31 Days Has October: 2009 Edition

October is coming! We love October around here. I think it might be our favorite month of the year. Remember last year how we did 31 Days of October? Basically we did a Halloween/Fall themed activity every day of the month. It was a lot of fun! Because I had it planned out ahead of time we actually did most of the activities. So I decided it'd be fun to do it again. Here is the 2009 edition of 31 Days of October. I'm posting this a couple of days ahead of time in case you want to do it with us and need to stock up on a few supplies. I tried to plan the activities that I could do with stuff I already have around the house or very inexpensive. Some of the activities are the same as last year because they are tradition around here. But there are also some fun new activities to try! Most of the activities are linked to the website where I found directions. I'd love to hear about it if you do some (or all!) of these.

October 1 - Glitter Pumpkins
October 2 - Gluey Ghosts

October 3 - General Conference activity
October 4 - General Conference activity
October 5 - Caramel Apple Monsters
October 6 - Pumpkin candy necklace

October 7 - Spooky Jello Jigglers
October 8 - Milk Jug Pumpkins
October 9 - Halloween coloring pages for NM Trip
October 10 - Sucker ghosts
October 11 - Witch color sheet
October 12 - Visit the library and check out Halloween/Fall theme books
October 13 - Read Julius Candy Corn by Kevin Henkes and do candy corn activity
October 14 - Jack-o-lantern pizzas
October 15 - Ghost Cookies
October 16 - Mr. Pumpkin Head
October 17 - Halloween cookie decorating
October 18 - Halloween Bingo
October 19 - Pumpkin bowling
October 20 - Yummy Mummy Treat Cups
October 21 - Ghostly Shepherds pie
October 22 - Rice Krispy treat pumpkins
October 23 - Paper Mache pumpkins
October 24 - Jack-o-lantern craft
October 25 - Witch Craft
October 26 - Carving Pumpkins
October 27 - Roasting pumpkin seeds
October 28 - Dinner in a Pumpkin
October 29 - Halloween Hand
October 30 -Halloween shape lunch and costume dress rehearsal
October 31 - Trick-or-Treating!!

Our First Garden

We decided to stop using the excuse that we live in a townhouse to not grow a garden. Kevin and my dad built us a beautiful grow box and we finished planting our seeds today. We planted lettuce, brocolli, carrots, basil, cilantro, garlic, onions and spinach. As I was planting the seeds I talked to them a little, encouraging them to grow. It's something my mom would do. We'll see if they are obedient. I'm so excited! Hopefully we'll have some fresh veggies this fall!

Let Them Stay Little

My sister-in-law Jamie inspired me with her last blog post to reminisce through older pictures of my kids, when they were littler. I put above this post a video I took of Myla when she first started walking, so she was 12 months, and Cade talking. It's kind of fun to watch...for me anyway. It make my heart melt a little. Time goes so fast! Bear with me as I take a little walk down memory lane. Here are some of my favorites:

Cade

Myla




Gavin

It's never too early...

for Christmas. Bake your treats, host your holiday festivities and decorate your home in Christmas style! We are having a special in our The Secret Stitch Shop - FREE SHIPPING until October 15th on any Christmas aprons. Shop early and save. Here is a preview of what is in the shop, with more styles to be added soon.

Santa's Little Sweetheart apron
Santa's Sweetheart apron

** If there is any interest for a Santa's Little Man apron, please leave a comment to let me know. I have the design in my head and would love to make it if anyone is interested in it!

Butterfly Hotdogs

A craft and lunch all in one! What a great idea! I found this idea on Gourmet Mom on the Go. It's a fun food blog for feeding kids. (I can't wait to try all her great Halloween ideas! My dinner swap group should be expecting some Ghostly Shepherd's Pie.) Today we made butterfly hotdogs. To summarize:

You make the "paint" by mixing one egg with one tablespoon water, then add food coloring and mix. One egg and one tablespoon of water was enough to make four colors with. You don't use much. Myla chose the colors for us: pink, purple, green and blue. Then you get some refrigerated biscuits (like Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits in the can), cut them in fourths and arrange around a hotdog like butterfly wings. Then let the kids paint the colored egg mixture on the biscuit butterfly wings. Cade kept it simple--two wings blue, two wings green.Myla painted each wing a different color.

Then arrange on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.

And this is what you get! The colors distort a little, but it's so much fun.

Throw it on a plate with some fruit and chips and munch away.

Fabulous food fun!

Who's that Kid?

The other day I finally cut Gavin's hair for the first time. I didn't want to. In fact, I put it off and off and off, until I decided that when he starts brushing his hair out of his eyes it's time to chop. I just loved the little curls at his neck. Oh well....

So I broke out the clippers, let him feel it for a minute to get used to it and buzzed away! He did such a great job...didn't cry or try to push my hand away or move his head around a lot. I think he was fascinated with the buzzing.

Who knew that under all that hair there was such a blondie?! When Kevin came home he didn't even recognize him. He thought, at first, that we had our nephew Bradley over.
He looks all grown up...like he aged suddenly.
I love his pointing. He points out all kinds of things: birds, dogs, airplanes, bunny-shaped benches at the school Cade goes to, Daddy, Cade and Myla.
So sweet! I do love it though. His blond hair with those beautiful dark eyes...sweet combination.