First, make sure you have plenty of these:
Helpers, that is! Now, i'm not fortunate enough to have family close by, but on this particular game day, we had family that was actually there! I love when our families get to come to a game, because, I get to actually watch most of it! If you don't have family, think about who sits around you that can be a good help- or, consider bringing a babysitter.
Next, buy popcorn. This box was huge, and only cost about $3.00. It lasted Gretchen the ENTIRE football game! Now, I do realize that food at a ball game can be expensive. So, here's what I do..... at our home stadium, it's fairly easy to sneak in snacks. I make sure they're hidden in the bottom of our game bag or stuffed into a blanket, coat pockets, etc. I also take her sippy cup. I fill it with dilluted juice before the game, and then i'll add water throughout the game. I also try to make sure that Gretchen and myself have eaten before the game. We either tailgate or eat before we leave the house. If for some reason, we weren't able to eat, I buy nachos and a hot dog that we share!
You'll also want to make sure that your child isn't deathly afraid of one of these.... the dreaded mascot that's only mission is to scare, I mean, bring joy to all of the young fans in the crowd. Gretchen is seriously siked out by our mascot, Charlie..... She can talk about him, she knows he says "tweet, tweet", but, Lord help us if he gets even this close to us! Let's just say, she yells louder than the cheerleaders when she sees him. So, be on lookout duty for this scary guy! And, distract your child when he's near.
And, my most favorite trick of all- a portable DVD player! Make sure that it's charged and bring 1 or 2 of your childs favorite movies. Don't expect your child to stay glued to it, like they may at home. There are tons of distractions at a football game, but it can at least get you through a few minutes of sanity. If your child is older, make sure you have headphones.
Gretchen has a corner of our kitchen, and on her table I placed our treat bowl, complete with spider rings, and her trick or treat bucket that I made last year- find a tutorial for it here.
I placed a few of my leaf items in an area of our kitchen.
And, some of my favorite items on our buffet table. The candlestick was one of my grandmothers! The salt and pepper shaker, I've had since college, and Gretchen calls my pilgrim a princess. They were "dancing" earlier tonight!
I kept my kitchen table simple, although I'm dying to purchase two black pumpkins I've found at Hobby Lobby! I have a candleabra with fall candles in the center, and a dish of candy corn.
My mantle is probably my favorite, because I tend to skip it every fall! This year, I came across a picture in Southern Living of a beautiful fall mantle, complete with a variety of pumpkins. I decided that I would copy the look, and placed small glitter pumpkins in a clear vase, along with a few other pumpkins, and a wicker/pumpkin piece from that my mother-in-law gave me a few years ago. I also placed a few of my wicker decorative balls on the mantle to complete the look. I'm tempted to replace the photos in the frames, with some from our previous fall festivities!
I love when pictures are taken, and the subject isn't actually aware- it makes for the absolute best pictures!
I have a few customers that are Colts fans, so I figured that any of them would adore the bottlecap! I placed it a top layered boutique bows with a white spray.
The second bottlecap says "Big Sis"... no, we don't have an announcement to make, but it was so cute I had to order it! I figured that one day one customer would want a bow to help make a special announcement!
The third bottlecap says "My Daddy Drives a Deere", now being from the south, I could NOT pass this up! I knew that one of my southern customers would need this for their little country honey!
This candy corn clippie set is only $6.00- and if you think they're cute, then go ahead and order a candy corn applique' shirt to match!
Boo! How about this ghost girl clip! She is only $4.00!!! And, just like the candy corn bows, you can add an applique' shirt to match her! Spooktacular!
Has the Vampire craze hit your house hold? Then, order this vampire inspired hairbow! It's only $7.00!!!
So, maybe I'm a bit early, but this is my very first Christmas bow for the 2010 collection! I can't believe that this will be my 3rd Christmas collection, but I'm very excited for all of the things I have planned, and who can resist the adorable dancing reindeer?! This bow is listed for $6.00 and is ready to ship!
I've tried to start making more pigtail sets lately, and I love this black set! It's great for Halloween, but your little honey can wear them throughout the entire year! This set retails for $7.00 and they are ready to ship.
This Halloween dot pair is listed for only $6.00!
I hope everyone has summer out of their system, because who wouldn't love this striped boutique bow in the glorious fall colors! I found this ribbon and had to snatch it up! The bows are listed for $7.00
And, finally, we have this yellow twisted boutique pigtail set. Again, they're great for fall, but they're going to last your little honey throughout the entire year! This pair retails for $7.00
She's enjoyed coloring on the deck with her sidewalk chalk, and she even decided to color on the fencing around the deck this week. I know my husband hates this, but it washes off with rain, so I let her go for it!
The cooler weather also let's me break out her kufi hats again! I love these hats for her, because it gives me the ability to not actually pull her hair back when our mornings are rushed, and she still gets to wear a little -or big- bow! And, she loves picking out the color that she wants to wear; kufi hats are just a great way to mix and match and add fun style to your little one's wardrobe!
I do have kufi hats on my online store- Honey Pie Accessories- you can find us on Facebook, or on our website. This fall, I'm offering a FREE hair bow with each kufi hat you purchase! All of the bows are made on a clip, rather than attaching them directly to your hat, to allow for mix and match abilities! These also look great with large flowers attached to them! And, I can do those as well, for a small fee!
This weeks recipe from HPA is Pepporoni Pasta! This is a super easy dish, and is fun for kids of all ages!
I purchased this frame at Hobby Lobby. Twice a year they have huge markdowns, and I waited to get this frame until it was 90% off, so, I only payed $4.00 for it! Then, I bought a can of spray paint! I chose red, because I like to accent my house in red, but to be honest, I could've left it black. For step one, you'll want to take it outside and give it a few good coats of spray paint!
Now, I realize I do not have pictures of the next few steps, but you try staple gunning rope to a frame while trying to take a picture! I purchased a ball of nature jute from hobby Lobby, that costs $1.99, and a staple gun from Lowes, that was aobut $20.00- by far, the most expensive part of the project! After the paint dries, you'll want to staple rows of the rope across the frame. You may have to tie a knot in the ends, to keep the rope from sliding through the staples.
And, hang on the wall! DJ did have to hang picture hooks to the frame as it came without them. We had this perfect wall in our kitchen, where Gretchen has her little table, and she gets to do all of her projects, so we hung the frame above the table. Purchase a cheap bag of clothespins to hang the pictures from! I also have in my head that I'll modge podge these clothespins with scrapbook paper, when I actually have the time! And, if it ever happens, I'll share it with you!!!
This is a further away view... I actually just put this little dresser in the kitchen. For now, it will hold winter items, and each of us will get our own drawer. Once Gretchen is old enough to decide that coloring on the walls is a grand idea, I'll probably use it so she can have easy access to her art supplies- but, for now they're locked in a kitchen cabinet, and I have a great frame to display all of the projects she has made at home and at church, and my fridge is clutter free! (Well, sort of!)
She also got to have her very first sucker! Well, at least, this is the first that I've allowed her to have. I wouldn't say that I'm against suckers, it's just not something that I feel that she needs to have, plus I don't enjoy the sticky mess!
I love that she sat still long enough though for me to take these pictures, and I enjoyed editing them later on that evening!
Tonight is the 3rd, yes, count 'em, third night in a row that Gretchen has slept on the floor! She gets to sleep in a sleeping bag at her sitter's house for naps, and apparently that's a cool, big kid thing to do because she is wanting to do it at home.