Halloween 2014: Decor, Pumpkins, Treating, and MORE!

Well... I guess I missed the boat on sharing our Halloween yesterday! But I am still recovering from the weekend and that time change is killing me for some reason! I absolutely love Halloween (even more so now that I have Myles) so yesterday was my favorite blog reading day of the year so far! I loved seeing all the little ones' costumes and the festive things you all did!

I got out the decor a while ago but never shared because it wasn't much but I figured I'd show a bit here today:

 Entry table with paper spider, skulls, glitter pumpkins, and lots of spiderwebs!

 We have this area on the wall when you first walk in that is like a little ledge that comes down from the vaulted ceilings. I haven't done anything with it yet, so I thought why not put some Halloween decor up there. Myles LOVED it and talked about all the decorations all day long, so it was a success in my book. 

Moving on to pumpkin time! I love carving pumpkins, but I have to be honest with myself and the world... I'm no good at it. As much as I want to consider myself a creative person, sometimes I fall short and pumpkin carving is one of those times. I just used an outline from a book for mine. I got everything set up before dinner Wednesday and while I was cooking Myles played:

After dinner we went out and tried to do what we could before it got too dark. Myles painted his small pumpkins and then got messy with the guts.

We only got two done before it got too dark. The next day we just put a sticker cat face on the third one. I got a kit from the Dollar Tree with 4 different faces made form foam stickers. They are actually good quality; such a good deal. 

Our set-up outside:

Last year Halloween night was pretty awesome, so I wasn't sure if this year would compare... especially since Myles decided he no longer wanted to wear the Spider-man costume that he picked out! He had been telling me he wanted to be Spider-man for weeks so that's what I bought. He wore it around the house a couple times, and then as actual Halloween got closer and closer he wanted nothing to do with it... like meltdown city style. So I returned it and started brainstorming a plan b. I could only gather that what he didn't like about the costume was the puffy muscle part and I already knew that he wouldn't go for anything on his face. I went to Target to see if I could find something that was like pajamas, but could still be seen as a costume... no such luck. Then I went to the Spirit store and found a Ninja Turtle onesie that was just like normal clothes. Myles picked out the Raphael one and I was very hopeful this one would work out! It took a little coaxing and explaining but we had success!

We went a couple places Tricking or Treating before the actual night (two outdoor malls that had trick or treating at the stores), so Myles had a little practice. Both times we went, he liked the getting candy part, but was so shy and wouldn't say anything to anyone. I figured that night would be the same and I wasn't sure how it was going to go. We got him all dressed, grabbed his big stuffed Leo and hopped on his bike:

We used this bike last year for Halloween and it worked out so well that I thought we would give it a try this year too. It was so perfect again; Myles put his Leo in the back and his bucket on the handle bars. I was able to push him when we had longer distances to go and he would walk when he wanted to. Since we just moved to this city we weren't too sure where to go, but we randomly decided to just walk across the street to a neighborhood behind us, and we hit the jackpot! Within just a couple blocks there were tons of houses all decked out and not too many other kids. Myles was really good at going up to each door and picking out his candy. He was so into it and I could tell he was having a great time. Of course his favorite part was all of the decorations. He asked me to take his picture with this pumpkin, but his favorite one was a blow up pumpkin and ghosts that were made to look like Pac-Man and the ghosts. 

We were out for about 1 1/2 and then headed home to see if we could hand any candy out. Our street looked completely empty so I figured we weren't getting any... but right before bed we got two groups! I really wanted Myles to get to hand some out so I was super excited. He was so proud of himself for helping and even shacked a little boy's hand :) 

Not sure what we are going to do with all of this.. Myles doesn't like chocolate and I don't need any of it! But it was so worth stopping at every house to see his cute little butt walking around like a big boy! Perfect Halloween!

I hope you all had as great of a time as we did!
 How was your holiday weekend?

I am linking up today with the lovely Elizabeth from Chasin' Mason and Desiree from Macke Monologues for their Fall Family Bucket List.

Halloween Day...Week...Weeks

I LOVE Halloween! 

