Halloween 2016

We had a great Halloween this year. Mostly in part because the temperature was fantastic. I remember growing up and being frozen solid midway through trick-or-treating. This year Alex decided to go as Steve from Minecraft. I made his costume from scratch and it cost me a whopping $5.00. Abby wanted to go as a cowgirl which as easy as her horse riding coach loaned us some chaps and a lasso to make it work. Then Evie wanted to be a witch. She had her heart set on it for months before Halloween. Thanks to Goodwill and the Dollar Tree, her costume was super cheap as well.

And then there was me. I found a neon green wig on clearance for a whole dollar the year before and decided I must use it the next Halloween. I went with a forest fairy. I made the costume from stuff I found at Goodwill and lots of makeup and pantyhose. It was a long job, but I enjoyed doing it. I always say I'd enjoy cosplay if given the right amount of money and time.

The kids got tons of candy and we went out trick-or-treating with Mandy and her kiddos. It was a great night with fun had by all. I sure love this holiday and this year I went a bit overboard with the house decor as well. I even got compliments from people at the school who drive by every day. Fun fun!

Happy 10th Birthday Alex!

 

 

Well...there's no lookin' back now! Alex has officially entered the double digits. I can't believe I have a ten year old. We just officially celebrated his birthday about a week late due to Josh's busy on-call schedule. The plan was to go low key as my days of big parties were at a temporary hiatus. But Kemosabe (that is the name I frequently call Alex) decided to take it upon himself to make his own party. I found out less than twelve hours before his party, that he had invited some of his friends to join us for the party the next day. I got a phone call from a boy in his class and he was asking for our address so he could come. Naturally, I was a bit surprised. I told Alex that this was the ten year old equivalent of throwing a party when your parents are out of town. He got to clean my whole house (including scrubbing the toilet) the next morning as punishment for his crime. Needless to say, I allowed the boys to come because I would have felt horrible turning them away after they went to all the trouble to call. But should he do such a thing in the future, he is going to deal with a much stricter punishment. It was a new one for me. Ha! Oh, and did I mention he wanted the poop emoji for his cake? Yeah...that was also a new one for me. I felt a bit odd decorating a cake with poop. Rolling brown frosting turds out was an experience I won't soon forget.

As for the kid, he's sure coming into his own. Each year I see him grow, I see a bigger and more unique personality. He's got so much zest for school right now. He loves it and raves about it daily. He's into video games, sharks, outdoor life, fishing, football, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and art. He can talk until the cows come home and the teacher agrees. He's got mega-creativity in school and is a straight A student. He reads so much that it was the only "complaint" his teacher had. He wants to read every moment possible in school. She even said it wasn't a bad thing, but just the one thing she has to deal with...if that is the word to use.

This year he had his friends Wesley, Chase, and Koy to celebrate with. Jake and Stephanie came with their herd and of course Grandma. He got lots of toy guns (which he is obsessed with), a cool swimming shark, an electronic pet spider (that Abby found - after much searching on Amazon - and bought for him with her own money), a Halo toy, and a refurbished Xbox 360 (which was super cheap). He was so shocked when he got it that I don't think it fully registered until he opened the box.

I'm so excited to see him grow up and become the fun little dude that he is. He walked up to me the night before his party and asked to go get his hair cut so he could look good for his birthday celebration. The next day, he woke up, dressed really nice, put on deodorant, brushed his teeth and gelled his hair then proceeded to ask me, "Do I look grown up now?" I laughed and gave him a hug. Yep, buddy...you sure do. Happy Birthday to my awesome little man!!!

Because he wanted to do a funny picture and he thought this was fitting. *sigh*

Five Minus One Equals Seven

After the untimely passing of our dear Penny, there was a promise that had to be kept. Abby, being the one that Penny chose as her very own human, wasn't coping with the loss of her baby. She was struggling...badly. Each night, Penny would follow Abby to bed, jump up on her pillow and curl up to sleep with her. That was just how it was. Abby wasn't coping. Tears never stopped, sleep was evaded for hours into the night, and the pain was just getting progressively worse. A promise was made to her that I would get her a kitten to help with the pain she felt. My mom always got me another animal within a few days of losing a pet. It seemed to help.

One day, Josh went a customers house who happened to be fostering three baby kittens. He'd mentioned to her that we were in the market, as it were. Bing, bang, boom...one week later...we chose a kitten. Or...maybe three. Turns out that ol' softie Josh can't bring himself to separate siblings and we adopted the whole litter. So we went from five cats, to four and then up to seven. It's been hectic and a bit stressful as they brought a few things with them to share (in the form of upper respiratory infections). Now I'm in a constant state of drugging our four elderly cats to get them adjusted. But we love the little buggers, so it's all worth it in the end.

Abby? Well, it's not great, but she's better(ish). She still struggles, but the kittens have helped. For some reason, all three of them follow her to bed at night and snuggle with her until she falls asleep. It's a God thing. That's the only explanation I have for it. Healing takes time, and our new kittens are helping. Without further ado, I introduce to you Fiona, Jack, and Dixie. Two girls and a boy. Ain't they just adorable?

Jack

Dixie (left) and Fiona...who (other than the one eye thing) looks just like Penny.

God works in mysterious ways, I tell ya.