Ghosts of Halloween Past

Yes, it is almost that time again! All the stores have their Halloween displays out and I am making preparations for this year's Halloween/birthday party.  Frankly everyday is Halloween with a middle- schooler and high-schooler (one currently has raspberry colored hair and the other has black), but we still celebrate Halloween.
To read about our past parties and view instructions for decorations, pictures, and recipes go here.

Updates: Franken-student, a party,the ER, and a cat sandwich

life is like an hourglass
when everything hits rock bottom
all you have to do is wait
for something to come along
and turn it around

• CSN product review coming soon! I am having some trouble getting pictures off my cell phone.  Apparently it is not compatible with my operating system so I'll have to find a patch.
• Halloween and our Halloween themed birthday party were both successes. They were not successes to my waistline though ;) I am almost glad that I am allergic to chocolate or those 40lbs of candy in the kids' trick or treat bags would be calling my name! 
• More reviews will be up within the week.
• My oldest is having school and health issues again so that has been a major problem. Hopefully we won't end up with frustrated teachers on our lawn with torches and pitchforks...
• My youngest ended up in ER with breathing problems due to swelling in her throat a few weeks ago. She had croup..yes croup at 10yrs old, a crazy high fever, and bronchitis. That was no fun but she is fine now. Her attendance record..not so much.
• Our cat got smashed by a board that fell from under my oldest daughter's bed and couldn't walk. It was the morning of my 10 yr old's birthday party which made for much task juggling and an early morning vet run with her screaming in her carrier. Thankfully she is also fine and only needed one day of kitty pain relief!

Halloween Themed Birthday

You may remember that my youngest daughter has been having Halloween themed birthday parties the last few years.


This year's bash. OOPS! I don't have any pics of
the birthday girl on my cell phone!




some guests
my 12yr old


decor


Last year I made Vampire Cupcakes. They turned out really good.
Here is a pic from Baking Bites. Mine weren't quite as pretty but were very tasty!


I meant to make them again this year but didn't have enough time. I did make a 6'5" mummy!
The legs are a little spindly. I need to pad them up a bit! Excuse the mummy making mess. I propped it on chairs to wrestle restrain wrap it. In front of our sliding doors. With the lights on. I am sure it looked quite nefarious! "Um, what is our crazy neighbor doing now?".


twins!

Party of the Year Part 2

Yes, finally an update to this post!
I am taking our Halloween/birthday party decorations down today. Here are a few pics of them and an odd party pic. Excuse my camera skills, the batteries are low but I am tired of waiting for them to charge!

The last pic came out strange. Frog was holding still (oh my gosh, that IS strange lol) with everyone moving around her.

Party of the Year part 1

Frog's birthday was a great success. She had a Halloween themed party then a sleepover for the girls. Unfortunately this one was a sleepover w/o the sleep! Dd had permission to stay up until MIDNIGHT. Some kids fell asleep before then but most made it to the witching hour. We awoke to thundering feet early in the morning. The girls who fell asleep were woken up by the ones who slept briefly. I am sure the copious amounts of treats didn't help. Also Frog got a black eye because one of her friends hit her with a jawbreaker. Otherwise it was a blast.

I made Vampire Cupcakes but didn't get a pic before they were eaten!
Disclaimer-NOT MY PICS NOT MY PICS!
Here is what they look like at Baking Bites.


I cheated and used cake mix bought for very little at Kroger. The Kroger site has coupons that you can load onto your shopping card. Combined with a sale they were having on that type of mix these were a really good deal!
Ditto on the frosting. I bought Cream Cheese and a white whipped frosting. If you would like to do different frosting "skin tones" you can use chocolate or the very tasty looking fudge. Or a mix of the two. I chose not to get chocolate because I am allergic to chocolate (I know...what a pain!).

The inside of these cupcakes are filled with blood. Ok really it was pureed cherry pie filling which added just the right tartness. I cut holes in the top of the baked and cooled cupcakes with a bottle lid (before adding the frosting!). Then I removed that part. Next I spooned the cherry puree into the holes. You will need to add a lot for the right gushiness.


Replace the lids and frost.
Use an icepick or skewer for the bite marks and red cake decorating gel for the blood trail.

I will have to try these other great cupcakes Slime-Filled Cupcakes From the Black Lagoon (also from Baking Bites).