Halloween 2017

I really get a kick out of making Halloween costumes.  Like, I really, really love it.  I'd rather make costumes than cook, or clean, or care for my children, or teach school, or brush my teeth.  Luckily for all involved Halloween is a once a year endeavor.

This was the first year however, when I thought of costumes, I only felt dread; my plate already too full and my feet too heavy. And then I felt sad. Because for the first time, something that has always made me happy and satisfied, felt like just another thing on my list.

I learned a lesson though.  I think when things we've always enjoyed seem to lose their appeal and feel heavy instead of freeing, if we just do it anyway, it won't take long before we remember why we always liked it.  Once I got going, it took no time at all to forget about house and home and hygiene and just dig into the details and the creative process.  

Finn wanted to be Harry Potter and the rest of the kids took that theme and ran.  

Luckily I had most of Harry's costume left over from when Luke wore it a few years ago.

And Jack had to be the lion, per tradition.

Max decided on Hagrid.

Ava finally settled on Professor Trelawney,

And Luke wanted to be Dumbledore.

 I made Dumbledore's hair and beard and Hagrid's beard from  spiderweb Halloween decorations and I think they turned out pretty decent.

Getting all the kids to cooperate for a picture might be the hardest task of the night.

Another happy and successful Halloween in the books.  The kid's have already picked out their costumes for next year and I can't wait!

Pigs Flew Over a Frozen Hell

Nearly 6 years ago, an argument of slightly larger proportions than usual ended with the agreement that I could go to Europe and Dan could get a dog. 

It should be noted however, that from the time we got married, Dan was adamant that we would NEVER get a dog.

His heart changed and at the conclusion of the argument I felt that was the true winner. A dog and Europe. Booyah!

But over five years later we'd added a couple more kids to the Colton clan, but no dog.  Ava asked many times, "Can you please just stop having babies so we can get a dog?"

After moving this summer and entering a phase and level of continuous stress we'd never encountered before, we decided it was the *perfect* time to get a dog. Not.  I don't know what compelled us, but here we are.

Our house was already complete chaos, why not just put a hairy, pooping cherry on top?

Actually, allow me to back up.  Our better judgement told us a dog might just be too much for us to handle right now. We wanted a pet for the kids but maybe a cat would be a better option?  You know as long as it wasn't another Sophie, who only came out from under the bed to shed and try to eat the kids.    

And it needed to not shed. A cat that doesn't shed.  Is that even possible?  It is if Dan, the expert researching detective, is your husband.  He signed us up on a year long wait list for a low-shedding, hypoallergenic, dog-like, Siberian cat for a lot of dollars.

And right about the time our name was nearing the top of the list, we happened to be moving to the country. Once we arrived here and the perfect weather called from the open yard and our kids were running in and out all day, hardly ever shutting the door behind them (especially the little two) I started to get really scared about losing a million dollar cat. Coyotes think fancy cats taste just as delicious as scraggly ones. 

And so, all of the sudden a cat was off the table and a dog was back on.  From Dan's prior research, he felt that a doodle of some variety would be a good fit for our family.  But for some reason we ended up with Chewy, a Havanese.

It's hard to believe we have a dog.  He hasn't been the easiest to housebreak, but he is making progress and overall he is a good little dog. He rarely barks.  He runs and jumps and hops and is just so cute.

It feels like he's always been a part of the family and the kids have been so thrilled to have him which makes a lot of the less desirable aspects easier to accept.

One thing is for sure, I'm not sure a dog could be any more loved than this one.