ZOMBIE DR & ZOMBIE NURSE COSTUME

For halloween my children have always matched, well this year my son wanted to be a doctor and my daughter a zombie.
The solution? Zombie Nurse & Zombie Doctor!
We purchased a standard doctor & nurse costume at walmart. (we actually lucked out by planning ahead, we were able to get them for $2.50 a piece in november after last halloween)
I also purchased white & gray hair spray for their hair, a zombie makeup kit, and fake blood. If you don't want to get a zombie kit, gray & black makeup will do.
I cut slits into the tops of the costumes, and used the fake blood to make handprints and spatters on the costumes. I also used a glue gun to glue mini flies, spiders and glow in the dark cockroaches onto the costumes. I then added a few cob webs as well.
The costumes were a hit, and they are original so you don't have to worry about doubles at events.
My son also has. "Splitting headache" knife headband to go with his.
I'm thinking it will be cold on halloween so we will put white thermals on underneath.
Here are some photos...

Nose Trouble.

Let's face it, all 2 & 3 year olds get curious, well my son has an issue with nose trouble.
He has stuck a tic tac up his nose, and also a blue dye pellet from and easter egg kit. Both began to melt down quickly and slid right out.
Well today was a different story.
I was making some bows for my daughter to wear for picture day tomoro while my son was having a snack and watching monsters inc on the bed behind me. All of a sudden he starts screamin and crying and saying ouch while pointing to his nose. I asked him what happened and he responded with "pop corn".
I broke out the flash light and tweezers and there was no popcorn, kernel, or any other object in site. I played around with his nose getting him to sneeze, nothing. (A lot of sneezing but no kernel)
Then we tried blowing. Nothing.
Salene. Nothing.
He started telling me that it was gone because he didn't want me messing with him anymore. He would be quiet for a few minutes then the ouches would start back up again.
Well I had been texting his father on my phone, sure that an ER visit would be needed soon because he could get an infection, I decided to google "popcorn in nose". Sure enough my son was not the only one, but after 5 who said they had to make trips to the ER, I found one nurse practitioner with a suggestion.
Cover the opposite nostril, cup your mouth over there's like your giving CPR and blow one hard deep breathe.
Needless to say this worked like a charm, but a very messy charm! Within seconds my son was laughing because his nose was clear & pain free, and mommy was a slimy mess. I hadn't exactly thought this would work, but I now know it does and next time I should prepare myself. (But let's hope there never is a next time) I do warn you, it is messy and not for the light stomachs. It dislodges & removes the object, but all mucus and saliva will follow as well.
OH! And it was NOT a popcorn kernel, but rather a clear mis-shaped mystery item. To me it looks like maybe he got into a hot glue stick and bit a piece off.
Boys will be boys!

Pick A Pop! Quick and easy party game

This is a quick & easy party game for any party. The guests simply pick a pop (which they can keep) and they get an additional small prize based on the color of their pop stick.

*I started with a regular shoe box, and I spray painted it black.
*Using a "sargent liquid metal" permanent marker I wrote pick a pop, win a prize on the side. & added some stars for decorations. You could use any kind of permanent marker depending on the color of the box, you can also print a paper and attach it, use letter stickers, or paint it on.
*I wanted 25 pops, and I have 4 different prizes, so using 4 different nail polishes (pink, yellow, green, purple).
I split the pops evenly and painted 6 of each color by just painting the tip with the polish. I used 3 different brands of pops, and split them by flavors so that each pop would be a unique prize & not the same for every flavor.
*I then used a pen to poke holes about 1.5inches apart in 5 different rows on the box.
*once everything is dry the pops slide nicely into the holes.
*I also painted a prize key on the back so whoever runs the game knows the prizes.
ENJOY!
PLEASE SHARE PHOTOS AND TIPS IF YOU RECREATE & FEEL FREE TO ASK FOR HELP,SUGGESTIONS!

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Do it yourself chinese take out party favor boxes

We all love the cute takeout box favors but they can be expensive and $1 or more a piece, here's a cheap simple way to make your own.

Visit your local Chinese restaurant and ask to purchase some empty containers, they buy them in bulk for around .10cents, usually they will allow you to purchase them. I picked up 10 for $2 at my local Chinese joint.

Purchase spray paint in the colors of your theme. They range from 1-4$ depending on the color you choose. A single can sprays 20 large boxes completely, and only one coat is required.

