An Untraditional Halloween

Our goal for Halloween this year became making it especially memorable. We chose to keep Pookie home from school the day her classmates were vaccinated against H1N1 with FluMist and for 48 hours after the dosing - as FluMist is a live virus administered in the nose, and the virus sheds for 1-2 days after it is given. Because no one in our household can receive FluMist - and the standard shot option was yet to become available - we opted to keep the boys out of school, as well. Unfortunately, it was Halloween Party Day.

See our Princess Leia, Karate Master, ex-Elmo, and Fruitbat with their dad?

After some initial tears from the kids and Divine intervention with The Man's job, we packed up the kids and headed to Chicago! Although they missed the time with their friends, we enjoyed a super weekend making extra special family memories. Here were some of the highlights:

Our view of the Magnificent Mile from our hotel was spectacular! We spent hours staring out the window, watching cars drive past - even a few boats floated by on the Chicago River! The best was when all four kids gathered around the window to watch the city lights while they drifted off to sleep!



We visited Shedd Aquarium - one of my absolute favorite places to visit in the world!


-- and I think I have a budding lover of all things marine biology in my midst --


She wants to swim with the dolphins in Australia when she's old enough - Don't worry, Sweetie. So do I. So do I.

We shopped downtown and ended Halloween with a glimpse of the Navy Pier's final fireworks show of the season!

Add to that a trip to The Museum of Science and Industry, Gino's deep dish pizza, the Rock-n-Roll McDonald's, and the John Hancock Skydeck, I think it was definitely a Halloween (weekend) to remember!

URL, Family, and More

If you read my blog regularly, will you re-save your link to my blog to http://6byhisdesign.com/ ? When you do this, you should not need to be redirected each time you visit or be asked if you wish to succumb to all sorts of heinous threats about my blog being a potential risk to you. *small snicker* It's still me. Just my thoughts and crafts and stories. No filler.

This is me, and my sweetie, celebrating our 11th anniversary a few weeks ago:

I take literally thousands of pictures. I read some amazing blogs that showcase gorgeous photography throughout the images of the writers' homes. I'm trying to incorporate more of my photos into the design of my home. But what do you do with the old pictures that are replaced with your new favorites? Can you have too many pictures? In the end, when your house is just 1100 square feet with four adorable kids and two dogs and an aging cat, yes, you can. So, I'm trying to figure out what to do - with all these photos. I haven't even placed pictures into a photo album in over a year, let alone scrapbook any of them. Last week I spent some time with my mom poring over old photos from my grandparents' time. So many meaningful at one time. Now silently looking back at my wondering eyes are countless images of people undocumented. Stories not shared. I'm beginning to realize blogging isn't enough.

Truthfully, there are lots of things I've been contemplating lately, perhaps the rain, the change of seasons ... age. I began to wish someone had told me that these early years of motherhood would be gone in a flash. And then I realized someone did. Countless someones. From elderly women with a wise gleam in their eye at the grocery store. To my own mother. My mother-in-law. Books I read. Blogs I visited. My own voice. The minutes last forever, but the years fly by.

And suddenly, in just a breath, I'm looking around and it's gotten past me.

Pinkalicious!

My friend in real life is having a party for her daughter. After 2 years of having blue fingertips and toes and three open heart surgeries, her sweet princess is finally pink! To celebrate, they are having a PINK party!!! I think this idea is awesome! To add the icing to the cake, so to speak, instead of gifts, guests have been asked to write a note telling how they prayed for and were touched by this little one's already amazing life. I wanna have a 'Pinkalicios party!' But my babies were never blue (well, except at bathtime and swimming - when so many of our little guys seem to get prematurely cold!).

I shared some ideas for a pink party with my special friend. My favorite tablescape of all time was inspired by this superb blogger. My version of her ballerina table came out looking something like this:

Initially, after our Princess Protection Plan Party, I folded all the decorative tulle up into neat piles and tied them with the sparkly ribbon I'd used to hang it from umbrellas in the yard. And then I stacked the whole sticky mess in a pile somewhere in the basement for another party another day. Until I came across this post from one of my faves - and suddenly I knew what to do with all that forgotten fabric! I thought about using a beloved hula hoop from one of our many summer parties. But when today left all four kids at home while the teachers took a day off from their hard week of parent-teacher conferences, I decided to shop the house, and Pookie and I used the old paper lanterns hanging over her bed to launch our Project Princess Canopy!

(before)

We gathered several pieces of the tulle (all different lengths!) at the top of the pink lantern and tied the shiny ribbons in a knot to hold it all in place. It really isn't perfect. But, in the words of The Nester, it is beautiful. And Pookie loves it. So really, that's all that counts! (Oh! And $0 spent, so even if she decides in a week to hate it - I'm not out anything but a little bit of time!)

Pinkalicious!

(after)

Pumpkin Art

This weekend, we were busy with Scouts and family time! While enjoying Grandma and Grandpa's Annual Bonfire, the kids decorated pumpkins. They are all my favorite, of course; but this one just tickles me:

Meiners is the artist extraordinaire of this orangey goodness. And it is a likeness of his favorite person...his best friend...his brother! (Complete with 'God's Kisses' ... a.k.a. freckles!)

