Halloween Cuties!

Yesterday was a pretty boring day, until lunch that is. My mom babysits a handful of adorable kids, and since she lives three doors down from me, I stop by her house several days each week to sneak a peak at them.

Some days are better than others, but let me tell you, yesterday was a great day. It was Halloween party for the brood, and they were all decked out for the festivities. We had a Dorothy, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Charlie Brown and a fairy.

My adorable cousin Karlie as Dorothy. She is such a doll!

And we have Mr. Angelo starring as Woody!

And what's Woody without Buzz Lightyear. Michael looks good!

I told my mom I would stop by and take a few photos. Um, I took 89. What can I say? I love those kiddos, and it is quite the challenge to get the attention of little ones while they are checking out each others' costumes and the room full of fun and toys.

The kids had pizza for lunch and got snack bags of course. I believe they were going to watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," after I left. They were having a ball.

Little Liam looks like Charlie Brown.

The gorgeous Khloe Rose as a fairy. I love that little pixie baby! LOVE her!

Happy Halloween from the clan:

Week in Review - Oct. 17-23, 2010; Halloween Party

Well, we had another fun and exciting weekend, and now it's a rainy Monday. What a bummer! Anyways, last week was so busy, and I was lazy and forgot to (more like neglected to) document each day. So, I am trying to recall it all at one time! What a joy.

Sunday - It was the day after alumni band, and since we went to Mass as a part of those festivities, we didn't have to go to Mass that day. However, I did have to get up and do a Weight Watchers meeting in excruciating pain. Remember my foot saga? Oh, it was bad. I pretty much laid around and elevated my foot for the rest of the day. I even watched some of that show "Sister Wives." I totally and completely disagree with their entire lifestyle, but I couldn't look away. It was like a car accident. Later, we headed down to my parents' house for pizza and then headed home. It was relaxing, and it was nice for a change.

Monday - Monday, my foot was swollen bad, and I had trouble putting a shoe on. I hobbled into work, and my co-worker Janice encouraged me to call my doctor. So, I took the afternoon off and went to the doctor who was convinced I had gout. That whole story is here. After stopping by the doctor's office, I went to the store for my weekly groceries and dropped off my prescription. Then, I headed home and put rustic chicken in the crock pot. It was so yummy. I then ate lunch and relaxed for the afternoon and evening.

Tuesday - I woke up, and the steroids and pain killers were magical; I finally had some relief. I did some light working out that day, just to see how it went. I went to work. After work, I made beef and noodles and worked on cleaning out the office a bit in the evening. "Glee" was a re-run, so I had to make other plans. I had some stuff to put in storage, and my brother and Joe took the stuff downstairs.

Wednesday - I woke up and did Tae Bo before work. I then headed home for lunch. After work, I dropped off some stuff to Goodwill, and then I headed to Weight Watchers to do my meeting. We had leftovers for dinner, and for Wednesday date night, we watched "Hocus Pocus." We love that movie. Then we relaxed for the rest of the meeting before heading to bed.

Thursday - I got up and worked out (I believe). I went to work and went home at lunch to put chili in the crock pot for dinner. I can't remember what I did right after work. But, I remember we had chili for dinner, and then my brother came up to watch "Community," "The Office" and "Outsourced." We had hot chocolate and had a great evening, and Joe finished putting together my Halloween costume (pictures coming).

Friday - We had a busy weekend coming up. I went grocery shopping for all the events. When I came home, we had leftover chili for dinner. Joe had cleaned the house, and we had a great evening making a spider cake. We made a chocolate cake in the shape of a spider's body. We used chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles (to make it look hairy). Then we made chocolate-covered marshmallows and attached them going out from the body, to make the legs. We used pretzel M&Ms for eyes. It was huge and was a hit. We delivered it to my parents' house. That night, I could not sleep. I think I was up until 5 a.m., absolutely wide awake. It was terrible. I have gone through bouts of terrible sleep for years, and this weekend was bad. I was so exhausted. I only slept for three hours. I then got up and made a lot of food for Sunday. We were planning on heading to the pumpkin patch, and I was having my family over afterwards for food and "Sweeney Todd." On Saturday, I made pumpkin trifle, sweet potato salad, pumpkin dip and a cheeseball. Then I showered, ate and laid down for a bit before the Halloween party at my parents'. However, I only slept maybe a half an hour. I got up, got my stuff together, got ready, and then we headed to the party. We stayed there until 2:30 a.m. Then we headed home, and I got approximately five hours of sleep before my Sunday Weight Watchers meeting. It made for a long and tiresome Sunday.

Making the spider cake. My husband is the artist, and this was his baby.



I am working on the frosting and sprinkles.



Our finished project. I have quite a creative husband!

Yesterday, I got up, did my meeting, went to choir and church, headed to the pumpkin patch for a fabulous but hot few hours. We went to the shop, ate fudge and kettlecorn, shopped and had a wonderful day. Joe, my mom, dad, sister and I went, and it was so much fun. We headed to Kroger before heading back to the house for food. I served a pepperoni cheeseball (with crackers); pumpkin dip (with gingersnaps, Nilla wafers, graham crackers and cinnamon pretzels); pumpkin soup and bread; barbecue beef for sandwiches; a walnut, feta cheese and cranberry salad; homemade macaroni and cheese; Doritos; pretzels; some leftover desserts from Saturday that my mom brought up and an awesome pumpkin trifle. It was tasty. My mom, dad, sister, brother, Maria (brother's girlfriend), Joe, Father Bill (family friend who's a priest), friend Shaun and I had a great evening and watched the gruesome "Sweeney Todd," which was a hit. Joe and I love that movie.

What a week. I need a nap after my long weekend!

Here are a few more pictures from the Halloween party. Pumpkin patch pictures will come next week.

My awesome parents dressed up as Carnival  Cruise Line employees. We love cruising, and I love them! Hilarious.

And the big reveal of our costumes. I was Flo, the Progressive Insurance girl, and Joe was the Nationwide guy. This was Joe's idea. He made my apron and buttons.

My brother was the three hole punch version of Derek (as opposed to Jim). If you watch "The Office," you understand.

The candy corn debacle

So, every year around this time everyone gets ready for the fall weather and tasty treats that come with the season. When I think of fall scents, I think of apple, pumpkin, spices and cinnamon. When I think of visions of fall, I think of leaves changing colors, sweaters and pumpkins. When I think of sweet treats, I especially focus on candy corn.

You may think the candy corn is a very simple concept. Heck, it's sugar and food dye, right? WRONG! In my family and circle of friends, the candy corn is reason for much debate, and I am very serious when I say that. Although the debate is not heated, it is a debate, nonetheless. The debate stems from the question, which side is the top of the candy corn? Now, you are thinking well of course I know the answer. But in our group it is a pretty evenly split topic. Ask a few of the people around you, and you may find the same debacle.

My husband and I along with our smart family members and friends (just kidding), think the pointy part is the top. I mean it only seems natural to me that the wider end would be the bottom. How would said candy corn stand on the tip? It can't!

Members of the other side of the debate said that the wider part is the top because of how how corn grows on a cob. Hello, I have yet to see a candy corn cob! In my mind, that makes their argument a moot point.

This started years ago, and it got to the point where my husband and I e-mailed Brach's (don't judge us; I know we are insane), and they took the politically correct way out. (Hey, I was surprised they even responded.) They said that when they create the candy corn the point is the bottom; but when it comes out of the molding, the point is the top.

One year for Halloween a husband and wife couple who are friends of my parents dressed as candy corn, each dressed to represent what side they thought was the top.

What side do you think is the top? Think about it; and by the way, you will never look at candy corn in the same way ever again.