Honor & Strength & a Big Imagination

My little warriors asked to be Spartans this year for Halloween. Only problem is that Spartans pretty much wear nothing more than a pair of leather undies and a red cape. Precisely why my youngest found this so appealing! 

Even if we could get past the idea of basically streaking through the neighborhood for Halloween, which might work in Georgia, we happen to live in Colorado where we could easily have 6" of snow on the ground by All Hallows Eve! Tighties and a cape aren't gonna fly.

All I could think of doing to warm them up, was to buy a muscle suit until I ran across a tutorial for this. Can you say GENIUS?!?!

I'm not gonna lie. I looked at all of the pictures and then sort of made it up as I went. A scrap piece of material, stuffing, layered it inside  50 cent t-shirts from the thrift, drew lines with a ruler and sewed along the lines. Much easier than all that cutting!  I added a little darker color paint to the creases and added a belly button and I was a hero! 

Ok so I wasn't a hero. The 6 year old woke up the next morning with a huge grin on his face scrambling to try it on and the 8 year old said, "I'm so not gonna wear that!" (Are we seriously there already?!?) Oh well. We can layer real clothes under all of this and it will only make them stronger looking!

Cereal boxes, elastic, glue gun applique and some bronze spray paint. I learned this from some over the top, overly creative helmet how to on instructibles. 

"Ain't nobody got time fo dat!"

So I ordered the shield/sword combos which were totally worth the $12 on Amazon and the Spartan helmets which were totally NOT worth the $12 on Amazon and ended up being pretty cheap. 

"Honor and Strength" is the saying on the shield. I think these were so cool with the spot for the sword to fit into the shield. You know like for when you are marching and you need to carry a spear too...

Choir robes from thrift for the capes.

And a cut up leather skirt that my mother sent me (Sorry mom. I looked for Annie Oakly accessories to go with it to no avail but I still got three Spartan costumes out of it!)

Curtain rods from thrift. And I might add, the 8 year old is taking this picture pretty seriously even though he said he'd never wear those muscles...

You might be asking, where is the third Spartan? He is actually going to be a Roman soldier (so they have someone to fight, naturally) and since he already has bulging muscles I didn't make him a muscle shirt and I am totally making him wear the leather briefs version of the bottoms! (That will have you checking back for another post! He he.) And as you might imagine, he's not really all that in to dressing up on random nights more than a week before the big candy binge and sparing in the courtyard in front of a bunch of college students. 

Happy Halloween!

The Venus Fly Trap

Aeneas has been working on a research project to go along with his "Ready Set Grow" unit in Kindergarten. He chose to research the Venus fly trap. He made a list of questions that he wanted to know the answers to, we researched them online and in books and then he wrote a paper about his plant and all the interesting facts he learned about it. We then constructed a little display around the Venus Fly Trap.

We weren't the first family to be given this assignment. I found this blog and got some great ideas about how to craft a Venus Fly Trap out of bottle caps. We set to work painting the pieces, the box, mixing salt dough (and coloring it swamp colored!) for the bottom and forming little flies with Sculpy clay. We then painted the flies and glued everything together. He then arranged all his fly traps in the dough and stuck in some extra swap grass that I got from the floral section at the store. I handled the glue gun but other than that, I simply directed the whole thing and he executed. He even thought to paint the flies eyes red!

All of the kids painted "Explorer Hats" and wore them any time they were working on their projects. They were all very proud of their hats. His class hosted an open house where you could go around to listen to each of the kids give a presentation about their research project and read their papers.

Venus Fly Traps can eat whole frogs and caterpillars and grow in the swaps around Deda's house!

Here are his bottle cap traps up close!

And the creepy fly buzzing around from a fishing line.

(insert your holiday here) Day

I actually hate Valentine's Day. There, I said it. And it's not because of some thwarted love in my past or the fact that my husband never remembers it anyway. It's another one of those holidays that pressures us to buy things. And it honestly just sets men (and women) up for failure. 

Let's see. You need to remember Valentine's Day and Anniversaries and make them as romantic as possible. And then there's Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparents Day. And on top of that there are birthdays. And then the birthdays that are monumental like 18, 21, 40, 50, 60 and so on. These are no ordinary birthdays. They have to be somewhat differentiated from all the others that you may have forgotten. And not just by remembering them. 

Any normal person is going to blow it at least once, and more likely several times out of the year. I think it's society's way of holding our hands through making sure we are grateful for the people in our lives that mean so much. When in reality we shouldn't need a stupid holiday to remind us. Just make the phone call when you think of it. Send an unexpected letter at any time of the year "just because." Pick up the phone when your mother calls even if you talked to her the day before and have nothing new to say or if you don't have a lot of time. And for Pete's sake, ask them about their lives every once in a while. Moments like these are my Valentine's cards. These are my birthday celebrations. These are my thanks yous and my "you mean a lot to me," moments.

