Update: Halloween Poem (now +video) by Julia Mae

The Halloween Poem

Little kids looking for ghosts.

Witches flying over posts.

There is a skeleton walking

while other kids are screaming and talking.

There is a jack-o-lantern floating

while detectives and thinking and noting.

Seriously, how do our children turn out so much more brilliant than we were at their age? She wrote this on her own, this morning, just for fun--not at school or with any prompting. I've never written a spontaneous poem in my life! She is 9.

PS Check out the cool video our friend Paul made to go with this fab little poem

photo from flickr

This Was in My Kids Halloween Treats:

As far as I can tell this is a chicken/turkey sucker??  Anyone know what the wrapper says? I think it's 'little chicken' or 'chick' something?  Having lived in Mexico I'm sure it is tamarind flavored but the sucker is actually shaped like a little roast chicken. Kinda funny...

Halloween '08

I did this pumpkin with the same teeth that Hazel has coming in, they seem to becoming in  in some kind of strange, random order but 

the doctor assures us it's normal!

Lowell's office went all out and turned one floor into a trick or treat spook ally.

This is Hazel's first time at the playground...she liked the slide with a little help from mom.

Traditional Halloween Bat Cookies

My friend Traci and I have been making these cookies for the last 5 or 6 years and have now declared them a tradition. They are stinkin' cute and YUMMY but a major pain in the rear end to make. Recipe to follow...
You will need:
Butter
Flour
Sugar
Salt
Chocolate Bark
Sugar Eyes (available at candy & cake making shops or on line)
Chocolate Sprinkles
Rolling Pin
Wax Paper
Bat Shaped Cookie Cutter
Double Boiler
A Partner

Scottish Shortbread
3/4 cup flour, sifted
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup room temperature butter
This amount will make about 8-10 cookies. I usually quadruple this recipe.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Work in the butter with a fork or pastry cutter until the dough has the consistency of short crust.

Pulsing in a food processor will work also.

Sprinkle a board or your counter top lightly with flour. Turn the dough onto the board and knead until it's smooth. Refrigerate the dough for a couple of hours or overnight. (ladies DO NOT try to skip this step...trust me. The cookies will hold their shape so much better if you just know ahead of time that this is a 2 day project.)

Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut out bat shapes with cutter. Re-roll and cut until all the dough is gone. Place shapes on cookie sheet with enough space betweem for them to spread out a bit. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cookies begin to brown slightly. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet.

In double boiler melt the chocolate. Be aware that water from the double boiler will ruin the melting chocolate so be careful to keep the water out of the chocolate. Have several sheets of wax paper ready to place finished cookies on. Have candy eyes ready and a bowl with sprinkles ready as well. Have one person dip a cookie in the chocolate and then dip the wing edge in the sprinkles and place on the wax paper. The other person places the eyes. Continue until all cookies are decorated.

Halloween Sneak Peek

Trunk-or-Treat with Shelby the Cat and Chloe the Vamparina. She kept saying she wanted to be a pink vampire...we didn't know what that was but this seemed to fill the requirements.