Mr. Potato Head Pumpkins

While shopping one weekend at Wal-mart I came across these!

So fun! I got the idea from a friend (Thanks SB!),  but had never seen them. While we still had pumpkin carving on the agenda, this really was so much easier!  As you can see, the kids had a blast decorating!

and our porch looks great too! 

What Every Mom Needs To Know After a Bad Day…

...from one of my favorite fellow Mommy Bloggers Kat at Inspired to Action

Photo Credit

A few months ago I had one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days that all moms have every once in awhile.
Sometimes every two or three times in awhile.

After finally putting the kids to bed, with a deep sigh felt through the ages, I buried my head in my husband’s chest and in true Anne of Green Gables fashion, I proceeded to pour out my frustration and deep despair at what a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day it was and what a terrible, horrible, no good,very bad mom I was.

I mentally calculated the future therapy bill my kids would require after our rotten day.

Finally, in an expression of true blogger angst, I said, “…and what the WORLD am I doing writing a blog about motherhood?!!! I’m a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mom!!”

But I’m not dramatic. Obviously.

Yet my wonderfully patient, wise husband gently replied, “Sweetie, it’s not about the mom you were today. It’s about the mom you’re FIGHTING to be. And you? You’re FIGHTING to be a great mom…”

His words of comfort silenced me.

Friends, we all have bad days. Sometimes we have bad weeks. Maybe you’ve had bad years. But those are the past. We can learn from them, but they DO NOT define us.

Our mistakes are part of our journey. They are NOT our definition.
In light of the magnificent purpose to which we have been called, we cannot waste time nurturing our regrets. They require too much of us.

We can learn from our bad days, our mistakes and then we must lay them down, leave them behind andfight on.

Kat blogs at Inspired To Action, a site dedicated to helping moms develop the habits and skills they need to effectively manage their homes and raise children who are prepared to change the world. Kat and her husband Jimmy live the great state of Texas and have 3 children ages 7, 5 and 2. Kat loves music, running, technology, Jesus and Tex-Mex food. Not necessarily in that order.

Have you decided what your going to be for Halloween?

Cowboy CASH From Last Year!

That is the question around our house lately. Three down and one to go! Whohoo! Believe it or not, I am actually off to a better start than last year. Elijah Ray was born a few weeks before Halloween, so mama had a lot of other things on her mind, not to mention we were in the middle of a huge move!

So, this year we're making better timing and I think we finally nailed down what big sister is going to be! Yea!! This is a huge accomplishment for mommy as my eldest has the habit of changing her mind from week to week. Anyone else have this challenge?  It can be really tough and oh so frustrating; especially as we get closer to Halloween.

Since I was growing weary of asking every day,"have you decided what your going to be for halloween?" I decided to help her along by laying out a time frame for her. If she didn't have a costume picked out by that designated time, mommy would have to choose for her. Not so much fun for a big independent 6yr old. So, with a little nudge and a "you're a big girl who I know can choose her own costume"encouragement, voila!! That really seemed to do the job!

Now that I have half the battle tackled, we're on to getting our costumes.  Decisions, decisions!! I am so tempted to make my own costumes; especially when I see something and think, "I could totally make that myself!" However, as much as I'd love to break out the sewing machine, the reality is I just don't have time. Between our home projects, homeschooling and life in general with 4 kiddos, there's just not enough time in the day. Urrgghh! So, even though it painfully kills me to purchase the girls costumes, I think I'm opting for sanity.  Good thing hubby likes this choice too. When I asked him tonight if I should attempt to sew some of our costume items,  he just looked at me and said, "Come on babe, really?!!" Nuff said! Hope he's still singing that tune when we need his wallet! ; )

With that in mind, as I was looking for our costumes on line I came across this website full of creative ideas for frugal halloween costumes. So, for all you bargain savvy moms you may find this link helpful!

Here were a few of my favorites:

A Bag of Jelly Beans

A Bag of Dog Food--hilarious!

Toothpaste

A Clock-little work but very creative.

Gumball Machine-could also use the clear sinch bags like the Jelly Beans above.

Unleash your creativity!
Mel