Munchkin Monday: Happy Halloween!

What better way to celebrate Halloween then pictures of cute kids in costumes?

Hey it's Tiffany! Here's my cute little munchkins in their costumes! I thought my little guy was the cutest little giraffe ever and my girl was the cutest witch! Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! I know we certainly did:)

Happy Halloween this is Whitney and my cute family this Halloween. We had so much fun with these costumes. My husband and son love to talk like pirates so this was a fun year for costumes. They were WAY into it.

Pirate family with our cute little Tinker Bell

We love to dress up, hear is a pictures from last year. We did a Toy Story theme with my family and went all out. LOVE HALLOWEEN! What better time to be someone FUN! Have Fun and be safe!

Hey, Hi! This is JeNae. I'm not too crafty when it comes to costumes, but these are some of my favorites.

Hey it's Emily! Here are my cute little witch and Darth Vader.

Isabelle's witchy nose makes me smile =)

HI It is TERESA!!! This year we decided to be Wizard of OZ cause we had a sweeeeeeet lion costume for our little man but when i opened it 2 yrs after we bought it. I noticed we were missing a super important part--the mane! ugh i was so annoyed and we were already planning our costumes so he became the Tin Man. My 6 yr old decided he would rather be a pirate so that is why we have an out cast in our family! we should have let him join Whitney's family pic.

Hi there, it's Andrea. Well, a little late due to a few technical difficulties but here we are. The kids were given the idea of being something different and not a movie or TV character this year. I think it turned out pretty good! :)

Halloween Birthday Party

Are you ready for a Spooktacular Birthday Party???

My kids Birthdays are both right around Halloween. So we love to have Halloween parties.

Since I work at Fatcats in Ogden, we got to have a super sweet party this year...bowling, bumper cars, glow golf...the works!It was so awesome!!!!

You guys need to have parties here!So, I have never really gotten the point of having helium filled balloons at birthday parties. Until now that is! They totally add so much to a party. And your local party store (mine is Zurchers) has a TON of way awesome balloons to choose from. I don't think I will ever be able to have another party without them.These straws I got at the dollar store. I think 6 came in a pack.

The Dollar Tree is a must for buying party supplies. Super cheap stuff that is pretty dang cool.

They also sell tons of little toys and stuff for goody bag stuffers!

I found this fun photo screen at Target.

It was a lot of fun for the kids....and the adults too!

The goody bag idea came from Martha Stewart.com

I find tons of ideas there! The little brooms were a huge hit!

Seriously, the bumper cars and glow golf were so much fun! Even the adults got in on the action!

Here are the Frankenstein cupcakes!

I also got this fun idea from Martha Stewart.com

They didn't quite turn out as perfect as I was hoping, but they were a hit anyway!

Besides monsters are supposed to look a little crazy!

Foodie Friday: Hearty Chili

Every year around Halloween we have a chili and pumpkin-carving night! This year I wanted to make a new chili recipe, because I wasn't happy with the one that I had been using. I tried a few fancy-schmancy recipes, but we weren't all too excited about them. Then I decided to just go back to a basic chili recipe, and add on from there. It turned out great! So good, and easy on your wallet. Since the recipe calls for basic kitchen staples, we already had most of the ingredients at home!

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 c. chopped green pepper

1/4 c. dried minced onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 15oz. can of tomato sauce

1 15oz. can dark red kidney beans (Don't drain these)

1 15oz. can diced tomatoes (Don't drain these)

1 15oz. can chili beans (DRAINED)

3 to 4 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. salt

pepper to taste

1. Simmer the onion, garlic, green pepper and ground beef until the meat is browned.

2. Add the tomato sauce and beans and stir.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 30-40 minutes.

*I topped the chili with sour cream and chopped green onion.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

DIY Thursday : Bat Curtains

I was inspired for this idea by this idea on Marthastewart.com. I didn't want the same pattern from the curtains on Martha Stewart.com, because it was a little bit too scary (I thought) for kids. So we decided to go with bats! Also, the Martha Stewart curtains seemed VERY time consuming and difficult to make. I am super busy, so this version was best for me.

I started with an old sheet that has been laying around forever, then I shredded the side that I wanted to be the bottom. Then I tied several of the torn strips into knots to give the curtains a spooky feel.

Step 1: First i drew several different sized bat patterns onto some thick chipboard, and cut them in half. I then folded the felt in half and placed the straight edge of the pattern along the fold. This helped me to only make half the cuts on each bat!

Step 2: I then traced the patterns onto some black felt, and cut them out.

Step 3: After all the bats were cut out, I placed them on the sheet and arranged them. Then I sewed a few basic stitches to attach the bat cut-outs. SO easy and SO cute!

