Costume Roundup

I've noticed my old costume posts are getting more hits than usual.  With Halloween right around the corner, I figured I'd share them again.

For Purim one year, my twin daughters were Night and Day.

For Halloween a few years back, I made my son a Flying Monkey costume and his baby sister was the cutest Wicked Witch Of the West.

Last Purim, the whole Goat Rodeo donned their best and headed for Hogwarts.  We had an owl (which is a costume I created for Halloween and need to blog about), Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Luna Lovegood.

There are other costumes we've made over the years that I want to blog about, but just haven't yet.  Check back, though, and I will.  I love coordinating costumes.  Over the years, the kids have been lions and tigers and bears, three blind mice and the farmer's wife, characters from the Wizard of Oz (including my son as the most adorable last minute munchkin [I realized Halloween morning that the costume he was supposed to wear didn't fit and threw the munchkin one together] when he was 2), and a box airplane costume which didn't coordinate with anyone, but was very cute, a Toothfairy, the Princess and the Pea, Baby Bear and Goldilocks.

Getting My Craft On

I haven't felt terribly creative lately.  I've had a few ideas and I've spent hours on Pinterest marveling at other people's creativity, but I haven't actually felt compelled to make anything lately.

A few weeks ago, I had an idea for a t-shirt for my youngest (inspired by her current obsession), but I just didn't have the motivation to make it.

So, last night, creativity and inspiration combined to bite me on the butt and I got to work.

This was super simple.  I don't know what took me so long to get started.  It didn't take more than 20 minutes to make it.

Luna's glasses were my inspiration.  I toyed with the idea of adding her earrings or possibly a Ravenclaw tie and sketch a blouse collar, but decided to keep it simple.

Collar reads, "Luna Loony Lovegood, you're okay in my book." 

I created the design free-hand.  The pink of glasses are painted with paint markers.  The lenses are fabric paint.  The text was done quickly by hand using permanent marker.  I usually prefer transfers for fonts because I'm lousy at free-handing letters, but I have a huge font collection.  Today, though, I knew the t-shirt would get tossed aside unfinished (like far more of my projects than I care to admit), so I just grabbed Sharpies and did it myself. 

Around the bottom and the glasses, I used my very favorite Luna line, "You're just as sane as I am."  Around the collar, I used a line from Harry and the Potters' "Luna Lovegood is OK."  It reads, "Luna Loony Lovegood, you're okay in my book."  

She loves it.  Her big sisters have put in requests for versions in their sizes.  

It's not by far my best work, but, hey, at least I put my toes back into the creativity pool.  

Show Me What Ya Got #42 at Not Just A Housewife

Wordless Wednesday: Stickers and Sisters

My big two had a new tap class yesterday.  At the end of class, the teacher offered them stickers.  Initially, the younger of my twins politely refused.  Upon closer inspection, she decided to take this Elmo one so that she could give it to her baby sister.  I was so proud.

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Wordless Wednesday

Looney Luna Lovegood is Full of Awesome

Luna Lovegood is a character in the Harry Potter series who marches to the beat of her own drum and comes off a bit daft at times.  I grew to like her through the books, but Evanna Lynch's performance (and story) made me love her through the movies.

I Luna

Lately, my 2-year-old has become obsessed with Luna.  I don't know where it started (although I suspect her big sisters and brother listening to Harry and the Potters' "Luna Lovegood Is OK" on repeat had a wee bit to do with it).  Every chance she gets, she puts on her sunglasses, grabs any wand-like instrument in her vicinity (be it knitting needle, paint brush, or insanely noisy plastic wand [Thanks a lot, mom]), casts spells and demands that either, she IS Luna or that she wants to meet her.



Now, I agree that Luna's cool and all, but I admit that the toddler's obsession has left me a bit baffled.  Most kids her age love Elmo, Winnie the Pooh, Caillou (G-d save us all from his unending whininess), Thomas the Tank Engine or the cast of Yo Gabba Gabba.  Why is my youngest so enamored with Luna Lovegood?  What on earth should I make of it all?

Recently, there's been a resurgence in sharing this post from Pigtail Pals and suddenly, a light bulb appeared over my head (or perhaps the 9-year-olds yelled, "Lumos" and aimed their wands in my general direction [The younger of my 9-year-olds {who was Luna for Purim} would like me to pause and point out that for the sake of accuracy, neither of my twins can actually have a "real" wand because they're 2 years shy of the required age]).

Luna wakes up full of awesome every day.  That article celebrates the fact that 5-year-old Amelia loves herself--celebrates herself just like many other young children do (my toddler included) without sacrificing her strength, her beauty, or her brilliance to anyone else.  The vast majority of girls don't make it through adolescence with that intact.  There are few (if any) depictions of older characters who feel that way; who simply ARE without restraints.

