Yee Haw!!

This is Ben in his costume on Thursday night. We went to the fall festival at the church. I realized that there wasn't a great shot of the boots in the other post. The boots will now be retired. If I don't...do you know how many black marks will be on my wood floor?? Those boots may have cured him of ever wanting to be a cowboy. I never should have bought boots at K-Mart!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great time trick-or-treating in our neighborhood tonight. It was nice and bright outside when we began. Ben thought that he had to eat the candy as fast as he got it. His bag stayed pretty empty for a while. As the night progressed, we hit more and more houses and his tummy couldn't keep up. I kept telling myself...it is only once a year, it is only once a year!!

As the night wore on and the darker it got, the boys opted for a ride in the wagon!! Easton was a giraffe.

This is what the wagon looked like at the end of the night. I also found some empty candy wrappers in his bag!! Tummy Ache!!

I discovered a way to get a lot of candy....tell a Georgia Fan 'War Eagle' BEFORE they give your kid candy. They will load them up with sugar in hopes that they never go to bed that night.

Look at what my crafty neighbor made!

Creepy!!

This was the art du jour at our house tonight! There were a total of 6 spiders. Since it was Ben and his daddy's job to hang them up, these made it to the kitchen. The other 3 are randomly spread throughout the house. They sorta go with the theme that I keep all year long....cobwebs. Maybe I can just leave these lovely critters out all year and the cobwebs won't be as obvious.

Cute Craft

Look at these cute decorations that Ben and I made this afternoon when he came home from school. They were super easy. I had a string of Christmas lights under them, but Mr. Safety, Jr. thought it may be a fire hazard. He is only 4, but so much like his daddy. We decided to save the lights for the tree and let our new friends rest on a bed of pine straw.

Pumpkin Carving

Today we carved pumpkins. This is my 'pirate' pumpkin.

Michael carved this scary one. He did a pretty good job!

Happy Birthday Poncho!!

Saturday is Poncho's birthday!! We love you!!

How much do you throw away??

I used to laugh at my friend Amy for walking out of work with the boxes that the Capri Sun juice pouches come in. Then I noticed a plastic bag hanging on a hook in her class with scrap paper in it. Don't get me wrong, we recycled cans, paper and plastic in New Orleans because we had the blue bin to put by the street with our trash can every week. Well, Amy was actually taking this stuff home and putting it with her household recycling and bringing it to the recycling place. That seemed like a lot of work for me, so I just gave her my stuff from my class so she could bring it too. I know that Amy is a smart girl so I decided to try it. Let me just tell you. We have one of those big, rolling trash cans that is so big a riding lawnmower could fit in. I started with everything--milk jugs, milk cartons, newspaper, plastic bottles, cans, cereal boxes. We were averaging a bag of trash from the kitchen can everyday, sometimes more. That is at least seven bags a week. Now, we only have about three bags of garbage in our can at the end of the week. Oh no, it didn't all just disappear. Now, it is all in my garage. (Thanks Amy) Now, about every other week, Ben and I load up the plastic containers that are set up to keep everything separated into the car and go to the recyclers. I have to admit, I look forward to going to the recyclers. I feel like I am doing something for the Earth. If you don't recycle already, START!! (or you can bring your stuff to Amy and she will recycle it for you)

By the way, the picture is of the recycling that I accumulated in one day in our house. After I took the picture, I added an olive jar. It adds up very fast!!

Pizza Time

We have always loved thin crust pizza, but have a hard time finding a place that makes it just like we like it. We can thank Tower Pizza in Metairie, LA for spoiling us!! I know my new secret weapon has always been on the shelf at the grocery store--it just took me a long time to realize that great crust can be 'instant' and not have to rise for hours on the cabinet. I have discovered Martha White crust mix. It is super-cheap (66 cents) and only calls for one ingredient..water. I can get 3 pizzas that are about 12 inches round out of each pouch of mix...we like it paper thin. This is my pizza. I like a little sauce, sliced tomatoes, feta cheese and a little sprinkle of Italian seasoning. Michael likes meat and peppers on his. I make Ben one with cheese and pepperoni. It is actually the most crisp one because it only has two toppings beside the sauce. The crust is great for kids. You can cut it in slices and it holds its shape so their little hands can pick up the whole piece. I figured out that if you use the least amount of water, the crispier the crust. So, don't even use the full amount called for on the package. Give it a try and let me know how fast your family devours it!!

Welcome Poncho!!

I have talked my partner in crime into starting a blog!! You can visit his blog too!!