Sorta, Kinda Fall

Fall is officially upon us! Well, technically speaking anyway. It was still a balmy eighty degrees this weekend, but there was a breeze! Saturday we actually had the door open all day long and no AC and it was glooorious! I always look forward to this time of the year, and I hope it lasts a while. Around these parts, fall is like a game of cat and mouse. I excitedly prepare for it as soon as the end of September rolls around; decorate the house and pull out the knee-high boots, thick tights and sweaters. But just as quickly as a cool day comes, it is gone in an instant. A chilly morning is replaced by a sweltering afternoon. You just never really know what you're going to get!

But no matter what the weather is like, decorating for fall is a must. Okay, well, it is from now on. Admittedly I haven't done a whole lot of it in the past, but as soon as I entered motherhood my inner wannabe-crafter was awakened. I'm still a beginner though, so when you compare what I've made to the pictures from the link with directions, try to stifle your laughter, please.

Behold! My fall yarn wreath. I first saw this on a blog I frequent and couldn't wait to make one of my own. Here's what I learned in the process:

1. Yarn is more expensive than I thought. Bummer.

2. Foam wreaths are kind of hard to find this time of the year. Apparently everyone and their mother wants to make their own?

3. This requires some patience. Patience is no virtue of mine. Might be why it pales in comparison to Amy's.

All of the stores are having 50% and more sales on all of their fall accessories. It's almost Halloween and clearly that means they have to make room for their Christmas decor. It's insane and a little irritating to walk down an aisle of stockings and ornaments the first week of October, but hey, if that means that I am getting this adorable pumpkin for less than ten bucks?! I'm all for it. 

We usually have a cute bowl sitting in the middle of the dining room table. I like it, but usually you cannot even see it because it has become the inevitable catch-all of mail, receipts, pens, etc. The only time it ever really gets moved is during the Christmas season, or when Dan buys me flowers. So, basically two or three times a year (just kidding, babe!). I originally wanted to find some ceramic pumpkins and gourds and just spray paint them a glossy white, a la Young House Love style, but I don't really have the time to go on a bargain hunt for them. What I did have time for was picking up the real thing, along with a good sized pumpkin, while grocery shopping. I do love to be efficient!  And I'm all about bringing the outdoors in with natural elements. We spruced up the arrangement with some faux fall leaves we scored for a dollar on a recent trip to JoAnn's Fabrics. Woot!

We had some extra leaves left over and went ahead and decorated the shelf behind the dining room table. I especially like the way they look in the vintage hurricane lamps. I also broke out the cricut and made the "Autumn" sign. The crappy picture doesn't do it justice, but I love it. The letters are cut out of a brown paper with little orange and yellow flowers. Anytime I can work some girlie flowers into the decor, I'm a happy girl! 

Well, other than the pumpkin pillow on the couch and Haeden's skeleton jammies, that about does it for us! Now to just sit back and wait for Mother Nature to tease us with some more autumn-ish weather...

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine (Hi, Crystal!) asked me to watch a documentary called "Invisible Children". She then told me that she wanted to have a screening to help raise money for the organization that not only made the documentary, but continues to fund, educate and build schools for the children in Northern Uganda. Invisible Children also strives to bring political and social awareness to this 24-year war that continues to wage on.

Here is a little more information (which I stole from Crystal's email):

"Invisible Children: Rough Cut" is a documentary that was filmed in 2003 by three aspiring film makers in their twenties who ventured to Africa to find a story. What they found was shocking and terrifying. The war in Africa had forced families out of their homes in fear for their lives. This, in itself, is something that we, as Americans, can't really often wrap our heads around, but the ones who suffer most are the children. In Northern Uganda, children were being abducted by rebel soldiers and trained to become soldiers themselves. Children as young as six years old were being stolen from their families and trained to KILL.


The organization (www.invisiblechildren.com) was formed to stop this from happening. In recent years, since its inception, Invisible Children has made great strides to save these children and to educate, not only THEM, but US and it is an organization that I stand firmly behind and hope that you will too.
"Go" is a film which documents a group of young American students who get to visit Northern Uganda and meet with some of the child soldiers who were able to escape the rebels and hear their stories of war. I have had the opportunity to host a screening of this film and see it for the first time (hopefully along with all of you) on October 24th at 5pm and meet two Ugandan women who want to share their stories with us."


I hope my friends and family will join me for the FREE screening. If you cannot attend, I urge you to spread the word about not only the event, but the cause itself. You can log onto their website invisiblechildren.com for more information, or if you're interested, get your own copy of the documentary. I must warn you though, you won't get through it without being inspired to DO something. Also, you will cry. A lot.

17 Months

A little over a week ago, Haeden turned 17 months old. I can hardly believe he will be a year and a half next month. We all know that infancy, toddlerhood, childhood... life, it all goes by so fast. But these past few months have just been insane. I have so many plans to capture his little personality, his sweet smile and infectious laugh. It seems that every time he does something new or funny (usually both) I say, "We have to record this!" But, honestly, most of the time it doesn't happen because we're out and about, or the camera isn't near by, or somebody would just die if there were photographic evidence of the way she looked at that moment. The good intentions just tend to fall by the wayside, overshadowed by the daily grind and usual routine.

I hope to get better at this. And I hope that blogging continues to motivate me to do so, because I don't want to forget anything about life with Haeden right now. Except, maybe, that high-pitched scream. That has got to go soon.

I'm an Angel

No, really! It's true. I recently became a Chemo Card Angel, and I think you should, too. I don't know a single person whose life hasn't been touched by cancer. Chemo Angels is a program dedicated to supporting people with cancer by matching them with their very own "Angel". As an Angel you are asked to send little notes, cards and sometimes a small gift on a weekly basis. I try to send a little something to my own twice a week.  It doesn't take much time or money and yet it brings a lot of joy to a lot of people who are otherwise going through a very difficult time in their lives.

The hardest part for me has just been trying to figure out what to write. I don't lead the most exciting life and most of my days can sort of be summed up into one little acronym... SSDD (same shit, different day)! ha! And so, I usually end up talking about Haeden. I told my patient that it was either that or work, and I figure Haeden is a lot more interesting!

If that wasn't convincing enough, read on. Here are a couple of patient testimonies:

"My son was signed up with your program until he died. I wanted to let you know that your organization was the best thing for my son. If you could have seen his eyes light up when he received things in the mail! You really lit up his life and I wanted to thank you myself. Thank you for all your organization did for him."


" I love my Chemo Angel! I believe she has to be a true Angel. She ALWAYS knows exactly when I need some cheering up! I don't know where you found her, but I want you to know I love her!"
 
If you think you have what it takes to become a Chemo Angel... sign up here!