The little things

In addition to all of our big outings this fall, we've also been trying to give attention to the little things that make fall fun. I was at Michael's the other day (can you say, "Fish out of water?") looking for fall leaves to add to the dining room centerpiece I created out of a Target candle holder and a bunch of gourds. I found no fall leaves, but I did find a kit for making a gingerbread Haunted House. And an Olivia book about Halloween.

I brought these things home last Tuesday and they were still in a bag on the kitchen table when Evan and I got home from the bus. I had intended to contemplate whether I wanted to hide it until I was ready to break it out, but I waited too long and it was the first thing Evan saw when he walked into the house. As if he spotted it through the bag.

So, for the next couple of days, it was all I heard about. We ended up putting it together on Thursday night before bedtime, but we couldn't decorate it because we read that the frosting holding the pieces together has to set for at least an hour before you start decorating. So we decorated it on Friday afternoon after school.

I think it turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself. I had to do most of the icing, because My Mercy that icing bag is hard to squeeze. I may have carpal tunnel now. But the kids decided where to put all the candy and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience.

This week, Pressley turned her attention to begging to carve the pumpkin. Having been the proud owners of some Jack-o-lanterns with some caved in mouths in past years, we were trying to put them off as long as possible. But, Tuesday night we finally caved (no pun intended). While Corin was doing the icky part, the kids and I looked on the Internet and they picked out a face they liked and then we made a template. I know it is not fancy, but they are super proud of the way it turned out. (See below.)

Well, we're off to go pick Evan up from karate and go trick-or-treating at Corin's office, so I will likely continue my streak of posting every day for a bit longer before I drop off the face of the blog-osphere again. I'll need to tell you how that goes, and about the costume I "made" for Evan's storybook costume at school today, and of course, about the actual trick-or-treating....

Whew. I'm going to need a vacation in November.