Happy Halloween

We had a really sweet Halloween. I got happy mail.

 

 

My husband must have noticed how I was utterly defeated last year attempting to carve a pumpkin.  I did not even attempt it this year and we didn't even got to the big pumpkin patch.  So that little cutie showed up just in time!

 

The Pea was not feeling the hat.  And the Princess was a peacock of course and to her delight, she won the costume contest at the Jellybeans in Cameron, NC.  She won a whopping gift card for some delicious froyo and a cute little t-shirt.

 

xo

Halloween Party

The Princess is all about masquerading this year and a costume is not just a costume but a disguise.

 

She is being disguised a pretty little peacock.. again. I wanted to fancy it up a little more than her birthday. The extra feathers came just in time for me to adhere them to the Princess's ensemble right before the big party. I had not started the Pea's outfit at all and was a bit in a hurry. Affixing the feathers so quickly left me with only one severe burn this time around.

 

Then I turned my attention for the 100th time that morning to the Pea. What should he be, oh, what should he be? I had purchased a get up of their favorite pooch, the Scoobs, but it really didn't seem just right. I thought I should at least busy myself instead of standing still, so I looked for the peacock gift bags leftover from the Princess's birthday party. That's when I saw a very cute pair of socks that I couldn't wait to put on the Pea's piggies. I found some other goodies, too.

 

 

Did you know that, at bedtime, we often have a little snack? We might eat berries or dried cereals. We don't mean to eat them in a hurry but it's hard to read aloud with a mouth full of grapes. Even though it's an awful good time stuffing our faces, the Princess and I are anxious to read. But too much of a good thing is never enough for the Pea. As we started to read, he yells "cheeseburger, popcorn, juice". To say the least, this disguise is not hardly a disguise at all.

 

At first, I made his hat from an old cap but it was too small. Then I made it from felt. It was too itchy. Then I cut up one of his t-shirts and that one was just right. Very Hungry Caterpillars also eat boogers. I purchased the shirt and pants believing that it could be so versatile but I had not thought of this at the time. I thought, well, he could be a frog and showcase his hopping skills. (That's actually all of the thought that I put into that.) It would so make a great Brobee costume and they have crocheted hats at Party City. And best of all, he could be Freddy Kruger. I will store those ideas away for now. Today, he is the very cute and hungry little... 

 

bugger

 

 

At the party, there was a magic show. The Pea immediately recognized the magician from Umi Zoomi and went to greet him. Instead of thinking the Pea rude, the magician made him part of the show.

 

We played games, danced and laughed with our friends from work and school. The Pea kept eating his prizes.

 

The Princess received many compliments on her disguise. So did the Pea! Who knew that we were so original. So we went to a costume contest that just happened to have our fave... froyo.

 

When we got home we had a supper of rice, broccoli and chicken. But unfortunately, so much sugar had already stirred up trouble in the Pea's stomach and all of it's keeps came flying out with some serious projectile. The Princess was troubled by my soiled clothes. A hot bath for all, movies and cuddles squared the night away.

 

xo 

A Little Batty

 

Ying's finished placemat.

 

 

 

I got to use these iron on letters I've been trying to purge.  I really like how the colors turned out.  The mitered corners were being particular. And it doesn't REALLY match the previous years' one....

 

 

 

I still like it though.

 

 

xo

 

First Fun Run

You are greedy when fun run sounds like funyun.

 

I forgot all about this. Ying told me about it and I wrote it down but not in my planner.

 

She had the jitters the night before.  So did I, because I knew I'd have an unplanned day.  But I ran 2 miles on the treadmill then we ate pineapple chicken and rice, tostitos and cookies for dinner.  I also made our breakfast and packed some swedish fish for her to eat as "running gels".  She wanted to run around the house for practice and I let her to get the wiggles out and boy, did she have the wiggles.

 

She had a decent breakfast the day of the run (eggs, strawberries and yogurt juice).

 

I really wanted to make us running shirts but it was just too late.  Plus, it was at the school where apparently everyone knows her name because she is a pretty popular girl.