Wrap your hand in a plastic shopping bag and spray all 4 sides including open tops and wires. Bottom doesn't need to be sprayed but you can choose to spray bottoms and insides. I leave the bottoms white so they can stand up for drying.

Afterwards you can embelish with stickers or spray a stencil design.
Spraying two colors is easy because if you spray with only one side facing you you can easily spray multicolored sides without disturbing the other side.

They will dry evenly because of the material.

A cheap cute favor box for a quarter or less!

Here's some pics of my current progress, I'll have more photos once they have Ben decorated with stickers and ribbon.

ENJJOY!

recycle mylar balloons as gift sack/wrap!

When you have a celebration & it come to a close, or when you"ve had balloons around the house for a while & they have lost there "juice" the first thought is to pop & toss.
Well ive found a great way to reuse them.
To deflate the air simply make a small snip with a pair of sizzors and squish out all the air. Fold them up & place them with your gift wrapping goodies.

When you need a gift bag or sack for a gift basket, special gift, or an off shaped item thats hard to wrap regularly.
simply cut a slit in the top to of the balloon and split the seem big enough to insert your goodies inside, twist the top & secure with tape/ribbon. Its more sturdy then tissue paper & gives a nice sparkle & design. (Even more great when the balloons have a design or words on them)
You can gift as is, or place inside a gift bag.

You can also cut the entire balloon open if your looking to wrap and not bag.

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meatloaf with bacon

I going to base this on a 2lb loaf. You can add or subtract ingredients as needed, they dont have to be exact. There will als be variations listed.
Cup of milk
Half cup or more of breadcrumbs(you can also use 3-6 whole slices of white bread, allow them to soak in the milk you are using)
Few shakes of parm (grated) cheese
Parsley-optional
2 eggs ( about 1egg per 1-2pounds)
2 pounds meat (hamburg, ground turkey, meatloaf mix,ground chiken, whichever you prefer singlely or in combination)
1 package thin sliced bacon
1 small jar spaghetti sauce ( or ketchup)

Combine meat, milk, bread, eggs, cheese, parsley, and any other optional ingrediants such as sliced onions or garlic in a large bowl. (I leave the onion etc out of the recipee because i do not use it.)
Instead of shaped into the traditional loaf i like to spread my mixture to cover the bottom of a small casserole dish, such as an 8.5x11 or 9x13 cake/baking pan. You optionally my also shape into a loaf and put it onto a broiler rack (has a top layer with holes and a bottom layer to catch grease)
Either way you choose, spread either your sauce or ketchup onto the top of your meat mixture, making a thin even coat. (If using ketchup you may mix in some brown sugar and mustard about a tsp of each)
On top of the meat and ketchup you will layer your bacon in a single layer with sides touching. Depending on the size of the pan/loaf you may need to slice your bacon in half. Thin bacon is better as the thinner it is the better it cooks nd crisps. They bacon is a nice touch and adds more flavor/juice to the loaf.
Preheat oven to 350 and cook about an hour. If needbe at about 45mins slice threw the center to be sure the middle is getting cooked. May require a little more (or less) then an hour depending on the oven, and the thickness.

Best complimented with mashed or baked potatoes. Also works well with a pasta like baked mac n cheese. Leftovers make great sandwhiches or pizza toppings :) You could also sprinkle in a little mozerella or cheedar cheese for a bacon-cheeseburger twist. I also fry up the remaining bacon to use with blts the next day, or in my case bc"s because my kids dont like lettuce & tomatoe. Its a simple grill cheese with bacon inside.

Enjoy!

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chewy-gooey brownies

These brownies take a lil longer 2 cook, but there super fudgey, no cake squares here!
You will need (mix in a bowl)
3 eggs
1cup flower
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup mini-choc morsels/kisses (melt before mixing in)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup softened butter
Optional: 1/4cup unmelted choc chips, for "reeses" brownies 1/4 cup un melted peanut butter chips.
Mix all ingredients together & preheat oven to 250, cook on 250 for 1hr and then turn heat up to 350 and cook an additional 20minutes. Cooking on the low temp insures the brownies cook/heat evenly, they will still look gooey before the temp is turned up. (You can also cook on 350 for about 45 minutes, but i prefer the long way)
Allow brownies to cool before cutting, & if covered in foil overnight they taste even better as a leftover snack!
Perfect texture for a brownie sundae!

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