Wild Card Wednesday : Halloween Fun Necklace

So you have had 12 hours to LOOK at this fun necklace have you figured out how to make it yet???  

NO,  well I guess i will type up some info to help you learn to make your own!!

I have always wanted a fun necklace like this but never knew how to make it and was overwhelmed to try cause i didn't want to mess it up then i realized I had some extra Halloween and suddenly I had a necklace after only 1 hr of work and some little hands trying to "help". 

Supplies-

Beads

Jump rings (or make your own)

20-16 gauge wire 

I took the long wire and wrapped it around my round nose pliers (for jewelry making) then slide the bead onto it the long part. Make 1 more loop out of the wire and then cut, or cut first then roll. You pick the easy way for you! You don't have to wrap the ends around itself just make sure there are no gaps between the wire pieces. Then attached 3 jump rings to make the links and start again

One trick i have found is when you are making the loop on either side of the bead once you have wrapped the wire if you bend it backwards a little it will straighten your loop so it wont be off centered.

This is how i try to craft!! yes he is cute but really not a lot of help! 

I don't like to model my own things cause i have issues :) so i picked a much cuter model than me!!! she doesn't really get to wear this it is just for this picture. This necklace is MINE!!!! 

Sweet Tooth Tuesday: Pumpkin Cake

I love this time of year and all the yummy pumpkin recipes. This is one of the many yummy recipes I have.




Pumpkin cake:



1 large can (30 oz) pumpkin



1 yellow or white cake mix



3/4 cup butter



Prepare pumpkin as if for pie. Pour in a greased 9X13 pan. Sprinkle cake mix over pumpkin mixture. Melt butter and drizzle over top. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Let cool. Serve with cool whip

Munchkin Monday: Pirate Potty Party

I started to potty train my little boy. As moms we all know the hard work that it takes to potty train. What better way to celebrate this accomplishment then a party! My son is way into Pirates so that is the party theme that we chose. (Let them choose, so they can be more excited about the party) I made this poster that went on the bathroom door.

It has three sections: I went potty, I went poop, dry all day

As he did these things each day he got to pick a sticker and place it under what he had achieved.

The party reward is a far reward for them to wait for so I did as little reminders and for a good job along the way. I got a bucket and placed some dollar store toys and treats in the bucket. After he got so many stickers then he got to pick a prize. (You decide on the number of stickers they need to get according to how they are doing)

The Pirate Party is finally here

Addy was so exited to take his invitations to his friends

I took brown paper bags that I got at the grocery store and cut them to fit in the printer

I found a picture of a map and printed it on one side and put the party information on the other

Arrr! Matey it's a

Pirate Potty Party!

This pirate is potty trained and has earned his potty party.

join all the pirates in celebrating!

X marks the spot, so come find the treasure.

Chart ye course for Addy's house

date and time of party

Pirate and Pirate Princesses in proper attire or ye will walk the plank.

(Halloween costumes were accepted)

Arrr ye comin to the party?

number to RSVP to

WAY TO GO PIRATE ADDY!

Rolled them up, placed them in a bottle and sent them on their way.

I got my bottles at Wal-mart and drank what was in them. They have message in a bottles that you can send in the mail. What a fun idea. Check out the link here

Let the party begin...

I found most of my decorations and favors at the dollar store so always check their party stuff when you stop in. Such a great deal for party stuff.

When the kids first arrived the Pirates got eye patches, swards, and a pirate hat. The pirate princesses got necklaces, sparkly head bands and a wands.

For the Pirate Princesses I found foam wands and for the Pirates I cut swards out of a foam poster board or you could use cardboard. They got to color and use foam stickers to decorate them.

When all the little kiddos come they have to walk the plank to get inside. This pictures looks really cheesy but they though it was fun.

For warmer weather have them walk a plank that goes over a little swimming pool. If they fall off then they get a little wet but way fun!

In the treat department I decided that it was so close to Halloween that we would have some fun Halloween treats.

Jello Oranges

Cut the oranges in half and clean them out. Make the jello according to directions on box. Fill the oranges to the top with the jello mix and place in fridge till firm. Cut into slices.

Mummy Juice Boxes

Wrap the boxes with white electrical tape and then place your eyes on them. So easy and so fun!

*make sure you don't cover the straw hole

Mummy Dogs

I have made these for my kids before and they loved them.

Trinity posted a recipe on the blog that is about the same as the one I used. to check out how to make these mummy dogs click here.

Our little Potty trained Champ!

My only other suggestion for potty training is to make it fun and worth it for them to make this accomplishment.

GOOD LUCK!! You just might need it