Costumes

I love making Halloween costumes. Love it. I was telling Cameron the other day that it's one of my favorite things about Halloween. Unfortunately, sewing costumes takes time. Lots of it. This year I decided to start early and bought patterns in August. I bought a mermaid costume pattern for Britta. I bought a ninja costume pattern for River. I waited to buy a pattern for Maddy's costume since she tends to have more of an opinion on what she wants to be each year and had yet to voice those preferences.

It took me quite a few weeks to sew Britta's mermaid costume because I was so busy dealing with baby Kingston. I enjoyed sewing when I had the time, but was stressed about it when I didn't have the time. When I finished the costume I was very excited... until she tried it on. Now, I swear to you she tried it on at least one other time before I finished it. I guess I just didn't measure correctly. The costume was at least 4 inches too long for her to wear. I played around with pinning it, but it was a definite no go. The zipper made it impossible without unsewing most of it anyhow. It was a few inches too short for Maddy to wear, too. I was a bit heartbroken. I may or may not have shed a few tears. Hopefully it fits Britta next year.

I took heart in the fact that I still had time to sew a new costume for Britta along with costumes for the other kids, but only if I got right on it. We then received word that Cameron's brother was getting married and we would need to make a last minute trip to Arizona. Yeah, I wasn't going to have sewing time.

After a period of mourning, I gave in to the fact that our kids would wear store bought costumes this year. I was very sad. I really don't like store bought costumes! However, I didn't have time to think and assemble or sew or whatever. I was a bit overwhelmed with life in general. Therefore I determined that a good mom does what she has to in order to maintain her sanity. At least with store bought costumes my stress level would be more manageable.

Britta's princess costume was a Costco buy. She loved the pink. The dress was a tad too long for her and she did rip a few holes in it by stepping on it as she trick or treated. Oh well. It was cute while it lasted. The hat kept falling to one side though. It looked more like a horn than a hat.

When I asked River if he wanted to be a ninja (after already having bought the pattern to make the costume), he was incredibly enthusiastic. Once River makes his mind up about something that is that. He very rarely changes his mind. He was going to be a ninja. So we bought the costume on Amazon. He loves it. I'm sure he will wear it daily for a few weeks, and then whenever he remembers from then out. I love that boy. He was totally convinced that if he wore that costume for Halloween, nobody would be able to see him until he jumped out to say trick or treat.

Maddy was very open to what she would be.. unless I suggested something I actually had the things to make already (like a pioneer). She finally settled on a witch. It's a pretty cute costume, though it was too low cut so we had her wear a black shirt under the dress. She didn't like that the brim on the hat was square from the packaging. I thought it looked great. She wanted me to iron it but I didn't have the time. I think she was cute anyhow.

Cam and I had a party with some friends. We had to take the baby along, so we dressed him in his lobster costume. I was a chef, and Cameron was the waiter. We also wore those costumes to our church Halloween  party.

Kingston actually wore about three different costumes this Halloween season. He was a lobster, a lion, a bear, and a duck. It was fun to have him wear costumes that Maddy and River had worn at his age!

The only costume item I made that was actually worn this year was my chef hat. Isn't it great? I didn't even have a pattern. I just made it up. It's pretty awesome. I told Cameron I plan to wear it often in the kitchen, just like a real chef does. At least... in my imagination that's how the cool chefs dress.

It was a fun family holiday yet again. I love celebrating things with my husband and kids. A good time was certainly had by all.

Great Halloween Tradition

I have never been big on carving pumpkins. There. I said it. I always feel like such a party pooper. I, of course, get the kids each a pumpkin to carve every year, but it's mostly without enthusiasm. One of the very main reasons I don't enjoy pumpkin carving is rather silly and relatively unrelated to the actual event. Mosquitos. Yes, you read that correctly. I don't like carving pumpkins because every year we do it around dusk in our backyard and I get eaten by mosquitos. I would rather stay inside and let everyone else carve the pumpkins. For some reason, I'm the only one the mosquitos eat. I must be delicious.

In any case, this year I decided to give it another try. When Cam came home from work we all ventured into the backyards with the kids' pumpkins. We spread butcher paper on the ground and plopped the pumpkins down. I put the baby down for a nap while Cam helped the kids gut them.

I decided not to bother roasting pumpkin seeds this year. I made them last year, and while they were delicious, for some reason we didn't eat many of them. I can't stand for good food to go to waste, so I didn't make them at all. I have to admit to being very glad I didn't have to gather and sort all of those seeds again. I think that's when I got most of my mosquito bites last year. Not this year my friends!

Once the baby was down I went into the back to join the family. I was pleased to note there weren't very many mosquitos at that point. I decided to keep my guard up, but was carefully optimistic. I got a few fun pictures of the occasion.

River had his heart set on carving his pumpkin with a pattern of "Mr. Death" on it from a book of pumpkin patterns we own. It was actually rather cute of him. Whenever we called the figure simply "Death" he would correct us and say he is "Mr. Death" instead. It was rather odd, too. River isn't exactly the type to like these morbid figures.

In any case, I decided to help him. I printed out the pattern and got to work. I didn't want my six year old using a sharp object to carve a pumpkin (and subsequently his hand), so I admit to doing most of the project myself. It was actually pretty fun! I love crafty things like that.

