Hosting a Kikkoman "Brine a better Turkey" Houseparty #kikkomanparty #sponsored

On Monday, I received a treat from UPS.  My Kikkoman Houseparty box arrived.  I was selected to host a Kikkoman "Brine a juicier bird" at home party.   Soy sauce is a staple ingredient in my homecooking.   I use for stir fries, salad dressing, I even use it when making hamburgers at home. 

I applied through HouseParty and was selected to be a hostess.  If you aren't familiar with House Party, check out there website.    House Party posts available parties and you decide which products you like and which parties you want to apply for.  It is free to sign up.  If you are selected to be a host, then you invite friends to your home, in return you get exclusive access to try and share products with them, courtesy of your party pack. 

Inside my party pack was: a $25 AMEX gift card, a case of Hello Kitty Kikkoman soy sauce dispensers, Kikkoman t-shirts, free product coupons and recipe cards.  This is actually my second time hosting a Kikkoman house party and they always send great party packs.  If I see a Kikkoman party opportunity I always apply. 

The Hello Kitty soy sauce dispensers, I am totally in love with!  I don't really want to share but I don't really need 12 of them.   So I will be sharing those with friends and family. 

Looking through the recipe cards, there are several that I can't wait to try.  The roasted brined brussel sprouts and sweet potato casserole sound delicious.  I can't wait to make these dishes for Thanksgiving!

** I received these products for free in exchange for hosting an at home party.  I received no other compensation and all opinions expressed are my own.**

Star Wars Trooping Events for September and October, picture post

I am sharing some of my favorite pictures from the past 2 months trooping.  It has been awhile since my husband and I have been out in costume.  The last two months have certainly made up for it and  kept us very  busy.  We made a children's hospital visit (1 inside the hospital and 1 for an event outside of the hospital), PRAI Walk, a local Make A Wish fundraiser, a trunk or treat event last weekend that hosted 4,000 people, and this weekend, we will be at Boo in the Zoo, which annually hosts around 10,000 people.    

 Our children have even been wanting to dress up.  We got a rare appearance from Utinni, the littlest Jawa briefly.  Utinni is kind of like Big Foot, so it was a big deal.   Even though brief,

I will take it.

Glee Gum Pop Review

I have reviewed Glee Gum in the past and I love their products.   This time, I am excited to share Glee Gum Pops.   Just in time for Halloween!   Who doesn't love a lollipop in their Trick or Treat bucket?

As a mom, I am always reading labels.   It is nice to find a candy that is using all natural ingredients.  These pops are made without artificial colors, sweeteners, and preservatives.   They are also allergy friendly and gluten free, as well as vegan and certified kosher by the International Kosher Council.


Each bag of Gum Pops has 3 delicious flavors- Sweet Strawberry, Juicy Orange, and Crisp Green Apple.  The flavors were amazing! It is hard to pick a favorite, but for me, Juicy Orange was the winner.   I loved the citrus flavor.    Among my kiddos, strawberry was the definite winner.  

My only complaint was that our bag only had 1 Green Apple pop. With 15 in the bag, I would have liked a more even distribution of flavors.   With 4 children, we ran into a little conflict, but to make it fair, Mom won the green apple pop.

                  We included some Glee Gum Pops in treat bags we made over the weekend.   We can't wait for Halloween to get here, so we can share some gum pops with our friends.

Be sure to check out Glee Gum's other products, which include Make Your Own Candy kits.    If you want to try some of these delicious, natural candies you can order directly from Glee Gum or use their store locator to find them in your area.

*I received the product featured free of charge in order to give an honest review.  No other  compensation was received.  My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and others may have a different opinion.**

Sticky Stir Fried Mushrooms

I found a wonderful vegan recipe that is quick and easy thanks to the Facebook page Bosh.   The recipe uses just a few simple ingredients and makes a family pleasing meal!    Bosh has a lot of create recipe videos too.

Recipe:

2 cups Shitaki mushrooms,  But you can use any mushrooms you have on hand.  I have made this with portobellos and white mushrooms.  

1/4 c.  cornstarch

Coat mushrooms with cornstarch.  Heat oil and then stir fry the mushrooms.   They will be a golden brown.  Remove from pan.

