Halloween Happenings

This year, I decided to make Mr. One and Mr. Two's Halloween costumes from scratch.  I bravely made my own patterns with what I had in their closets to make a bat/dragon (After choosing to be a black bat and having his costume finished, he decided he wanted to be Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon.  Luckily Toothless looks a lot like a black bat...) costume and a ghost costume.  Mr. Three wore Mr. One's baby spider costume from his first Halloween.  (Gotta love hand-me-downs!)  I have to say, this was challenging, but I am so happy with the end results.

I finished both costumes a few weeks before Halloween, which was good for several reasons.  First, they were able to have fun wearing them for weeks instead of just one day.  Second, I quickly became involved in several projects by the end of October that took up a lot of time.  It was a blessing to have them done and not have to be up all night sewing.

We went to my parents' neighborhood carnival Wednesday night before Halloween with the boys.  Poor Mike was really sick with strep throat, so he couldn't come (sniff!!)  It was fun to be there with my parents and sisters for the evening.  Mr. One found the inflatable bouncy rooms and the fish pond with prizes and was a happy camper.  Mr. Two discovered the joys of cotton candy and was happy as well.  Mr. Three was just glad to be held all night.

Saturday night we had our church Halloween carnival and trunk or treat.  This is how Mr. One enjoyed the evening.

 

This is how Mr. Two and Mr. Three enjoyed the evening.  They slept through the whole carnival!  Mr. One promised to share his treats and prizes with his brother, so all was good.

On Halloween night, we ate dinner with my mom's side of the family.  We let the boys dress up, but we didn't trick or treat.  It was nice to spend time eating and chatting with family.  It was a perfect night outside, so we ate out on the porch and let the boys run around in the grass. 

 

My aunt loves Halloween, so her decor didn't disappoint.  It was fun for the boys to look at all her decorations and we tried to snap a few cute pics of them together.

This is the only pic we got of the three of them that turned out.  Luckily, it's a pretty darn cute one!

On Whales and Water Fountains

(Birch Aquarium 2008)

On our way to school, we pass a large water fountain at the corner of a shopping center.  My kids love to shout "Water fountain!" and point it out every. single. day.
For the past week or so, the water has been drained and the fountain wall is being resurfaced.
Let me just say, it is a bit disappointing, especially to Mr. Two, who wants to know just who is responsible for this.
As we were driving home, this was the conversation in the car:

Mr. One:  "Mom, I bet they got the whales out of there."
Me:  "What, where are whales?"
Mr. One:  "The whales.  You know, like Shamu whales?  In the fountain."
Me:  "How do you know there are whales in the fountain?"
Mr. One:  "Well, I don't know, but I think there used to be whales in there."
Me:  "Why do you think there were whales in there?"
Mr. One:  "Because of the water squirting up in the fountain. (like blowholes)"
Me:  (smiling and trying really hard not to laugh) "I think that's a very interesting observation.  Whales do squirt water out of their blowholes like that."

Lesson learned:  Turning off the radio, talking and listening to your children provides some priceless insights.

Argyle Baby Bib

This is a twist on Ashley's repurposed tee into a baby bib on Make it and Love it.  Her version was adorable, but girly.  I wanted something fun for my little man, so I decided to make an argyle bib.  You can follow the original tutorial for how to put the bib together here.  One little note:  Before sewing the bib pieces together, I ironed on a square of interfacing where the snaps would go.  This reinforced the bib.

Now, I'll explain how to get the argyle print on your bib.

You will cut one extra bib piece and pin it underneath the front piece (this is the striped fabric on my bib).

Next, I made a diamond template on a piece of paper with my ruler.  I traced one diamond onto the center of the bib front with a disappearing ink pen.  I then used a ruler to draw a straight vertical line across the bib, through the middle points of my diamond.  This helped me to trace the two side diamonds straight.

I took my front pieces and sewed where I had drawn my diamonds.  Then, I cut away the top material only to expose the stripes.

Next, I placed my diamond template with the side point of the diamond in the center of my center diamond and pinned in place.  Using my ruler, I lined up the diamond edges and traced and extended line onto my bib along all four edges.

Repeat on other side of bib.

Lastly, I sewed along all of my drawn lines (except the vertical line I drew earlier to line up the diamonds).

Instead of using a backstitch, I pulled my threads through to the back of the bib front and tied the ends together in a tight knot.  This made the stitches look more finished.

And there you have a fun argyle print on your little man's bib!

Pumpkin Decorating

Decorating pumpkins is a must-do annual Halloween activity.

Mike's favorite pumpkins come from the pumpkin patch, large and heavy and full of their own character, ready for carving. The boys dig in, literally. I am happy to sit and watch. No thank you to touching the pumpkin guts!

Here's this year's jack-o-lantern creations.

Legos are a favorite toy here, so it was only natural to make a Lego pumpkin.

This one was nicknamed "Skeleton Pumpkin" by our boys.

My favorite pumpkin decorating involves cream cheese frosting, and pumpkin smells wafting from the oven. Find the recipe here.

The boys were eager to help with the decorating.

