A week of Halloween

Just when you thought, hmmm, maybe she won't post any recipes for this holiday. You were wrong. Today we made our rendition of the "Grave Yard Cake"

I actually baked this on a sponge cake pan, so it took 1 1/2 cake mixes. I used the rest to make cupcakes. When it was done I melted a 1/2 can of icing and smeared across. For the dirt I used 6 crushed up oreos and the middles of the oreos become the grinning pumpkins. They candy corn made a fence and the chocolate twizzlers are the trees. For the tombstones I iced graham crackers and then decorated them. Finished off with a few marshmallows ghosts and of course some creepy worms.

***note*** those chocolate twizzlers are wonderful...

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I have given you five different things to do at Halloween. The most important thing is to enjoy it all. Enjoy all the moments!.

So get out there, make a cake, cut a pumpkin, watch a scary movie, make decorations...Just take a long walk among the fall leaves..

Much love and thoughts to you all..

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO YOU ALL!!!

This and That ...tips to share

Wanted to share a tip with you..

In my home, the littlest one is always wanting chicken nuggets, and I always try to keep some on hand. It is way easier to make them, than run out to the MacDonald's or a closer fast food. The cost is alot less. The littlest likes them all from Walmart cost-cutter to Tyson's. My older kids love only the Tyson's. Now don't get me wrong they would really like the fresh home-made ones and I do make them quite often.

One of my tips, for portions and quick to make nuggets. Make a tray of chicken nuggets. Hmmm for just the baby I make 6 to eat and 6 nuggets per pkg to put in the fridge. I always keep those snack baggies handy. When cooled just pop in 6 per bag and store in fridge. They heat up by just opening the bag and nuke for one minute. Mine actually eat them cold. I like them for when we are having something the baby can't eat real well and heat them up for him and serve what sides we are having.
Satisfies everyone. Saves on the panic for what to make for dinner.

These little baggies are the best. For the snacks I do the same thing. I do not do crackers, or chips in them, I find they get stale too fast. I keep those in a large container and keep 1 cup bowls around.

I just love the bread store, got these donuts for $1.00 and made enough snacks for on the go.

These also freeze real well. I take out of the freezer as needed. So all those grubby hands don't eat then in a day..

So bag some up.. and share!

Halloween Crafts

Halloween is one of those great Holidays, that you can make a million different crafts, or scary things to use as decorations. Even if you don't have kids, you can still use your imagination and decorate. Feel the season, feel the holiday, get into the fun of it. Re-live your childhood a bit.

Kids also learn by example, if you make if fun they will pass on the traditions on to their kids. So it is like a "Pay if forward" kinda thing. Kids, they love to decorate. So grab a kid, yours, a grand kid, or just a neighbor kid (well not that far, might get it for kidnapping) Get out your Halloween colors of colored paper. Your green, yellow, orange, black and what ever else you think you need to create a masterpiece.

For smaller kids, I call this kind of craft, a memory craft. It uses their hand print as part of the picture. And you can give these away to family members, sure to put a smile on their faces.

This one I am going to post, is going to be my first attempt at trying to explain how to do one. So bear with me..here we go..

This is the actual finished project..you can choose the bat or the spider, depending on how you position the hands.

the bat



the spider

Instructions:

You will need:

• green, orange, black and white paper
• scissors
• pencil
• glue

prepare all the pieces to be glued (I usually do this ahead a time and put each persons pieces in their own little baggie)

• Trace your hands on black paper / cut them out (this is what makes it a memory project)

• Take a round container and trace a circle, put two little triangles on the side near the top this will make the ears on the face. (if you forget and just cut the circle, then cut two separate triangles to be glued on later.)

•  Cut out eyes, nose and a mouth (can do any shape, if you little one is too little you can cut a round white circle and put inside the black circle for the head and they can just color one)

•  Cut a big old orange pumpkin for the back drop for the creature.

                                 

• here is a picture of all the parts.

When you are ready then start to assemble. Place the hands first. > bat - they go out to the sides and for the >spider you hang them down (kinda hiding the thumbs)

******  Go to the top to pictures and see how to place the pieces..*****

We made ours and they look beautiful. So go ahead and try it.

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A great tip that I have for storing these wonderful pieces of art, especially if you don't give it away. I usually keep a few and put into a 3" binder, with the others, I take a picture of them all and start a computer disc and archive all the art work for me and the kids when they grow up.

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I have another quick craft I wanted to share, this is for the more advanced. It takes time to make and concentration, but still just as fun and turns out pretty neat. It is a mosaic project.

You will need:

• white sheet of paper
• black paper (torn into small pieces)
• orange paper (torn in small pieces)
• glue

Instructions:

• Trace a pumpkin on the white paper (could be any kind of picture you like)
• start gluing the small pieces of paper to fill in the drawing.



When you are finished it looks wonderful!

