Halloween

Halloween is no joke in this town. Every store starts decorating their window displays at the start of October, houses are draped in cottony cobwebs from the roofs to the sidewalks, and the pop of orange from pumpkins is everywhere. There's even a huge parade that brings out hundreds babies, toddlers, kids, and parents to Washington Street--each in one creative costume after the next.

So I knew if we were in town this year for Halloween, we had to do it up. Or at least dress up. But with an opinionated two-year-old (and a husband who is just not the costume kind of guy), there was no point in creating elaborate get-ups. Knowing that Eamon would not wear a hat, makeup, or anything involving something other than his regular clothes, we decided to go with the athletic route. Eamon would be a basketball player (easy enough with a Knicks jersey from Marshalls and his adidas track suit), Mark would be a ref (a quick purchase of a black-and-white striped shirt plus black running pants), and I, along with #2, would be a basketball and hoop.



Yep, a family of ballers.

My costume was one of those simple, made-from-items-you-have-at-home kind of things: An orange shirt with lines drawn on it for the ball (having a basketball-size baby bump definitely helps!), a cardboard box painted white with a red box made of duct tape for the backboard, and a basketball net. We happened to not have all of those items at home, but all told, it cost $10. The best part? I wore running shoes and yoga pants with it, so I was super comfortable walking around.




We went out to trick-or-treat with Eamon's buddies, and it was really fun to see and hear other people's reactions. And Eamon had the time of his life gathering candy in his little bag from all of the neighbors. I thought he'd be too young to get it, but he was not shy about marching right up to those candy bowls!




Eamon was moving so fast, it was hard to catch the front of him, but here are some shots of him in action. The little girl is his friend Victoria, who was dressed as Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street.





After gathering all of the sweets they could stuff in their bags, popping some chocolate bars in their mouths, and running around like crazy, we walked back to the "Big Trains" (AKA the light rail station)to see Leezie, Sam, and Jack off. Then Eamon slipped into a sugar-induced coma...after a long bath and a solid tooth brushing, he's sacked out dreaming sweet, sweet dreams, I'm sure.

Sarah gets crafty

For most major holidays, my friends here in Hoboken and I try to get together for a themed get-together. I soon learned that with such creative folks, one simply can't have a small gathering with some run-of-the-mill food thrown on the table--there is much thought that goes into the planning, preparation, and presenting of everything. This year, I took on Halloween and let my imagination run wild (I also spent a bit too much time on DIY and party blogs getting ideas) and before I knew it, I was up to my eyeballs in orange and black. But because I only had to cater to a small crowd, the projects were totally doable--especially the food and desserts. Plus, Mark took on the main course--his famous chili--so all I had to do was make a few things look pretty (also helped to have my mom's fabulous eye assisting with the set up).

Here are some shots from the evening:

The food set-up and my banner--so easy to do with scrapbooking paper, foam board, and string! And a great "reading" tool for Eamon...I think I'll make one for every holiday!


I channeled Martha Stewart with glittery DIY pumpkins, while Mark went for the tradition Jack-o-Lantern.





At the bar, we served "Chilling Cider Cocktail" (which was the speciality drink at our wedding five years ago, then named "Stand BeCider"; a mix of mulled cider, vodka, brandy, cinnamon and sugar. While tasty, not much of a hit with the beer-drinking crowd.) The non-alcoholic option was "Ghoulish Goblin Punch", a blend of apple, cranberry, and grape juices and seltzer. And yes, that's an icy ghoulish green hand floating in the bowl...spoooooky.


A platter of Devil's food cupcakes with orange buttercream frosting. Botched the frosting job, so they tasted better than they looked!


Borrowed this idea from a blog...white chocolate-dipped pretzel rods made to look like ghosts. So easy, tasty, and cute!


And because every kid party has to have goodie bags, I opted to do homemade honey popcorn balls and caramel apples as our to-go treat. I wrapped them up in cellophane bags and made a tag for each kiddie. Making caramel from scratch is NOT easy, my friends, but it wound up tasting scrumptious. And I mixed whatever I had left over with peanut butter for a delicious dip.


Another shot of the dining room. Soon, the table was filled with many more savory dishes brought by the girls...steak-cut french fries, bean dip, jalopeno poppers, panko-friend chicken tenders, and more...all homemade, of course!


A party shot of the happy hosts...although we couldn't get Eamon to wear a costume for the life of us and my actual costume didn't come together in time (I saved it for Sunday), we still had to be a little festive! The mask is courtesy of Erin's semester abroad in Italy.

From bumps to babies!

Not too long ago, Kristen, Mary and I (and Eileen!) posed for this picture...


...And now 2/3 of those bumps are babies!

Mikaela Namakula was born on September 4...and is already the best-dressed baby out there!

And Brendan Thomas was born on October 5...I couldn't help but "borrow" this adorable pic from Mary's FB page. He is so sweet!

Finally, Flynn Baby #2 should be pulling up the caboose on November 18. Looking forward to seeing these little peanuts play together!

Some wedding photos...

Free scrapbooking design created with Smilebox

Here's a little slideshow I put together from photos of Eileen & Derrick's wedding reception. It was a beautiful night!

They're hitched!

We had a GREAT time at Eileen and Derrick's wedding! Such a fun weekend--too much fun to write much more at this point on a Sunday night, but will post more pics and details soon. Meanwhile, congrats to Eileen and Derrick; enjoy Costa Rica!

Hamilton Farm

Last Sunday, we ventured out to Hamilton Farms in Boonton, NJ, with our little pumpkins (Leezie met us there with Sam and Jack). It was a beautiful fall day and the boys had so much fun running around, playing on the wooden train playset, taking a hayride to the pumpkin "patch" (I use that term loosely, as it was actually just a bunch of pumpkins set out on a field), and sampling apple cider donuts. We brought home a bunch of pumpkins to carve and decorate and now all we need is to finalize our costume plans!

Posing.

When Eamon feels like it, he really knows how to work the camera! Usually he's too busy playing to stop and pose, but today I got him at just the right moment. Doesn't he look like he's ready to head to kindegarten in this outfit? Where's my baby?!

Happy.

Someone was very happy to stay up late AND get cake for Daddy's birthday!

Celebrating Mark's Birthday

On Wednesday, October 6, Mark turned the big 3-2! He's had a rough week work-wise (many late nights), so we kept it low key with dinner, dessert and prezzies at home. Eamon stayed up for the festivities and of course wanted to get in on the action when it came time to blow out the candles on the cheese cake!

Playspace

There's a great kids-only spot in Hoboken that opened up around us not too long ago, featuring a gym filled with soft mats, trampolines, a climbing wall, parralel bars, toys, and other fun stuff a two year old finds amazing. I'd held off on taking E there because it's super-pricey, but they recently sold a Groupon offering a reduced rate for their classes and open gym (AKA Playspace). I have ten passes to use before the end of October, so we're trying to go as often as possible. Good thing Eamon loves it! Here he is last weekend during one of our visits. He never stops moving once we step inside!