Making a halloween costume: The ALIEN MONSTER!

I've been working on my son's halloween costume the past two days, which pretty much took a good afternoon. My 5 year old has been trying to decide what he would be for the holiday for several months.  He was disappointed last year when he didn't win the costume contest at my husband's big work event, and really wanted to have a shot at winning this year.  I explained to him that typically a store bought Mario costume wouldn't be original enough to win, and that if he wanted me to make him something I would try.  After daily mind changes regarding his idea of the perfect costume, he finally settled on an alien monster....hmmmm.

Luckily for me, my merging artist proceeded to explain in deep detail the way he pictured this alien monster to look.  He helped me draw a picture, carefully nodding or disapproving each and every color, body part, and detail.

I do not sew, except for decorative edging and detail on scrapbook pages, however I agreed to his terms and  reminded him that mommy's sewing skills were no comparison to Grandma or the nearest costume supply company.

Thankfully, my little man just loves it!  Whew!  It's certainly not a high quality stitch job, but it does serve it's purpose, my son is very pleased that his creation has come to fabric, and I feel happy that my child is okay with a handmade generic no brand name costume for his trick or treating adventures!

I will post some pictures later on, with him in it....

Please share your halloween costume experiences with us!

Fall Goals in WRITING

Okay,
This is my first ever blog post, something I've been toying with for sometime, although never seemed to have the time or motivation to get things rolling.  Considering I've never even kept a paper diary, I find this a big step and hope to continue!
As my oldest child begins a new journey into full time elementary school, (kindergarten began on Thursday the 1st) I've decided to make some time to get myself in order, and do a few things to put "Me" first as it's so easy to get lost in your children's daily lives and development it tends to take the far back burner.
One of the ways I plan to achieve my new goals is to WRITE THEM DOWN!  This method has proven to be very successful for me in the past, so praying I can stay focused on the things in my life that need a dramatic restructure.
So, (really, NO drum roll necessary, please!) here they are:
1.  SPEND A MINIMUM OF 30 MINUTES PER DAY ON THE ELLIPTICAL
2.  DRINK 8 FULL GLASSES OF WATER PER DAY (sorry, Mr. Cuisinart, daily intake of 1 extremely full pot of coffee does NOT count!)
3.  Read my bible daily

I'm into day 4, and while I haven't achieved any of my goals as of yet today (weekend routine is directly influenced by the timing of my youngest child's naptime!) I am proud to say that the first three days were completely successful!

I've found that using the good ole check mark system on my dry erase board on side the fridge works well, I'm forced to acknowledge my status throughout the day, and that is helping greatly.

For any other moms out there looking for themselves,  I encourage you to start simple and make a short list of
measurable, attainable goals to kickstart your search.

I feel that this approach will help all the other pieces fall into place, and make more difficult goals easier to tackle, down the road.

Although daily blogging is not yet on my goal list, I am making a real effort to post at least twice a week for starters.

thanks for listening, your thoughts and discussions are appreciated and encouraged!
until next time,
God Bless,
April M.