2016 Halloween Costumes

Ben has been in a tizzy for the past few months over the task of selecting the perfect halloween costume. We went back and forth, over and over, through hundreds of pinterest photos; the kid could not decide on a selection. Actually, it wasn't that he didn't like them, it was that he wanted to be them all: ninja, police officer, lego man, knight. 

First he was going to be a cop, and Emma an escaped convict. Eh, ok, except that our wee girlie would quickly grow tired of being 'arrested' multiple times a day. 

Then he switched to ninja, except that I couldn't come up with a good costume for Em. 

So finally we got back to the medieval theme and I started in on costumes so he couldn't change his mind again. It worked, he is completely over-the-moon about his get-up. whew. 

May I present:

A Knight and his Friendly Dragon

Behold, all rise for Sir Benjamin!!!

I was sewing pillows with my sister-in-law and she left me a few lengths of this gorgeous velvet that turned into the base for Ben's surcoat. 

We bought the sword and made the helmet (foam sheet) and shield (cardboard and poster board)

He's trying to look tough; I didn't have the heart to tell him that he looked like a sad little puppy.

The dragon image is from Freepik and it totally rocks. We used it both on the surcoat and shield. 

 Emma didn't get much of a choice in costume selection this year. I'm sure she'll have a strong opinion when the next Halloween rolls around.

She loves the dress. It's too small, but she loves that it's frilly and flouncy and has a silver belt. So my sure-fire way to get her to like her costume involved incorporating the dress. It..mostly worked.

Actually, we were in the grocery store the other day and ran into a few girls from Emma's old co-op. The elder one proudly announced that she was going to be a princess for Halloween. Emma lit up like a christmas tree, eyes wide, and turned to me: "Emma princess too!!!"

"What about your dragon costume?"

"NO DRAGON! EMMA PRINCESS!!!"

So we compromised: we've been calling it her princess dragon costume. She seems satisfied. 

This is the third costume that has used the navy pilot hat. 

Emma likes that she can 'wag' the tail.

 The hat is actually a last minute addition. For the past few weeks we've been working on a dragon mask in blue and silver.

But I should have known that masks are not great for toddlers. Especially heavy ones with lots of protruding pieces. Soft felt would have been ok but this one was too much for our little girlie. So we made a quick hat and ditched the mask.

 I'm going to wear it and be the Dragon Queen, along with our little Dragon Princess. 

Can't wait to go trick or treating with these little munchkins. Also can't wait to levy the candy tax on all collected goodies. I hear it's at about 50% these days. Wowza. :)

xo, 

Sonja

Resources

The costumes adapted from several online resources. 

Knight

-Cardboard shield

-Helmet (This one was great! I reduced the size to 87% to fit Ben's head)

-Surcoat and chain mail sleeves  - my own design. 

Dragon

-Dragon tail

-Dragon Wings. I read this tutorial, but based the shape on this gorgeous pair from Etsy. Regardless, these were a pain and I will never again sew dragon wings. Or fairy wings. Or anything winged that involves sewing in wire for structural support. 

-Mask. Sort-of based off of this stunning leather creation. Mine was made of paper mache and playdough. We're classy like that. 

News and Reviews

Wednesday! Two more days until the weekend.

Recently we've been able to sneak in some good outdoor exploring before the wet weather officially descends on Sea-Town.

Emma and I discovered some hidden trails at Magnuson. The buffleheads have likely gone south for the winter but the Pacific tree frogs near the ponds were in full chorus. And! The first salmon have started arriving in Carkeek Park! Things are hoppin' round here.

On our Tuesday afternoon outing, Ben proved that it's never too late for dip in the lake. And that rain boots aren't much good after you go over the tops. Science in action.

The kid is five years old and still, it's not a question of if he'll get wet, but when. He's half fish, surely.

Here are a few interesting articles from around the web this week:

Why Doctors Without Borders refused a million free vaccines. 