Sauce:
heat 1 tbsp Sesame oil and saute minced garlic and minced ginger.  I do this to personal taste.  The recipe calls for 2 cloves of garlic and 1 inch of fresh minced ginger.    Saute for a few minutes.

Add 2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 c. soy sauce or tamari
1 tsp. sirracha,  add a little more if you want more spice

Bring to a boil and add mushrooms, stirring to coat with the sauce.  Top with green onions and sesame seed.  

I like to serve this brown rice or stir fried noodles and edamame,

Quick and Easy Vegetarian "Fried Chicken" Summer Tacos

 Our family stays busy year round and in the summer, I think we are even more busy.  So I take the semi homemade approach to make this quick and easy meal.

Becoming vegetarian was a little scary.  I was afraid that I would end up eating the small old things, beans and rice, salad, and that meals would become boring.   Well thankfully that has not been the case.   My family has found that we really enjoy the Gardein products.   We have found that they help make meal time easier on those nights when cooking from scratch is just not an option for us.

I made these vegetarian fried chicken tacos last night for dinner along with a fresh pineapple relish. This is a recipe that can also be adapted for those who want chicken.


Summer Fried Chicken Tacos,



1 bag of Gardein chicken tenders  ( this can be made with real chicken tenders, store bought or homemade as well.)
mixed greens
multicolored shredded carrots
avocado, diced
green onions, chopped
pineapple relish ( see recipe below)
sweet and spicy bbq sauce  - (use your favorite brand)
flour tortillas


Bake the Gardein chicken tenders according to the bag directions.    While they are baking prepare your pineapple relish.






Pineapple Relish
fresh pineapple diced
1 small onion diced
1 jalapeno, diced and seeded
lime juice
salt and pepper to taste.

Once everything is ready assemble your tacos.  I like to add the shredded carrots, it just gives the tacos a little extra color and crunch.   The pineapple relish and bbq sauce give the tacos a nice sweet, spicy, and smoke flavor.

This is a quick 30 minute meal that the whole family will enjoy.



( The opinions expressed in this post are my own.  I did not recieve any payment, goods or services for this post.)

Sleeplessness, Anxiety, and the weird things that keep me up at night (deadly spiders and celebrity Christmas trees).

I like many people who have anxiety know the joys that come with it.   I will be fine for a while and then WHAM!  I am  hit with periods of insomnia, panic attacks, and irrational thoughts.  This last week was nothing new.

So what was it that woke me up at 4 am? Deadly nocturnal spiders and Carrie Fisher's Christmas tree.  The swirling vortex of my mind usually reaches full swirl by 4 am.  Sometimes, I can calm myself and go back to sleep, other nights, forget it.  


What started this whole episode was a spider lurking in the corner near my bookcase in the bedroom.  I called my husband to come and look at it because I thought it looked like a black widow without the red.   I was convinced it was a deadly spider and it needed to be destroyed!  Well, we missed and the damn thing retreated back to the safety the crack between the wall and shelf provided.   

The damn spider was then living rent free in my head at this point.  After a quick Google search, I became even more convinced that it was a male black widow spider because they do have different coloring from the females.   So we went to bed, well my husband went to bed.   I did eventually fall asleep up but at 4 am had to go to the restroom.  Using my phone as a flashlight, there it was back in the same corner as before.  

Blurry eyed, I tried to kill the damn thing and missed again!  I woke up my husband with an explosive round of cussing the spider and more lights, every light in the bedroom to be exact.  They don't like bright lights and well, I was prepared to sleep with every light in the house on if I had to.

My husband had this idea to use a flat wooden lid that he wedged forcefully into the crevice and kill the spider that way.   After a few whacks that way, my husband declared the spider good and truly dead.  I think the spider is just laying in wait.  I am still not convinced the spider is dead ( I have seen Arachnophobia, I know what happens!)  UPDATE:  Admittedly my husband may have succeeded in killing the spider as it has not been seen in 2 days. Still, I am cautious.

After all that excitement, who can sleep?  Not this chick.  
I laid in bed staring at the ceiling which is just plain and boring.  I have lobbied for glow in the dark stars or something more visually pleasing then nothing.  But, my husband is like" just close your eyes".  I have explained that if it was that easy to just "close my eyes" and go back to sleep I wouldn't have this problem.

