Urgent vs. Important...In other words, what I've been up to!

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of work, school, activities, school plays, basketball games, wrestling tournaments, and more.  I feel like I've been constantly pulled between what is important and what is urgent.  It's so hard sometimes to slow down, take a breath, or say no to something just to get some margin in my life.  And it feels like I'm living on the edge of chaos in my house.

Now, some of the chaos is fun...like the shark costume I made M-Man for his school music program.

Or the gingerbread houses that the boys made...and then of course wanted to eat.  Hilarious.

We went to see the Transiberian Orchestra as a family.  We enjoyed it, but it was definitely a cultural experience...more 80's rock than Christmas music.  :)  And an attempt to get a family selfie was thwarted by the boys...as always!

Never a dull moment around here!

On Ninjas and Pokemon Trainers

I never know what the boys are going to decide to be for Halloween.  It usually changes a few times over the course of the fall, so I don't even ask until about two weeks out. Big J knew exactly what he wanted to be (a Ninja) and did most of the costume himself.  I spray painted an old pair of shoes black and bought a new set of ninja swords for him.  Easy enough.  

Inevitably, though, M-man usually decides to be something for which no official "costume" exists.  This is fun for me, but also a bit stressful, as I'm generally under a time crunch.  He wanted to be Pokemon Trainer Lance.  So, we found a picture online and worked from there.  It involved hunting for just the right pair of sweat pants, a shirt to match (which he happened to already have), some orange Washi tape (super cool stuff!!), a cape (already had from a previous Darth Vader costume), metal buttons, old boots, and spray paint!  Oh, and lots of hair gel!  I thought his costume turned out well.  He approved. It was a job well done, and right on time, as I was doing the finishing touches on Friday afternoon. :)