8 Yummy Halloween Desserts The Whole Family Can Enjoy

 

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Yes, it's that time again, which means that the veil between the living and the dead will thin and witches, vampires, mummies, and other ghoulish figures will come out of the woodworks. So, if you're trying to keep with the tradition and blend in so the monsters won't know you're not one of them, then make sure they see you and your family eating some of these delicious Halloween treats. They're spooktacular!

1. Eyeball Soup

https://www.babble.com/best-recipes/5-creepiest-coolest-eyeball-food/

https://www.babble.com/best-recipes/5-creepiest-coolest-eyeball-food/

You'll need two 14 ounce cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes, 3 cups of chicken stock, 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, to taste and cook it in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Then place the soup in a blender until it's pureed and pour it back into the pan. Feel free to add more salt and pepper if you want and serve in a bowl. Now for the final touch, use a melon baller or sharp paring knife to carve out a hole for an olive on the cherry sized fresh mozzarella balls. Then press the green olives with pimentos in and put it in the bowl. Two or three eyeballs per bowl should do it.

This recipe will have everyone boo-ing, but for a good reason. Just make a cup of hot cocoa, serve it in a mug, and top it with a swirl of whipped cream! Make ghost eyes with mini-dark chocolate chips.

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  3. Spider Cookies

I just went to the grocery store and purchased some peanut butter "break and bake" cookies. Once they were cooled from the oven, I simply added the mini peanut butter cup (upside down), and decorated spider legs and eyes with tube icing! Super easy and the kids will love helping. 

4. Jack Skellington Pumpkin Caramel Pie

First off, you'll need 1 15-oz. can pumpkin purée, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1 14-oz. can of sweetened condensed milk, 2 large eggs, 1 double pie crust, and 1/2 c. thick caramel sauce. Whisk the pumpkin puree, salt, spices and condensed milk in a saucepan on medium heat. Then let it cool before whisking the eggs in. Then place your store-bought pie crust into an 8' pie plate and pour the pumpkin filling. You can spoon the caramel sauce on top until it looks marbled. Then cover the pie with the crust and use a toothpick and a knife to sketch and carve out Jack Skellington's face and bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees F. Then reduce the temp to 350, cover the top with aluminum foil and bake for another 40 minutes. Then let it cool and serve.

5. Ghost Covered Strawberries

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Melt white chocolate chips with a smidge of vegetable oil, or just buy Wilton melting chips from the store or the link below! Simply dip your strawberries in the melted chocolate and add mini chocolate chips for the face and mouth. The messier you get, the more ghoulish they appear! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Goblin Smoothie

https://www.babble.com/best-recipes/goblin-smoothie-healthy-halloween-treat/

https://www.babble.com/best-recipes/goblin-smoothie-healthy-halloween-treat/

Blend 1 1/2 of frozen bananas, 1/2 cup non-dairy milk, 1/2 cup vanilla non-dairy yogurt, 1 tsp matcha green tea powder (which will add an extra caffeine punch), 3/4 cup of watermelon, or peaches. You can also add 1/4 avocado, 1 tsp Chia seeds, a handful of spinach, and ice. Also try drizzling some agave syrup to make it taste sweeter. Once it's creamy smooth, you simply pour it into a cup and savor this smooth and creamy treat.

 

 

 

 

7. Rice Krispie Monsters

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 Sure, you can make your own Rice Krispies … BUT you can also just buy a bulk box from the grocery store, use food coloring to dye melted white chocolate, and add Wilton‘s googly eyes for the perfect monster effect. Perfect for a Halloween themed snack day at your child’s preschool or kindergarten.

 

 

How to Explain the Meaning of Easter to Kids

Depending on your religious preference, Easter can mean so many things to so many people. The ringing of a new Spring season or celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Or both! It is absolutely one of my favorite times of the year and I certainly don't need to search my brain for new and fun activities for the kids because Easter is chock full of wonderful events and celebrations in just about every community. 

If you are a part of a church community Easter can be such a special time for kids when they go all out with fun activities that they both enjoy and learn from. Sometimes the meaning of Easter can be a hard subject for little kids because it brings up themes like death and well, torture really. Some pretty dark stuff. At the same time, you may not want to keep Easter as something that is all about bunnies either. It certainly can be a complicated conversation but some great tips are to just explore some major themes and connect that with the themes of spring. Death and rebirth, brokenness and healing, sin and salvation. All the new budding flowers and plants coming up are a great way to explain the comings of spring and the true meaning of Easter. The idea of new life is a major theme of Easter and in my opinion, is the easiest to understand for small children. 

