Happy Haunting!

The vet:

Daphne:

In case you don't know who she is...

They had another fun year of tricks and treats!



Sleepless in Seattle

No...not the movie...

ME!!

I had so much fun this past weekend, I'm exhausted. I had to come home to catch up on sleep!

The first morning, mom and I walked to this:

Pikes Place Market - the sun is still getting up!

And of course, we shopped:

Umm...who would this be for?

We also met up with a few (5,000) new friends for the weekend:

And some old friends:

waiting to get into the Arena

Waiting for the fun to begin

The girls asked what I did all weekend.

I told them I laughed.

And I really did.

Here I Come...

I've never been to Seattle before. It's even more exciting because I get to meet up with my mom and my sister. And go to this...

The Women of Faith Conference!

These women are absolutely inspiring and amazing...

And, yes! That's Lisa Whelchel from the Facts of Life! My absolute favorite show when growing up! I can't wait!!

(we might have to do a bit of shopping as well!)

BOO!

The kids had a blast 'boo-ing' their friends! After dropping the treats off on the doorstep, they rang the doorbell and RAN! (There's something about ding dong dash that really gets the heart going!). They would fall into the truck laughing and screaming! They each chose 3 friends, so we made up 6 bags. There was something in the bag for each child in the family. The best part was the boo coming back to spook us!

If you want the printable, it's here: BOO GAME

Pumpkin Heads

What can you do if you were so eager for pumpkins, you bought them early, left them outside, and they got frozen?

I figure they would be mush if we carved them.

No one wants a mushy pumpkin.

Next best thing:

Potato Head Pumpkins!

We only did 3 of them. I sure hope the other pumpkins last...although the tops of them were a little soft. If I can't use them, I might use some ideas from this website. So creative!



Saturday Morning with a Turtle

This morning, we went to hear Paulette Bourgeois speak at the public library. If you don't know who she is, she's the creator/author of this cute little guy:

Franklin!

She read us a story:

while the illustrator, Brenda Clark, drew the scene (you can see her at the left):

and then we were able to get autographs!

It's been 25 years since Franklin was first scared of his own shell:

Happy Birthday Franklin!

Summer Project Pics - Yes, it's October!

We needed more storage in the garage. I wanted to park in there without running into something (sigh, that really does happen).

And so, here are pictures of our my husband's summer project:

He was told that if I have to look at a shed in the backyard, it had better be cute!

Definatley cute! The side windows open up. I can just see the girls playing 'drive thru' in the summer! Until they see the spiders.

It's now full. Amazing how that happens!

And now, I have another little house to decorate at Christmas! Can't you just see a wreath on the door?

le Pouf!



Crate and Barrel pouf ottoman

I have to admit that when I first saw these at Crate and Barrel, I was tempted to buy one!

But I didn't like the price tag.

It's not like I'm cheap. I just didn't think that spending $100 for something my feet would rest on would be worth it. Besides, I know that it's going to get thrown around and squashed by the kids in no time. (There are even some available elsewhere on the web for close to $300. Yikes!)

So I looked around and found some yarn and instructions to make one of my own. Beautiful stuff.

Only it's in Norway.

And I'm back to being cheap frugal. I didn't want to pay the insane shipping cost that would make the Crate and Barrel pouf look reasonable.

My other problem was that the instructions (in english, thank goodness) included steps for crocheting that I had never done before. I only know one stitch...the single crochet.

So I had to improvise. Big time!

My Pouf!

Using the thicket yarn I could find:

 and a HUGE crochet hook (about 10mm), I crocheted a rectange about 30" by 70" (you can make it bigger if you want a larger ottoman). I used 2 of these balls of yarn from wal-mart.

Using the same yarn, I sewed the 2 shorter sides together to make it into a circle. I then gathered one of the open sides to close it. I stuffed it with a down comforter (twin size) wrapped around a round pillow form. Finally, I sewed up the other side to close around the stuffing. 

Voila...le pouf!

And no where close to $100!

Now the girls are asking for one of their own.

NOTE: If you want a firmer 'pouf', I'm sure that you can stuff it more.



'tis the Season!

It's the time of the year for my 'all time favorite pass it around email'

...the Thanksgiving Letter!!

From: Marney

As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.
Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.
All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.
The Mike Byron Family
1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don’t feel like you a have to feed an army.
2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don’t care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).
3. Toppings for the ice cream.
4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.
The Bob Byron Family
1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.
2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).
The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family
1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).
The Michelle Bobble Family
1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.
2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon
3. Proscuitto pin wheel – please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.
4. A pie knife
The June Davis Family
1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.
2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay
The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)
1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.
2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.
Looking forward to the 28th!!

Marney

I love it!!