Fun with pumpkins!

While most people were preparing for Hurricane Sandy, we had a full day of decorating pumpkins! :) 
First we painted pumpkins...

She looks so grown up.

We used fingers, hands ...

and a brush too!

We got quite a bit of paint on our clothes, so we decided to just wear our cute diaper to carve pumpkins. :)

Then we carved pumpkins!

"You want me to put my hand in that?"

Mommy and Maddy cleaning out Eman's pumpkin

He loves his daddy. <3

He was completely happy using the spoon.

Dropped the spoon in there... he's trying to figure out how to get it out without actually touching the inside.

She's an old pro at this now. No problem getting her hands dirty.

Like I said... perfectly happy just using the spoon. :) 

 The finished products. Painted and carved pumpkins. :)

Crabby adventures

When we went to the beach this summer, Granddad Locke bought Maddy a hermit crab. We didn't want him to be lonely, so Eman got a crab too. :)  I remember having a hermit crab or two when I was little. I don't think they lived too long. I did some research on them when we brought them home. Who knew there was so much to keeping a healthy "crabitat"???  Did you know that crabs need temperatures of at least 75 degrees and between 75-85% humidity? I didn't!  After reading a bit about crabs... I read that without proper humidity their gills slowly harden and they can die a long, slow death... I decided to try to make them a great home. Hopefully they will hang around a while. If they don't make it, at least we can say that we tried!!
I got my old aquarium and put some play sand in the bottom. We got a climbing branch, 2 water dishes (salt and fresh water), and I used some of the grass I had left over from my fish tank. We also got a humidity gauge and some coconut fiber that I attached to the side. They LOVE to climb on this and it helps with the humidity. Its quite the set up if I do say so myself. :) Apparently "Susie" liked it too. The night after we put them in the new tank, she buried herself. She stayed buried for 8 weeks!!!! Everything I read said to leave them alone if they do not stink because they were probably molting."Hermie/Mr. Crabs" enjoyed himself in the new tank. 

8 weeks later...

She's alive!!
Here is Susie, a freshly molted crab!

I don't know how she did it, but she resurfaced, right next to the food dish. :) For a long time she just hung out in her hole. I put a piece of mango on the dish and she decided to come out. :)

It was a very impressive tunnel system down there.

Susie LOVES to dig. Mr Crabs/Hermie likes to climb. He is always climbing, the walls, shells, whatever you put in there. But Susie... digs. We had to redo their crabitat (fresh sand and whatnot) because she had holes everywhere! She has been very tempermental since coming to the surface. She is a much larger crab than the other one and she gets upset easily. Pretty much anytime you change the water, food, etc., she gets irritated and starts to dig.
 

There she goes digging again.

We found this shell on the beach a couple of years ago. It has made a great hide out for the crabs. This was a favorite spot for Hermie/Mr. Crabs. As you can see, Susie is a bit of a bully. She is always climbing all over her little friend. I know this is normal crab behavior, but she really is not nice to him. I've seen her grab his shell and shake him around. During the 8 weeks she was molting, we got used to the little crab. He is pretty social, doesn't scare when the kids go over to look at him and is pretty laid back. Its been interesting to see how even hermit crabs have different personalities.

Mr. Crabs/Hermie in his favorite spot

Susie

 Anyway, that is all for now about our crabby adventures. I don't know who has had more fun with this... :)  I love watching the kids (even Eman) come down in the morning and see what the crabs are up to. Eman can even say "crab" now. (Well, something that sounds close to crab anyway. :) )

Projects

Wow, its been a while since my last post. We've been enjoying the Fall... just wishing that actual Fall weather would stick around. I can't believe it is the end of October and we are STILL getting eaten up by mosquitoes when we spend any time outside! :(  I'm definitely looking forward to temperatures cooling off. :) 
Anyway, I wanted to share some of my projects. 

I made this for Eman's birthday.  His room is sailboat themed so I based the boat design off his the decals in his room.  I decided to make this for him because he loved the one in his sister's room so much. :) I have so much fun making these. :) Especially since they are for my sweet babies. :) 

 I used some really neat beads in the middle to resemble bubbles. They really catch the light.

 This is the mobile I made for Maddy's room. When we moved her into her big girl room before Eman was born, we decided to go with a butterfly theme. I saw an awesome mobile in the Pottery Barn magazine, but decided to make one myself.  I think it turned out great. Luckily the spot we hung it gets just enough air from the vent to make the butterflies flutter. :)

I have a some really neat ideas for mobiles. Hopefully I will get some time to put some more together this winter.

Here are a few pics of the kids... they are growing so fast. :) 

Maddy dancing. :)

Ready for gymnastics

Susie the scarecrow. :) We had way too much fun making her. :) Maddy made the face all by herself.

Eman pushing Ernie around the kitchen

taking a ride on the firetruck

And now we are practicing our daredevil skills by standing in his sister's car. In case you were wondering, we now have three ride on vehicles. We also have a large kitchen... perfect for racing!

Sweet boy. He loves to read. :)

That is all for now. More pics to come! 

Fall Fun

Fall is in full swing around here. Every time I look out of my windows I see more and more leaves have fallen. The acorns are piling up and the squirrels are in a frenzy collecting their supply for the winter. We have been working hard in "Mommy-Maddy school" and have been focused on all things Fall. I will cover our fun projects in another post at a later date.  This week we focused on P for Pumpkin. :)  What better way to celebrate than by going to a pumpkin patch?!  On Friday, we spent the day at Cox Farm. We were blessed with a beautiful, warm (almost too warm!) Fall day. It was a great day! 

Cousins :)

Piggies!!!

Grandma H and Sweet girl going down one of the many slides

Eman checking out the piggies

Sweet girl feeding the goats

Now she has their attention!

Checking out the horns

"Seriously mom? Again with the camera? I'm eating here."

Captured him "mooing" at the baby cow. :)

Awesome castle slide! Both kiddos loved this one!

Not so sure about this...

Playing in the "Corn Crib"

Love the hair on this guy!

playing in the leaves!

Checking out his pumpkin

It was definitely a fun day! If you have never gone to Cox farm for their Fall Festival and you live in the area, you should definitely go. 
http://www.coxfarms.com/ 

HAPPY FALL!