"Boo!" from the Fun Mommy!

We're a day late with this year's Halloween post but I had a very busy yesterday so I wasn't able to get it posted. I'll be posting about my busy day, later this week. Early last week, I gave you a brief explanation of Bakugan, The Son's latest obsession. This year he wanted to dress as Dan Kuso, the leader of the Bakugan Brawlers. There was a pre-made costume out there that could be purchased but The Son took one look at that in the catalog and said, "Momma, I think you could make a better one." Challenge accepted Son.

I had difficulty coming up with exactly what I would do. I am more of a costume "put-er togetherer" than I am a costume maker. I don't like patterns, I don't like traditional sewing, I like creativity and piecing stuff together to make a complete outfit. I've had some successes in the past. I'd like to think this year was no exception. I now present... The Son as...DAN KUSO!





We purchased the pants in the girls' department at Wal*Mart. The Son was not originally happy with this but every pair of red pants in any boys' department had stripes on the sides and were usually the wrong color red. When I explained that they would NOT look like girl pants, he acquiesced and agreed that Momma could turn them into pants that no one would notice were girl pants. Do you know how difficult it is to find a plain yellow t-shirt? Well, it's hard. I had to buy a sponge bob top that he wore backwards. I got the belt from the girls' department too which interestingly enough, didn't bother him. The jacket is where I ran into a little trouble. I ended up getting a mens' sweatshirt in a size small that I cut down, trimmed up and added a giant collar to. It wasn't perfect but it came out pretty darn cute if I do say so myself. He was thrilled. We added the sunglasses on the head and some biking fingerless gloves that he already had and he was all set.

Here he is at the Y's Halloween party last week.

With some friends...

And on Saturday/Halloween night...



And please don't think that The Son is the only one who got in on the Halloween fun. My cousin is visiting to participate in the event we had today and I casually mentioned to her that perhaps we should dress up as something. She went out to the dollar store and bought witch hats, brooms, necklaces and cute checkered tights. Her friend Cherie is here with her too and we all decided to become the Three Wicked Witches! I asked The Son if he would be embarrassed that I was one of the only moms dressing up for trick-or-treating and he said, "NO Momma! It's the fun Moms that dress up." Let me tell you... I loved that. Fun it was...



Yeah, we're dorks but you know what? We were dorks who had a fun time! Hope you had a nice Halloween too. BOO!

Calculations...

The cost of five pieces of black felt = $2.50
The Wal*Mart "girl" pants The Son didn't want to wear = $5.99
Men's size small red sweatshirt = $5.95
Hours spent creating as calculated at a $10 per hour rate = $50 (at least)

... The look on The Son's face when he tried on his Halloween costume and felt instantly transformed into his favorite Cartoon Network character = PRICELESS!

So yes, that's my reason for not blogging about the hip hop performance this weekend. The good news is, that the costume is pretty much completed and I will also be able to show you that soon along with the hip hop photos and details. Have a great Monday everyone! I'm off to the gym this afternoon and swim lessons tonight!

Excuses, excuses...

Hi all! I was boo'ed yesterday by Darlene from Darlene's days and I got a cute little graphic saying that I was boo'ed and what not BUT while I was trying to write a post and get that cute little graphic on my blog yesterday, we lost electricity during a terrible storm and it all disappeared in the blink of an eye or in the keystroke of a finger...what ever the case may be. I'm busy right now and struggling to at least get this post in but I'll try to put up my cute sign later. Thanks Darlene!

Today I am going on a field trip to the apple orchard with The Son's class. Can anyone tell me why it has to be so danged cold out right now? Usually in Pennsylvania at this time of year we have nice crisp fall days that MIGHT require a light denim or courdoroy jacket. Today it's practically freezing out and I'm going to have to wear a hat...to the orchard...with other moms who are WAY cuter than I am and will probably just be cold instead of wearing a hat and looking "not so cute". Then I have to go to work in a swim suit which is also not cute. At least The Son is cute, I'll just bask in his cute glory.

