Skelly Dog

October 22, 2015October 22, 2015Amber 3 Comments

As we cruised the aisles of Costco, George stopped in his tracks. “Skelly dog is FIVE DOLLARS!!!”, he proclaimed with delight. I sighed, knowing exactly what he was thinking. He added, “It was $10, but now it’s only $5. I NEED this.” I could have sworn this was one of my children clamoring over a new toy instead of my husband. Sarcastically, I remarked, “Need? Really?!?!” This Halloween decoration, a skeleton mutt, was as unappealing to me as George’s prized Halloween decoration, Elmer.

Yet, I knew we’d adopt the little mongrel because George loved it. What surprised me was how much Harper also loved the little fella. When we got home, Harper insisted we open Skelly Dog from his box right away. Then, he proceeded to carry him around gleefully. Last Halloween, Harper was terrified of George’s kitschy Halloween decor, but this year he’s all aboard. It looks like George may have a protege after all. Halloween has never been my favorite holiday, but my family is certainly warming my heart to the holiday.

A boy and his dog….

On Halloween night, Elmer will escape from the attic to perch on our porch with our little pet, Skelly Dog. Happy Halloween!

hugs,

Amber

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Personalized Pumpkins

October 23, 2014Amber 3 Comments

After visiting the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch, we amassed a variety of pumpkins, which needed decorating, and of course personal touches. Pumpkin carving is a festive tradition, but in the Texas heat they grow mold almost immediately, and you can’t appreciate them long-term. Instead of carving, I prefer a little paint and a few stickers.

With the first found of pumpkins, we let each child choose a tempera paint color to slather on a pumpkin. It was an utter mess, but they had a blast expressing their creative sides. Plus, it was a full on sensory experience; they covered their arms, hands, and cheeks before they finished. After our little art extravaganza, I used copious amounts of Shout and washed clothes multiple times to rid them of bright paint splatter. Thankfully, there’s no remaining evidence of art on their clothes.

For the second set of pumpkins, I created a monogram for each child using the same process I used to make cookies for Santa plates.

First, I printed individual letters in 300 pt French Script font from Microsoft Word.

Then, I flipped the paper over and rubbed pencil over the area where the letters were.

I pressed the letters, print side up onto a smooth part of the pumpkin and traced over it with heavy pressure using a pen.

This left a faint outline, which I filled in with a paint pen. It’s very faint in the picture, but there is a light outline of the “R” on the face of this pumpkin.

When I was finished, we had four handsome monogrammed pumpkins. I let the kids loose with Halloween stickers so they could leave their own flare.

The best part about pumpkin decorating is displaying them on the porch for others to admire. The quads beamed with pride when I let them carry their own pumpkins to the porch. I helped with arrangement of course.

We placed the tempera paint pumpkins under the covered part of the porch since rain tends to wash them clean. Each time we go out the front door, the kids point out their personalized pumpkins with their “letter”.

On Halloween Eve, we’ll carve the largest pumpkins together and cross our fingers they last 24 hours. What is your favorite way to decorate pumpkins?

Hugs!

Amber

His Name is Elmer

October 6, 2014October 22, 2015Amber 11 Comments

Our neighborhood has a hopping Buy, Sell, Trade site, which may be a slight addiction for me. George and I check it frequently for the latest deals. We’ve scored everything from free moving boxes to board books, and sold our share of goodies too. Several months ago we removed the builder grade mirror from the quad’s bathroom and replaced it with an ornately framed version. Once the old mirror was removed, we posted it as free on our Buy, Sell, Trade site. A firefighter snatched it up for the firehouse workout room, and George set it out for porch pick up. Unbeknownst to me, the same firefighter posted a Halloween decoration for sale at $10. Being a Halloween aficionado, George asked if this particular item was still available, and naturally it was. However, instead of charging $10 for the gem, the altruistic firefighter decided it was a fair trade for the mirror. Worst trade ever!

When I came home from work one evening, I was greeted by a life-sized skeleton dangling in a cage. This guy was a grisly, unwelcome sight! Not only was it realistic and enormous, but it also lights up and chatters spooky things. I was certain it would terrify the quads and therefore be unacceptable at our house. The next day, I ushered them into the foyer were our new resident perched, fully expecting shrieks of terror. Instead, all four squealed “pirate!” as they inspected this guy, going right up to the cage and poking him with their little fingers. Apparently all the preparations for their Pirates & Princesses birthday party created an immunity to skeletons. Ugh. Over the years, I’ve accepted the fact that in October George will put out an array of kitschy decorations that I don’t prefer, but this one really made me cringe. I’d do about anything to banish him from our home, but I knew it wasn’t happening. George’s eyes glistened like a child on Christmas morning. As much as I loathed this decoration, I knew he would stay. However, he could only stay under a few conditions 1. He would be banished to the attic 364 days of the year 2. He could only post on the porch Halloween night 3. We could dress him in pirate attire to make him a bit more kid friendly. Against my demands, George kept his new friend in our study for several weeks, and became so attached he named him Elmer. I’d cringe every time I entered the study and laid eyes on the wretched beast so I eventually heaved him upstairs myself. Instead of stuffing him deep into the attic, George placed him directly at the entry of the attic so whenever anyone opens the attic, Elmer is staring back with his empty eye sockets. It’s horrific!

Even though I despise old Elmer perching in my attic, I’ve settled with the fact that he’s a permanent family member. Last weekend, George and I began hauling our fall boxes from the attic, and against George’s wishes Elmer stayed up. We didn’t have time to begin decorating so the boxes stayed in our dining room. The next day was like any other, George changed the quads while I prepared breakfast, he set off to work as we nibbled our meal, yada yada yada. After breakfast, I began tidying up while the quads entertained each other. After a few minutes, all four ran into the breakfast nook proclaiming there was a monster upstairs. I recalled reading a Halloween book before bed and thought their imaginations were really running wild. I made a futile attempt to convince them we were monster free upstairs. Eventually, they led me by the hand to the foot of the stairs as they pointed to a tall dark silhouette of a witch. I had to conceal my laughter because I knew they were genuinely scared. Harper refused to step foot out of the kitchen and instead peered at the witch from around a corner. The others were only slightly more brave and approached the witch with fingers covering their eyes.

I spent the remainder of the day trying to prove that the black figure was only made of wood. I turned her over to show the wood grain, laid her on the floor, and even walked along the surface of it. Rylin, Mason, and Sydney eventually believed it was no monster, but Harper could not shake the fear. Even after I moved the witch out of sight, Harper fearfully inquired about her all day and shielded his eyes.

That evening, George and I situated our witch in the bushes outside and adorned our porch with friendlier fall decor including warm orange lights and grinning pumpkins. Harper still isn’t a fan of the witch, but he tolerates her the way I tolerate Elmer.

What are your favorite fall decorations? Do you appreciate the grisly variety or prefer subdued, friendlier fare?

Hugs!

Amber

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