If you want a chance to win this huge prize pack of Krusteaz baking mixes and goodies, stick around to the end of this post!
We've been in full blown Halloween and New Baby prep mode around here and last weekend was filled with decorating, errands, organizing, cleaning, and other chores. Were were on the go non-stop and I earned myself a lovely pair of puffy ankles by the end of the weekend. I get frustrated with pregnancy because my brain wants to do more than my body allows me to do, and that makes me want to throw a toddler-esque tantrum. I don't feel well enough to get everything done in the time frame that I want! Wah wah wah!!
Jasper is still obsessed with his new toys from his 2nd birthday. Matt hooked his old Smart Wheels track to his new mountain train set and it's all he wants to do! From the minute he wakes up he starts asking to go upstairs to our bonus room/office/den and play with the "too-too."
Each year we add a couple of items to our Halloween decor and we love those seasonal pop-up stores that show up this time of year.
He's still young enough that none of this stuff scares him. He's learned lots of new vocabulary words from the fun Halloween things he's been seeing, like these ghosts ("ghost-uhs")
We hope that, because we love Halloween so much, we can instill a love of the holiday in him as he grows up, learning to have fun and laugh at the silly props and symbols of the season instead of being scared. I don't much like the gory, truly scary side of Halloween... I prefer fun-scary. Movies like Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Ernest Scared Stupid, etc.
Oh you know, half gallons of blood sitting around on the floor, no big deal.
I think this needs to be in our living room.
Jasper was the first to point out these rotten pumpkins ("pumpahs") and I have to admit, they are really cool and I had to resist adding them to our shopping cart.
Then there was this guy, who we agreed would be worth every dollar of his $200 price tag (a still image just wouldn't do him justice)
I'm loving this age. He looks at a red-eyed fanged bear and all he sees is a fluffy teddy bear, not some hideous hell-creature.
Matt was able to complete most of the outdoor display while I stayed indoors and did some easier decorating tasks. We also tackled several things on our "Before Baby Comes" list. The more we get accomplished, the lower my Stress-O-Meter goes.
After such a busy day we didn't need any dinner hassles, and that meant two things: breakfast for dinner, and a baking mix! I wanted to give these pumpkin spice muffins from Krusteaz a try, because I'm obsessed with anything and everything pumpkin this time of year (which makes me SO unique, I know). Plus, I knew that breakfast for dinner is always a fast option that's toddler friendly!
One pre-heated oven and a few minutes of easy hand mixing later and I have a full pan of muffin batter ready to go into the oven. My pregnant feet and ankles were thankful for an easy breakfast-for-dinner option.
I had to take a photo of them while they were baking - just look at those big rounded domes. My past experiences with boxed muffin mixes have yielded pitiful flat confections hardly worthy of being called a muffin.
I chose not to use paper baking cups and just sprayed the tin with a lil' cooking spray. The muffins released without a problem and I didn't have too much residue to clean.
Look at those big puffy and moist tops. I couldn't believe these came from a box and we couldn't wait to dig into them. Even my two year-old was intrigued.
We needed some protein to balance out all of the sweet carbs, so I whipped up some cheesy scrambled eggs on the side. My refrigerator always has at least two 18-packs of eggs in it at all times. We eat a lot of eggs around here.
I ate my muffin with some Smart Balance spread. The texture was soft and tender and the pumpkin and spice flavors were mild and pleasant. These were great muffins for how little time they took to prepare, and we had plenty of leftovers to heat up for our toddler to eat with his breakfast for several days afterwards!
#SayItWithKrusteaz Baking Bundle Giveaway
I partnered with Krusteaz for this post to bring you this amazing giveaway. The weather is getting colder and the days are getting shorter. What better way to spend time with family than in the kitchen baking? After all, baking is a universal language and nothing says “Welcome to the neighborhood” like freshly baked muffins and “I love you, Mom,” like a warm stack of pancakes! Krusteaz, makers of premium baking mixes, invites you to “Say It With Krusteaz."
One winner will be chosen at random and will receive from Krusteaz:
- Two boxes EACH of the following: Buttermilk Pancake Mix, Blueberry Pancake Mix, Pumpkin Spice Pancake Mix, Pumpkin Spice Muffin Mix and Cranberry Orange Muffin Mix
- One Krusteaz oven mitt
- One selfie stick
- One Krusteaz red and black tote bag
The giveaway will end November 9th. Use the widget below to submit your entries. Good luck!!
