Happy 'Ween!

It's been a busy, wonderful couple of days filled with Halloween fun. We just turned off the lights to end the trick-or-treating and now I'm off to get Lilypad Princess to bed. I have lots of stories and pictures to post tomorrow, but for now I wanted to wish everyone a Happy 'Ween! (as LP told all the trick-or-treaters as she gave them candy tonight).

Let the celebrations begin!

A week of Halloween celebrations begin today. We start off with costumes and trick or treating at preschool. I can't wait to see all the kids dressed up! This afternoon we'll pick up a pumpkin and carve a jack-o-lantern.

Tomorrow morning we head over to the bookstore for a costume parade and Halloween storytime. Then tomorrow night is the big night, some trick or treating at the neighbors and then answering the door for all the kids.

Friday is the playdate at our house. The kids can all come in costume and I will have a final Halloween party for them. I love this time of the year and will drag it out as long as possible!

A visit

Grandpa and Nannie came down to visit yesterday, the first of a busy week of visits for Lilypad Princess. Grandpa and Nannie got here late morning, intending to have an early dinner and get back on the road at a decent time, but were having such a good time with LP that they didn't leave until almost 9.

We hope you aren't too tired today Grandpa and Nannie!

While I was trying to figure out Grandpa's new blackberry phone for him, LP conned Nannie into opening her rice bucket for her. The three of them spent the next couple of hours on the floor burying their hands in rice, wearing a bucket as a hat and laughing until their faces hurt.

Once they were finally done playing with the rice, we headed down to the outlets so that Nannie could pick out the bowls that her mom wanted her to get as a present. We managed to find them in the color she wanted, plus she got some new steakknives, so she was happy.

I picked up another dress for LP's dress up trunk, and between Grandpa and Nannie and I, she has a few new Gymboree dresses to wear.

Grandpa and Nannie came bearing gifts of the food kind, they brought LP some halloween cupcakes that she wasn't very interested in, but she enjoyed the pink frosted, Halloween sprinkled doughnut!

Blog Book

Blue House Mom and I were chatting the other day about how nice it would be to have our blogs printed out as books for the kids when they are older. I just came across the site Blog2Print that apparently does this exact thing. I've never seen one so I have no idea how they come out, but I love the idea!

Mother's Instinct

Today one of my big fears came true, I fell down the stairs while carrying LP. I'm still not even sure what happened, but somehow my mommy instincts kicked in and LP managed to ride safely down on my stomach as I slid to the bottom of the stairs. She was a little scared but not hurt at all. My left side is sore and I'm sure will be some pretty colors tomorrow, but at least now I know that I was able to protect my baby no matter what. I fell once on the ice outside when she was only about 3 months old and was able to tuck her in so she didn't even know anything had happened. I've been so scared about the stairs especially as she has gotten bigger. But the important thing is she is ok.

Dress up trunk update

We haven't started the hunt for the trunk yet, but I have begin filling it already. I worked at The Children's Place for a couple of hours today and snagged a couple of the Halloween costumes to start her dress up collections. One is a dancing fairy costume with a tutu, antenna and wings and the other is a pink princess costumer with a tiara and veil. Hopefully LP will like them!

Lilypad Necklace

I just came across this lilypad necklace on Etsy. It's so different from anything that I own, but I think that's one of the reasons I really like it. I think it would look good with v-neck sweaters and shirts, it's a little bigger and would grab your attention.

Finally Fall

Fall weather has arrived. It was a chilly day today, but the rain held off long enough to have a playdate at a local farm/orchard. 5 kids made the playdate today and we even got a picture of them all together!

The highlight of the day for the kids was the little village. There were about 10 different kid-sized buildings for them to play in, from a firestation to a jail to an ice cream parlor (PP's favorite). It was a little hectic when we first arrived because there were a couple of elementry schools there on field trips, but our little ones held their own against the big kids and eventually had it almost entirely to themselves.



The pretend ice cream didn't fill them up enough, so we eventually made our way over to a little wooden cart for lunch, then took a walk through the orchards and the (almost completely empty) pumpkin patch. I don't have any pictures from there though, I forgot to charge the battery for the camera before leaving this morning.

Lily Box

How cute are these little handmade lily box! I love all things lily of the valley, and I'd have a hard time deciding whether it was meant for me or LP. I could keep her tiny barrettes in it, or use it as a safe place for my rings. Actually that would be nice, considering my flowers for my wedding were lily of the valley.