Hebrew school bound

In this family, we try to raise our children to be themselves and not let others force them into society's preconceived notions.  This often leaves them the odd ones out when they follow their hearts and go against the norm.   My oldest headed to Hebrew school in a getup designed, not by fashion magazined geared towards tweens, but by her own likes and desires.  My big two were the only girls in their karate class.  My son's favorite color was pink for the longest time.  Whereas some of their female friends absolutely refuse to get dirty because it's not "Pretty," my kids run out in the yard to roll around in the mud.
 

Muddy & loving it

My 2-year-old insists on wearing her clothes backwards.  Yes, it's intentional.  Yes, it's odd.  My 2-year-old has her own obsessions which are very different from other kids her age.  My 2-year-old is awesome (as are her siblings).

Luna Lovegood is looney.  Luna Lovegood is out there.  Luna Lovegood is certainly not a red fuzzy monster singing repetitive obnoxious songs.  Luna Lovegood would never be mistaken for a Disney Princess.  Luna Lovegood is true to herself.  Luna Lovegood is awesome.

"Looney Luna Lovegood, you're okay in my book." 

Darth Daughter

Some people think it's stupid, but they like Quidditch.

Boys like sparkly face paint too.

Girls kick butt, even if they're the only girls in class.

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Grandparents' Day

This past Sunday was Grandparents' Day.  We were lucky enough to have my parents out for a visit.  This gem was captured during that visit.

My daughter is up to something.  My father is exhausted.

My mother was asleep on the other end of the couch.  Unfortunately, she's a much lighter sleeper and woke every single time I tried to snap a picture.  

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Wordless Wednesday

The Smallest Harry Potter Fans Say the Darnest Things

I've established that we're big fans of Harry Potter in this family.  Yeah, we're THOSE freaks.  

I was so excited to share the Harry Potter books with my daughters when they were old enough.  My husband and I read the first few books to them at bedtime when they were toddlers.  Now they're old enough to read them for themselves and OH BOY do they! At camp, my girls had nicknames:  Fred and George.  The younger of my twins (known as George at camp) has read each book at least 4 times.  She's frighteningly good at quizzes.  I got into Pottermore and she knew the answer to nearly every single quiz question without having to stop and think.  As if this isn't proof enough, we have a dog named Mischief-Managed.


One benefit of Potter-obsesssed older kids is that it trickles down to the younger ones.  This leads to much hilarity.

The other day, my 5-year-old son held up an empty paper towel roll and announced, "I'm Voldemort with the elderly wand."

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Yesterday, my oldest daughter and my son played Harry Potter with the youngest (who is 2).  They tried to make her take the roll of George.  She, however, protested, "But I have TWO ears."

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Immediately after that, she declared, "I'm Dobby."  She then began smacking her leg yelling, "Bad Dobby."

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The 2-year-old uses knitting needles as wands and casts spells on us all.

• The same child sat quietly in the background while her sisters and I laughed until we cried at those unfortunate souls sorted into Hufflepuff.  Later, I caught her announcing, "Once I saw a bird.  I a Hufflepuff."  Let me tell you, there's little else a 2-year-old can say that's quite as funny as "Hufflepuff."*

• All the kids got long stalks of rhubarb from the neighbor's garden.  Soon after, I had to announce, "Stop using your rhubarb as wands."

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*9/13 update:  Both of my twins have since been sorted into Hufflepuff on Pottermore.  Joke's on them.  My oldest, however, is thrilled because she heard that Jo Rowling was sorted into Hufflepuff.  

New Keyboards and Funny Penis-related Stories

Look, ma, no gibberish.  I am the proud new owner of one of those new-fangled keyboards.  You know the type, the super expensive wireless type complete with all letters, numbers, and punctuation.  This is a big improvement over the last insanely expensive wireless variety that lacked all that other exciting and essential stuff.

The lack of U's and H's made it impossible to type in my URL or even write my own name.  Of course, I was H-less on Harry Potter's birthday, so I got to wish a "appy birtday to arry Potter."  Apparently, when a keyboard is destroyed by water, it develops Hagrid's accent.

Now that I have the entire collection of letters, numbers and punctuation at my fingertips, I can share this story which manages to be both penis-related and funny.

Our children, like every other child who has come before them, like to repeat inappropriate things...loudly...in mixed company.

My husband was giving the two youngest a bath this weekend when our son (who never shuts the hell up is very talkative) felt compelled to ramble on about his penis.  The majority of the conversation/monologue is lost from my memory, the end, however, is a different story.

The 5-year-old announced, "(blah blah blah; stuff and nonsense)...but I just have a kid-sized penis because I'm a kid.  Not Daddy, though.  He's a grownup, so he has a big penis.  Daddy, your penis is THIS big." (said while holding his hands quite a wide distance apart)

At that point, I heard my husband tell him, "Now THAT you're allowed to repeat anywhere and everywhere you want."

It was at this point that I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe.