Ghost Feet

I saw this craft in a magazine once and we've been doing it every year since.  We just trace each child's foot, give it arms or wings or whatever they would be, and decorate it a bit.  I love to see how much each of them has grown over the years. 

As the kids get older, they want the Halloween decorations to be scarier and creepier.  This is one cute tradition at our house that I am going to hang on to as long as I can.  Some day, I may have to sneak into their rooms at night and trace their feet while they sleep, but I will.

I've seen a similar idea done at Christmas but the foot is turned into a reindeer head with hands traced for antlers.

Edit:  Here's a photo of some of them flying up the stairs.  If you look closely, you'll see that the kids are trying their best to 'evil' them up nowadays.

Hoarders

Hoarders is a documentary series on A&E about people and their inability to give or throw things away.  Many times they are also compulsive shoppers.  New episodes air on Monday nights at 10 EST.  

Do not call me on Monday night.  

I absolutely love this show.  I love crazy people and the people on this show are CRAZY.  Why would anyone keep trash from six years ago?  How many horse figurines does a "collector" really need?  I understand that they get to a point where they don't smell the odor, but shouldn't the sight of cat feces on the kitchen counter bother them?  Crazy.  The show is really very sad.  Many times the people are facing bankruptcy, city fines, jail time, or eviction.  If they have children or pets living in the house, they often live in fear of CPS and animal control.

The show does two things for me.  First, it assures me that my house is 'normal' messy.  Second, it prompts me to clean.  I will often scoop cat litter or scrub a toilet during the commercial breaks.

The kids usually watch the show with me and I've noticed a change in their attitudes when it comes to cleaning their rooms.  They like to see the carpet.  They are more willing to donate things.  Thank you Hoarders.

Do not call me on Monday night. 

Gourds

I took the kids to the most awesome farm Tuesday.  There were so many fun activities for children and the pumpkin selection was great.  We spent a lot of time looking through them but the kids finally decided to get gourds.  We've seen the little decorative gourds in the grocery every October but these were so much cooler.

Apparently, the kids really like them.  Each one was given a name.  Get ready for this.  The creativity will knock your socks off.  Gordon, Jordon, and Gourd.  Yep.  They play with them at the kitchen table.  Seriously weird.

I know I will still have to buy pumpkins for carving this month but I'm glad we got gourds.  I like them.