Fall Candy Treats

It's time for tricks and treats, isn't it?

As the weather gets cooler and we spend more time inside, I enjoy making treats--I just wish I had more time to do it!

These fun Fall Candy Treats are easy and don't take much time at all. I made a video of it, to show you!

Of course I did some experimenting--the gummy bears and Twizzlers weren't to my liking--and you should experiment with things you like. You can also coat anything in chocolate the same way.

That's all for now. Happy Trick-or-Treating!

GPOB - Dress-up Time!

So excited to have CHRISTINE RAINS guest post with us this week! She's sharing some economical tips from her cute geeky point of view!

GEEK PARENTING ON A BUDGET – DRESS UP TIME!

Every kid loves to play dress up and pretend they're someone or something else. As a geek parent, this is one of my favorite things to do with my little geek. We pretend to be superheroes, robots, and talking cats.

Costumes are expensive, though. Never mind all the special props like a sonic screwdriver or Green Lantern's lantern. I'm jealous of those geek parents who can afford to buy the awesome outfits so the whole family can be the crew of Serenity or the Power Rangers. And those clever nerds were are talented enough to make spectacular costumes.

Every time I try to sew something, I end up with bandages on all my fingers. We also live on a budget. There are still tons of ways to have dress up fun. Here are a few tips:

1. Post-Halloween sales. Costumes, make-up, and accessories all on sale for 50%. And if you wait a week, it'll be 75% to 80% off. I stock up on the face paint because my little geek loves to pretend he's different animals. Children's costumes do sell out fast, but no worries. Buy adult ones and cut them to fit the kids.

2. Recyclables are your friend. You might only see trash, but through a child's eyes, an empty tissue box can be turned into a treasure chest and the paper towel roll into a telescope. One of my favorite recyclable-made accessories is a jet pack. Grab two 2 liter plastic bottles and tape them together. Have your little geek decorate them and use construction paper to make straps. Then blast off!

3. Second-hand clothes. Whether you get them at a yard sale, a thrift store, or from the back of your closet, don't underestimate the value of these old duds. Adult size button-up shirts make excellent robes. Black for a Hogwarts student and white for White Mage from Final Fantasy. Big t-shirts can be tied around the waist with ribbon or string to make them tunics for knights in training.

What costumes have you made on a budget?

Christine Rains is a writer and geek mom. She is married to her nerdy best friend, and they have one adorable little geek. All of them are too smart for their own good, even their cat who knows how to flush the toilet. Christine has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood but make her a great Jeopardy player. She has one novel and several short stories and novellas published. You can visit her website here.

Eerie Entertainment!

Who doesn't love lists? Now, what if I told you I had a list of things that included PICTURES?? Anyone cheering?

While looking up all things Halloween, I was thoroughly enjoying flashbacks as I perused the lists that Halloween had to offer. From movies, books, to things to do, I was in listing heaven. Some things on the list I have done, read, seen, and some I'm marking "to-do".

BUT WAIT! Shouldn't there be a list of things to do?? Things I MUST do?? Yes! Yes there is!

My Fav (any season) movie wasn't listed, nor was my fav horror book... so I here they are!

QUESTION TO THE READER:
1. What's your fav movie during Halloween?
2. Ever read any of those spooky books?
3. Wanna cuddle to a horror movie? I meant with Freddy Krueger.

We'd like to give a standing O to Tammy for taking over this week. She did a fantastic job! Thanks, Tammy! We hope you'll come back soon!

Tammy's a really real housewife...after trying to sleep in, hit snooze 3 times, rush 4 kids to school, go to work, come home to cook, clean little messes here and there, run kids to functions, swap laundry, work on current book, and kiss heavily on her man. Then...and only then, does she finally claim her title. *falls asleep with book in hand*

Tasty Trick or Treats

Tammy's back!!! And we're lucky to have her. Tammy is all sorts of fun and awesomeness. If you're not following her blog, well, that's just not smart. Go follow...HERE

I think Halloween treats have been kicked to the curb compared to Thanksgiving and the show-off Christmas. Plus, since this year my little nephews are here and they're used to Disneyworld's Halloween antics, I have to make the food super creepy good! Therefore, Pinterest was smokin' with all my research. Wanna see my menu idea?? Take a look. IF YOU DARE!!!

  *Donuts made with plastic fangs and chocolate chips.
  *Bloody fingers made by slicing a finger nail and several lines for finger                                                  creases out of a hot dog; add ketchup for blood.
  *Mummy hot dogs made with cheese wrapped around the hot dog by cut                                                up crescent roll dough.

