crafts of the creepy

Brinley, Crafts, Drew 2 Comments »

This has been quite a week in preparation for All Hallows Eve. D&B have been busy at home and with our friends doing all kinds of tasty and crafty things that make the Fall season fun. The weather has even been pretty nice! Somebody knock on wood…Ryan, where are you when I need to knuckle your head? 😉

We made caramel apples a la Annie. They were yummy!

We painted some cute Jack-O-Lanterns from Kari.

The persnickety painting princess. She painted the other side of her pumpkin pink with sparkles.

That Jack-O-Lantern has the same number of teeth that Drew is missing. Big money!

 

The march of shame. Don’t touch ANYTHING until you get in the shower!

The other night Brinley whipped up this “scary monster.” I was quite proud of her spur of the moment craftiness.

This is the best way to use up extra frosting. That way I’m not tempted to lick it off their faces.

I don’t know what it is about black paint, but the kids were covered in it.

Brinley ended up with black paint on her hiney. She must have had an itch.

Precise placement of the pipe cleaner legs and googly eyes is required.

Our spiders ended up with a major case of conjunctivitis. Next time we’ll splurge for some clear glue.

Our cute little spider spawn. These little guys live on the kids’ bedroom doors. Maybe they are the reason Drew ends up crawling into Brinley’s bed in the middle of the night?

And finally, our collection of constuction paper scaries…

It will be a sad day when these come down.

bakerella

Brinley 4 Comments »

Brinley is my little baking buddy. Anytime there is something going on in the kitchen, it’s only a few seconds before I hear the screech of a chair being moved across the kitchen floor and her asking if she can help.

The other day we roasted our own pumpkin to make a puree for cookies and bread.

By the time we got around to making the cookies she had transformed into Baking Beauty. Who says princesses don’t bake?

Brinley knows her ingredients pretty well. Once she has an idea of what we are making, she makes a run for the pantry to collect the necessary ingredients.

Showing off our yummy pumpkin puree… Brinley’s got her magic wand handy just in case something goes awry.

Mmm…licking the beaters.

My least favorite part about baking with kids: the mess. Oh the mess!

While I am cleaning, she is watching. Waiting for cookies to bake can be pure torture.

Last week we finished our jam for the season. And look – same hoodie, different color. Hm, they must have been on sale! 🙂 In my defense, I bought two different sizes. It just so happens she can wear both right now!

And finally, making sure we waste not – roasted pumpkin seeds.

Just keep the salt on the seeds, no over-the-shoulder for luck please. 

Future Food Network celebrity chef!

 

one hit wonders IV

Everyday 4 Comments »

I’m having a hard time keeping up with the old ball & chain, I mean blog this month. The kids get older and life gets crazier. Homework, field trips, class parties and fussy babies are taking their toll on my time to sit idly at the computer.

This photo of Brinley pretty much sums up our feelings about October.

Even though Fall only lasts a few minutes here in CO there were several days of sunshine that allowed us to enjoy the old habits of summer, such as evening bike rides…

We even had our own yard sale. The kids were great helpers and made sure all their old toys looked new again. So new that they had a hard time giving them up.

The kids sold drinks at the sale and raked in $5 each! I forgot to snag a picture of them selling the sodas, so this one will have to do. 

Rowan is pretty easy to please. She has discovered her voice and loves to make her presence known.

You know what our favorite thing is? Free stuff of course! No one can pass up free ice cream at Coldstone!

Mmmm….Ooey gooey marshmallow ice-cream.

Here’s a not-so-good habit. I’ve told Drew a million times not to climb the back fence to talk to the neighbor kids. I guess the 261 slivers are a better teacher.

Rowan still isn’t fan of the outdoor woods.

That’s OK, CTR Boy & Girl will save her. Cheddar looks like he is listening for the Jumanji drums calling him back to the wild. Another three-week hiatus may not end as well this time.

We ran out of construction paper the other day, and the kids were itching to do something crafty, so I sent them to the backyard with scissors. 

A week passed and we still hadn’t bought any paper. Back to the yard kids!

I think they liked this activity more than cutting paper.

If it’s too cold outside to cut grass there’s usually something else that can be made into a useful pile of confetti. Does anyone use phonebooks anymore?

Rowan is getting cuter and needier by the minute. Teething, immunizations, and dairy make my days look like this…

 

She does command her subjects to eat every morning from her throne on high.

This is what it looks like after school at our house. Brinley’s first question for Drew is “Did you eat your snack all gone?” If there are any crumbs left in his lunchbox she will eat them.  Believe it or not, she gets the same snack at home that Drew gets at school. Maybe it tastes better after it’s been to school and back?

 

Brinley loves to play with her hair. What girl doesn’t?

I wonder who snuck into the bag of chocolate chips. Hmmmm. It still remains a mystery.