Halloween Cakes - Cake Pop Eyeballs and Spiderwebs

I really can't Halloween is just around the corner. And then it always seems like it is down hill from there with Thanksgiving and Christmas so close after!

I have a confession...

I don't really like Halloween. Yep, I said it.

I know it is a lot of people's favorite holiday but for me I've never quite liked all creepy, crawly, freaky stuff.  Just never understood the draw of fake blood, spider, snakes, vampires and the like.  Don't get me wrong, I love Autumn with pumpkins, leaves and apples but Halloween, not so much.

Well I had to change my view a little when I was recently asked to do a Halloween themed birthday cake.  It was for 18 year old twins (girl and boy).  Thanks to pinterest (yep, definitely my current addiction) I found some fabulous ideas.

This is what I ended up with...

And I happen to have a dear friend who also had a birthday and LOVES Halloween so decided to make a little arrangement of the eyeballs for her birthday. 

 

My favorite part by far was the eyeballs on forks. I made red velvet with cream cheese frosting cake balls covered in white chocolate melted candy.  I used gummy lifesavers for the eyes with green gel for the centers and then red to make the blood shot effect. 

All the little eyeballs lined up in rows.... 

Monday Messages {free printable} - Starfish, Made a Difference to One

I have always loved the legend of the starfish... Often what we do may not matter to the world, but it does matter to one soul.

Monday Messages {free printable} - Seeds you plant

So I often struggle with Mondays, back to real life after a little weekend break!  I find that quotes give me some motivation and inspiration to start my week off right so I will try to share a new quote and printable each Monday.  Hope you enjoy!

To print the image, just click on the picture, save as a image and then choose your print options. It is set up for a full size sheet (8 1/2 x 11). 

Home ReDo: Alphabet Wall Art

So I think I have mentioned that my home is in need of a major redo.... well one of the places that needs some serious attention is my kids room.  It is currently shared by my 2 and 4 year old and in the next few months the baby will be joining them.

There are many things that need to be addressed in their room but one of the biggest challenges is that there is lots of stuff that needs to go in the room and that leaves not much room for decorating.


Except this one big empty wall...

I had grand plans to decorate the room in a sports theme (not original I know but my boys love sports) but then I discovered I was having a girl and re-evaluated.  In the end I decided to go with an alphabet theme but due to a difficult pregnancy didn't get anything done before she arrived.

So back to the wall... I have this big wall that I need to fill (oh... and not spend a lot of money).  Pinterest to the rescue. I found some cute ideas to use flash cards as wall hangings and thought that would be perfect.

Due to the size of the wall I did an Internet search and found these great large {free} printable alphabet flash cards.  I printed them on card stock on a laser color printer and they turned out great.  I cut off the excess paper, hole punched, strung onto some inexpensive ribbon and for under $5 have a great piece of wall art that adds color to the space and is educational!

I had to hang it higher than I would like to ensure little hands don't rip it down (my boys have bunk beds) so I think I am going to get some vinyl that says, "Now I know my ABC's..." for just above the glider.

Now it makes me want to tackle the rest of the room!

Here is a close up, I used over-sized push pins and tied on extra pieces of ribbon to give it some extra interest.

And my son admiring the new "letters wall". He just started preK so I think it was extra cool to him!

Veggie Adventures

As part of my brave new world we have decided to make some changes to our diet.  More specifically increase the amount of plant based food we eat, and decrease processed, refined, pre-packaged, can't pronounce foods.

Tonight my adventure involved LENTILS... you can check out the story and the recipe (turned out pretty good - I recommend you give it a try) over at my recipe site.

PRINTABLE - Person to be Loved

A friend shared this quote on facebook and I decided I needed a more regular reminder!  Picked my new favorite color combination - yellow and gray. 

Download

Toys, toys, toys everywhere toys!

Look familiar???

 

Of course I want it to look like....

and this... 

Land of Nod 

and this... 

Pottery Barn Kids

 BUT....

Please tell me I'm not the only one with an unorganized gathering of toys... actually what's scary is this is it "clean"... it's even worse when my little ones are awake and playing.

