Trick or Treat 2011

I know that I've already shared the kids costumes (girls and jack), but that was when it was warm outside.  They look a little different with 5 layers underneath (especially poor Livie who looked super bulky) and it was very interesting to get elbow gloves over 2 long-sleeved shirts.  Let's just say they were not pleased with having to take photos inside as they were boiling hot!

All ready to head out...

Ej and her buddy Abbie at the beginning of the night...

And EJ on the way home...I think she only trick-or-treated for about 30 minutes and then she rode in the wagon and felt terrible.  Poor kiddo!

Luckily for her, Olivia really "got" trick-or-treating this year and had a blast doing it!  She came home with the most candy of all three kids and is willing to share.  She walked almost the entire time and had a great time.  She was super fun to watch.  She did need a lift the last couple blocks to home though...

Fav Foto Friday, Halloween

This week's theme is Halloween, and while we don't trick-or-treat until tomorrow, there have been plenty of celebrations already.  So here is a peek at the week in iphone photos...

"Costume Day" at dance class - we went with something festive, yet danceable

Matt and the kids came up with a plan to spray paint our pumpkins.  The thought was that is would be somewhat easy, and also maybe deter some squirrels.  It didn't quite work out as planned.

Jack had mismatch day at school.  It's not as easy for boys to pull this off (jeans go with everything), but he did rock the two different shoes look.

The girls delayed nap and got all bundled up for the school parade (only a couple Livie breakdowns, so I consider it a win).

Agent P in the parade...along with his friends the shark, President Obama, and the witch.  So much fun to see all the cool costumes at our school...we've got some creative parents!

Linking up with Nora - see more Halloween fun at Fav Foto Friday!

Calm at the end of the crazy

Our Wednesdays are always kind of crazy, but yesterday seemed especially so.  Busy...all of us overtired...dinner at 7pm (which is pretty late when you're 2).  I expected a really rough bedtime, but they actually worked together to clean up their playroom and then I found them like this.  So cute I had to go get my camera.  Now to figure out how to make this happen every night!

In other news from the day:
-The Rolo McFlurry is no more.  This is good news given that candy season is upon us!
-Finding only one glove in the lost & found bin is almost worse than having both gloves MIA.
-I am loving the sneak peek tracks on this upcoming album.  Shocking, I know.
-Jack is not a fan of choose-your-own-adventure books for the same reason I never liked them.  You don't get to read a lot of the book!
-In a last minute moment of sanity, I stopped myself from buying the exact same jacket I bought both of the girls this week.  I mean, seriously what was I thinking?  I blame sleep-deprivation...and the fact that they seem really warm and cozy.
-This makes me laugh every time I watch it...love Parks & Rec!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 6

 

This week my works-in-progress are all also secret gift projects.  So basically I can't tell you a thing about what they will become, but I can show you these photos of them before you can even guess what they might become! 

I'm excited to finish these 3 gifts up and I will share them again once they are all complete & in their new homes!

Joining up with Yarn Along at Small Things & WIP Wednesday at Tami's Amis.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

Help from a Friend

As much as I'd like to believe I have things together, I know that I screw up at least once a day.  Sometimes in small ways, but sometimes the screw ups are big and involve lots of tears (mine and the hurt kid's) and just feel terrible.  And when those kind of screw-ups happen, it's pretty awesome to have a great friend who helps you make everything right again and puts smiles like these on your kiddo's face!  Thank you Auntie Sandy for giving Jack his special day!

Dance Bag

EJ's dance bag/backpack is finished (WIP here) and she is thrilled!  It's a little big (I think if you are looking for a child-size bag making this pattern as written in worsted weight will probably come out perfect) but I adjusted the straps inside of the bag to fit her now but be adjustable in the future as she grows.  Love that this was a quick project and that it was such a hit with EJ!

Agent P

 

Determining what Jack wanted to be for Halloween this year was much more complicated than the actual construction of the costume (although for an easy costume, there was a lot of busy work).  He finally decided on Agent P, AKA Perry the Platypus when he transforms into his secret agent persona (click here to see him in cartoon form).  We did some searching and got the inspiration for Jack's costume here at Dabbled.

I love that it will be a warm costume, that it's easy to wear (kickball ready is important around here), and that it's cute in an 8-year-old boy kind of way (in other words, not super too cutesy).  Best of all, he'll have a new set of sweats after Halloween as everything is detachable!

Supplies:
Sweat suit - Augusta Sportswear
Gloves - Greatlookz
Fedora - Target
Shoes - Saucony (luckily Jack picked orange school shoes this year)
Tail and bill - orange craft foam sheet
Eyes - ping pong balls

How to:
Fedora - I removed the crazy feathers from the side and the brown ribbon, then attached 1 1/2" black grosgrain ribbon with hot glue.
 
Eyes - Matt punctured ping pong balls with large safety pins and attached them to the front of the sweatshirt hood near Jack's eyes.  I used Sharpie to make the black eyes on the ping pong balls.

Bill - I free-handed a bill shape on the craft foam sheet and cut it out with scissors.  We tried a few different ways to attach the bill (using a foam visor, string) but ended up hot gluing small pieces of ribbon to the inside of the bill and then attaching them with small safety pins to the inside of the sweatshirt hood.  There is no bottom portion to the bill which makes it easier for Jack to breathe.

