Put Me in the Zoo!

Walker and Kathryn participated in their school's "Zoo" this past Friday! They were so.excited. They made their own costumes, and might I say, the teachers and kiddos worked wonders with some paper bags, paint and yarn. The animals were absolutely precious! The parents, siblings, and younger classes fed the animals popcorn. Too cute!

Here's my little alligator (aka Kathryn)....



And my giraffe, Walker...

And here's Frances giving us her best growl after seeing all of the animals...

A Truckload of Fall + A Recipe

Earlier this week, I finally gathered up some pumpkins and a mum for the front of the house!

Can I say, I just LOVE this time of year!!!

But you know what I may love more than Fall? These crackers!!! Promise me you'll try them. They are made just like the popular ranch oyster crackers, but you use Cheese Its instead!

And promise me that when you do try them, that you will use the Big Cheese Its. It really does make all the difference in the world. Sorry oyster crackers, I may never purchase you again:)

Following recipe adapted from Hidden Valley Ranch Oyster Cracker recipe...

• ½ teaspoon dill weed
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 box Big Cheese Its
  
• 1 packet (1 ounce) Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
• Optional: ¼ teaspoon lemon pepper or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Place crackers in a gallon-size bag. Pour oil over crackers; seal bag and toss to coat.
Add dressing mix and spice; seal bag and toss again until coated. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 250°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Etsy Roundup: Oh My!

You know I love me some Etsy, but every once in a while, I come across some things that just make me wonder! A few recent examples...

Baby Doos

Monogram Stamp from Wedding Photo

Ultrasound Shower Invitation

It just makes me love Etsy even more knowing you can find EVERYTHING there!!!

Dinosaur Dig

Well, it's almost October, and I'm just now posting pictures from Labor Day! The pictures were just too cute for me not to share...

Labor Day Rewind: We made a quick trip to Camden to visit with Nana and Papa. They surprised Walker and Kathryn with homemade dinosaur eggs. The eggs were buried in the sandbox (as seen in the first picture), so not only did the kiddos have a fun time digging for the eggs, but then they were able to crack them open!



They saved an egg for Little Miss who especially enjoyed wearing her safety glasses.


Thank you, Nana, for sharing your recipe!!!

Dinosaur Eggs

What you need:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup used coffee grinds
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/4 cup sand
• 3/4 cup water
• mixing bowl
• small plastic toy dinosaurs

What you do:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

2. Slowly add the water and knead with your hands until the mixture is like bread dough.

3. Break off a piece of dough and roll it into approximately the size of a tennis ball.

4. Make a hole with your finger in the center of the ball big enough to hide the dinosaurs inside.

5. Put a tiny dinosaur inside of each egg. Plug the hole with some extra dough.

6. You can let your dinosaur egg air dry for several days until hard. If you are in a hurry you can choose to bake the dinosaur egg in the oven on a cookie sheet at 150 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

NOTE: If you want them you eggs colored add 1 tablespoon of powder tempera paint to tint your eggs when mixing different colors.

Beauty Product Review

I thought I would share a few products I have been enjoying recently. I called on my trusty sidekick to help me...

She's typical girl in that she loves trying on shoes, brushing her hair, and running around in her sister's "big girl" underpants (don't worry there's a diaper underneath)!

So, here's the lineup and a short preview of each...

Loreal's Go 360 Clean Anti-Breakout Facial Cleanser...I have really enjoyed the built-in scrub brush this product offers. I still use a washcloth to get all of the soap off, but the brush is perfect for cleansing pores. I honestly feel like I have seen pore size reduction since using this, so for now it's my face cleanser of choice.

Neutrogena Eye Makeup Remover Lotion...I go back and forth between liquid and cream eye makeup removers, but I'm on my second bottle of this particular one. I love the moisturizing qualities of it, but I especially love that it gets all of the makeup off.

Aveeno Positively Ageless Moisturizer...I have used this moisturizer for years. I love it because it has a 30 SPF (lots of face moisturizers just have a 15) and because it doesn't break out my skin.

Loreal Voluminous Extra-Volume Collagen Mascara...I feel as though I am forever on a quest for a good mascara. It may be the one beauty product that I would be willing spend big bucks on if it's a good one. Well, good news, I found one I love, and you can get it at your local drugstore!!
This mascara goes on easily, stays on, and the brush is just a regular ole brush! I don't know about you guys, but I do.not.like all of these funky shaped and sized mascara brushes. This one is just right! I'm on my 4th or 5th tube of this stuff. I wear black brown for the daytime and black noir for dressing up occasions (so you can imagine which one I have to buy most often:)

Let me know if you try any of these products or if you have your own favorite!

Our Weekend

Halftime Poses...


Firework Celebrations...

Bring On Fall

I found these "Fall" products during a quick Target run last Friday...

Yummy Pumpkin Spice Waffles
they would go perfectly with this popular recipe for cinnamon honey butter...

And Essie nail polish in Case Study...

described as a rich camel beige

And if these aren't "harvest-y" enough for you, I snagged a jar of Nutella at WalMart today....

Because after reading this recipe for Pumpkin Nutella Swirl Bread passed along by Valerie I may never make regular pumpkin bread again!