Pumpkin Patch Trip

Our family went to the Pumpkin Patch this past weekend. We had a good time enjoying the mid 50's and the clear skies. My three kids love the pumpkin patch and we've started a tradition that a group of friends and their children all come to the same one on the same day. The girls love the gathering part. We go to a Michigan Farm called Trabbic Family Farm. They have an assortment of farm animals that you're aloud to go near to pet, but not feed, and to watch as they mosey around their pens.

My oldest, Hannah, loved the Roosters and Turkeys. She actually stood there and started making the gobbling sounds to them. They reacted with their own calls, which she was thrilled with. They were beautiful birds. Even a fun one with a pom pom of feathers on it head.

We don't usually buy pumpkins there, because I usually get them from the Farmer's market the weekend before Halloween. We do however usually do some sort of Pumpkin Express Train ride each year.. This is the normal view we get of Emma from the train.

Hey Mom! Hey Dad!

We usually try to get a few cute photos, worth of hanging in the living room each year. I have just a regular point and shoot camera. (Which kills me btw, because I loved my old, one step down from a DSLR camera, which just randomly stopped working. ) So here's our single photos we took of the girls. I also took ones of each of them on the pumpkins like Hannah's photo, but Lilly's turned out funky with almost glittery hair, and Emma had a funny smile, so I will settle for these three.

We had great weather, and enjoyed the morning there. The end of the trip to the pumpkin patch, we always no matter how many times we tell Emma (who is 5 now) to tell us where she is going, we always end up losing her. The last 2 years haven't been so great. Sounds like bad parenting, but really one year she ran into the Hay Tunnels and didn't tell us, this year her friend and her went over and sat on a bench across the pumpkin area and didn't tell us. I'm pretty sure next year we will be playing a recording while she is asleep the nights before that says the following: "Please tell Mama and Dad where you are going on the farm. Please tell Mama and Dad where you are going on the farm." Well.. you get the point.

Kind of sad that it's already come and gone. Though, I am so glad that the girls had a blast!

Mummy Candy Bars Craft

Hi there! I thought I would post a craft tutorial on how I made some fun Mummy's chocolate bars for my daughter Hannah's 3rd grade class's Harvest Party. Read Politically correct for Halloween Party.

These are the supplies. I also had a glue gun on the side ready.

Then I Glued some eyeballs. Nothing like feeling like you're being watched....




Then I cut them all up into silly eyed rectangles.

Then I glued the little squares onto the bar. Just use a little bit of glue though so you don't melt the chocolate under the wrapper.

Then cut out some white strips of White Crepe paper. I just did a quick wrap of a candy bar, from top to bottom and then cut. Laid it out and re cut strips.

Wrap that up B!

Well actually, this shows how I started the wrapping. Then I put a little dot of glue, and then when you come back around you just fold it on an angle, to have it "peek" out at ya.

Then there you have it. Cute little edible Mummies!

Better Days.

Lately Lilly has been doing fabulous in the Sensory Department. She has continued OT and seems to be hitting her goals very well! I really hope that we can continue to work on her anxiety with adults and get her into Preschool soon! I will update when I have heard back from Preschool on whether or not she gets to go or not. Lets hope its GO! :D

Pumpkin Crafts

So I finished the girl's pumpkins from the last post I was talking about. Very cute. Here is how they turned out!

The girls decided to choose their own smiles and eyes. I just cut and glued on what they drew on the black paper. I haven't done my husband's or mine yet, but I am still debating if I want words on ours since ours are bigger, or if I will do faces again.

The Glue I used worked well, it was just watered down with a little water. Since I am not afraid of a little glue on my hands I spread the glue on with my own finger. I bought the little battery powered tea lights(1.50 for two at Family Dollar) and they work great! The Candle jars, I found at my local Dollar Tree, but I noticed they were made at Libby Glass, which is a local glass company, and I might have been able to get them for cheaper downtown at the warehouse store. Regardless, I think they turned out cute! I'd like to do some Ghosts with some starch and cheese cloth, but I will have to see what I can come up with. My Grandma used to make them all the time, I believe with a balloon in the top of them and sprayed them with starch spray. And let them dry with some cute googly eyes.

My next project is also a .com find. It's cute Mummy bars. I for some reason can not find the link right now, but when I do I will post them with the cute photos of them! :)

I don't know if you can tell, but I love crafting for the holidays!

Weekend Whoas

Well Monday has brought to an end a interesting Weekend for our family. All last week we were housesitting/Dog sitting for the Husband's Mom. She was out of town to visit with her sisters in Indiana and Missy, her dog, is the skittish type. We tried bringing her over to our house for a night and she freaked the entire time. Anyhow, the weekend was just us staying home for the most part. My husband has this nasty nasty chest cold, and he's been recuperating. Our kids THANKFULLY have not caught the nasty stuff, and I hope it stays that way. I went to the dollar store and is going to be making some cute Pumpkin Votives that I found on Pintrest.com. It was a pin from Maiden D' Shade's blog! I thought it was cute so I bought enough to make two large ones for my husband and I and three small ones for the girls. Although, I couldn't find any orange tissue paper, I am going to be trying orange crape paper instead.