Pretty cheesy bunny, but kids love him right?&nbsp;

Pretty cheesy bunny, but kids love him right? 

Before you discount the Easter bunny as being pagan foolishness, the mammal is an ancient symbol of fertility and new life. There it is again, new life. The bunny, new life, spring, it all ties in. What about those Easter eggs the bunny supposedly delivers? Some say Easter eggs represent the emergence from the tomb / resurrection. Decorating eggs also dates back to the 13 century where people would decorate this formerly, Lenten -forboden food during Lent and then eat them on Easter as part of the celebration. 

I'm no Rechenka so we rolled our eggs in cool whip and food coloring :)

I'm no Rechenka so we rolled our eggs in cool whip and food coloring :)

 

In other cultures, Easter involves some darker and more serious traditions, But the underlying theme seems to still be a welcoming of the spring season and a purification of the body and soul. Sometimes modern culture seems to water down the original traditional celebrations but if you just take some time to meditate on what this holiday really means and represents to you, you can soon find an explanation for your children that can mean more than a basket full of toys and candy. 

And if you are not Christian, or not religious at all, spring is still something to celebrate! For us Midwesterners who have been stuck in the winter doldrums, we can finally enjoy the outdoors again and if that isn't a reason to go out and do fun, spring related activities, I don't know what is. 

 

Fun with animals at our church Easter carnival!

Fun with animals at our church Easter carnival!

Fun dying Easter Eggs! If you use Cool Whip instead of shaving cream, you can feel secure eating the eggs later. Or better yet! Make a colorful deviled eggs appetizer. The food dye will most likely have seeped through to the egg white.&nbsp;

Fun dying Easter Eggs! If you use Cool Whip instead of shaving cream, you can feel secure eating the eggs later. Or better yet! Make a colorful deviled eggs appetizer. The food dye will most likely have seeped through to the egg white. 

These eggs were blown out and dyed with nail polish! Just put drops of various nail polish colors in luke warm water and roll your egg along the surface. Use gloves and crack a window for the smell :p

These eggs were blown out and dyed with nail polish! Just put drops of various nail polish colors in luke warm water and roll your egg along the surface. Use gloves and crack a window for the smell :p

We wish you all a very "Hoppy" Easter and a glorious spring season. 

Columbus Museum of Art

How does your family spend Sundays? If it's not at the Columbus Museum of Art then it's time to take a second look my friends. The newly renovated Columbus Museum of Art is a wonderful family outing and you can't beat that fantastic price of free.99 !! Yes folks, admission and parking is free on Sundays. Does that make the museum more crowded than normal? Yes. But does that make taking young children to an art museum more tolerable? Definitely, yes. They will actually blend in quite well with all the commotion and all the visitors know what they are in for when arriving on Sunday. I'm definitely not condoning letting your minions run wild (this is a museum after all) but I am saying that it makes the whole experience less stressful knowing that your toddler isn't the lone echo in a silent cave of fragile objects.

As new transplants to the Columbus area, we did not have the pleasure of visiting the museum pre-makeover but the difference is obvious. Modern vs classic. The back entrance is vibrant and open and may remind you of the Apple store in the bright, airy, nature of the space with pops  of color. On either side of the back entrance is the gift shop and the Schokko Art Cafe run by Cameron Mitchell. (Kids menu for the win!) 

The children's area on the first floor is magnificent. I love that such a cool space like this exists in the midst of what many consider to be a more formal, adult specific, attraction. There is a cute treehouse, costume dress up area, and multiple stations to create your own art and stretch the imagination. This is a space for all age groups from toddler to teen. 

 

I have heard wonderful things about the rotating exhibits (Lego, Chihuly, etc) but for our excursion I strapped the kids in the stroller and toured the standing exhibits. I asked the kids what they saw in each picture and what colors they noticed. It will be so interesting to hear how those answers will change and become more insightful as they age. That is what makes this particular Columbus attraction a definite repeat for us for years to come. 

It is a major plus that going on our "adventures" saves our living room from being destroyed, but much more important is the opportunity to stimulate the little minds of which I have been blessed to have charge. Balance is everything and yes, my kids love their movies and toys, but they also love going to new places, seeing new things, and having new experiences. Art is going to have to be a part of their childhood because that creativity is surely going to boil over into other parts of their life and hopefully their future. 

We will definitely be visiting in the next couple weeks to celebrate spring with "Art in Bloom."

Until then…. "Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure." - J.K. Rowling