Christmas Neighbourhood Watch: A Few Ideas for Christmas Decorations

By neighbourhood watch, we don't mean keeping a watchful eye out for burglaries in the area. Although this type of neighbourhood watch also can be useful.

This particular version is all about coveting and getting inspired by the houses and people living around you. As the sharp and bracing winter winds keep blowing, it's wonderful to see whole streets light up in a joyful chorus of Christmas lights. Nothing can be more cheerful, save for a mulled wine in front of the fire with loved ones: we have had a look at ways to make your Christmas look even better.

Get People Involved

Co-opting whole streets of people into the festive fun can take lots of patience: why not appeal to their competitive nature and get the ball rolling? How you approach this will depend on your good taste. A classic way to decorate your garden is by placing plain, sleek and blue selection of fairy lights and work them into the naked branches of trees. Along with this you can add a plain and tasteful wreath on your door. If you’re looking for something more eccentric instead, go for all the bells and whistles. On the market you’ll be able to find the most outrageous, bright and ostentatious statues, as well as flashing LED lights, Santa and fake reindeer for the roof line. If you’re not taking either side, plenty of decorations exist somewhere between the two approaches.

Oh Christmas Tree!

One iconic piece of Christmas nostalgia that can be coveted and enjoyed by both inhabitants and the neighbourhood is the tree. Head to a sustainable pine or fir forest and pick up the latest family addition for a good price. Then get some high quality Christmas decorations, like golden leaf infused baubles, tinsel, and delicate angels and reindeer. Have fun with the selection of these decorations, they add a gorgeous ambiance to any lounge room. Successively, it’ll be time deck the halls with people for the glorious moment of lighting the tree. Don't forget to open up the blinds and let the neighbours and passers-by enjoy the view every evening.

This year, make Christmas extra special by taking the time to seek out the prettiest and most delicate decorations: the family and the neighbourhood will thank you for it.

Halloween 2012 at the Tales of Mommyhood house

With my children getting older, I thought it would be fun if I dressed up with them. Since they were both super hero's, I tried to find a ladies superwoman costume - but I had no luck.  Nothing seemed to catch my eye, until yesterday....I happened to find TWO costumes that I liked, and since they were 50% off, I bought them both - and now have one for next year also

view from the end of our laneway

I took the boys out at 6pm to the neighbours houses that we know - they had a lot of fun, Mr. K caught on fast that if he held out his bag, treats were put in.

The plan was to do the 6 houses, go home and then hubby and his dad would take Mr. J out to do the rest of the houses....that didn't quite work as Mr. K followed - they all went together, and hubby brought him home after about 20 minutes.

They scored tons of loot, had lots of fun and Mr. K was in bed at 7pm......Mr. J fell asleep on the couch around 8pm with us.

I hope that your little trick or treaters had a safe night and lots of fun!

Happy Halloween

Today is the day...you may have tiny monsters, ghosts, super hero's and princesses ringing your doorbell looking for treats - Halloween is always a lot of fun around our house - my super hero's wanted to wish you a safe and happy Halloween.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have mentioned before how much I love baking with pumpkin - but I think I have found my all time favorite recipe.  This recipe is for Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - and they are DELICIOUS - with the oats and pumpkin, they are full of fibre too!

The first time I made them - I made exactly as the recipe says - and they were delicious. This time, I decided to cut the sugar down - I used 1.5 cups brown sugar, and 3/4 cup white sugar - and they are still great - but less sweet.

Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween is just a few days away - and while we want our children to have fun, we also want to make sure that they are safe.

A few safety tips to ensure everyone has a great time:

1) make sure that costumes are not too long (tripping hazard)
2) make sure that if the costume has a mask - the eye holes are large enough to allow your child a large field of vision
3) stay together (if your kids are going trick or treating with friends, make sure they know to stick together)
4) make sure your kids know not to go inside a house if they don't know the owners
5) don't zig zag - do one side of the street at a time
6) attach a glow bracelet/necklace to their costume or have a brightly coloured costume
7) no eating the treats until an adult has checked it over
8) if your walking on the street, be VERY watchful for cars - as a driver, it can be overwhelming looking out for all the people on the road - it helps if the trick or treaters are extra diligent and not running around the roads
9) HAVE FUN!

Pumpkin carving and Halloween Fun!

Halloween is a big thing around our house - growing up my father got really into it, and I remember having so much fun carving pumpkins with him. We would scoop out the guts and my mom would roast the pumpkin seeds for us - delicious.

one of my very favorite photo's of my dad and I together

Once I moved out, hubby really had no interest in halloween - so I used to have my younger cousins come over and help me carve the pumpkins, then they would help me get all the treats ready and we would normally bake something special too. It was a lot of fun.

Once Mr. J was born, hubby started to get into the spirit of halloween - and now he goes all out (blow up lawn decorations and what not). Most years, he takes Mr. J to pick out our pumpkins, however this year it didn't happen and I wanted to get them carved.

This morning, I took the boys to Abby Hill Farms - about 20 minutes from our house. We walked around and checked out the pumpkins - the boys picked the ones we like and we paid for them and loaded them into the jeep. Then, we headed over to the petting farm they have set up and the boys got to watch and feed the goats/llamas/sheep etc.


After that, Julien had his first ever pony ride - he had a lot of fun. I knew Mr. K wouldn't hold on, but I tried to just sit him on a pony to take a picture - didn't happen, he was a little afraid.

When we came home Mr. K went down for his nap and Mr. J and I set to work scooping out the guts and carving....we only carved 2 (his and mine) Mr. K can "help" with his when he gets up and hubby's will be done tonight after he decides what he wants done.

How to roast pumpkin seeds

When your finished scooping out your pumpkin - don't throw all the guts away! Save the seeds and roast them for tasty treat.

Separate the seeds from the gunk; give them a "bath" in the sink to rinse all the guts off; dry them as best you can with a paper towel.

Place in a bowl - pour melted butter over them (2-4 tbsp depending on the amount of seeds you have) and sprinkle with salt - toss it all together to coat the seeds

Spread them out on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for approx 45 minutes. Stir the seeds 2 or 3 times during cooking

Seeds should be lightly toasted when done