Making October

October. It is the designated awareness month for Down syndrome, domestic violence, and breast cancer which all have a personal significance to our family. It offers up the fall harvest, the heart of football season, Buddy Walks, turning leaves, crisp air, apple cider, pumpkin bread, and Oktoberfest. It heralds the return of kids in footie pajamas, warm sweaters, and thick, colorful tights. Yet the best thing about October is All Hallows Eve. My husband does not share my passion for Halloween, but I hope to be passing it on to my children. He hates scary shows but that doesn’t stop me from watching marathons by myself.  I tried to resist dragging out the decorations until October 1^st, but Alexander asked for them, so up they went during the last weekend of September while watching reruns of best zombie show ever, The Walking Dead.
Every year I add a few pieces to the collection. We’ll never be as awesome as this house nearby, but I try.  This year I found a set of 4 silver jack-o-lantern pails at the thrift store, the light up ghost above, the haunted house, long legged spider and the felt banner below.
The blue jar on the gel fireplace above the banner is the new good behavior jar.  The kids get a cotton ball when they behave and lose one when they are naughty.  It is empty here as they filled it this past weekend, so we took them to the most amazing harvest party, ever.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Sometimes the kids and I make the decorations, such as these milk carton haunted houses (see original post HERE).  Two years ago Alexander wanted to be a ghost, so we made his costume (see original post HERE).  This year we’ve decided to make the costumes again.  Alexander is currently into the computer game Minecraft.  He wants to go as the scary character Herobrine.  Helena decided to be a wolf, which she tells me regularly while howling, and Sophie will be a kitty.
Herobrine, like all things in Minecraft, is made of blocks of color that look like pixels.  Though the photo above doesn’t show the color of the clothes very well, they actually match pretty closely.  I bought nude material to make long sleeves, gray felt to cover his shoes, and card stock to make the sword (glued to card board).  To pixelate the shirt and pants, I’m going to try and use fabric spray paint.  I plan to section off blocks using duct tape to mark the areas that I will paint and pray it will look good.  For his face, I will paint on the facial hair and white around his eyes.
For the wolf and kitty I bought a set of hoodies and leggings, black for Helena and gray for Sophie.  The wolf fur is black and brown.  The kitty will be mostly gray, but I also have some white as well.  I’m flying by the seat of my pants with these as I have no pattern.  I think I will cut the fur in the shape of the sweatshirt and hand stitch it onto the sweatshirt.  I’m not sure if I should do full sleeves, or just patches.  If I have time, I’ll cover the sweatshirt hoods and try and make the furry ears stand up with pipe cleaners.  I really don’t know how much I should cover their legs.  I will make them each a tail and stitch a patch of fur to their gloves.  I’ll make felt shoe wraps and stitch some fur on there as well.  A little face paint should finish up the look.  If anyone has words of advice or ideas, please let me know.
Now back to that amazing party.  The kids filled the good behavior jar just in time for a fall harvest party, so we decided that would be their reward.  I met Chris through the C2P2-EI training and then his wife Kim and their gorgeous children.  Kim’s parents throw this bash every October and man oh man do they know how to do it up.  On their property they have goats, ducks, alpacas, and miniature horses.  The party took place mostly outside complete with a DJ running a dance party on the drive way, a fantastic spread of food, open bar, and a kitchen full of desserts (which Helena somehow found right away).  Behind the house they had turned the trails into haunted trails.  Each section had a different theme, such as the Civil War.  You could walk the trails or take a golf cart to explore them.
Alexander made a new friend and I enjoyed catching up with Chris and Kim.  Helena stuck by my side and Sophie boogied down on the dance floor with Mark to the Monster Mash and Gangnam Style.  The place was packed with the nicest people you ever want to meet and I got a kick out of seeing all the older gents with their tweed Irish flat caps.  I really want one of my own.  (Cap, not older gent, that is).

The school is having a Halloween party and costume contest on Friday, so I need to get to those costumes.  Please send good vibes that I get them done in time!