SOOO this brings me to Carrie Fisher's Christmas tree.

Carrie Fisher's  passing was  devastating to me.  She was my first real childhood hero as Princess Leia.  I wanted to be Princess Leia!   I named one of my daughters Leia.  I loved this woman, I loved her character, I would loved her books, I loved her other work.  I love/loved Carrie Fisher for everything else she did.   

Earlier in the week, I watched a video segment from GMA with her brother Todd Fisher.  The segment tours her home and talks about the upcoming estate auction of Carrie and her mother, Debbie Reynolds.  

Believe me, when I heard about the auction I downloaded the auction catalog. I joked to my husband I needed to sell a kidney so I could afford just 1 item that belonged to her.   I really would love one of her ugly children portraits. 




She was one celebrity I wanted to meet but it just never worked out.  Carrie Fisher would perform her "celebrity lap dances" nowhere near where I  lived and if she got close it was still hours of travel, planning, and large amounts of cash.  And the few times she got close, life got in the way.  So I waited and now she is gone. 

Back to the GMA segment,   As they toured her home the reporter asked Todd about her year around Christmas tree.  He explained how his mother took them to visit  actor Harold Lloyd, who had a year round tree and believed in Christmas everyday.  This had an effect on Carrie and she adopted the same.  

How does this effect me? Aside from wanting something from her home, I began to ponder my own feelings about Christmas. ( Here is where my mind likes to snowball everything.  As the snowball gets bigger, it begins sucking up anything and everything. )

 I have this love/ hate relationship with Christmas in general and this includes my tree. 

 In July, I will march into my local Hallmark store to buy my yearly supply of pop culture mini statuettes to adorn our tree.  One of them this year being  ironically a Princess Leia . She is on my tree in multiple variations of her character.  

In July,  I will love the idea of my tree.  Come the day after Thanksgiving, I will sigh and begin the decorating process.  Somewhere between then and December 25th, the magic will have faded and by January 1st, I am DONE!  I am ready to get the thing out of the living room and not look or think about it for another 11 months. 

But that's a lie!  because by May, I am stalking Hallmark for an ornament wish book to buy my yearly supply of ornaments again. Rinse, Lather, Repeat. Its a vicious cycle!

So then I started asking myself when and why did Christmas lose its magic?  Have I ever had a magical Christmas?  How do I get that same feeling and pure joy. 
As a child, I never liked Santa Claus.  I didn't like the idea of him sneaking into our home and for several years starting at age 3, asked that he just leave presents in our carport and I could open them there.
 
Everybody has a memory of their favorite Christmases. I don't.
At age 9 my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery 2 days after Christmas.  I can't tell you what i got for Christmas that year.  There aren't any pictures, there aren't any memories other than that. After that year Christmas just seemed to be a motion you go through. 

When Black Friday rolls around the stress and anxiety begins waiting for something bad to happen. I have a list of holiday terrible (included on the list Carrie Fisher's passing).
 I will spare you the details because I am sharing this not for sympathy, but mainly to vent, ask myself hard questions, sort them out, and tire my mind for a little while so I can nap for an hour or two.

Christmas isn't supposed to be about money, but it is.  I don't enjoy Christmas shopping because I have a budget.  Then I go between feeling cheap and disappointing my kids because I can't be extravagant and then I stress about going over budget.  It is horrible but a modern reality. 
 
My husband grew up not celebrating Christmas and he is better at it then I am.  Am I burned out?  
My snowball is still rolling.  

I really don't like modern holiday traditions.
I hate elf on the shelf.  We have one of the damn little things. It was gifted to our children with good intent.  To you over achieving elf moms, I hate your elf and your pintrest pictures too. 

I hate gift cards. I get a gift card and never use it for myself.  I end up buying things for everyone else.  If you want to give me a gift, give me a gift not a damn gift card. 


Am I too cynical? Possibly. But something keeps me coming back year after year repeating the same cycle. Attitude vs. Gratitude.  Yes, i have a bad attitude about Christmas but I am grateful for my husband and children.  I try to make it happy for them.  

