Baby Boy Number Four & A Dollar Store Haunted Village

Well, he's here, he's still nameless, and every other boy (including my husband) in our house has the stomach flu.  It's been quite the past few days!  But this little guy has been nothing but sweetness!  Sure I've lost some restful sleeping hours, but I'm just relishing every waking minute I have with him for now, because I know this tiny stage of life will be gone in the blink of an eye.

I'll be learning how to blend blogging life with a newborn over these next few weeks, so posts may be few and far between, or you may see a few reposts.  But I really do love blogging.  It gives me a creative out/distraction when I get bombarded with everyday life, so I won't disappear completely.

In addition to this precious little boy, I have a picture of what I was working on when my water broke Friday evening. Now every year when I pull this out,  I'll be reminded of baby boy number four.

Desiree from The 36th Avenue shared this idea awhile back, and I've been wanting to try it ever since!  This year I finally got around to stocking up on dollar store houses for my haunted village.

I found some actual haunted houses at Dollar Tree several weeks ago, but now is the time to snag all the Christmas village items that are popping up on the shelves.  They look quite wintry, but when you add a coat of black paint, some glitter, and embellishments, you've got your self a perfectly spooky town!

I'll be seeing you around when I can.  You can follow me on Instagram from more frequent updates/photos of this new little guy.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Roll-A-Pumpkin {A Fun Halloween Dice Game}

In the past, I've shared a few different versions (a snowman one and leprechaun) of this fun, simple dice game I ran across several years ago on Happy Home Fairy.

This is always an activity in our Halloween countdown, and as we were playing it this year, I realized I've never shared the original pumpkin version of this game.

You can get the how-to in the link below, but basically all you'll need is some paper, two dice, colored pencils, crayons, or markers, and the Roll-A-Pumpkin printable instruction sheet.  Each player takes turns rolling the dice, and then following the instruction for each designated number.  The first person to complete his/her pumpkin, wins!

We've played this for years, and my boys never get sick of it!  And I love seeing how different each pumpkin turns out at the end of the game.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Nacho Chedder Halloween Popcorn

Well, we're still anxiously awaiting baby boy number four as of today.  This little guy has an agenda all his own.  I've been early, and my water has broke with my other boys.  No water breaking, and I've all but reached my due date.  I do have a doctor appointment tomorrow morning.  Hopefully I'll have a better idea about when he'll be here after that.  We cannot wait!!

So, today's recipe is a bit of a cheat.  Over the weekend we had a big birthday bash for all three of our boys.  It's the one time of year I get to go all out and put on a bit of a spread.  I wish I could have done more, but being a week away from delivery slows you down a bit!  

I did manage to pull a few shortcuts that made the food pretty simple.  Like this nacho cheddar popcorn.  I knew I wanted to do some type of popcorn, and considered making a fantastic homemade concoction, but that didn't quite happen.  

Source

What I ended up doing was popping my own popcorn, and then topping it with melted butter, and this Kernel Season's Nacho Chedder popcorn seasoning (I found mine at Walmart).

It was a total hit!  The kids loved the nacho cheddar flavor, and even the adults were hooked!  The orange color was fantastic, and with a black creepy crawler or two on top, it became even more Halloween-ish. 

So, even if you're not expecting a baby in the next day or two, you could probably use a quick and simple Halloween treat.  This nacho cheddar popcorn is a great go-to!  My boys have even requested it three or four times since the party (which was just four days ago).  And I have to say, I have a hard time stopping once I've started.  Popcorn has that effect on me.  Anyone else?

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Printable Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe

Happy Tuesday!  It was a busy, busy weekend for us.  We made it through three birthdays, and a few eventful moments thinking this baby would be here anytime.  But, as of today he's still content waiting.  Now that I have the birthdays and party over, I'm the one getting anxious for him to arrive!  It should be any day here.  I'll keep you posted.

Today's printable is something quick and easy you can print out to use this year for any classroom parties you might have coming up this year, or any Halloween party.

Click to Print

Simply print out the blank board above.

Click to Print

Then print out a set of pumpkins, and...

Click to Print

a set of skulls.

Then cut out (and laminated if you'd like) the pumpkins and skulls, and you're ready to play.  One person can be pumpkins, the other skulls.  The first to get three in a row wins!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Printable Halloween Skull Banner

It's hard for me to decide where to start with Halloween printables.  So many options!  But, banners always seem to be a hit, so that's where we'll start today.

I usually don't get into anything scary for Halloween.  I've even resisted cute little skulls like these, but with a house full of boys, I couldn't resist any longer.  So, here's a fun and simple skull Halloween banner for your next party, or just to hang around your house for the remainder of the month.  

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You can click here to print your entire Halloween skull banner.

And, I can't let today pass without giving a HUGE happy birthday to my two oldest.  My twins are 8 today.  They are every bit as fun, fulfilling, and extraordinary as the day they were born!  I'm constantly amazed at the young boys they're becoming.  What a tremendous blessing it is for me to be able to call them mine!  Love you boys!  Enjoy the sushi (one of their only requests, besides a trampoline, for their birthday!).

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Halloween Chocolate Dipped Orange Slices

If you read my post last week on simple and inexpensive  Halloween party tips, then you know I love having the coloring of food work for me.  Meaning, when it comes to Halloween foods this time of year,  I'm on the lookout for any food that already comes in orange, black, or white.  That way, it doesn't take much effort to make the food look festive.

I posted these chocolate dipped orange slices a few years back at Christmastime because that's when my family has always made them.  It never occurred to me that they would make the perfect Halloween treat, until this year.

You can click here for the how to, but it's really as simple as it looks.  Melt some chocolate chips (in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in between), dip your orange slices halfway into the chocolate, then top with Halloween sprinkles. 

When I posted these treats at Christmas, I'd used milk chocolate chips.  To get a darker Halloween color I used semi sweet chocolate chips this time, and I have to say I love them both!  I do like the darker color of chocolate for this time of year, but the sprinkles do cover a lot of the chocolate if you're more of a milk chocolate fan.

I made these with my four-year-old, and he couldn't stop eating them, but neither could I!  YUM! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Pumpkin Carving Party Ideas With Free Printables {@ OSSS}

It's pumpkin carving time!  We carve pumpkins every year at our house, and my boys are very serious about it.  My dad's side of the family has an annual pumpkin carving party each year, but we don't make it to it very often.  The times we have gone have been so much fun, that I decided we needed to begin a pumpkin party tradition of our own.

Over the summer I shared my patriotic matchbox covers (one of my favorite printables to date), and was thrilled when I realized that jack-o-lanterns need to be lit as well.  I needed to create more matchbox covers!  This time in a spooky theme, not patriotic. 

Come and visit me at Or So She Says today for all of your pumpkin carving party needs, and to check out all 3 of my FREE printables (the matchbox covers are just one) for the occasion.  Click here for the entire post.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.