I have a friend, Missi, with whom I have been friends with since we were 12 years old. Our lives are so different, They pretty much split in college as we sought to find out who we were despite going to the same school. We graduated and moved away and as the years have gone by, we have managed to stay in touch off and on. One time we were on the phone she was very frank and said that she rarely had time to talk and a good timing to catching up just doesn't exist with the business of life: marriage and kids an work. She said she was beginning a new approach. In any quiet moment I came to mind, she would call. Maybe she would have 5 min in the car on the way to work. Maybe an hour on a road trip. The point was to make it happen when and how it could and not wait for the ideal time. It just doesn't exist. Sometimes we talk several times a month. And sometimes only every few, Sometimes we talk for over an hour and sometimes no more than 5 min. But the connection is made. I am important to her and she to me.

OK. So back to the holiday at hand after a totally unexpected and unplanned soap box. 

Even with all of that, I do remember decorating those little shoe boxes with relish. And placing the letter slot just so. The whole process of handing out your Valentine's was magical. I don't know why. There was just something cool about pretending to be a mailman (of love and friendship, I guess) and slipping the little letters that were painstakingly addressed and signed into their correct slot. And then to go back to your own box to see the surprise of "mail" in your own mailbox. So I buy into the crazy Valentine chaos for the boys' sake each year despite the personal grudge I hold against the holiday. As far as I can tell, it's a crafty outlet for me. And for me as a graphic artist, sometimes my craft comes in the form of 2-dimensional design. 

I searched for printable Valentine's cards online (because I didn't want to drive all the way out to Wal-Mart to pick some up) and found a lot of ones I thought were really cute. But after giving it some thought, my boys don't "give a hoot" for anything. And anything mushy just isn't their style. Star Wars, Harry Potter and LOTR is what's really on their minds and in an effort to be a cool mom, I decided to go for something they would actually be proud to hand out. So I have spent my lazy, snowy afternoon "making Valentine's (and writing this blog). Here is what I came up with. I hope it creates a chuckle if nothing else. Maybe I am just trying to cover up my loath of Valentine's, or maybe I have too much time on my hands...You decide. Happy Valentine's Day! I mean it! REALLY!!!

Does anyone have a fun breakfast idea or snack idea for the big day? Because if I'm doing this, I'm gonna go all the way!

Legos!

Here is a game that the boys and I made the other day. Pretty fun. Using dice, everyone just plays all the way through using the 2x8 and 2x4 bricks only, adding and taking them away as shown. The one with the tallest tower at the end wins!

The Giant Creepy Crawlies

We took this and this...

coated it in this...

and got this!

Creepy Scorpion Aeneas!

With lots of black spray paint, duct tape and recycled cardboard, we have Dung Beetle Patrick!

We are ready to Trick or Treat Baby!

I hate bugs but these guys have me totally smitten! And I am coming around. I actually stopped the other day on a run to pick up and play with a tarantula! I even considered constructing a preying mantis costume for myself but I'm too tired. Maybe next year!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Fiasco

Every year I am more and more amazed at what sorts of costume ideas the boys come up with. They have an uncanny ability to think outside of the box and are very specific with what they have in mind. It's taken me 2 weeks to accomplish this years ideas but I can finally say that I am finished and I laugh to myself every time I pass them in the hall. I am the kind of mom that can yes, pull off most anything they can some up with however I am not your typical sewing master. I am more of your go to the dumpster and thrift to see what kind of trash and recycled things you can make your costume out of. I'd like to say it's because I am so environmentally conscious but it's probably more along the lines of being too cheap to pay for the fancy cloth or pre-made costumes!

This year's costumes are a riot but since I have yet to get them in a picture of them, I thought it would be fun to see what the boys came up with in the past years. Stay tuned, because pictures of this year's project is coming!

At four, Patrick said to me one day, "I want to be a basket ball goal for Halloween." I hesitated for a moment but with the help of a coworker, we managed to come up with and idea on how to execute. Aeneas went in a borrowed skunk costume which was a perfect fit given his personality.

Our first year in Durango, Patrick wanted to go as an "eagle where you look out of the mouth." So I purchased a jacket that we could use later and had about $3 into the felt. Used an old pillowcase for the "bald" of the bald eagle. Aeneas used our kitchen dress up stuff and just carried a little silver pot to get his candy in stirring it along the way. He would dump it each time into the larger pumpkin we were carrying for him. He got double candy for being so dang cute.

This was one of my favorite years. Aeneas, now that he could talk, wanted to be a "cat with green eyes." Thank goodness for college students that helped with the makeup on that one. Patrick insisted on being a T-rex skeleton! I had about $2 into the 3 poster boards, an old pair of tights that I used for the tail and stapled all of the bones onto a sweatsuit he already had!

Patrick wanted to be a pumpkin this year and I managed to find one for $10 at the thrift store. We tied green pipe cleaners into his hair. Aeneas went as a bubble wrap ghost floating around the neighborhood.

Just coming off of our first summer of reading Harry Potter and the Hobbit, wizards were in store. Capes and hats from the $ store and a wig made into a beard.

