Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Run Away!

It's getting right spooky up in here, peeps.

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Ok, maybe the green ball & picnic blanket make the scene slightly less terrifying. But just slightly, right?

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This dead guy has been dubbed "Pottin' Pete" by Dash. We don't know why.

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At night he lights up & his heart (visible through his chest cavity, obvs) beats. It's awesome & revolting.

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This head used to drop down & shriek as people approached. It's probably best that he stopped working. Who knows how many peoples' lives were significantly shortened due to the sheer terror of it.

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I made that Jolly Roger. Right?

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Closer look? Well, ok!

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Uh oh. Wonder how long he's been out here.

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Just doing a little maintenance around the house. I told you, we really get into the spirit around here.

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We made those ghosties out of scraps of linen, balled up newspapers & twist ties. Dash drew the horrifying faces.

OK, Halloween party next! I know you can't wait!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Tic Toc

Dash is lately a cornucopia of tics. There's the tracing shapes with his nose. There's the ceaseless throat clearing. There's this indescribable thing he does that's like a cross between burping and throat singing. And there's the newest: Deeeeeep breath, hold it hold it! OK let it out. Start again.

Well. We know that four-year-olds are just weird, tic-y things and we know that none of this is health-related (we ruled out allergies because the allergy medicine had the effect of zilch, and we ruled out asthma because he's never had any difficulty breathing). But still. We worried. So today Josh took him to the doctor, just to make sure. And the doctor confirmed that the kid is just mostly made of crazy and not to worry too much, but he did ask about anxiety in the home. Specifically he asked if any anxiety in the home was due to marital problems and, can I just say how amazing it is to be able to say no?

I won't lie. There was a moment about a year ago when things were less than ideal. When I honestly wasn't sure we'd make it. When I had lost faith in myself as a wife. It was, of course, during the blackest time of my life and not true reality, but I haven't forgotten that feeling. It's still close enough to me that I don't take for granted the fact that one of my favorite things these days is to hold Josh's scruffy face in my palms and plant kiss after kiss on him. That sometimes, when we're making dinner or doing the dishes, we'll occasionally stop what we're doing & just wrap our arms around one another and squeeze like hell. That I look at my son's beautiful face and am overcome with joy to see Josh in there.

Josh accepted a job offer yesterday. It is his dream job. It is better than anything we'd hoped for and it is going to change our lives significantly. It came at just the craziest time, when we'd sort of given up hope and started planning our lives around his staying home with Dash. But it came, and our plans changed again and we're thrilled.

But, can I also say? The second best part for me (after watching my husband & best friend's dreams come true) is knowing that we didn't need this for our marriage. That we were doing pretty great without it. That the stress of his being out of work for nine long months didn't break us. That we got to "for poorer" and we muscled through.

Now all we really have to worry about is how the fuck we're ever going to be able to sit through a movie with Dash the human beatbox next to us.

Friday, October 08, 2010

Boo, Motherfucker

The crazy lady is getting hyped for Halloween!

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I printed out poison labels from here & stuck them to pretty much every surface in the house. Including the cats (just kidding) (maybe).

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Fake barbed wire on the chandelier. (Dash was with me when I bought it & then I spent the next 20 minutes explaining what barbed wire was and then the next 45 minutes after that listening to his way better ideas about how to keep bad guys out of junkyards.)

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Jar of little skulls. That's a weird thing to write.

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Mantle with my haunted neighborhood from a couple years ago.

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This is a vintage trick or treat bag. There's another one on the other side of the wall but I didn't take a picture of it. Thoroughness is for suckers.

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Terrifying spider created by Dash. (Can I just kvell for one second? Look at how he drew those eyebrows to make the spider look sinister. The kid is an artist I tell you. Either that or he just has a greater than normal understanding of evil. Hm.) The balloon is slightly less terrifying, but, you know, we indulge him.

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Evil greenhouse from Michael's. Shut up. It was half off and I had an extra 20% off coupon. It was practically free. And I love it. Deeply.

OK, outside pics coming soon!

Saturday, October 02, 2010

Shark Bite

We got Rock Band. If you have any delusions of still being cool despite being a 39-year-old mom, singing Eye of the Tiger at the top of your lungs will cure you of them right quick.

That said, please meet Shark Bite, lead singer of our band, Zombie Rock Wolf: