happy "spookiness"

I love Halloween. 

I'm not sure if it's the candy or all the cutest of the littles.

We trick or treated with sweet friends and ate Mollie's famous jambalaya.

the candy getting crew

they work hard to fed us

a last minute costume change from "the mighty flash" to a very homemade ghost

he even drew on it himself

he was so very proud

silly Captain Rex

i adore this little boy

spooky houses

I love projects like this with the boys...it really shows their styles and personalities

Montgomery Bell

This past weekend we headed to Nashville for a Taekwondo tournament and to see a great friends sweet new baby boy. The tournament was actually in Dickson, Tn which is about 45 minutes from Nashville. 

1st place 

1st place green belt and 1st place blue belt from Midtown Taekwondo

Ace Diner 

This was a really great, modern little diner in the heart of Dickson, TN. The food was excellent and so was the coffee which is much needed when traveling with 2 boys.

Family rule...no phones at the dinner table. 

We stayed at the State Park, Montgomery Bell. It was beautiful. I will admit I was a little skeptical when Chris did not take my downtown Nashville advice and booked a house here instead but it was amazing. Honestly I highly recommend it for a family or a weekend trip with your husband. We stayed 2 nights and we were able to ride bikes, run and go for a hike with the boys.

The villas at Montgomery Bell.

and batman smiles

real monsters....

suck their thumbs!

yucko...brains, intestines...

YUCKO...

as Sam would say!

What's Halloween without the yucko stuff?

Halloween morning the boys woke up to some delicious choices for breakfast...toenails, teeth, intestines or brains!  They loved guessing what was in each container.  Sam was not afraid to pull out some brains and eat them...he waked up very hungry.

To Make...Mystery Boxes

recycled oatmeal containers

anything slimy in your pantry

i used: noodles, grapes, popcorn and pumpkin seeds

google it and you'll find tons of ideas



puMpkiN carving

The boys and Chris did a little pumpkin carving on Sunday afternoon.  Of course, at our house we use drills and jig-saws instead of knives and spoons!  The boys were in heaven.  Sam wanted a "Super Sam"...Tanner used the marker dobbers to make his pattern then foll wed it precisely with the drill!

  

batman...and the little monster

Thank you Dad and Shelley for taking the boys to ZOO BOO!  They had a blast!

5 little pumpkins...a fav game

Five Little Pumpkins

5 little pumpkins sitting on a  gate

the 1st one said "oh my its getting late"

the 2nd one said "there are witches in the air"

the 3rd one said "but we don't care"

the 4th one said "lets run and sun and run"

the 5th one said "we're ready for some fun"

wooo-ooh went the wind

and

out went the lights

and the 5 little pumpkins rolled out of sight

ok...the boys can play this game for hours

what's the game??

when you sing "out went the lights"...the boys take turns turning out the lights

so SIMPLE

but

they LOVE, LOVE playing this

Sam likes to play with the felt pumpkins and some wood pieces.  He builds a fence thens adds the pumpkins as Tanner and I sing or read the story.

halloween decor by Tanner

Tanner has been very busy uping the "scare" factor at our house!

ghosts

spiders webs

cobwebs

sewing with boys

Did you know Tanner loves to sew?

I think it's getting to use the sharp needle.  About a year or two ago, I made him a sewing bucket with plastic needles, yarn and felt.  He picked up two simple stitches fairly quickly so we moved to real needles.  It had been a while since he had sewn anything so I thought a pumpkin would be perfect.

1. He hand drew his pumpkin shape then cut it out.

2. Trace the first pumpkin onto another piece of felt.

3. Pin the two pieces together.  He loves this part because it involves lots of sharp pins.

4.  Sew!  I always thread the needle, tie the knot and get him started.

Hint: Use a short piece of thread.  It's easier for little fingers...he needed 2 short pieces for this piece.

5.  Then he sews.

Our pumpkin became a Jack-o-Lantern bean bag...we filled it with beans right before he sewed the last few stitches.

ghost paint

GHOST PUFF PAINT

a big squeeze of Elmer's glue

a bigger squirt of cheap shaving cream

mix together...should be very thick

The boys love this recipe especially because they can pour, squirt and mix themselves.  You CAN NOT mess this recipe up.  I love that I always have the ingredients on hand.  It's very to use food colring to color the puff paint also! Once our ghost dry, we will cut them out and hang them in the windows "to scare people", according to Tanner and Sam.



October Play

Ok...so a little late but I finally dug out the October school/play things this past weekend.  I usually just set them up in the living room and let him explore.  Sam choose a few of them to play with...

SENSORY BIN

PIPE CLEANER BEADS

MATCHING

SCOOPING AND FILLING JARS

TREASURE HUNT

The sensory bin had lots of treasures hidden below the beans and rice...spoders, bugs, skeletons, bats, etc.

MATCHING...by himself

This is a great example of why of do all of these crazy activities.  I was sweeping beans and he said "look mommy, I find 2 orange!"  When I turned to look, I saw he has matched green, black and orange...go Sam!

Itty Bitty Sensory Bins

Recipe for FUN!!!

black beans

white rice

and

lots of dollar tree goodies...skeletons, erasers, cups. shovels, little pumpkins

Tanner sorted, found matching items, built skeletons, counted, etc!!!

Sam practiced throwing...he may need a bigger bin!