the princess and the pea

i tried again for a family photo on halloween night, similar to last year's...

and tried...don't you like the star burst by rob's ear?

and tried again. this is what we ended up with. less than par.

then, we headed out trick or treating.

this was buddy's very first halloween.

he rode with a neighbor in the wagon, but i did strip him of his costume early. leave it to texas to sweat on halloween.

i can't believe this little guy was growing in my belly this time last year. time flies by too fast.

buddy got sleepy, so we parted ways, and i took emma the rest of the way trick or treating.

we hooked up with ray to finish the night off. they are still best of friends :)

happy hallow's eve

from the princess and the pea.

here's our princess.

and here's our pea.


and in case you, along with all of my neighbors, are wondering about the big stack of blankets in my front yard, here's the fairy tale...

i promise i am not making this fairy tale up, but i am pretty sure my sanity was being questioned on this afternoon.

but it's always better to do this sort of stuff without your hubby around, right? especially when over half of the photos turned out like this one...

emma is really into fairy tales these days, and so after reading her the princess & the pea story, i promised her she could lay on top of LOTS of blankets for a photo.

i always wanted a baby pea for halloween, so here he is.

and the princess costume was aunt ashley's dance recital costume from way back when.

buddy didn't mind the pumpkin so much. i still can't believe his eyes.

can you tell the cold front was blowing in at the same time we decided to shoot?

no one told me how hard it would be to get TWO to smile simulateously....so here's one of just emma...

and one of just carson.

here's hoping your halloween is full of treats, laughter, and fun.

She wanted to be a farmer...

Which shouldn't surprise me at all. That's her thing....the barn, the animals, and everything else that goes along with it.

It was Fall Field Days at her school. And, Buddy was along for the ride. I had to dress him up too :)

She wanted to bring her horse to school, because a farmer always has a horse, right?

Here's her class...

They could choose to dress as a farmer or a scarecrow. They were on their way to the first activity of the day.

Carson was wonderful, as usual.

Arts and crafts started the morning off...

Emma loved the "polka dots" on her face :)

She loves to craft too.

I thought this little girl, dressed as a scarecrow, was just precious.

Then, it was time for the tractor ride.

Whoever thought of "Fall" Field Days, was genius. I do recall sweating like a little pig at my childhood field days...in the heat, in the middle of May.

Snack time was chocolate cupcakes.

And, she without a doubt approved.

The pumpkin roll relay race was so much fun. She enjoyed her day, and I was glad that I got to spend it with her.

rub a dub & messes

Emma would die to take a bath with Carson these days...

He can sit up now by himself, for the most part anyway, so now he gets to play.

I think Rob would cut his hair, if I would let him. I have this thing with cutting baby hair. I didn't cut Emma's until she was 27 months old. Even with baseball clothes on, people still think Carson's a girl. But with lashes like these, I think even after a haircut, most would still call him a girl. Don't you?

They look nothing alike to me in this photo, but once again "people" still think they are identical.

The next morning, on our way out the door for the gym, this is what happened. Oh joy! The mess was accompanied with tears from Miss Emma. She was so sad to lose her snack. I was a sweet mommy, and brought her a new bag of Harvest Trail Mix + Cheerios. Oh the drama...

P.S. There's a new post about swinging, but you'll have to scroll down past the pumpkin post to read it :)

the great pumpkin

I love pumpkin, so when the grocery store, HEB nonetheless, was OUT of canned pumpkin, I ended up with three of these. Fresh is always better than canned, right? If you decide to make your own fresh pumpkin puree, make sure you get baking pumpkins, not jack-o-lantern pumpkins. I cut them in half...

And, then scooped out the seeds, with my melon ball scooper.

And, saved the insides for later. You roast a pumpkin the same way that you roast a butternut squash. Cut in half. Turn upside down, and place in a roasting pan with about a half inch of water. Bake at 350, until the flesh is tender. Usually about an hour to an hour and a half.

Emma worked on separating the pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin goo, while I was scraping the cooked pumpkin and throwing it into the blender to puree.

I tossed the pumpkin seeds with 1 tablespoon of canola oil, and plenty of salt. We poured them onto a lightly greased cookie sheet to bake in the oven at 350. Our seeds were soaking wet from all of the washing, so it took a little while for them to roast....probably 30 minutes. I gave them a stir every 10 minutes.

Here's a healthy snack for you....Plain Yogurt+Applesauce+Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Spice

+Fresh Pumpkin Puree=Pumpkin Apple Cinnamon Yogurt. Emma gobbled it up. I think in the morning we will have pumpkin apple cinnamon oatmeal, or as Emma calls it, "opie meal."

Here's another healthy snack that your kiddos can make themselves:

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds + Dried Cranberries + Dried Apples + Banana Chips + Cashews + Chocolate Chips = Harvest Trail Mix

You can delete or substitute any of the above ingredients. We ended up with a TON of pumpkin puree....probably close to 90 ounces. I. am. not. kidding.

I already have Pumpkin Butter simmering in the crock pot. Although, I modified the recipe a little bit, as usual. Mine turned out something like this:

29 ounces of fresh pumpkin puree

1 cup of apple juice

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

3/4 cup sugar

And, them I doubled it. It smells divine. After it cooks, I plan to freeze it, because the USDA recommends that you not can pumpkin, or any squash for that matter. Pumpkin Butter on toast, on pancakes, stirred in yogurt or oatmeal...yum!