 

I liked how the let the lowest grades run first... the bigger kids coming after would give them company.

 

She finished .75 miles in 8 minutes and 19 seconds.

 

 

 I brought chocolate milk for her "recovery" and she had a better idea.

 

I couldn't get past the whole "funyun" thing so I had a water, wrap, onion rings and ... 

 

 

 

a pumpkin pie blizzard.  It packed more pumpkin pie taste than I expected... cinnamon and crust cookie bits made it pie-ish.

 

 OK, I've got sewing to do.

 

 

 

 

More Placemats Please

I really need to make more placemats.  I created this placemat two years ago.

 

My favorite parts... 

 ...Ying's skull and bows pajama shirt. 

...three little pockets for cutlery... or popsicle puppets

...the dreamcicle stripes

So I really wanted to make a matching, personalized one  with leftovers from

my banner.

 

You ever have something you want to get rid of but don't want to throw it

away?  That's how I am with these iron on letters I have.  So, as much as I love to

applique with Japanese fabric and intricate embroidery...

a placemat in this house has to be spaghettifiable. 

TGIF: Scooby

 

Scooby Loves Burgers

 

 

burger kabob {toast, burger, lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon)

apple fries

groovy sun chips

Scooby gummy snacks

 

Scooby Loves Hotdogs

 

 

hot dog

grapes

corn on the cob

Scooby gummy snacks

 

No picture of the spaghetti because as we all know, Scooby also loves Spaghetti.

She had spaghetti and meatballs in a thermos, applesauce and more groovy chip.

 

Scooby Parties

 

 

grape kabobs

peanut butter and grape jelly dog

juice

Scooby gummy snacks

Scooby cereal (they tasted like King Vitamins)

 

Haunted House

Ying made her on lunch!

 

 

Cheetos

cantaloupe pumpkins

apple jelly and peanut butter haunted house

Franklin Street

 Is the weekend ever long enough?  There was a persistent drizzle all weekend
so it made for some frustrating, sleepy and cozy moments.

The highlight of our weekend was obviously the planetarium.  We ate at the the Loop.

Sorry no pictures since pushing a double stroller, with an umbrella, and taking a picture
 with the oversized iPhone in my undersized hands are, in fact, impossible.  Anyway,
 the pizza was so good...  Ying said so.  When I ordered the medium, the waitress was compelled
to tell me  that it was a pretty decent sized "New York style" pizza.  She obviously
doesn't know the appetite of this clan because scoping out the pizzas around
us, I was doubtful the medium would be enough.

It was... we ate all of it.  Yang outdid himself.  I know he's getting full
when he starts to act slightly drunk.  He even looked in the mirror to
admire his pepperoni eating skills.  And I'm way to excited when there are
no leftovers.

Feeling a little unstuffed, we headed to Sugarland.  Sounds like, home?

So, Ying had chocolate gelato. Easy day.  Yang ALMOST had the mango (because
it was yellow, his favorite color); HOWEVER, upon tasting it... ok he didn't
say it was gross but baby faces don't lie and that shribbled up prune face
flashed with a bright red that signaled "gross gross gross gross gross".
Just sayin.  After the waitress graciously allowed him to taste every single
color, he settled for cookies and cream but found Ying's dessert most
tasteful... not because it was chocolate but because it was hers.  And
that's why I chose not to even try.  I did get these to go.

I had macarons in Belgium in 1999 then again in Vegas in 2010.   I find them
expensive.  These were $2 per cookie.  Yep, you know what I said.  But, I
really felt like giving us the world and so there you have it.  (I'll have
to eat Chief's)  And that other thing is a sweet potato bacon cupcake.
Yeah, that's exactly what I said.

And what did I create?  Nothing except clean clothes, home cooked meals,
animal balloons and awesome snuggly movie time.  I did start this.

Just a little something for snacktime.

TGIF: Space

It's World Space week!

 

So, e had some "space-y" lunches to go with....

