Homeade Halloween

I don't really buy sesonal decorations.  I hate storing them & I HATE packing them up when the season is over!  Too much work.  So at our house we fill our home with seasonal decorations made by the kids & me.  Now that sounds very hokey...& it is...but we love it.  Especially the kids!  Here is my little Bo making his pumpkins this year.

I always have some shapes cut out for him to glue on.  I try to have my daughter cut her own shapes.  But I must admit it is very hard for me to keep my hands off their projects.  I like the mouths centered & the eyes matching.  But if I can restrain myself...their creations always turn out to be my favorite.

This little guy ended up with 2 mouths.  He is our favorite!

Last year we did monsters!  Those were a ton of fun!

Every holiday we make something a little different. 

On birthdays I always have the house decorated when they wake up.

And we like to send dad holiday emails by our creations.

St. Patrick's Day

And Valentine's Day is always filled with red balloons.

Cheesey?  Maybe.  But we love it.

The best part is...after a week...just toss them all in the trash.  No packing, no storage. 

For Christmas we go real decorations, but other holidays...homeade all the way.

Spooky Encounters

   Our first spooky encounter of the day.  Actually...to tell the truth...she wasn't spooky at all.  I am sure that the only one scared was this girl...when I (crazed woman) flagged her down as she was about to leave & asked her for her picture.  But come on, the week of Halloween...I had to! 

   My sister Kate & I were running errunds with my kids & after just one stop on our list we couldn't believe our luck, another hearse!  This time right in front of us:

So we did what any crazed women would do, cut over into the other lane & fly by her taking pictures.  Our photography was not as smooth as we were also laughing hysterically. 

I guess the spooky encounters today...were for our victims.

   This does remind me of one of my favorite days this past summer.  We were headed to a park & at the last minute we decided to try a new one that I had discovered while my husband was out of town.   After we were there for about 5 minutes, I noticed 2 figures riding up on scooters from across the park with their hair blowing in the wind.  They never said a word.  They stayed for quite awhile, walking very slow & deliberate.  Kids were shrieking with fear & loving it!

My 2 year old Bo ran straight for us TERRIFIED!!!!!!!

My five-year-old Annie wasn't fazed one bit.  She spent the whole time on the swings watching it all.  It almost seemed like she didn't even notice.  It really was hilarious to watch the little kids running to their parents & then back onto the park to be scared again.   The bigger kids running right by them, just out of arms' reach, wanting so badly to be chased by these mysterious figures.  The kids were screaming, the parents were laughing & the 2 boys were totally silent the entire time.  It was so enjoyable that I hated to see them scooter off.

I wished that I had been that creative to on a beautiful summer night, scooter to the park & scare the heck out of the kids. Well done boys. Very spooky & well done.

Sweet Dolly Baby Food

These little baby food food jars are the most played with toys in house.  I just whipped up little labels on the computer & used contact paper to keep the labels safe.  Even after being banged around by 2 kids for 2 years...they are still intact AND still have their lids...Amazing!

The little girls love to use them to feed their dollies.  The little boys love to screw & unscrew the tops over & over again.  You would be amazed what my son puts in these jars.  If you would like a copy of the labels I would be happy to send you them in a Microsoft Publisher document.

My kids practically live in their kitchen set.  So I enjoy making it a sweet little place to be.  Here is Annie's little shelf. 

   The other day Annie told me, "Mom, I make good decisions, do you want to hear them?"  Of course I did!  "One...no drinking beer.  Two...no touching my glass animals.  Three...Don't watch too much t.v.   Aren't those good?"  I actually let her play with the little glass animals if she is just by herself...note the chipped ears.  When friends are over things tend to get broken.  But what fun are they to have if you can't touch them?

The little glass chickens are her own collection just like mine.

Here is just a peek inside their world:

And hopefully that will keep this little messy thing...

...busy enough so that he isn't quite as curious in my kitchen.

Shell Jars

    The first time I took my baby girl to the ocean she was 5 weeks old.  We actually DROVE from Minnesota down to the Gulf Coast.  She did such a good job & only cried in Nashville!  We traveled with my parents as they were looking to buy a Beach Condo.   We hit many of the gulf towns but spent much of the vacation in Orange Beach, Alabama, where my parents decided to buy.

    While at the ocean I collected Annie's first shell off the beach.  When I returned home I made a special jar for her to collect 1 shell from each trip to the ocean.  It is very special to her.

    I hope this is an idea you can use!  They make GREAT baby gifts and are so smple to make.  I just took an old jar & used a hot glue gun to attatch a shell to the top.  The letters are just scrapbook stickers.  Let me know if you try it!    

Each shell is numbered.  This shell is for her 4th trip to the ocean.  It has the year, her age, our destination, & tells who traveled with us. 

Here are just a few pictures from that first trip.

I had my mom snap this one just as her feet touched the ocean for the very first time.  It sure makes me smile to remember that day.