Last Minute Kid and Family Halloween Costumes

Here is a roundup of some easy, fun Halloween costumes. Most of these can be made last minute so you still have plenty of time. After all, last minute is 10 p.m. on October 30th, right?

Mama and Baby Zebra and Zookeeper
So this one probably required the most legwork, but you could easily get some faux fur and just stick it to a black sweatsuit for both mama and baby.  The baby zebra was found at a consignment shop for less than $10.  The dress for mama zebra I found at a consignment shop.  I found the hat and gloves at Target and the legwarmers were either from Target or a Halloween shop.  The zookeeper was super simple with brown pants, khaki shirt and hat.  We covered the logo on the hat with a made up zoo logo and put on a zookeeper name tag.  It was fun and we got TONS of compliments.  I think it was pretty cute if I do say so myself.

zebra love

No Sew Spider and Web - great for baby wearing!
I knew I'd be wearing my 2-month-old last year so it didn't make much sense to put her in a costume that no one would ever see.  So this costume was perfect.  We got SOOOO many complements.  I bought a white sheet at the Goodwill Outlet Center, which means I paid maybe 25 cents for it!  I cut it so it wouldn't drag on the ground and then cut a head hole in the middle.  I didn't bother to hem it or sew around the head hole.  Then I laid it on the floor and used a large tip sharpie to draw the web.  I cut a black oval out of felt for the spider body and simply pinned it to the sheet in the appropriate spot.  I gathered some long socks in fun coordinating prints (you could do all black of course but I like the whimsy of the prints) and stuffed them with some cheap stuffing.  Then pinned each end where I wanted them on the sheet.  I found a black kids hat for $1 at Target and cut out some white circles out of felt and some smaller black felt circles for the eyes.  I glued the eyes to the hat using fabric glue.  She wore the hat backwards.  We were both warm and everyone loved the costume.

Diver 
Leon loves the ocean and when we discovered Jonathan Bird's Blue World on PBS he was hooked.  We even ordered the DVD of season 3.  He was torn between being a garbage man again or a diver.  We both ended up having a lot of fun with this costume.  We had purchased a wet suit (aka sunsuit) for his birthday and he wore that with pants and long sleeves underneath.  I again perused the Goodwill Outlet Center and was thrilled to find the perfect vacuum tube and a cool looking gauge that was attached to a blue tube.  Then I sprayed a large Gatorade bottle with flat black spray paint.  I attached the vacuum tube to the Gatorade bottle with black electrical tape.  I then attached it to a small backpack using the backpack's straps, but you could easily tape it with the electrical tape or attach some straps right to the bottle.  I also bought him a swim cap, but he only wore it a little (I think it pulled on his long hair) and he had goggles (not sure why they are not in the picture).  I attached the "air gauge" to the front of the vacuum tube using the black electrical tape.  I also cut out flippers with black felt and secured them to his shoes with electrical tape.

Strong man/french painter 
This was super easy.  I picked up a men's t-shirt at Goodwill and cut the shape I wanted out of the neck.  Then I cut up the sides and sewed them back smaller to fit him like a jumper.  I sewed legs into the bottom of the shirt and padded his arms with stuffing.  He had dumbbell, which we made by painting a wrapping paper tube black and then taping 2 black balloons to each end with electrical tape.  He didn't carry it around much.  It inhibited his worldly exploration.

Baby Yoda
I sewed the hat out of fleece.  I basically cut the ear shape (yes, I realize they are a little long, but they are still so cute!) and traced a regular hat that fit him.  Then I placed the right sides of the hat together with the ears in between and sewed it all up.  When I turned it right side out it was done.  I think I hemmed the bottom.  I then took a girls t-shirt, size 6), cut it down the middle and wrapped it across his front so it looks kind of robe-esk.  I pinned it in place.  E-Z!

Garbage man and trash and recycling
Here's another no sew costume.  Our son loves all things waste management.  You can read more about his beautiful relationship with out former garbage man (who became our dear friend) here.  He was so excited about this costume.  I knew it had to be perfect.  Our garbage man, Harold, had given him a set of their gloves and the coolest official Waste Pro hat.  I purchased a t-shirt similar to the color our company wears and the used an iron on transfer to add the logo to the front and back.  I used strips of duct tape to make the reflective strips.  I picked up two pillowcases, one black, one blue, from a local fabric outlet and again used iron on transfers to add to recycling symbol and a trash symbol.  He used those as his treat bags.  My husband went as recycling and I went as trash.  As you can see we basically just put bags on us and then stuck trash and recycling to the bags.  It was simple and fun.  Before he started kindergarten he wore his costume every trash day.

