You can never have too many Halloween recipes in your kitchen arsenal, right? I thought of this one the other day and it is just too simple not to make! It is only three ingredients and you can create a ton of them in only a few minutes. Not only that, but these spiders only use three ingredients. You didn't read that wrong, you only need crackers, black olives, and hummus. I'll be honest, I love these things. I mean I could eat a dozen in one sitting if my wife let me. So for your next Halloween party, think of this recipe first! Be sure to watch my video below to see how I made them.

The Perfect Bag of Snacks to Keep in Your Car

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Snyder's-Lance. All opinions are my own.

It's the eternal parental problem. You're going drama practice, to a little league game, or even just to the park down the street. In your head, you know your kids are going to be asking for food exactly 2.4 seconds after you sit down. Apparently their stomach timers are synced to the timers in your muscles that control when you want to sit and relax for five minutes. But you can't fight it, you can only prepare for it. This is where your ability to choose the right snacks comes in.

Of course, as a parent, you've have to deal with this for years. There have been times where you picked the wrong snack (it melted in the bag), or you forgot the snack on the kitchen counter because it was hiding right next to your keys. I'm not judging, I've been there. This is why my family is always looking for a versatile snack that can go anywhere. After untold hours of searching, we might have found the snack that fits our needs. We have taken these to a local monument, amusement park, and even to my son's soccer game. They actually were perfect because we were able to hand them out to other hungry kids at the field as well. Kids at youth sporting events are actually kind of like ants. When they smell a tasty snack, they swarm you and there is no getting away from them. Sometimes I wasn't even sure they were there for the game, I think they sniffed out the snacks in their car while they drove by.

What is this magic snack you ask? You probably have to buy these snacks on the black market of the of the internet, right? They are actually right at your local grocery store. It's the Snyder's-Lance Snack Packs. So why are they the perfect snack-on-the-go? There are four reasons. There might actually be more than four, but we are parents here, and we probably don't have time to read more than four. In fact, only reading four will more than likely take 2-3 attempts trying to read this whole post with all of the interruptions, so let's just keep it simple.

How to Make Easy Jack O' Lantern Orange Smoothies for Halloween!

When I say that my kids loved a recipe, I don't throw that word around lightly. We recently created this smoothie idea and my kids couldn't get enough. They literally kept asking for more! That is why I had to hare it with you, especially with Halloween almost here. As parents, we are always looking for easy and healthy recipes that our kids will actually eat. This is one of those recipes. In fact, it is designed for Halloween but really can be served all year round, just skip the step on making it into a Jack O' Lantern.

The ingredients are listed below and I've also made a video with all of the instructions. Have a safe and fun Halloween!

The Nightmare Before Christmas Oogie Boogie Lunch

So it's about time one of the biggest stars from The Nightmare Before Christmas was featured in his own lunch. After all, Oogie Boogie was Jack Skellington's "enforcer." He is the one who held Sandy Claws hostage so that Jack could fulfill his mission. He also has one of my kids' favorite songs in the movie, so he has that going for him as well. I am also on a "Nightmare" kick so this is my third lunch in a row on this theme. To see all the other Nightmare themed lunches I have made over the year's, CLICK HERE.

I created this lunch in an Easy Lunch Boxes container and yes there is an actual sandwich underneath Oogie Boogie. The cheese is just the top for it! If your kids are as big a fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas as mine are, they will love this lunch. Directions are below!

Parents Need Each Other's Encouragement More Than Each Other's Criticism

Dads are lazy. I just finished reading an article from a well known parent magazine talking about how "science" has proven that dads use their time at home hanging out and relaxing, while moms work. The title was absolute clickbait and it smelled strongly of a safe place to let unhappy wives vent about their husbands. Oh, and it also served as an incubator for accumulating easy website clicks. The article itself picked and chose what it wanted from the actual study done by a university, in order to make the editorial as inflammatory as possible. The beauty of the internet is that we don't need to let facts get in the way of our opinions. The article, and the comment section of the Facebook post, was pretty much a breeding ground for negativity. It once again reminded me how much more us as parents need positivity and encouragement, rather than criticism and name-calling.

This is one of my favorite new sites to find encouraging stories instead of negative ones.

The Strangest Netflix Giveaway Ever!

You guys I am so excited for the Stranger Things Season 2 to come out on Netflix! I regularly scour the news for updates, I have my T-shirt, and I have been basically waiting on pins and needles for October 27th, 2017 to arrive. The only thing that's just as fun is that Netflix gave me two three month subscriptions to give away to a few fans in order to celebrate the new release! But more on that below. To prove to you how big of a fan I am, here is a fun little food art project I made after watching season one of Stranger Things.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Zero Lunch

So I figured, "It's Halloween, why not make another The Nightmare Before Christmas Lunch?" I know I made one last week but it is just far and away the best Halloween/Christmas movie out there. My kids love it. I love it. Why not? So I thought I would take a bit of a different angle and feature Zero the dog in this one. After all, he might be the unsung hero of the movie.

We actually still haven't watched the film yet this season but it will definitely happen. In the meantime, there are always more lunches to be made! I created this lunch in an Easy Lunch Boxes container. I also used Pumpernickel bread but you can use any dark wheat. I also had a silicone mold that containers a number of expressions for Jack Skellington. I have had it for almost a year but haven't used it. I figured it was about time. This is how I made Jack's face using white and black edible modeling dough. The rest of the directions are below!