halloweek: boo corner

after Q's first halloween
we got the pictures back
(aka uploaded & looked at them on the computer)
& he was just so cute!
so i had to print one
& frame it
& i thought
'hey, it would be fun to put this in the halloween box
(aka rubbermaid container filled with
spiderwebs & fake pumpkins)
& get it out next year...'
so that's what i did
& it was such a great little surprise
(the elephant picture up there)
that i did it again
for his second halloween:

(ah! look at those chubby froggy cheeks!
where did they go?)

the halloween of 2006
we had a new trick-or-treater with us:

& we had a boy who was not
very interested in posing for the camera...
no problem!
just say 'candy!'

2007 miss m was so against the
adorable (adorable!) bumble bee costume
that i had to trick her into a '80's girl' costume
side pony tail
pink checkered vans
but when it came to heading out
she needed a coat
& different shoes
& a hat
& she needed her baby stroller
so she became a little mommy
(& gave me a preview of the clothing fun we would have in the future)
there was no time to do pictures
so i have one blurry,
while-we-were-out shot...
when i was looking for pictures to print
i liked another fallish one better
(below, top right)
(there's those cheeks again!)

(2007 was Q's race car driver year, (above, bottom left)

2008 & 2009
were years that i just had
to take what i could get,
grumps or not
(above, bottom right & top left)

putting them all into a multi frame
saves space
& doesn't call attention to the less than stellar
(more than realistic)
shots...
just makes them all seem festive :)

i also have one of brian, Q & i
in the pumpkin patch in 2005
that i added to the bunch

(miss m is in the picture too...about the size of a tiny pumpkin, i believe :)

i put the year on a couple of the frames
& i think i might do it to the others, too...

that way i don't have to rely on my memory :)

(blurrrrry)

full disclosure:
i did frame the first two right after halloween
but then our little sweetie addition came in 2006
& i had every intention of
framing the best shots
& then again in 2007 (great intentions!)
2008 (good intentions!)
2009 (didn't even remember)
(believe me, every year when i took the halloween box out
i would feel so bad that there were just the two pictures
& only of Q...
poor second child syndrome!)

then last week
i was getting ready to host our bible study
thinking about our decorations
(already out for 3 weeks :)
i decided
this is the year!
& i found all of the shots on the computer
& got them printed
& framed them!
thank goodness for house guests!
well over half of our decorating
is attributed to people coming over
(sadly, we don't have people over that much
so there are some pretty bare spaces)

this is one of my favorite holiday traditions...
so cute to see them grow
& the kids love it so much
(miss m wants to keep the ladybug frame in her room
even after halloween :)

check back tomorrow...
there's more boo to come!
(i have a little guest designer coming to share)

:)

halloweek: spooky chocolate mousse

when my sister & i were younger
middle school
(maybe elementary)
our favorite dessert was
'pudding in a cloud'
a little concoction designed by the kraft corporation:
a layer of cool whip
'spread onto bottom and up side of each dish with back of spoon'
(don't even think about using a knife or fork!
kraft will revoke your mac & cheese license...)
& then a spoonful of chocolate pudding in the center...
often we would make
'cloud in a pudding'
(more chocolate that way)

a few weeks ago
i tried the mousse recipe
(conveniently located on the side of the pudding box)
& decided to make it when
we hosted bible study at our house...

i wanted to do individual cups of it
& was trying to figure out
what i would put them in...
while perusing the halloween baking aisle at target
i saw my answer:


these little baking cups are so cool!
they are designed for making mini cakes
(we used star shaped ones for Q's second birthday)
but they were perfect for this...

so
here's the deal
(disclaimer:
i'm no pioneer woman
i'm just going to show what i did)

assemble ingredients:

(pretend there are mini chocolate chips &
cool whip in this picture)
(see? proof: not a cooker blogger person...
can't even think up a good name for it...
double proof!)

put chocolate chips & milk in a bowl
microwave 2 minutes
whip together until mixed


add pudding mix to bowl
& whip again


use a measuring cup
(or whatever...triple proof!)
to scoop pudding into baking cups


put into the refrigerator for a while
(at least 20 minutes)
i put all of the ghosts into a lasagna pan
so i wouldn't have to put them in & take them out
of the fridge one by one
(that could take like 45 seconds!)

when the mousse is set
spread cool whip over the top
(i used skim milk & cool whip free
so the fat & calorie count is loooow
& you know what that means?
you can eat two!)
(also not a diet blogger person)

add some mini chocolate chip eyes
& you've got some new little friends
to delight a surprise the neighbors



(note: i made these the night before we served them
& in some parts the cool whip was thin & settled a bit
& pudding showed through...
kind-of looked like ghosts who used dirty sheets
for their costume
& hey, i'm all for reality but
if you want pure white ghosties
i'd put the cool whip on no more than
a couple of hours before you serve them...
that sounded a little bit cooker bloggery)

so yummy it's scary :)

come back tomorrow for a
little halloween decorating show & tell!

boo!

:)