trick-or-treat

boys getting ready - hangers always seem to be a favorite toy around here.

aaron - ready to go (that hat only stayed on long enough for a photo op)

introducing - POOPSIE! -

family portraits. jeremy had to work late and didnt make it for the trick-or-treating.. we missed him so much.. what are whoopsie and poopsie without an oopsie?

here is some trick or treating action... oscar is trying to get in his pocket, danielle is talking, aaron is falling asleep, oscar made friends with raggedy ann, lane is just a handsome little fellow isnt he? and raggedy ann is pick or treating. that about wraps up the evening!

chocolate spiders were harmed in the making of this photo.

so about those chocolate spiders... i took them to the meeting today and they were a big hit. who knew something that cheap and easy would get such a good reaction? next year i think i'll do some with white chocolate and mini chocolate chip eyes to make mummies. i'd also like to try marta's ghouls. and did you see these on a cup of jo?? they look so yummy! and after making this marbled pumpkin cheesecake (still chilling in the fridge), i have a bit of leftover pumpkin AND gingersnaps.

pumpkin carving night!

tonight we carved pumpkins! it's one of my favorite halloween traditions. i love picking out the perfect pumpkin, toasting pumpkin seeds and sipping hot apple cider. oscar got to participate this year (sorta). he sat at his high chair next to us and played with pumpkin goo. he tasted it a few times and then decided it was more fun to throw it in the pumpkin goo bowl. i wish i had gotten more pictures of the evening, but the pictures of the results will have to do.

here are our pumpkins.. mine, oscar & nana's, and jeremy's. i was going to carve oscar's for him, but we thought it would be fun for nana to carve with us. mine is pretty boring, but i was more interested in not burning the pumpkin seeds this year. i promise to be more creative next year.

all lit up. i sprinkle pumpkin pie spices on the lids so they smell extra yummy when the candle is burning, like mom does.

jeremy did an awesome job... i think he wins best pumpkin this year

and i think these are the best pumpkin seeds i've ever made. i used this recipe and followed some of the suggestions that other people made. i ended up using something along these lines:

2 tablespoons margarine, melted
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
pumpkin seeds from 3 pumpkins

they're tasty tasty. it's fine with me that i'm the only pumpkin seed fan in the house.

i stayed up late to make this recipe. i plan to take these chocolate spiders with me to my breastfeeding meeting on friday. i'm not sure that they're all that fantastic, but they were cheap and easy. plus, i already had leftover red frosting i could use for the eyes! i'll take a picture at some point if i get a chance.

more whoopsie

whoopsie showing some bloomers.

whoopsie also had a sign so the kids could pick what they wanted painted on them. it was a bad idea to use face paint for the sign because it smudged a lot and the sign was hanging where the kids could reach it. the model for the tiger face is lane and danielle is the model for the butterfly face. i had a tough time painting those little things on little moving faces.. i'll definitely need more practice if i'm going to do this again. the tiger and butterfly were actually easier for me to do because they were bigger.

this is aaron's cousin brooklyn. she was such a sweetheart! it's a good thing she had to leave for church, otherwise she might have ended up covered head to toe in face paint!

aaron's cousin breanna and his nana ruby both got butterflies. nana ruby was the only adult brave enough to ask for something. breanna also got the unicorn on one hand and the heart on the other.

more oopsie

resting his balloon making fingers.

oopsie with the birthday boy.

i made oopsie a sign with things that he could make for the kids. he was a mostly silent clown. he said that at some point he forgot to stay in character and scolded lane for squirting someone with water.

he made whoopsie a bracelet to match her outfit. isnt he the sweetest?

oopsie and whoopsie

the creation of oopsie and whoopsie was the most time consuming part of the party planning. jeremy did a lot of work on his costume (sewing buttons, adding elastic, picking a face design, sewing up his leggings). we purchased a few clown essentials from lucky's clown supplies. the service was FANTASTIC. i recommend them for all your clowning needs. (though i dont know of anyone reading this that HAS clowning needs) so along with that and our clown loot from the thrift store, we bought a couple yards of fabric, some trim and some yarn and buttons and that was about it. oh, and a wig for jeremy.

the makeup was a first attempt at clown grease paint makeup for me. i was so happy with the outcome of my eyes and mouth that i almost forgot the red nose! i did both of our faces and by the time we finished we had to run around like mad to get dressed and get to the party on time. when we got home there were clothes everywhere and baby powder all over the bathroom.

a lot of oopsie's clothes were almost straight off the rack. a few buttons here, some elastic there, a bow tie.. tada! we found his hat in the bin and glued a belt around it. he also has suspenders made of miss-match belts, but they dont show much in these pictures. and of course he has his balloon apron for holding all of his ballooning accessories. a pocket for his pump, two pockets for balloons and one pocket for little toys to give to the kids. he sure is a handsome clown!

whoopsie's costume required a bit more construction. the hat was made and the wig made out of yarn was attached to the inside. the shirt was made of various other articles of clothing. the pink polka dot skirt was made, along with part of the fluffy under layers. the red ruffly skirt was in the clown loot and only needed the waistband removed and some elastic (it was for a small girl). my bloomers were made out of a costume dress of belle from beauty and the beast with some trim around the legs. i also added some ruffles to a pair of socks. then i made some flowers and sewed them on top.

we had so much fun that we've been talking about doing some clowning for other events. jeremy's mom already requested us to come to her sunday school class. i was surprised by how much fun jeremy had and how quickly he agreed to do it again.

yummy yummy in my tummy

the birthday cake making was a late night event, as usual. we were getting a bit silly by the time 3am rolled around. i found the idea for the cake and directions here. we used food dye to color white chocolate for the ears, stars and tail. i made a mold for the ears by folding strips of foil and hot gluing them to a piece of wax paper. for the stars i glued my star shaped cookie cutter to the wax paper. the cake was two 9" x 13" cakes stacked, cut in half and rounded with a serrated knife. sculpting the cake was lots of fun.. i think danielle was worried that i would get carried away and there wouldnt be any cake left. we thought the elephant should be laying in hay, but by the time we got to that step we were REALLY silly. we decided that it looked nothing like hay.. but more like spaghetti, mustard, ramen or cat poo. so if you look closely, you can see where danielle wrote 'cat poo' and 'ramen' in the hay. also, danielle's mom found those clown figurines at the thrift store, isnt that perfect?

we had some yummy circus foods for the party. hot dogs, nachos, circus peanuts, popcorn and fruit with fruit dip. danielle made the fruit tray into a clown's face.

and of course we need a picture of the birthday boy enjoying his cake! he thought it was delicious.

the ice cream, on the other hand, was a bit too cold and the cake eating ended very abruptly.

aaron is sporting a spaghettio bib by the awesomest mom ever. (that would be my mom)