This year our boys are going as Fred and Shaggy and our neighbor girls will be Velma and Daphne.  It should be a lot of fun.  Here are a few other fun ideas I've come across:

I LOVE this Box of raisins - from Bear Rabbit Bear Crafts
This Target costume from Family Fun is simple and cute
Here's a fun voodoo doll posted on the crafster.org forum
Try a cheap and easy paper doll like this one here
Here are five fun ideas - the gore unzipped is both incredibly gross and intriguing

Enjoy and good luck.  Most importantly, have fun with it and let you creativity flow.  What last minute costumes have you come up with?

Receiving Blanket Photo Album Tutorial

My baby girl turned one in August.  1. ONE!  For real.  She's been a perfect addition to our family and her big brothers adore her.  A few weeks before her birthday Leon told me that he wanted to make her a photo album with pictures of our family.  Ada loves to look at pictures of faces so I thought this was a great idea.  It's so like Leon to know exactly what a loved one would like.  He is extremely thoughtful and empathetic.

Well, I dropped the ball.  I completely forgot about his photo album idea until he asked about it the day before her birthday. It was important to him and I've been trying to instill in him the value of homemade gifts so I wanted to make it happen. (You can read about more of our homemade gifts here.)  So, while the other kids napped we got to work.  Thankfully, when he first mentioned the idea I daydreamed up some plans.  Despite my persistent baby brain, I was able to quickly recall my original thoughts and our project was on.  Now I'll share it with you.

What you'll need:
Flannel receiving blankets in fun, coordinating prints.  I used 4 different blankets, but had lots left over. (I have a ton of these saved up)
Vinyl (I used the packages that sheets and comforters come in which made it free - yay!)

Decide on a size for your album.  This will largely depend on what size photos you want to use, 3x5, 4x6, 5x7, etc. I decided on 4x6 because that's what I had the most of.  I found a book that looked good with the photo in the middle.  It had just enough fabric on all sides keeping in mind the vinyl will be cut an inch larger than the photo to allow for sewing.  So, if your photo is 4x6 you'll need to cut your vinyl to be 5x7.

I was nursing in this photo and while I think it's beautiful it's not essential to the tutorial ;)

Lay your book on your receiving blankets and use an invisible marker or chalk, to create your pattern (you can also make a pattern on paper, but this is so simple that I opted not to).  I let my son do almost everything for this project.  It's very forgiving so let them at it.

Fold the outer edge over on the fold line so that the fabric is doubled.  Make sure that the orientation of the fabric is the way you want it before you cut.  Cut on the line, but do not cut the fold line.  It should look like the picture below.

When opened it will look like this.

I let my son experiment with the rotary cutter and scissors.  We were both more comfortable with the scissors.  You know the ability of your child so you be the judge and it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, supervise your children during this project, especially when sharp objects are involved.  

Using the first one as a pattern trace and cut out three additional pieces (or however many you want).  I used 4 coordinating patterned blankets for each piece, but you can cut your pieces from the same blanket if you prefer and have enough fabric.  His edge is uneven, but because we will be creating fringe on the edges it won't be noticeable.

Using your photo as a guide, cut out your vinyl pieces.  You will want to add an inch to the length and the width to allow room for sewing and to allow the photo to slide in.  So, if your photo is 4x6 you will cut your vinyl to 5x7, which is what I did.

If you cut four pieces it will make 8 pages including the front and back covers.  We chose to leave the inside of the front cover and one other page blank so we used 6 vinyl pieces. Sew the vinyl pieces to the flannel.  You can measure the make sure you are in the middle (or wherever you want to be) but we just eyeballed it. Remember, this is a kid-friendly project that happens to turn out super cute so don't get too stuck on making it perfect.  I used a zig-zag stitch about 1/4 inch from the edge of the vinyl.  The vinyl can be tricky to sew cause it can stick.  I'm sure there's lots of tricks out there, including putting a little corn starch on it.  I chose to loosen the pressure on the sewing machine foot and then I helped my son guide it through the machine at a mostly steady, even pace.

We then chose our layout.  Which piece we wanted for the cover, the inside cover, etc.  Lay them flat and pair them up.  I apologize, but I don't seem to have pictures of this part.  If you are using 4 pieces you will have two pairs.  Place them WRONG sides together.  So you will have two double sided rectangles.  Using a 1/2" seam allowance zig-zag stitch around the rectangles. Remember, you should be sewing on the RIGHT side of the fabric.  Once both rectangles are sewn together simply fold in half, iron the fold and sew a straight line down the middle to create your book.  

