I hope you have a fun and safe Halloween. We are going to have dinner soon and then head out to Trick or Treat!
I picked up matching PJs yesterday at Old Navy. Princess A just barely fit the 5T but I bought them thinking Princess G could wear them next Halloween.
Celebrating Halloween is not allowed in our school district. A few years ago the school district did away with Halloween as to not offend those who practice Wicca. A few people who practice Wicca were quoted as saying they did not care and that Halloween is just fun and the kids should go ahead and celebrate. We still don't have Halloween at school. No costumes are allowed. The funny thing is that the PTA put on a Fall Fest last week (will post pictures soon) after school and the kids were encouraged to dress-up. This is what Princess A wore to school today, Halloweenish but NOT a costume. She wore the Spider barrette I made a few days ago, purple halloween shirt, black skirt and orange/black striped tights. Princess G goes to a private pre-k so she did get to dress up. Is Halloween allowed at your kids' schools? I have such fond memories of dressing up for school, the costume parade, the costume contest per grade, and lastly the party!! I think that we go to far sometimes to be politically correct.
Continue wrapping the the pipe cleaner completely around the barrette.
Princess A designed and made some paper necklaces all by herself. The first one she made when she was suppose to be asleep. That one was a little small since she only had small paper in her room, as she explained to me. She drew and colored the necklace in an open circle shape. She cut out the necklace and it was ready to wear. She came up with idea all by herself, she is so creative!
I heard a crash in the playroom and then "Mommy, I hurt my sister toe!"
Princess G was so excited for her first field trip. Everyday for about the last week she kept asking "Is the pumpkin patch tomorrow?" 
After everyone arrived her Pre-K class took a tour. They learned all about pumpkins and that these were Jumping Jack pumpkins. We also learned about life before electricity and got to see many farm animals.
It rained most of the tour and since she refused to wear her hood she got the umbrella (or I held it over her. Luckily the rain was not to hard and it was not as muddy as I had feared. 
The last part was to pick a pumpkin. She got to pick any of these smaller pumpkins.
I had a feeling she would not want to touch a wet pumpkin so I brought a bag to put it in. We also got a pumpkin for her sister since she was a school. Princess A was a little jealous since when she was in Pre-K she missed the pumpkin patch. She was excited though when her sister gave her a pumpkin she picked out herself.
Princess G spotted this horse on the way out and wanted a 'quick ride.' I figured quick meant a few minutes but she climbed on asked me to take a picture and climbed right off. It was a fun time but I am not sure if we are going to try and carve these new pumpkins. They are pretty small but the two pumpkins we already carved are starting to mold, yuck, so we might have to!
In Princess A's class they made crowns and each day someone was picked to be Queen (or King) for the day. Princess A kept hoping that she would be picked! Almost everyday on the way home from school she would hope that she would be picked the next day. Princess A was finally picked this week. She was the second to last one picked which made for a long wait but when it finally came she was so happy!
Some of them had been to Princess G's birthday party I think they remembered playing. The game kept them busy so the moms and I could chat. We have all taken our kids to Disneyland but not Disney World. We reminisced about how much fun Disney is. We talked about our favorite rides. I adore Indian Jones and Soaring over California, not that I went on them the last time we went. The girls love all of the rise and if I ask them their favorite I get a very long list: Dumbo, Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours, Nemo, Toy Story Mania, Small World, Alice in Wonderland and well you get the idea. This year Disney is asking "What will you celebrate?" I would love to celebrate my birthday at Disney next week but as we already went to Disneyland this year it will have to wait. If you were going to Disney what would you be celebrating?
Eventually the kids wanted to change so they raided the girl's stash of dress-up clothes and had a fashion show. After the fashion show it was time to go home. The kids were a little sad to go but the great goodie bags helped.Princess A was so excited to battle and defeat Darth Vader. The year before when she had just turned five she was also picked but got scared. She thought that Darth Vader would hurt her with his light saber. I explained to her that they were only using training light sabers but she thought Darth Vader might still try and sneak in a real one. I then told her that it was against earth law to bring a real light saber on earth, only training ones were allowed. She was still a little unsure but said she would battle him when she was six. When we went to Disneyland in May she remembered the earth law and was ready to battle Darth Vader!
Instead of the usually powdered cocoa to make hot chocolate I used pre-made chocolate milk. The girls wanted both mini marshmallows and whipped cream.
I went through the girls' rooms and purged whatever they don't use or need anymore. I did keep some clothes and sentimental toys. I sold a few items on Craig's List. I sold the horse above, baby sling, glider rocker, a lot of clothes and a few other things. I also offered a few things on Freecycle: lots of kid clothes, potty seats, some food, sippy cups and DVD player. If you have never used Freecycle the way it works is you join a local group in your area and then members post wants, offers and needs. Other members then respond and coordinate a time and place to exchange the item. No money is to exchange hands, everything has to be offered for free. I usually just send them my address and leave the stuff on my front porch. Freecycle is great for those items that you want to giveaway but would probably be thrown out by a charity they were donated to. It is also nice knowing that the items are going to be put to good use. Some of the clothes were not posted as an offer instead I gave them to people who posted they needed the clothes. I know those warm clothes are keeping a little one warm now. I had a few no shows for people to pick things up so I donated the rest of the items to the Goodwill. It feels good to pass on stuff we don't use anymore plus now someone else can put them to good use.
