HAPPY HALLOWEEN: A Garbage Man and a Trash Bag Walk Into a Bar...

Baby T has been talking about his Halloween costume for a few weeks now. When we were waiting for my friend's husband to finish his Iron Man race this weekend (Go Z!), Baby T was telling the people around him, who were holding trash bags filled with the race participants' items, about his and his brother's costumes.

But the evening did not start off great. Baby T woke up with a mild fever and was a little bit cranky. It was a good thing that he didn't give us his typical "I only want to wear TJ's (PJ's)" tantrum. We maneuvered him into some green cargo pants and the rest of his costume without much of a fuss.

But he wasn't happy when picture time came.

How to Make a Trash Bag Halloween Costume Tutorial

All you procrastinators--here is a quick tutorial for how to make a spherical Halloween costume--you know--if you're making a pumpkin costume, Mr. Potato Head costume, or trash bag costume. This costume basically transforms you or your child into a giant, stuffable ball. Use your imagination and go crazy.

Baby T is going to be a garbage man, so Little M is going to be a trash bag. This is how I made Little M's garbage bag costume.

Sunday Surf - Money, Chores, and a Green Halloween

I've been slacking on Sunday Surf posts lately because--well, because I've been slacking. My week starts on Monday and it starts off strong. I peter out and sit around and eat chocolate chip cookies and drink beer on Sundays.

But this week, the Carnival of Natural Parenting posts went up, and they dealt with money matters. I learned a lot, and I still am not done reading them all. I've also been doing some research about Halloween crafts and decorations. I've never been into holidays or decorating, but now that I have kids, it's so fun to do projects with them.

Here's a little shout out to the what I read this week.

Save Money by Using What You Have

Welcome to the October Carnival of Natural Parenting: Money Matters

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared how finances affect their parenting choices. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

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Surprisingly, I am decent with money. It’s not because I’m organized or Type A, I assure you. Nor am I obsessively frugal. I try really hard to do things like create a budget, micromanage my finances, use only cash, and clip coupons. But in reality, I have a general idea of what I have to spend every month, I splurge on things I really want need, I use my credit card for almost everything (although I pay it off monthly), and I rarely clip coupons.

So how was I able to leave a job where I was really comfortable and still afford my mortgage, my two kids, and my new grill? I’m resourceful. I save my money where I can so that I can spend it on the things I really need.

MONDAY MOMENTS: Halloween Costumes in Pairs

And...It's Tuesday. But I'm a day behind because of the holiday (and my scattered brain). This post is linked up on Capital Mom's blog. Every Monday, she posts about a parenting moment. This week's theme is Costume.

We have been debating what to do for Halloween for the kids. I'm not a huge holiday person, but as holidays go, I really like Halloween. We had a lot of fun as kids choosing our costumes and foraging around at neighbors' front doors for food.

We have recycled the same cute cow costume that my sister crocheted for Baby T 2 years in a row. It's time we got off our a$$es and got creative. The sad part is--this is how my scattered brain works--I'm sitting here racking my brain trying to remember what we dressed Little M up as last year.

Oh yeah. He wasn't here yet. How time flies.

Oreo Bon Bon Halloween Eyeballs

I already told you that I was going to be a week late in terms of relevant posts to this blog. So I don't feel bad. For the Halloween party I went to on Saturday, I made Oreo Bon Bon Eyeballs. I stumbled across the recipe in a magazine for the bon bons at the midwife's office a few months ago. I got creative with the eyeball aspect. They are chocolatey and amazing. Some say they looked like nipples, but I don't care.

Oreo Bon Bon Halloween Eyeball Recipe

Ingredients for Bon Bons:

1 package of Oreo Cookies
1 package of cream cheese

Directions:

Put the entire package of Oreos into your food processor. It's hard not to eat one now, but hold off. You can have a bon bon in a minute, and it's even better than the cookie itself.

Pulse the food processor until your oreos look like coffee grounds.

Add a package of softened cream cheese.

Pulse/process until it is all blended together and rolls around inside your machine like dough.

Roll into 1" balls and place on a cookie sheet.

Freeze for an hour. After they have been frozen, they will be firm enough to dip in your melted chocolate. Melt a few bars of chocolate (I used Hershey bars)

Dip the oreo bon bons in your melted chocolate. I used tongs to do this, and only dipped the top half. Put them back on the cookie sheet.

