Attempting Royal Icing for the First Time Ever!

I have wanted to attempt royal icing forever.  Like it's legit on my list of things to learn how to do... right up there with hand lettering... because it just seems like something I should know how to do so with a newly free weekend, I taught myself.

I don't think it's that bad! I only worked with flooding the frosting but come Christmas, I'm going to try and see if I can layer the icing levels or create better details! I'm so excited I pushed myself to do this!

Sugar Cookie recipe: here
For the icing, I used 2 egg whites, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp cream of target and some vanilla. It was a complete eyeball thing, using my stand mixer and some drops of water to get the consistency I wanted! 

It was completely trial and error so don't be afraid to try!

Buttonwood Park Zoo : Boo at the Zoo!

Thanks to an unexpected shift in our plans last weekend, we found ourselves with a Saturday night free with all 4 of us at home.  Dave and I decided to surprise the kids with a trip to Buttonwood Park Zoo for Boo at the Zoo!

We have wanted to go for the past couple years but we always had plans or were unable to go, so when we saw the chance to go we threw on our costumes and got ready to go. Before heading to the zoo, I went online and ordered our "Bat Passes" which allowed us to use a faster entrance, rather than waiting in the main line. As zoo members, we even saved $5 per ticket!

When we got to the zoo, there was a separate entrance for those of us who had Bat Passes.  I am so glad we used Bat Passes since the line for Bat Passes was about 10 people and the main entrance line was easily 50+ outside, not even counting how many were inside the building.

The kids were given a scavenger hunt paper with 10 candy corn pictures on it. They were told that there are 10 candy corn signs hidden around the zoo and if the kids found it, they could tell the closest candy station and get a stamp on one their candy corn pictures.  When it is full, they could bring it up front for a prize!

The kids were very excited to walk around the zoo looking.  We loved that the zoo had great orange lights and Halloween inflatables everywhere. The animals were all in bed, but the kids loved seeing the zoo in this new way! There were 10 candy stations throughout the zoo and the kids were more than excited to run from one stop to the next.

In addition to the trick or treating, the zoo offered free train rides, carousel ides, and face painting. The line for the train was longer than we were willing to wait, but we don't usually ride the train and always go to the carousel instead. We took a couple spins on the carousel and got face paint! Snacks and refreshments were offered but since we ate dinner right before arriving, we didn't stop for anything.

At $11 for adults and $7 for kids if you're a member, it was a great night for the cost. If you're not a member, it's  $16 for an adult and $12 for a child.  Children under 2 are free and the rides are included in admission.  Boo at the Zoo continues (and ends!) this weekend so there is still time to go!

If you prefer a day time event with little ones, check out Baby Boo! Baby Boo takes place on Halloween from 9:30-1. According to the zoo's website:

The event will include fun activities, up close and personal visits with some of the Zoo’s animal residents, and a costume parade and contest. Prizes will be awarded in the following categories: Best Animal Costume, Most Creative Costume, Cutest Costume, and Best Parent/Child Combination Costume.

Children under 2 are free.

Train and carousel rides are included.
Non-member: Adult $15, child $10 - Member: Adult $10, child $5

Walking Away From Dance

Tonight, Emmalee made a much more grown up decision than I ever expected and she is taking a break from dance.  Wrapping my head around her decision has been hard for me.  She loves dance and her friends.  She spends every waking second dancing or tumbling and is always talking about her dance friends, so it's been an adjustment for me. 

Over the summer a few of her friends left the dance team and we wavered on whether or not we would go back in the Fall.  Emmalee, being the smart girl she is, reasoned that friends can always be friends no matter where they are, but a dance teacher can only be a dance teacher if she's at that studio so we returned. Everything seemed fine.

But then she started asking if we could "stay home" instead of going to class.  The only class she was really excited for was her acro class. She would whine about going to the fundraising we do for Nationals. But at dance, she would smile and laugh and dance her heart out.

It wasn't until we were talking about our weekend having 3 dance commitments that she broke.  She cried.  She asked if we could skip it all and just stay home and relax and that's when I knew something was wrong.  She even asked if I'd be mad if she stopped dancing. It was time to walk away.  She, without me realizing it, had spent 2 months trying to love it, to make me happy.  She told me that she smiled and laughed at dance because she didn't want her dance teacher to know that she didn't love it.  At 7 years old, she was going out of her way unhappily to make sure the grown ups in her life were happy. 

What a learning experience.  At only 7 years old, we talked about the importance of having a healthy and happy heart and that sometimes we have to make decisions that make other people sad to keep our own hearts healthy. At only 7 years old, she is understanding that you can't sacrifice your happiness for others. And it makes me cry just thinking about it. 
While I am so sad that she doesn't find joy in dancing the way it lit her heart before, I am so proud of her for recognizing and respecting the feelings inside of herself. 