Disclosure: I was provided with a Krusteaz prize pack of my own to demo the mixes for the purposes of this post. No additional compensation was received.
Carolyn Daley
My favorite part is the costumes and decorations.
Laurie Emerson
My favorite part is seeing all the little ones in their costumes.
Stephanie Phelps
I love decorating for it and handing out the candy!
Richard Hicks
My favorite part is handing out candy
Breanne
I like all the candy!
Lisa V.
I like watching all the kids getting dressed up.
Robin
I like taking my son out for trick or treat.
EMMA L HORTON
I LOVE HANDING OUT THE CANDY TO THE LITTLE ONES AND SEEING THEM LOOKING AT THE CANDY AND WANTING TO EAT IT NOW.
Brenda Elsner
I love decorating and handing out candy to all the trick or treaters.
Jammie
Hands down the decorations, we love decorating for Halloween!
susan smoaks
My favorite part of Halloween is the candy. I love to eat candy.
Jennifer Barr
seeing all the costumes
Kyl Neusch
seeing all the kids in there costumes.
Tiffany Lane
seeing all the costumes
Michelle H.
I love seeing the kids in their costumes.
Daniel M
seeing the kids have fun
Michelle Hill
My favorite part is that we have a huge bonfire every Halloween!
Ashley S
The spooky feel of Halloween. I am so sad it's over for the year - it's my absolute favorite time of year!
Angie
My favorite part of Halloween is coming up with the kids' costumes!
Danielle Wood
My favorite part is watching the kids get all dressed up and taking them trick or treating.
Penny Snyder
I love seeing the neighborhood kids in their costumes!!~
karen mayernick
My favorite part of Halloween is eating all the treats! Thanks so much for the opportunity!
Lorena Keech
The kids in costume are great. But I get a bigger kick from the grown ups, some in positions of authority, who
make complete goofs of themselves dressing up. Gotta love people with the ability to laugh at themselves.
Dawn Monroe
I'm always excited to see my grandkids dressed up but I'm excited this year because its the first time I've lived in a neighborhood where I can pass out candy.
Bridgett Wilbur
I love seeing all the kids in there costumes.
Anna Kerns
I love seeing the kids so excited in their costumes! Dress up is the best!
Peggy Johnson
My favorite part is seeing all the kids having fun in their costumes
deana
My favorite part of Halloween is seeing the little kids dressed up
heather
My favorite part of Halloween is seeing all of the costumes.
Danielle
All the chocolate candy!!
renee
My favorite part is watching Halloween shows with my kids: Charlie Brown, Garfield, Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas...I love them all.
Marilyn Nawara
Seeing the little neighborhood kiddos all dressed up and happy in their costumes. I like eating the left-over candy too.
Katie Bellamy
I love all the scary movies that come out!!
Tina W
I love seeing all the kids in their cute costumes!
(and the leftover candy!!!)
Kristi C
My favorite part of Halloween is seeing all the children dressed up and laughing.
Jennifer Reed
My favorite part of Halloween is seeing the kids in their costumes each year.
Annamarie V
I love how creative some people can be with their costumes and the candy of course.
LynneMarie
I like seeing all the decorations on people's lawns and houses.
Dana Rodriguez
I love the cosrumes, the candy and the scary movies.
claudia davis
https://twitter.com/davisesq212/status/793576367342424064
claudia davis
The Halloween parade in the Village.
Lauren
I like seeing my kids get excited about trick or treating.
Ty
My favorite part of Halloween is all the decorations.
sandra
My favorite part of Halloween is seeing how excited my kids get.
Brittney House
I love dressing up and seeing all the kids in their costumes.
Allison Swain
I like seeing all of the cool costumes people dress in. Thank you for the chance to win this.
Elena
My favorite is trick or treating
Cheryl B
I love all the costumes and smiling faces.
Steph
We love trick or treating
Julie Wood
My favorite part about Halloween is getting my kids all dressed up in their costumes and taking them trick or treating. They look so cute and have so much fun!
Jessica N
My favorite part of Halloween is everything I do with my kids from decorating, baking, halloween partying, and trick-or-treating!
shelly peterson
I like seeing the kids all dressed up and going trick or treating.