Everybody tells me I can't hate Christmas for my children's sake.  I keep my feelings hidden, which might be why I feel such overwhelming dread even now just thinking about this year's Christmas.  I do everything I can to create Christmas for them.  We bake, we make hot chocolate, we snuggle, we watch movies, we play games, I plan parties for them, we drive around to look at lights, we shop, we wrap. I enjoy that time together. 

I am envious of those with eternal optimism.  I feel defective because I don't have this in me.
 What am I missing?   
Help me Carrie Fisher, you're my only hope.  

Lidl US store Grand Opening

The new Lidl store opened yesterday and it was pretty great! There are a lot of fantastic opening specials.  You can check out their opening ad .

  

For those of you not familiar with Lidl, it is a German grocery chain. Think Aldi but, I have to say, better!  The company operates 10,000 stores in 27 countries and is making its way to America.   The local store was one of six that opened yesterday along the East Coast.  The stores are mainly located in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina with plans for 90 opening this year according to the company. 

Lidl offers lower prices and its own store brands in comparison very similar to Aldi.   They also offers "in and out specials" that are released every Monday and Thursday.   It can be items like shoes, inflatable kayaks, leather wallets, and charcoal grills.  These items change, so if you see something buy it quickly.    

So a few important things to know about the store:

Store Hours- Monday- Sunday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m

They do not accept manufacturer's coupons but do have store coupons available on the their store app. 

They accept cash, credit, and debit.  NO checks. 

You don't need a quarter for the grocery carts, but you will need to bring your own bags.  Lidl does not offer free bags.  But, during this opening weekend, they are giving away free bags while supplies last.    

The stores are very attractive.  Large windows line the entrance and checkout, making use of natural lighting.   Immediately when you walk in you are greeted by fresh produce and the most amazing smell of fresh baked bread and pastries.   

Fresh doughnuts were 3 for .99

Fresh baked croissants were .39 each.  I did purchase several croissants and they were amazing! The croissants had a rich buttery taste and if you just touched them crumbs would flake off. We made sandwiches last night for dinner with the croissants.  

The fresh baguettes still had steam coming off of them.

If you purchase fresh loaves of bread, you can get them sliced ready for sandwiches.  The bakery has a lot offer.  And of course, the lovely ladies who worked in the bakery were offering samples yesterday and nobody could refuse them!  

 The produce is stacked in its original shipping boxes.  Don't look for elaborate produce displays.  I was  impressed with the overall look of the produce.  There was a nice selection of organic fruits and vegetables.  

I picked up some produce items yesterday.

Fresh whole pineapple .89
Organic Bananas  .59 per pound
Lemons  .49 each
Limes .29 each
Mango .39


I did not really look at Lidl's meat selection.  Since my family is mostly vegetarian it isn't something that I shop for anymore.  But according to the sales ad, Chicken breast were 1.29

 I did however sample some of the cheeses and the store brand plain Greek yogurt with store brand granola and fresh blueberries.   The cheeses and yogurt were nice quality and I would probably purchase in the future.

Another drawing point is their wine selection.   Lidl offers inexpensive award winning wine.  I noticed that bottles ranged from about $3- $25 a bottle.  I did purchase a bottle of Moscato and but I have not tried it yet.

I also learned that Lidl does theme food weeks.  This week is Italian foods.  You will find in their ad that there is a lot of Italian food items specially priced.  One of the featured items is extra long 19 inch spaghetti noodles imported from Italy. Those packages are .99 this week.   I did pick up some of those noodles which I thought my children would have fun with.   You can see them in my  Lidl haul picture posted below.

So my total Lidl haul from yesterday was small.  I wasn't in need of many groceries so I just picked up a few items.   

1 bottle of Moscato wine

2 fair trade chocolate bars (1 milk chocolate, 1 milk chocolate with hazelnuts)

1.5 pounds of organic bananas

1 pineapple

4 fresh baked croissants

2 limes

1 lemon

1 fresh baked baguette

2 packages of imported extra long spaghetti

3 non gmo fruit leathers (not pictured)

Total: $13.83

My overall impression of Lidl is that I really loved it. I really liked it more then Aldi.  Granted I am not a full Aldi shopper either (I go to Aldi for 2 items on a regular basis and that is it.)   I still won't do all of my shopping here but I definitely will watch their sales ad for produce, bakery items, some miscellaneous grocery items and certainly any of their "in and out specials" are worth watching.  

