Our Halloween

First, we did hardly any of the fun stuff I blogged about. But ya know with Halloween being only 4 days after our second child was born I still think we did pretty good. Here are some highlights ...

Good Morning Four Days Old!

She is flying. 

Ava is in a Pottery Barn Kids costume with the Western Chief Boots she got for her birthday. Lilly is in a Gymboree dress I got on eBay NWT for cheap, some black newborn leggings found in the $1 bin at Target, Trumpette Mary Jane Socks and a crocheted beanie from a craft store with pom-pom balls wrapped in pipe cleaner and looped through the hat. I love that Lilly can wear her whole outfit again.

See she was in the sling all covered up the whole time!

And inside ...

My husband says this pumpkin has "little hands like the Burger King commercial" 

During cookie making she turned the blender on high with just dry ingredients in it. It was by far the best part of the whole process for her!

Happy Halloween!

waiting...39.5 weeks!

Just a little update here ... just waiting ... due on Monday. No sign of anything impending. Still going into work making everyone a little nervous ;) Had an amazing experience today getting a prenatal massage. Everyone should have one a few days before their due date. It was a really cool experience how responsive Lilly was and how connected I felt to her. I have small babies and easy pregnancies and therefore don't really think that often about having a child inside me. So it was new to have this very spiritual experience today ... made me think maybe I can hold out a little longer. O.K. well maybe not really ;)

photo - Over this past weekend hanging out downtown. I know I wish I had those Naartjie boots too!

 p.s. please don't put your $1 store ice mold in the microwave to melt your pumpkin crayons...it isn't going to end well... 

 

Mt. Dora Corn Maze

We headed over to Long and Scott Farms in Mt. Dora, FL this weekend for their 6-acre corn maze. They have a really impressive operation with the maze, hayrides, a huge slide entrance to the maze, and more. We had fun and here are some photos from our day ;)

p.s. yep it was hot, nope all the walking in the heat wasn't the best idea for a toddler and a 37 week pregnant lady - but we still had fun ;)

Do you have any corn maze tips or stories?

Halloween Inspiration

(Photo - Pumpkins die fast in the upper 80 degree weather we have all through October but I will still make these with Ava)

I have been doing lots of cooking, organizing, decorating, photo shoots, entertaining and even some sewing but when I sit down to write about my affairs I end up just reading my favorite blog archives or browsing new blogs instead of actually writing about what I have been up to... oh well maybe soon ;) Today marked week 34 of my second pregnancy and I am holding out at 25lbs total weight gain and can still easily wear my wedding rings and same shoe size ... which by now with Ava was getting very, very hard! When you move from your normal size 10 shoes to size 11 shoes you are not in a happy place...

(Photo - Print this card and more here)

I am really excited about Halloween. I will be on maternity leave and home with a new baby through out all the holidays this year! So I am really gearing up. Ava is at such a totally wonderful age too and at 25 months the amount she understands and can talk about is just fascinating. She LOVES 'monsters' and all things 'scary'... it is really funny to see her get so excited about all the 'trick or treat monsters' coming out - for example almost having a meltdown over having to put back a bloody plastic zombie head at Walgreens. I guess nothing really, truly scary has ever happened to her so to pretend to growl and run and hide is just lots of fun.

Here is some Halloween Inspiration in case you are as excited as we are about the upcoming holidays!

1. With Lilly due 10/25 I am thinking she might have a Halloween or Fall birth announcement - it will definitely be from KM Thomas Designs ... custom, fabulous and less than $20 for a digital version you can print - she has done two birthday invitations for Ava. If you have a fab Halloween party planned or like to send fun cards out get in touch with her and share your ideas!

2. Here are a whole bunch of adorable Halloween templates from entertaining guru Matthew Mead. I adore the pumpkin above and for me it is what Halloween should be - ya know pumpkins and candy corn - even though my 2 year old seems to think it is all about zombies and skeletons. More Mead Halloween ideas from past issues of his site in all the fall editions here. Oh and in case you didn't already you need to rush over and give Matthew Mead $16 so he will mail you his 195 page Christmas Magazine!

3. Printing several of these masks (scroll down), laminating them, and adding some elastic would create endless amounts of dress up fun for my toddler! She thinks playing Trick-or-Treat is a REALLY fun game! We will also try to make a craft or three from the Crafty Crow.

(photo - Ghost of Monte Cristo Sandwiches)

4. Does anyone do Halloween better than Martha Stewart? I apologize in advance for taking away hours of your life but here is her entire site index of Halloween projects, recipes, etc.

5. I am very sure we need to order some Halloween books and light candles and read them just like Design Mom - her list of books here is very good.

6. We are for sure going to be making some cookies, cupcakes, and maybe some candy corn cookie bark (photo above). Or what is more perfect for 85 degree Central Florida Halloween than Candy Corn Popsicles? Don't worry we just have a little of this fun food and I take the rest to work. Honestly, I like making all the junk way more than eating it or my favorite phrase "having it sit around".

7. I am not too big on lots of decorations sitting around - we have a small house with a lot going on. We don't really need a big display of apothecary jars full of spiders and cobwebs. But maybe a Halloween Cricut banner or some Candy Corn bunting would be fun and not make me crazy. Sometimes Pottery Barn makes me think I am wrong about the whole not decorating for Halloween thing though...

Well if I come across anything else I will update you!