Halloween Festivities

We had the pleasure of going to Legoland with our family this past weekend to do Brick or Treat with the kids. We had so much fun, thanks Nana for the tickets, it was such a fun treat, no tricks here. It was so awesome to have the kids all together and watch them as they all enjoyed the various festivities. They all looked so darn cute in their costumes, Alyssa decided to wear something out of her dress up stash (I think it is her goal to be as many different things as she can possibly be this year *SMILE*). The kids just love hanging out with their cousin, Auntie & Uncle we are so blessed to have them live close by and be able to spend time with them often.

Rub it in . . .

Our family attended the wedding of a sweet friend of ours this past weekend. As we were waiting for the ceremony to begin, Lanny & I were playing games with the kids to keep them entertained and occupied. Drew and I started this game, where I would try to give him smooches on his cheek and he would try to dodge them; what ensued was giggles and laughter that couldn't be contained. I love a true belly laugh, there is nothing better. So when I would land one he would take his hand and pretend to wipe it off, and I told him he wasn't wiping them off, but rubbing them in for safe keeping ;)

Makes me Smile =)

For my rainbow fairy!!

My darling little lady has decided that she would like to be a rainbow fairy for Halloween. As we brainstormed to come up with what that costume is going to look like, we decided she would have a beautiful rainbow tutu, a dance style leotard, some footless tights and lots of sparkle (and rainbow wings, and wand, of course). Well I got started right away on her rainbow tutu. I found this wonderful tutorial at Little Birdie Secrets, for a chick costume, but we just adapted it for her character. Alyssa was thrilled with the final product (as was mommy). I will certainly make these again, as they were fun to do and so darn cute!!

Fun Themed Birthday Gifts

The kids and I went to a joint birthday party for some wonderful friends of ours. We put together some super fun themed gifts for the birthday boy and girl! The little ladies gift was the book Pinkalicious (a favorite at our house) and then added in some pink cake mix, pink frosting & some pink sprinkles. Then for the little guy we got the book The Very Lonely Firefly and included a luminary that we created with the firefly on the front and a battery operated flameless candle inside. The kids and I had a ton of fun putting these together and hope they will provide lots of family fun for the recipients and their families. The final touch on the gift were fun little creations that I helped the kids create with their perler beads (which have become a bit of an obsession at our house, more on that later).

Waiting for some yummy candy !!

So, I had a slightly different idea in my mind when I started working on this little project for the kids and our nephew, but the base product required a bit of adjustment to my original plan. I am SO thrilled with the outcome of these fun little buckets and can't wait to see the kids toting them around on Halloween night.

I started with a beach bucket style pail from Michael's , then added fun Halloween themed papers all the way around (because of the angles on the bucket, papers adhered the best when they were applied vertically). Once all strips were applied, I then used my Slice to cut out the letters for all of the kids names and adhered them to the themed paper on the bucket. Then I cut out some fun Halloween details to add to the buckets (candies, Frankenstein's, scarecrow's, trick - or- treaters, etc). I coated the paperwork with 3 layers of Decoupage and allowed to dry overnight, then I added small ribbons to the handles.

Here are a couple of pictures of the original bucket and the finished product. Because I had to alter the original design, I have one left to complete.

Rain, Rain Please DON"T Go Away

I LOVE THE RAIN!!!! It appears as though my children have the same zeal and excitement about this event. I love the coolness that is usually in the air, I love running (and jumping) in the puddles that are left behind, I love sitting on our front step and watching the kids run with reckless abandon and sheer delight through the puddles and trying to catch these wet little drops on their tongues. I LOVE THE RAIN!!!!

Most Recent Creations

Last night, I was on a roll and things were coming together so nicely (love it when that happens).

The first one is a page that captures Drew's first day of Kindergarten (as well as a bit of his handwriting).The next was also a photo taken on the first day of school for the kids, the picture was taken quickly at the end of the day as the kids greeted and played around with their Daddy. I really cherish this picture of the three of them as it just captures each of their personalities and interactions so well.
Next was a page I created to preserve a very precious letter that was given to me by my sweet young lady. It was a day that I was doing some work in her class and the kids were instructed to write a letter to anyone they wish, and my dear Alyssa slipped this under the stack of projects I was working on. I will treasure her sweet heart and her sweet words always.


Lastly, I completed a page that contains some pictures that were taken eight years ago, what a treat and a treasure it was to find these and to get them onto a completed layout. In the journaling I noted how there were 2 children amongst the group in this photo, if we were to all gather today there would be 12 =)

Makes Me Ridiculously Happy

LOVE YOU!!! MOMMA

Miniature pumpkins + Paint + Kids = Tons of Fun

Nana & Papa gave the kids these little cuties last week, so we broke out the acrylic paint and got them all jazzed up yesterday! Drew said his had a "stamp on his skin" I think that was his terminology for a tattoo. Then he came back and added eyebrows, too fun!






