Friday, September 14, 2012

Halloween party menu ideas- PRODUCT GIVEAWAY!



We had a Halloween party this morning, and it's not even October yet. The kids dressed as Spider Man and Buzz Lightyear. Even Super Dad paid a visit to the treats to indulge in the gross display of yummy food
.

We turned raisins into bat droppings and frozen cheese sticks into gross ghost fingers!








With the help of Farm Rich cheese sticks, we were able to quickly cook up these 'ghost fingers' for our little goblins (and ourselves!) to enjoy.


We just cooked up the sticks and let them cool. Put them on the platter and opened a few to let the cheese ooze and covered the other sticks with it. Using our own marinara sauce we splattered some of it over the sticks to give it a creepy look and put the rest down the middle of the platter. It just so happened the sauce came out looking like a ghost! This whole platter is only half a bag, we still have more left! You really get a lot for your money with these products. Farm Rich can provide you with quick solutions to last minute entertaining, and you have an opportunity to put your own twist to the recipes.

it didn't take long until the platter looked like this...

To add some character to our food table we used some inexpensive Halloween buckets used from previous years trick or treating to hold some small bags of chips, and a bowl from the dollar section of Target with ice to hold some juice boxes. We scattered some small pumpkins around the table and our witchy pumpkin pal was at the center of the fun. We will be doing another post soon for a fun craft on how to make your own pumpkin pals with your kids!
Spider Man and Super Dad fly in for a bite!
Buzz Lightyear could eat these for infinity- and beyond!


So are you ready for your chance to win a voucher good for one Farm Rich product of your own? 
Maybe you could make some of these ghost fingers. Or use the yummy meatballs and call them monster brain bites and put them on a small roll for the kiddos! 
2 of our lucky readers will win in this contest, here is how to enter!

Leave a comment on our page, maybe let us know some of your great Halloween party tips! 
(Commenting is a mandatory entry!)

Go like us on Facebook (not mandatory, but you don't want to miss out on any news or future give aways!)

Tweet us on Twitter using #2MomsAndABlog (again, not mandatory, but hey- we like the love!)



a Rafflecopter giveaway Now for the rules and fine print... because nothing is fun without a little rule here and there!
Contest is open to US residents 18 years of age and older. Winner will be selected at random and announced on Facebook and contacted via email. Winners will have 48 hours to respond to email to claim prize or forfeit winnings.

*Disclosure- 2 Moms was given a complimentary product for purpose of facilitating this review. All opinions are 100% mine and have not been edited in any way 

Monday, September 10, 2012

DIY Spotted Puppy Halloween Costume

Part one on '2 Moms and a Blog' special Halloween series! 
*NO SEWING MACHINE REQUIRED*

Post courtesy of Little Man and Me (www.littlemanandme2.blogspot.com)



Halloween of 2010 my son was only 1 and it was difficult finding a cute little Halloween costume for him that wouldn't break the bank. I also didn't want something that would just be worn once and tossed away. So I came up with the Spotted Puppy Costume! In all it cost around $10 bucks. $8 for the hoodie and $2 for the felt. We had the other supplies on hand. It was really super simple. Considering that I have ZERO sewing skills and if possible much less patience. It was quick, inexpensive and super cute. And 2 years later my son still has the costume and wears it around the house! Here is how me and my husband together made this costume...


You will need an over-sized hoodie, felt squares in coordinating colors, needle, thread, scissors and fabric glue.

Step 1) Cut off the arms of the hoodie at shoulder seams (save them, you'll need them!).
 
Step 2) Cut different sized circles out of the felt squares (save the scrap felt, you'll need it!).
Step 3) Using the left over pieces from one of the arms of the hoodie, trace and cut out 4 puppy dog ears.
Step 4) Take two of the pieces of ears you just cut out and sew them together leaving the bottom open. Then stuff them using some of the left over felt scraps and sew to the hood of the jacket.
Step 5) Glue the felt circles onto the jacket to make spots. 
Step 6) Roll up the other arm sleeve and attach to the jacket as the tail of the puppy.
The results:
Absolutely adorable! When I took him to a Halloween festival that weekend we got so many compliments on the costume. It was simple, not over the top for a child his age and he was comfortable. The possibilities are endless with the over-sized hoodie idea. So keep an eye on the blog for more ideas to come soon! And be sure to check back for more in our special series of posts leading up to Halloween! 

~ Miranda


Sunday, September 2, 2012

Small Apartment 'Mud Room'



Recently my family downgraded from a 3 bedroom house to a 2 bedroom apartment. One of the biggest challenges, especially when you have kids, is the lack of an entryway to put your shoes and bags. This is how I solved my problem:



*First I got frames from Ikea for $1.99 each! http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80188456/
I used these as dry erase calendars for the family to remind them of upcoming events. They're perfect for dry erase boards because their plexi and not glass. Instead of putting a picture inside, I used dark scrapbook paper so my dry erase markers would stand out. It's hard to see but it's really cool paper with a light chevron design. Finally I wanted some cool colors so I got a pack of neon dry erase markers from Target.


*To mark who had which calendar, I got wooden letters from Michael's and painted them the color of my choice. For easy removal, I put them on the wall with velcro.

*For our key's I used reusable plastic hooks with double sided tape. These are perfect for apartments because they don't destroy the wall!

*I used 3 Robe Hooks that I found at Target for hanging up belongings like diaper bags and purses. I chose robe hooks because they hold 2 items per hook and are also meant for heavier things.

*AND finally my husband has to have somewhere to put his phones and wallet so I purchased a frame shelf from Ikea. It's perfect for small things because it's like a shelf with a lip at the the end so nothing falls off and it's not too deep :)


That's it! Not a lot really and it's completely transformed the way we organize our things we we come in. For shoes, which are our biggest clutter issue in our house, just put a basket or boot holder on the floor beneath!

Happy Crafting!

-Kelsey

Rainy Day Movie

I'm so happy to be back blogging. School/Pre-school/General Craziness is now back in session and things have calmed down a bit for us to start blogging away again!

Have you ever made a promise to your child about going to the park or pool or any other outside activity only to have it start pouring down rain the second you're about to go out the door? Yeah, me too. Well with some quick thinking I was able to distract the little one from the disappointment of a cancelled playdate with a movie day!


I found a movie she's never seen before on Netflix ($8 a month and a real lifesaver!) or you could find one at a local Redbox ($1.50).


Now, my little one can't have popcorn yet but there's this really cool rice treat by Plum Organics called 'Crunch 'Ola' and she loves it! It crunches just like popcorn so I thought it would be a fun substitute. 




Last but not least we turned off the lights and threw down some pillows and blankets to lounge on. It was so much fun! Almost like a sleep over and the little one thought it was so special.

Enjoy and Happy Crafting!
-Kelsey