Blue House Mom has a couple of these and I know she really likes them. You can see more at Hand Painted Love Boxes and enter the giveaway to win your choice of 3 adorable Halloween boxes. I think I would have to go with the black cat, but I love the face on the pumpkin as well.

A good mix

For fun check out MyHeritage.com to find out who you or child looks most like.

First Field Trip

Lilypad Princess went on her first field trip earlier this week. Luckily it was on PP's daddy's day off and he was able to join us. The preschool went to the same farm we went to last week, LP knew exactly where we were as we pulled into the parking lot.
Her excitement level rose even higher as we walked down the hill and she heard Buby calling for her. They waited patiently for the hayride to begin by checking out the tractors, pumpkins and scarecrows.


They settled themselves next to each other on the hayride and enjoyed the ride up to the Scottish Highland cows. The cows used their long tongues to gently take the offered carrots from all the kids. Then it was off to the pumpkin patch, keeping our eyes open for faces as in the trees as we went.

LP spent some time running around the pumpkin patch and checking out the horses in the next field before finally deciding on a pumpkin and hopping back on the hayride. Then it was time for a bouncehouse, animals and a snack before heading home for a long afternoon nap. But not before sharing lots of hugs with Buby





Thanks to Buby's mom for sharing her pictures, between the two of us we got some great ones!

Monkey Party

I know I told alot of people about the Monkey party that we had for all the kids, but I forgot the memory card for the camera so I have no pictures. And I don't describe things nearly as well as Buby's mom or Blue House Mom, so I'm going to cheat and just give you the links to their blogs about the party!

Blue House Mom's version Be sure to click on each word for more details
Buby Mom's version Party details Cake

Art in action

To answer Blue House Mom's question in a previous post, yes the easel is a huge hit! It is used daily, either chalk, markers or both. It has also been used for painting already, and was great for that. When my mom was visiting and we were busy working on the pumpkin soup we moved the easel into the kitchen so Lilypad Princess could paint while we worked.

Create a tree

Yesterday Lilypad Princess and I went for a walk around the neighborhood collecting pretty leaves that have fallen off the trees. LP carried her little basket the whole way, filling it up with red, yellow, orange and green foliage.

Today we created our own tree with the leaves. I drew a tree (I'm definitely not an artist) onto a large sheet of paper and set LP to work with the glue bottle and leaves.

Goodbye fall

Despite the summer weather, it appears that fall is just about over. We attempted to go apple picking today, but apparently we waited too long. The closest orchard no longer has u-pick because they ran out of apples, and the one that we tried to go to today was closed when we got there.

We passed a small farm that had some pumpkins though and Lilypad Princess picked out a mini-pumpkin to take home. She also had her picture taken by a newspaper reporter, if it makes the paper I will try to scan it in.

Mission - Antique Trunk

With Princess Pollywog's new obsession for dresses, and her delight in playing dress up at Munchkinetta's playdate, her Christmas gift has become our new mission for the fall. A trunk (antique if I can find one) filled with dress up clothes. I'm going to hit all the stores after Halloween for some costumes to fill up a trunk (I'm hoping to find a fairy costume like she wore at Munchkinetta's). And we are going to hit some antique shops and flea markets on our mission to find the perfect trunk to keep them all in.


photo from google images

A New Tradition

My mom has started a new tradition with Lilypad Princess that is very simple and very sweet, holiday pillowcases. She recently brought LP a very cute Halloween pillowcase with spiders, ghosts, black cats and witches on it. LP loves it, especially the spiders. We talk about them every morning before she gets out of her crib.

So my mom has decided to send her a new pillowcase for special occasions. She will be able to look forward to having something new to look at in her crib and it's something that is small and easy for my mom to mail when she can't be here. It will be a very special way to countdown to each holiday.


pillowcase photo from mayasmom.com

My Dwess Mama

Every morning the first thing I hear when I walk into Princess Pollywog's room is "My dwess Mama, my dwess pease?"

My little fearless adventurer likes to take on the world in style. So I have been on the hunt for comfortable, warm, easy-to-put-on (did I forget to mention, she wants to dress herself now too?) dresses to get us through the fall and winter.

I like these dresses from LL Bean and the price isn't bad compared to some of the others I've found. Plus I think LL Bean clothes might be about the only thing that could stand up to what she will put them through.

A Big Mess!

A couple of months ago we stumbled upon some old Sesame Street books at a store and picked them all up. Calling them old makes me feel ancient, because they are all from the 70's and 80's. In fact, I remember one of them and think I had it when I was young.

