Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Thank you for all of the tweets & messages, we are safe & sound. Julie headed south to the Carolinas to stay with family & I am still at my parents in Western NJ. It was a scary storm & it's sure not easy having toddlers & no power, but the important thing is we are safe. We should be heading home in the next few days. My heart goes out to all those who lost so much in this storm. 
Halloween was officially canceled in New Jersey. Check out our hurricane Halloween costumes:

Maggie is a cat &  Alex is a pumpkin. My mom, also named Sandy, helped the girls make these masks!

So if you are also stranded with no power & no Halloween costumes make some fun masks for the kids.

 All you need: paper, scissors, tape & crayons.

Co-Host: Mom's Monday Mingle

"The Chirping Moms" are preparing for the massive hurricane coming our way...we are going to try and stay updated during the week but if you don't hear from us, we are riding out the big storm coming RIGHT our way---and most likely spending lots of quality time with our little families around candlelight and under blankets!!!!!!  
We are excited to be co-hosting Mom's Monday Mingle this week!  It's one of our favorite ways to find some new blogs to read---link in and join the fun!  


Welcome to Mom's Monday Mingle!     <center> <a href="http://www.thenaptimereview.com/"> <img src="http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w433/athometake2/Blog%20Design/Link-Up_zps1ce5f4f7.png" border="0"/> Check Out This Months Sponsor: <br /> <div class="pf_ads" id="pf_alleyesondailyfeaturead"> <script src="https://app.passionfruitads.com/a/0f3e72de9dbc23860f96d4218cce3ce7ae9c5cb1.js"></script><br /></div>   Last week we had 234  Moms ready to mingle!   Please help spread the news on this growing hop! Please tweet about this hop!
RULES: 1. Please follow each hostess. They are 1-6 in the list! Naptime Review-Hostess At Home Take 2- Hostess Pushing The Lemons Baby Bear Hugs Mummy Rawles The Chirping Moms

We do FOLLOW back and we really love all the comments!

 If you are new let us know and leave your blog address so we can return the follow ;)

2. Try to visit at least 4 blogs that interest you. Just don't throw your name into the link up, hoping to gain followers. Participate, make friends, and have fun! I know I have made a lot of great blog friends ;)

3. Feel free to grab the NEW button and display it on your sidebar or link it to the post.

  Would YOU like to "Co-host" with us? Email Jessica athometake2@gmail.com at At Home Take 2.    We are scheduling now  for middle of November!

Sponsor Feature: The Chirp Shop

 We are so happy to be working with the Chirp Shop. We think the Chirping Moms & Chirp Shop clothing are a perfect match! You know we love our little chicks, so polo shirts with a chick on them won us over pretty fast. The onesies are so soft & have awesome patterns under the collar. They look great under sweaters for the winter too.

A little background on the Chirp Shop: Chirp was born as most things are: out of necessity.  In the fall of 2011 owner, Adrienne Hofmann found herself with a clothing design that gave personality and pizzaz to a classic wardrobe staple; the polo shirt.  She had been searching for the "perfect gift" for several of her friends and family who were expecting that fall. When searching registries in major department stores failed to meet her expectations, she turned to the drawing table.  Chirp takes classic wardrobe staples and refreshes them, creating clothing for infants and toddlers with a modern and unexpected twist that is both fun to buy and stylish to wear. This November, Chirp is introducing their winter line which includes sweatshirts, long sleeved shirts, skirts, belts and hats bringing Adrienne's ultimate goal of being able to dress a child from head to toe in her brand just a little closer. If you are looking for a truly one of a kind gift or style be sure to visit www.thechirpshop.com! 

Please welcome our new friend & head over to "like" Chirp Shop on Facebook & follow along on Twitter. We will have a fun Chirp Shop giveaway in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Friday Favorites: Lucky Girl Hair Ties & Giveaway

This week's Friday Favorite's comes from Lucky Girl Hair Ties. I'm loving these new hair ties: they leave no crease in your hair & look like an accessory if you have one on your wrist (which I always do). I have seen these hair ties a lot lately, but have not seen the awesome selection that Lucky Girl has anywhere else. There are so many sets to choose from. If you can't decide, you can always go with the grab bag set, which is what I got. 

