Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!  I don't know about where you are, but here is Motown, WV, it's cold and rainy (on the verge of icy and snowy).  I'm glad our trick or treat was last night.  

This year, Khloe went as Molly from the Bubble Guppies.  I looked around for a costume to buy, but I couldn't find one Molly costume in her size.  So, I decided to give it a go at making one.  Here is our inspiration pic.

Isn't she a cutie!  By the way, I'm that pathetic parent who knows more Bubble Guppies songs than top 40 songs.... yep, I own it when I'm singing "Take me away on a train!"

I started out trying to find a skin-colored shirt for the base of the top.  No luck.  Kid's clothes just don't come in tan.  I improvised and bought white onesies and dyed one tan by using RIT dye.

You use this dye in your washing machine, scared me to death the first time I did it.  I thought I was going to ruin the washer.

But if you follow the directions on the back, you come out with a clean washer and a tan shirt.

Then came the skirt.  I am no seamstress, so I really don't even know how to give a tutorial on this.  I bought some fleece fabric (any stretchy fabric would work) and made a straight skirt.  I basically wrapped the fleece around her, cut it, sewed a straight seam down the back and added a piece of elastic at the top to hold it up.  Then I made a tutu out of bunched up tulle and sewed it on the bottom of the skirt.  This was the hardest part because the tulle wasn't exactly easy to get through my machine.

Next, I cut random pieces of darker blue felt and attached them to the front of the skirt with fabric glue.

I wrapped a piece of tulle around Khloe's chest to finish the top and put a pink wig on her and it was done.

She was hating the wig in these pictures.  I really wanted her to wear the wig, so I told her she would get more candy if she wore it and she ended up wearing it the whole time she was trick or treating.  Mom- 1, Khloe- 0!

This costume was pretty cheap to do, here's a breakdown of the costs.  i already owned the thread and glue.

T-shirt: $2.50
RIT dye: $2.50
Fleece remnant: $1.98
Felt: $0.23
Tulle: $2.00
Wig: $5.00

Total: $14.21

Did you guys DIY any costumes this year?

-Brooke

Fall Party at Mom and Dad's Farm

This year we started a tradition at my mom and dad's house.  My family, my brother's family, my grandma, and my mom and dad all gathered at they're farm and had a fall shindig.

The kids had a blast!

We had a hay ride, painted pumpkins and played outside on the playground dad just built for the kids (he's amazing).  For the food, we had potato soup, chili, cornbread and hot dogs.  

We also took some time out to take some photos.  My mom and dad had not had a picture done in forever, so it was a good opportunity.

We had such a good time!  Love making memories with my family.

-Brooke

DIY Window Clings

We're in full Fall mode around here... even on the health front.  We keep passing colds back and forth, so as I write this, I'm shivering under 2 blankets. Ugh.

So, the name of the game when it comes to toddler crafts is simplicity.  Last week we made these window clings out of Elmer's glue and it was so easy.

Basically, you take some half empty bottles of Elmer's glue...

Add some food coloring and shake it up....

Print out a coloring page or template of whatever you want.  Put a piece of plastic on top (a report cover works great)...

Paint on top of the plastic and let them dry completely.

And, tada!

Khloe was a bit too young to draw out the leaves, she ended up just making lines and circles.  But she loved putting them on the windows.  Now to find our next craft idea!  :)

-Brooke

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Fall to me means beautiful colors, crisp air, sweaters, boots, pumpkins, apples, football and baking. On a lesser note, it also mean more camo than I care to see thrown in my entry way.... thanks Chris.  I have a love/ hate relationship with Fall.  I love everything about Fall except knowing that it is leading me to Winter. I always feel like I'm on a mission to do anything and everything in Fall because I know that in a few short months we'll be trapped in the house due to the ice and snow that will NOT go away..... grrr... I get mad just thinking about it.

Anyways, back to Fall..... I love to bake and this is the best time of year to do it.  I try to make something once a week to satisfy our sweet teeth (multiple of sweet tooth??).  I know, it's the most healthy habit ever.  

This week I went classic with one of Chris' favorites- Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies. The recipe is at the end of the post.

Here's a tip from my Momma.  When you have to measure out peanut butter, first spray your measuring cup with non-stick spray.  It helps the peanut butter come right out.

Blend the peanut butter and shortening.

Add your sugars and blend again.

Add the rest of your ingredients and blend one more time.

Give the bowl of the mixer a final scrape with a spoon to make sure there aren't any un-mixed ingredients in the bottom.

Roll into balls and dip in sugar.

Bake 'em up.

Kiss 'em.  Muah!

Eat 'em up.

What you need:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-3/4 cup AP flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Hershey Kisses

How you do it:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.  Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
2. Blend shortening and peanut butter with an electric mixer. 
3. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and the brown sugar. 
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until just combined.
5. Roll into 1" balls and dip each ball in sugar. 
6. Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. Kiss it!  Put a Hershey Kiss in the center of each cookie immediately.

-Brooke

Fall Entry Table

Fall is in the air.  It was downright cold on Saturday.  It was rainy and in the 50s.  Made me want to snuggle under a cover and eat a bunch of carbs.  

I love decorating for Fall, almost as much as I love all the apple desserts.... okay not quite that much. I had already decorated the outside of the house before Khloe's party, but this weekend I went ahead and broke out the indoor Fall decorations.  This past Spring I re-vamped my entry table and decorated it for Spring.  You can read about that in these posts.

Entry Table Re-Do

Mirror Re-do & Spring Happenings

I mentioned that I would change out the decorations on my entry table for the seasons.  Here is the Fall version.

I kept the same flowers that I used for Spring and added a few pumpkiny, leafy accessories.  

Now the challenge is keeping little hands off those pumpkins.  PS- I've already failed this challenge.  

-Brooke

Khloe's Ice Cream Birthday Party

What a hectic hectic hectic week.  Ugh.  Shake it off!  

So, to get my mind off of the 1 million things going on and the million more things I need to do, let's talk about Khloe's birthday party.

Last year for her 1st birthday party, we went all out with a county fair themed party.  You can read all about that in these posts.

Khloe's County Fair Birthday: The Decorations

Khloe's County Fair Birthday: The Food

Khloe's County Fair Birthday: The Favors & Games

It was so much fun, but leading up to it was crazy hectic.  We decided to scale way down this year and just do a simple party.  Khloe still had a blast and it was a lot easier on this momma.  

The theme this year was one of Khloe's favorite things... ICE CREAM!!


I went simple on the decorations making this ice cream cone banner out of tissue balls and kraft paper.  The table cloths were pink and white.

For the cake, I baked cupcakes in ice cream cones.  Let me tell you, this was a pain in the booty!  If you don't get the right amount, they overflow like crazy!  They did turn out pretty cute though :)

For the food, we did shredded pork BBQ, chips, cupcakes and an ice cream bar.
For the ice cream bar, I found the cutest little bottles with cork and silver buckets at Target's dollar spot.  The toppings were marshmallows, cherries, graham crackers, Reeses, Butterfingers, sprinkles, peanuts, strawberry and chocolate syrup and whipped cream.  I also got the tags at Target.

I pre-scooped the ice cream that morning and put the cups in my freezer so I could just bring them out when it was time.

Instead of games, we just had a bounce house.  Khloe had a blast! How cute is she??

-Brooke