It is safe to say that Halloween is officially my new favorite holiday! My love for Halloween has grown exponentially over the past couple of years, and this year was one for the books... or blog :) 

I have always liked Halloween for the creativity aspect (decorations, costumes, etc.), but until very recently, I never really got that into it. I believe I only dressed up once from ages 14-25, and all I did was wear a hippie dress that I bought at a thrift store. I HATE haunted houses and being scared, so that part of Halloween I have and always will stay away from. Also, I am not into the 'slutty' costume look. I have nothing against it and give major props to the girls who have the body and confidence to pull it off! I, however, have never been one to wear revealing or skimpy clothing. I just don't feel right and have no confidence to pull it off. During my teen and college years, I was very conscious about fitting in, so I just didn't dress up at all because I didn't want to be noticed as being different (even though I should have been proud; you know how it can be.) 

But now everything has changed! I finally have a house to decorate with all my Pinterest inspiration! I get all giddy even typing this now! I can't wait for next Halloween, when I can decorate even more! 

And of course, the part that makes it so awesome now.. Myles! I remember how special I wanted every holiday to be when I was younger and now I am so excited to make all of Myles' holidays something he looks forward to for months! All my childhood memories flood back into my mind as I celebrate each holiday with Myles. And as he gets older and more interactive, the celebrations get more elaborate! It melts my heart to be able create all these wonderful memories together. Even if he won't remember the first couple years, we are starting traditions that will last throughout his childhood!

So onto how we celebrated our Halloween Weeks... yes weeks! 

First, we wanted to go to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins that we could carve when my family was in town. Since we are new to our city, I just googled it. I found something called Pick of the Patch Pumpkins. So okay sounds about right I guess. Ummm... yea about that... total disappointment. It ended up being just a tent with extremely overpriced pumpkins of various sizes and some bounce houses in the back. WHACK! I was so perturbed, but we tried to make the best of it and just picked out some pumpkins anyway. 

Here is Myles with his pumpkin and of course it's not Halloween without a little mask photo shoot!

Our first party was on October 19th! I take Myles to The Little Gym a couple times a week and we both love it. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a mommy and me class. Myles has learned so much from going; it's incredible. But anywho, they have an annual Halloween Party for members that is tons of fun. The gym is open for the kids and they even have a little area blocked off for 18 months and under. They had a haunted house... which I some how got talked into going through. Myles didn't mind it because they were told not to scare him, but of course some crazy guy jumped out at me. HEART ATTACK people... it's real! 

They had booths set up outside for all sorts of crafts and activities. Myles made a bat, a clay spider (which he later decided to throw in the toilet.. RIP spidey), a sucker ghost, and got a bat painted on his face. He was too cute getting it done; he just sat their looking at himself in the mirror. Lastly, they had a cute photo booth set up. The theme was Monsters University, if you can't tell :)

We decided to do a family costume with Myles being Batman and Mark and I being Joker and Harley Quinn. And yes.. Batbaby caught the bad guys ;)

My parents came into town from the 21-27. Because they would be missing the actual holiday, we did a lot of the festivities with them before they left. 

After my very disappointing trip to the FAKE pumpkin patch, I was on a mission to find a real one. You can imagine how happy I was when we were invited to a farm by church friends! So on Wednesday the 23rd, I grabbed up Myles, Mark, and my mom and we set off for a morning on the Smith Family Farm. 

Myles got to see some farm animals. His most favorite animal is a bird... he's been making this funny bird noise since he was like 10 months old. Whenever he sees anything he thinks is a bird, he makes the noise. He also played in a mock Indian Village, where he started making the bird noise at a gourd that looked like a goose (3rd picture down). And naturally, I was a good mommy and let him play in a barrel of water :) Lastly, we went on a 'hayride' to go pick out our pumpkins. 

 Myles was in heaven with all the 'balls!' He probably could have played there for hours, except he got upset when I told him he couldn't eat dirt. After that he was over it, but luckily by that time, we had all picked out our pumpkins and were ready to go anyway.

 We also took advantage of the many photo ops all around the farm. 

