Costume Schmostume

I'm looking at my clock. It reads 12:55 AM.

This means two things of utmost importance.

#1) It's officially October!

I love Autumn - the leaves change color, the crisp, cold air, and even the rainy Seattle weather is all a sign that "the holidays" are coming.

#2) Christmas is coming. REALLY SOON!

Giggity Giggity. My favorite Holiday season. EVER.

Anywhoo...

First thing's first. I decided to nix on re-writing my blog from last night. All it does is irritate me that I'm re-writing, so after the hubs and I talk about it again, I'll re-write my post when there's new, fresh material bouncing around in my brain (that wasn't so previously typed, then deleted). Makes for a much better mood for yours truly that way.

Secondly, I'm really stumped on Halloween costumes this year. The irony of this is that I've actually bought Kaleigh two costumes already and taken both back.

The first was a Monkey, but after much consideration, I decided she looked like a boy. I WILL NOT have my child be mistaken for a boy. Ever. For those of you that know me, you know my child is always dolled up. For those of you that don't know me, let me explain: My child was the baby who wore the obnoxiously large flowered headbands on her head since about the time she was born. She had one in every color, and is also known for her stylish hats. She currently wears either a bow in her hair now or pig tails that stick up straight like antennas (makes for better reception). She wears pink and purple and everything always matches. She is a girly-girl, most definitely. So, you can imagine the horror in my head as I realized that she would probably get called a boy, so I took that costume back.

The second costume I can't disclose because I still may go back and buy it. Let me tell you, though, that it is an AWESOME costume. Very unique and very well done. The pros list for this one was endless. I loved the colors, the costume itself (how it was made and the quality), the costume for what it was (like I said, a unique idea that most likely won't be alot of this year), and Kaleigh could potentially play in it for the couple years to come. The cons, though, were enough for me to take the costume back and think about it since I bought it so early. The thing cost me $67 after taxes, which, in my opinion, is pretty outrageous for a costume. I partially justified it to myself though by saying that she could play dress up in it later on, so hopefully it would serve more than just for one day of wear. The second big con was that I have no idea what my husband would be, as this costume would be Mama _______ and Baby ______, but husband would not dress up as this, nor would he want to even if there was a costume for a male. We dressed up as a family last year because we went to a party after, so we are having a tough time deciding on whether or not we're going anywhere worth dressing up for this year. We have some great ideas, but nothing has clicked in my head so far like it did last year.

Here we are as a Beekeeper, Mama Bee, and Baby Bee in 2010!

We got so many compliments last year and even had random people stop to take our pictures when we took Kaleigh downtown Edmonds for trick-or-treating. The con to having such great costumes last year, though, is that now we feel the need to do something just as clever and fun this year. *sigh*

My husband has been working so many days/hours that we haven't had a chance to discuss it much, but we're hoping things will calm down in a week. He's working all weekend, and yesterday he didn't even get to see us. He was up before we were (which isn't hard since we sleep in until 10 AM), and got home after we'd fallen asleep. I ended up waking up when he crawled into bed, but Kaleigh was still passed out.

Maybe once we get our lovely butts to an actual Halloween costume store we'll see something, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I've researched online, on ebay, on craigslist, and yahoo answers for ideas and nothing seems to jump at me.



And so .. the search continues. Will keep you updated!

Have suggestions? Please share!

Keepin' It Real

One of my Favorites:

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
...
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

-The Velveteen Rabbit

Okay, so, as previously stated AND promised: I am going to start blogging. I'm not even sure how to navigate blogspot yet, so, hang in there while I try to get my ish together.

Moving right along... the insert I shared with you above was especially chosen for my blogging debut after much thought and consideration. I chose it because it describes me perfectly right now.

I am going to be 31 years old in December. THIRTY ONE YEARS OLD. I no longer am in my twenties. I have to check the second box for an age bracket. If I wanted to, I could technically drive a mini van and get away with it. WOW. When did this happen?!

I remember so much as if it were yesterday - my first apartment, college (Go Cougs!), getting my first "real" job .... and now here I am.

You know when you're younger and you picture yourself in the future? Married. Kids. White picket fenced yard with house. Dog. Cat. Etc. I'm like any girl - I always had those dreams.. the "someday" dreams. But to think I'm actually here and that I've arrived is a total trip.

So I guess I chose the above insert because I'm becoming "real." Growing older, being married, and becoming a Mom (especially becoming a Mom), has really helped me on my journey to "becoming real."

I emphasize becoming a Mom, because, quite honestly, becoming a Mom has probably been the most amazing journey of my life. There are a very close second and third place journeys in there, but having a child is definitely at the top for me.

The irony is there was a time in my life where I really didn't know if I wanted kids, and was very on the fence about it. I guess He had other plans for me, and I was blessed with my little miracle, Kaleigh, who is now 15 months old. She's walking, talking, and is my favoritest little pal around. I love her more than words could ever even begin to describe.

My husband absolutely adores her, too. He wants another. Like now. Ha! So far I'm winning that battle, but don't know how long it will be until I surrender.

We're doing an addition on our house - we're adding an entire second story onto our rambler. Yes, we're crazy! We're doing it for two reasons:

1) Our house isn't very big at the moment, as it was my husband's before we got married. He waited too long to sell and the market fell, so not only is he upside down, but he's in a shitty loan to boot.

2) That being said, we're needing more space and to bring the value up.

Our goal is to be able to refinance once the addition is done. Wish us luck...

Now you know a bit what's going on with us. We live a crazy, wonderful life that I wouldn't change for the world.

So .. follow me if you dare on the journey of life and becoming "real!"