If you have a Lidl that just opened in your community, let me know what you think.

(My review of Lidl Stores is my own opinion.  I did not receive any payment, products, or services for this review.)

Yellow Squash and Zuchinni Tart

Since the beginning of this year, my husband and I have decided to become vegetarian.  We had watched several food related documentaries, but the one that brought about the greatest change for us, was the documentary Forks Over Knives.    If you are interested in watching it for yourself, it is available on Netflix.

We have spent the last 6 months experimenting with various vegetarian  recipes.   My husband is not the easiest person to feed. In our family of 6, he ranks right behind our 2 year old as the pickiest eater.  It has been a challenge at times but we have also been pleasantly surprised.  

This recipe is a lacto-ovo vegetarian recipe because it does contain both eggs and dairy.  The Yellow Squash and Zuchinni Tart is modified from the Rainbow Rose Veggie Tart from the Food Network.


Recipe:

1 roll of Puff Pastry   ( I substituted with a ready made pie crust.  I have found that both equally well.)

15 oz of ricotta cheese

2 eggs    ( I use fresh eggs)

3 oz of parmesan cheese

1 pinch of nutmeg

1 pinch of salt

2 tbsps olive oil

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp oregano  (I varied from the original recipe by added more spices. see below)

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. Italian herbs
1/2 tsp. onion powder
 fresh cracked pepper.

Zuchinni and yellow squash sliced thinly with a potato peeler or mandolin.

For me, it is difficult to find the rainbow carrots at my local supermarkets.  To get them, I have to go to Whole Foods or another specialty market.  Right now, with squash and zuchinni being plentiful they are easy to get from local growers.

DIRECTIONS: 

Unfold a puff pastry sheet over a tart pan.   Place parchment paper or tin foil over the middle and weight with beans or pie weight. 

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.  Remove parchment paper and weights and let cool.

In a bowl, combine eggs, ricotta, grated parmesan cheese, grated nutmeg, and salt.    Add grated mozzarella and spices.  Mix until smooth. 

1. Slice strips of zucchini and carrots length-wise using a potato peeler or a mandolin. Place the slices in a bowl and cook in the microwave for 1 minute. This step will soften the slices and make them much easier to roll.
2. Spread the cheese mixture on top of the tart base.
3. Take one slice of a vegetable and roll it up very tightly—this will form the core of the rose. Take another slice and keep rolling. With around 2-3 slices you should obtain a decent-size rose bud. Place the bud in the center of the tart, pushing it down into the cheese. Keep rolling roses of different colors and place them one next to the other in a spiral formation.  This process is kind of time consuming and you can make smaller spiral 
4. Brush olive oil on top of the vegetables and bake the tart at 375 degrees F for 50 minutes.

The finished product bakes up beautifully and highlights these seasonal vegetables.   I serve this with a mixed greens salad and some fresh fruit.  It makes for a simple and filling meal on a summer's evening.  

If you try this recipe, please leave a comment.  I would love to know what you think of it.  

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Gravtopia Trooping (picture post)

It has been a while since I have worn my Admiral Ackbar costume, like 2 years but who is counting.   I love to wear it to events but with 4 kiddos sometimes I just don't get the opportunity.  But about 2 weeks ago, I had the opportunity to pull it and I had a blast.   Unfortunately,  I did not get to wear it very long due to the sweat inducing properties of latex.    But I did have fun afterward operating our R2 unit and jumping on the trampolines.

Here are a few pictures from the fun we had at Gravitopia, a local indoor trampoline and extreme sports center.

The foam pit... It's a trap!

It's a snack!

It's a TRAMP-oline!

And yes, cheesy puns come with the costume.

#admiralackbar, #starwars, #cosplay,#itsatrap,#starwarscostumes.


All pictures shown in the post are my original photos.  If you use one of my photos please give proper credit for the photo or link back to this blog post.

Chic fil A Mom's Panel Member

I am happy to announce that I am a memeber of the Chic Fil A mom's panel again for another year.