1. Myles and Mark 2. Myles and my mother 3. Me and Myles

I can't believe some of these actually turned out. It wasn't easy, but I think he kind of liked sticking his head in the hole. Him trying to figure out what it was gave us enough time to snap a quick photo. His little face is so stinkin' cute in every one.

Saturday the 26th

During the daytime, we carved our pumpkins together. I knew Myles would LOVE the pumpkin guts, so I set up shop outside and let him go at it. I just put some cardboard boxes down over the rubber mats we have in the backyard. My favorite part of carving is the guts and getting messy too, so Myles and I cleaned out three pumpkins. We all were throwing guts on him and he was having the time of his life. I gave him a spoon and he went to town trying to dig out guts and seeds. 

We definitely got a nice shower after that activity :)

Here are all our pumpkins:

From the middle picture:

The pig one is Mark's. He made it in honor of Myles' nickname: Baby Ham. The second one is grandpa's; a little Jack Skellington inspired. The third one is mine. I thought I would give the drill carving a try. I really liked doing it; it was way easier than using a knife and you can do fun designs. I discovered after I was done though, that even with a candle inside, it is hard to see my design. Next time I will use a bigger drill bit and hopefully that will make it easier to see. The last one is grandma's. She did a cool spider!

Then that night we went to a Trick or Treating event that the city hosts every year in their downtown area. It is about 6 blocks of vendors and businesses handing out treats (and promoting their businesses of course!). They had tents set up and everyone followed in a line to each tent, where the kids would get a treat (candy, glow stick, plastic spider ring, toothpaste, coloring book, etc). They also had Mickey and Minnie and Buzz and Woody characters. Myles has a Woody doll and blanket he sleeps with every night, so he definitely recognized him. We took a picture with them and he wouldn't stop looking at Woody. (I don't have it, but will add it when I can get a hold of it.) And grandma came through at the end of the night and brought him home a balloon. (He is obsessed with all things balls).

Here is our family picture before going out:

Wednesday the 30th

We went to a get together for the church mommy and me group we are apart of in the morning. Myles dressed as batbaby again. I took a picture of all the kids together, but the camera on my iPhone is broken so most of the pictures I take are dark and blurry :( But we had lots of fun playing with the kids and eating healthy snacks (before all the candy intake!)

I have to throw these in because they are just too cute! Just by luck this week, I was going through Myles' clothes and I happened to find two other costumes that are 12 months! I didn't want them to go to waste so I dressed him up and took some pictures. 

Seriously... he makes everything cute..even a cow!

Wednesday we took Myles to a little party that the daycare at the gym we go to was throwing. I dressed him in the other costume I found which was a horse. They had all the kids walk around the gym to show off their costumes in a parade. They also had face painting, a paper plate ghost craft, a haunted house, and a little photo booth set up. Of course, Myles had a blast just running around like a crazy boy! He was doing forward rolls over the mats like it was his job :) LLOOOVVVEEE him too much! 

And here are the pictures we took at the photo booth. Pretty good, all things considered!

Last and certainly not least... actual Halloween Day the 31st

I debated staying home for a bit so Myles could hand out candy and see kids dressed up, but I didn't know if anyone would actually come, so we decided to go out. It worked out pretty perfectly though because before we left, two groups of kids came to the door. Myles was too dazed and confused to give any candy out, so I he just watched. I'm guessing he really wouldn't have cared too much about handing the candy out, so it was a good decision we made to go out ourselves. We went to a subdivision that I heard had a lot of kids and families, and also right next to it a church was having a free harvest fest and Trunk or Treat.

We walked through all the trunks and also played some games that they had set up inside. And I had to let Myles experience his first bounce house! No one was in it, so I let him go in by himself! He had fun until some bigger kids came in and I decided he was done :)

I just kept thinking about that Kevin Hart bit he does about his kid's birthday party with the bouncer.. I die every time... If you don't know what I'm talking about go on Netflix and watch "Laughing at My Pain."