 

Earth

 

 

 

a sky of grapes, cheese moon and north star

corn on the cob sun

animal cookie constellations

a cup of asteroid peanuts, cashews and dried corn

Earth (blue tortilla, roast beef, swiss, mayo and lettuce)

 

 

Rocket Wrap

 

 

apple slice moons

hummus sun

rocket wrap {Gyro slices, swiss cheese, lettuce, peppers, cucumber spread}

baked chips

 

Man on the Moonburger

 

 

cheese dip sun

astronaut ice cream

black nachos

burger {toast, hamburger, swiss cheese, marshmallow man}

 

Pizza Planet

 

 

I was truly all out of ideas at this point.

 

{various deli meat, mozo cheese}

ranch dressing sun

gummy pizza

strawberries

 

To end our week, we took a trip to UNC Chapel Hill's planetarium. Great time!

 

Silly Yang is pretending type as I type this very moment... "Look, I'm puting" Yep, you sure are.

Trick or Treat Banner

This little banner is perfect my kitchen and kiddos.

 

 

I made the backing using matching fabrics from Jo Ann's and Moda.

 

 

Maybe some day, I will fuse some appliques to the back but for now, I'm happy to just hang it. Sometimes I do that... finish a craft just enough to be able to use it but go back and embellish it. I get quick gratification and in the future, I get quick wins.

 

 

 

 

I'm glad I hung it.  I desperately needed to dress up these doors. I love seeing it's playfulness as soon as I walk in.  And the kids the kids are enjoying spying all of the cute little illustrations in our new decorations.

Trick or Treat Street Wall Hanging

This weekend we ventured out to another country town in our area. Have you heard of Wal-Mart Express?  I hadn't either until I went to the town of Coats, NC.  We were on our way to Noah's Landing. By the way, there is a pizza shop there that has the most adorable staff and delicious pizza.  Then, we went to Cary for some crafty things and to PetSmart where it's kind of like the zoo only with pets. It was fun!

 

We also put up our Halloween decorations.

 

 

 I'm not big on Halloween; however, I was compelled to rent World War Z. It was scary!

 

I like cute and not so scary Halloween things... like this panel called Costume Clubhouse.

 

 

I bought it's predecessor, Trick or Treat Street, 3 or 4 years ago but it was just too cute to cut. After seeing this banner and how well it actually matches my kitchen, I gained the confidence to cut it.

 

 

 I love the colors in both panels. I made a panel from the center by zig zag stitching it to black felt. I just may scallop or pink around it but I'm going to let it hang for now. But, see how well it matches my rooster which I bought to match my countertops that I actually hate. Win!

 

 

Anyways, there are so many ideas running through my head for the rest of the panel. I think I'm going to start on these letters next.

 

 

 

TGIF: Lions, No Tigers

Tasty, Good Looking and Incredible Food.

 

The conclusion to our Wild Things week of lunches is a lion lunch. 

Lion Lunch

 

 

lion {turkey dog mane, cheese face}

lettuce

chili cheese sauce

seasoned hot dog bun quarters

antelope {cantaloupe}
tostitos
pumpkin spice m&ms
 I'm still debating on whether to let her watch the old Wizard of Oz.

 

But of course, I had to follow up her lunch of bears with lions. Oh, my!It was kind of scary to me as a child. I don't know, should I?

 

Also, I mentioned the Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs movie, we saw...

Check out these recipe cards I found http://www.wegotkidz.com/cloudy-with-a-chance-of-meatballs-2/

OK, time for me to dig into my soup... mmm... it's going to be a long night.

 

Elephants on Patrol

Elephants

lettuce
elephants {peanut butter and jelly}
peanuts
cucumber on an elephant pick
ranch watering hole
crunch dung because everybody has to go some time

Apple Pickin' Bears

I have a few fabrics that are barely a 1/4 yard.

Most pros would consider these scraps but I've just been holding on to them.

I think I've found a purpose for them. Reusable napkins for Ying's lunch.

Aren't these autumn bears cute?

 

It is 11x11 and perfect for her little hands and lunchbox.

 

It was only fitting to give her a bear-able lunch.

