Halloween [High school] HORROR.

Being that it was his first year of high school, he decided to forgo his "real" costume until this evening (for the obvious reason of not wanting to wear a big red fleece men's nightgown... aka the fierce Pac-Man ghost), and instead wear a far less in-your-face 'thrown together' sorta [non-]costume.

...so he could still participate in his very favorite holiday, without risk of potential mortification of being the only. kid. dressed. up.

Thanks to 'design mom' & her fantastic 6 ideas for the costume averse, I recommended that he wear a few embellishments- a glove... a few plastic bugs...... 

He liked the idea.  So off I went to Target (as I do EVERY SINGLE YEAR on the eve of Halloween- despite swearing that it will/can never happen again) in search of plastic bugs... And when I couldn't find them, off I went to the even more chaotic Party City (as I do EVERY SINGLE YEAR on the eve of Halloween after I fail to find all that I am frantically in search of at the aforementioned Target- despite swearing that it will/can never happen again).

After weaving in and out of swarms of other frantic mothers... fathers... teens... party city workers... Oh, wait- they were nowhere to be found... 

I found the bugs.  Hours later (as Ryan was finishing up his "real" costume), the bugs were glued to safety pins, and in true 'Jacob fashion' - what was going to be a couple of bugs added to the back of his shirt, turned into several bugs... a ripped up pair of old slacks... last year's thrifted (and thankfully saved) Charlie Chaplin shoes, glow-in-the-dark skeleton gloves, a tuxedo tee, smeared dirt- on  his clothes... his face... topped off with a slick-yet-disheveled hairdo.  {he was going for a downgraded zombie prom king look- but downgraded or otherwise, a non-costume quickly became a full-fledged ensemble}

As I was attending to Hailey- who was wearing her "real" costume to the 8:30am parade, Ryan helped Jacob with his final touches, snapped a few shots, drove him to school...

And not one kid in sight was wearing anything remotely resembling a Halloween costume.

...HORROR.
  

Lately...

...we've been craving nature... fresh air... laughter... lightheartedness... trees... leaves... togetherness...  
apple donuts.

so, on saturday, we ventured out & found it.  all of the above.

...a new [old] tradition that leaves us with warm hearts, renewed spirits, & lots & lots of apples.

 

The weekend...

               

…in which fall has finally arrived.

…in which we finally watched the royal tenenbaums.

 

…in which we [he] {ironically, now that summer is over and 'fall has arrived'} finally made ice cream ~ incredibly delicious brown sugar-bourbon ice cream.

 

…in which I finally met a few of my favorite blogger friends… alice, & michelle, & jora, & desi, & alexis {man, what a group}.

…in which I finally got to wear my wellies (justified by a 5-minute-teensy-tiny-sprinkling "storm") & my jack-o'-lantern shirt.

                       

…in which we finally purchased the last item necessary to complete this year's halloween costumes.

{which inspired this intricate highly thought-out lego creation… [luckily he's going the total oldschool route this year (aka the 'cost-effective-minimal-materials-required-easy-to-assemble-and-exectute route')… after much deliberation, we have landed on the perfect costume. 
can you guess which of the following characters that would be?}

{...if you guessed, 'BLINKY' you'd be correct :).}

In progress.

{"simple" enough, right??}

{if only.}

  

~image via

Get up & go.

 

Image via

in some areas, routine is back in full gear.  lunches prepped.  grocery list managed.  homework... my kids are killllling it  {total parental bragging, but it's the honest truth}... appointments attended, teeth well-cared for, bedtimes [somewhat] adhered to (for the first time ever)... so yes, some areas run like a well-oiled machine.

and others... not so much.

specifically~ 'the morning ritual' (or lack thereof).

let's just say- i am not one of the "put-together" moms in the carpool line.  and really, it has nothing to do with looking hot at 7am*... but the total lack of getting-myself-together as of late- the lack of the morning ritual (be it working out, reading a book... reading a blog... putting lipstick on...) leaves me running for the rest of the day........... and not in a cutesie "jogging-through-the-city" kinda way.......... running to catch UP.

without intention.  without design.  without a plan.  and not surprisingly~ time always seems to run out before i get to the good stuff... the stuff that never seems to pass through the gate of intention- and onto the bliss of reality.

                     

combine the above with major over-analysis/procrastination tendencies... not a good mix for living the live that i want [intend] to live.

so, as of late, i'm constantly drawn to images of doing... creating... going... 

as much as i love a lot bit of reflection... i need to carve out some time at the start of my day- and whichever way i decide to spend it- toss the covers and anxieties aside, to get up, and GO.

{*but i'm sure it couldn't hurt}

 

Girl {Mom} power.

         

despite reviews, i liked it.  

touched me.  inspired me.  makes me want to do dig deeper... ignore less... do more.  

allowed me to step away from the laundry & hang out with my mom, my grandma & aunt on a weekday afternoon. 

made me cry.

maggie gyllenhaal... viola davis... rosie perez... holly hunter... passion ~ charisma ~ heart ~ hutzpah.

what more could you ask of a movie??

{see trailer here}

             
happy wednesday :).

Spooked.

This weekend was all about gettin' into the spirit... the Halloween spirit.  

In our home- 'til the month of October has passed- we hold off on the pretty autumn leaf garlands, the harvest basket of pumpkins n' gourds, the festive seasonal wreaths, the colorful ears of Indian corn.  

The "fall bin" & the "Halloween bin" used to be one and the same.  But it never felt quite right hanging a hooded & gauzed grim reaper- amidst a black-feather-covered chandelier- above a table filled with pretty leaf-shaped candle holders & all sorts of other 'autumnal bliss.'  Somehow comfy-cozy-bounty-warm just doesn't mix with creepy-crawly-spooky-tacky...

So this month's reserved for cobwebs & skeletons... ghosts & ghouls... black & silver... purple & orange.  The traditional beef stew & crusty bread were savored... candles were lit... The Munsters & Scooby-Doo were watched... cider & wine were poured... My mom joined in on the fun, and as of today, the first of October~ our house has officially been spooked.

 

 

Now onto the really spooky part... figuring out the Halloween costumes.