Then, they lost interest and Mike joined the decorating fun as well.

Of course, everyone was willing to join in the eating.

Pumpkins will always be an integral part of our Halloween, whether carved or eaten. We love them both.

Halloween Preschool Fun

We've been doing lots of really informal preschool activities at our house with a Halloween twist.  Here are a few of my 2 (almost 3) year old's favorites:

Spider Web Rubbings

You can read the how-to on this post.  I made it a bit easier for a younger child by putting the web and the tracing paper on a clip board to keep it stabilized.

Bean Tub

Yes, this one is still a huge hit.  See how-to here.

Toy Toss

Mr. Two loves tossing these little guys into our pumpkin trick or treat buckets.

Haunted House Math Bag Book

Still a bit hit.  I laminated all of the pieces for extra durability.  How-to is here (as well as some of my favorite Halloween stories).

Eraser fun

I found a bunch of Halloween erasers on clearance last year.  These are great for sorting, patterning, counting, matching and just throwing around the living room.  That's how we roll...
 
And of course, lots of Halloween stories.  We love a good not-so-scary book.

One of Those Days

You know those days when your best laid plans stay that way.

Just best laid plans.

That was today.

I woke up late.

The kids were grumpy.

The baby decided not to take a nap.

I rushed out the door in the morning, three kids in tow, with only one absolute have-to-get item in mind to purchase.

Realized I needed gas in the car.

Made several wrong turns.

Didn't find the one item I had to get, and left stores empty handed.

Rushed to pick up my five year old at lunch time (it was a half day for school).

Made lunch while baby screamed and other children teased each other to tears.

Watched as aforementioned lunch ended up splattered all over the dining room floor.

Let children run amok while feeding the baby (so at least one child would not be crying).

Prayed for time to speed up so that I could unload children at Grammie's house to go to parent teacher conferences with Handsome Husband.

As the time comes, I gladly shut the door on the macaroni and cheese, toy-strewn floors and messy bedrooms.

Then, conference time.

Adult interaction!

Mr. One is doing very well academically and is charming and well behaved in class.

Laughed with teachers.

Walked out the door holding my husband's hand.

Heaved a sigh of relief that something went right today.

Collected kids from Grammie's house.

Went to Sonic for dinner.

Sat on the living room floor, picnic style to eat and watch "How to Train Your Dragon."

Finally laughed and smiled with my family.

Forgot, at least for a little while how worthless I felt earlier.

Put the kids to bed with smiles and thank you's on their lips.

Said a prayer of thanks for those smiles.

I needed them tonight.

Maybe my day wasn't so bad after all.

October Break, Dinner and a Movie

Thursday night was movie and dinner night at Grammie and Grandpa's house.

For dinner, I made Loaded Baked Potato Soup (found here), with rolls and veggies on the side.  Even though it is still in the 90's here, it is officially fall, so soup sounded good.  One of these days, it will actually feel like fall outside...

After dinner, we snuggled into the couches for a movie.  The boys needed popcorn, so we popped a bag (even though the rest of us were already full from dinner).  We watched a few episodes of Wallace and Gromit together.  (Gotta love some dry British humor.)  The kids loved them as much as the adults.

The best part of the evening had to be the dessert:  gingersnap pizookies, topped with pumpkin ice cream and drizzled with warm caramel sauce.  (This was a collaborative creation from me and my husband.  He loves pumpkin ice cream.  I love pizookies.  We were musing a while back about making a pizookie with pumpkin ice cream instead of vanilla.  Well, we remembered these fantastic gingersnaps and the caramel sauce, and this is what we came up with.)  Doesn't it just sound heavenly?  Trust me, it was!  They were quickly gobbled up by kiddos and adults alike.  I think this is one of the few desserts that my Handsome Husband may have eaten more of than me.  (I'm the one with the stronger sweet tooth.)  Want to make one?  Here's the recipe:

First, make the cookie dough:

Anneta's Sparkling Gingersnaps (my aunt's recipe)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

cream together:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses

add:
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon allspice

mix in:
4 cups flour

Now, this cookie recipe is delicious all on its own, so you can just bake the cookies up and be happy.

To make cookies:  make balls with dough and roll in sugar.  Place on cookie sheet (leave room for the t spread out) and bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let it on cookie sheet for a few minutes after, then remove and cool on cooling rack.

Happy is good, but want to really wake up your taste buds and try something even better than happy? Keep reading.

To make the pizookie:

Scoop in and press a generous amount of dough into pizookie skillet (or if you don't have one, you can use custard cups or ramekins).  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes (the edges will be browned, but the center will still be soft).

Remove from oven and top with (while still warm):

a few scoops of pumpkin ice cream
a generous drizzle of caramel sauce (you can use jarred sauce, or try out this recipe which is even better)

Try to be nice and share, but I'm warning you, it will be difficult.  Very. Difficult.  I think this may be one of the best desserts ever.  And it doesn't even involve chocolate.  Now that is saying a lot! 

There you have a perfect fall dinner and a movie.  I think this was the best October Break activity so far.

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