"Fricker Freating"

Halloween was a hit! We just happen to live in one of those neighborhoods now that has tree-lined streets and fall leaves blowing along on the breeze. And every house was decorated and ready to welcome all the trick-or-treaters drifting up and down the streets tonight. It was admittedly an idyllic Halloween. And it was really the first time Finn has experienced REAL tick-or-treating (or as he calls it, "fricker freating"). Even though the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of Little Red Riding Hood, I was feeling decidedly Witchy today! So I went with it. I got into the spirit of things and created a miniature graveyard in our empty planter on the porch, hung a ghost, carved a small pumpkin, added an orange lightbulb to the porch light, and finished up Maya's costume. I even braved our hilly streets in pointed-toe heels (I'm serious about my costumes). Then we came home and Finn roared at all the trick-or-treaters coming for candy, and watched happily out our front window for more costume-clad kiddos to grace our doorstep. He then ate all the lollipops in his little pumpkin, and is now watching Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin, trying not to fall asleep and miss any more action. He kept calling me Harry Potter Cowboy Witch, because I had the big hat on (and because we watched Harry Potter today). Too cute. Maya conked out at 8. I have to apologize for the lack of good photos of Maya. Wes is crewing on a film project, so it was just us tonight (and tomorrow, and the next few days...). Maya and her new tooth were not having a great evening, and I couldn't get a smile out of my little horned owl. I made the costume myself, footsy talons included. And I was feeling pretty good about my skills until she got called a caveman, after which she promptly spit up all over the front of her costume. I decided it was time to head home after that. :) Here are our highlights!

Happy Haunting and goodnight!

Halloween Art by Finn

Dear Granny and Grandad Beauchamp,
Thanks so much for the Halloween package! I made some artwork with Mom's help. And I immediately put on as many of the Boo Boo Bandaids as possible.

A Little Laundry

Where's Maya?

Take your eyes off of her for 2 seconds, and she's working on an escape plan!
(That's my coffee table, in case you can't quite tell...)

Corners of My House: Finn's Room

Cutest Danish alphabet poster (found HERE):
Finn's new quilt:Finn is sharing a room with Maya while we are in this house. Getting him to want to sleep in his own bed is tricky. So sometimes he shares a room with Wes and me. Enter the "Fire Fruck" Quilt. My parents have the sweetest and most generous friends. Seriously. You should see the wonderful gifts we have received from people that have only met us a handful of times. A few weeks ago, my mom's friend and next door neighbor, Bonny, sent Finn this amazing quilt (she also made one for Maya when she was born that is totally worthy of a blog post—it involves paper dolls). Finn opened the box and immediately wrapped himself in it! He prefers it over any other blanket we own, oftentimes when he's just watching TV on the couch in the afternoon and resting. It even coaxes him to sleep in his own toddler bed. That alone is miraculous! :)

Sunday Faces: Monster Maya Exclusive

Hello, everyone—Maya, here! Happy Halloween Season. My Mom bought me these wonderful PJs from Target that are truly in the Halloween Spirit, without sacrificing my girliness. Just check me out!

Week in review, and a pumpkin patch

This is Finn on the one day he was feeling well this week. He had just gotten over his cold, and I thought the outdoor air would do him good. Looks like that idea was a bust, because he woke up this morning with Croup. And another runny nose. I am certain he got sick again from the 3 busloads of bigger kids who were ALSO at the pumpkin patch, crowding around, coughing on, yelling at, and otherwise infecting my kids.

Upon closer examination of the Frain Fracks photo of Finn, I decided a haircut was in order!

Silly pony!

(Look closely and you can see Finn at the end of the corn stalks...)

So here we are again, sick. Well, I'm fine. But Maya is still teething. Her little toofy finally broke through, but it's a sharp little bugger! And she is growl-screaming at me all day long, while blowing snot bubbles out of her nose, eating her fist, soaking her onesies in drool, and running a low-grade fever while fighting a diaper rash. So it will be difficult to tell if she is getting a new cold (she just got over the other one, as well). And I am learning the hard way that when you tell a toddler NOT to touch his sister while he is sick, that results promptly in him licking her, or sneezing on her toys, or trying to pick her up out of the exersaucer. (Or currently trying to wind a ribbon around her neck...which I quickly put a stop to.) I have a very hard time with illness in our home. It's getting close to the time of year when Finn got so sick last year that he had to be hospitalized for three weeks. So I have entered the Parental Paranoia Season, when I fear every cough and sniffle will become pneumonia, or H1N1. And there we have it.

In other news, I posted some tasty new treats just in time for Halloween over at Lickable Spoon:


Sunday faces to follow! I have great ones of Maya...

Finn's Frain Fracks

"Finn, say 'Train Tracks.'"
"Frain Fracks."
"TTTTrain Tracks."
"TTTT Frain Fracks."

Really wonderful masks

Visit Room With a View to check out these amazing masks! Click HERE.

Corners of My House: Crafting for the kids

Finn wanted a sail boat. So I made him this one with a $1 kit from Michael's. It came with paint, but I think I prefer the natural wood. I love making things for my kids. Love it! I am actually getting ready to sew Maya's costume, which admittedly makes me a little nervous. It involves feathery, furry fabric that I have never worked with before... Wish me smooth sailing!

Fair Trade and a big 'Thanks!'

One of my regular blog clients and friends, Danyelle, sent me a happy package yesterday! I was so excited to open the package. I love a "Dandee" package! On her Etsy site, Dandee Designs, she states that her products are "packaged well." And boy are they! Her craftsmanship makes me sigh with delight. One thing I learned in graduate school is that craftsmanship is imperative. And Danyelle's craftsmanship would make my Adviser, Deborah Beardslee, proud. (And that's saying something!) She gifted me so many little treasures, in return for a great project I worked on for her. Visit her blog to see the final product!

She also found this "Live what you love" print on Etsy. It's my favorite color green, and suits our family's unspoken motto perfectly. It's hanging in my bedroom. It makes me want to do printmaking again. Find it HERE.

Pumpkin Bread

I decided to try making some pumpkin bread from a recipe over at Lickable Spoon. I tweaked it a bit to suit the circumstances. It was AMAZING! Here is the recipe. You can see my recipe edits at the bottom. It was super easy to make, and I had all the ingredients on hand. This one is a keeper. Thanks, Stephanie!

Note: I added whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour, I used one small can of pumpkin (which was just shy of 2 cups), so I added 1/3 cup of applesauce (to make up for the pumpkin, but it also added a nice moist texture to the bread) . I only added 2 cups natural turbinado sugar, 2 tsp. apple pie spice instead of the spices listed (only because didn't have nutmeg on hand). Wes said it was one of the best pumpkin breads he's ever tasted.

Sunday Faces: Shhh! We're sleeping...

You'll have to excuse the lack of Sunday Faces this week. All of our little noses are rather runny! So we're sleeping it off today.

Happy Sunday!