I wish the rain looked like this

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Rain + me = lazy. 

Wasn't it just 85 degrees two days ago?  Where did this rain come from?  I would like it to go back to there PDQ.  Walking my 5 year old to and from school in the rain is no biggie.  Walking my 5 year old to and from school in the rain with a 2.5 year old is drink inducing.  And I'd like to give a straight up middle finger to my allergies that are wrecking my program.  So there.  A very negative post for you all today.  Hope you are enjoying the weather, feeling good and otherwise not as crabby as me.  

Happy Thursday.

Sharon

Image Source: artist - Mathioloe, work is called Color Blind

Found Via: Another Nicole who found it via Pinterest via here

Washcloth Ghost Tutorial From Camp Spooky

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My readers who are local should go check out Camp Spooky for themselves.  But for my readers who are out of town, you too can create these adorable and super easy washcloth ghosts.  They are cheap to make and would be the perfect activity for a kid's Halloween party.  

Supplies needed:

Washcloth (could also use felt, scraps of fabric, old t-shirts, even a napkin as long as it is fairly tough)

Cotton balls - just a handful per each ghost

White yarn - string or rubberbands would also work

Markers to embellish them

SO easy!  But really cute! 

First, lay out your washcloth, fabric, what have you in front of you. 

Next, place a handful of cotton balls in the center of the washcloth. 

Next, cut a small piece of white yarn.  Gather the washcloth around the cotton balls and tie off with the yarn. 

Of course if you were going to have the kids embellish them, you could have them draw on the washcloth before you added the cotton balls, or once it is complete so they could add a face, etc. 

I know I just shared the link last week for my Halloween ideas from last year, but here is a similar craft I did with fabric and styrofoam.  I have to say, the cotton balls would be WAY cheaper!  

Thanks again Knott's Berry Farm for a fabulous event at Camp Spooky!  

Sharon

all images are mine. 

Snoopy's Costume Party at Camp Spooky

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Me (in pastel jumper) and my sis with Snoopy - circa 1984.  Boom

I grew up in Orange County pretty close to Knott's Berry Farm and went a lot.  But I have never ever been to Knott's during their Halloween Haunt.  I hate Halloween.  It's the Vegas of holidays.  I don't understand why, just because it is a "holiday", that it is ok for children to be shown dismembered babies, zombies with blood coming out of their eyes and way too many "naughty" nurses.  All in the name of Halloween.  This wouldn't fly in March.  But in October, allowed.  Plus I am a sissy and don't like surprises or to be scared.  In high school, when my sister and all my friends were heading out to Halloween Haunt - year after year - I wouldn't even ride in the car with my mom to drop them off.  Even the drop off point was too close to those made up monsters.  So Knott's is not the first place I would think of to take my kids for Halloween fun.  BUT I was recently invited to check out Snoopy's Costume Party at Camp Spooky (get it! How cute is that!) so I decided to give it a try.  Besides, at 8 o'clock in them morning, how much evil could there really be?  Monsters have to sleep too, right? 

It seems like there are very few places where kids can wear their costumes now, aside from trick-or-treating.  Knott's encourages the kids to come dressed up.  The Snoopy's Costume Party event is such a cute idea.  Every Saturday and Sunday in October, for the regular price of admission, your kids will be treated to some extra special activities in Camp Spooky (does not include any food or drink).  

My mom and my youngest son were my dates for this fun VIP event.  To start the morning off, we were treated to breakfast at Lucy's Lunchbox.  I don't think they usually serve breakfast, but the restaurant is cute and you can have birthday parties here if you choose to celebrate in the park.  And characters roam around while you are there.  How fun are those kid's meals?  They are served in a really cute plastic lunch pail that you can take home with you.  

Camp Snoopy, I mean, Camp Spooky is decorated really cute.  You can tell that there are some decorations meant for the super scary Halloween Haunt but for the most part, they really make an effort to keep the area kid friendly. 

After breakfast, we checked out all the rides in Camp Spooky.  Because we got to go in before the park was open to the public, we were pretty much the only people on the rides.  Which is awesome since my son has zero patience for lines.  We were the only people on the first 5 rides we went on.  All the ride operators were SO nice.  They always asked him if he had a good time and wished us a good day.  I'm sure they were not happy to be up early just for us, but they were awesome.  Fun fact:  My sister once worked as a ride operator in Camp Snoopy...

One of the fun activities the park offers just for Halloween is trick or treating.  They provide this cute map when you enter Camp Snoopy, along with the bag, and there are stops throughout where you can get candy.  One stop was Dum Dum suckers, which delighted me because my allergic son can eat them.  

How cute are these washcloth ghosts?!  Tucked just inside the entrance to one of the rides, there were two craft stations set up for the kids to make their own ghosts.  They put out markers for the kids to personalize them with faces, scribbles, whatever.  They were even willing to make them for the kids if they were too small.  I loved this!  Be sure to see the separate "how-to" post on this!

I'm sorry.  But my son is THE cutest thing on the face of the planet.  That face gets him whatever he wants.  Sorry, family.  This one is spoiled and rotten all because of me.  And that face.  

We somehow skipped the other maze and purposely skipped something called "Creepy Crawly Cave" (listen, I will do Halloween for my kids if I have to, but I'm never going to be down with bugs) but we had fun in Haunted Harvest.  I must have asked both people working there 30 times if it was scary.  They assured me it wasn't and they were right (aside from a kind of sketchy one eyed scarecrow near the end that I glanced at but held it together for the sake of my child - and it he didn't even flinch at it so...)  I ADORE the Charlie Brown movies that come on TV around each holiday especially The Great Pumpkin.  One of my favorite things about this maze was all the character cutouts throughout.  So cute!  