I recieved a nice welcome package; fncluding an insultated bag, food coupons, sunglasses, and my children loved the little cow.  rom them on Friday.  I recieved this gift box Friday.

Victoria the white cat from CATS

My youngest daughter, who I call Peazie, has started to really enjoy musicals.  A few weeks ago, I introduced her to the musical CATS.  Together we watched the dvd of the play and I also read her some of the T.S. Eliot poems it was based on.

Being the little dancer and gymnast that she is, she immediately became interested in the white cat.  For those not familiar with the musical; the white cat is named Victoria.

I had taken her to the Halloween store to look at costumes.  She just didn't see anything she wanted to be.   After looking at some pictures of CATS cosplayers, she decided that was her costume.

We used a white long sleeve leotard and white leggings.  I had looked into ordering her a white unitard but this was more practical.   For her tail,  I used white marabou.  The rest of her fur came from a white scarf that i found at a local dollar store.  I cut pieces for her legs, arms, and neck.   We recycled a wig that my son had used for a school play.   Costwise, I spent around $25.  The most expensive part was the leotard.  

I think we captured the over all like of the character.

Our Halloween inspired lunches

I love making bento box lunches for my children.  Since I have such picky eaters, lunch can be a day to day challenge. I never know who will eat what.

   I have an album on my Facebook page that is called. " Our Lunchbox Project".   I have a weekly lunch meeting with the kids to plan our lunches.   During our lunch meetings, we look for lunch ideas, recipes, and plan our grocery list.   They are still picky eaters but it has helped.

II take pictures of the lunches I make to help me kind of keep of track of what they like and did not like.  It has also been a nice way to share lunch inspiration with friends.  I  was adding pictures this morning of some of our Halloween lunches and I thought I would share them here as well.

With this first lunch, we made simple hot dog mummies.  Our version is made with veggie dogs, but you can use any hot dog.  Pretzel and cheese broomsticks, apple slices, carrot sticks, and for dessert; Harry Potter inspired Sorting Hat caramels.  The caramels are hard to see in the picture.

The Sorting Hats are made with 2 caramel cube and I use a toothpick to create the eyes and mouth,

The Ghostbuster inspired lunch consists of a round turkey sandwich with a cheese and olive ghost on top.  I used red food coloring to help create the look of the logo.   A green carved apple face, I wanted it to look like Slimer,   The Ghost Crisps I found at World Market,   The little ghost picks i found at the local dollar store.

This lunch was inspired by Monster High for my oldest daughter.   A skull shaped PBJ.   I hand cut the shape of the skull and fashioned a bow out of fruit roll up.   Since she likes simple lunches, apple slices, carrot coins, and crisps finish her lunch,  I did add some pop rocks as a little treat.







I created a Ninja Turtle inspired lunch with a homemade un-crustable sandwich.   I made cuts on the top to look like a turtle shell.  I made "ants on a log" minus the ants nunchucks, pretzel sticks and a Ninja Turtle apple.   The apple is sliced in half, a grape was cut in half to create the eyes and wrapped with a fruit roll up.  

I hope you enjoy our lunchbox ideas.  Please leave a comment if you are a bento fan too.  I am always looking for ideas

Trying out Bobby Flay's Banana Bread Waffles with Banana Fosters sauce

Yesterday, while through my Facebook feed, I came across the video for this recipe. I shared to my Facebook page, thinking "I'll save it for later but in all reality never make this recipe" kind of moments.  We all have them right?

As luck would have it, last night a loaf of banana bread landed in my hands thanks to a good friend and the church Fall Festival cake walk.

Here is the link to the recipe.

Of course, I skipped the step of making my own banana bread.  The sauce is easy to make with its 5 ingredients.

I did not use dark rum, instead I used Pyrat Rum which is a little lighter in color then a dark rum.  This particular brand of rum is also infused with a hint of vanilla and orange.   I felt those flavors went nicely with this recipe.

Here's my finished dish.  This is decadent brunch dish that would be amazing for the upcoming holidays.  I served this with turkey sausage links.

Costume Building- Sans from Undertale

This past week, our home has been in full Halloween mode.  I have been busy working with my children to get everyone's Halloween costume finished and ready for the big night. With 4 children, I try to keep all costumes on a budget between $20-$25 each.