The current favorite is Ernie's Big Mess. Bert gets frustrated with the mess Ernie leaves all over the apartment and yells at him that he wishes he lived alone. So poor Ernie packs up all of his toys and goes looking for a new place to live.

This book is currently on the nightstand waiting to be read before each nap and bedtime, but has to be taken in the car on long trips. It can occupy her for at least an hour in the car and she asks for it every time we get in. I wish I could find another copy so we had one in each place!



book cover photo from Muppet Wiki

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Recipe from FoodNetwork.com

1 (2 pound) pumpkin, halved and seeds removed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 plus a pinch freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
31/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons pumpkin seed oil
15 to 20 small sage leaves, fried


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the pumpkin cut side up on a parchment lined baking sheet. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Invert to the cut side down, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place in the oven and roast until the skin is golden brown and the pumpkin is tender, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop the pumpkin flesh from its skin and set pumpkin aside until ready to use. Discard the skin.

Set a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and, when hot, add the cinnamon and allspice and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the onions, carrots, celery, ginger and garlic to the pan and saute, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and reserved pumpkin to the pan and bring the stock to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook the soup for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.

Remove the soup from the heat and process with an immersion blender (*or in batches in a blender) until smooth. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pinch of pepper. Add the cream to the soup and stir to combine.

To serve, place 1 cup of the soup in each of 6 warmed soup bowls. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of the pumpkin seed oil in the bowl and garnish with a 2 or 3 fried sage leaves.

pumpkin photo from google images

Red Lentil Soup

2 tsp olive oil
1-1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground Cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 med. sweet red pepper(s), chopped
2 medium carrot(s), chopped
29 oz fat-free chicken broth
8 oz dry lentils, red, washed
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream or plain fat-free yogurt (optional garnish)

In a medium nonstick pot, heat oil.
Add cumin, coriander, red pepper and cinnamon, stir until fragrant, 30 seconds.
Add bell pepper and carrots. Cook until just tender, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add broth and lentils. Bring to a boil. Simmer until lentils are tender about 20 minutes.
Purée in blender or use blender stick right in pot.(Can be eaten without blending, LP's daddy prefers it non blended).
Serve with 1 tbsp. of yogurt (or non-fat sour cream) on each 1-1/4 cup serving.

Still excellent after freezer storage.


Red lentil photo from Google images

Soup, Soup, and even more Soup!

Today was the monthly soup swap at our playdate. I decided on Roasted Pumpkin soup, which I will post the recipe for soon. I brough home Carrot Ginger, Chunky Chicken Noodle, and Cream of Broccoli soups. I can't wait to try all three! Lily's daddy took over half of the Chicken Noodle with him to work tonight, so I'll have to hurry and have a bowl before there isn't any left.

Soup photo from Google images

Fairy Dancing & Window Washing

Dancing fairies and window washers got together for a playdate today. Thank you to Blue House Mom and Munchkinetta for hosting such a wonderful day. Blue House Mom had a wonderful array of food for moms, kids, and visiting Nana's. Munchkinetta was a perfect hostess, sharing all of her toys so nicely.




Buby, Munchkinetta, Barefoot Princess and Lilypad Princess all made it today, starting off the playdate with a little elephant ride, some toy play and a yummy breakfast of grapes, strawberries, bagels, apple pancake and pumpkin spice cake.

After earning their breakfast by cleaning the windows of the playroom, the three girls donned Munchkinetta's fairy dress and Buby joined in the dancing.

Hayride, Pumpkin Patch, & MOOO cows

Lilypad Princess and her friend Alessandro, along with their mommies, took a trip to a local farm yesterday for the afternoon. First up was a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. The highlight of the hayride was the Scottish Highland cows that came right up to the wagon to eat carrots right out of our hands. LP had more fun calling the horses thank she did picking out pumpkins, she thought you were supposed to feed the pumpkins to them.

After the hayride returned, there was all sorts of fun things for the kids to do. Bounce houses and a bounce slide tired out the mommies, a hay maze is always fun to run through, and sheep , goats, geese, a baby cow kept the kids occupied for hours.

The favorite thing of the day for LP was definitely the baby cow. She was convinced that the cow was talking just to her.

Click on the highlighted words to see short videos from the day.

The Beach

An empty beach, a great camera and a cute little kid. What better combination for an impromtu photo shoot (or two).
Click here for photos

Pumpkin Soup

Who knew there were so many different ways to make pumpkin soup? We have our monthly soup swap at our playdate on Friday and since it's October, I decided to try a pumpkin soup. I've found 3 recipes that sound really yummy, now I have to narrow down which one to try!


soup photo from Google images