Picture of the Week

Ahhh yes pumpkin carving...

...it's time if you haven't already fulfilled this Halloween task. You can feel it at the tip of your tongue, the chill as it nears. At this point hopefully you have found the perfect pumpkin to carve, if not hurry out and see what you can find. You may actually find some of the perfectly deformed pumpkins that no one else wanted and need a good home. These can have the best results sometimes. Next you must brainstorm or play it by ear either way can be fun. Sometimes you can just take a good look at the pumpkin and start slicin' and wa-la you have a jack o' lantern at your fingertips. For those who might not get that oh so wonderful vibe you can check out ideas and printouts online to help get you going. http://www.pumpkinlady.com/pattern.htm

Don't forget to set the mood. Put on some Halloween tunes, eat some pumpkin goodies, drink some hot cider and don't forget to get down and dirty. They invented brooms, soap and sponges for this very reason. Ok you can put down some newspaper to help with the mess and don't forget to save the seeds for cookin'. With a little salt and time in the oven they make for yet another scrumptious treat. http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/toasted_pumpkin_seeds/

Happy carving!

Costumes

What happened to creativity? Everyone has this whether they think so or not. Yes it takes a little time and effort but in the end it's well worth the effort and feeling of accomplishment. I think especially for children this is important. I don't know if it's because I was raised with a minimal amount of funds and material things or I just happen to enjoy the inner workings of my crazy mind and like to see what I can squeeze out of it. I remember a time when Halloween was upon us and the excitment grew because we knew it was time to brainstorm the plans for our costumes. We would get so excited, thinking so hard about the perfect thing to create for that years festivities that our heads felt like they were going to explode. Yes there were frustrations and dead ends and at times we would have to rethink the whole thing but this is what we call life. We had a trunk full of old clothes, knick knacks, and random junk and were let loose to piece together our wonderful mish mash costume for the year. Once we accomplished this we couldn't wait to show it off at the school parade and of course while trick or treating. We welcomed the years that people would say "and what are you suppose to be?" because then we had the chance to explain our elaborate thinking and our crazy thought process which we thought no one would ever care to ask us about. Yes there were occasional times we had to have something very specific and yes my mom would make a trip to Kmart or Pic N Save and grab one of those cheesy plastic garbs just to satisfy our childhood crisis but believe me those went into the trunk to be used in conjunction with costumes for years to come ( it was also lovely that my mom did sew so she could help us create those certain things we just could not manage to accomplish ourselves like a Hula skirt-thanks mom ). Now I'm not saying that the costumes of today aren't just so darn cute, I just feel that creativity is so important in life to get the chance to experience especially for children (I feel adults benefit too).
Make you and your children a deal, every other year you get to create a costume with things you already have, old costumes, old clothes, things from around the house. Let their minds flow and remember if they decide their costume is a grocery bag with glitter on it SO BE IT! We are only children once and will hold those memories dear to our hearts for years to come. As parents don't be afraid to get down and dirty with the kids, make a day of it as a family, turn the TV off, set up a area in the house or yard, turn on some Halloween music and create a memory, You Won't Regret It!