*Pumpkin barf made from guacamole; pair with chips.
*Spider eggs made from hor d'oeuvres with olive slices and whole olives.

 *Zombie head is made from meatloaf with onion eyes/teeth and bacon on top.
 * Zombie body is chicken legs, thighs, sausage, hotdogs, etc.

*Popcorn hand made with popcorn and candy corn for nails in plastic glove; 
      pair with spider ring.
*Pumpkin made from dyed rice krispie treats and tootsie roll stem.




TAMMY'S QUESTION TO THE READER:
1. Do you have any favorite Halloween treats?
2. Think you'll try any of these creepy foods?
3. Ever mix candy corn and peanuts? (So good!)

Tammy is a really real housewife...after trying to sleep in, hit snooze 3 times, rush 4 kids to school, go to work, come home to cook, clean little messes here and there, run kids to functions, swap laundry, work on current book, and kiss heavily on my man. Then...and only then, does she claim her housewife queen crown...which slides off as she falls asleep with book in hand. 

Thrifty Threads!

This week we welcome TAMMY THERIAULT! She's got the goods for this Halloween!

My earliest memory of thrifty costumes for Halloween was when we moved to El Paso, TX October of 1989. We were in an apartment complex, and Halloween was a few days away. So good ol' Dad put sheets over us, cut a few holes, and we all went with a pillow case in hand to each of our neighbor's doors. Granted, going to an apartment complex is nearly cheating, but who could resist 4 Ghost Girls?!

However, in this old photo, you can clearly see we knew what a good costume was way before 1989. It cut your face, was uncomfortable, and plastic. Heavily plastic.

Now, I don't spend more than $10 per kid on a costume, and I go to the thrift stores to make it happen. I can piece together anything! Or they choose to dive into our big tub full of old costumes. (Great for those rainy days). In fact, check out these thrifty ones from last year!

Scream, Superman, Snow Queen, Ladybug

My kids have never complained especially when I do the whole "$40 for like 2 hours??" gripe. Besides, it's so dark, half the time you can't show off your costume anyways!

In the end, it's not about the expensive costumes, but the free candy you get to chow down while the kids are sleeping! And that is priceless!

QUESTIONS TO THE READER:
1. Are you a thrifty costume buyer?
2. What was your earliest costume memory growing up?
3. Admit it...you cut your face on those dang plastic masks, didn't you?



Tammy's Links

My Blog - My Facebook - My Goodreads -Twitter

Costumes + Creativity = Confidence

Don't be afraid to be different. Make a statement. Be bold or be shy, but be YOU!

Here are some hilarious (and EASY) costume ideas that might make you think. But these folks were brave enough (and smart enough) to come up with them. See if you can figure out what/who they are...The costume names are listed at the bottom.

There are tons more, but you have work to do!! Tell me others you thought of in the comments first!
Happy Hump Day!

Answers: Cereal Killer, Deviled Egg, 50 Shades of Gray, Identity Thief, Spice Rack, Ceiling Fan (I had the hardest time figuring that one out!), Dust Bunny

Jack-O

When the spooks have a midnight Jamboree
They break it up with fiendish glee
Ghosts are bad, but the one that's cursed
It's the Headless Horseman, he's the worst

...

So when you're riding home tonight
Make for the bridge with all your might
He'll be down in the hollow there
He needs your head, look out, beware

With a hip-hip and a clippity-clop
He's out looking for a head to swap
So don't try to figure out a plan
You can't reason with a headless man

Lyrics borrowed from The Headless Horseman song from Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow cartoon

This is one of my all time favorite Disney cartoons - so fun to watch at Halloween, and scary! Plus Bing Crosby narrates and sings - awesome nostalgia!

To wrap up the week, I'm sharing one of my kid's pumpkin crafts... turns out you can make a pumpkin or jack-o-lantern out of just about anything!


This lovely pumpkin is made from orange cloth wrapped around a full roll of toilet paper. The stem is brown construction paper folded and rolled up. Ta daa!




And check out this cool carved pumpkin trailer from BH&G...



But wait - stop by Marcy Hatch's Mainewords. They have an awesome pumpkin carving fair and she treats us to some great shots of them! Check these pumpkins out from a couple years ago.

People get more creative every year with their carvings. Minions are prevalent again this year. And I love carving - usually mascots from my boys' favorite teams... What jack-o's have you seen?

Happy October!