Now time for the finishing touch.  On the edges of the rectables, very carefully cut in towards your stitching all around the outside approximately every 1/2" or so to create the fringe.  I did this part so that my son wouldn't accidentally cut the seam.  Wet it or throw it through the wash and then dry on low heat or air fluff to give the fringe that messy shabby chic look.  Add your favorite pictures and you're done.  Seriously, my 5-year-old handled this like a pro.  I'm new to the whole tutorial thing so if you have questions just ask. 

This is the inside of the front cover and the first page.  We used fabric markers to personalize it.

Middle pages

 We used fabric markers to draw Ada a picture and write her a little note towards the back of the book.

Does she like her new photo album that her sweet, thoughtful brother made for her?  Yes indeed.  She plays with it all the time and it has held up wonderfully so far.  Obviously you'll want to take the pictures out before you wash it.

Ok.  I got a little photo happy there, but how could you not?  The cuteness is just too much.  I hope you enjoy making this as much as we did.  And please do contact me with any questions (or better ways of doing something - I'm no expert).  If you make one leave a comment letting me know with a link to your photos!!

I'm linking up to:
  


Kammy's Korner

First Day of Kindergarten Custom Painting

Custom illustration/painting by Angela Flores @ Bunni Garu

You may have read here that my first-born, my baby boy, started kindergarten this year.  I decided (more than a year ago) that I would mark this momentous occasion by giving my husband a little gift.  And I decided to tell him about it so that he would not be caught off guard and feel bad for not reciprocating.

About a year ago I was perusing Etsy when I came across the above image featured in this listing.  I was captivated by the whimsy and innocence of the illustration.  I pinned the listing on Pinterest and am so thankful that I did because when I went to find it a year later the listing was gone, but my pin took me to Angela's shop, Bunni Garu.  From there I was able to contact her to inquire about the listing I had pinned.  Apparently it had expired, but she was still offering custom illustrations/paintings.  YAY!

So, I sent her a few pictures and gave her a quick summary of Leon's love of all things waste management and then let her creativity work its magic.

Angela was awesome to work with.  She was extremely friendly, helpful and communicated well.  I could hardly wait to see the results and I'm sure you're on pins and needles so I won't keep you waiting.

Oh my goodness, could it possibly be any more perfect??  She captured him perfectly.  It's so sweet.  And my husband LOVED it!  Leon did too.  And it was a very reasonable $45!  Seriously, a perfect custom illustration of my kindergartner for $45.  Thanks, Angela!

I have yet to purchase a forever frame for it, but for now it resides here. Can you see it?

The bright mark in the middle is just from the flash not an imperfection.

Have you ever done anything like this to capture your kids in a certain moment in their life?  What did you do?  I'll be back soon to tell you all about the thoughtful gift my husband gave to me.

I received no compensation/discount for this post.  I just loved it so much that I had to share.

Spaghetti and Meatlessballs

I apologize for the picture quality.  It was taken when my camera was out of commission.  Pics at The Curvy Carrot are much better.

I will state right off the bat that this is NOT my original recipe, but man is it worth sharing.  I am vegetarian, have been for almost 20 years (yikes! I'm getting old) and I love it - being vegetarian that is, not aging.  There is one thing I miss though and it is NOT bacon.  I know, most vegetarians I've talked to really miss the bacon.  For me, the flavor of most meat is just too intense and the texture has become foreign.  Yes, I've sampled a meat here and there over the years and am happy to say that I was meant to be vegetarian.  BUT, I LOVED my mother's meatballs.  She used a recipe from a vintage Betty Crocker cookbook.  When she'd reach for that thick book covered in faded red gingham I could already smell their savory aroma.  I even loved mixing the bread, eggs, ground beef and spices with my hands and forming the extra-large orbs that would adorn my overflowing plate of spaghetti.

I've tried frozen vegetarian "meatballs" and have yet to find anything worth eating let alone forking over outrageous amounts of cash.  My oldest son LOVES meatballs but I don't cook meat.  I've cooked it no more than 4 times in the past 20 years.  It's not my thing. I get nervous that I won't cook it thoroughly enough or that I will cook it too much and it will be dry.  I've done ok with some roast chicken, but really, a good rule of thumb is - you don't want me cooking your meat.

