Halloween Recap...Better Late than Never!

Ugh. How on EARTH is Thanksgiving next week??!!

Here is a little catch up from, oh, Halloween. Even though half the free world has already decorated for Christmas.

I was afraid Levi wouldn't like his penguin hat and refuse to wear it. Boy was I wrong! He LOVES it and wants to wear it all the time. From sorting laundry to taking notes, ha ha.

He likes the costume too, although he did put up quite a fuss about the orange feet. At least I got some cute pictures with them on first. :)

I was definitely inspired by Make It- Love It's version, but then put my own spin on things and I'm thrilled with the outcome.

Love this view!!

All I did for Mary's costume was hot glue some flowers from JoAnn's on the hat (found here on Amazon) and tie the red ribbon around her neck. I ordered the Peter Pan collared shirt and black pleated skort from The Children's Place during a 50 percent off sale, and she can wear them again for school concerts. Win win!

They looked so cute together!!

I just remembered that I've got several still on my phone...but I'm in a hurry and need to get some orders done before Tiny Tornado wakes up from his nap. :) Hope you're having a good day!!

Friday Favorites... Getting Ready for Halloween!

Busy busy week over here, certainly with its ups and downs, but here are some of the favorites! I'm joining in with Friday Favorites today for the first time in a loong time... I used to get more blogging done and I love this little online community but lately I feel so out of the game, so to speak, and I really miss it. If you're reading, hello! I'm really glad you're here! :)

Finally getting outside!!

This October is the coldest, wettest October on record, and it kinda stinks. We haven't been able to get outside as much as we're used to, and knowing that winter is on its way sooner rather than later...well, normally we live outside during the month of October. Hooray for spontaneous breaks and playing in the backyard!

I feel like I haven't shown my face around here in a long while, so, hey! :)

Story Time Thursdays! 

I adore our little library and all the friends we've made each week.

Watching my kiddos do things that inspire them! 

Jonah has been volunteering at a nursing home for a school community service project, and he thrives there. I got to see him in action on this day when I went in to sing along with his playing. The sweet elderly ladies are IN LOVE with him, and it was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen!

Fall colors!

Despite the rain and grey skies, the colors this year are out of this world gorgeous! I did snap some pics on the few sunny days we've had.

School drop offs - it was pouring when we left the house, and by the time we got to this hill, the sun had begun to rise up our of the dark grey sky...it was AMAZING! It's blurry, but I was driving, so...oops!

 

Road trips!!

We headed over to Rhode Island to tour colleges on Wednesday. It was a LONG day with Levi, who slept zero seconds in the car, ugh, and I certainly paid for that all day yesterday, BUT it was a really nice day spent together with our Jonah.

College looks pretty good on him, right? I can't believe we are here. AGAIN. Make it stoppppppp!

Exceptionally weird weather day in RI too, but we saw this on the way home!

 Making memories with family!

My Mom knits all our Christmas stockings around here, and yesterday was the big trip to pick out his very own yarn for his stocking. My Mom, Mimi, was telling him he needed to choose one, ha ha. (I have a few that I use as loaners until they're old enough to choose their own colors, ha!)

Sports Life!!

This girl had a fabulous field hockey season, and she really loves the game! It was fun to watch! They had their big tournament day over the past weekend- they lost in over time, and for some reason, she seemed to take that loss much harder. There were other losses throughout the season, so.... ha ha

Halloween costumes!!!

Here's a quick look back at last year's theme! So much fun! I'm excited about this year and I'm almost done sewing, just in time for our town's Halloween Party tonight, ha! You'll have to check back to see! It's not an all out family theme again, but Isabelle reaaalllllly wanted to match Levi again, and since he has no opinion in the matter, sure! :)

You can find me on IG @bethanylivs_life too :)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! xx

Our Family Themed Fairytale Halloween 2017

It's hard to believe that this was nearly one week ago! It's the first family theme we've ever done, and while I'm a little sad that it didn't include ALL of us, that didn't stop me from having lots of fun with the whole thing.

Somewhere along the way Isabelle and I came up with the idea about Little Red and her Big Bad Wolfie. We could even reuse her Laura Ingalls Wilder outfit, which is always music to my ears! But then I wanted to participate, which meant I forced the hubs to participate, ha ha, and it just worked out great.

Truth be told, I had seen one image on Pinterest where the Mom was the hunter and the Dad was Granny. I thought they looked SO cute and I couldn't wait to try that. However, Isabelle was having a fit and refused to cooperate. Fun, right? And also, if I were to take a completely honest viewpoint, it just didn't look that cute for us. It was kind of creepy, and not in the good way.

So back to the traditional roles we went. Scowling faces somewhat restored. And we did have fun. First , there was a big trick or treat party at the high school, so we met with friends and had a blast there. Then we were going to have a fun trick or treat brunch, but either everyone got sick or had last minute things come up, so we had to postpone that, and on Halloween night, it was just the four of us, walking all over our neighborhood under a nearly full moon, and it was such a beautiful, balmy fall night. I'm calling Halloween 2017 a big success. :)

 Happy Halloween from the Hunter, Granny, Little Red & the Big Bad Wolf!!

I just realized that I've got some really cute pictures still on my phone and I hear someone upstairs, so I'll have to get to those later. How was DST for you? Surprisingly, things went pretty smoothly here. I was shocked!

My Birthday and Halloween 2016

Well only two weeks late. Not bad. Ha Ha

Let's start with the cute Halloween pics. This was the first year that Isabelle didn't change her mind a hundred times, and it had nothing to do with princesses, or even dresses, actually- she had her heart set on being a cow girl, so...thank you, sweetheart! Easiest costume ever! I was going to make Levi something, either a lion or a monkey, but then I spotted a cheap monkey overall outfit while school shopping and that cinched it, especially since I can barely find the time to work on business sewing. Isabelle had lots of fun. Levi, however, well...