Marriage after Trump: how couples are no longer voting together. Chris and I just sent in our ballots; we differed on a few local candidates.

Tall people business cards.

An interview with a woman after she had an abortion at 32 weeks.

Ten tips for hiking with reluctant kids.

Do you live in Washington State? You must check out the Stranger's Voting Guide, no matter your political affiliation. It's a hoot. Brace yourself for rough language and belly laughs.

A behind-the-scenes look at how one semi truck moves an entire football team.

The barber that encourages kids to read. 

The fear of having a son (thanks LV!).

A feminist library for your sons and daughters

I am really liking these personalized Lost-my-name books. The illustrations are whacky and I am always a sucker for rhyming story lines. And what kid wouldn't love a book about their name?! Christmas, perhaps? Wish they weren't quite so spendy.

In downtown Santa Ana, some Latino merchants are trying to surf a wave of gentrification. We used to live a few blocks from here, back in our Cali days. We'd go to restaurants and practice our spanish, as it was either that or politely miming our dinner order. I have fond memories of those years. Times, they are a changin'.

RIP Great Barrier Reef.

Would you enjoy a plant-based burger, if it tasted exactly like the real thing? We sent a vegetarian to see if meatless burger can convert carnivores.  I can't wait to try this; I hate that animals have to die for my love of a tasty dinner.

Patient Zero in HIV crisis was misidentified 


Have a great rest of the week.

xo, Sonja



PS: Emma got a new dress from her buddy Audrey.

To say she loves it is a serious understatement. Our little girlie is suddenly obsessed with all things frilly and flouncy. She now refuses to leave the house without some sort of fancy get-up and heaven forbid you try to get pants on under all the frippery.

She rarely has time to sit still for pictures but clearly has endless patience if you offer to photograph her new dress. I love this girl. My stubborn, fierce little daughter.

Halloween Costume Recap

I am working like a madwoman on halloween costumes. They'll be down to the wire this year.

Here are our costumes from past years.


2011: Chicken (Ben was 10 months old)

 Random tidbit: He won first place in the Seattle Times' annual costume contest. Thanks, Martha.

The (real) chickens were not amused by this faux-feathered interloper.

Halloween 2012 : Pilot and [paper mache] plane

Halloween 2013: Dinosaur

Halloween 2014: Bird Watcher and Baby Flamingo (Emma made her grand entrance this year)

Whoa our little girlie was as round as a bowling ball. We used to call her Piglet when she was little (lovingly, of course!): all pink, blond, and chubby. Weirdly, Emma is currently completely obsessed with pigs. She goes bananas every time we spot on in her books.

Bonus: Space Explorer

Halloween 2015: Scuba Diver and Tropical Fish

2016: Coming Soon!

What is your talent?

My Dears,

I've been in a bit of a funk lately. Hovering on the edge of catching the kids' colds and not enough sleep or exercise. It makes me sluggish and absentminded, which drives me batty.

But!!

One of my favorite blogs last week had a post titled: "What do you like about yourself?", which was a lovely article about remembering to appreciate your talents and good qualities. The stuff that makes you wonderfully, uniquely 'you'.

It was a nice reminder not to dwell too long on the negatives. I asked Chris the same question as we were getting ready for bed and it was fun to compare answers.

So here it goes:

I like that I'm moderately adventurous.

I like seeing new places, be it a hiking trail near our house or a jungle temple in a far-flung locale. I'm also willing to try new foods and activities, at least once, provided I don't have a good chance of dying or becoming permanently maimed. The time we went skydiving was almost too big a risk for this ground-loving girl.

Weirdly, I get a lot of pleasure out of thinking about being adventurous too. I will happily spend hours on the computer planning a trip and researching activities for a trip that may be months or even years away. I'm good at that, too. Clearly I need to become a travel agent to combine both my love of traveling with adventure prep. :)

Secondly, I'm creative.