Watching her hug her dance friends and say good bye was absolutely heart wrenching (I'm legit in tears just thinking about it now), and as we pulled away from the studio with both of us in tears, I asked "Are you sure you made the right choice?" she looked at me and said "Yes, I love my friends even though I don't love dancing anymore and they will always be my friends even if I am not on their team. I'm just sad I made them sad."

I spent a lot of my life worried about making sure everyone else was happy and at times in my life it was at the expense of my own feelings. I am sad right now, but so proud of my girl and so excited about who she will continue to grow into.  And who knows? Maybe a break will help her find the love again... or maybe it will allow her to find something new that makes her heart happy. 

Flying Cloud Orchard - Acushnet, MA

How has October already disappeared? Next week is November! We've been so busy with dance, fundraising, soccer, and me working the weekends at school... we hadn't even picked out pumpkins!

With it already being the end of October, this is absolutely not okay.  With a little bit of rain and limited time before Dave had to go to work, we knew we had to stay local.  We decided to check out Flying Cloud Orchards on Main Street in Acushnet. I've seen all the pumpkins as I've driven home for school and since it opened at 8 am, we had plenty of time before Dave had to go to work.

Flying Cloud Orchards is more of a farm stand, but they have a great penned in area that has hundreds of pumpkins. They're already on pallets so less dirt than in a field and arranged by color and sizes.  Our kids took less than 4 minutes to find their favorite pumpkins.  We wouldn't have even made it out to a field at other farms in that time!

In addition to the "regular" sized pumpkins, they also had what my kids call, "baby pumpkins", the itty bitty ones. Emma picked out a tiny white pumpkin to go along with my white pumpkin that I picked out. 

While they don't offer cider donuts (sad face, but honestly I don't need them...), they did have pies and honey sticks. Emma even picked out a Halloween pencil for school! 

All in all we spent only $6.25 for 4 pumpkins! That's like the price of 1 at the grocery store and this allows me to support a local business!

We stopped by as a "hope for the best" and absolutely fell in love with it, so we'll be back next year when it's time to get our pumpkins again!

xo, Heather

LOL Surprise Dolls - Hot Holiday Toys!

LOL Surprise dolls are all over BOTH of my children's Wish Lists this year. My kids are obsessed and love these little collectibles. They are so hard to find in stores, but Amazon has been amazing with pre-orders and stock levels!
Links may be affiliate links. 

The dolls are available in all sorts of packages!  The Big sister dolls include outfits and accessroies and can be found in the series: Under Wraps Dolls - Series 1, Under Wraps - Series 2, and Glam Glitter. Walmart will be releasing a BLING series for the holiday and as soon as they do, I'll post in my Facebook group- along with tons of other discounts and coupons! The Pearl Surprise includes a Big sister, a lil sister and accessories. The Bigger Surprise is new this holiday season and includes wigs for the 2 dolls included!

My kids especially love the Lil Sisters. They newest Eye Spy series is our favorite! There are even a few boy characters!

Additionally, they have Pets Series, and the animals come with their accessories as well! Emmalee is asking for a Biggie Pet, which is a very large pet, that has extra surprises with it! There is also a new Interactive Pet - which is just like those interactive monkey toys that go on your finger, but with a LOL twist!

The biggest LOL item this summer will be the House! It comes with 85+ surprises! The house includes a family and so many accessories!

There are also so many activity books: Press Out and Play Book, 1000 Sticker Book, Tin of Books, Lil Sister Coloring Book, and Stick and Style Dress Up Book. Additionally, a Glow in the Dark Scrapbook or a Light Up Diary would be a great gift! Emma really loved the Creativity Case and Stylin Studio and the Secret Message Jewelry craft kits she saw this weekend. This Activity Tray would be great for all those crafts and even eating lunch!

LOL clothing exists too! From Fur Duffle bags to Tshirts and pajamas, there is so much!

My favorite LOL item this year is the #OOTD Countdown. With more than 25 pieces and with 25 doors, it will make the most perfect countdown to Christmas calendar as well! Emma is going to be so excited when she sees how many LOL items she will be getting this holiday!

xo, Heather

Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I love a good, short cut, easy to throw together dessert and these Apple Spice Cupcake with Cream Cheese frosting are just that!

A boxed mix, a jar of Stonewall Kitchen Apple Cider Jam, and a jar of cream cheese frosting and these are ready to go in less than 2 hours!

We prepared the box mix according to the directions to make cupcakes.

After allowing them to cool, we used an inverted frosting tip to make a well in the cupcake. Then added a small scoop of the Apple Cider Jam. If my kids hadn't stolen all the little cake pieces, we would have topped the jam with the cake piece. 

Store bought cream cheese frosting in a piping bag and some sprinkles finished them off festively.

As much as I love made from scratch recipes, when I need something quick, these are perfect!

xo, Heather

The Perfect Halloween Movie Schedule for Kids

I always get excited for the Halloween movies on tv, and decided this year, I'd make my own movie schedule for this month!

I put the kids favorites, and since I don't love scary movies, it was easy to leave a lot of them out.
Which are your favorites?

xo, Heather