Halloween's Coming!

If you're like me, your week has been jam-packed with all sorts of fun stuff.... and you still have two or three costumes to finish putting the final touches on!

Our Tuesday nights are normally hectic... we have Cub Scouts and last night we had our annual Fall Festival.  Anyway, while I recover and finish up the kid's costumes here are some pictures of our Fall Festival.

Enjoy!
Kyla

Bubbly Cauldron

So, occasionally I have a crafty moment.... (for all of you out there who think I'm crafty all the time - you can go right ahead and keep thinking that!) and can think up something all on my own, with out stealing  borrowing the idea from somewhere else.  This was one of those times when I was standing in the middle of Hobby Lobby in the extremely premature Christmas isle.  This is what I was able to brew up...

You will need:

1 large black cauldron
1 medium clay pot (or whatever else you have laying around that will give you some height and will also fit inside of your cauldron)
1 round piece of styrofoam
20 guage wire
wire cutters
6 total pkgs of christmas balls (mine were the six count pkgs and I used 3 silver and 3 green)
1 silver-glittery floral spray with ornaments

 Take your big black cauldron and invert your clay pot inside, so that bottom is facing up.

Then, insert a piece of wire into your styrofoam and curl the top and bottom to secure the foam to the clay pot.  (This will help secure the design.)

First, you may want to go ahead and insert your floral pick, if you were able to find one.  Center it on the cauldron to imitate bubbles coming up, over the pot.  Next, you will need to cut your wire.  I bought the package in the floral section and cut mine into about 5-6 inch sections.  Wrap one end through the top of  the ornament and twist is tight.  You may want to use the end of your wire cutters or get some needle-nose pliers to make it tight.  Take the opposite end and arrange your oranaments how you want them to look inside your cauldron (think of a potion that is bubbling up and over the sides).  Please feel free to get frustrated, leave the project sitting and come back and try again in a few hours! :)

This is what I was going for with my balls.



Here is the final product!  Happy Brewing!

Monster Chalupas!

Well, if your kids are like mine... they LOVE Halloween!  They love anything to do with Halloween.  I'm always trying to find new ways to make their holiday experience as fun as possible.  Here is one that I came up with after seeing a similar recipe for pizza mummies (I'll post that recipe later).  Hope you enjoy!

Monster Chalupas

6-8 tostada shells
1 can fat-free refried beans
1 small can sliced olives (or you can slice your own)
1 cup shredded cheese for the "hairy monsters"
1 cheese stick per chalupa for the "mummy monster"
extra broken chips for the "dracula monster"
Sour cream, salsa and guacamole for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread desired amount of beans on a tostada shell.  Decorate with black olives for eyes.  Peel or slice your cheese stick into thin strips and create a "mummy" face.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese for a "hairy monster".  Place a sliced black olive for a nose and broken chips for fangs on the "dracula monster".  Bake in a preheated oven for about 6-8 minutes.  Check them often to prevent burning.  Serve with sour cream, salsa and guacamole.  Enjoy theses "frightful" monsters!



This picture was taken before we cooked them... We were too hungry to wait for an after picture!

My First Post!

So, yes... I cracked and finally started my own blog.  How hard could this be?  Seriously?  Well, obviously I am computer-retarded.  So, please bear with me while I try to get my page up and running and looking the way I want it to!


I also thought of a multitude of reasons why I shouldn't start a blog, but the main one is...When am I going to do this?  When do I have the time?  I mean, really?


Oh well... I'm going to jump in feet-first and see what happens!  I hope you enjoy this little slice of our life. :)