 

Here are a few more apple lunches from the fourth week of school.

 

Chicken

 

Eggs: mozo cheese stick cut into pieces
Corn
Chicken patty
Banana chips and granola feed
Chicken blood marinara LOL yes I went there

Stars

No pic, sorry.

 

Apple sandwich with star center (peanut butter and chocolate chips between 2 apple slices}

turkey bites

Seasoned cracker stars

Cheese starts

 

Apple Tree

 

No pic, sorry.

 

tree {bacon trunk, lettuce and broccoli leaves, apple chunks}

sun {apple sauce}

cloud {vanilla yogurt}

bunny crackers

carrots

 

Old McDonald's

 

burger {Hawaiian bun, hamburger, American cheese, grape tomatoes lettuce}

apple fries

apple and peanut butter fruit dip

{and a cute coke gummy treat}

 

 Pizza Dippers

pizza crust cut into triangles (is freezing cauliflower crust possible?)

pizza sauce

carrots
shredded cheese and mini pepperoni

mandarin oranges
grapes

{and a cute pizza gummy treat}

I guess she's tired of carrots... so much for that....

Check Out My Pom Poms

Well, it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month but this was totally by coincidence.

 

Ying had lots of gifts for her recent birthday, so Sunday, I made pom poms for her room with the leftover tissue paper.

 

 

 

I always feel like I'm showing my thanks and that I value "your" money when I repurpose this stuff.

 

But guess what? My aunt calls asking about "those pom poms" that I made for her son's party so that she could decorate their doctor's office in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  And of course, I was so surprised because I just made these.  Am I psychic or what?  I love being psychic and I love it when people can do my crafts themselves. Ha!

 

To make these pom poms, you will need 8 - 10 sheets of gift tissue (the more the fluffier) , a piece of wire and scissors.

1. Stack and align the tissue paper as neatly as possible.

2. Accordion fold the entire stack in 1.5 to 2 inch folds.

3. Wrap a piece of wire around the center.

4. Use really good scissors to cut a scallop on the ends. It doesn't have to be Martha perfect because nobody will be able to tell.

5. Separate the sheets.

I hung mine with my very on fishing string and a removable hook.

 

Smile, Crocodile. It's All You.

I'm smiling because I get to start getting a little more crafty!

 

Ying is smiling because well it was picture day at school. So, I have this vision of 12 framed photos of a girl in a white shirt that really won't change that much from grade to grade. We'll see.  So she wore a white shirt, skinny jeans and black Mary Janes with a bit of a heel.  We did a practice photo shoot (because I'm cheap only purchased one 8x10 and plan to make my own wallet photos from my practice photo shoot). She wasn't self conscious about her missing teeth but she did mention a scratch on her nose. She loved her smoothed and curled hair the most.

 

Smile Crocodile

 

 

 

Crocodile: French bread, andouille sausage, mayo, mustard and lettuce

Kiwi Crocodile tongues

Pickle Crocodile babies

Green Apple Licorice 

 

The third week of school lunch was all about Ying because it was the week of her birthday.

 

Flower Power

 

 

 

Shredded cheese

Pineapple chunks

Honey hot dog stuffed cornbread flower and lettuce

Sunflower seeds, butterfly cookie

Spinach artichoke dip

 

Charlotte's Web

 

Spider: licorice, sprinkles and grapes

Ranch dip

Lettuce

Pig: ham

Horse: carrots and pretzels

Web: string cheese

 

Pandas

 

Veggie chips

Panda cookies

Panda: Ham and cheese on tortilla

Stars: Honeydew

Lettuce with ranch dip

 

Animal Carnival

 

 

Giraffe eating carrots (she likes to feed the giraffes at our local rescue zoo)

Dog jumping through fruit hoops

Animals on a Ferris Wheel: Bagel, cream cheese, turkey, pretzels, choco chips, grape and strawberry halves

 

Happy Birthday

 

 

Mozo 6 on top of turkey bites

Grape balloons

Banana bread cupcake with cream cheese frosting

Chocolate pudding with sprinkles