Boy No More

Well it’s Totally Weird Thursday and you be the judge.

Now who wants a bald baby girl? For just $29.95 you can get  Baby Bangs to ensure that your baby girl will no longer be mistaken for a baby boy.

Choose from six shades of hair; cut, styled and ready for immediate wear on a fashionable feminine headband.

What do you think Betsy? Baby Katherine could slip on a blonde model for Uncle TJ’s wedding!

Bald or not bald! You be the judge, of the boy no more….

We welcome your thoughts.

If you’re into rushing things a little, (in my book a lot) does your newborn have her first pair of heels? These for real first Leopard satin heels with black satin lining fit the teeny feet of infants 0-6 months.

Recipe for Fun

Bring your Gingerbread Man cookie cutter back to life for Halloween.

These Chocolate Skeleton Cookies will disappear before your very eyes, so we suggest doubling this week’s Recipe for Fun.

The Taste of Home provides this spookily delicious recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons 2% milk

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until easy to handle.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. gingerbread boy cookie cutter. Place on greased baking sheets.
• Bake at 375° for 7-8 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• For icing, in a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth. Cut a small hole in the corner of a resealable plastic bag; fill with icing. Pipe skeleton bones on cookies. Yield: 3 dozen.

For a twist, or to “kick” it up a notch, we’re going to make Ninjabread Men Skeleton Cookies this weekend.

You can dress Like a Ninja too.

Calling all Dogs……

Hot Dog It’s the Wag-O-Ween Party 2011 Today!

                                  Put on your costumes and bring your people in.

Totally Kids fun furniture & toys WAG-O-WEEN PARTY 2011

Please join us today, October 22 from 1-3PM at 7876 Portland Avenue South, Bloomington, MN

All Costumed Families with Their Costumed Pets will Receive a FREE $5.00 Gift Card!

(All pets must  be on leashes during the party please!)

Professional photographer, Gretchen Osowski will be on hand for Furry Family Fotos.

Hot Cider, Treats, Dog Biscuits, Games & Prizes for the Whole Family!

No Tail Wagging Pets? No Problem! Bring Your Favorite Stuffed Animal and Dress Up

Do not let your people miss out on the fun. You can have them get more de-”tails” at 952-881-2425.

And it all ended with a one night stand.

Mummy Monday

Wrap up some mummies and put them on your plate. Surprise the kiddos, a hot dog inside. The how to is found at Family Fun.

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Looking for a no brainer? This Mummy has no brain, just unwrap it and you will find Halloween Playdough. Another recipe from the Idea Room.

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Mummified Oreos could be your treat.

You may ask How She Does It, she will show you how to too.

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Mummy? No it’s a baby, well maybe a baby Mummy.

Babble claims all it takes is roll of gauze plus a cute baby and you’ll have your own baby Mummy.

All you Mummys and Daddys have fun with your babies on Halloween.

Marvel – ous

Our annual Wag-O-Ween Party is just two Saturdays away. The showroom is spookily decorated with pumpkins, bats, ghosts, spiders and lots of cobwebs, some faux and even many authentic spider spun left especially for the occasion.

Today, I am considering this way Marvel-ous costume. What do you think? How long would it actually take to accomplish that face?

Calling all dogs!

Put on your costumes and bring your people in to the Wag-O-Ween Party 2011. Join us Saturday, October 22 for fun games, prizes and treats. Professional photographer Gretchen Osowski will be with us for fun fotos for pooches and people.

Make some Marvelous Mummy Meatloaf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, anyway……

Here’s lookin’ at ya!

Hallow-Green National Costume Swap Day

Hop on your broom and drop in……

Angela or senior Interior Designer, and Erin L. our special events coordinator are displaying two of the costumes available for the National Costume Swap Party on Saturday.

Go green this Halloween and celebrate EEK-onomically by exchanging your gently used Halloween costumes for a new – to – you one.

Please join us.

WHEN: Saturday, October 8th from 1pm-3pm
WHERE: Totally Kids retail location at 7876 Portland Ave. S., Bloomington, MN 55420
WHAT: Hallow-Green Costume Exchange Party
WHY: To offer families a creative, eco-friendly Halloween tradition

Everyone will be entered into a drawing; the first chosen will pick their item first. The rest will follow; then, let the trading begin.

Hot spiced apple cider and cookies will be served. Play fun games and win prizes. Enter a drawing for a eco-friendly, kid powered car!

Receive a 10% discount on everything and anything when participating in the costume exchange.

Families are encouraged to bring in multiple costumes for the exchange. Any left over costumes will be donated to St. Joseph’s Home for Children, a charity that provides basic needs and emergency shelter needs for children in the Minneapolis and metro area.  Last year, Totally Kids was able to donate a carload of Halloween costumes to children. The goal for this year is to at least double that amount. What a great way to share the Halloween spirit with children who would otherwise not receive this opportunity.

FINGER FOOD

PREP TIME: Requires 30 minutes chilling
COOK TIME: 25 minutes
YIELD: About 30 Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon Amaretto
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 cup sliced almonds
3 tablespoons strawberry jelly
1 teaspoon water

NEXT:

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, egg, Amaretto, and vanilla extract.  In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.  Working in batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until fully incorporated.  Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

3.  Meanwhile, combine the strawberry jelly with 1 teaspoon water in a small saucepan.  Over low heat, melt the jelly.

4.  Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remainder refrigerated, roll a scant tablespoon full of dough into a thin log shape, about 4″ long for each cookie. Squeeze the dough around the center and close to one end to create knuckle shapes.  Keep the logs somewhat skinny, as they tend to expand in the oven.

