Monthly Archives: October 2016

Happy Halloween: Ready for Take-off with My Little Astronaut!

By

During the early summer, my little girl proclaimed, “I’m going to be an astronaut for Halloween!” Like most children, I figured she’d change her mind, especially since Halloween was about a half year away, but each time I’d ask, she’d say, “I want to be an astronaut, Mommy! I want to be an astronaut when I grow up!” Finding her costume was no problem, but figuring out what I was going to be as our family theme was a bit tricky.

2016-10-31-16-42-45

2016-10-29-15-59-32

2016-10-29-16-00-06

2016-10-31-16-38-06

A Quick Selfie with My Little Astronaut before Trick or Treating

Last year, she was Doc McStuffins, and I was Lambie, so I wanted to keep with the idea of not wearing the east costumes but having them be related. I thought about being an alien that my three year old encountered. Then I considered being a planet. As I mentioned it to my mom around August, she said, “How about being a rocket?!””A rocket!” I pondered. I really liked the idea. After getting the “thumbs up” from my daughter, I immediately started looking for costumes and ideas. Unfortunately, I came up empty with finding an adult-size rocket costume, so I put my creative skills to the test again, as I did last year with my Lambie costume, and decided to make a rocket dress.

 

I purchased the silver fabric and tulle from Joann Fabric, using 20 percent off coupons, of course and then watched a few youtube videos on making a basic dress. Then it occurred to me, “Why not use one of my maxi dresses as a template for creating the dress pattern” Even though I sewed the dress by hand, having the template from my maxi dress worked out perfectly and made the process much easier and quicker.

To create the flame, I used a combination of red, yellow and orange tulle and fabric, interchanging the colors and materials on an one fourth inch elastic band. Once that part was done, I used a hot glue gun to attach it to the dress. I was able to get the NASA logo online and print it on iron-on paper for the dress.

The next step was making a pointed hat as the rocket tip using some of the excess silver fabric. I was able to use some poster board I had from a previous project and opened up a party hat from Quinn’s birthday to get an idea of how I should cut and form the hat. Once that was done, I hot glued and stapled the fabric to the poster board then added blue rhinestones to sell out “USA.”

Even though the design of them was fun and easy to construct, making the wings was more tricky than I anticipated because I had to account for my body measurement to make the straps the appropriate size. I though elastic would work but found that the velcro straps I used to adhere them kept detaching. After giving it some thought, I decided to start all over and used overall fasteners so that the straps could be adjustable as needed. This worked out perfectly.

While designing and putting together this costume took a lot of thought, time and effort, I’m happy with the end result because it put a smile on Quinn’s face! We attended a party of the weekend, and many people loved our complementary costumes. My little girl even commented, “You’re my rocket because I’m the astronaut, Mommy!” Though she meant this literally, it can also be applied figuratively. Even when she is controlling her own destination, I am always willing to be the vehicle or means to help her reach to the moon, stars and beyond.

It was awesome to receive several compliments on our costumes and to big a “kid” again with my little girl trick or treating this evening. Our Halloween this year is out of this world!

All the best,

Tanya

 

Halloween & Fall Fun with My Little Girl 

By

I’ve always loved the fall season, and not just because my birthday is in October but because there’s so many wonderful activities and ways to have family fun. Last year, I did many activities with my little girl, and now that she’s three and in preschool during the week, she’s even more eager to have some autumn weekend fun. I didn’t want this season to go by without taking out some time to reflect on this fall and Halloween season.

Usually, I’d post separate entries on our adventures, but our new and very busy schedule has been an ongoing transition for us both. But I could not allow this season to go by without acknowledging all of the fun moments we’ve been having together.

This year, we kept with tradition, and my husband, Quinn and I went to a local pumpkin patch, Shadybrook Farms, to select pumpkins to decorate and to have some fun doing the different activities. Though it did rain a little, it was awesome seeing how much more involved she was in the pumpkin selecting process. She was so excited to get home and work on her pumpkin. Since Quinn loves Paw Patrol, we made a Marshall pumpkin, and it was actually quite effortless with the help of a kit from Target.

For the first time, we were able to attend the Harvest Festival in our township where there were hayrides, bouncers, face painting, treats and other activities. Though many of the bouncers were geared towards older children ,which was a bit frustrating for my little girl, especially since she wanted to follow behind her older cousin, she really enjoyed having her face painted like Hello Kitty.

While it does not involve what adults would be considered a “fun” activity, Quinn had a blast helping my husband and me rake leaves. Of course, she insisted on jumping in them after she helped rake a big pile of them together. Her laugh is absolutely infectious!

We couldn’t have Halloween and fall fun without visiting Quinn’s favorite amusement park, Sesame Place. We planned on attending last Saturday, but it was rained off and on all day. Though I had tons of papers to grade on Sunday, I carved out a few hours to take Quinn there so that she could see the Halloween version of the Sesame Place parade. We sat and waited on the parade route for over an hour to ensure that we had a good spot (it was already packed with people waiting). Just to see my little girl’s face light up with excitement made the wait well worth it.

Another “first” was attending the Halloween party at our local library for children five and under last Monday, October 24th. Even “Llama Llama, Red Pajama” stopped by to entertain the children. It was far more crowded than I anticipated, approximately 50 kids, but Quinn thoroughly enjoyed herself and didn’t want to leave. She’s always liked going to the library, but she now associates it with a fun-filled time.

This makes the third year in a row that we’ve attended the “Boo at the Zoo” event at the Philadelphia Zoo, and as always, it did not disappoint. Though I did not have Quinn wear her actual Halloween costume for fear of it getting dirty (It’s all white), she and my niece, who accompanied us, had a great time trick or treating, learning interesting facts, riding a few animals and seeing some of the animals as well. Plus, it’s always fun to see all of the children in their costumes.

Even though I haven’t been posting as frequently as I usually do, I am grateful for the moments I’m creating with my daughter. I love her so much and truly do enjoy our time together as a family. Here’s to autumn and Halloween fun! My fingers are crossed for good trick or treating weather tomorrow.

All the best,

Tanya