As part of my brave new world I have decided that my house needs some serious reorganization and redecoration.  My house isn't big (1600 sq feet), there are 6 of us and my ADD combine to make me feel like everywhere I look is clutter!

One of my greatest challenges is that 1/2 of the family under the age of 4 which equals way too many TOYS!  I keep telling everyone to not buy my children anymore toys but their wonderful Aunties and Uncle just can't say no to my adorable little ones.  Thanks to wonderful pinterest I have found some great idea for organizing toys!

Check out my kids organizing board for some fabulous ideas!  Once I actually get some projects done I will start posting before and after pics.

Spiderman 4th Birthday

So my little guy (well... I guess not so little) turned 4 on Saturday.  He is OBSESSED with Spiderman. He actually introduces himself to people as Spiderman.  He has also convinced his 2 year old brother that he is Spiderman, ahh the joys of being an older sibling...

No surprisingly we did a Spiderman theme.  I think it turned out pretty good.  My camera skills (and camera) are no fabulous so you will have to bear with on that aspect of the post. 

the cake... Spiderman of course...

I used a 9" round and then carved it into the shape of spiderman's face/mask.  Once you place the white eyes and your first line down the center of the cake the rest is relatively simple.  I did have to learn that linking lines between the webs were like upside down c - straight lines look very silly.

TIP: If you need to carve a cake to get a unique shape (like spidey's face) bake the cake ahead and freeze.  It's much easier to carve a frozen cake, you get a cleaner cut and far fewer crumbs.

the rest of the menu...



One of my son's favorite things in life is the good old orange, straight from the box, mac and cheese.  I saw a cute picture of a hot dog cut like an octopus on top of mac and cheese and thought it would be perfect to fit the spiderman theme... for those of you that do not have a son obsessed, Doc Oc is one of the main villains. This was so simple.  Just microwave the hot dogs and then about make a cut in half about 2/3 of the length of the hot dog and then make a 2nd cut so that you get 4 "legs".  Prop up and for greater impact add some eyes. I used the red gel icing I had left over from the cupcakes but you could easily use ketchup.

Peter Parker Pizza (thanks to little Caesars), Green Goblin Salad, popcorn and a veggie tray rounded out the menu.  I somehow didn't get photos of the Green Goblin Salad but it was very easy to make. 

Green Goblin Salad
serves 10-12
2 small boxes of lime gelatin
3 cans of mixed fruit or fruit cocktail
2 cups of mini marshmallows
Recipe: Prepare the lime gelatin according to package instructions.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes and then stir in fruit drained canned fruit and marshmallows. Refrigerate until chilled. 

This was great because I easily made the night before so all I had to make the morning of the party was the mac and cheese. 

activities...

Popcorn... get your popcorn... I borrowed a cute popcorn maker from a friend that is a table top replica of an old fashion popcorn machine. I found red and white small bags at the craft store (by the gift wrapping supplies) and attached these little labels to match the spidey theme. The popcorn was perfect as both a snack before the main food since the party started at 10:30 and a little activity to watch it be popped. Plus my son loves popcorn. 

It was a pool party and most of the kids in attendance were either 2 and under or over 10 so I didn't plan a lot of games. We did play "Pin the Spider on the Spiderweb". My fabulously talented stepdaughter went above and beyond and created this great poster board. I was planning to just do a 2 minute spiderweb but she got all into and free hand drew spiderman's hand slinging the web.  My son thought it was awesome!

Brave new world...

Brave new world...

that seems to be the term that keeps coming to my mind these days. 

After 6 years with my employer and nearly 15 years working I will be laid off on September 2nd and will be taking some time to be a stay at home mom.  Even though I have four kids and have been working a flexible schedule for a few years the concept of being a at home mom all the time is truly a brave new world for me. I am both excited and terrified all at the same time! 

I decided to start this little blog as an outlet to the outside world as I begin this new adventure in my life! No particular theme, just me. I call our family of six a party in a box. I'm a wife, a mom for 4 including a baby, toddler, preschooler and a teenager.  I've been a human resource manager, volunteer coordinator, accounting manager, special event coordinator and admin. I have ADD and I'm starting the exciting journey of parenting a child (my 4yr old) with ADHD.  My life is full - often full of chaos - but I love it.