5.  Make a small indentation at one end of the dough.  Drop a small bit of jelly onto the indentation, and press an almond slice firmly into the end of the cookie for a nail.  With a paring knife, make three slashes at the knuckle.

6.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until pale golden.  Allow the fingers to cool on a cooling rack.

Serve if you dare!

Happy Johnny Appleseed Day

Johnny Appleseed Day for Kids

Johnny Appleseed Day honors one of America’s great legend., Johnny Appleseed was a real person named John Chapman who traveled west and he planted and sold apple trees along the way to settlers. With every apple tree that was planted, the legend grew.                                                  Bake up some fun with this pretend apple pie.

A Little About the Legend:

• John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed) was born on September 26, 1774.
• He was a nurseryman who started out planting trees in western New York and Pennsylvania.
• During the life of John Chapman, the “West” was places like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois.
• John Chapman was a deeply religious person and was known to preach during his travels.
• According to legend, Johny Appleseed led a simple life and wanted little. He rarely accepted money and often donated any money he received.
• It is believed that he died on March 11, 1845, from what was referred to as the “winter plague”. The actual date of his death has been disputed.

Celebrate today with an apple rich menu. Include fresh apples for snacks, and some applesauce or apple pie for dessert. And, make plans to plant an apple tree.

Easy Peasy Apple Pie uses a refrigerated crust.

Or, bake an apple pie in an apple – bet you’ve never tried this one!

This year there is caramel apple pie on a stick for you to try.

Upcycle or Upside Down

Yes indeed, upcycled and upside down.

Megan (surprise – surprise) here is a new project – how about building a which-way witch for the event. Birshykat has the 411 you’ll need for this creation. (witch BTW  was made from finds right here in Minneapolis) She even crafted the witches shoes! (the Goodwill is  conveniently located down the street) We will see what our talented furniture designer, Megan will come up with…

Hallo-Green Costume Exchange Party 2011.

Celebrate EEK-onomically this Halloween by exchanging costumes! Bring in your kids’ gently-used costumes and trade for a new-to-you one! Trading costumes is a fun way to get kids excited about recycling.  Join us at Totally Kids for games, prizes, and spooky treats!

START BRINGING IN YOUR GENTLY-USED COSTUMES NOW!

All those participating will receive 10% off their entire purchase!*

Bring in gently-used costumes for kids or dogs and trade for a different one!

WHEN: Saturday, October 8 from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
WHERE: Totally Kids at 7876 Portland Ave. South, Bloomington, MN 55420
WHAT: Hallow-Green Costume Exchange Party 2011
WHY: To offer families a creative, eco-friendly Halloween tradition

Everyone will be entered into a drawing; the first chosen will have first pick of a new-to-you costume. The rest will follow; then, let the trading begin!

Any additional costumes that you can donate will be combined with the leftover Halloween costumes and given to St. Joseph’s Home for Children. Last year we were able to provide a huge car load of Halloween costumes for the kids at St. Joe’s. This year our goal is to at least fill 2 car loads. Please help by sending over any gently used costumes that you are no longer using!

www.shoptotallykids.com
phone: 952-881-2425

To top off the witches head, (wherever it is) here are some yummy kid easy to make Witches Hat cookie concoctions.

Simple iingredients are Keebler Fudge stripe cookies (turned upside down), Hershey Kisses attached with orange Wilton tube icing. Soooo easy!

*Offer good October 8 only. Not valid on prior purchases, gift cards or combinable with other offers.

When It Rains It S’mores

A star filled night sky, crackling campfire, finding the perfect spot on a preferably charred, slightly glowing log for roasting your marshmallow that’s waiting on the tip of a stick until the inevitable poof when  it’s enveloped in a small ball of flames.  Next, what it’s all about…. the ooey gooey  marshmallow-ey chocolate mess on your face and hands.

Maybe you have a secret method of getting it all neatly between the graham crackers? Not me.

A few weeks ago we had all the fixings ready and waiting, but two days of rain dampened our campfire plans for S’mores.

Can’t rain on our parade – we discovered a new method:

When It Rains – It S’mores

Don’t reserve these for campfires–they’re easy to do in the oven.

Ingredients:

16- graham cracker squares

4- milk chocolate bars

1- cup mini marshmallows (un-used, not from marshmallow shooter misses)

Preparation:

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Arrange half of graham crackers on baking sheet. Top each cracker with 1 piece of the chocolate bars. Broil until chocolate is softened but not melted.
3. Arrange 2 tablespoons marshmallows on each cracker. Broil until lightly toasted.
4. Top with remaining crackers and serve.

Tomorrow is National S’mores Day – now we know – no campfire – no problemo…

The origin of S’mores dates back to the 1920′s. It’s believed the recipe was first discovered by Girl Scouts. S’more folklore suggests that S’mores got its name right by the campfire. After eating one, young kids chanted “gimme some more!”

S’mores for Halloween.

Sally Ride Day

Sally Ride Day honors the first American woman to go into space. Dr. Ride accomplished this feat as a mission specialist aboard STS-7, the second flight of the Space Shuttle “Challenger”. STS-7 was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 18, 1983.

Celebrate Sally Ride Day by learning more about the U.S. space program and NASA.

If any of you young ladies (or  young gentlemen) have thought about becoming an astronaut, hopefully  you will follow your dream of going into space. Until then, here is some practice gear for you.

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This Official Jr. Astronaut Suit is available in child and adult sizes. If you stop in today you just might see Annie suited up in her astronaut gear.

Unfortunately, Annie’s head is a little too big to wear the realistic Official Jr. Astronaut Helmet with built in sound chips, a spring loaded retractable shield plus a mock boom microphone for communication.

As a famous Trekkie once said. “Space is the final frontier”.