Towards the end of carving I noted the presence of the dreaded mosquitos. I was determined to finish the job though. As a result I got a nice big bite on my lower back as I hunched over the pumpkin. Sigh. At least it was just one bite this year. I usually end up with double digits.

All of the pumpkins turned out super cute. Maddy made her pumpkin into a witch. She even put a witch's hat on top. She carved the face herself this year. I can't believe she's old enough for something like that already! She did a good job, too!

Britta made hers into a princess, complete with crown. The eyes, nose, and mouth were all very small. I was actually very glad she carved so little of it out. She picked a pie pumpkin to carve this year. Once the pumpkin has outlived its usefulness as a jack-o-lantern, it will be roasted in the oven and turned into delicious food! I love how that's working out. It's called recycling.

I was glad I was able to participate so directly this year in the family pumpkin carving. I think next year I will plan on it again. I might just have to apply mosquito repellent. I can't help it if I'm delicious. However, precautions must be taken to prevent the over indulgence of the blood sucking insect population. Maybe then I can finally enjoy the pumpkin carving mosquito bite free!

Sewing Lesson Revisited

It's been a long time since Maddy received her first sewing lesson. She did great then, and by all means I should have been more diligent in helping her develop the sewing talent she was already showing. Unfortunately, it's been a hectic last year. I have done very little sewing myself, nevermind giving sewing lessons to my daughter.

Thankfully I was able to find some time for sewing recently. I made a pair of pajama pants for a friend, and in the process realized it would probably be a fun and very straightforward project for Maddy to make herself a pair.

The other day she and I sat down and she did just that. My little girl is a BIG girl now! It is sometimes hard to remember that Madalyn is very capable of doing things that I view as something a little kid cannot do. Sewing is a bit complex and requires the use of scissors and needles. It's a bit intimidating for me to let go of control and let her do the project herself. It's difficult for me to let her make mistakes. I had to remind myself on more than one occasion that it's silly to get upset with her, and teaches her better if I just explain without the negativity.

While I did help here and there, Maddy did most of the project by herself. She did the majority of the cutting. She helped with the ironing. She did all of the actual sewing. I was impressed! She was nervous to do everything herself, but she did it!

The pants turned out super cute! I'm really proud of Maddy. She's growing up so fast. I am excited to teach her all of my crafty ways!

Happy Fall, Y'all

Maddy came home from Activity Day with this apple stand. 

It made me laugh. We definitely live in Texas. 

Happy Fall Y'all!

Candy Corn Cookies

Really good food not only tastes delicious, but it looks delicious as well. Many pains are taken to ensure something truly tasty does not get passed up because it looks horrible. Thankfully, I've never had to worry about a tasty cookie going uneaten because it wasn't pretty enough. When it comes to sugar you just close your eyes and shovel it in.  Having said that, these candy corn cookies are both delicious to the eyes and to the taste buds. I love a cute cookie!

I first found a recipe for these online. However, the recipe called for lemon zest. I did not have any of said lemon zest. I then realized that the significance of this recipe is the cute candy corn colors and shape. I proceeded to look up another sugar cookie recipe online. I settled on the Williams Sonoma recipe. I had all of the ingredients, including a real vanilla bean!

I was excited to use the vanilla bean. In all my years of cooking I have never used one! I can't believe it has taken me this long. They are so fun and tasty to cook with! I only used a portion of one for this recipe. I scraped the seeds into the sugar and butter mixture. I was surprised at all of the tiny black seeds that were inside the pod. I'm not sure what I expected, but I didn't expect it to be so messy!

The trick to making these is layering the dough. I split the cookie dough into three sections and dyed one yellow and one orange. I lined a bread pan with plastic wrap and one at a time layered the white, orange, and then yellow dough on top of one another. I then put the pan into the fridge for a few hours.

When the dough was nice and solid, I cut it into 1/4" slices. I then cut those slices into triangle shapes. I was already tickled at how awesome my candy corns were turning out. I am a chef that likes to celebrate her awesome cooking during the process. It makes the joy last longer.

I dipped the cookies each in sugar (which I'm glad I did because they aren't frosted). Once cooked they glimmer all pretty and deliciously.

The batch I did made about 70 small cookies. We gave a few dozen away, but ate up the rest pretty quickly. I wanted to make more pretty much immediately. I restrained myself however. One really needs to limit the amount of candy corn cookies one eats in a week, wouldn't you say? I admit though, the next opportunity I see, I plan on whipping up another batch. These are fun cooking at its finest.

Our Newest Foodie

Food is one of my favorite things. Well, good food anyhow. I find a lot of joy in preparing, smelling, and consuming various delicious meals and treats. I find a lot of value in time spent in the kitchen. It's a hobby that is both rewarding and satisfying.

Today the newest member of our family joined the ranks of connoisseurs in the world.  He seems pretty happy about it, too. I am sure he's been hearing my ravings of all the delectable dishes I've eaten in his 6 months of living (and during the 9 months of gestation), and was eager to learn what the fuss is all about.

Kingston tried his first solid food. Well, it was semi solid anyhow. Bananas. He seemed to be a pretty big fan. I think I'll keep feeding him. He'll probably like that. Babies like food. I hope he grows up to be a foodie, just like his mommy.