pictures

There is nothing so simultaneously soothing and invigorating as taking a walk. Ellis had school again today, for the first time since last Tuesday. It's snowing out, but only about an inch or so. Not feet. I forgot to send along something he needed, so Marlowe and I decided to take a wintry walk up to school. M loves to be outside.

And he loves his snow boots. The mere mention of outside, and he runs to get his boots. He says, "Yaaaay!" Then he says, "Hat?" And I say, "Yes, you can wear your hat." And he gets his hat out. He tolerates his arms being shoved down puffy coat sleeves, and flat out refuses mittens. I don't force the issue unless he is going to play in the snow. It's actually pretty warm out. Around 30F, just cold enough to snow.

We didn't see any dogs. Marlowe knows where they all live, which yards may house those barking wonders. We did see dog pawprints in the snow. We didn't see any airplanes either. We heard them though, over (or in?) the cloud cover that is so graciously bestowing us with more snow.

The sidewalks are not fit for strollers, so i wore M in the front in my Beco. He is getting to be a bit big for the front carry. But the back carry would've been awkward with that whole wearing a coat thing. And clearly M was comfy enough.

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Well, I can't believe it! I did it all this week.

I made a pumpkin pie from scratch. I really do make the best pumpkin pie in the world. Sorry, mom, I like mine a tad better. And I guess I can say that in public, since you just dissed your mom's pie on Facebook. ha! kidding! (not about liking mine better, though.)

We got M&Ms and candy corn/pumpkins for munching.
And cider for sipping.

Then I made pretty much the awesomest costumes ever for Ellis and Marlowe. I mean, seriously, how can I ever face Halloween again? Our favorite PBS kids offering is Curious George. Pretty much the best kids show ever. In my opinion, waaaay better than the books. If there's a new George on, we're ALL excited. Mom and Dad included. So what better way to celebrate than Halloween costumes. Ellis was the Man with the Yellow Hat and Marlowe was Curious George.

For Ellis's costume, I got some key pieces at the thrift store. The boots were the best find. (they're technically girls boots, but for a costume, who's counting.) I got the pants and belt and hat there, too. I couldn't believe that I couldn't find a boys white shirt at all at the thrift store, so we got a cheap one from Target. I bleached the khaki pants and then I dyed the shirt and pants bright yellow! That was pretty fun.

The hat was actually a sombrero that i grabbed from the costume bin. I trimmed the brim a bit and then I hot glued yellow felt to it. I got a glue gun for the project and now I feel truly crafty. I made the tie out of the same felt and glued the polka dots to it. I was pretty happy with how well the yellows turned out. I also made a coordinating bucket for trick-or-treating out of the same felt sprayed with fabric stiffener. Yea, the awesomeness is killing me.

Marlowe's costume I sewed together. It was actually pretty easy. I used one of his sleeper jammies as a guideline. I got the fleece at my trusty fabric store (which is now within walking distance!) for less than $5/yd. For the front I cut on the fold and for the back I cut on the selvedge so I'd have two pieces. I sewed velcro up the back, so it was really easy to put on and off. I used one of his hats as a guideline for the hat and attached ears. M doesn't like hats at all. But on Friday morning, when he saw Ellis put on that splendid yellow hat, he REALLY wanted a hat, and he wore his monkey hat for hours. I was amazed and thrilled, since it's really key to costume. I also made monkey feet at the bottom of the legs to flap over his shoes, though in retrospect I think it would've been better to attach some elastic to them that could go around the shoes more securely.

On Friday morning, they particpated in the preschool parade at Ellis's school, and Marlowe got to tag along, especially since he's kind of an accessory to Ellis's costume. Ha! Somehow M ended up with a tootsie pop, and was obsessed with it. *MINE!* Thankfully I was able to bribe him away from it with cheese balls.

On Friday afternoon we carved pumpkins.
AND roasted pumpkin seeds.

