Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday, after Lance got home from work, we took advantage of the sunshine (it's been raining A LOT around here) and headed to the pumpkin patch. Getting a 2 1/2 year old to hold her almost 4 mo. old little brother and sit still for a picture when there's so much fun stuff around is next to impossible. This is the best shot I got, but it's still really sweet to me :) I know years from now I'll want to remember Hudson's first time at the pumpkin patch and how little they both were. This sweet little guy was all smiles. It was a bit windy and MUDDY but that didn't stop us. We got to learn all about how pumpkins grow. We even found some spooky gourds and made silly "boo" faces. Someone was mesmerized by this hanging lantern... and didn't want to let go...AT ALL! We even attempted a group photo. Then it was time to head home.

We paid for our pumpkins and headed to the car...only to see the little pumpkin run back to the patch, grab as many pumpkins as she could in her little hands, and beg to take these home too :) ...guess her nickname is quite appropriate after all!

goblin treats

The little pumpkin came home from school earlier this week with this sweet little masterpiece, complete with iridescent glitter and googly eyes - so cute! Seeing her artwork reminded me of a recipe I had seen from Taste of Home. A quick search later I stumbled upon these and knew we had to try making some. Ours didn't quite turn out as perfect as theirs, but the little pumpkin and I had a lot of fun making them and in my book that's all that matters :)

Ingredients ready to go 1. Nutter Butter cookies
2. White Chocolate melting squares (calls for white candy melts, but I forgot to pick those up when I bought the cookies, so I had to improvise and use what I had on hand)
3. Mini chocolate chips

Mama, can I eat a cookie before we get started? Pretty please? These are super easy. Just melt the candy, dip the cookie, and place on wax paper (you can use an artist's brush to smooth out the fingerprints - we didn't bother on ours :) Then you must concentrate really hard on placing those chocolate chip eyes just right But the real fun begins when you start figuring out how to make the ghosts have "silly little eyes" In between every one of these... when you think mama is tending to your little brother... you sneak a fistful of minis and quickly stuff them in your mouth before returning to "work" :) Oh, how I love our girly time together!!

You can find the actual recipe HERE.

P.S. These were reeeeeeaaaaally sweet...and really yummy!

ooey gooey

How cute (and funny) is this little fella???? Yes, I'm totally biased...and I'm okay with that :O

mischief

I'm pretty sure next to the word "mischief" in the dictionary is a little picture of this sweet pumpkin: Can you just see the wheels turning in her head??? Sort of like..."Is mama looking?" Good thing she is so stinkin' cute :) Sure helps her get out of trouble when she flashes one of those sweet smiles and infectious giggle!

Not So Spooky Ghosts

Another little project that turned out really cute...are you sensing a theme here? Yes, we do A LOT of projects around our house. The little pumpkin loves them, I get to use all the scrapbook supplies that are just gathering dust in my closet, and I get to "listen" to the wheels spinning in her head. I LoVe the things she thinks about while doing projects.

Any project that starts out with shredding a big chunk of paper and using glue is a winner around here.

Then you pat it all down (I love Grace's hands...those sweet little chubby hands...her arms and legs may be growing by leaps and bounds, but those little hands still say 'baby' to me :) Next, we outlined our ghosts. More glue and pat, pat, pat. And the little pumpkin got to try out something new - the hole punch! Notice how hard she is concentrating :) Itty bitty eyes sure bring out the giggles! Putting them in place is F-U-N-N-Y! I think this is the moment she "saw" the ghosts. Geez...that sounds kind of spooky, doesn't it? Mini spelling lesson thrown in just for fun. A few thoughts recorded...

What is halloween all about?
Spiders and bats.
What are you going to be for halloween?
A cupcake.
What should mama be for halloween?
A pumpkin.
Daddy?
A spider or a bat.
Hudson?
A giraffe.
Jaxon?
A halloween dog (giggle, giggle, giggle).
Curious George?
A cupcake just like me (wink).
What is candy corn?
Popcorn.
Where do pumpkins come from?
The pumpkin patch.
How do pumpkins get to the pumpkin patch?
They walk, walk, walk. :)

After a little break to play with this sweet little guy she signed her masterpiece and that was that! Can you see how proud she is of her artwork? And best of all...tonight right after we said our prayers, she cuddled up really tight next to me and in the sweetest voice looked me in the eyes and said, "you're MY pumpkin, mama". Be still my heart.

sugar mallow

Can't believe Christmas is just 2 months away! I've got a little project (or 8 really) in the works...here's a little glimpse Don't you love these yummy fabrics? All from Heather Bailey, of course. Why am I sharing? This is just the kick in the rear I need to get this project started :) Better get going or these will never make it to their destinations on time.

Back soon with more halloween treats - we've been having a blast in the kitchen!

a spooktacular weekend

I love Stephanie Fizer's quirky illustrations, so a while back when I spotted these cute Boo labels in her etsy shop I knew they'd be perfect for Grace's halloween goody bags at school. I think they turned out really cute! Here's a close up showing the silly straws Grace just HAD to have. So with that little project wrapped up, we moved on to making fun treats: MARSHMALLOW POPS! Grace got a kick out of poking the marshmallows with the lollipop sticks. Then you swirl it all around Add a few (or a LOT) of sprinkles And you're done! Of course, you must make sure they taste good :) Whatcha think of our little marshmallow pop bouquet? They look so pretty who can resist just one more. Eenie Minnie Miney Moe THIS ONE! Or better yet, a bite off each one (luckily this batch was staying home with us :) Me and my little baking assistant By the way, remember THIS fabric? Noonie turned it into the cutie patootie pants you see above! Thanks Noonie! Grace loves her "happy spider pants" :)