He also painted a jelly fish, an octopus, Arthur, Buster, ...the list goes on. He was quite a prolific pumpkin painter. What a fun activity!

Blogger's Excitement

Hey! I know not all of you who read my blog are by nature 'bloggers.' (Maybe you are but you just don't realize it yet?) You may not, therefore, share my sheer and absolute excitement over some changes I am making around here. However, I recently stumbled upon the notion of creating my own URL ... which, actually I sort of already had. But today, thanks to this tutorial and the help of this super-wonderful stranger (if she's a blogger - and she knows more about computers than me [which isn't saying a ton, unfortunately] - then she's automatically a BFF!), I created my very own naked URL. What that means is all you have to do to find this blog on the web is type "6byHisDesign.com" and VOILA!

Soon, I'll have a special email address that is connected to my blog, as well. Less apt to get stalker mail that way ... not that I get stalker email. It's just something that's always in the back of my mind!

I'm also super happy that this also-tech-savvy gal posted her tutorial on super-cool blog banners! The last banner I made took me an entire night to research, try, make errors, and by the utter grace of God post at long last. Tonite, I did the same thing in less than 15 minutes! HELLO! So much more 'other stuff' I can get accomplished now! (like laundry, listening to my husband when he talks to me --- without merely the obligatory head nods and the 'that's nice, honeys!' while my head is stuck under the hood of my computer...).

That's that, then. I ponder sometimes what I'm doing to make sure my brain cells aren't idly sitting up there turning into jelly. Today, at least, I taught those itty bits of micro-me's a thing or two about computers. And I'm thrilled!

Creating

I found this lil gem in my inbox tonite. After the conversations I've had today - and Meiners absolutely FINE after just about 24 hours - I had to laugh outloud. Dunno who to give credit to for the pic, but it's blogworthy for my remembering, for sure.

Anyway, a friend asked me last night what I'd been creating lately. And since my creative side has been silent around here for quite some time, I thought I'd share what I actually have been doing in my 'spare' time.

My favorite project has been Pookie's giraffe coat. The other night I showed her what was left to finish on the coat/Halloween costume outerwear - buttons and hemming the sleeves. Quietly, she hedged, "What if I don't want to be a giraffe any more?"

"What would you rather be instead?" I answered calmly.

"Princess Leia?" she suggested.

"Pookie, you can be whatever you want to be. I just want you to be happy." (And wear this coat at least once. Please.)

She did. She wore it to school and told every adult in proximity that her mom made it. Then she came home and told me she needed to start wearing her winter coat. (It is cold outside.)

Oh well! I loved making it, regardless. (I'm still going to make her do a better fashion-pic in it when the rain stops and we can get outside ... )

Together, Pookie and I made Sashi this lil dress. It was a simple pattern to cut out and pin together - and Sash loves wearing it! Pookie and her friend did most of the sewing really - I just spun the skirt to the shirt and tied on the bows. Too cute! We're planning to make two for Christmas - one for Pookie and another for the littlest fashionista!

In other crafting news, I'm diligently trying to catch up on old projects - finished making a framed monogram to thank our elderly neighbors who bring us an Easter cake every year. (Yes. I said Easter. And it's two weeks before Halloween. I'm just that on top of my to-do list!) I spray painted some lake shells we found on the beach in Minne with my cousin in August - for a thank you I've been planning to make for her (maybe by Christmas?). I visited the paper store to check out some 'fluff' for the pictures I made last winter for my pay it forward friends (it's not in stock right now, so maybe by Christmas I'll finish those?). I started staining some inexpensive Walmart cornhusk baskets to imitate Target's pricier version for my toy room makeover. (You think it needs a makeover? or just a good once over?)

Who plays in this room, anyway?! I've removed 8 trashbags full of donations to Good Will and still have more to very secretly take. The room is on its way (slow train to no where some days) to being very Pottery Barn-esque. But, it might be Christmas before that's done.

Let's see. I've got a cool fridge front re-do in the works. Not quite finished with that one. Boy. Have you guys got a lot to look forward to. (And I have a lot of work to do.)

...Think I'll go watch The Proposal. Again. (For the third time in two days. ...I have a lot of procrastinating to do.)

Penny on the Track

Did you know that one out of every 100 babies born has a heart defect? I gave birth to one.

Did you know that having a baby with a heart condition raises the likelihood of having a second baby with a heart condition to just 4%? I had a second one, too.

Did you know Pookie's cardiologist gave her a 50% chance of survival during her first heart infection?

Did you know she had 2 life-threatening MRSA infections - first in her heart and then in her bloodstream? She survived both.

Did you know in 15 years of practicing medicine, T's otolaryngologist had never treated a child post-T&A (tonsil- and adenoid-ectomy) with a blood transfusion due to the amount of blood lost after surgery? Until T.

Did you know appendicitis is rare in children under the age of 2? Sashi's appendix was removed in July.

Did you know that finding out your 5 year-old is positive for H1N1 can put your life into an absolute tailspin for an entire day as you field questions and seek answers from the pulmonologist, the cardiologist, and the pediatrician?

I feel like someone left a penny on the railroad track of my life.

Did you know leaving a penny on a railroad track will not actually derail the train?

Good to know.