Let's just say we won't write it down as his favorite holiday. I'm glad I didn't kill myself making him some elaborate costume.

The guys found the banana, which is in fact a doggie toy, and how Ryder knew that I'll never know, but he was after it from the moment it entered the house. So here is a grumpy little monkey who had just wiped his monkey nose all over said banana. ha ha

FYI, the banana is no more. Sneaky dog.

He reeeeaaaaallllly wanted to take a bite outta that thing!

My sweet cow girl. That was her idea to put the other bandana on her horse. So cute! I finally had to buy a boys' plaid flannel shirt because I could not find even one in the girls department, and I checked so many stores! Not like it mattered because you can't even see it. Oh well.

Her hair is so thick and gorgeous now. It didn't used to be manageable AT ALL.

Poor baby, still trying to snack on that banana...

And it was my birthday- I'm 42 now! It hardly seems real, or possible. Everyone says it's just a number, and some days I'm okay with that, and others, I'm just not. I brought Levi out in the pouring rain to get this cake from a "real" bakery a couple towns over because, well, I have learned that if there's something I'd like, it's best if I take matters into my own hands. That might make sound like the biggest jerk, but, hey, I'm old now and I do what I want. :)

This birthday was a little strange for me because some of my kids wanted to celebrate with me, one was sick, and the others chose not to. I'm not really sure how else to put it, but it obviously hurt my feelings. So that wasn't the greatest. The weather was gross, too, rainy and cold, for nearly a week by that point. We were over it. I guess this wasn't a celebration for the record books either if I'm being honest.

 
I did try to have a little fun during my birthday week, but still, it just wasn't a great week or day. You win some, you lose some.

This was actually the day we voted, just a couple days after my birthday. Other than the having to vote part, it was a beautiful day. Finally!

Our Weekend & Late Halloween Pics

This has been a difficult week. I know I have soooo much for which to be grateful, but I find my perspective both lacking and faulty lately, and I've spent my time licking old wounds. Reflection is one thing, while wallowing is a beast of entirely different proportions.

Another huge blow in our adoption journey has left me feeling like a raw nerve, perpetually at the ready to feel more sensation -pain- than I can handle.

Parenthood has been particularly challenging this week. I have felt like a failure so many times in the course of just one day that it's really the only feeling left in me. Failure. Yikes. That's so hard.

Not only have I wondered why, but how. How to get unstuck, to capture moments of joy and name them for what they are. I don't want to waste time, to let these days pass me by without cherishing them. But sometimes it's just so hard.

We decided to hit the road and venture out to the coast yesterday after lunch. It was a beautiful day- perfect weather, laughter, sand between summer sun-abandoned toes, that magnificence of the vast sea which makes you feel so small in this great big world. And then the other stuff, impossible to tune out no matter how hard I tried. Cruel words, fits, rages, tears, callousness, grumbling, just plain meanness. The joy sucker-outers.

I tried. I really did! I can't say the battle was won, but I was trying. I hope that's better than giving up.

Here are some of the moments and scenes I wanted to hang onto:

This Mama and her little girl caught my attention- they were both so cute!

Poor Mama could not get her to look into the camera, but she kept on trying!

These photos were taken at Rye Harbor State Park. From there we headed south to Hampton Beach, where we hoped to let Ryder run free, but...4 horses were trotting along the shore and we were terrified of what Ryder might do to them. When we thought they were a safe distance away, we let Rydie off, only to have them circle back around and end up right where we were. Slightly annoying, though they were absolutely stunning to watch. 

All of my pictures from the beachy part of our day are on instagram - you can find me here if you want to see.

Then my parents came over to celebrate birthdays- my Mom and I are exactly 2 weeks (plus a few years) apart, so we ate dinner together -and ate ice cream cake, my favorite!- and watched a movie. Bill rented Parental Guidance last month and to my surprise, I loved it! Like, LOVED it! I enjoyed listening to my Mom and Dad howl in laughter at all the same parts we do, too. It's a great family film, and it's incredibly touching. Keep your Kleenex close at hand.

Today half of us aren't feeling well. Scratchy throats, upset stomachs, a variety of ills. I don't have it in me to get us to church. Which makes me feel even lousier. Maybe ice cream cake for breakfast will do the trick?

Friday night we had some friends over for the kiddos, and it was such a tepid, gorgeous night that we all played in the backyard with glow sticks. A trillion stars twinkled overhead. Lots of belly laughter. Friends. I was trying that night, too, and I'm glad because none of it would have happened otherwise.

Lastly, I realize that I did not get even one photo of everyone together on Halloween. FAIL. That's never happened before! Ethan still isn't back to normal, so he didn't even want to go. At the time, I suppose I didn't think much of that, but now, looking back, I don't like it at all. Makes him seem to grown up, and the years are racing by too quickly as it is.

I am glad, however, that I spent the time doing the little photo session with Isabelle ahead of time because it was pouring rain on the night of Halloween. After her friend's party, and then the rain...well, it's safe to say the dress is already past its prime. I know she'll enjoy dressing up this winter, though, and I won't have to worry about her messing it up then at least. Ha

Caleb the wounded soldier- that red food coloring on gauze looked SO real!

Jonah the evil pig- Don't ask. I didn't. Just went with it. Bill did the pink make-up for him.

And Cinderella, complete with sparkly eye shadow and lipsticked lips. She was really happy!