Feeling crafty??

So... I am feeling a bit ambitious about Halloween this year. It's Jenni's fault. I'm going to say that now and get it over with. I had myself convinced that Ella's old monkey costume would be for Benjamin and I would try to squeeze Ella into her ladybug costume from last year. (Well, there would probably be a lot of squeezing actually, since the monkey is 6-12 month size.) Anyway. So Jenni had to go and mention dressing her kids up in complimentary costumes and my mind started whirring, bringing me back to the angst of two years ago. I have an idea and considering the relative simplicity of the costumes, I cannot currently bear to spend a total of $50. Of course, I have not yet tried to do them on my own, so we will see what happens. Maybe I will soon find $50 a small price to pay to put me out of my misery. No, I will not reveal my super secret plan or my slightly less secret backup plan. That would bring about a more specific sort of accountability and I can't deal with that kind of pressure. I'll give you a hint: it's not Raggedy Ann and Andy... or DJ Lance Rock and Foofa... although Benjamin as DJ Lance brings a smile to my face.

Also on the crafty side of things... I am contemplating making Ella a flannel board. This may be one of my more brilliant ideas, or it may be a flop. Either way, it is inexpensive and the idea of it makes me happy. I mean, who among us does not get warm fuzzies when recalling items like this from childhood? (Well, maybe Scott since he claims to have never seen one. My response is what kind of church did you go to anyway?) Sunday school would not have been the same without the flannelgraph. It makes me want to bust out an off-key rendition of "The B-I-B-L-E". My first plan of action? Veggie Tales characters. They are easy to replicate and Ella has a fairly decent obsession going with them right now. So perhaps as soon as tomorrow, I'll be off to Jo Ann Fabrics to scoop up some flannel.