Heather Ann Melzer

Dinosaurs & Aliens

 

I have a couple of Movie Nights to catch up on from the past couple of weeks. First up, Ice Age 3. Loved the movie - much more than I thought I would. I ran out to Walgreens at the last minute and threw together these acorn treats with chocolate truffles, Nilla wafers, and mini chocolate chips. I stuck them together with my favorite icing. They were a huge hit with the kids.

Our next Movie Night was on location in the Dells - Aliens in the Attic. I really liked this one, and so did the kids. Tom ran down to the hotel gift/candy shop before popping the movie in and found these awesome glow stick alien lollipops. Is he the luckiest guy in the world or what? I was a little bitter than I can sometimes spend an entire week working on treats and he finds one of the best ones yet in a total last-minute run. He's actually come up with some of our more creative Movie Night treats, maybe it's time to pass the baton permanently!

Was our room amazing or what? It's a Wyndham timeshare at Glacier Canyon that I rented online from an owner at a great last-minute price. They have a huge sledding hill on the property that we'll definitely be visiting again this winter.

While we're on the subject of movies, what did everyone think of New Moon? I was honestly a little disappointed. I'm not a big reader at all, and this was the first movie I've ever seen after reading the book and it was a bit of a let-down for me. Knowing everything that's going to happen took a lot of the excitement out and having it not match up with what was in my head was difficult to graspe. I also think that the pressure might have gotten to Rob Pattinson. He just didn't seem as 'on' in this one. Regardless, I'm still excited to see Eclipse next June. I just worry about the 4th movie. The book was larger than life and bringing it to the screen is going to be so difficult, I think. Thoughts?

Monsters vs. Aliens

 

This was a fun one. Tom and I worked really hard on the "Bob" treats, but it wasn't easy trying to make a tall jello blob that wouldn't topple over. I used a knife to cut a small hole in the side of the jello and then gently twisted the eyeball into it and that stayed long enough to get it upstairs to the kids. Kenzie had the gummi eyeball in her mouth within .5 seconds and I couldn't have been more grossed out. Jack stared at his for awhile and then finally took a bite (after cautiously licking it a few times). The kids were super excited about the treat - one of their faves, for sure.

I think the movie would have been amazing in 3D, and overall I though it was ok. I feel like the last few movies we've seen have fallen a little flat - like the stories just aren't that complex anymore. I realize it was an animated movie, but I still don't think it stacked up to some other big ones we've seen. Although I thought Ginormica was totally awesome - she was so cool that I'm thinking of dying my hair white - LOL!

We also watched Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and State of Play this weekend and both were just so so - entertaining, but predictable with no real twist or turns. They just don't make them like they used to, do they?

I am excited about being completely caught up on this season's Supernatural, though, thanks to Tom's brother (and us telling the kids that the clock in their room was wrong at bedtime - "It's really 8:30, not 7:30". That clock is going to be the death of us. For some reason it beeps every morning at 4am (with no alarm set), and Tom and I are left feeling like zombies because we can't go back to sleep after that. Tom said it's making it's way to the garbage can tonight and now I'm thinking that I need to order this one that I saw on Jenn's blog a few weeks ago. It lights up green when it's ok for them to get out of bed - genius!

Spider-Man Movie Nights

Jack has been in heaven the last couple of weekend as we've watched Spider-Man 1 and 3 in backward order. We own the 3rd movie, so we ended up watching it first and then Blockbuster finally shipped us 1 and 2, so we watched 1 last Saturday night. The treats were a tag-team effort. Tom found Cherry Magic Shell at the grocery store and I found the red/blue/white sprinkles a little later. The $1 aisle Target tattoos were a big hit, too (Jack still refuses to wash his off). Crazy boy also took over my dinner and had a lot of fun trying to eat rice with a pair of chopsticks, one grain at a time.

Tom made milkshakes in Spidey cups last weekend for the 3rd movie and I still have Spider-Man treat bags that I'm going to fill with popcorn for the 2nd movie.

I'm dying to let Jack wear this for Halloween, but Kenzie is dead set on the trio of costumes we have planned (which won't surprise you once you see them all together). Besides, their willingness to coordinate probably won't last forever, so I should enjoy it while they're still willing.

Matilda Movie Night

 

 

We picked up this movie for $5 at Target last week and as soon as I saw the bow in her hair I had a nice, quick idea for a movie night treat. Jack has been sick with a stomach bug he caught at school, so the doctor has him off dairy for awhile and is encouraging a loose BRAT diet, so we had banana nut muffins with vanilla frosting and big red bows. I don't think the kids touched the muffins, but they sure did enjoy the frosting (surprise surprise).

The movie was very cute and not at all what I expected. The kids were entranced and said that we should dress up as their family for Halloween next year. (Of course, I have to be the mean principal. No credit, I tell ya). The kids decided on their Halloween theme months ago and I've been researching their costumes ever since. Kenzie's will most likely be purchased and then I'll sew Katie and Jack's. I have a super cool vision in my head of them coming together - I just hope they work out as well as last year's.