This was a particularly scary Halloween because Justin went as me! He shaved his legs and taught all day with boobs and long hair to which a number of his students left class claiming it to be just too disturbing to stay! He never even complained about his heels all day!

Hard to Keep Up

It's so hard to keep up with this guy. He gets something in his head and he just can't let it go so I find myself rarely prepared for craft projects and he ends up disappointed when I can't deliver. Not this time. I was unprepared but pulled it off.



 A couple of summers ago, we put together a book of wildflowers that we took on our camera and the boys love it. It was not only a great exercise in flower identification, it serves as a  great resource while hiking the high country in the summers. And we are very proud of our little 3 ring binder with all of our OWN images.

The latest adventure in Aeneas's creativity has been his bug (and critter) book. All summer we have been taking pictures of the critters he has found. We catch a lot, A LOT, of critters, especially when we are camping. So when the boys came back with critters, I got out my camera and started shooting away. Granted some of them were so small it was difficult to get my crummy camera to focus but I snapped away anyway. I actually thought in the back of my mind that he would never remember this project and was trying to figure out how long I should have the random photos take up space on the hard drive.



Well, D sent us a goody box the other day and in it had some insect stickers. Just enough of a tip off to remind him of his little project. I was totally unprepared. I didn't have any of the pictures printed, I didn't have a book to put them in, or the lamination to cover them. I had to think fast and I've found that if I can keep cool and act like this was the plan all along, then the boys tend to just go with it.

So with some cardboard and card stock paper Aeneas and I created this little book. The decorating kept him entertained long enough for me to pick up the pictures the following day. He cut them and stuck them in just the way he wanted to and he has room for more (Oh help me)! He is very proud of this book and looking back, I am quite proud of him myself. And although the stubbornness and insistence of this kid drive me to insanity at times, there are good things that happen on account of it. I'm just trying hard to keep up! Good job little buddy.

PIRATES....Argh!

The gold hoop earrings were his favorite. And check out all the stuff he's got stuffed in the waist of his pants.

WE love to go to the library. Our public library is so fun and the boys are beginning to really understand how to use it. The latest craze, thanks to the Disney ride over t-giving, has been pirates! We came across a really cool book that tells about the history and lifestyle of pirates. After a few pages of information, there is an activity. So we spent the week learning all about pirates in general and making things to help live the life as well. If you have a pirate living at your house, see if you can find this book. It has been so fun.



 What's up for next week? Well, knights, of course!

Aeneas wore his knight helmet to EVERYTHING over the course of 3 days. Family night at Patrick's school, piano lessons and the store! Quite the head turner as you might imagine!

Easter Eggs

Easter has come to the McBrayer house! We made our paper mache eggs again this year, made a soft nest for them to hatch and lo and behold, they did just that!

 They got bird feeders of which they were so excited about that we had to hang them up immediately. Within 30 mins there were dozens of little birds sharing an Easter morning feast of which the boys squealed, saying "The Easter Bunny came to see us and then we are like the Easter Bunny to the little birds!"

 Headed for the Easter Island rice patties!

 Patrick tried to get into his egg and Aeneas was all about wearing his as a hat.

Patrick read the Easter Story to us from the Rhyme Bible Storybook and then we followed it by making resurrection rolls (Thanks Nina for the idea!). The boys totally got it. It was a beautiful moment.

Easter egg hunt at church. This year everyone got a basket with a number and could only pick up the eggs that had their number on it. The event actually lasted longer than 5 min for the first time in history, and there were no tears over who got more! Not a bad idea.

Two handsome boys, totally decked out for the special day!

Hard mornings!

Mornings are hard. There's just no way around it. Despite living literally 4 min from school, we always manage to wait until the last minute to walk out the door and end up with a ticked mom, shuddering kids and a bad start to the day. I don't have the time built in to the morning for Aeneas getting his pants wet in the snow bank on the way out the door and needing a change, or Patrick's seatbelt getting closed in the door that he can't open on account of the child locks or both boys accidently getting in the wrong sides of the truck and then squabbling as they try to pass each other on the floorboard like alley cats. In a perfect world, every morning would be an easy and smooth transition from home to school. YEAH RIGHT. This ain't no perfect world!





So in a fit of parental madness in anticipation of the upcoming Monday, I sat down for about 15 min last Sunday night and threw together this morning chore chart. Lame illustrations but I was in one of those desperate fits that mothers tend to get into. (Go to Etsy for something really cool looking. There's no doubt someone out there has a much more designer way of accomplishing the same thing.) I explained the routine before they went to bed. They were so excited and so was I since that was the first sign that it might actually work.

They woke up a little before I emerged from my room, patiently waiting for breakfast to be served and half their cards already in the envelopes.

Things went so smoothly, I had time to even take their picture in all their crazy cute ready for school states! Success! No telling how long this will last, but for now, mornings at the McBrayer house just got a whole lot easier. And just in time for the time to change!