Trick or Treat...

Halloween came...and of COURSE I had to dress Peyton up! It's a motherly right and privilege. After searching literally every costume store nearby, I came to the conclusion that no costume store understands how little a newborn really is. Every "newborn" costume would have had Peyton swimming in fabric. So I decided to make my own. Now, if you knew me growing up, I am WELL versed in creative costume-making. In past years I have created clever costumes such as a Ty beanie baby, a tissuebox, and even a goose which consisted of stuffed white tights for the neck and head. Although embarrassing, here's a quick reminiscence of my goose costume:


Safe to say I was comfortable in making a cheap but creative costume for Peyton. And so I came up with this:

Peyton: Our little Chicken :)

The results didn't come out too shabby! Sooo darling as a little chicken. Like mother like daughter eh? I simply bought a white feather boa and hot-glued it on a long-sleeve white onsie of hers. I then hot glued red felt on top of a white baby cap along with google eyes and a beak. I finished it off with a pair of yellow pants and socks...and VOILA! Instant cuteness! Well...that could have something to do with Peyton :)

As for the adults of the house...my creativity ran out with the chicken costume. We were dressed as responsible adults. Who wouldn't want to pretend to be that? ;) But I must say Halloween was really neither trick OR treat this year. We officially had 2 trick-or-treaters come to our house: two dead cheerleaders. Well...I suppose you could count them as 4 since they came both on Saturday and Sunday. I suppose I didn't really expect our 60+ year old neighbors to be too enthusiastic about the holiday. Needless to say David and I were left with a bowl full of candy all to ourselves. We reluctantly ate it all except the tootsie rolls, which I made into a fairly scrumptious fudge. That's right, tootsie roll fudge! It's a great way to use up all those extra tootsie rolls. Here's the recipe:

TOOTSIE ROLL FUDGE
...............................................................

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 cups Tootsie Roll Midgees
2 tablespoons peanut butter
3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar (I only had about 3 cups and it worked fine)
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
...............................................................

1. Line a 9 in. square pan with foil. Grease the foil with1 teaspoon butter; set aside. In a heavy saucepan, melt the Tootsie Rolls, peanut butter, and remaining butter over low heat, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla (mixture will be very thick). Fold in pecans.

2. Spread into prepared pan. Using a sharp knife, score the surface into 1 in. squares. Let cool. Using foil, remove fudge from pan; cut into squares. Store in airtight container.

**makes about 2 lbs