Monster Mash

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Decorating for Halloween

This weekend we decorated for Halloween.

Here are some pictures....
How long do you think this candy corn will last?

Love this scarecrow trio that I got at WalGreen's and the pumpkins are from yesterday's festival. They gave out stickers to decorate the pumpkins. Jack's is on the left and Bailey's is on the right.

My secret sister gave me this Trick or Treat pumpkin stack last year and I have lots of decorations to fill my garden window.

Bailey and Jack made these spooky pictures yesterday at the Fall festival and the foam bats are leftovers from Jack's Batman birthday party.

We had a ball putting up all the spooky decorations and the house looks great!

Fall Festival

Today, the kids and I went to the May Community Center's Fall Festival. It was so much fun. The pumpkin patch was $5.00 per child and that included carnival games, clowns, face painting, a train ride, pumpkin decorating and a hayride. They also had food, crafts and a raffle. It was an overcast day, but the rain held off, and we enjoy a fabulous fall day!

October Picture of the Month 2005 - 2008

Here is a look back at the Picture of the Month for October over the last four years.

Picture of the Month - October '09

Fall has arrived and we are looking forward to some cooler weather. Bailey is doing super in 1st grade and really enjoys school. Jack is still adjusting to Kindergarten. Christian is in the middle of football season and his team is doing well. I am doing well. Looking forward to my sister's visit next week!

Fall Looks

Saw these beautiful yellow mums at Kroger last week and I couldn't resist the temptation to buy them. They just say Fall to me and I'm looking forward to some cooler weather.

Here is another Fall preview. We bought Bailey's and Jack's Halloween costumes this past weekend. Bailey selected a cute witch costume. Jack picked the Transformer Bumblebee. They both are excited about Halloween this year.

Happy Fall Ya'll ;~)

Crowd Pleasers

Friday, I was the host for my monthly Pokeno group. This month was double great for me. I won the money! I have been playing for five years and have never won the money. I love to cook and got to fix all the yummy food. On the menu was glazed ham sandwiches, apricot jello salad, potato salad, bourbon slush, banana cake and brownies. Here are some pictures of the food and the recipes.
Glazed Sandwiches
1 package of rolls
1 pack of turkey/ham
1pack of Swiss cheese
Put your meat and 1 slice of cheese in the roll and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and then mix the following together and pour over sandwiches:
4 T of brown sugar
2 T of mustard (I use honey mustard)
2 sticks of butter
2T of Worcester sauce
2T of poppy seeds
Bake your sandwiches again for another 10 minutes and they are done!! Super easy! Enjoy!

Apricot Jello Salad
2 3-oz. Pkgs. Apricot Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
2 8 1/4-oz. Cans crushed pineapple, well drained (reserve juice)
1 8-oz. Pkg. Cream cheese
1/2 cup shopped pecans or walnuts
8 oz. Cool Whip
Mix Jell-O, boiling water and sugar; stir well and allow to thicken slightly. Add drained pineapple. Place in refrigerator to thicken to consistency of egg white. Meanwhile, cream well together the cream cheese and reserve pineapple juice with a mixer. Add to Jell-O mixture; beat until blended. Fold in chopped nuts and Cool Whip. Pour into prepared mold or dish and chill for several hours.

Bourbon Slush
9 cups water
2-3 cups bourbon
1 12 oz frozen orange juice thawed undiluted
1 12 oz frozen lemonade, thawed, undiluted
1 3/4/ cup sugar
1 tbspn instant tea
3 16 oz lemon lime carbonated beverage
Combine first 6 ingredients. Stir well. Pour mixture into several containers & freeze overnight. Remove from freezer 30 minutes before serving (mixture should be slushy)
Combine with lemon lime beverage stirring well. Yield 1 ½ gallons

These are three crowd pleasing recipes and all can be made ahead of time.

Party Time

Yesterday, I took the kids to Logan's 4th birthday party at Life Time Fitness.

Bailey and Jack had a great time with the punch balls.They also played human bowling.

They shot some hoops and everyone loved the parachute. What a great party!

1st Spelling Test for Bailey

Bailey just finished up the second week of 1st grade with a bang! She got a 100 on her first spelling test. Way to go Bailey!

Stuffed Shells and Meatballs

I am working five days this school year. So, I've been on the hunt for some great easy meals for dinner and I think we have found a winner! I got a bag of frozen stuffed shells and a bag of Italian meat balls at Sam's Club. Just put a dozen of the shells and meatballs into a pan, pour a jar of spaghetti sauce over the top, cover with foil and bake for about an hour frozen at 375 degrees (30 minutes if thawed). Top with mozzarella cheese and bake for ten more minutes. These are great because you can make as much or as little as you'd like. I like to make more so we have some yummy leftovers.

September '09 Picture of the Month

Another month has flown by and we are all back at school. Christian is teaching Geography at Kingwood High School, Bailey is in the 1st grade at Hidden Hollow Elementary, Jack is in Kindergarten at HHE and I'm teaching the 2s at the Weekday Learning Center.

Here are the past September Pictures of the Month.

Look how big my kids are getting!

My 2009-2010 Class Room

This year it is off to the races in the WLC Bears Class! I found these cute racing bears for my folders and just had to do my room in a racing theme.
Everyone has their own race car with personalized license plate. I place one set of cars on the door and the other on each childs folder.

Here is my winners circle that I plan to hang everyone picture around.
We passed out Hot Wheels and a stuffed bear to everyone at orientation. It must have been a winning idea because today was great. We had minimal crying and everone napped!! Lets hope day two is a winner too!

Evolution of Dance

This is so funny! I love it ;~)

First Grade for Bailey

Monday was the first day of 1st grade for Bailey. She has Ms. Smith this year at Hidden Hollow Elementary. She had a great first day. When I picked her up she said "Ms. Smith is the best teacher ever!" Hope she still feels that way in May ;~)

Jack's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Today was Jack's first day of Kindergarten! He was very excited to go to school. I am the one with the nervous excitement. Here is to a great year!

Blessing of the Backpacks

Today was the Blessing of the Backpacks at AUMC. This year Bailey picked a brown mail bag style bag and we had her name put on it in pink. Jack's backpack is Transformers. Bailey and Jack are so excited to start school tomorrow. I'm praying for a great day for both of them!

HHE Meet the Teachers

Last night was "Meet the Teacher" night at Hidden Hollow Elementary School. Here is Bailey and Ms. Smith, her new 1st grade teacher. She has some friends from last year in her class, as well as, some new faces. I'm loving the small student-teacher ratios!

Jack will be going to Kindergarten this year. Here he is with his teacher, Mrs. McDaniel.
Jack sat through the Kindergarten presentation like a champ. Went right into his room, met some new friends and played while I filled out some paperwork. Meet the teacher night went great! Both kids are looking forward to school starting on Monday!