Then, while wasting valuable time perusing pinterest I came across these Savory Spinach Bites from The Curvy Carrot (check it out, it's a collection of fantastic looking recipes - Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cupcakes - umm, yes please).  I honestly didn't have high expectations the first time I made these so to say I was blown away is an understatement.  While I was cooking dinner I served them to my family just the way the recipe suggests.  My husband asked, "Are these turkey meatballs?".  That's when I realized that not only were these full of savory deliciousness as the name implies, they would be the perfect substitute for a meatball.  Hence, our family's Spaghetti and Meatlessballs was born.  It is now a staple in our home and we all look forward to it - including my 13-month-old and extremely, ridiculously, nauseatingly picky 2.5-year-old.  I think I'm going to make a bunch and freeze them so we are never without.

So, eat em with spaghetti or as an appetizer with a side of sauce, I don't care, but eat em!


Savory Spinach Bites (adapted ever so slightly from The Curvy Carrot)
 Servings: 18-24 spinach bites, depending on how big you make them
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 clove)
2 10-ounces packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 8-ounce bag of herbed seasoned stuffing mix.  I use Pepperidge Farm because it’s the only mainstream vegetarian stuffing around.
6 large eggs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 tbsp flax meal (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter

3. Add onion and cook until the onions are translucent and soft, about 5 minutes or so.

4. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Remove the pan from the heat and let cool.

5. In the meantime, remove excess water from thawed spinach by pressing it between paper towels. **You do not need to cook the spinach.

6. In a large bowl, combine the stuffing mix, flax, spinach, eggs, Parmesan, salt and pepper, and onion/garlic mixture.  Combine well.

7. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

8. One at a time, using your hands, roll the mixture into individual 1-inch balls.  Place each one on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

9. Bake the balls for about 15-20 minutes, or until very slightly browned.

Leon's Birth Story: Labor and Birth

I know I made you wait an eternity for this, but here it is, Leon's birth.  So I forgot to mention in my last post that when we scheduled the induction one of the midwives said, "I will be starting the foley bulb Monday evening, but won't be doing the induction.  I already have one 37-weeker in the NICU."  Seriously?!  I couldn't believe she said that.  If I wasn't nervous before that certainly did the trick.

Photo courtesy of Jesse Kitt Photography

Now on with the story...
I spent a long, uncomfortable night in the hospital.  The foley bulb didn't cause much activity in my uterus, but my bladder had a field day.  I probably should have given in and propped myself up on the toilet and slept there.  Seriously.  I peed all night long.  And if you've ever spent the night in labor and delivery you know how uncomfortable those beds that break down are.  Needless to say, the next morning I was tired, but ready for a change (hopefully of the cervical kind).

They started the pitocin just before 8 a.m. and shorty after 8 I began contracting slowly.  Our doula arrived after a brief detour to grab our camera.  Around 11:30 or so (remember this is all from memory until I find that darn baby book at which time I will record the specifics somewhere else for safe keeping) the foley bulb came out meaning I was about 4 cm.  It was exciting.  I was progressing.

I continued to labor with the support of our lovely midwife, who I liken to Dustin Hoffman in the most flattering way.  She was kind and gentle, and quirky, and made me feel safe and confident.  At one point between contractions early in labor she asked if I would mind if she knitted.  There was plenty of downtime and it seemed like a perfectly good way to pass the time during early labor.  My husband, doula and nurse were also by my side all day.  Remember, I had been diagnosed with preeclampsia and was being induced with pitocin.  That means LOTS of monitoring, which means LOTS of cords everywhere, well, not everywhere... Anyway, our doula was so good at keeping me moving I barely noticed the cords, until I had to use the bathroom, which I did frequently.  I bounced on a birthing ball, I leaned on the bed, I leaned on my husband, rocked in a rocking chair, slept a little in bed, but between each of these positions I went into the bathroom and sat on the toilet.  The bathroom was so small, and quiet, and dark.  It wasn't a conscious decision, it's just where I needed to be before moving onto the next position.  Maybe it was like hitting the reset button, giving me renewed strength to let my body do what my body was designed to do?  Maybe I just like bathrooms.   At one point, upon sitting on the commode for the tenth, twelfth or thirteenth time, my husband asked, "Are you actually going to the bathroom?"  It was adorable and I could tell he'd been wanting to know the answer for some time.  I simply said, "Not always".