This is the lovely outfit Princess G picked specifically to help Daddy in the yard. Yes that is what she wore as she gathered leaves, swept, found worms and transfered rocks all over the yard.
As soon as we finished the carving the girls' pumpkins I got to work cleaning off the seeds. I rinsed and let all of the seed air dry a whole day (over night was enough but Mondays are crazy here.) This time I decided to get a little creative so I made two version. For both I tossed the seeds with a little canola oil. For half of the seeds I also added some cinnamon with the oil. I spread the seed on cookie sheets and sprinkled with sea salt. I roasted the pumpkin seeds at 350 F for about 15 minutes. Once they were golden brown I pulled them out. As soon as they were cool enough the girls started to devour them. We already finished the cinnamon and are almost done with the plain ones.
First the girls put on aprons to keep their clothes clean. Just like last year they picked out their Home Depot Kid's Workshop aprons since they are orange just like the pumpkins. I should of been the one with the apron since I had the fun job of scrapping out the pumpkins again. The girls did not even want to touch the insides this year but they wanted to make sure I was saving the seeds. I just tossed everything in a bag so I could pick out the seeds later.
Princess G drew the eyes and mouth on and asked Daddy to draw the mouth. Princess G kept Daddy entertained with fancy poses while Daddy carved. 
Beautiful princess and her pumpkin!
Princess A drew a face on the pumpkin but she did not like it at all. She was a little sad that she did not 'get the drawing right' but we showed her that we could decorate both sides. She had Daddy draw and then carve the pumpkin. She then got so excited and wanted to carve both sides of the pumpkin. We convinced her that if we are using a candle on Halloween night one side carved would be the best (plus it was so cold Daddy just wanted to get inside.)
Last October we started a new tradition: Making Caramel Apples!
Here are my pretty apples, I used Fuji apples this year.
Princess A was my official caramel opener. Princess G just wanted to eat them, which she did.
Princess G did want to help melt the caramels. I completely forgot the recipe I used last year. I found one but it was for six apples. Since I only had four I re-calculated the amounts for four apples. Here is the recipe I used
Don't they look yummy!
Of course the girls wanted to eat all of the leftover caramels.
After dinner I sliced up one of the apples and we all shared. We shared one each night and they tasted just as good on the fourth night. By the last night only Princess A and I were eating the caramel apple slices. Daddy and Princess G were tired of them. I have had enough caramel for another year. Now I have a desire to make some English Toffee, maybe the girls and I will make some tomorrow.
Princess A kept watching me when I was making baby pinky and asked to help sew baby hippo (I still need to rip out some stitches and finish it for Princess G.) At the same time I was asked if I would like to review an item from a list of websites. I saw this great ALEX Toys - Sew Fun Sewing Machine and just knew that Princess A would love it. I can't wait for it to come so she can try it out (alright I want to give it a whirl too!) While exploring their sites I found some great bunk beds. When I was little our first house only had two bedrooms so my sister and I shared. My dad built our bunk bed, it was a kit I believe that made a stagecoach bunk bed. I loved that bunk bed but can you imaging having this bunk bed, 
it is almost like a playhouse you get to sleep in. I love the girls' beds but if we had moved we probably would've moved into a smaller house like my sister has. Her kids are in bunk beds right now. I keep looking at this bunk bed and I want it just to play in or get it as a playhouse for the girls. If only we had lots of room. My dad turned our old bunk bed into a playhouse and put it outside once we out grew it. I had so many great memories sleeping in that top bunk. CSNBunkBeds.com has a variety of bunk beds including the more traditional and loft beds. I will have to let you all know how the sewing machine works out for Princess A. Does anyone have any easy projects for a first project on the sewing machine for Princess A?
The princesses had some friends over play with the new ZhuZhu Pet Hamsters. They were a huge hit. Before their friends arrived I opened and set up the ZhuZhu Pet habitat. It is so cool. I let each of the princesses pick out two ZhuZhu Pets for themselves (we put two of them away for the party) and each of the guest picked out one. The kids loved watching the ZhuZhu Pets go all around the habitat. The kids happily played with the hamsters the whole time. Only a few paused to grab some snacks. At the end of the party we had some races. All of the kids got to pick part of the habitat to take home. The winner of the ZhuZhu race got first pick, second: second pick and so on. All of the kids were so excited to take a ZhuZhu Pet and one of the habitat accessories. After the party we still had two extra ZhuZhu Pets so I set them to my niece and nephew. My sister told me they knew exactly what they were and said they had been wanting them. They loved them so much they took them to Disneyland. My sister says they take them everywhere.
I completely forgot to take pictures during the party. Here are the girls after everyone left.
Princess A loves racing her two ZhuZhu Pets. She also likes to turn them on while siting on the couch and seeing if she can grab them before they fall off.
Princess G likes to snuggle with them and dance around them as they explore all over the living room and kitchen. I love the cute noises they make and the fact that they are not real (no cages to clean!) The ZhuZhu Pets are so cute and close enough to hamsters for little kids that it is as if you have the best part of having a bed with none of the drawbacks. 