I've actually had Halloween, in general, on the brain for weeks. I've been making all kinds of Halloween goodies and just need to find time to put them in my shop. My sewing machine's been running 'round the clock making accents for the girls' room redo, a skirt for myself, fun goodies to put up on Etsy, and this morning I started a jumper for Kenzie (1st grade starts 2 weeks from today!). The reviews weren't so great, so I'm thinking of altering the pattern a bit. That should certainly add some excitement to my day - lol.

Going bananas

  

 

If I had seen the DVD cover before we watched the movie, I might have remembered that this movie was WAY too scary for the little ones. I think Tom took me to see it on my 21st birthday, so it's been awhile - lol.  We fast forwarded through the scary parts and it still lasted over 2 hours. We finally went to bed after 11pm before the planes had a chance to shoot King Kong down (not something we needed to see). They liked the big monkey, though, and knew he was a good guy, so all was well in the end.

They also loved the monkey treats we put together. After Tom picked up the movie that morning, I did a quick search on Flickr for monkey face treats and found this. Tom was on his way to the grocery store, so I called him and told him to grab some Vanilla Wafers, mini Nutter Butters, and M&M's and we were good to go. I used mini gel tubes for the eyes/nose/mouth. We're planning to make some cupcakes like this for Kenzie's last day of school in a few weeks, although I need an M&M substitute (peanut allergy no-no at school).

Kenzie's so excited about starting 1st grade, and about spending the week before with Grandma & Grandpa. She's changing her backpack requests daily and I still need to get her school supplies. I also need to get all new tires for my car since one is leaking air and is about to explode. On top of working on jewelry, kits, calendars, and sewing every chance I get, I feel like I'm going totally bananas this week. It's all good, though - it's FRIDAY!!!

Inkheart Movie Night

It's getting harder and harder to come up with unique treat ideas for movie nights, so I was thrilled to walk into our local Jewel and see these cakey dessert cups right in the front of the store.  Squirt in some whip cream and top it with a heart shaped strawberry and you've got an instant treat.  Poor Jack was so confused about how he was supposed to eat his.  I gave him the go ahead to dig in with his hands and he was a much happier camper.  And, yes, Goldfish seem to follow the kids around wherever they go, regardless of whether or not they just ate dinner!

The movie was pretty good.  I thought "the shadow" was pretty freaky, but the kids weren't really phased by it.  Maybe I should stop assuming they'll be scaredy cats like I was as a kid.  Who'm I kidding?  I still won't watch scary movies! (shiver)

Speaking of scary movies, I'm so dying to see the last season of Supernatural that I'm considering a temporary move to Australia so I could buy this DVD and watch it there.  I had no idea there were different Regions for DVD players??  All I know is that it's totally unfair that people down under can watch it and I can't until September 1st.  Waaaah! 

There's not much at all on DVD right now.  We got Knowing and Push in the mail from Blockbuster the day this past Tuesday and we're holding Push for the weekend because we won't have anything else to watch.  Knowing was pretty good.  Questionable ending, but better than I expected overall.  I'm dying to see the new Johnny Depp movie - has anyone seen it yet?  I've heard pretty good things so far.

I can't believe it's 4:15 already - where on earth does the day go?  I'm going to try to finish Katie's nightgown tonight so they can wear them and then I have to be downtown bright and early tomorrow.  I'm normally put out by having to get up early and endure a long day of commuting, but there just so happens to be a Joann's right by the train station.  How convenient! ;)  I heard that the Joann's in Bolingbrook is closing - anyone know if there are good deals to be found there?

Movie night - on location

We took Family Movie Night on the road last Friday and went to our first drive-in movie as a family.  Thank goodness the kids fell asleep halfway through because it was SO not appropriate for them. I seem to remember parts of the first one really bothering me, but this one was off the charts. The language was horrendous, and for no good reason. Other parts were not appropriate as well. Jack fell asleep on me, Katie fell asleep in the backseat of the car, and Kenzie fell asleep on a blanket eating popcorn with Tom. It was a lot of fun, something I'd definitely do again (with a more kid-friendly flick).

We stopped at Burger King on the way and grabbed some kid meals, since they were Transformer-themed. Their Bumblebee cars kept them entertained while we waited for the movie to start. 

 

 

A few weeks ago we had HSM 2 movie night and the kids absolutely loved it. Even Jack was in complete awe over all the singing and dancing. Is that pic of him leaning up against the couch not hysterical? He's such a chill little dude - cracks me up. We had milkshakes in HSM cups and wore EHS bandannas. My kind of fun!

We have Inkheart on deck for this weekend and I'm cooking up some treat ideas now - hmmm...

Hotel for Dogs

Last Friday's movie night was Hotel for Dogs - the kids would probably give it 3 stars and I'd give it 1.  They didn't get into it until the dogs showed up quite a ways into it and then it held their attention ok.  We had a hors devoures dinner (would have been better on a silver platter, but we work with what we have ;) and the treat was dippin' dots ice cream, that looked alot like dog food to me.  Wal-mart sells them in individual containers for $1 - perfect.  Kenzie thought it was really dog food, so mission accomplished ;)

Today is vacation-eve, so I'm checking final things off the to-do list.  I still need to pick up dry cleaning, get my toes done, make some last minute jewelry pieces for myself, try to find a book to read, and put the kids gifts together.  I love to leave them little gifts whenever I'm away.  This trip I have a few, since it's the longest we've ever been away from them.  I picked up some cute necklaces for the girls that I'll tuck into one of their outfits for the week, some animal bubble blowers, and I'm going to print these today - just need some shiny new crayons for them.

