids tear around enjoying themselves. This is the start of the big world having more of an impact on Iain than his family will. The start of an outside agency having a huge impact on our family schedule (can you say 'homework'?) and lifestyle. The start of significant peer influence. The last day of all boys being at home together.

Middlest wasn't quite as happy as his big brother about Iain going to school. He wanted to go to school TOO!

At the ripe old age of three, Aidan seemed to know exactly what
impact Iain's first day of school would have on his life.

Outside Iain's school.

Because Aidan was so upset, we didn't manage to capture all three boys in a a blog worthy picture at the school.

Iain was too cool. We found his class room and teacher, dropped his things off into his locker and got him changed into his indoor shoes. The teacher took a first day of school family picture of us all and Iain went to his desk calling out "See ya!" as he sat down.

Sniff.

I am so proud of you my big boy.

Salvage

The first time I visited Salvage, Bonavista Bay was over twenty years ago and with a former boyfriend ('ex' seems harsh - he was a nice guy). His father's family was from there. I have a very vague recollection of the visit and his grandparents home but a vivid memory of the town itself. The community was stunning and quickly became one of my favorite places on the island of Newfoundland. It had retained much of its original character with brightly painted stages and stores, many built on posts over the water. The rocks that the town was built on and between was equally lovely and its marriage with the seascape incredible. Always an ambassador of our province's scenic beauty, I have often encouraged people passing through or staying in Terra Nova National Park to head down the Eastport peninsula and visit Salvage.

You can imagine my delight when Salvage was part of our family summer holiday plans. Salvage has changed a bit since I last visited. There are fewer stores and stages, though there is still one in particular pitched on stilts that had my mother concerned for its occupants safety. However, its scenic charm is as strong as ever.

My other visits to Salvage have been to visit community members or to take a scenic drive. This time we got out of the vehicle and went for a hike along one of the 'Old Trails', a set of scenic hikes along old routes and paths to resettled communities or scenic look outs. We took the 'Doctors Pond' trail which led us past the salt water pond, to the cemetery at Burton's Cove and onto Net Point, named for the herring nets set underneath the point at sea level.

It was a gorgeous way to spend a few hours for all of us. The boys were particularly impressed with the humpbacks off Net Point.

The only cloud in an otherwise clear blue sky day was that we lost Iain's croc somewhere that day. Despite a thorough search, the sandal was nowhere to be found. This detail probably seems insignificant unless you know my oldest son and his shoe problems. The crocs actually belong to Aidan but after trying on fifteen pairs of sandals and Mommy giving up before we left for holidays, that croc had become pretty important.

NOTE: Please excuse the wonky layouts of some of these posts. I am posting remotely which does not allow me to format. The pictures are also not in chronological order. At. All. Grrr...