Halloween Part 2

Happy Halloween, again! 

Tonight we dressed up 

and headed out for trunk-or-treat.

Before the festivities began we stopped 

off to visit Nanny & Op.

It was nice to chat and chill...

all while munching on yummy candy. :D

When it was time to go 

I let Joseph drive to the Quick Stop 

at the end of the road.

Whew, talk about S-P-O-O-K-Y!

Finally we made it to the sight of the fun.

Nana & PaBill's church, Livingston Chapel

hosted a spectacular trunk-or-treat.

Theirs' was held behind the church...

in the cemetery.

That kicked the spook factor way up!

Here are the party animals now.

Joseph as a Bearcat Boy,

Nana & PaBill as Popeye & Olive Oil,

Addison Marie as Little Red Riding Hood

and James as a *glowing* radiation skeleton.

In classic PaBill form he set up a laptop in their trunk 

and had Popeye cartoons playing.

Once the kids had visited all the trunks,

it was time to enjoy the treats.

I think Claire didn't want to share Jo-Jo's sucker.

Look at that real tear!

What better way to work off that sugar high

than with a little playground action?

Addison was so proud that she went 

across the monkey bars

"All by myself!"

Aunt SaSa only helped, a little. 

That's it for us.

We're about to call it a night.

Thanks for joining in on our fun!

Halloween Part 1

Hi all,

Happy Halloween!

I'm proud to announce that 

with the help of my flashlight,

sensible flat shoes, 

and careful attention to where I was walking 

I made it through trick-or-treating on two good feet.

Thank you to my family {aka hecklers}

for keeping me focused. 

With Andy working we were

unsure of whether he'd be joining us,

so we kept our plans low key.

Well, that and the fact that Auburn was playing.

Luckily Andy made it home in time to 

adorn his AU game earphones and pumpkin hat.

Andy's Good-Buddy-Allen brought Steven

and away we went.

We made the rounds on our street 

but sadly most people weren't playing along.

So we loaded up,

and hit the ground running.

The boys love the neighborhood over by East Elementary.

Here's a glimpse of why.

Lots of the houses got in on the fun.

Look at James' beaming

as he prepares to beg for more candy.

As the littles were having good clean fun,

 these jokesters were lurking in the street.

Poor innocent Joseph just wanted to smile for a pic.

Some people ought not be let out of the house.

As we finished up our trek,

we ran into these Hallo-weenies

that came bearing gifts.

James said "Mom, did Boompa & Gigi

drive from Birmingham just to see us??

WOW, they must think we're really special!"

Of course son, you boys are really special. :)

After one more neighborhood we headed over
to see another set of grandparents...

the Franparents.

And of course there were more prizes for my little tricksters!

Once we made it home we it was time 

for one of my favorite Halloween memories,

digging through the loot!

We chillaxed in our jammy tales,

ate a late dinner

and enjoyed the Auburn game.

Thank you Lord for DVR's.

Last but not least 

I want to thank Big Daddy.

First for my Halloween tiara.

Isn't it the greatest?! 

But more importantly for sacrificing 

extra hours on call 

to be able to trick-or-treat with the fam.

That makes him the greatest Halloween treat of all!

Tonight we'll be going for Halloween Part 2.

We're heading to visit Nanny & Op
and then to Nana & PaBill's 

church for trunk-or-treat.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our fun.
Now do tell, 

what was your favorite part of Halloween this year?

Good Morning Halloween!

Good morning all

and Happy Halloween.

Even though tomorrow's Halloween,

in our part of the world we'll

be trick-or-treating tonight.

James is going as a skeleton,

a radiation skeletion no less.

Joseph says he's too old to dress up,

but I'm prepared for the last minute

"You didn't even get me a mask to wear?!"

I picked up some hair spray paint

and he'll be toting a bucket that says

"Never Too Old For Candy!"

Mama will be sporting her razzle dazzle

Trick or Treat shirt and comfy shoes.

Big Daddy's in the middle of his seven on,

so it looks like the boys and I will fly solo.

Maybe this year I'll heed his warning 

and take a flashlight with me?

We plan to meet up with some friends

because the more the merrier, right?!

That's what's happening with the Hinsons.

I'm still working on the blog makeover

but I'm kinda stuck...

idk why my html code doesn't work??

Makes me flash back to 7th grade computer,

complete and udder torture for an ADHD kid.

Now I'm off to clean house!

Enjoy your Halloween and be safe. :)

BOO Germs Be Gone

Good morning friends.

