Can I get a green eyed baby?

I mean, I've done the charts. blue + green = such and such nonsense. But, I'm sort of the great white hope when it comes to passing on this green eyed thing and I'd like to see whether it happened or not.

The other day I was looking at pictures with my mom (only school photos because heaven forbid that my photographer dad should snap any pictures of us...geesh) and in 4K my eyes were blue! But sometime after that they went green. So there's hope yet.

I've been watching the green eye progression on my middle child (aka Thing 2) and his eyes are definitely changing. He has a hazy color around the pupil and I think we're well on our way to green. He tells me it's happening because he kisses me so much. It's true. We do kiss an awful lot. Not like necking or anything, but he's pretty smoochable.

Thing 1 is definitely staying blue. No changes there.

But the other day my girlfriend said, "I think the baby's eyes are changing." And my heart pretty much broke. A green-eyed girl??? Is it possible? I guess only time will tell...

Halloween Lanterns

I've been super busy in poppyland: sewing costumes, back to school, not going insane while my husband is gone for days at a time, and starting up a new business. But we've also been doing some crafting.

It's my favorite time of year...holiday time! Seriously from October 1st until January 1st I am all a tizzy with crafting and the joy of the season." But wait!" you say, "It's not even October 1st yet." That's right. This year the kids caught the first whiff of Fall and decided it was time to decorate for Halloween. Despite my protests that I didn't want to decorate and am far too lazy to carry the Halloween bin from the basement, the house got decorated in a hurry. Somehow they lured their father up from the deep recesses of his woodshop and conned him into carrying the bin up for them. I bet they told him there was candy or something.

So, two days have passed and several decorations have already been broken and/or commandeered to the boys' room. The boys have been begging for more decorations, but the Summer of Cheap has transitioned nicely into the Fall of Cheap (and I'm sure the Winter of Discontent...zing!); we're making our own decorations. Squee!

Super easy and super cheap...pumpkin lanterns made with jars, orange tissue paper, white glue, and ribbon.

Varying sizes of jars...baby food, spaghetti sauce...whatevs. Here we've accessorized with a
shrunken head in a jar and an antique book of Grimm's fairy tales.

What I did:

1. Cut up strips of orange tissue paper
2. Thinned white glue with water
3. Glued paper to clean jars
4. Affix ribbon to the top of jar with glue or tape or whatever.
5. Optional, but you could put black construction paper letters on the jar and make them say "Boo!" or "Halloween" or "Knock, knock, motherfucker" or something cute, but I have OCD and I just know my kids will rearrange them and make them say, "oob!" or some nonesense thus compelling me to get rid of the entire display.
6. Modge podge those babies.
7. Put some tea lights or those fake tea light things in them and enjoy!

Unbearable things happen

I haven't blogged in awhile. I can't say that it's a been a deliberate choice, but when I sit down at my computer to share the types of things that I usually want to share with you I freeze up. And I know why. A month ago, my husband's Auntie Kris died...and it was unbearable for a really long time. She was a wonderful perosn and now she doesn't get to even BE anymore. How does one come to grips with that? So every time I thought, hey I made something nice and I should share it with you...I thought of Auntie Kris and I felt like my blog post was somehow making light of the tragedy of what happened. But that is the antithesis of Kris. Some people say a funeral is closure, but to me this is closure.

I first met Kris shortly after I met my husband (aka manfriend). He brought me home to meet his family the week after we met. When we pulled into his aunt and uncle's driveway, they were all on the roof of the house pulling off shingles. I was slightly intimidated, but I like to think that I put on a brave face.

A year and a half later my husband and I were engaged and I was looking at wedding dresses. I found one that I loved, except for one small amd important detail. My future mother-in-law said, "Just ask Kris. She'll make it for you." Um....what? Ask her to make the most important piece of my wedding day (aside from my husband of course)? I had no questions in my mind about whether she was capable, but rather would she want to do it? Why would she want to do it? But, I asked her and she rejoiced at the opportunity. You might think I am misusing that verb, but then you would be misunderstanding Kris. Because at the heart of her was someone who gave.

Over the years Kris was an inspiration for me. She sewed, she knit, she cooked, she gardened...and on top of it she was a loving mother to her kids. She was able to meet one grandchild, though I'm sure she'll look down from heaven on many more.

This is the dress that Kris made for me. She also made all of my bridesmaids' dresses and my junior bride's dress.

Even now I feel like this post is too light hearted and doesn't convey the sheer amount of grief and emotion that has been poured into every word. But, grief is intimate. and unbearable. and so we go one.