My oldest son decided that he wanted to be Sans from Undertale.  I admittedly don't really know a lot about the game.  All I can really tell you about Undertale. is that it is an 8 bit style video game.

So this is Sans.

The clothing was simple enough.  My son already had a white t-shirt, black basketball shorts and a dark blue hoodie.  The problem was how to make the head.  We discussed face painting, which would have worked and been simple enough... but it's Halloween, go big.

I had an idea on how to make the head; so the challenge then was to find a beach ball. You would think that we would have had one around the house somewhere but no luck.  We asked several friends if they had one we could have, no luck.  

 If you ever find yourself looking for a beach ball out of season, forget the $ stores. I tried every dollar store in town,  So my advice here is:  Try Target first! 

My local Target still had pool items and beach balls were .99.  I picked up 2, just in case we are ever need another one for costume building. 

The beach ball got covered with 3 thin layers of papier mache.  I allowed a little bit of dry time between each layer, so it took about a day to get the ball covered.  It sat for another 24 hours to make sure it was completely dry.

After the ball was completely dry, I cut the holes for the nose and eyes.  I made them larger because I wanted to make sure that he had enough visibility, Then I did a layer of masking tape on the inside and outside of the head.  I did this because I wanted to re-enforce the head piece,

I then used newspaper and tape to shape the cheeks.  Once I was happy with the cheeks, I covered the entire head with another of paper.  When that layer was dry, I cut the mouth and re-enforced the edges with masking tape.  

The whole head was then painted with 2 layers of gesso and then white acrylic paint.  I used window screen mesh and black tulle for the eyes, nose, and mouth backing.

What you won"t see in the pictures that I am posting are the teeth and eyes.  I used a large hole punch on white adhesive vinyl to make the eyes and then cut the vinyl to make teeth pieces.

I did pick up a few other items at a local dollar store. Luckily, I went at the right time because most of their Halloween items were 2 for $1.  I found a pair of skeleton gloves and pink slippers which the character wears sometimes.   I also got a pair of white knee socks that we will use to cover his legs.

Overall, this costume was fairly inexpensive cost wise to make.  The head took about 3 days to complete.  As I said, we used clothing my son already owned.


     Here is the materials cost:
Beach Ball- $1
2 rolls of masking tape $6
Gesso-  regular price 8.99/ with coupon 6.99
black tulle 1.50
window screening- free, had scrap pieces
skeleton gloves - .50
pink slippers - 1.00
socks- 1.00

My son is thrilled with his costume this year! That is the main thing for me, I want them to have fun and enjoy Halloween.  He was really involved in the building of the head and did help with a lot of the  painting.

Be sure to look for my other costume posts.  My youngest daughter decided she wanted to dress like a cat from the Broadway musical CATS, my oldest daughter is going to be a unicorn, and my littlest guy is going as a Ghostbuster, complete with a vintage proton pack that we have been working on restoring.

Trying to come back to blogging

In 2010, I started my blog because I thought it would fun.  It was fun! I got excited when I got new followers or someone would comment on a post.  It was a great feeling!

For 2 years, my blog grew and then I kind of abandoned it.  I had a lot happening in my life. The short version is this; We had our 3rd child, I struggled with depression, I had a miscarriage, then I got pregnant again and had our 4th child .

  My last pregnancy was extremely difficult. Weekly trips to the maternal/fetal specialists took their toll. I was not emotionally ready to be pregnant again.

 I cried every week before my appointment because of fear something was wrong.  I cried every week after my appointment in shear relief that every thing was ok. And, I cried a lot inbetween appointments.

Finally,  I had a beautiful, healthy baby boy and afterwards, I struggled with depression again.

With all of that going on, I just didn't feel like writing anything.   I have made some attempts at posting little things, they were half hearted and really weren't anything worth typing.  

But, I have decided to try again.  Will I post everyday? Probably not.  My goal is few times a week.  I think that is a reasonable goal.   I will post the things that I enjoy and things that make me happy.  Hopefully, some of you will enjoy them too.

 Thank you to those who have stayed with me. To those who left, that's ok.  I will gain new followers.   I will rebuild my blog.

