halloween yummies

we're heading over to my sissy's house today for some trick-or-treating and face stuffing! here's what i'm bringing...

Ghost Food
(this can be made for any occasion using the appropriate m&m's ie: reindeer food, easter bunny food, etc...)

5 c corn chex
1 stick of butter
1/2 c peanut butter
1 pkg milk choc chips
1 c powdered sugar
1 pkg peanut m&m's

cover 2 cookie sheets with wax paper.
microwave butter, choc chips, and peanut butter in 30 second intervals until melted.

stir until smooth.

add in your cereal and stir until coated well.


spread out onto cookie sheets

refrigerate until set

remove from frige and break apart into smaller pieces. place 1/2 of the pieces in a zippie bag. add 1/2 of the powdered sugar and 1/2 of the m&m's. shake well.


repeat with remaining ingredients.
serve.


this is a great one for the kids to help with! also, in the past i've added cashew nuts and or pretzels with great results!


i'm also bringing along some caramel apples

i just followed the recipe on the back of the kraft caramels bag! easy peasy!

and finally, the mummy cake...

he's not as "polished" as i would like, but it was my first time with fondant! lol

i hope you all have a fabulous halloween!

halloween preview

emily had her halloween parade @ school yesterday. it was alot of fun--i love seeing her at school. my sister took some pics, but is being a slacker so i don't have any of them yet! i have a couple from home that i took before the festivities!

introducing little red riding hood and the big bad wolf...

theta mom thursday

ok, so i tried very hard this week for my time out!! the last two weeks are been super busy...well, really this week is no exception, but i got my time out darn it!! i layed my tired butt on the couch while david took his morning nap. i'm not much of a napper...i try, but i just can not fall asleep. but it was nice to just veg in front of the tv and chill out! this is not an easy task for me. i usually have a project to do, laundry to fold, or dishes to wash...if you're a mom, you know what i'm talking about. there is always something to be done. i just had to take a step back and energize for a bit. hubby has been really stepping up his game, so he picked up my slack. i love him. ok, so it wasn't much this week, but it was enough to keep me going! this kids' costumes are done, i have baking to do in the next three days, and some dreading trick or treating in the rain--yuck! its a good thing they're so little, we can hit a couple of condos in my sister's complex then head back to her place and relax!!

ATWT

halloween '08(in his spider hat!)

new craft adventure

so i finally gave in and got myself a sewing machine. i have no idea how to sew, but i've been really dying to try after seeing all of the fantastic projects that i've been seeing around the blog world! i'm also sick of "no sew" projects! they are cute and easy, don't get me wrong, but i'm itching for the real thing! i'll be posting the kids' costumes shortly--little red riding hood and the big bad wolf. found the directions for the no sew version over @ marthastewart.com. anyhoo--i went on over to walmart.com to do some browsing. seriously, i had no idea what to get! it came down to a brother and a singer. just for shits and giggles, i then went to overstock.com and found the same brother that walmart had, only it was refurbished--and about $20 cheaper, oh, and only $1 shipping! SOLD! it should be here today, i'm so excited!! however, i have nothing to go with this sewing machine! i really don't know what i need to start!! tee hee. any tips, webs sites, favorite tools--or anything that anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated!!

oh, and don't forget to visit vicki @
october is alllmost over! tricks and treats for our little sweets will be ending SOON!!

a nice sunday

sundays are tough around here. with emily not being all that fond of david, we usually keep them separated for most of the day-which bums me out. yesterday was simply beautiful out! not a cloud in the sky! i decided to get the kids outside to play in some leaves, well, in david's case-dirt! they were so wonderful! david stayed out there for hours helping his daddy clean up the patio. and emily, you ask? she took two steps ON HER OWN! she let go of hubby's hand and took 2 steps!! i, of course, missed it! but i was so excited!! and this morning, she said "no"! holy cow! she's amazing! so here are a few pics from around the yard!

this one is for my hubs

sometimes he can be annoying. he doesn't do things exactly how i would do them. he's forgetful. and i love him. the last few weeks have been terribly stressful. money is tighter than its ever been. frustrating doctor appointments for emily. david being in the hospital. but man, has my hubby been a super star! he's been reassuring and positive during these difficult times. he helps me to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. he was the one who stayed on the pull out bed(if you can even call it that!) @ the hospital with david. he's been cleaning up the house, doing dishes, cleaning cat boxes!! i was @ my parents' house on thursday night with the kids. he usually has a work night @ the firehouse, but most of the guys were unable to make it. he stayed home and vacuumed the entire house! wow. he continues to amaze me, and i love him more every day. most importantly, and above all, he is a terrific father!

ATWT

halloween '08

back to the fun stuff!

on saturday morning-the same day david went into the hospital-i did some projects with emily! ok, so mostly she just ripped some paper, and played with scraps and glue, but hey, i had fun hanging with her. and it kept her away from david, so we didn't have any major meltdowns! here is what we did...

construction paper and felt pumpkin


we got the fish tank in the spirit too


tissue paper ghost


garland


tulle and ribbon wreath(this on is my favorite! i just cut the middle out of a plastic dinner plate and tied the tulle and ribbon on!!)