Remember when I made my monkey sanitizer?

Well you should never forget a good thing.

This year as an adoption fundraiser and small gift idea 

I created a spooky version.

Simple hand sanitizer +

cricut halloween shapes +

modge podge +

ribbon +

diamond accent stickers ='s 

BOO Germs Be Gone.

Don't be scared,

it only spooks the germs. ;)

So what do you think?

Is this BOO-tiful craft on your to-do list??

I'm linking up with the DIY Showoff.

Click on over for eye candy galore!

Easy Halloween Decor

Hi all!
I'm here with an easy & inexpensive
update for your Halloween decorations.
Today we're focusing on your light up pumpkin.
You know the one.
The pumpkin from the 'mart
that you paid less than $10 for.
We've all bought at least one in our lifetime!
Well if your lil' pumpkin is like mine,
it's seen better days.
The orange on mine was a bit faded
but it still worked perfect.
SO I did my favorite update...
I spray painted it!
Now look at how cute that once
ho-hum pumpkin is.

Now we all say,
Happy Halloween
and HOORAY for spray paint! ;)
Stop by the DIY Showoff for more fab ideas.

Ready For Fall Ya'll

Good morning friends!
I'm here to state the obvious,
I'm a summer kinda girl.
Although I've been in denial
that fall was in full swing,
I'm finally moving on to acceptance.
I've decided I'm ready for shorter days and
evenings piled up with my peeps.
I'll be tired of hibernating come spring
but as of now, I'm ready for fall ya'll. :)

Now just like a gal can't go to a party without
the right attire, a home can't prepare for
the next season without the right decor.
So to announce that we were welcoming fall
I spent the weekend accessorizing.

I started by giving my door cross
a coat of paint and moving it.
I loved having it on the door
but it was time for a change.
Thanks to my Prince Charming
 for installing the hardware. :) 

Don't laugh but I rescued my

bouffant pumpkin from the yard sale donations.

I'm planning a makeover, 

I just haven't decided what direction she'll go.

Next I took down my spring tulip
and replaced it with a spooky cutie cat.
With the help of my cricut, a recycled felt cat,
2 cardboard remnants, a little scrapbook paper,
a ton of modge podge and a touch of ribbon
I created THIS:

I'm loving my cutie cat.

Next up a took my white hob lob pumpkins

and hit them up with a touch of spray paint.

Once dried I added a vinyl monogram.

Hello hottie!

Now my past it's prime spring/summer entrance

is officially welcoming you AND fall.
Although I might need to raise cutie cat
up higher, I'm liking the look.
That's last year's halloween rag wreath
that all fattened up with an extra layer of tulle.

So, enough show and tell.
I wanna know,
are you all decked out for the season
or still looking for inspiration?
There are some fabulous projects floating around.
Check out the CSI project for spray paint overload. :)
Thanks for stopping by.
Have a fabulous day! :)

Trick-or-Treating

Hi all,
I hope you had a great weekend filled with candy and cute kiddos!
I can't wait to see everyone's pictures.
There certainly were some great costumes this year. :D
Here's a quick Hinson Halloween recap...

Since it was Saturday we started our Halloween early.
James couldn't wait to dress up.
Lucky for us, Nana bought the grandkids their costumes this year.
Thanks Nana, we thoroughly enjoyed being Zorro!

It seems they don't make 'em like they use to.
James' first sword broke in half after he stabbed his brother's "rock hard abs".
Handy Andy to the rescue!
To make Zorro's sword a bit studier, he used a wooden dowel, funnel, Gorilla tape and aluminum foil.
I think it turned out pretty sweet.

Maggie was so proud of herself.
She loves dressing up!
Doesn't every Zorro need a pup in a poodle skirt??

We met up with several friends and headed over to the Methodist church to trunk-or-treat.
It was nice for the kids to have lots to do all in one location.

In case you missed it, Sonic had their corn dogs for 50 cents on Halloween.
That gave us a good excuse to eat out.
The cool part was that all the staff was dressed up in costumes.
They even handed out treat bags for the kids!
Sorry, with all the commotion I forgot to take pics.
Here are Joshua, Joseph and James all ready to beg for free candy. :)

According to James, he totaled 106 pieces of candy,
NOT including what he got from grandparents.
He couldn't wait to get home and count his loot!

Last but not least, you can't have all those TREATS without a proper Halloween TRICK.