Put them back in the fridge or freezer to harden the chocolate. To decorate them, I melted a little white chocolate, put a drop of it on top of each bon bon, and stuck in a semisweet chocolate chip, face down.

Halloween Costume Part II

A Milkmaid, a Farmer, and a Cow meet a Girl Scout

I fear that I'm going to be a week behind in all of my posts this week. A week past what is relevant. Oh, well. If only there were 50 hours in a day. Halloween was great. We were the cutest farming family around. So much so that I think we should just move to the country, buy several acres, goats, chickens, and cows, and live off the land.

I also made a Girl Scout Uniform for a coworker. She asked me a week before Halloween, and I was swamped, but really wanted to help her out. I told her I couldn't make it from scratch, but if she found me something to work with, I could rework it into a uniform. She found the most hideous knit mock-turtleneck, long sleeved, calf length shift dress at the Salvation Army. It was absolutely perfect! I was able to transform it into a vest and skirt with the leftover green ruffle from the dust ruffle I used for my milkmaid costume. We printed the patches on the computer, laminated them, and sewed them on for an official look. I can't wait to get a picture of her wearing it! Now if only she could make me some cookies. Farming is hard work.

Halloween Costume Part I

Tiered Skirt/Petticoat Tutorial

Since I'm going to be a milkmaid for Halloween, I needed a tiered, ruffled skirt to show underneath the main part of the skirt. I was a little overwhelmed by the idea of making it from scratch. It seemed like it would take a lot of fabric--I wasn't sure how much, or how expensive it would be. So I went to goodwill and bought a dust ruffle. I would use the center of the dust ruffle (the part that goes under the mattress, which is just cream colored fabric) for the skirt, and use the ruffles for the ruffles on the skirt! For $1.99 it would be fine if it didn't work out. Especially since I had measured nothing and just figured this would be enough fabric. The dust ruffle had 3 layers of ruffles, in cream and green, and it seemed like plenty to go around. This is what I started with:

I figured I would make 3 tiers so it wouldn't get too complicated, and I would put the ruffles between the tiers.

Losing the Pregnancy Weight

And eating healthfully on a budget

I was working on my Halloween costume last night, and pulled out my dressmaking dummy to work with. I hadn't used her in a while, and I needed to adjust her measurements to match mine. She's a vintage dummy, so I had to manipulate her in several different places. Well, I adjusted everything I could. To the max. I pulled and tugged and tried to make her go out farther, but she was as big as she could get.

And she still wasn't close to my waist size. Grrrr....

I did just have a  baby (5 months ago).

Oh, and I guess I should also mention that I also ate root beer floats every night during those 5 months. I think it's time to stop that.

I really try to keep to a budget when grocery shopping, though. I try to spend $50 a week, and eat healthfully at the same time. Sometimes it's hard to get all your veggies in when you're trying to budget. For example, this week, whole chickens were on sale for $.59 a pound. This is what my weekly menu looked like:

Monday: Easy Roasted Chicken and Easy Roasted Acorn Squash.
Tuesday: Chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches
Wednesday: Nachos with chicken

I finagled 3 meals out of one chicken, which was great for the budget, but even if I squint, I can't see the veggies. (Other than the acorn squash on Monday). Looks like I'm having salad tonight!

Deciding on a Halloween Costume

(That's not too scary, sexy, or cliche--Hey, I have a baby now. I don't want to scare him or attract strange gentlemen callers by my getup.)

For Halloween, Baby T is going to be a cow. It's a hand-me down costume hand made by my very own sister. So that was a no-brainer. The main issue was deciding what Big T and I were going to be. Big T doesn't love Halloween or dressing up, and I've been a vampire every year since freshman year of college (so the past 13 years. Creative, I know.) But now with a kiddo, a scary vampire is out.

So Big T is going to be a farmer (i.e. wearing jeans--adventurous) and I'm going to be a milkmaid. Since baby T is nursing and I'm slightly obsessed with breastfeeding, I thought that was quite appropriate. Plus, the milkmaid nursing the cow is kind of funny in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way, isn't it?

Of course, this adds to my to-do list this week:
1. Start business blog, make inventory, clothing tags, business cards
2. and--oh--make Halloween costume! (Please please please sleep, Baby T.)