Wordless Wednesday- stuff on the ground. (#wordlesswednesday)8

Chick-fil-A National Breakfast Giveaway. #cfaone,#chickfilamoms

Chick-fil-A is launching a National Breakfast Giveaway during the month of September. Customers who create a Chick-fil-A One account between Sept. 1 and Sept. 10, as well as all existing Chick-fil-A One Members, will receive an offer for a free Egg White Grill, Chicken Biscuit, or Chick-n-Minis™ (3-count).

The offer will be available for Chick-fil-A One Members beginning Sept. 1, and will remain available until September 30th.

#CFAOne #ChickfilAMoms

Nature's Harvest "Make A Splash with Whole Grains Sweepstakes"

 

Get ready to swim into some fun with everyone's favorite, forgetful, blue fish, Dory and her friends!  

 

Now through July, select packages of specially marked Nature's Harvest® breads, made with at least 8g of whole grains per serving, will feature the loveable "Finding Dory" characters, along with a chance to bring home a free, limited-edition Dory TY® Sparkle Eye Beanie Boo™ plush toy!

 

Swim by www.naturesharvestbread.com for more info for instructions and official rules on how to complete and submit the offer form.

 

Can't get enough of "Finding Dory?" Nature's Harvest® bread invites you to "just keep swimming" and enter the Make A Splash with Whole Grains Sweepstakes!

 

From April 28 to July 7, Nature's Harvest® bread is hosting the Make A Splash with Whole Grains Sweepstakes on its Facebook page, and you can enter for a chance to win! Weekly prizes include movie tickets, autographed posters and more. See official rules here.

 

For more information about the sweepstakes and how to enter, please visit the Nature's Harvest® bread Facebook page. No purchase necessary.

The Nature's Harvest® Bread Make A Splash with Whole Grains Sweepstakes information has been provided by Nature's Harvest® Bread." 

#finding dory

The new Chic-Fil-A app is available #CFAone

Chic-fil-A has introduced a new app that includes features like mobile ordering and paying.   The app will also remember your favorite menu items.  Best of all,   you can also earn rewards.

Download today and recieve a free sandwich of your choice (regular, spicy, or grilled).
#chicfilamom,#cfaone

It's that time of year, the Hallmark Ornament Wish Book is available!

At our home, when the Hallmark ornament book comes out, the whole family gets excited.  What  started out as me buying 1 or 2 ornaments when I worked there briefly during high school, has steadily progressed to 10-15 ornaments a year.

So, what is on our wishlist for this year?  

I always buy the Star Wars ornaments.   This year's are all Return of the Jedi, with the exception of the Jango.

The Ewoks are 17th in the Star Wars series.   I am happy to see these are regular sized ornaments.  I have the mini set, but  I am not a fan of them.   I wish they would redo Max Rebo,  Sny Snootles, and Droopy in the regular size.

 Both, Jabba and the AT-ST are magic ornaments, featuring dialogue and battle sounds. Yoda is the 3rd Lego figure ornament.

During the July ornament premiere, there is usually a limited release ornament that is available.   This year the ornament will be Boushh.     Last years, limited release was Hammerhead.  I got so tickled at an older lady who was in the store picking out ornaments.   She said, "I don't know what this ugly thing is, but I guess I need to get him for my grandson."    So this year, I was really hoping they would make Admiral Ackbar.

Other notables making our list:

Hogwarts Castle:  It is a magic ornament playing "Hedwig's theme" and has lighting effects when plugged into the lights.   The only downside to this one is that you have to plug it  into the lights.   The ornaments like that don't work very well on our pre-lit tree.

Buzz is on a mission:  It is a magic ornament, that when the button is pushed Buzz speaks.  In the wish book, it mentions that there is also a Spanish speaking version of  Buzz available in select stores.   I want a Spanish speaking Buzz!   So I am going to have to track down a store with this version.

The Joker:   My daughter informed me that she needed the Joker to go with her Harley Quinn ornament.  And, well, who can argue with that logic?    It is a magic ornament that features some of the Joker's most memorable lines from "The Dark Knight".

This post is also posted on my other blog, Retro Toy Safari.