...and then, there was this ghost...

he was my favorite. i didn't have liquid starch. so instead of being patient, and waiting until i got to the store to get some, i found a sugar water recipe...i had sugar, i had water!! sweet! he and his little friends looked awesome! i was deciding where to put them all when i noticed the big guy was a little droopy. i was fluffing, and pulling...not understanding why he was drooping. got home from the hospital saturday night and he was a pile of cheesecloth and crusty sugar on my counter! that's what i get for not waiting! i'll try again next year, with liquid starch and maybe a clear coat of krylon! i realize that the string of lights may have contributed to his demise, but i only had it on for, like, 30 minutes!! only one of the small ones survived! R.I.P. ghosts!

had to be admitted

david, that is. yep, my little man did a 3 day stint at the hospital. it started on saturday afternoon. he had been on his meds for the staph infection for 3 days. before we put him down for his afternoon nap, i noticed a rash developing on his belly. not sure what it was, i let him take his nap. when he woke up, it was still there. i gave him a bath to get a better look. it was starting to spread to his back arms and legs. crap. so off he and hubby went to the hospital. about 45 mins later, i got the call that he was going to be admitted. after i scraped myself off of the floor, i called my parents to come watch emily.
when i got to the ER, they were just about to move him to his room. oh, and he was on morphine because they CUT OPEN the cysts and sent cultures to the lab! O.M.G!! he was fine, he gave me a goofy morphine induced smile. we went up to his room, he was waving to everyone that walked by...he was loving the attention! we almost had him asleep twice, but one thing or another would wake him up, and he'd get a burst of energy. that night we didn't get him to sleep until after 11:30!! this is a kid that's in bed by 7:oo on a nightly basis! we were exhausted! my awesome hubby stayed on the pull out couch with david. i went home to emily. didn't go to bed until also 2am.

i'll spare you the rest of the boring details, like how he pulled out his IV and needed a new one...ugh! the test results revealed it was definitely a case of MRSA-which is what his dr thought-but the meds he was on weren't working. we never knew where the rash came from. probably a reaction to the first set of meds, its almost gone now though. so he's home with a new med--i'm trying to come up with creative ways to give it to him. it smells like pissy toilet water, i'm not even kidding! i think i'll try it in some strawberry milk today, apple juice didn't work! he still may have to have the rest of it cut out. to avoid that we'll be doing warm compresses and baths frequently to try and get it out on our own.

i have to say, for being confined to his room he really was a good boy! at times you could tell that cabin fever was setting in-for all of us-but he hung in there! we got him home yesterday afternoon, and he napped for 3 hours in his own crib!!








and here is emily. happy as a clam that david wasn't around!!

winter--errr--autumn wonderland?!

it started snowing yesterday in the late morning. its still lightly snowing...more than 12 hours later! this is nuts! luckily we've only got about 2 inches, not the 5 they predicted! last year on october 27th-ish we got about 6 inches in 5 hours! i remember because one of emiliy's therapists got stranded here all afternoon! we live at the top of sparta mountain...i call it the twilight zone! we always experience more rain and more snow than any other part of the town! people are always shocked when they see the snow for the first time because 2 minutes down the road there will be nothing! so this is a heavy wet snow. hubby got about 5 fire calls in the middle of the night.(he's a volunteer fire fighter btw) mostly for downed trees and arcing wires. ugh, so i'm pooped from hearing his pager go off all night! we had a tree come down across our driveway, but hubs was able to move enough of it so we could get the cars out.

ok, moving on from the yuck-tastic snow! how about some yummies?! this week i made kraft foods' "the best meatballs". this is my second go with them. i wanted to make sure they were as good as the first time i had them. they did not disappoint! they will definitely be staying in the rotation! so here ya go...
The Best Meatballs
2 lb. ground beef 1 pkg. (
6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken(i used store brand)
1-1/4 cups water

HEAT oven to 400ºF.

LINE 2 (15x10x1-inch) pans with foil; spray with cooking spray. Mix ingredients until blended; shape into 32 (1-1/2-inch) balls, using 1/4 cup for each.

PLACE 16 meatballs in each prepared pan. Bake 16 to 18 min. or until done (160ºF).

(this pic is from the kraft foods website)

these are so easy, and so yummy. i've had them has meatball subs as well as over pasta. i plan on making a bunch to freeze. hubby and kiddies love them-bonus!


the office staff that hubby works with has been asking for me to bake something. who am i to refuse?!

