Our Week in Review - October 18-24, 2014

It's been a busy week!! Are there any other kind??? LOL Today we are headed out to a fall festival. We missed it last year since we lived somewhere else. SO GLAD to be back here!!! 

I have been going crazy trying to find the time to get costumes done. OMG!!! Where has the month gone??? Do me a favor. Next year remind me to start costume sewing at least 2 months in advance. PLEASE!!! 
As it stands right now, Pichu is finished, Anna is nearly done, and then I have to start on a quasi Mad Hatter for Deanna. HELP!!! There aren't enough hours in the day!! Of course, it doesn't help that Deanna is ALWAYS last minute with her Halloween requests. LOL

Here's our week!!

We dyed Deanna's hair purple. LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! Don't love how my hands turned purple for a couple of days... LOL

I cheated and bought a cookie kit for Cailey and Colin to decorate. They then proceeded to eat ALL the cookies..... 

I baked owl brownies for one of our co-ops. We have a monthly party to celebrate any birthdays in that month. We have a picnic and everyone brings a snack to share. These were a big hit! There were none left! WOO HOO!! Not like last month when I brought store bought cupcakes.... Hey, I was pressed for time! ;)

These are the landscapes that Cailey and Colin painted in art class that day.
This led to a big discussion on art between Colin and myself. He thought that he wasn't "good at art". I brought up Google and showed him various unconventional artists, Picasso, Pollock, Lichtenstein, Matisse, and Warhol. Then we talked about how art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. We talked about how his art work wouldn't and shouldn't look like Cailey's, mine or anyone else's!! It should be all his. 
I think I got through to him. He seemed MUCH happier afterwards.

Then we had our other co-op. It was a miserable day, all rainy and chilly, but we went and had fun anyway!
I brought a bunch of supplies to make paper bag monster puppets. 

Another mom brought a cool sticky spider toss game. (I forgot to get pics of that.)

Another mom brought ingredients for ghostly goop. This was a HUGE hit with the kids. (And a science experiment, too! LOL)

The same mom brought needle felting supplies in case any of us would like to try it out. I did and I love it!!! I always wanted to try it but thought it looked too difficult and time consuming. It's neither. It's SO MUCH FUN!!! I love it. I think I am going to order a beginner's kit from her. Like I need another hobby... LOL

The other day I got a surprise anonymous package in the mail. It contained that gorgeous hand stamped necklace. I can't tell you how much that thoughtful gift touched my heart. I will always be a West Virginia girl, no matter where I am or how long I've been gone. West Virginia is in my blood and in my heart forever. 
That gift is me. I wish I could thank the person properly. It made my day, week, month, no it made my year. Not only the fact that it is SO ME, but to know that someone out there thought enough of me to send it. That someone out there cares enough to spend their time to search out the perfect thing to speak to my heart. Thank you. The words don't seem enough.....

Peanut Butter Cookie Brownie Bars

I was sitting around the other day with this recipe bouncing all over inside my brain. I finally decided to get up and try it out. LOL I am usually not one to spend much time in the kitchen unless it's for a holiday meal (I love cooking those) but every once in a while I'll get an idea that I just have to try.

You'll have to pardon the picture. By the time I remembered to take one  that was all that was left!! LOL



Peanut Butter Cookie Brownie Bars

Preheat  to 350

Grease a 13 x 9 pan



Brownies -

1 1/3 cups of softened butter

2 2/3 cups of sugar

4 eggs

2 cups of self rising flour

1 cup of Hershey's Baking Cocoa

3 tsp vanilla



Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy

Beat in eggs and vanilla

Mix flour and cocoa together and slowly add to the other mixture



Spread in the bottom of the 13 x 9



Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup of sugar

1 egg



Mix all ingredients together.

Drop by small spoonfuls on top of the brownie mixture



Bake for 20 mins.



Let cool and cut!



They are SOOOOOOOO good. I am definitely going to be making them again!  YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!