Halloween Eye Candy

They sure do look as sweet as candy, don't they?

I've been bad about blogging lately. It's the one thing I can slack off on; well, that and laundry, and I tackled that yesterday - piles and piles of it!

Anyways, here are some fun "Halloweenish" pictures we've taken throughout the month of October. Hattie had her first costume party that she attended a few Saturdays ago, and I got the girls dressed up and did a little photo-shoot before-hand. Sissy is NOT happy about being a flower, I can tell you that!


Sissy-bear (Mary Ellen's current nickname) took her first steps yesterday :)!!!! Can I get a FINALLY!?!?!? We are so proud of her, and I have to say "Sissy-bear" fits her so well because she is as cuddly and warm as a bear, but boy, does she have a temper like one, too!


Hattie is sporting a "recession costume." It comes complete with things we already had, and I just put everything together in the most cohesive, "costumey" way. Then I went to Hobby Lobby and spent $1.29 on materials to make the antenna. She's the cutest butterfly I ever did see!

And Sissy-bear is probably the sweetest yet most stubborn flower I ever did see.

I was in College Station with Sean to watch the Aggies (WHOOP!) beat the h*ll outta............ someone?- can't remember who?! (WHOOP!), and we had time, so I stopped at the Once Upon A Child up there. If you ever go up to College Station and have babies, you need to go to this resale shop. It is probably the best one I've ever been to............ or rather, second best to one that I would go to while living near Plano. Dallas mamas spare no expense at dressing their babies. This shop in College Station has LOTS and LOTS of great, beautiful clothes at really cheap prices. I try to go there atleast once a year. So I saw this little flower costume and thought it would go perfect with Hattie's recession butterfly costume. A flower and a butterfly just go so well together, right :).
I also got this little dress for $4:

Cute, huh!?!? So you Aggie moms need to go check it out, but don't take all the cute girl clothes in sizes 18-24 mos or 3-4T! :)
And finally, because this is getting longer than I expected, Hattie had her Halloween parade and program today at school. She's the spazzy blue crayon in the middle:


That's all folks! Have a happy and SAFE HALLOWEEN!!!! And remember to "fall-back" on Sunday. I sure hope my kids get the memo to sleep in an extra hour!

This is YUM-O!

So I rarely have luck with crock pot recipes. They just usually come out bland or underwhelming, but using the crock pot is something I really want to get into the habit of doing more because it makes dinner time "easy-peasy."

Yesterday I hit the jackpot with this recipe I found in the October issue of Southern Living. It was yummy (and would have been even better if it hadn't been 95 degrees outside). I can't wait to make it again when it's cold outside.

Slow-cooker Turkey Chili

1.25 lb. lean ground turkey
1 large onion chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (1.25 oz) chili seasoning mix
1 (12 oz) can of beer
1.5 cups frozen corn
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
3/4 tsp salt

Cook first 4 ingredients in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until turkey crumbles and is no longer pink. Stir in beer and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Spoon mixture into crock pot, stir in corn and next 6 ingredients until well blended. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours. Serve with chopped red onion and shredded cheese on top. And some cornbread! YUM-O!

An Update

She...........

*has the most crooked bangs ever. Poor baby got a mama hair-cut. After I took this picture and looked at those awful crooked bangs, I got the scissors out and did more chopping. Now they are short but straighter!

*is trying to say so many things, but her verbal abilities aren't quite up to par with the stuff she is trying to say. So many things right now come out as, "dada," but in context and with her emphasis on different syllables depending on what word she is trying to say, I know she is either saying "Daddy," "peekaboo," "thank you," or "Hattie." She has said "Aaaddy" a few times for Hattie but usually still sticks with "dada." "Mama" only has one meaning because I'm special (and usually the food source!) :).

*is still not walking. I'm not worried. In some ways, she's such a daredevil, but in other ways, she's sooo cautious. Or maybe it's just that she wants to be carried everywhere ;). She's a smart one! I predict she might be taking steps by Christmas.

*plays so well by herself. It's often that I find her playing in a corner of the playroom with a toy or two. And she stays that way for a long time, like 30 minutes sometimes. After having a firstborn who still has problems with entertaining herself (probably because she is my firstborn), I am in awe and so grateful for this ability!

*knows what the word, "NO!" means but rarely chooses to abide by it. She's a stinker!

*has figured out how to put her finger up her nose and make "nasally noises." It's her new favorite pastime.

*is at such a fun, fun age! She is soaking everything up. It's almost as if I can see the wheels in her little head turning. I love it!

She..........

*is terrified of the dark right now - A new fear for her. As of last week, she needs a nightlight and her door cracked for bedtime.

*was taking her nap so well and is now only taking it about 3 times a week. If no nap, she has an hour and a half of quiet time in her room in bed. I'll take it!

*is loving her dance class. I got to watch her a few weeks ago (parents get to sit in and watch once a month), and she did so well and just shined the whole hour.

*listens to everything we say, especially when we're not talking to her but to each other. We have to be waaaaay careful!

*is not sucking her thumb anymore!!!!!! I get no credit for this. Two weeks ago we were at the library, and this old (scary - even to me!) librarian came up to Hattie while she was sucking her thumb and told her if she doesn't stop doing that, her face is going to start looking funny because her teeth will start sticking out of her mouth. It made a HUGE impression (and scared the livin' daylights out of her), and ever since, she and her thumb are not friends! This might be the culprit of rare naps these days, I'm thinking, but I am grateful this habit is over (hopefully!) before baby teeth fall out and permanent ones come in.

*challenges me a lot these days. She talks back often and has become more willful. I fuss at her a lot. I spend a lot of time correcting and redirecting. Sometimes I think having a 3 year old is more exhausting than a newborn, but then, at the end of the day, I get in bed and don't have to get back out until about 6:30 a.m. the next day, and I think, "Nah! Newborns are way harder!" :) It is definitely mentally exhausting right now, though.
One thing I've started doing with her is reading a Psalm every day at lunchtime. While she's munching on her lunch (keeps her quiet!), I read a psalm. They are short enough and chalked full of things that I need to hear in the middle of the day, and after I'm done reading, we talk about it in a way she can understand, so I hope she's getting something out of it, too. Makes for a calm moment anyways, one that we both look forward to!

*is so friendly and so polite to other children. I get to see her interact with kids her age often, and most of the time, she makes me so proud with how gentle and nurturing she is, even at 3!

*is at such a fun age right now, too! She has a sense of humor. She laughs when she's supposed to while I read her a book or when she watches a cartoon. And she's got such a great imagination and wants to help with everything! She still thinks that Daddy and Mommy hung the moon and know it all. I'll enjoy that while it lasts!

That's all I got for now! Happy October!!!!! Now begins my favorite time of year! For the next three months, my house will be decorated for some upcoming holiday: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas!!! I always feel like the house looks so empty and glum in January. Now we just need our first real cold front of the season!