And with that I'm off to try to check-in to our flights (that have changed once again).  I'm sure it's been impossible to predict how many people would be traveling there with swine flu and all, but I'm still nervous about having 2 different air reservations outgoing tomorrow.  I guess 2 is better than none, though!

I'll try to check in with some pics while we're away.  Have a great long holiday weekend!

Bedtime Stories

Last Friday night we had an impromptu movie night with Bedtime Stories.  Very cute movie - great family flick.  The only thing I remembered from the preview was that it rained gumballs, so I plated some cotton candy and gumballs and voila - we had a treat!  Something we do alot during our movie nights is pause the movie during the scene that relates to the treat and then we go get it and bring it up.  The kids really like that.  I think Jack was pleading with me for more cotton candy in that one pic - ha.

Tom's sister and family are coming out for their annual spring visit this weekend and we're hoping to have a movie night for all of the kids.  Trouble is, I think we've seen every new release that's come out.  I'll have to do some more digging and find something good.  The kids are SO excited to see their cousins.  I think Jack is going to be devastated when they leave, though.  He loves having little boys to play with, so he'll be in heaven with his 2 boy cousins here.  It's supposed to be 82 on Friday, so that should be fun.  I'm so unbelievably slammed with work that I might be locked in my office all day - hoping I can escape for part of the day to enjoy it.

I was able to add a few items to my shop this week - new Dreamy bracelets, Eternal Sunshine bracelets, and Oval Photo Pendants that I can make in a week or less - so, there's still time for custom Mother's day gifts!

Late to the party, once again

Tom read the Twilight series last month and he was so jazzed up about the 4th book that I've been dying to see the movie.  We scored a Blu-Ray copy at Blockbuster on Sunday, so we watched it that night.

And again last night. 

And I'm not sure I have the strength in me to return it today - lol! 

I have always thought that Edward looked too creepy to be swooned after.  Even as we started the movie, I said that I had no idea what girls saw in him and that it was going to take some kind of miracle to change my mind.  And now, I'm ready to start carrying one of these around.  HA!  I think he might have cast some kind of spell on me.

I think the girls knew they were missing out, too, because they kept sneaking out of bed and listening to the movie on the stairs the last couple of nights.  And when Kenzie saw the DVD case this morning she said, they fall in love in the end??!!!  LOL  I think it's a great movie for teens, but not for 4 and 6 yr olds.  Not yet.  And it's obviously also great for 34 yr olds.  Who knew?  Anyone that has a morsel of romance inside them has to love it.  Although I'm not sure where that leaves my brother-in-law, who said the book was the worst thing he's ever read and swears to get back at Tom for lending it to him - haaa.

We did watch a very kid appropriate movie this weekend - Bolt.  It hit me that we watch ALOT of dog movies - so much that I'm seriously running out of dog-themed treat ideas.  I had a taste for Portillos and Tom suggested I get the kids chocolate shakes to go with their hot dogs.  Portillos started out as a small hot dog stand in a suburb of Chicago and is now a huge chain.  The hot dogs and beef sandwiches are THE best.  There was a dog on the side of the cup, so that worked for me ;)

I don't think they put them down the entire movie!

Aside from movie mania (we watched Role Models, too, and laughed our heads off), we had Tom's family over for Uncle Jon's birthday and did some painting, too.  Tom finished the powder room on Saturday and the hallway yesterday.  I'll post some pics tomorrow because I'm totally stuck on our powder room and would love to hear suggestions.  I also just met with a really nice woman that lives in a town nearby that makes custom draperies - eeek.  It's very painful for a DIYer to hire outside help, but I know my limitations.  I told Kenzie she was coming today and she said, "But, you sewed our Halloween costumes."  One-day-wear costumes are one thing, 13 foot long lined panels are completely another.  We'll see how the bid comes in.  I could cry just thinking about how happy it would make me to have them.

Speaking of sewing, I have some beautiful fabric on the way that I'm hoping to make some simple A-line skirts with.  Does anyone know of a good pattern?  I was thinking of this one or this one.  I really like that the first one has a little bit of swing to it AND and an elastic waist.  I'd love to have some cute skirts to wear this summer.  I'm getting more and more like Katie these days - comfort is key  and none of my paints seem to fit right.  Would love any advice you can give.  I also want to sew the girls some tops from the pre-smocked fabric they sell at Hobby Lobby (and some Wal-Marts, I hear).  How cute and easy does this sound?

I think I may need a new sewing machine before I tackle these things.  Can anyone recommend a good inexpensive model?  My mom's machine barely made it through the Halloween costumes and I don't think I could survive the frustration.