 How fun is this polka dot tie?

The Basic Black set is a staple.  They also have a new hair tie bracelet that is coming out soon. It's braided & similiar to their friendship bracelet but made with cord. I like this one when I run because it's a lot stronger than the regular ties & I have very think hair. Keep an eye out for this one to come to the shop!

And our favorite Lucky Girl Hair Tie set: The Chirping Mom set. Ok, you see why i'm a little partial to this one right? It's named after us & has all of our blog colors! Be sure to "like" Lucky Girl on Facebook & check out their blog too. You can also buy Lucky Girl hair Ties on Amazon. Now for the giveaway! Lucky Girl Hair Ties will send 3 winners a Chirping Moms Hair Tie set!

The winner is Michelle C. Thank you for entering everyone!

Happy Halloween: It's Party Time!

So we are totally in Halloween mode around here---and what better way to get us in the festive mood than throwing a Halloween party for 90 PEOPLE!!!!!  Yes, some may think Courtney and I are crazy, but together with one of our friends we organized a Halloween party for a social group that we are a part of.  LOTS of kids, LOTS of chaos, but LOTS of fun!!!

So we wanted to share some of the great activities we had planned for the party because several of them would make some great last-minute Halloween projects to do with your children!

1.  Ghost Pops:  Wrap a lollipop with kleenex.  Add eyes and month with a black marker.  Tie a piece of black yard to make the head.

2.  Paper Plate Pumpkins.  You can either paint a plate or orange or keep it simple with an orange plate.  Cut out eyes, nose, and mouth from black construction paper.  Glue on to paper and voila, you have a jack-o-lantern.

  

3.  Ghost Masks:  We just got these pre-cut ghosts from the craft store on one of their fall sales!  Add to craft stick and you have a little mask or puppet on a stick.

4.  Halloween Candy Bracelets:  Start with orange or black pipe cleaner.  String Apple Jacks onto the pipe cleaner.  Tie onto child's wrist to make a bracelet.

 

5.   Q-Tip Skeletons:  On construction paper, glue cotton swabs to make a skeleton body.  Add arms and legs.  Bend Q-Tips to make head.  Add smiley face with crayon.  

6.  Coloring, Stamping, and Stickers:  We had a table full of printable Halloween pages, crayons, Halloween stickers, and Halloween stampers.  These create your own tables are always a hit with little ones!

7.  Halloween Tattoos:  We found some adorable tattoos from Oriental Trading.  We just set them out with a bowl of water and sponges.  Parents could apply tattoo without any extra assistance.

8.  And everyone's favorite table...Cupcake Decorating.  Volunteers brought pre-made cupcakes, tubs of icing, and sprinkles.  Kids could decorate cupcakes as desired and EAT!!!!!

What a fun Halloween party we had!

Families brought in SO much food:  donuts, pretzels/potato chips, fruit, pizza, and WAY too much candy.  With all that sugar, there was lots of space for children to dance, run around, and just have fun!  (And don't worry coffee was provided to keep the parents going on a Saturday morning!)  We also set up a Halloween themed photo booth where parents could snap pictures of their children in their costumes.  Props were provided (inflatable guitars, glasses, hats, silly noses, etc.) in front of a little backdrop.  And one of our special activities was a pumpkin decorating contest.  Families could bring in a painted, decorated, or carved pumpkin and were entered into a contest where the winner won a little something special from a local restaurant in town.  

Check out the awesome pumpkin that won...

And of courses, we had to do a little decorating!  We held the party in the local community center so although it was hard to go crazy with our small budget, we got a little creative, say hello to Mr. Frankenstein!

Hope you are enjoying the countdown to Halloween as much as we are!  

All of these ideas and other great festive ideas will be shared on our Pinterest page and scroll down below to enter the Totally Social Link Up:  All about Pinterest today!

Co-Host: Pinterest Totally Social Link-Up

We are excited to be co-hosting a link up with Mommy Huh today all about Pinterest!  We LOVE Pinterest, if you haven't been able to tell already, and are excited to be a part of this fun link party!