Halloween "Lets Go to the Movies"

Great way to get into the holiday spirit is also with Movies. There are a few scarey ones in the theater but we don't have those kinda bucks to take a family of 5 to a movie theaters.

So we choose to kick back and relax at home. We have a sweet tv and just got a blue ray players so with a few props, we can all pretend we are at the movies.

You can rent a few movies, or these days you can rent them through your cable service. We choose to just purchase them and they get watched over and over.

One of my favorite habits is when it is for example Halloween, I pull all the scarey stuff and bring in to the tv area and we can view them easier. The when the season is over these movies go back in a certain area on a shelf and usually get forgotten until next year. This kinda makes them feel new all over again.

 Movies are now just getting cleared and clearer. Even the older ones are better to watch, So try to revisit some of the older ones.

A few of our favorites are:

The kids like these.

A few of our other favorites that still keep me on my toes (I know with all the scarey out there, I gotta go old school)

 So get out the popcorn, (buy those plastic popcorn holders, it is all about the ambiance) Get the drinks, (I also bought the plastic cups with the straws, that the lids screwed on) Go to the dollar store and get some chocolate cover raisins *hint, hint.. my all time favorite..

Be sure to pull the drapes, turn off the lights, pop that movie in and

Get Your Scare On!!!

DON'T LOOK BEHIND YOU!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOO!   gottcha!

Halloween Continued....

Another day closer to Halloween.......

Tow-mater all lit up..

 Halloween fun for all.

One of the fun things at Halloween is the carving of the pumpkin. There are now tons of pumpkin patches to visit and lots of pumpkins to choose from. There is actually a book printed for designs to put upon the pumpkins or you can just go free handed.  Eyes, a nose, and a crooked mouth is just as scarey as can be. Put a lighted candle down inside and it will glow for all to see.

Was wondering about these great little pumpkins so I looked up the information and here is what I came across:

 From: http://www.thelaboroflove.com/articles/why-do-we-carve-pumpkins-at-halloween/

“Halloween originated in Ireland several hundred years ago. The Celtic Irish celebrated October 31 for several reasons. October 31 signified the end of the summer and the start of the ˜new year.’ It was on this night and this night only that the boundaries between the living and the dead were broken. The spirits of the recently deceased could enter the bodies of the living as their one shot at the afterlife. Of course the living didn’t want to be possessed by these spirits so they would dress up is devilish costumes, extinguish all the lights in their houses, and create havoc on their town to scare the spirits away. Years later the English adopted many of the Celt’s practices.

October 31 was known as All Hallows Eve, the night before All Hallows Day, a celebration in honor of the saints. As the idea of spirit possession became less prominent, the English would dress up as witches or ghosts in a more ceremonial manner.

In Ireland, one of the most popular traditions that went along with their Halloween, was carrying the jack-o-lantern. In Scotland and England they would carry turnips. The jack-o-lantern was originally carried all night to replicate the faces of the ghoulish spirit possessed. No one is quite sure why the ˜jack-o-lantern’ is called ˜jack.’ However, according to an ancient Irish legend, the devil once wanted to steal the soul of a man named ˜Jack.’ Jack outwitted the devil on several occasions and kept his life. Eventually, Jack died and neither heaven nor hell would take him. Jack was condemned to an afterlife in limbo. He asked the devil for a piece of coal to provide light for his never ending life. Jack stuck the coal into a turnip and is said to still be walking around with his light until heaven or hell will open the gates for him “

Get out there and have some fun...

Here are a few pictures of ours:

Week of Halloween

A week of Halloween is my contribution of things to do, for kids and adults. I promise you that they can bring a smile to your face. To be carefree and just enjoy the moments around you. You don't need a kid to do this either, just get out there and do it.

The air is starting to get chilly, beginning the start of wearing that jacket. If you are like me, then shoes and socks also. I am not a fan of shoes, but they seem to be a necessity during these days. Fall is a great time for the outdoors. A sweet cool breeze, colorful leaves blowing and just warm enough for a few hours in the sun in the afternoon.

This particular afternoon we went and bought some new side walk chalk. Now new side walk chalk is like new crayons. If you don't have new crayons and a book hidden somewhere, then you really need to, it is a great way to relax besides watching tv.

Here's our great artwork. I had some help, and I actually drew the outline with a piece of chalk duct taped to a stick (still can't get down real low). And the kids added to it.

So get out there and get busy...

I will be posting some more things this week. I also have a great little kitchen gadget to make

a favorite lunch here in my house. Well actually my littlest likes his for breakfast.

See you guys tomorrow!

BooooOOOO! I have been Boo-ed (in a good way!)



"Boo-ed"




Upon waking up yesterday morning, we all pulled ourselves together to hit the Walmart nice and early, get the shopping done and back to the house to atleast enjoy a nice beautiful Sunday. To my surprise as we opened the door to go out, there was a surprise gift. Waiting on my step, was ghostly container filled with candy, books, and other assorted cute stuff.
We had been Boo-ed!



