We're Ready for Halloween!

It looks like Halloween barfed around here...please tell me I'm not alone?

My boys LOVE decorating for Halloween. Every year they start asking in September when we can get the Halloween stuff out and every year I tell them we can't decorate until October 1st. When October 1st finally rolls around that box is torn into, fully emptied and our house is totally decked out for Halloween by noon! In years past I have thoughtfully placed our small, fairly tasteful assortment of decorations around the house...remember my doily-turned-spider webs from last year? They are back again this year, I just love them. This year the collection has doubled (at least!) and the boys are not as style-minded in their placement--everything has to be bunched together, at eye level. Every window is positively dripping with Halloween window clings and the bench in front of our fireplace is crowded with stuff.

A few weeks ago my mom came over for an afternoon and the boys had so much fun making these "pumpkin dioramas".

She bought artificial pumpkins and we carved a large hole in the front of each one. Then we glued a piece of foam in the bottom of each one and covered it with moss and let the boys go to town. She painted twigs black and the boys stuck them in the foam to look like trees. Then they glued little decorations in and on the pumpkins to create a scene.

Mama made one too...

I can't tell you how many times I look into the living room and see a boy on his knees peering into his creation, probably imagining all kinds of fun, spooky stuff...it's great! I know these guys will be the little treasures that we look forward to pulling out of the Halloween box for many years to come...

And this week my boys were home "sick" for a few days...One of them was legitimately sick for a day--fever, no energy, definitely sick. The second day I felt obligated to keep him home because of the 24 hour rule at school, but he was fine and so was his brother, even though they both claimed to be gravely ill. :) Whatever, maybe they just needed a mental health day? When I realized no one was actually sick (they were running around, chasing each other within minutes of me telling them they could stay home!) I decided I'd have to come up with a few things to keep us busy because on principle, I was not going to let them lay around and watch movies all day. So, we went to the store and bought the supplies to make these Candy Corn Trees that I'd seen online a week or two ago. I bought the foam cones from the floral section at the craft store and gave each boy a roll of yarn. They loved making them and I think they are just darling, no?

Papa and I are not clutter people, we like surfaces to be relatively clean, and too much "stuff" makes us un-easy....But the boys think it's all just fantastic, so we live with it. Is it November yet?

One more day to save 20% on Barefoot Books!

Hard Core Stain Removal: Eco Freaks Can Do It Too!

The soon-to-be Middle Child in our family is lucky to be alive this morning...

In a fit of inexplicable excitement and total lack of self control this weekend, he got after 2 items of clothing with a black, permanent marker: Papa's favorite pair of North Face shorts (not cheap) got a 4-5 inch streak, and a pair of my maternity jeans got a 2-3 inch streak. Have I mentioned lately that I'm pregnant? The list of clothing items that fits these days is short. Let's just say Mama and Papa were not happy.

I immediately Googled "how to remove permanent marker from fabric" and this came up at the top of the list. Be sure to click that link--you will be horrified to see what devastation small children are capable of creating in what I'm sure was a short period of time. Oy. Side Note: This post is one reminder as to why I love Mama/Parenting blogs so much--posts like this remind me that A) I am not alone, and B) No matter what we're going through at any moment, chances are someone's been through much worse and lived to tell about it!

After reading her post I was optimistic, only problem being that I don't have any of her suggested soaps and stain removers on hand. Years ago I switched to more eco-friendly laundry detergents. A few years ago I even started making my own and although I did purchase a bottle of 7th Generation detergent recently it was purely out of convenience, not because I don't still love the homemade stuff. So on hand, I had a small piece of a Fels Naptha bar that I use for spot treating, my homemade detergent, some 7th Generation detergent, and my other favorite stain/odor remover, Bac-Out Stain & Odor Eliminator. I figured I'd try these first, worse case scenario I'd have to head to Target this morning for something stronger...