Speaking of The Son...his costume won "Most Original Costume" at the YMCA party this weekend. He looked awesome and we were all very proud. It wasn't surprising that we won since out of the 500 kids that were there, I think he might have been one of 10 that had a homemade costume. Am I remembering it wrong but didn't kids years ago always have homemade costumes? I know The Sister and I ALWAYS did...Our Mommy (A Halloween Birthday Girl) was good like that. I know she was smiling down on my little robot this Halloween and would have been very proud of me (and The Husband) for all our hard work.

So, I know you want a picture, right? I didn't get a lot that night, it was very dark at the party I'll show you a preview and then post more after the actual trick-or-treating that will commence on Friday. It's going to be cold. Last year we walked around The City in jeans and a top and The Son was actually hot in his costume, this year I'm trying to convince him that it's OK for Wall-E to wear a hat...he's not really happy about that, The Son likes to be very authentic in his costuming. So here he is, cutest Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth Class EVER...

This week...

Is a busy one, I haven't been blogging much because of it. I had my report cards due for swimming lessons this week and they take a LONG time. This session it meant 32 report cards and in another 8 weeks, I'll have more. Anyway, they're finally done, I'm happy with them and I hope that the parents will appreciate the feedback. I do put a lot of time into them. 

Also this week, I am diligently working on The Son's Halloween costume. He wants to be Wall-E and I am the mom in the neighborhood who insists on making all his costumes. There was one year I bought a costume but I doctored it up a little to make it extra special. So I've been spray painting a box to get it ready and soon I'll get to start the fun part of decorating the box. I think it's going to come out CUTE. We have a big party at the Y on Saturday and you know I want my little robot to win. 

This Saturday morning is also The Niece's 3rd birthday party at a pumpkin farm a couple hours from our house. We'll be leaving really early to get to that shindig. I guess she's worth it...after all, she IS my Goddaughter.

The Son is coming to work with me tomorrow morning, bright and early. He's excited but I just get stressed out about it. He also has tip testing for karate tomorrow night which will probably mean, a nap will be in order. Getting up at 6:15 AM is never easy for my little guy. So, in honor of the Halloween costume I'm working on, I'll post a few pictures of his Halloweens past. 

Here he is at his first Halloween as "Woody" from "Toy Story". So cute.

The next year, he dressed as a Dalmatian pup from "101 Dalmatians". The Husband was also a pup and I dressed as Cruella for about 10 minutes until The Son made me take the wig off. It was fun while it lasted. 

The next year, he was a ladybug. It was kind of difficult finding a "boy ladybug" costume and my mom helped me sew this one. He was so stinking cute! Incidentally, The Niece is going to wear this costume this year, she's going to be just as cute, I'm sure. 

Last year he was "Lionel" from "Between the Lions". No one else knew exactly who he was but he was SO happy with this outfit. He LOVES that show. I was happy too frankly, it came out to look exactly how I wanted it to look. 
So this year he's decided on Wall-E...wish me luck! 

Have a great day everyone! 

It's October!

Did you think I forgot that I said I'd post my Halloween decoration pictures today? Well, I didn't forget, I just didn't do it in a very timely fashion. At least it's still October 1st though, right?

Here's the entryway. I decoupaged the "BOO" with different scrapbook papers and changed the ribbons on my mirrors to be more Halloweeny. I also gathered the sticks and spray painted them, added ribbons and crows from the dollar store to a gothic-ish looking urns and called it my "spooky tree". It looks cute but it's not actually that spooky. 

Here's the mantel, it's usually the thing I have the easiest time with. I'm telling you, if you have trouble decorating your mantel, just get some apothecary jars, think of some coordinating items and go for it! You'll have a good looking mantel in no time. 

Some close-up details... yep, that's one of those infamous dollar store white pumpkins...I got the LAST one! 

A side table, I added the web and glittery spider to a picture of The Son last Halloween, that web stuff makes anything look scary! 

This project took me a long time, I cut out ten little bats and suspended them with fishing line from my chandelier in the dining room. I found the idea in a Martha Stewart Magazine and I'm really happy with the results. 

Talk about a window mistreatment! I shredded up an old sheet to do this since I didn't have anything there anyway. It actually looks kind of cool although I doubt "The Nester" would approve. 

