Halloween-ing

I have done more Halloween-ing this year than ever before. It's because Pinterest possessed my soul and made me start churning out crafts like crazy. Here are some of my projects:
This was actually for the letter F: Frankenstein. Mainly Audrey and I did them, and Ian helped a bit. Toilet paper rolls, painted and accessorized.Party favors: Mummy candy bars

Spider web bean dip (for the party)
Witch hat cookies (for the party)Mason jar lanterns (you've probably seen these from ourbestbites.com) I had a lot of fun making these with my friend Amber.
Eyeball picture frame. This doesn't look much like the example I found online, but I couldn't find all the things I needed so I improvised. I still like it.
I also cut out a bunch of black paper bats and hung them in all the entryways, and bought a few yards of Halloween fabric and hung it in the dining room window (see party pictures) for a nice backdrop to the party food. I attempted a ghost craft but had the wrong kind of starch and didn't bother trying it again, maybe next year. Anyway, more to come in my party post. It's still a week away from Halloween and I'm Halloween-ed out!

A visit from the Roods

My parents and brother Ben came for a visit last week. We really enjoyed being together, and they all got to meet Declan for the first time. We went to the aquarium, made Halloween cookies, played outside a ton, I enjoyed a couple nights off of cooking when we went out to eat, and I enjoyed a few nights of cooking for my appreciative family. We were sad to see them go. I wish more than anything that we lived closer to them. My family are my favorite people and I miss them all the time.
Who else wants to come?? I have a cute baby who loves everyone. I am a great cook. You will love being here. Come see me! We also recently had a visit from Mr. B's mom and she and Mr. B's dad are coming out in December for Mr. B's GRADUATION! We look forward to that. But we'll still take more visitors!

Pumpkin Patch

We got a Groupon and met some friends at a pumpkin patch this weekend. It was fun. The corn maze was super lame and the hay ride not amazing either, but the kids had a lot of fun on the giant slide, with the corn cob cannon, the sand pit, the cow train, the bounce house, etc. I chose not to buy any of the $35 pumpkins that were not at all in a patch. We went to Ihop on the way home and when the waitress asked for our drink order, Ian looked right at her and said, "I want macaroni and cheese." He knows how to do this restaurant thing apparently. Or he was just super hungry. Good family day.

They're so fluffy I could DIE!

Audrey, Declan, Ian. One lazy morning and I love it.

Ian and Adele

Ian is a big fan of Adele's song: Rumor Has It. When we're in the car, he requests it to be played on repeat. He can say "rumor has it" just fine, but for some reason he calls the song, "Hoose it has it." I love it. All he needs to hear is the opening beat and he shouts, "Hoose it has it!!!" Laura wanted me to get a video of him; there's nothing like real life and he isn't the most cooperative for the video, but I think this one at least gets the general idea.
P.S. Lately I've noticed that he is picking up other lyrics in the song. Today he sang to me: "People say crazy things." So I sang back, "Just cuz I said it, doesn't mean that I" and he finished, "meant it." Memo to self: make sure he is only listening to good lyrics.

Ian's intended

The future Mr. and Mrs. Brien. Gwen and Ian play together twice a week while we moms take turns having a morning off. This week at our house, the two kids got into an involved scenario which involved serving each other dinner and playing a game of rummy. I can just see their future as a happily married couple. Sigh.

Grammy visit

Last week we enjoyed a visit from Grammy, who spoiled us all with lots of shopping, fun, attention, babysitting and love. We love you Grammy!

Declan is five months old! Still a charmer. He is only waking up once for a night feeding now, but he is not napping well during the day. We have more guests coming this week, and after that there will be some serious sleep training for naptime.

Girl's Night: painting

My friends, Amber and Jackie, and I went to a painting studio and painted these pictures. Plus we got to snack and chat. It was so much fun. We used Groupons which made the class half off. I hope Dip n Dab does another Groupon because I would love to do this again!