The next part of the costume is the helmet. I found a $3 plastic army helmet at Walmart that fit Fuller perfectly. It was olive drab, so it needed to be painted. I picked up two cans of Krylon Fusion spray paint (blue and white). I first painted the helmet white. Then, I printed out an “A” on regular white paper, taped waxed paper and masking tape on the back of it, and cut out the letter. Then, I removed the masking tape from the waxed paper and applied it to the white helmet.

Fuller was really upset at this point since the helmet was white with a blue “A” instead of vice versa. I tried to explain the process to him, but he didn’t get it. Ultimately, I had to insist everything was OK and move on.

I painted the helmet blue. After it dried, I peeled away the tape “A” and was left with a very nice reproduction of Cap’s WWII helmet.

To make the anklets, I eye-balled a rough pattern, cut out the pieces and dyed them along with all the other red items. Then, I sewed them together and added “leather” straps and hook and loop tape. Initially, the anklets extended too far down the boots, so I folded them under and resewed the ends shorter. I added a row of buttons down the closures as a nice visual touch.

My mom called me Saturday evening to ask where we were. Since I hadn’t updated the blog(s) or twitter, she thought we were traveling again! I assured her we were all safe at home, just a little busy. And yesterday we rested and tried to keep cool after a good morning of church and Sunday School.

But our lives march on and here I present blogging tapas, with picture proof.

Football practice is back in full swing here in our backyard. Not only does it give Fuller some basics to learn, it gives him an extra outlet for all his energy. As hard as I try, I just can’t do it by myself. So football practice with Coach Daddy helps. Damon says Fuller is getting faster and more coordinated, so I think it helps.

Since the weather is cooler, we are finding ourselves back at the playground more and more. We met up with some friends one evening (after covering ourselves in Off!) and other days we just find friends already there. For me, the bonus is seeing other moms I haven’t seen in a long time!

Last week Cold Stone Creamery had their annual ice cream social. This meant free ice cream (yum!) so of course we headed downtown to check it out. When we arrived there, this gang from Star Wars was visiting and letting people take pictures. Since the ice cream social was to help the Make A Wish foundation, I’m thinking the Star Wars troop had something to do with that. To us, it just meant Fuller got to see R2D2 up close and personal.

And then we just have the normal, everyday kind of fun. Damon has gone grocery shopping with us twice now (he helps lift the heavy stuff, since I can’t lift anything over 20 pounds) and we went to the recycling center. We had some more marshmallow fun outside after watching Auburn win on Saturday. And I made a lunch on Sunday that had Damon licking his plate and asking me to make it in bulk to freeze.

We have a busy week ahead of us, getting ready for the Vanderbilt game and Fuller’s birthday (he’ll be 4!). Have a happy Monday!

Technorati Tags: blogging tapas, Cold Stone Creamery, Star Wars, football practice

Our church’s Moms’ Group as a quarterly junk swap where we can offload our unwanted stuff to other moms or send it on to the goodwill bins. The “junk” ranges from kids clothing of all sizes, books, toys, and appliances.

This past Wednesday was the latest junk swap. I don’t usually go to the piles with a specific item of need in mind, I just glance over the stuff wondering if I can fit anything else into my house. When I was sitting on the floor wondering, I had an brainstorm that yes, there was something I needed and it might be in the piles. So I just said, “Anyone have any boy’s pants size 5T, XS, or Small?” And low and behold the mom of six boys had just the thing.

Last week, when the weather was being consistently chilly, we dug out Fuller’s pants and he had two pairs that still fit. One pair was a bit on the short side. And then on Tuesday the knee actually came through another pair. I hadn’t had a chance to get to the thrift store, but knew shorts season was coming to an end.

Adding three pairs of pants that fit Fuller (for free) was golden to me. The mom even said she had more at home and gave me orders to not buy any. Thank goodness for junk!

Technorati Tags: junk swap, kid’s clothes, pants

Hello Crumley Family log readers! My name is Tiffany. I know Alli through high school. I had a blog and mrscrumley was the reason I had started blogging. Sadly, I no longer blog but am facing a parenting dilemma I would like you as readers to give your opinion and thoughts on.

I have an almost 6 year old little girl. For 2 years she has asked play soccer. I am a softball person, I know a little bit about basketball, and have never really been a fan of soccer, mainly because I don’t know anything about it. I tried to steer her into other things sports related (she is a dancer, something she asks to do). Finally I gave in and signed her up for soccer. We have played three games.

My daughter she is small, she is not much of a runner. But playing soccer is something she loves. We go to every practice that doesn’t interfere with her one night of dance, and she is excited about practice and games.

Now here is what is all new to me. The parents are competitive. Even at practice they are yelling at their kid to “go get that ball” or “don’t let them pass you” and various other things. I agree with no horseplay, you are out there to learn and to practice, but the other stuff at practice?????

The games are 10 times worse. Last week’s game was the worst. It was a rival coach’s team (notice I said coach) he had to win. Our team won but at the expense of not letting a few of the kids play or if they did play is was for about 3 minutes. These kids were heartbroken and my daughter was part of that group.

