School photos are back. Both Kitty and Jack look like they've grown so much. Now that they are both in school fulltime, I find myself thinking I wish we had had more children because I miss them during the day. I totally get how parents get depressed when their child goes to college, i.e. 'empty nest syndrome.' I get it and I still have my kids living at home.
With a lot of hard work over the past month, Thom has finished the retaining wall. Jack, Kitty and the neighborhood kids have been using the unfinished earth at the top of the wall as a 'dirt box.' Like a sand box but with dirt. Honestly, I love that they are having so much fun with it. The downside is that it makes the front of our house look unfinished, uncared for, and not very enjoyable to look at. Our plan of planting a groundcover there had Jack very upset. Thom has decided he will build a large circle in the center of the bed with edging stones and that can be the dirt box. I've tried to get Jack interested in the dirt we have behind the house, but for some reason the front of the house spot is all so more enticing.
I've been making costumes. Kitty is going to be a ninja and Jack is going to be a WW 2 soldier. I'm 95% done with Kitty's... I used a pattern for the coat and then made up the belt/hanging part of sash as I went along. She's going to wear it with black pants. I need to make her a hood and red straps to go on the bottom part of her legs. Jack's is shaping up to be harder... I've made him an amunition belt which I am very proud of and took 4-5 hours of work. I bought a man's shirt to fashion as a jacket, but after trying it on him I've realized how stupid this huge shirt will look when I've tried to resize it. So, I'll be off to the thrift stores tomorrow to try to find something suitable. I also want to make leather-looking spats that will be his 'boots.' Of course, it goes almost without saying, that I will be making him one of my custome made duct tape helmets. This will be my third... the first was a medieval helmet for Halloween '09 and the second was the Roman helmet for drama camp this year. I've been in a bit of a cerative slump recently, so I am happy for the energy and enthusiasm making these costumes gives me!
