#Delmonte Diced Peaches with Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Shop for #cbias

Our family is often on the go- with four kids, it’s inevitable.  There are no buses to the elementary school, so our girls have to either be driven or walked to school each day, twice a day.   With Ryan’s appointments, Aaron switching from days to nights, and everything else, sometimes we need to grab snacks on the go.

I prefer to have healthy items to choose from, and try to pack things to bring with me so I don’t end up grabbing fast food or junk food on the go.  I often pack a bento box for the boys full of assorted snacks and goodies and head to the playground for an hour or so before we continue on to the school  to get the girls in the afternoon.

Last night, while we were Trick or Treating, we grabbed the Del Monte Diced Peaches with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar fruit cups we’d recently purchased (see our shop here) to give to the boys while they were in the wagon between houses.  That way they had something to snack on instead of the candy.

They stayed perfect in the cup holders of the wagon, and they were just enough of a treat that the boys didn’t even ask us for any of the candy.  We were able to wait until we got home and check inspect it without any tears.  They were a huge hit and we will definitely purchase them again!

What quick, healthy on the go snacks do you and your family like?

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias


Trick or Treat!

I just LOVED the girls in their costumes this year!  It was a little chilly out, but nothing like Trick or Treating when I was little in NY.  I love that the kids don’t have to wear coats over their costumes.

The boys were really into it this year.  We brought the wagon and when Aaron would stop in front of a house they’d hop out with their bags and run to the door, following their sisters.

There were so many more kids here on base than we ever had at our old house.  It was crazy!  We ran out of candy in about 30 minutes… while we were still home getting the kids dressed.  We didn’t stay out the whole four hours, more like an hour and a half or so.  Right after we got home, it started sprinkling, so our timing was good.

How was your Halloween?


Halloween Festivities

The kids (and by kids I’m totally including Aaron) made their haunted house last night.  Yes, Ryan is naked, eating multiple lollipops and sitting on the kitchen table.  Oops.  We also decorated treat bags for them to carry Trick or Treating tonight.  I bought the bags for $1 each and then got the glow in the dark fabric paints- we will see how well they glow tonight!


Pumpkin Surprise Cupcakes

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There’s this recipe floating around the internet for pumpkin cupcakes.  I’ve seen it on about a million sites, pinterest, blogs, etc.  It’s super easy- a 15oz can of pumpkin puree and a box of cake mix.  That’s it.

I had a big can though- 29oz.  And of course I had to mix it up a little, add my own touches.

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I added a dash of pumpkin pie spice and inserted a Pumpkin Spice Hershey’s Kiss in the center of each.  At the last minute, I threw in a splash of vanilla extract and used some orange & black food coloring to make it even more festive.

The batter is thicker than normal cake batter, and it scooped out almost like ice cream.

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See how thick? After I filled the muffin tin halfway with the part of the batter I’d dyed orange, I added the Hershey’s Kiss, and used it to kind of flatten it down and smooth things out.

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Next I dyed the remaining batter black and added a dollop to the cupcakes. After smoothing the tops out, they were ready to bake!

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I also made a batch of mini cupcakes for the twins.  They don’t have kisses inside, and I didn’t frost them.

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While they were in the oven, I tried to figure out what to do with the rest of the puree, and what type of frosting to use. I decided to get creative and invent my own with what I had on hand. I mixed the pumpkin with a block of cream cheese and about ½- ¾ of a cup of brown sugar. I thought brown sugar was more fall than the powdered I usually use. I also put a dash of the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract in it.

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After mixing it, I thought it wasn’t quite sweet enough or thick enough, so I added about a cup of powdered sugar. It was still too runny to pipe, but I didn’t want it to be too sweet, so I put it in the fridge for a bit to stiffen up.

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Here’s the end result!  When you bite into it, you get to the Hershey’s Kiss- that’s the surprise!


5 Unique Halloween Costume Pairings for Twins

When people have twins, it seems as if they almost always put them in Thing 1 and Thing 2 Halloween costumes.  But really there’s so many more unique combos you can come up with if you just add a bit of creativity!  If you’re like me, and  you don’t want to your kids to be yet another set of superheros, M&M’s, or Super Mario Brothers, yet you want them to coordinate, here are some of my ideas:

The Tortoise & The Hare:

Just about all costume sites have turtle and bunny rabbit costumes, but if you don’t want to spend the money, they are super easy to make at home as well with the appropriate colored sweat suits and felt. Just add a runner’s bib number safety pinned to the front of each of them, and there you go!

Dr. Frankenstein & His Monster:

Also available on just about every costume website out there, or easy to make at home.  You can find tutorials all over the web.

The Chicken & The Egg:

Because everyone is dying to know which came first…

Soy Sauce & Sushi:

I found this set on etsy and it is adorable!  Very unique!  You definitely won’t see other kids in the same costumes on Halloween wandering your neighborhood.

Little Miss Muffet & Spider:

Another storybook set like the tortoise and the hare, everyone knows the rhyme.  It would be awesome for boy/girl twins- the girl gets to be frilly and princessy, and the boy gets to be something creepy- yet they coordinate.

Which is your favorite duo?  Have you ever dressed up with a friend or partner, or even a group?  What were you?