Something's gotta give

And what gave was pretty much the whole month of October.

Struggling to figure out why I feel worse than I did at the end of summer. Seeing the ENT, the nephrologist, the pulmonologist and any other -ist who might have some idea why we're not seeing remission yet. Upping the prednisone after spending last Saturday in the clinic getting chest x-rays and breathing treatments.

I LOVE October. Absolutely, 100% adore it. I love fall and Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. I love the decorations, the food, the costumes! I anticipate the season all year long - adding to my Halloween decor, coming up with and making costumes for the whole family, making spooky food and treats throughout the month, carving pumpkins and roasting the seeds, trick-or-treat. What's not to love?!!

But this October? Most of my projects are still sitting in the bags in my basement. The only thing that got done was a little specimen art.

The outside of the house never got decorated and the pumpkins are still sitting on the kitchen table, waiting to be carved. 

The hardest thing of all? No family costumes this year. No theme, no sewing, no gluing, no CREATING. It seemed kind of empty, you know? Instead, we recycled and the kids threw together last minute (literally!) costumes from the costume box before Trunk-or-Treat last night.

If for nothing else, I have got to get feeling better so I can enjoy my Octobers again. 

Dry wall art

I'm sure gesso is probably the preferred medium for canvas artists, but I'm cheap. And my amazing friend Megan taught me the technique several years ago and she always used dry wall compound. A huge bucket of dry wall at Home Depot? Under $10. A teeny weeny bottle of gesso at the art supply store? $10, and I would need at least 10 for each project.

This is the Seattle LDS Temple canvas I did for Michael for Christmas several years ago. I've shared it here before:

This is my most recent canvas. I used it for a special night at our church for my Young Women, depicting the Tree of Life. I used a Hero Arts Scroll Tree Stamp as a guide and just made it a whole lot bigger. Huge, actually.

That middle canvas? Didn't realize it wasn't true to square until I was almost through with the whole thing. Aaargh! Matthew wants to hang it in his room - I think I can hang it without it being too noticeable but it definitely doesn't work just sitting on the mantle.

Pants on the ground

I'm not sure if we'll all remember the significance of this little phrase 20 or 50 or 100 years from now, but it made for a pretty funny page title.

Currently (a complete blog post steal)

I am a fan of Stephanie Howell's scrapping artistry, but I think what I love most is her journaling. Her words. Such a lovely peek into her life and the life of her darling girls (yep, just a wee bit jealous of all that pinkalicious goodness!) And she does this great post on her blog occasionally called "currently" where she details some of the fun/sad/happy/hilarious things that are going on with each member of her family. I hope she doesn't mind if I steal her idea...


He:

1. is totally loving preschool. He thinks the sun rises and sets with Miss Leanne's words (which became quite funny when he misheard a song she was teaching and insisted that there were 10 days in a week.)

2. likes to 'read' Max's homework over his shoulder. And he usually gets most of the words right...

3. loves to play Quirkle or Memory with mom, at least several times a day.

4. can't wait to be 5 so HE can play soccer, instead of watching everyone else.

5. is much less whiny and screams a lot less now that the kids are back in school. Whew!


He:

1. says pink is his second favorite color, just like Ciera. And he needs a phone, so he can call people. Like Ciera. Hmmm....

2. scored a goal on Saturday at his soccer game, but was more thrilled when the coach called him the Defensive Maniac!

3. is one tough cookie! He has a huge bruise from a teammate mistaking his knee for the ball and his head actually bounced off the ground when an opponent tried to take him out. But he kept on playing and didn't shed even one tear.

4. has the strangest taste buds. He has always been uber-picky, but last night takes the cake. We were making our traditional caramel apples, but he didn't want one because he doesn't like apples (not sure how he knows this as he refuses to even try one.) We offered a banana, but that would have been "disgustinger." He finally settled on a caramal LEMON!! And he ate it!

5. refuses to wear long pants, or a jacket, even on mornings when the temperature dips into the 40s.

He:

1. tries my patience on a daily basis.

2. is raising the decibel level in the house with his new saxophone.

3. is enjoying football, though he doesn't get much playing time and doesn't regret quitting soccer at all.

4. ran faster after the ice cream truck than I've ever seen him run on the field!

5. made it into Rockin' Rhythms for second year. His teacher is fabulous! I wish *I* could be in her class!

He:

1. still loves soccer. And drums. And Scrabble, chess and Robotics.

2. was just made the Deacon's quorum president last week.

3. has the quirkiest sense of humor. Think Monty Python...

4. is going up to the high school for his math class every day. High school!

5. reads just as much as I did at his age. And tends to disappear into his room to do it, just like me.

She:

1. turned 16 last week (umm, yeah, didn't have the right candles, so had to improvise with 4 squared...)

2. has had several PRs in XC this year and dodged a big season ender today when her leg x-ray didn't show a stress fracture. Whew!!

3. is trying to fit in XC, band, 4 AP classes, and so much more, it makes my head spin.

4. skipped a possible first date to Homecoming to go run at Nike pre-Nationals in Portland and was told by a young man in the elevator that she had "attitude." I knew that.

5. adores her new phone.

He:

1. was much better at putting on his boutonniere than me or his date for Homecoming.

2. is constantly reminding me that this is his last (fill in the blank.) His last year of school, his last Halloween with us, his last first day of school photos, etc. As if I need to be reminded.

3. is still dating J, much to her father's dismay. Not that he's not a great young man - I just don't think Mr. M wants J dating anyone at all.

4. has decided to he wants to be a pediatrician. Not sure the full effect of at least 11 YEARS of post high school schooling has sunk into his head. Not sure how he missed that living through 17 years with his dad and me. We support him, though.

5. has finally seen the light about the importance of school and grades. See #4 and #5.

Inspired by...

Fashion!
If you know me personally, you'd probably laugh at this one. As much as I like to look at cute, trendy clothes, I'm not very good at pulling it off in person. I tend to end up in a t-shirt and jeans/shorts most days. But I do like to look! And it occasionally inspires a fun scrapbook page or two...

Inspiration found here at Studio Calico's (old) blog.


And here's my take:

Created using Studio Calico's fun Summer Camp kit and add-ons (main kit is still available here)

And truth be told, this page was created before I saw the challenge on the SC blog, but I had been thinking about all the scallops in fashion lately, so it works. Created using SC's Continental kit and add-ons.

No time for scrapping!

We've been doing this:

And football, for which I have no pictures. Bad mom!

And a lot of this:

And this last weekend:

They definitely keep me busy! 

And, notice the new header? Last year's Halloween costumes. Right about the time I first got sick, two weeks before Halloween. I've always loved October, but last October was the beginning of easily my most trying year. Now, just need to fight through, stay strong...and come up with some costumes for this year!