I'll post photos of my attempts to make that super cute votive craft!

I am also going to start Operation Seasonal Clothes Swap. I loathe this task, except for the donating or giving away of the small stuff. That's the best part! The Purge! To just be able to give to others when at a time in our world there's a lot of people without, I know I will be able to help someone with a small daughter or granddaughter.

Sunny Days.

It's now October, and we are in Toledo, Ohio. It should already be "fall-like" conditions, and in the next few days it's going to hit Upper 70's and almost mid-80's ! I see the leaves changing colors already.. it has to be one of my favorite things to see. I grew up in Seattle, so my whole life we saw a little bit of change of colors, but mostly everything was a certain Evergreen type of tree. Not to say we didn't have other trees, more like we just saw the leaves go yellow and then fall. In Ohio and other surrounding Midwest states, there are so many wonderful vibrant colors through the trees.

When I first made my way to Ohio, it was this time of the year. My then boyfriend, now husband Eric, took me down to Kent State for a concert there. I was amazed at all the colors through the hills. I couldn't believe it. I took it all in, with as many memory photographs as I could. I knew it existed I just didn't know that I would be driving through it all. I could only imagine then someday I would see it each and every year.

My children haven't been able to see all the greenery and water that surrounds Seattle yet. Only in photos. I have to say, I miss the mountains that you take for granted that see every day when you live in the Pacific Northwest. It's gorgeous. No matter which way you look you see these majestic scenes of snow covered mountains. I really would love for my kids to see them. Especially during the spring or fall. When you have a crisp clear day, Mt. Rainier shines in the sun like nothing you'd ever believe. It was by far my most favorite sight there. I hope that they get the chance to take it all in some day.

But I digress, it's been lovely here. Today would have been my dad's 54th birthday. He loved a beautiful day. My girl's played outside after school today, with the slight breeze, and the summer's sunset in the East. I spent many days with my dad, while he was alive, watching sunsets in the East because our apartment building faced that way. We had huge windows that wrapped around our living room. It would warm our living room at night, just perfect. Though he would usually complain left and right about how the sun was in his eyes while watching whatever show, he would always mention the sunset if it was a gorgeous one, and usually it was just that.

My girls never had the chance to meet him, but each one of them have a little bit in him. Emma has his humor. Hannah has his stubbornness. And Lilly, she has his eyes. I see him, in her, all the time. He would have loved them all in their own silly ways. I sometimes feel cheated by God, when it comes to my Dad being gone too early for my liking. Maybe more like I feel my girls were cheated out of having a Grandpa. Not to discredit my husband's father. He was a wonderful loving Poppa. He spoiled those two older girls like crazy, but would deny it until he was blue in the face. Haha. He and Emma had a really strong connection and Emma was only 2 when he passed away. I don't know if she really remembers him, but she lives to hear stories of when her and Poppa hung out. Now my father in law Don would love a beautiful day too. He would sit on his front porch and watch every car go down the block. Listen to his country music and just enjoy his day sitting, watching and listening.

It's really something when the simplest thing like a sunny day, brings back memories. I really enjoyed today. So did my kids. For that I am blessed.

DIY Laundry Soap

Well I have been talking to some family members and have seen online quite a bit about DIY Laundry Soap. It's very cheap compared to washing with Brand name Laundry Soap that you've bought at your local store. So I'm going to share the "recipe" so to speak with you!

First you'll need to get these items:

5 or 10 gallon bucket

Arm & Hammer Washing Soda ---yes WASHING not baking.. heh heh

Borax laundry Booster

A bar of Fels-Naptha

A bar of your favorite bar soap.. I am using Ivory

Fabulouso --Try and find the one with Oxy in it, but not completely necessary . I use this for the scent.

Oxy Clean --This is my fall back if oxy isn't in the fabulouso

Dawn Dish Soap -- For the fighting power against grease. I have children. Haha!

Measurements:

1 Cup of the Washing soda Borax Fabulouso

1/2 cup of the Dawn Dish Soap

1 bar of both Fels- Naptha & Ivory --or whatever bar soap you use.

4 cups of water in pan

then an additional 3 gallons of HOT water

The super easy directions are as followed:

Shred the bar soap and Fels-Naptha Cheese grater works well here.

Put 4 cups of water in a pan on a medium heat --- don't let it boil ----

Stir with a whisk or a similar stirrer to get all the clumps and chunks out

Dump the melted mix into the large bucket (I use a 5 gallon bucket) with the rest of the

ingredients and stir every 15 to 20 mins. It will look like a gel type of soap.

Now this is just my mix that I got from a family member. You can switch things up, to your liking. I have also seen people who use Essential oils to scent their laundry. It's all up to you!

Happy Laundry Days in the future! :)