Link-ups are totally awesome! You get some new followers and discover some super-cool people to follow. Each week the Totally Social Link-Up will have a different focus. This is your one-stop-shop for linking up various social media accounts and similar interests. This week we are linking-up Pinterest!

 

 Although Washington, D.C. has been hit with weather better associated with summer, our family has been enjoying the changing leaves and looking forward to Halloween! Here are a few of my Fave Fall Pins!

So true, right?

Just had to share this super-cute mason jar project.

This was a DIY project I ACTUALLY did! Tada!

See more Fall Pins!

Simple Rules:

* Follow a specific board, follow a few that interest you, or follow them all! Be kind and click 'like' for each user you are following in the linky below!

* You must follow your host: pinterest.com/dcworkingmommy/

* And our lovely co-hosts: pinterest.com/thechirpingmoms/ and pinterest.com/mizzjb8505/ and pinterest.com/RuffCreekCraft/

* Follow 3 or more others and get to know them!

* LINK-UP & ENJOY! I’ll be happy to follow all who do! :)

*** Only Pinterest accounts may participate in the link-up. Links to blog pages or other content will be removed without warning. ***

If you are interested in co-hosting a future link party, contact me! Next Week: Twitter

 

Make Your Own Tutu

If your still looking for a Halloween costume for your little girl or just in need of some fun dress up clothes, here is a simple tutorial on making your own tutu. I wanted to call it a Tutu Tutorial, but try & say that a few times fast!  Supplies: One yard of tulle Fake flowers - I found them at Michaels in a tub of fun colors already flat but you can also buy a bunch of fake flowers & pull them off the stems Elastic - 18.5 inches (for a 2t) Ribbon (optional)
Tulle should be folded in half & then cut to be about 40in wide by 14 in long (this was for about a 2t). Place flowers inside the fold around the skirt. It doesn't really matter where you place them because they will move around as the kids dance & play. 
Stitch the sides together to make one big circle. If you don't like to sew, you can also use hot glue where I say to sew! 
Fold over the top about 1in (depending on the thinkness of the elastic you chose). Stitch it in place or use a sewing machine. Leave a 1 in opening & feed the elastic & ribbon through the whole thing. I put a safety pin on the end of the elestic/ribbon to make it easier to feed it through. Then stitch the elactic & ribbon together and sew the 1 in opening on the skirt closed. 
They are now ready for some dancing!

This is the first tutu I made Maggie. I can't believe how tiny she looks. This is just over a year ago. 

Where To Wednesday: Day Out with Thomas

Want to see what my train-obsessed boys went crazy for on a special weekend away???

That's right---a real life version of Thomas!!!!!!!!!

We took a weekend away last month to Lancaster, PA to join in the fun at A Day Out With Thomas.  We arrived and immediately the boys (and their Daddy) started searching for Thomas...

And not only did we see it, but we also got to ride on Thomas!!!!  

A certain little 22 month old went CRAZY!!!!!!!  He was in two year old heaven:)  I love watching little ones joy come out...

We had such a great time at A Day out With Thomas!   Not only did we get to ride on the Thomas train through the Amish countryside, but there were several train-related activities, toys, puzzles, and much more that kept them busy all through the morning.  If you have a choo-choo loving child, it's definitely looking into the Day out With Thomas tour around the country!  (And we also had a great weekend away in Lancaster, PA---a perfect weekend getaway with little ones.  Outlet shops, Hershey World, Dutch Wonderland, Amish hands-on farms, corn mazes, and more...) 

When we arrived home, we were even more thrilled to receive these train shirts in the mail from Revolution46.  These boys LOVE their adorable train shirts---they are a constant part of my laundry load now because they are wearing them like crazy!

And wouldn't these would be perfect for any birthday celebration?!?!  Since Andrew is almost two, I may just have to make a little choo-choo cake to go with the shirt!

Make sure to head on over to Revolution46 because they really make some cool and unique shirts for little ones.  Revolution 46 also makes great big brother/big sister/little brother/little sister shirts, baby onesies, and lots more.  

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