Annette
My favorite part is digging through my kids' candy after they go to bed!
Annie
My favorite part of Halloween is buying all the bags of candy, hoping that we will get trick or treaters. We unfortunately live in an area that does not get many door knocks so that means that whatever is left over I get to eat.
ET Pruitt
The scary decorations are my favorite thing to see on Halloween.
G
My favorite part of Halloween is the Peanuts Halloween Special- It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
Ashley Kolpak
I love seeing all the costumes
Laurajj
Oh my favorite part of Halloween is seeing the excitement in the childrens eyes when they come trick or treating! So fun to see all their costumes!
Carolsue
My favorite thing is seeing the kids in costumes come to the door
Ashley Hudson
My favorite part of Halloween is seeing everyone's creative side to homemade costumes.
latanya
seeing kids in their cute costumes
David
My favorite part is the candy. We always buy several bags for the trick or treaters that come by the house, but always have most of it left over. I could buy less this year, but then I wouldn't have any to eat.
Jessica To
My favorite part of Halloween is getting the pumpkin!
Steve Weber
I love all the fun costumes and of course handing out candy.
Kelly D
I like going to the Halloween parade at my daughter's school.
Michelle J.
Trick or treating!
Ellen S
I like the day after Halloween, candy is 50% off
Kathy Borgen
My favorite part of Halloween is seeing all the cute and creative costumes each year...and of course the Halloween candy!
elizabeth p
My favorite part of Halloween is seeing all the cute kids in costume.
beth shepherd
I love the bonfires. Thank you
heather s
All the fun decorations
Stephanie Kennedy
I love the smell of Halloween here in NH. Fallen leaves, woodstoves and burning flesh of pumpkins!
Jessie Singleton
My favourite part definitely is dressing up for all the halloween parties! Really want to dress up in a Back to the Future duo costume as Marty Mcfly and Doc this year!
Debbi Wellenstein
I love seeing all the inventive costumes as we're handing out candy to trick-or-treaters.
patricia skinner
My favorite part of Halloween is always the candy.
McKim
I love seeing my grandkids dressed up in their costumes.
Jean Bullard
I love seeing all the kids in their costumes each year
Jeanne Coulombe
My favorite thing about Halloween is I love to scare people but also love handing candy out to the little ghost and goblins
Sherry Conrad
I love seeing all of the costumes, and when they are little how excited the kids get.
Ashley C
I love watching Halloween-ish movies like casper and hocus pocus!
Kelly Tupick
I love decorating for Halloween and seeing the kids dressed up in their costumes.
Remi
Favorite part of Halloween? Candy of course! And The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Amy Pratt
I like the reruns that are on tv for Halloween.
Nelle
My favorite thing about Halloween is all the candy and scary themed shows that air on tv around this time.
angie
I love seeing all the costumes.
Kathy Hanley
My favorite part of Halloween is handing out candy and seeing all the kids in their costumes.
Ann Fantom
My favorite thing about Halloween is seeing the little kid's costumes when handing out candy.
Barbara Lima
The food!
Erin
Right ON!
Margaret Smith
My favorite is when my kids dress up and also other kids come trick or treating to our house.
Erin
My husband and I have SO much fun dressing up our son and handing out candy, too!
Susan Smith
I love handing out candy to the trick or treaters.
Erin
That's the best!
Alyce Poalillo
Halloween is my favorite holiday in my favorite time of year. I love the colors and and the fun atmosphere especially, everyone can be a kid again.
Erin
Yes, definitely! No one is too old for Halloween.
Kristina Potter
I would say handing out candy to all my visiting ghosts and goblins.. I love seeing all the new costumes and the old.
Erin
I love seeing all of the costumes too. The kids are so cute!
Liz S.
My favorite part of Halloween is watching classic monster movies with my family.
Erin
The classics are the best! I'm so disappointed with modern "scary" movies!
Kara@K&R Adventures
Those pumpkin muffins look delicious! We love krusteaz too! Rem really loves their cranberry orange muffins.
My favorite part of Halloween...I love all of the fun decorations and now I love handing out candy to all of the kids in our neighborhood dressed up in their cute costumes.
Erin
Their mixes have saved us so many times when we accidentally end up with nothing planned for dinner and neither of us want to go out, ha!