Then Alyssa's has delicate little features with "yellow hair, same as hers" and a cute little hair bow, she also gave it some darling little pink cheeks. She finished hers off with a Happy Halloween on the back. This was a super fun project and I think we will certainly do it again next year!

Lovely Little Fireflys!!

A few months ago as I was cruising around a couple of friends blogs, I stumbled upon these beauties. As soon as I saw them I knew I had to make them with the kids. I have always been a tremendous fan of Eric Carle's work, particularly the illustrations that are used in his works, they are so bright and beautiful, drawing you in even more to the story they accompany. Here are our finished results, we are going to get some of the battery operated tea lights to go in them so they can be displayed in their rooms, I may also add some wire and some nice sparkley beads so they can be hung.

Drying:
Dry and ready to flicker!

Let Fall Begin!!!!

So this weekend the kids and I worked on some craft projects I had been gathering goodies for.

Our first project was to complete a banner that was started from a project posted at Life with Little Ones, Corey had made some super cute leaf rubbings out of newspaper. I used this idea for one of our brownie meetings and the girls just loved it. When we got ours home, we realized that we needed it to be longer to span the distance of our mantel, so we headed to the front yard for a few more leaves. Once we were done with the rubbings and had cut them out, I added the letters F-A-L-L to four of the largest leaves for a wonderful banner to adorn our fireplace mantel.

Love the natural outdoor beauty that these rubbings bring to the indoors of our home.

A Saturday Morning Favorite in our House

So we all look forward to Saturday mornings in our house, it is the one day during the week that NONE of us have to get up and hurry out of the house. So in the spirit of an unhurried and family filled day I usually try to make a nice breakfast for all of us to enjoy. During the week (because of the quickness in which we need to be up dressed and on our way) we usually opt for something that is quick and easy(usually oatmeal or cereal with fruit).

When I ask the kids what they would like for breakfast on Saturday mornings the response is usually "PUFFY PANCAKE" (also known as a dutch baby or German pancake). If you've never tried one before, do yourself a favor and whip one up one morning, and I'm sure you too will be hooked ;)

Is ideal in a cast iron skillet, but will work in any pan that can go from stove top to the oven.

Preheat Oven to 425 degrees.

Wisk together until smooth:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs

Melt:

4 Tbsp. of butter into a 10" skillet.

Once all the butter is melted, pour the entire contents into the skillet and cook for 1 minute on the stove top without stirring or disturbing. Remove the skillet from the stove top and place into the preheated oven and bake for 12 -15 minutes. The pancake will puff quite a bit, and is so fun for the kids to see when it is removed from the oven. You want to serve it immediately, as it will start to deflate once it is removed from the oven.

For a double serving, you can double the recipe and melt the butter in a 12 x 9 baking dish in the oven and then bake for 15 - 17 minutes.

Suggested toppings:
Powdered sugar
Fresh berries (we've done blueberries, strawberries and raspberries)
Banana's
Maple syrup
Fresh squeezed lemon juice
(really the possibilities are endless)

Hope your families enjoy it as much as ours does.

Recipe from the Joy of Cooking 1997 version.

My Halloween Craft Checklist

So . . . I have several items I would like to complete before this spooky little day arrives.

1. Skirt ( updated) for Alyssa's costume (no sewing involved, thankfully, as I am still not very good with my machine. Hoping to get better at it, but not there yet). Not going to be a chick, but going to use this concept for her skirt.

2. Treat buckets for the kiddo's (would like to make three, one for our nephew as well).

3. Frankensteins &/ or Halloween Bulbs (would like to make these for the homes we'll be visiting, and a couple of friends & family members).

4. Vampire treats (thought these would be a delight for the teachers).

I would love to see what everyone else is working on for this fun fall season.

A Camping we Will Go

We had Girl Scout Encampment weekend several weeks ago, what a blast that was. It was our troops first ever encampment, and man did they have a great time and do a great job of learning the ropes. The property that our encampment was on provided lots of fun space to explore and play and the girls did exactly that. On our second day, the older girls of Camper Council had loads of fun activities, crafts and a hike planned for the attending troops. The girls really enjoyed all parts of that day. Then on the final day we had breakfast at the lodge and then we prepared for our return home. I have to say this was such a wonderful experience with all these girls, such a great example to see ladies from the age of 6 to 60 working together for growing wonderful young ladies with the skills and the confidence to take on anything that comes their way. A huge "Thank You" to Joanne, I appreciate you so much!!