Trunk or Treat

I was really excited this year to find out that our church was having Trunk or Treat 2 days being Halloween. It meant that my family could decorate our trunk and still go trick or treating with our son and friends.

So began the thinking process......
How should I decorate our Suburban. What should we dress as.

I am a theme person by nature. My home is decorated around a "theme". I love throwing "theme" parties. When I plan Halloween costumes I prefer "themes". So on paper I decided I would decorate the vehicle to look like a Whale! My hubby would be Jonah, my son a fish, and myself Pinocchio. I was sooo excited.

I started planning how I would create everything.

For the Tail I used two pillows covered in garbage bags in case of rain on the hood of the truck. Then topped the pillows with a cardboard cutout all covered in plastic blue tablecloths. The side pectoral fin is also a cardboard cutout covered in plastic blue tablecloth. The end of which I folded to fit inside the door when it was shut. This made it easy to open the front doors of the vehicle because I could move the fin out of the way.

The actual "trunk" I cut out teeth and taped them together using poster board. I then taped them to the back of the vehicle. It is a little hard to see but the inside was covered in a black plastic tablecloths, one red on the bottom using two pillows to create the tongue and a balloon covered in a bag as the Uvula. On top of the tongue were little bags of Swedish fish and Nemo fruit snacks. On the top of the truck were two fountain silver decorations stacked together to look like the spout.

To finish the look I added an eye to each side.

The whole gang before being "Swallowed by the Whale" :)

Our Little Clown Fish :)

We had a really great time passing out all the candy and seeing all the "Trunk or Treaters". Cole had the most fun eating all the candy!

Pumpkin Creme Pie Recipe Review!

There really is no better season in my eyes than FALL!! I love the colors, the temperatures (give me a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and I am a happy girl), the bon-fires, Halloween, hot cocoa and hot apple cider. So yesterday when I found a recipe for pumpkin crème pies I couldn't wait to try them.  

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog/2010/10/a-tasty-recipe-pumpkin-creme-pie/

I loved that almost everything in the recipe I had in my pantry. I had to run to the store to get the pumpkin and cream cheese.

After getting starting dinner and getting it in the oven I started on the pies. I used a big metal bowl and hand held mixer. All the wet ingredients mixed together easily. For the dry ingredients it didn't say to but I always sift my flour when combining for baking. I find it makes it easier to mix into wet ingredients.

Once my pie mixture was complete I took a gallon zip lock bag inserted it into a small bowl folding the sides of the bag over the edges. I added the pie mixture to the bag got the air out and sealed it closed. I took all my precut square parchment papers and laid them out on the kitchen table. I cut the corner off my zip lock bag and began making the circle shaped pies. I loved the convenience of the squares though I found moving my hand with the bag easier than trying to just squeeze with one hand and move the paper. After I finished making all the pies I added them to ungreased cookie sheets. The other great thing about the paper squares, clean up was a breeze. I put the pies in the oven, set the timer and began the filling recipe.

I had the cream cheese and butter at room temperature, again used the handheld mixer and everything came together great. After it was combined I set aside till my pies were done and cooled completely.

The finished product looked just like the picture from the recipe. (something I enjoy being able to see so I know whether mine turned out) My husband ate the first one and raved about the taste, just like a pumpkin roll he said. That was my exact description as well. The difference and the main reason I really love this recipe and plan to use it many times in the future is the convenience of the cookie shape. (No plate and fork needed)

Make and take these great treats to Parties

Put in lunches for kids, husbands and self (a better choice than the boxed version from the store)

Terrific for a bake sale

Put in a nice tin and give as a gift

Make the day before Thanksgiving and pull them out for a fun dessert (I'd choose these over pumpkin pie any day)

Get in the kitchen start baking and enjoy this Sweet Fall Treat :)

*The only drawback I found from this recipe was the total prep time. However, with that said I will continue to use this recipe.

The exciting and dreaded first haircut.

What is a good age, where do you take them, how do you get them to sit still.

I love my child to death but his ability, like most children's, to sit still is almost nonexistent. So when I decided he needed a haircut and I couldn't put it off anymore I looked into where I would take him. I really wanted somewhere not very expensive, where we wouldn't have to wait long, the stylist would be patient enough to work with a child  and I could be a crazy 1st time mom and take a bunch of pictures.

After looking up on-line reviews and info on places in my area I found Pigtails and Crewcuts. They are a chain and located in many states. The prices were a bit higher than I wanted to spend on my child's haircut but I took into consideration time and frustration at any other place and decided a little more money would probably be worth my sanity. Boy was I right.

You can tell this place is kid friendly as soon as you walk in the door. The "Chairs" are fire trucks, police cars, taxi cabs and airplanes. They have a play table for children in the waiting area. They offer birthday parties and each stylist station is equipped with a TV/DVD player and video games for the kids to play/watch while they get their hair cut.

Cole was so excited to sit in the police car and watch the DVD I picked for him from the DVD library. We're talking everything from Nickelodeon and Disney to Veggie Tales.

He wasn't a fan of being sprayed by the water bottle to wet his hair down but once that part was over he paid no attention to the fact his hair was getting cut and just watched the movie while acting like he was driving the police car. Since he was so entertained I was able to take a bunch of pictures and video to share with my family and add to Cole's baby book. When the cut was over and he looked no longer like my baby boy but a big boy we got a piece of his hair, a picture and a certificate to commemorate his 1st haircut, all part of the first haircut package.

Since his first haircut I have tried two different places, standard adult style hair salons, and found as I said I spend a little less money but a lot more time bribing with candy and goodies while begging him to sit still.

https://www.pigtailsandcrewcuts.com/default.aspx

Pregnancy Cravings

Last night as my hubby and I sat on the couch watching tv I began to have a major craving for the pumpkin shaped Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. I asked him if he would get me some. He asked where they were and I told him at the store. As he laughed hysterically at me and looked at the clock, 9 pm, I figured there would be no peanut butter cups for me.

So today when my son and I had to run out and do some errands I decided to get some for myself. After purchasing my 3 packages of 6 and eating one in the car on the way home I told myself I would eat no more than 1 a day.

Later when my husband got home from work he walks into the kitchen where I am making dinner and hands me a kingsize package of pumpkin shaped peanut butter cups. I couldn't contain my joy. He had thought of me and even if he was already at the gas station he took the time to walk inside to get me exactly what I was craving and refrained from eating them before getting home.

After the many thank yous and the hug and kiss I told him to not look in the pantry. He went anyway and found the 3 boxes I bought myself. :)

Love that in living our day to day lives we can get into a routine and all it takes is 2 pumpkin shaped peanut butter cups to bring back all the many reason you love a person and can't imagine life without them!