Tail - Again, I free-handed a tail shape on the craft foam sheet and cut it out with scissors.  Using a straight-edge and a black Sharpie, I made the criss-cross pattern on both sides.  The tail is attached with large safety pins to the top of the sweatpants (which are hidden by the sweatshirt).

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 5

 

This WIP will be a bag for EJ later today (fingers crossed).  She started dance class again this Fall, but this time around she needs to take ballet and tap shoes each week.  Between her shoes and things to keep Livie busy during class, it's getting a little crowded in my purse.  I decided to add a dance bag to her Christmas list, so I started looking for a cute one and just didn't find one I liked (or thought she would like).  I also realized that Christmas is a lot of weeks away when you're dealing with dance shoes and snow clothes.

So I decided to make one for in the meantime (although if it turns out, it might be for good).  I'm using this pattern from Lion Brand Yarn but am using a much lighter yarn (worsted #4), so am adding some rows as I go to make the bag large enough for EJ.

And now back to work for me...class starts in a few hours and EJ is set on taking this bag with her!

Check out more WIPs at Tami's Amis and Ambassador Crochet.

Candy Corn Round-Up

 {made by me; pattern here; face inspiration here}

What is more Fall than candy corn?  That waxy little candy just has to be eaten this time of year.  I made the guys above (they are tiny...only about 3" tall) last week and I love the little faces!

I also made these treats with actual candy corn...salty, sweet, and needing to get them out of my house immediately!  So good and more than a little addicting!

{photo and recipe courtesy of This Mommy Cooks}

I've seen so many cute candy corn crafts and treats that I thought I'd share just a few here in a littel candy corn round-up.

{image via Confessions of a Posh Mommy}

{image via My Baking Addiction}

{image via The Swell Life}

 

{image via Best Friends for Frosting}

 {image via Woman's Day}

Pumpkin Farm

What a difference a week makes weather-wise around here!  But given that sundresses don't really scream pumpkin farm to me, I guess it worked out just fine.  We tried out a new farm this year that is much smaller than our usual pumpkin patch.  It was fun, but Jack and I were disappointed that we couldn't do our usual stock-up of banana bread.  The kids loved the hay ride and the corn maze though.  I'll wait to share their pumpkin decorating, but I think their creations will surprise you.

Pumpkins

We're heading out to pick out our own pumpkins this weekend, but today I thought I'd share my finished crochet pumpkins (WIP here).  These puff stitch pumpkins headed over to Jackie's house this week as an early birthday gift.  As you can see the big pumpkin really did end up much bigger than the other two, but it is a cute, floppy one on it's own.  If you'd like to give them a try, the pattern is here (and I'm happy to say that my hand has recovered from the puff stitch claw too!).

The other set came from a pattern I found on Planet June (the small version & then I improvised making that pattern bigger for the large pumpkin).  They headed over to my Mom's house this morning as an early birthday gift too.  Well, I did keep one of the little guys for our house.  They were too cute to say good-bye to all of them!

The Princess and the Frog

Around here, it tends to be freezing cold for our trick-or-treat each year, so we do our best with long underwear under, and hats & gloves over, our costumes.  I tend to go the other route which is bundle up each kid in a costume that is also warm (last year is a good example of this...and they still all had long underwear hiding under their costumes).  This year the girls really wanted "pretty" costumes.  The asked to be a princess and a fairy.  I came up with the idea for a princess and a frog, but promised a pretty frog!

{tiana and tomboy}

I knew they'd jump at the idea because they read Tiana's story every day (I wish I was exaggerating).  But given that they're favorite line is when she says, "I'm green and I'm slimy!", they were fighting about who got to be the frog.  It's pretty obvious that my girls and one part princess, one part tomboy.

This week we have been having incredibly warm temperatures, and the girls hadn't tried on their costumes yet.  So I thought we could have a little fashion show and I could share the costumes the way they are intended to be (I promise I'll still share the bundled up versions later this month).

The princess:
Dress & headband - Rubie's Costume Co.
Gloves - So Sweet Boutique
Necklace & bracelets - dress-up closet stash
Wand - $1 section at Target
Shoes - Target (similar)

The frog:
Hat - Over the Rainbow Design
Tutu - I Love Lucy's Tutus
Leg warmers - made by mom
Shirt & leggings - Liv's closet
Shoes - Target

The shoes are their favorite part!  I really love these costumes and I love the way the girls beamed yesterday when they got to play in them for awhile.  The girls are happy that they got new fancy shoes for Fall and after trick-or-treat they will have some great new things to add to the dress-up collection.  I know the long gloves will be played with every day.

But most of all, I love the magic!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 4

 

I'm feeling the Fall vibe this week (even though it's been pretty summer-like around here), so I decided to break out the cozy, chunky yarn and make this lovely wreath. The pattern & photo tutorial make it super easy to crochet.  I finished the first one in about an hour...while the kids were awake.  Yes, I said the first one.  I decided this week that I needed to add a little something extra to two upcoming birthday gifts and thought this would be a fun addition (didn't hurt that I pinned it a few weeks ago and have been dying to make it).

Here is my current progress on wreath #2 (given that the photo above is more of a before and after shot)...

And the finished wreath #1 - Photo is darkened to protect the identity of the wreath from its future owner (definitely not just a bad photo on a cloudy day).

Check out more WIPs at Tami's Amis and Ambassador Crochet.