Well, that's it for now, I wanted to at least get these up for today, I'll probably post some close ups and more detailed information for tomorrow. Have a good evening everyone! 

The decorating continues...

I'm still working on my Halloween stuff. I cleaned the downstairs yesterday...throughly, including the pantry and a couple cabinets. I didn't get a whole lot done with the Halloween stuff but what I did finish, is looking C-U-T-E  cute if I do say so myself. 

That is of course if you find ripped curtains, black crows and scraggly trees cute. Which of course I do. I won't be blogging much today because I have lots of little black bats to cut out and suspend from my dining room chandelier. See what I mean...doesn't it sound cute? 

The Son has school today and I teach swimming this afternoon/evening. I'm hoping to finish up the decorating tomorrow and Friday then I'll post pictures. Lots of pictures. 

Have a good Wednesday everyone! 

Operation Halloween Decoration!

Is beginning today. I think I waited long enough and it is now acceptable to start putting up autumnal decorations. After all, yesterday was officially The First Day of Fall, right? 

I am starting with my cleaning and then will move to my actual decorating. The actual decorating might not get finished today but I'm hoping it at least gets started. 

You know I'll post pictures of it and the crafts The Son and I did last week when it's all done...lots of pictures. I'm good for that at least. 

Happy Fall everyone! 

Halloween Sneak Peek!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays as I think I've mentioned before. I've been diligently collecting and creating decorations over the past few weeks that I will soon be able to start displaying. Yesterday I was out front spray painting thrift store candle holders and branches I found on a walk in a neighboring neighborhood. The kids in THIS neighborhood seemed to think that was strange for some reason. What? Your mom doesn't take sticks from the woods and spray paint them for use as a decoration? Well, perhaps she just needs to get a bit more creative! ha ha!  

So I took a picture of all my stuff that I've accumulated so far, most from thrift stores and dollar stores and I thought I'd post a sneak peek for you. Are you getting as excited as I am for Halloween? Here it all is in my decorating cabinet. I put things I'm going to use for my next season in here as I buy them and then they're all ready to go when it's time. This of course won't work at Christmas since I could probably fill 1,047 of these cabinets with all the decorations I have but it works just fine for all the other holidays and seasons.

See those candlesticks below? They're black now and looking oh so much cuter. They were $2. The pumpkin, ghost, black cat (that you can't see in this shot) decoration was $.50. It's a little more "country" than I'd usually do but for $.50, I couldn't pass it up. I'll just change those little ribbons up and it will nestle in somewhere just perfectly! The little glass jars were $2. I know! I thought that was a lot too but I've been searching for those everywhere so that I can make some scary potions to display. I had to get them. The yarn that I also got in LOTS of other colors because I love me some hand knit wash cloths was $.40! (I taught myself to knit cables making wash cloths.) It's normally in the $2 range at the craft stores. I had to get lots of them. The Husband didn't necessarily agree with me on that one but he got over it. (I know that's not Halloween but since it's orange, it might get used somewhere)

The leaf-shaped glass dish was only $.75, I might try to spray paint it a color because they tell me that can be done on glass but I haven't decided yet. The pumpkin and the little picture of a pumpkin were found at an "antique"/craft market. They're new but still didn't cost too much and can also be used for Thanksgiving. 

These babies were $2 too, they're also black now and will have white candles dripping with "blood" in them for the holiday. 

And I think my best find, my little cutie apothecary jar that was $1! You know that's a good deal, right? 

Lastly, I found this giant platter for $5, it won't be used for Halloween but I had to show you since I got it at the Goodwill. I knew I'd never stop thinking about it if I didn't buy it. I have no idea what it's going to be for but it's BIG and would make a nice platter for a veggie tray for our next party so I bought it. Cute, don't you think? So ultimately, my goal is to have everything completed (I have more crafty projects and stuff to paint) and displayed by the beginning of October. That will give me 31 days of haunted holiday bliss until I switch it all up and get ready to give thanks for my many blessings! Happy Fall everyone! Happy Fall!