THEN we went to the Reformation Celebration at our church and the kids had a blast. I took the kids through the original tune to "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" (the "Geneva jig" version). And then the kids played edifying games like "Pin the Theses to the Door." Hey, it's all about preserving our heritage, telling the story, and carrying on the torch.

Then this afternoon they got haircuts. That has nothing to do with Halloween, but they really needed them. Marlowe cried and cried. He got another lollipop. *sigh* But, my, they look handsome now.

And when they got their hair rinsed off, they put on their super cute pumpkin shirts that I made them this morning.

Then after dinner, we went trick-or-treating in the warm, drizzly night. Marlowe had no trouble with the concept. He walked down the sidewalk saying "Thank you! Thank you!" (which sounded more like "day-doo! day-doo!"). And somehow ended up with another lollipop *groan* which ended up lost in the grass somewhere *whew*. I think when Ellis was that age, we managed one house and he didn't really know what candy was yet.

So we had a complete holiday weekend. I can't believe I did it all. And now we're off to the races. Major handmade holiday action engaged. Christmas is just around the corner and there are still WAY too many boxes around here!

This is Marlowe's world: If he has it, he doesn't want it. If you have it, he wants it. But if you give it to him, then it's his, and he doesn't want it. Makes eating a little tricky. But that's okay, because food is really fun to tear apart and throw around. Manners?, he says. Schmanners!

Can I just tell you that I am so happy that it's Fall now? Thank you, vernal equinox, and your lovely evenness of day and night. This is my favorite season. I think partly because I'm a school nerd, and I love it. I miss school especially at this time of year. May? not so much. But September? yes. I drive through the urban campuses of two major universities to get to Ellis's speech therapy on Thursdays. Kills me every time. Someday I'll get to sit in libraries again.... Anyway, moving on.

This summer I was so glad that there were no major life changes. Then fall comes, and we up and get ready to move. Next week. Into a rowhouse in the city. I am so excited. We're still renting, but it will be such an improvement in our quality of life. We'll be able to walk to Ellis's school. Have enough space to live sanely. Maybe even have people over, since there will be enough room to put them around a table. Not to mention that we just love living in the city. And a rowhouse is just so Philadelphia. So we're surrounded by boxes. To-do lists swarm my brain, but I actually don't feel stressed that much.

I have high hopes for fall. Color is befalling the trees. A new start with new creativity. A fresh look at my boys. Pumpkin pie. Can't wait. Philly is so beautiful in the fall. I really think it's this city's best season.

So much to do today, but I just had to say that we had a good time. It was crazy. It was July 4th weekend at a packed out campground in the Poconos. But we had fun. And learned a lot about future family camping. More later....

(And yes, I found matching orange hoodies on clearance.)

We're off to enjoy nature for the weekend!

This is our first official family camping trip. I'm really excited. (And a little stressed out--hopefully the drive will soothe me.)

We are having lots of fun!
Keeping up with my blog is becoming more and more difficult as our days go careening by. I think I'll focus on pictures this summer. Give you glimpses here and there of what we're up to.

Here are the boys splashing happily in the little stream at the arboretum.

Three days down. Two to go. I'm Craft Master, and we're having a blast at VBS. Can't wait to show you pics of the week's creativity. These kids are great!!

Today Ellis is four!!!

We've been having Big Birthday Weekend. I'll write more about that soon.

I just can't believe how BIG Ellis has gotten. My little baby who was born a month early weighing six pounds, now is so big he wears 5T clothes.

He's a vibrant, steady boy. He has tremendous focus and likes to let information soak in. He loves to snuggle and bestows the family with the best hugs and kisses. He loves ABCs, counting, cars, monkeys, cooking, painting, and photography.

I love my boy so much. I pray that he will grow up to be a great man.

Can you believe that today my baby turns one-year-old!? A year ago today Marlowe was born

If I didn't have a calendar I would know it's time: the peonies are blooming.

Poor baby was a bit sick (or teething, still not sure which) on his birthday, but managed to perk up here and there. We had a fun birthday party. Reports and pictures forthcoming.