I highly recommend bringing your kids to Knott's for Camp Spooky!  We had a blast!  

The temperature steadily rose while we were there prompting my son to abandon his fleece costume.  When we were done with Camp Spooky, we decided to walk around the park to see what has changed since the last time my mom was there (years!).

Aside from a few very creepy clown heads decorating light poles, crazy big fake spiders and evil pumpkin men hanging off buildings, it is still safe to walk around the rest of the park in the day time.  In fact, how cute is that bone wreath?  I decided to further spoil my son with an Icee that was almost as tall as he was.  And my research shows that I am the only person who wants a funnel cake before noon.  Because NO one was selling them.  I had to settle for the lady holding a fake one.  It was not tasty.  

We had a blast at Knott's and more specifically, Camp Spooky!  A huge thank you to Knott's Berry Farm and GIGASAVVY for putting this together and hosting my family for the day!  I love being able to share things with my kids that I shared with my mom growing up.  And Knott's is a place we know and love.  

Sharon

all photos are mine

*Disclosure:

I was given entry in to the park for myself and a few guests, treated to breakfast and given cowboy hats for the kids.  My opinions can not be bought, though.  They are all mine. 

September Inspiration Board Challenge - The Final Board

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It is that time again!  I'm so excited to share the final board for my monthly (I say that loosely) Inspiration Board Challenge!  Danielle did not disappoint with her board.  She created her board for an afternoon bridal luncheon.  

How rad are those purple shoes!?!  And that dress?!  I have to have it!  Dear Santa...

I love how she worked in all the colors in such fun ways.  Loving the blue cocktails for a fun pop of color without going for the obvious in linens or decor.  Super subtle and awesome.  Yup, this board turned out so great!!! 

Big thank you to Danielle for participating!!!!!  

Photo Sources:

The dress - The perfect Stella McCartney dress for the luncheon

The shoes - The must-have sandals for the occasion  Christian Louboutin Purple Straratata Glitter Platform Sandals

Party Invitation - Mod Medallion Pocket Invitation

Gold Party Favor Box 

Dessert Cupcakes - Fuchsia cupcakes 

Pink Centerpiece with candles - Centerpiece 

Party Coasters - Horchow  

Cocktail Drinks - Hpnotiq Cocktails http://www.hpnotiq.com/recipes/index/8

Purple Cocktail Ring - Used as Napkin Ring 

Sharon

Cool coloring from best kid's magazine ever!

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Do you know about Anorak Magazine?  It is from the UK and it is awesome.  I stumbled across it at a Barnes and Noble a few years ago and pick it up whenever I see it, which isn't often.  The stories are clever and funny (and quirky thanks to English slang and terms that we aren't aware of) and the graphics are out of this world.  Its cool, kid appropriate and a great learning tool for teaching kids about other parts of the world.  

I came across this coloring page they did for H&M and thought it was rad.  The download is 3 pages of awesomeness and I'm sure that your kids will love it.  You can download it here.

And for sure check out their newer mag for younger kids, Ploc.  The graphics are vintage-inspired and totally drool worthy. 

Check out more fun stuff on their blog.

Subscribe to the magazine here.

Follow them on Twitter.

"Like" them on Facebook.  

Sharon

images via Anorak

Allergen Free Krispy Treats: perfect for parties and sports teams!

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I'm totally a soccer mom.  The season started a few weeks ago and we have the best team ever.  We may not win games (we aren't supposed to be keeping score anyway - so there) but the families of the players are awesome.  We have the most amazing team mom, Chris W.  She has kept all of us organized and set up a cool Shutterfly account to post info and photos from the games.  We have two kids with severe food allergies on the team which can make treat time pretty hard.  Seeing as she has a gluten allergy herself, Chris set out to find a snack that all the kids could eat.  What she found was this recipe for allergen free krispy treats.  My son (allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts) has been able to eat these but that is only due in part to his ability to eat soy.  For those kids with even more allergies, this recipe uses oil instead of margarine!  And what kid doesn't love a krispy treat?!  This is the perfect snack recipe to keep on hand for your kid's parties (chances are there are going to be kids with food allergies - there are 4 the kinder classes at our school alone) and for after sport snacks.  They tasted exactly the same as "normal" krispy treat.  

And to jazz them up a little more, check out what Kim of Celebration Shoppe did to her krispy treats!

Thank you, Chris, for being the best team mom ever!!!!! 

Ingredients:

10 oz. (40 lg. or 4 cups miniature) marshmallows

2 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

vegetable cooking spray 

Instructions:
Spray microwave safe dish with vegetable spray.  Add oil and marshmallows and heat on high for 2 minutes.  Add vanilla; stir to combine.  Microwave on high for 1 minute longer.  Stir until smooth.  Add cereal and stir until well coated.  Press mixture evenly in 13" x 9" x 2" pan coated with cooking spray using wax paper or spatula coated with cooking spray.  Cut into 2" x 2" squares when cool.

I generally don't let my son eat something that someone else made.  But I felt confident that Chris had the cross contamination thing under control.  And held my breath for good measure.  And he was fine.  And all the kids loved them!  So when in doubt of if there are food allergies present, make these!  I am so grateful that the rest of the mom's on the team have also tried to accommodate the boys with allergies.  I know that they may not outwardly show you their gratitude, but I can tell you it has rocked O's world to be able to eat what everyone else is eating.  HUGE!


Sharon
photos are mine.  recipe found here.