I'm sad to say that I was the recipient of this year's excitement,
so here's the scoop.
We were trick-or-treating in our favorite Halloween neighborhood.
I had gotten split up from our group while I was talking to some friends.
They were in a golf cart, yes I'd call that trick-or-treating pimp style.
Heather, the mom, had broken her toe last week so she and her surgically repaired foot were confined to the cart.
When I turned around to find everyone they had moved on.
No problem, there were a bunch of us so I was sure to run into them.
As I was walking around the block I met up with Joshua.
He and Joseph were on their bikes, which I now know was a bad idea.
We turned the corner and saw a ton of trick-or-treaters and luckily enough our group was just ahead.
Joshua went ahead to meet back with Joseph.
As he safely rode off, I switched into protective Mama mode and sped up, calling out
"Joshua, BE CAREFUL..."
which was immediately followed with my ankle turning off the pavement into the gutter causing an audible and painful crack as I landed on the ground.
Yes, that's right when Andy (who had watched the entire thing unfold) and a very shaken Joshua made it over to me I was on all fours on the side of the road.
Not only did I sprain my ankle, but I also skinned my opposite knee.
Oh I had forgotten how much that hurt!
After trying to play it off like I was fine, almost passing out when I tried to walk and finely being rescued by our friends in the golf cart, I made it to the Urgent Care.
I may have been like a dog on the side of the road but I refused to go to the ER on Halloween!
My xrays showed only my old brake from middle school.
That time I was dancing in my room and decided to jump up in the air like ice skaters do...
yeah, I should really keep both feet firmly on the ground.
So, seeing as how I'm old and have injured this ankle before the doctor gifted me with crutches for a week and a brace for 6 weeks.
I thought sprains weren't as torturous as breaks??
Ya know what,
next year I think I'll stay at home and pass out candy!

Please do tell, how was your Halloween?
God's blessings, Sarah :D

Halloween Wreath

Hi friends, happy Thursday!
I've been working on my lactation recertification this week.
But, I do have a crafty creation that I wanted to share with you.
Several weeks ago my friend told me about the Halloween wreath she was making and because she's cool like that, I decided to make one too. ;>
Here's the 411:
First, purchase a floral wire wreath and a couple of yards of Halloween fabric/ribbons.

Second, cut your fabric into strips with pinking shears.
I'm a lazy crafter so I folded my fabric and cut it all in one section.

Helpful hint:
Make sure to cut your strips about 6 inches long.
I tried it with shorter strips and it was just too hard to tie.

Now, take your 6 inch strips and tie them on.
Because I'm slightly OCD I chose to tie mine in a repeating pattern.

I tied the first strip around the bottom two wires, the second strip around the top two wires and tied the third strip around the middle two wires.
Then I swapped to a new fabric started again.
I also went back in and added strips of ribbon and black toile.

This is how the wreath looked once all the strips were in place.

Last but not least, here's the wreath with a little added bling!

So, do tell, what do you think?
Hallow-wonderful
OR
Hallow-what-were-you-thinking??
I love hearing your feedback!
God's blessings on your day, Sarah :D

Halloween Apothecary Jars

Hi all and happy Friday!
The boys were out of school so they enjoyed a busy day here at home.
While they played outside with their friends, Andy & I talked to the adoption agency (details here).
No worries, we're hoping to add to our family, not subtract from. ;>
After I straightened up the house I was ready for my therapy session...
a quick and easy crafty creation.

I started with my underutilized apothecary jars.
They are kinda small and not very glam.
But, I just couldn't pay PB prices for them.
In all honesty they were 3 for $20 at Big Lots several years ago.
The smallest one bit the dust, so now we're down to two.

While grocery shopping earlier this week I spotted this 69cent bag of split peas.
I loved the color, shape, and price!

I also picked up a bag of candy corn.
Because really, what says fall like candy corn?!

I played around with the layering process until I found what worked.

Once I was happy with the insides, it was time to decorate the outsides.
I added Halloween colored ribbons and black toile.

Around this time all the boys and their friends came inside.
They played twenty questions with me while I snapped pics...
Mrs. Hinson, did you make that?
Oh I love candy corn, can I have some??
Why are you putting candy corn in a jar if we can't eat it???
Wow, you must be really proud of your candy jars... why are you taking pictures of them????
Oh sweet boys, they'll never understand the decorating process! :>

I think they look pretty cute beside my Halloween pic.
What do you think?
Should I save up my pennies for the Pottery Barn version next year?!
God's blessings on your weekend, Sarah :D