Halloween Festivities

Over the weekend we went out to the pumpkin patch for trick or treating. D finally let me put his Wilson costume on him! He'd freak out every time I tried. He looked adorable, and only 1 person knew who he was supposed to be LOL. He did great using his manners, and I was super proud of him. He's not very fond of the candy (win for mommy!) unless it's chocolate.

We finally got around to doing a few Halloween crafts Monday while S took a day off from work, last night a local church had fall fest, so we took D in case they switch trick or treating to Friday due to predicted bad weather. We've got a wedding tomorrow night, so unless its over early we wouldn't be able to make it out. 

 I love this fabric so we got some to make a bag for his candy. We sewed up the sides and made a bag and then just used an embroidery hoop to hold the bag open, also creating a handle. It worked out well because he's not so good at holding the bag open just yet, and everyone commented on how cute and smart it was!

At the fall fest, D got to play some games, trunk or treat, and RIDE A PONY! He loved it, I thought for sure he'd freak out *he wouldn't pet the animals in the petting zoo* but he did great. He was excited to tell my parents about it last night.

This has to be the cutest donkey ever!

Unfortunately my van decided to bite the dust on the way home last night, so we get to spend our weekend trying to see if its worth fixing it or not. Our best friend is having a super small wedding tomorrow night and asked me to take pictures, so we've got a pretty busy weekend. 

Please remember to use caution when trick or treating this weekend. People in cars don't seem to pay much attention to children walking, and remember if your littles have allergies to look out for those TEAL PUMPKINS! 


                                            Have a safe and Happy Halloween! 
                                                            *Save some candy for me!!!*
                                                                             Kay

Festivals and Pumpkins

My in-laws came in this last weekend for a visit. We had dinner together Friday night after they arrived, and Saturday we went to a local festival, and then took a trip to the local pumpkin patch. 

The festival was held at a park, so D got to go play for a bit, and of course we ATE. Crawfish Ettouffee Stuffed Potato, Beignets, Jambalaya. Delicious. There was Cajun music, and dancing. 

The local children's museum had a section set up for the kids to make a "washboard". D had a blast making one, and I think its a craft we could easily replicate at the house with friends.

Our pumpkin patch is set up at a church, and they have photo opportunities set up throughout for you to take pictures, so we got MIL to go with us, so she could take some family pictures. There are never any pictures of me, because I'm always taking them! We also picked up a pumpkin while we were there.

Last night I made Roasted Sweet Potato and Sausage "hash" to go along with some Chicken we grilled with Southwest Chipotle Seasoning, Edamame and some Mexican Corn Muffins I froze a few weeks ago for dinner.

Tonight we roasted a pumpkin, and I'm making Pumpkin Bisque, with Candied Bacon and Roasted pumpkin seeds, to go along with some Spicy/Sweet glazed Pork Sausage, S is making. Hopefully the soup turns out great and I can come back to share with you how I did it. 

                                          Hope you are having a great Monday!

                                                             Kay

There is no friend as loyal as a book - Ernest Hemingway

We spend a lot of time at our local library. I loved it as a little girl and D seems to enjoy it as well. They just recently spent a few years remodeling our main branch. We have been going to story time for a few months, and recently they have started a Toddler Time on Wednesday's. Story time, some songs/activities and then it becomes free play for about 30 minutes. D LOVES it. He constantly ask to go to "lotta books" as he calls it usually. They also have a pajama storytime (sometimes they allow your stuffed animals to spend the night, super cute!) and movie times. It's a great FREE resource for stay at home (or not!) parents. This is a great article from What to Expect about taking your little ones to the library.

I came across this article our local library shared on FB. 

Read more HERE

These are a bit advanced for D, but I love these for when he's older. 

This can be found HERE

We could maybe do this "bingo"game : 

I like the interview the librarian list too! 

Books about reading! I'll be requesting a few of these from our library over the next few weeks. We try to pick themes to read about as well as just whatever books D grabs himself.     

These are geared towards toddlers, but I'm sure you can find books for older children about reading too

                     

Go enjoy your library! 

Kay

Trick or Treat

Last year we took D (almost 1.5 at the time) trick or treating with some friends. We decided last minute to go, so we didn't have a costume. He was into Handy Manny at the time, so we just tossed on a pair of jeans, plaid shirt and a tool belt with a few toy hammers and called it a day. 

A few weeks ago, I found a Wilson (Chuggington) costume but D won't let me put it on him, so no clue what we will end up doing this year. We live on an end building of our apartment complex so no one can see any decorations so we don't put anything out, and no one trick or treats here so we will have to  go out someplace. A few neighborhoods around here do a whole trick or treat thing for the kids, so we may try to go to one of those. Our zoo also does a big Halloween party. I can't wait to be in a house so we can decorate and do it big!

Since I don't have any decorations of my own to share, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites I found from Pinterest. 

I just requested a few of these from the library to read to D. 

I absolutely love this. I think we may do this if I can find a decent white pumpkin. When I looked for pumpkins this weekend to carve with friends they were not in good shape at all. And I don't know that I've ever actually seen a white pumpkin at any of our grocery stores. Hoping to make a trip to the pumpkin patch this weekend and maybe find one there. 

This is beautiful! I've thought about letting D just paint on a pumpkin (obviously I can't give him a hair dryer LOL) 

This next project is just too ridiculously cute! We currently only have colored popsicle sticks, but I'm really thinking of doing this craft with D anyways! I think it will give it more character. 

Haunted House

These finger puppets go along with a book listed above

Time to pull out the felt and get to work making these! 

There are so many cute and tasty sounding treats on pinterest. I hope to make a few over the next couple of weeks as snacks for D. Eventually I hope to be able to have a small Halloween party and include some of these. 

                                            
                                                             Have a safe and Happy Halloween! 

                                                                             Kay

PlayDough

                                           "Play-doh"
                                 Play-doh can be molded, 
                                   play-doh can be folded, 
                                 play-doh can be thumped,
                                  play-doh can be lumped,
                              play-doh can be squished into
                            many different shapes whatever
                                                  you 
                         can wish whatever you can make!

                                     Author : Lily Jay

We are still getting over our colds, so we are staying around the house on this lovely Saturday. I've been offering the playdough all week, but D hasn't been interested until this morning. We make our own koolaid dough, so it smells really good.  This particular batch is orange. This is a cooked method, I tried a few others and they didn't seem to hold up well. Our last batch lasted about 4 months in the fridge. 

                                              PlayDough

                                             1 cup flour
                                             1/2 cup salt
                                2 teaspoons cream of tartar
                                1 tablespoon vegetable oil
                                             1 cup water
                                      1 packet of koolaid

Mix all the ingredients in a large sauce pan. Heat on low to medium on stove. Stir until very well blended. The mixture will become a solid (but soft) playdough consistency when ready to be removd from heat. Remove and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, knead the dough for a smooth consistency. Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

                            
                                     Happy Playing! 
                                             Kay