Last night’s game really ticked me off. These parents that I speak of, the ones that yell in practice, well, they root for the “good” players on the team. They get upset when their kid is sent out of the game so others can play or are ticked when their kid is sent to play defense. These are 5 and 6 year olds, people. They did not try out for this team. My nieces are in sports (one of which is 15) and this is the first time I have been exposed to this type of competitive nature. Is it just soccer? Is it just my town?

And now the heart wrenching part: My sister was very good in sports. I was not into it as much as she was but I loved to play softball. I was made fun of. My daughter, I think is in that category. I don’t think she is going to be very good at sports, unless she does something that doesn’t involve running (could be a good long distance runner maybe, she paces herself).

So HOW as a parent do you watch as your daughter(child) is looked down upon or made fun of because she is not as good as the others? How do you handle the hurt when she is having a good time and loves it but doesn’t get to play?

Are you a soccer parent? What kind are you? Do you cheer for the whole team or just the good ones? Do you get upset if your child is taken out? Has another parent ever confronted you about your attitude or child? Are you an any other sport parent? Is this type of sportsmanship in every young sport?

Technorati Tags: soccer parents, children’s sports, competitive sports

Last week’s story time was Spanish themed. The books had Spanish words, the kids did a ring around the rosy/ Mexican Hat Dance, and the movie was Pueblo Pluto. Fuller had a blast making a fake pinata. He got to pick out the tissue paper for the outside and I was convinced he would get all green tissue paper (his favorite color!), but instead he wanted to make a duplicate of the demo pinata. I thought it was so cute.

I picked out most of the books this week and they were all pretty much a hit. Here is what we read:

Danny and the Dinosaur go to Camp – Fuller really liked the first Danny and the Dinosaur and he was interested in the concept of the same characters being in a new book.

Andrew’s Amazing Monsters- this book was a hit because Andrew was using his imagination to create Monsters! And the Monsters! were colorful, silly, and had a party. The Monsters! were a big hit with Fuller. If your kid likes monsters, this book is full of them.

Spicy Hot Colors: Colores Picantes- this is one of the books Miss Halley read during story time. Being able to check out one of the books read during story time reinforces the concept she was trying to demonstrate. Fuller got really excited to have that book, remembering it from the library and enjoying learning the Spanish words for colors. His favorite Spanish color is amarillo (yellow). I thought it would be verde, but apparently favorite colors work differently in Spanish.

Just Me & My Dad – this book has beautiful artwork and imagination. Fuller liked it ok, but it wasn’t a repeat performer during our reading time.

I Read Symbols – this is a picture book of street signs and common icons found in our everyday world. Fuller loved telling me what each sign meant. The back of the book gives the correct answers in case parents forget their driver’s ed training manuals. This was a great book to have Fuller read to me.

Tacky the Penguin – Fuller has a love of penguins mainly because of our frequent visits to the aquarium. This book teaches being different isn’t a bad thing, and can sometimes help people think outside the box. This was a book Fuller enjoyed sitting down and looking at on his own.

Mr. Putter & Tabby Row the Boat – this book is actually a book on CD. I wanted to introduce Fuller to the concept of the books on CD because I think they are neat. And he was equally impressed. He got the concept of turning the page when the CD “dinged” and enjoyed following the different chapters. The story wasn’t too memorable, but Fuller liked the experience.

Today is Thursday, so we will pick up another round of books later. I’m so happy Fuller still enjoys this part of our week. And I like how it is free!

Technorati Tags: library, story time, preschool books

This morning our family had what I felt was truly a magical moment. We all were in the room to meet this little person:

It was an experience I hope Fuller will remember, but he probably won’t. He had questions, mainly regarding the instrument the ultrasound technician was using. Her explanation was it was a flashlight used to see the baby inside my tummy. Damon was able to use the Superman/ x-ray vision analogy and Fuller seemed to understand better.

Fuller picked up on some key words and when we were walking into the house, holding his own copy of the ultrasound pictures he said, “The baby inside your tummy is fine, Mommy?” It was so sweet and heartwarming. And it also meant he didn’t pick up on the placenta previa discussion that went on in the tech’s room and the quick follow-up in the doctor’s office.

We were able to determine the sex of the baby and that coveted information has gone to lucky bidder Amanda S. There is a little backstory with Amanda. She has been one our family’s fans since way back when I was an anonymous fertility blogger using the internet to cry tears over all the failures and the best success ever- Fuller.

She left a comment on Always, Alli which I will share here:

Hooray, hooray, I won on eBay. And I’ve decided for now to keep it to myself. I can say this much. Alli assures me that it most definitely is NOT a lima bean. Which is a relief, because the first set of u/s images taken some weeks ago left doubts. Today’s apparently clear up that question entirely.

Or so they tell me. So for now, we shall assume that Not-Bean Crumley is most definitely of human origin.

Huzzah!

Here’s hoping for an excellent 21 more weeks.

Technorati Tags: pregnancy, ultrasound