Trick or Treat

 

Last year I made Anderson his first Halloween bag, but Beck was too little so I put off. Sunday morning I realized we had trick or treating at my mom's office on Monday so I grabbed a tote bag at Wal-Mart, found some scraps of black felt and embroidered a simple Boo bag for Beck. I think it turned out pretty darn cute, even if I was the one who had to hold it all evening. Projects like this that take very little time but can be used year after year are definitely the most satisfying.

Snack Day

I have snack duty once a month for Anderson's class and, while I do not intend to make a big deal out of it most of the time, I am kind of excited when it falls near a holiday so I can do something more fun than the regular graham crackers or pretzels. Between the peanut allergies, the "nothing in wrappers" policy, and the fact that there are 12 finicky 3 year olds to nourish, being creative can be far more trouble than it is worth. Last time I made these ridiculously easy but so cute monster pudding cups I saw on Pinterest and the kids loved them. Anderson told his teacher they were "spooky snacks" because he is just too cute like that.

Treat

Friday a couple of girlfriends came over for a little Halloween treat-making party. The kids played and we wrapped, stuffed, and assembled cupcakes, mummy candy bars and Halloween Peeps s'mores for the kids' friends and teachers. The whole divide-and-conquer method was key and a December craft day is already in the planning stages. Aside from the cupcakes, which were intended for our own kids and neighbors, I chose treats that could be assembled ahead of time and passed out this Wednesday at school. The cupcakes were my own idea (though not very original as there was actually a picture of something similar on the box of licorice I bought, ha!), but everything else was from Pinterest, of course. As fun a night as we had and as much as the kids loved everything we made, my favorite part of the night had to be the perhaps wine-induced impromptu adult monster cupcake decorating contest that ensued when we ran out of spider legs. Sadly my own husband, and highly under-qualified, but equally cute official judge, ranked my squiggle mouth monster as only second place. Clearly the libations had clouded his judgement.

Oh, to be bored

Classes to teach, mounds of papers to grade, college recommendations to write, children to entertain, dinner to cook, an anniversary party to plan, a cold to nurse, and a house to tend all have me feeling spread a bit thin. Not so thin that we couldn't make another trip to the pumpkin patch, however. Aww, pumpkins.

Sick ones

 

We all (the kids and I anyway) got hit by a bug in the last couple of weeks so the days have been spent laying low, snuggling up, and trying to keep the grumpies from taking over (especially Mommy, it seems). Nights have been rough, mornings have been early, and sleep has been disrupted, to say the least. Fortunately we are all on the mend with nothing but lingering coughs to remind us that cold and flu season is here.

A patch of pumpkins

I have a million and a half things to do, but I am a procrastinator in the worst way and would much rather look at pictures of this weekend. The first pumpkin patch visit of the season because everybody goes at least three times, right? is always the most exciting. This year things were just as they always are except the boys were a little older and the lines were a little longer. The petting zoo was a hit, the choo choo a must, and the obligatory photo amongst the pumpkins a bit of a joke. But we did almost witness Anderson slide down the giant slide that he so desperately thinks he wants to go on. This year he actually made it all the way to the top before looking down and realizing that the big slide is, in fact, very, very big. Once again our sweet boy needed to be rescued by a worker who I am pretty sure was the same guy who rescued him last year. Oh, Anderson, you are just like your mama. Two feet firmly on the ground sure is a nice feeling.

Hugs, Giggles, and Joe Joes

Oh, these two. They drive me completely nuts and make me want to pull my hair out, but they really are the best. We are finally entering a stage where they can interact and actually play together. They still poke, pinch, and hit each other, but in between all of that they also hug, wrestle, and laugh together. They even share their Halloween Joe Joes (and clearly have the chocolate cookie mouths to prove it).

Spooky

I'm fairy certain Halloween is the favorite holiday of all little boys. Talk of costumes, spiders, and "spooky stuff" merely decreases during the rest of the year, it never actually goes away. We did some very minimal decorating, but it seems to have done the trick to make things just a tad bit spookier around here.

Fall Festival

 

Every year for as far back as I can remember we kicked off fall at the church carnival. The anticipation would grow in the few weeks prior as preparations were made and banners went up. I can still remember my first ever ride on The Scrambler with my mom that solidified my deep-seeded hatred for spin-y rides.

The cotton candy as big as your head, the cookie booth, spending $5 to not win a bottle of Coke in the Coke toss- none of it has changed. There are so few experiences from my childhood that I will be able to re-create for my kids, but this tiny little carnival that happens in the church parking lot the first week of October offers them if but a glimpse of how things used to be. The anticipation is the same for them as it was for me, if not greater, as we now live so close we can see the top of the Ferris wheel from the upstairs windows. The countdown began somewhere around last Monday and for these little boys Friday could not come fast enough.

Somehow I never posted the images from last year's carnival when Anderson rode his first "roller coaster", was thrown out of the obstacle course, and spent about $30 riding Jalopy Junction (aka "the car ride"). This year there was no mini roller coaster, he was initially apprehensive about Jalopy Junction but did get to ride once before it broke down (oh, the irony) and spent nearly $30 in the very obstacle course he was thrown out of last year. I can't wait to see what next year will bring when Beck is old enough to enjoy the kiddie rides and Anderson is tall enough to slide down the 4 story twisty slide.

It seems the festival is the first event in what inevitably becomes our most busy time of the year. Pumpkin patches, Halloween activities, Thanksgiving, and eventually Christmas-related fun will occupy most weekends from now until the end of the year. As the days become increasingly shorter and the air cooler, I spend much time during the work week looking forward to making the most of my weekends with my little family. My favorite time of the year has officially begun.