We had been boo-ed? From who, and who created this really cool idea. Which I will do again next year. The idea of getting boo-ed and then making two more and boo-ing two more families. A great "pay if forward" idea.  Here is the link in case you want to brighten someones day, http://beenbooed.com/ What a sweet and unique idea. The kids were just thrilled to death. It was like a Christmas present in October. It was so touching that someone took a minute and created a very nice gift for my family. It had a all the cool things in it. The baby even got a nice ghost tippy cup. 

I just wanted to share what a nice thing, someone, did for us. Please know if that someone is reading this then you really did a nice thing.

And thanks again!



Fall - Jump in those leaves

I am excited that this is my new blog, I have so many ideas that I have to sort them out. I want to share it all.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons and I try to make it all special for my family. I make it a point to rake those leaves, so they can jump right in. So take time and be sure to get out and enjoy all this cool weather and the changing colors. Fall is such a good time for kid and the "young at heart". The colors of the leaves are just so beautiful.

Pile those leaves up and jump right in.

One of my all time favorite things when I was smaller was how my mother would make sure that we didn’t miss a holiday.

Columbus Day, I remember was a banana with a sail stuck in it, our own little boats. Funny how those smallest of memories stick with you forever. I truly believe the memories of the good times are what gets you through the rough one.

Another cool thing my mom would do with us would be collecting those beautiful leaves and when we had a bounty full, she would show us how to make something beautiful.

Leaves Placemat / or Window Sun Catcher

Stuff you will need:

Waxed paper

Leaves

Iron

To do:

Lay out a sheet of waxed paper on your ironing board.

Let the kids (or just yourself, to make something pretty) lay the leaves on the waxed paper leaving atleast an inch around the boarded and space around each leaf.

Lay another sheet of waxed paper the same size on top.

Iron the two sheets together. They will melt together. (watch the paper is hot when you are finished)

Let cool and then cut into a placemat size or in a shape to hang from the window.

You can enjoy the beauty inside. They also make nice placemats for Thanksgiving.

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I hope you atleast give it a try, you may find out that you can make even prettier things.

I wasn't sure I was going to post any recipes on this blog but you know what. TeeHee..My family does like to eat. My kids like to eat.

Recipe of the Week

One of my favorite go to meal with all the children that have been in my home is my "Macaroni and Cheese- with Hot Dogs. Not a fancy meal. Yes, from the box. Also cuts down on waste, if you have a few hot dogs left over you can use those in it. I usually had so many that I would have to cut up a whole package to put in it.

Macaroni Cheese - Hot Dogs

Ingredients:

a box of mac and cheese (it can be generic)

2 hot dogs per person

Instructions:

Poor macaroni in the boil water.

Cut up hotdogs and throw them in the water also.

When pasta is tender, drain water into another bowl. Add the sauce mix and pour back in a bit of the water, I leave out the butter and just add back in some of the water,seems to make it creamier.

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Tip of the Week

Take a walk, take a day to enjoy all that fall has to offer. To keep from paying those outrageous prices at the parks, zoos and such for food, I have a favorite tip from my oldest sister.

Take your hot dogs and boil them to a hard boil, pour them into a thermos, water and all. Take along some buns, ketchup and mustard and in a few hours, you will have warm hotdogs to enjoy on a chilly day.

Throw in some chips, a few drinks and you have a meal for the bunch you are hanging with.

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Enjoy, and we will get together again soon.

October - Fall

The start of something new, this is the beginning of a new blog. I am hoping that you will find it as entertaining and informative as my first one. I am actually coming to a time in my life, where I want to share all the fun stuff I have accumulated over the years. I assure you I have accumulated alot. Writing it all down is a great way to share, and to empty out years of stuff.

My family is from WV. I was raised in a very loving family. I really credit all my patience with children from growing up. My mother was always so kind, with us and with everyone else. Mom, is one of the original stay at home moms, she juggled it all the whole time we were growing up. She sacrificed so that we always had what we needed. She is an inspiration to all that I do. I strive to be a good cook, she is a great one. She taught me how to love and care about people. I love being around children, I am full of fun ideas, simple ideas to keep those small minds learning.
My father gave me the courage to be who I am, to be original, to strike out and do important things. I thank them for everything they instilled in me.

Growing up in my home, when October would roll around, we would start getting out the fall decorations and of course the Halloween stuff. My mom would always make our house "kid friendly" My favorite memories of growing up in my house, was how she would get her paints out. She is such a great artist. She would get the orange, green, and yellow paint out. I knew at that moment, it was fall. She would proceed to paint a giant jack-o'-lantern (halloween pumpkin) on the front door. The big toothy grinning pumpkin. That was such a great tradition that I also do them every year. I have now taught my daughter how to carry on.

Please my friends, this is a very easy and really great way to share the holidays. It makes memories that last forever.
So take a minute, get the paint and get busy.