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped
*i used my smallest cookie scoop, and ended up with about 65 cookies...get extra cups just in case this happens to you!!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.(*i did not cool and remove from pan...i only have 2 mini muffin pans!! lol...i just used a fork to carefully remove them)



i hope everyone has a great weekend!! oh, and don't forget to check out vicki @ frugal mom knows best. she has tons of great halloween stuff for you to do with your family...as well as some giveaways...come on...ya know you want to ;o)

david update and theta mom thursday

ok, before i get to my not-so-theta mom thursday, let me give you an update on david. he's got a staph infection! MRSA to be exact! ugh. the ones-yes, they are multiple boils now, on his bird area are the worst...of course they are! i thought he only had one down there, but it turns out--now that the swelling has gone down some--that there are about 3! poor guy! we are about 110% positive that he got it from my aunt's house...yes, the same aunt's house that he spent oodles of time at over the summer. my aunt and her husband both had boils on their butts about 2 weeks apart. she never went back to the dr thinking they were just boils. she swears up and down that david didn't get it from them...ummm, i don't know anyone else that has had huge boils on their asses in the last month!! terrible. needless to say, i will not be sending him back there any time soon! so he's on an oral antibiotic and he has a cream that i'm also using. and we basically have to wash our hands 100x's a day, because its contagious...lovely! they don't seem to be bothering him too much. he's still climbing all over stuff like a little monkey. the only thing i notice is that he won't wrap his legs around my hips when i pick him up. he scrunches his knees up. happy thoughts, happy thoughts....




so my theta mom thursday sucked. i really didn't do anything for myself this week! that's what i get for going out 2 weeks in a row!! ok, well, there is still hope for tonight. hubby will be @ the firehouse, so maybe i'll take a nice soak in the tub and paint my nails again. oh, i just realized that i have not had any coffee yet...no wonder why i feel like i got ran over by a bus! hope you all got to have a time out this week!

enough with the slacking

i was just not in the mood for anything yesterday! although, i did do some laundry and change the sheets...but my house looked like a war zone for most of the day. i didn't feel like blogging, or crafting. i've been trying to crochet a neck warmer for three days now, and keep screwing it up! not.in.the.mood!! also, not in the mood for dieting :o( i've been eating like a pig since the weekend. this is the crappiest time of year for me to diet. at least its cold, and i don't have to worry about my rolls hanging out of a tank top. i'll snap out of this eventually. thankfully, hubby did the dishes for me and fired up the pellet stove. so i vegged for a bit and re started that darn neck warmer! i managed to get a little further this time! :o)

i have to get it together for today though. i have to take david to the doctor. he's had a couple of pimple-like bumps...one on his belly(near his belly button) and the other is on his pelvis, right above "the bird". they didn't seem to bother him until last night after his bath. the one in the bird region looks swollen this morning, he's not a happy camper :o( i have no idea what it is. those are the only two. i'm almost positive that its not chicken pox, but i guess i'll wait and see what the doctor says. i hate going to the doctor. for all the time spent waiting, the actual visit is over in the blink of an eye. and usually my assumptions are correct, and i just wasted a day! oh well, that's motherhood, right?

i wanted to remind everyone the check out vicki's blog! she still has giveaways and fun stuff. the month is coming to and end..go check her out, now!!


ok, i've had my coffee...i think i can start my day now.

p.s.
is giving away a free e pattern "gather" on their blog! please go on over and check them out! they have great patterns that are so easy and fun to do!

pumpkin picking success

finally, we did something that didn't torture either child! there is a small pumpkin patch by my parents' house that we've been going to for a few years now. this year emily finally seemed like she ejoyed it a little! david had a blast, running from pumpkin to pumpkin trying to pick up as many little ones as he could...and then he figured out that we were there for the big ones, so he tried to pick those up too! it was a great day!








they were trying to figure out what the heck kind of pumpkin this was?!


the haul: 2 big ones and two little ones for our house, and the same for grandma and grandpa's house


emily doesn't have school today, so she slept over my parents' house. i think david and i may take a ride over to my sister's house-we haven't visited in a while.

hope everyone has a great week!

git in my bell-ay, apple butter

i have succeeded in making and canning apple butter! i would now like to share that with you on this fine autumn morning.

Apple Butter
5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
*i cut the above recipe in half because i only had about 3 lbs of apples

Place apples in a slow cooker. Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt; pour over apples and mix well.

Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently as it thickens to prevent sticking).

Uncover and cook on low 1 hour longer. Stir with a wire whisk until smooth(or if you're afraid of a little elbow grease, by all means, use a hand mixer). Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-in. head space. Cover and refrigerate or freeze.


(only three are pictured because i was already eating out of the fourth ;op)

this recipe calls for refrigerating or freezing your apple butter, but i was really wanting to try canning. there are some great web sites around that explain how to can...and you do not need the fancy canning pots if you don't have them. i used a big spaghetti pot for 4 8oz jars.(one was slightly tilted, but it still got a seal) can you say, "hello christmas gifts!"

i hope you'll give this a try. it was super easy(even easier if you decide not to can), and the house smelled awesome!! its the little things :o)