It went on like that for some time.  Position, bathroom, new position, bathroom.  At the time the hospital did not have wireless monitors so the water birth I had been hoping for was not an option, but you can read about the water birth of our third baby here.  Our doula did the most wonderful thing and brought a large bucket of hot water to soak my feet.  I rocked in the rocking chair while she rubbed my warm feet.  It was only my feet, but it was so soothing.  All the while they were increasing the pitocin and I was holding strong.  And then around 2 p.m., something changed, unfortunately not my cervix.  I was still at 4 cm and struggling to handle the new labor pattern.  Maybe it was the increase in pitocin, maybe it was my body taking over, who knows, but it was different and hard, really hard.  I swear the contractions were coming on top of each other.  I sobbed a bit and our midwife called a meeting of the minds. The midwife, nurse, doula and my hubby all gathered around and we talked about our options.  We considered that my progress had slowed, we considered that first babies can be pokey, we considered that my blood pressure was high, we considered that baby seemed perfectly healthy, we considered that I was getting tired.  The consensus was that this could be a very long labor and that maybe I could use a break.  So, after yet another visit to the thinking throne, aka the toilet, I asked for the epidural.  I was sad, but I was also tired and the idea of resting sounded so nice.  Because of my high blood pressure they had to get a platelet count before I could get the epidural.  The midwife felt that we should turn the pitocin off so I could rest and then we'd restart it at half strength (sorry for the lack of medical terminology here) once I had the epidural.  She said it should take about 15 minutes for my labor to stop.

Imagine my surprise after 30 minutes when they told me that my body was laboring on it's own.  In a grand gesture they stripped all the cords off and we switch to intermittent monitoring.  It felt so freeing even though I didn't feel overly inhibited before.  I could breathe in between contractions, but they were still strong and regular.  I was able to manage these contractions.  The ones that my body was creating on it's own.  I started to feel nauseous around  3:30 p.m.  The lab was backed up and we were still waiting on the platelet count.  That was the furthest thing from my mind at that point.  The second time I puked my bag of waters exploded and I was a bit surprised.  The amazing women supporting us agreed that it might be wise to check me.  I was feeling excited and nervous and curious and anxious.  Then they told me that I'm 9 almost 10 cm.  Now I was overwhelmed.  In another grand gesture the midwife waved her hand in the air like a queen waving away a servant and said, "Call off the epidural."

I again sought the comfort of the porcelain god and my husband and I sat in quiet darkness.  I looked up at him and at first thought he was laughing, but closer inspection revealed tears.  He was crying.  He let out a mucusy giggle when he realized I was looking at him.  He said, "So this is really happening."  To which I responded, "Like right now!  Uh, I feel something".  Overhearing this, our amazing team of women gently guide me to the bed.  I didn't think about it, couldn't have thought about it if they'd asked, I just climbed onto the bed and draped myself over the inclined back of the bed.  As I did the nurse said, "Hurry, I see his head."  Sheets were thrown down quickly and they said it would feel similar to going poop.  To which I replied, "Good, because I might". (Poop that is).  The midwife responded, "We like poop almost as much as we like vomit."  I laughed and with the next contraction his head was out.  And if you want to know (cause you know you're a little curious now), I did poo a little and I hardly noticed.  It was not a big deal.

I can't say that I pushed, because that's not exactly what happened.  My uterus pushed.  I was bearing down, but only because there was no other choice.  It was nothing like I'd ever seen on television with people counting and me holding my breath (not usually recommended but still widely practiced, by the way) and my legs in the air.  I was in a natural birthing position and my body was pushing my baby out.  There was no choice other than to bear down.  With one more push he was out.  My strong, healthy, perfect baby boy with his dark head of hair had made his way into this world and our hearts at 4:28 p.m. on August 21, 2007.  He weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz. was 17 3/4 inches and was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.  I was a mama.  We were parents.

Looking down at Leon and I from the top of the raised bed.

I believe that I was in transition when I described the change in labor and I believe the pitocin was making it even harder.  I also feel strongly that if I had the epidural things might have ended differently.  Maybe my labor would have slowed drastically. Maybe I would have had to push for a long time and been swollen and sore.  Maybe I would not have been able to push effectively and more interventions would have been required.  Maybe he would have busted out right then and there.  Maybe it would have unfolded much the same way.  No one knows for sure.  I do know that without pain medication my body was able to do exactly what it needed to to birth my sweet boy and I wasn't a martyr (a description I loathe).  I wasn't suffering.  I was birthing.  I was becoming a mother the best way I knew how.