crafting with the boys

last week i had a special crafty day with the boys.

we practised using scissors. i found scissors with 'lift assist' at dollar tree so that they're easier to cut with. aaron had a hard time with regular scissors but these were a lot better.

here is oscar cutting some triangles for his pumpkin

and here is oscar with his finished pumpkin. he glued all the pieces on all by himself.

and aaron glued pieces on his pumpkin. they did great with the glue. i used pieces of egg carton to put the glue in and then bent up pipe cleaners into glue applicators.

we also did ghostie toes. these were really fun. while the boys were coloring a picture i painted a foot and made prints. then i showed them how to make the eyes and the mouth. can you tell which one oscar colored? can you tell which one is aaron's foot?

more paper decorations

this is one of my favorite halloween decorations because it's so cheap to make. plus it makes me not mind the ugly blinds quite as much.. just cut some ghosts out of tissue paper and tape to the window. oscar saw me uploading this picture and said 'there's goats! remember when we put goats on the window?'

craving some paper garlands

i've been getting the apartment nice and festive for halloween. i needed some garlands and found this on paper crave (heh.. they just reposted it again today!). i changed it up a bit by adding some color and circles and using black ribbon to attach them. i love garlands!

crunchy crunchy granola

this week i made some pumpkin pie granola. i made some soup using a pie pumpkin this past weekend and saved some pumpkin and the seeds for in the granola. it tastes pretty good, but is almost TOO crunchy. i'll include the recipe, but with the warning that it needs to be tweaked. actually, i made it up.. lots of the ingredients are optional and you can really just use whatever you have on hand..

crunchy pumpkin pie granola

1/3 c. brown sugar

4 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. chopped almonds

1/4 c. chopped pecans

1/4 c. chopped walnuts

1/2 c. pumpkin seeds

1/4 c. golden flax seeds

1/4 c. unsweetened coconut

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. cloves

2/3 c. pumpkin (cooked and mashed or canned)

1/2 c. agave nectar

1 Tbs. vanilla

1/2 c. raisins

1/2 c. cranberries (ok.. i only had like 10 cranberries, so i used mostly raisins..)

1. combine dry ingredients and spices in a large bowl. stir.

2. combine pumpkin, agave nectar and vanilla in a small bowl. i was using fresh pumpkin so i smoothed this mixture in a blender.

3. combine wet and dry ingredients and stir stir stir until all is coated and happy.

4. bake at about 250 degrees stirring every 15-20 minutes until toasted and crispy.

5. remove from oven and cool. stir in raisins and cranberries. store in an airtight container.

makes about 15 - 1/2 c. servings

being a good sport

it's that time of year again and i'm trying to be good sport while jeremy is glued to the tv. this weekend i made him some popcorn in a giant football bowl while he was watching the jets get killed.

oscar helped him cheer on auburn saturday night

and i helped a bit too. (actually, we spent most of the game shelling pumpkin seeds...)

and in between football games (and playing fantasy football) he's cheering on the twins, too.. he's been very busy! i'm wondering what kind of sports withdrawal he'll go through while we're camping this weekend..