I enjoy designing birthday invitations, making halloween costumes, and assembling photo albums for our family. I like having an outlet for my brain and fingers, given that so much of my time is occupied by house stuff and the demands of high-maintenance bambinos. I wish that I'd gone to school for graphic design as I enjoy fiddling around with websites, fonts, and images.

So, what do you like about yourself? What are you good at?

Bonus: Ask your partner/kid/friend to see what they say and then compare answers.


xo,

Sonja



PS: Emma is adventurous too.

The Artist at Work

Our little Em is turning into quite the artist. Here she is showcasing her black marker abilities. Despite being labeled as washable, it still took two days of good scrubbing to get all traces to disappear.

We had out professional family pictures scheduled for this weekend so it was definitely down to the wire. Keep your fingers crossed that we get a decent holiday card photo!

My in-laws gave Chris and me a night away from the kids. It was heavenly. Chris planned our weekend, starting with reservations at a hotel downtown, a fancy dinner, and a long walk this morning with stops for pastries, coffee, and a visit to the Chihuly Glass Museum at Seattle Center. 

But we spent most of our time tucked into bed, with a glass of wine in had, reading our books in peace and quiet. :)

Child rearing is exhausting and a break from the bambinos was so gratefully appreciated.

Funny story: As we were waiting in line at the Chihuly museum, who should walk out but Chihuly! That black eye-patch is hard to miss. We were surrounded by tourists who had no idea that the master himself was casually strolling through his own museum.



Here are a few interesting links from around the web.

My tootsies are always cold: I clearly need to start wearing uggs everywhere. In cold offices, It's all about your feet.

Life on a ledge. 

More savage than Caravaggio: the woman who took revenge in oil

Have you ever got to a hotel and the pool is about half the size pictures on their website? This is for you: Hotel fakeouts. 

As a parent that shares pictures of their kid (see above!), this was especially relevant: The perils of 'sharenting'. 

Co-Housing Community. Yea or nay?

My Dears,

I keep running into articles about co-housing like this one:

The Millennial Housing Trend is a Repeat of the Middle Ages.

The closest I got to co-housing was in college which, as I'm sure my housemates can attest, was generally a good experience with a few bumps sprinkled in. :)

But I'll admit: I'm kind of intrigued by the idea of co-housing. An important caveat: I am not attracted to the type where everyone shares kitchens and bathrooms. That's too much sharing.

But I have this picture of single-family townhomes with large shared outdoor areas, and a big rec room that hosts community BBQs and Saturday Movie Night. I imagine a band of kids roving around, playing in the pool, walking over to their friends' houses, and then all gathering to catch the bus on Monday morning.

This one looks especially lovely.

What do you think? Heaven or hell?  

xo,
Sonja

Top Photo: Rocky Hill CoHousing
Photo (at left): Broad Street Commons (has a pool!!!).

Or maybe I just like the idea of co-housing because I want a neighborhood pool. :)

News and Reviews

Happy Weekend!

We are off to get our family flu shots (followed by an ice cream sundae party to soothe the ouchies). We also might hit up our beloved Reptile Zoo as it's looking like a grey weekend here in Seattle.

This is a pretty good representation of what our average weekend looks like these days:

Pure chaos. This is also a good example of why I refuse to buy any new furniture until the kids are 18...

Here are a few links I found interesting this week:

Would you eat cricket flour? What if your voodoo doughnut was made with it?

America's deadliest animal.

Smushed faced dogs. Genetic engineering gone too far?

The wet prince of Bel Air: Which LA homeowner used 11.8 million gallons of water during California's crippling drought? (enough for 90 families)

The most common surname in your country.

My son, the prince of fashion.

Why Japanese kids walk to school alone.

We are creeping up on Halloween! Ben has been plotting costumes since November 1 of last year. Initially he was set on a knight (him), a dragon (Emma), a King (Chris), and Queen (me), but now he's discarded that in favor of other plans. We'll keep you posted as the great costume debate unfolds!

xo,

Sonja