After that we were on our merry Trick or Treating way! We brought Myles' bike so we could push him around because 1. I didn't think he would last that long walking himself and 2. He loves riding on his bike. He thinks it's the greatest thing in the world! 

It turned out to be the best choice. The bike never disappoints! We adorned the bike with black and orange balloons and hung his bucket onto the handle bars (until it got too heavy) and off he rode! Everyone commented on how he was living the good life being pushed around and collecting candy! Yup, that's my boy!

Going up to a house:

 And.. the aftermath! Naturally, I had to group all of the like candies together... Am I the only OCD one or do you all do it too? I honestly have no idea what we are going to do with all the candy. Myles isn't eating it.. I may give him a sucker or two, but that's it and I certainly don't want to eat it all... What are you all doing with all your candy, if you're not eating it?

 I am loving reading all of your Halloween Posts! I can't wait for the holidays to come!

How was your Halloween this year?

Halloween Mantle & Fireplace

Although I am sooo behind on catching up with my Myles Monthly updates, I couldn't let October go by without a Halloween Mantle & Fireplace post! 

Halloween is my favorite holiday to decorate for and I finally have a house to do it in!

So here is a look at my Halloween Mantle & Fireplace!

Sorry for the POOR quality of these pictures. I currently only have my iPhone for a camera. I am asking for a 'real' camera for Christmas. I would love any suggestions, as I have no idea about cameras. 

These glitter pumpkins are from the $1 section at target (LOVE that place!)

All of the spider webs are from Dollar Tree.

Top Left: First, there are two pictures I keep on the mantle year round; my great-grandma that I am named after and Mark & Myles at one month old. I added orange tapered candles with some spider web... I am a little obsessed with the spider web... to say the least. The candle holders are a Goodwill find.
Top Right: We don't use the fireplace right now as Bay Area, Cali is still in the 80s, so it has been taken captive by Halloween decor. I used two more of the orange tapered candles and put them in some holders I wasn't using. Then of course I had to drown it spider web :) I found a cute decal at Lowe's, of all places, and I had the idea to put it over the glass fireplace doors. I love it so much that I might just make my living room a year round haunted house. 
Bottom Left: Middle of the mantle; I just spiced up my normal mirrors with webs and spider decals from the same package as the fireplace one (with some spider web as well.) Then I placed the pumpkins from the above picture in front of the mirror. 
Bottom Right: A further away view of the fireplace with the decals (candles and spider web inside) and the tassel garland I made. I used this tutorial. I like the yarn look and it was very cheap. I bought three different colors from Walmart for $2.50 each and used the black to hang it. 

Full picture of the top; on the left side are two vases I use for fall and a picture frame I picked up from the Goodwill!

Also check out my Halloween Wreath that I posted a couple weeks ago. 
HAPPY HALLOWEEN Y'ALL!

How are you decorating for Halloween?

DIY: Halloween Wreath

This is my first DIY post and I am super excited to start sharing more! 

In the spirit of Halloween (my favorite holiday), I am going to show you all what I did for my very first DIY wreath!

What you will need

One wreath 

(I used a straw one, but you can use a Styrofoam or whichever you prefer) 

2 bags of old school Halloween spiderweb with the plastic spiders

(I found mine at the dollar store)

One decorative black crow 

(Also found at the dollar store)

Long Satin Sewing Pins

Directions

1. Get your wreath and place it on your working surface.

2. Get the spider webs and unwrap them until they are all unrolled and flat.

3. Wrap the wreath with the web. Start by placing one end of the web on the wreath (one end should be about 6 inches wide). From there wrap the web around the wreath, going up through the inner hole and then back down around the outer part of the wreath. Keep repeating, moving the web a couple inches over every time you make one wrap of the web. 

You may need another bag of the spider web. If so, just start where you left off and continue wrapping until the wreath is completely covered.  

4. When you are finished wrapping the web, use the sewing pins to secure the web to the wreath. Pull any thicker parts towards the back and pin them. 

5. Add the spiders around the wreath in any pattern you wish. Lastly, add the crow or any other decorations you wish! 

How are you decorating for Halloween around your house?