I watered each spot down and set to work with the Fels Naptha bar, rubbing it into the stain pretty vigorously. Within minutes I was shocked to see that it was working! I let it sit for a few minutes and came back after a while for a little more water and scrubbing. Then I sprayed each stain with a bit of Bac-Out and let that sit for another 10-15 minutes and tossed everything into the washer with a load of clothes and some 7th Generation detergent.

Shoulda' taken some before and after pics...Sorry. But it worked! I will never doubt the strength and capabilities of the eco-cleaners again. Little boy still has some 'splaining to do, but Mama and Papa are back in the happy camp.

Boy, n.: A noise with dirt on it.

It's been quiet over here, I know. We've been busy, not with anything special, just life. Last week our family got a peek at this perfect little babe in my belly...

My first worry going in to the ultrasound was whether or not this baby looks healthy. All these months I could not help but worry that perhaps we were tempting fate by having another baby? My two boys are perfectly healthy, I worried that maybe I'd used up all my chances and that maybe this time we'd get some scary news? Thankfully, so far babe looks perfect in every way. And then we took a peek and confirmed my gut feeling: we make BOYS! So in addition to the normal busy-ness of life, I've been busy reflecting on gender too.

I've been hearing a lot about Miss Representation, and it's had me thinking a lot about how we, as a society are treating girls. How we respond to them and how our actions toward them shape their perceptions about themselves and their place in the world. I'll admit that in these months of not knowing this little person in my belly, I fretted over the notion of raising a girl. I worried about raising a girl with confidence and a strong sense of self respect. I worried about things like self esteem and inner vs. outer beauty. It felt like a daunting responsibility. I know boys. While physically and mentally exhausting, I know they are much less emotionally charged than girls. My friends with girls are already dealing with plenty of drama, and we know there's more to come. Boys absolutely have emotional needs as well, (and often they more subtle and harder to recognize, which will always keep me on my toes) but I don't worry about their emotional health nearly as much as I would if they were girls. I'm fairly confident that I can raise my boys to be kind, compassionate, respectful of others, and successful in whatever path they choose in life.

It's just a lot of energy around here, and it's the kind of energy that is not always understood and appreciated by others. There are 2 speeds at my house: 1. Full Speed Ahead!, and 2. Asleep...and very little of anything in between. My boys were "high maintenance" babies--terrible sleepers and hard to soothe. The toddler years were exhausting--non-stop climbing, running, jumping, lots of "un-doing" and very little sitting quietly reading or observing. Although they love to read, these were not boys who could spend big chunks of time on your lap listening to stories or singing songs. I'll admit that I'm tired just thinking about doing it all over again. Here's hoping this boy might be our "mellow" baby?

While I'm not the biggest fan of pink, I do like glitter. Most of the little girls I know have been more in the camp of calm, independent, nurturing, compliant. We all thought a little gal would be a fun change of pace for our household. So now I wonder, does it makes sense for me to hang on to my childhood Cabbage Patch dolls? I know I won't be sewing matching dresses for my little gal and her babies, and I will never have the joy of helping my daughter pick out her wedding dress... I will mourn that loss many times in the next few decades, I'm sure.

And then early this week my friend Becca's blog was listed on the Dude Mom list over on Parenting BY Dummies. I love it. A whole community of Mamas blogging about life with their boys. Celebrating lizards and snakes, swords and potty talk, sports and dirt. Reading through some of the blogs confirms how lucky I am to be part of that club, and gives me comfort in knowing that I am not alone. If they can do it, I can too. I already know that I'm a rocket master. I can survive 10 more years of potty talk, right? Although I may have to officially learn the rules of (American) Football, I do love Soccer and secretly hope it becomes the sport of choice around here. And our house is fully equipped for another boy--there are thousands of Legos, several Nerf guns, books about pirates and dinosaurs, tons of Thomas the Train tracks and trains, a sandbox and plenty of balls and bikes and scooters outside, and 2 boys who can't wait to meet their little brother. We're ready for more boy. I think.

PS. Like the title of my post? I do too. As soon as I can figure out where to hang it, I'm buying the wall decal from Uppercase Living.