Annual Pumpkin Carving Party!

Every year, the day before Halloween, we throw a pumpkin carving party with my boys, friends and family.  We have fun getting our hands all gooey with pumpkin guts, then carve our favorite faces or characters into the pumpkins.  We bob for apples afterwards and have a really great time laughing at how silly it looks.  This is the one thing I look forward to at Halloween.  I could go without trick-or-treating and dressing up, but pumpkin carving and apple bobbing?  No way!

I think the pictures prove we had a blast!  I'm going to another party tonight with my boys.  I'll have two pirates, two vampires and a cowboy on my hands!  Should be fun!  I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!

The Making of a Scarecrow

If I would have known I was going to make a blog about this kid project, I would have taken photos of all the steps for a better visual aide.  The rain has kept me inside today, and the scarecrow is the only photo I have from over the weekend (besides my new niece who already has her own blog posting.)  So, you get my recipe for how to make a scarecrow with one picture of the final project.

Ingredients:

1 pumpkin for the head (we bought this one at Wal-Mart)

1 old mop head
1 cowboy hat from your son
1 shirt borrowed from your husband
1 pair of jeans from your brother
1 old pair of boots from your step-dad
1 pair of gardening gloves found in the garage
String/ Twine for a belt
1 newspaper
10-15 plastic grocery bags
4 rubber bands

How to:

1. Crumple the newspaper up, one page at a time, and place 4-5 pages into a plastic bag.  
2. Repeat this process til you have your pant legs and shirt stuffed.
3. Put a rubber band on the ends of the pant legs and shirt sleeves to hold paper in. 
4. Fill gardening gloves with one piece of crumpled newspaper and place inside rubber band on shirt sleeves.
5. Sit the filled pants up in a chair and stuff legs into boots
6. Place stuffed shirt onto pants and tucks shirt tails into the waist of the pants.
7. Send twine/ string through belt loops to make a belt.
8. Fluff the body and fill any empty spaces with more newspaper in bags.
9. Place head on the body.  (We attached the head to a wooden stake with a screw.  We then slid this down the scarecrow's back like a spine.)
10. Place mop head on top of pumpkin for hair.
11. Top it all off with a cowboy hat!

The sky is the limit on decoration!  Hay would make a great addition to the sleeves and pockets, but we didn't have any.  The boys had fun crumpling up the newspaper, and helping with the rest of the project.  Other than the pumpkin for the head, which was $6.99, there was no money spent in the making of this scarecrow.  We just went through the house and gathered everybody's things!  I think he turned out cute!

Our scarecrow is ready to great everyone at our annual pumpkin carving and apple bobbing party this Friday!    I can't wait to see what everyone carves on their pumpkins!

Welcome to the World, Faith Michelle!

My niece made her arrival on October 22 at 11:47 PM, weighing 6 lbs 6.4 oz.  She was 18 in long with dark hair. After a rough pregnancy for her mom, I am very relieved to say both mommy and baby are doing well.

I am so excited to have a niece!  Not having a daughter of my own, I'm thrilled to spoil a girl.  The best part is I get to send her home to my brother after I'm done!  Ahh, the joys in life!

So, welcome to the world, Faith Michelle!  You are a sweetheart, a joy, and you have already filled the hearts of many with a love they've never known.