~October Miscellaneous~

Some of the little things we fit into October...

I took Nathan and Kiersten to a local street fair.  I picked up one of my teenage friends to lend an extra hand.  People are very strange!  Anyway, I really liked the building that had the art work and photographs!  The kids and I just might enter something next year.

This was at our local grocery store... my grocery buddies

The kids pulled Monopoly out of the closet.  We haven't played games all summer... I guess it is that time of year!

Someone gave Nathan a big bin of Lego's.  He has been obsessed with them and they are all over the house!  Lego's is another thing we haven't done all summer. 

Gregg found some vintage story books and bought them for me.  I love the pictures! The stories are filled with character building and scripture!

The whole family went to hear Dr Joseph Hirt.  It was a library program about an Auschwitz survivor.  We have learned much about this time period in history, but it makes a HUGE difference when you hear someone that was actually there talk about it!  Wow! He not only survived, he has made a wonderful life and has a great sense of humor.

Flannel shirt and flip flops crunching in the fall leaves!  We had a few beautiful fall days!!!

Always up for some fun :-)

We found this little guy in the street by our house.  We really enjoyed watching him.  Most turtles we find are shy but this guy kept walking around.   Kiersten did ask if he could walk out of his shell.

~September Wrap-up~

I feel strange wrapping up September in the middle of November, but that is life.

I got some really fantabuliously beautiful flowers from Lovie.

Jordan made cake bombs!  Wow... really good stuff!

My first pumpkin spice of the season!

We doggie-sat Tinker Bell for a week.  Kiersten really liked watching her. Poor old thing was so slow and her back legs kept giving out.

The kids helped clean cars and do a little car maintenance for some special ladies at church.

We also started school this month.  It was a crazy month... as usual.

~Summer Fun~

We finally had our evaluations last week and were able to close out the school year.  Aaron will be doing math until July 4th and Jared will be doing math until we start school in August.  That was one subject I wasn't teaching and wasn't checking on their work... mistake... big mistake.  I really hope we all learned our lesson on that one!

I have been looking forward to summer since... well, November!!??!  I have been missing out on all the summer fun.  Even though school has been officially done for over a month.  I have had to continue to work on math and a few English papers.

I did fit some fun into the end of the week!

I was keeping some old calenders to make into envelopes... this was the week to get these out of my way!  I cut and folded most of these while Nathan was reading to me. Old calenders make beautiful envelopes!

We finally got the bubbles out!

I threw the Frisbee with Jordan and Aaron for awhile!

It is finally starting to feel like summer vacation!

~Girls Day Out~

Yesterday, I mentioned all my guys were gone all day long on Saturday.  Well, Kiersten and I took advantage of that!  We made plans with some girlfriends for a fun day of shopping.

I have never been to Hobby Lobby and this was the perfect time to drive an hour and explore!  A friend of mine and her two little princesses went with us.  The three girls did a very good job of almost behaving.  They really did well.  I will certainly have to make a return trip!

After our shopping experience, we watched October Baby while the girls played.  We splurged yet again on ordering pizza delivered!  Whoohooo!

While I was at my friends house, I saw she had notes from our Ladies Sunday School posted above her sink.  We are going through a book called "To Glorify God."  It is just loaded with information and it is a lot to think through each week. I totally copied my friends idea, and look what hangs over my sink now!

I have another board like this hanging above my treadmill... it is so helpful to keep these things in front of me!

~Treasure Hunting~

I went bowling with 11 ladies from church a few Friday nights ago.  My first throw was a strike... that was the end of that!  My scores were pitiful, but I had fun!  Some of us also went out for coffee afterward.  I had to kill some time before picking Jordan up from youth group, so I joined the group.  It was so nice to sit and chat!

The teens were still playing a game when I walked in... so, of course, I joined in.  Forty five minutes later, I finally decided it was time to go home.

I had a long to do list for Saturday, but promised Kiersten a little shopping trip.  We went to a local thrift store and spent a good hour just looking at everything.   It was nice to not be in a hurry.   I found a lazy susan for $2.25... minus 25% because pink tags were on sale!  I love how it makes this corner look a little more organized.

I also found some teal yarn.  I wish I knew what it was made of... It is not cotton or the normal acylic yarn but the color is just beautiful and it is nice and soft.  I'm sure Kiersten and I will find something to make with it.

~Preparing~

What a week! Actually, it has been two crazy weeks. I'm preparing for a little getaway! I'm heading out on Monday for a week away to visit a friend... My Love is taking the week off to be with the kids... housekeeper, teacher, cook and mom.

I have given 5 hair cuts... cut lots of finger nails... written lists for school... written lists for meals... cooked 10 lbs of beef... put tick/flea stuff on dogs... caught up with the wash... "cleaned" the house (you know it is never truly clean!)... prepped 6 dinners... and made granola... etc...


school list...
Menu...

Lemon bread...

Granola Bars

I made this pizza last night! YUM!

We had company tonight so there was extra cooking and cleaning for that too. Starting to feel like the kitchen is the only room in the house!

All I have left to do is to cut the dogs toe nails, clean out the freezer (we have a big order of stuff coming while I'm gone) and pack! All this needs to be done before I go watch my Rookie in his first race tomorrow night!!!!

I'm not going to tell you where I am going... I am hoping to post some photos next week and the first one to guess the right state will win something from my travels! OKAY!!??!?

~Butterflies~

Yesterday was just beautiful! I took a glass of green iced tea outside with me. Yum! The ice even melted:-) I love warm weather! I really think I need some of these lids for my jar!!!!!

Do you see those flowers! Yipee!
Nathan and Kiersten stole my oranges:-)

Anyway, my project while the kids were playing were these cute butterflies I found on pinterest!

The blue is leftover wool/bamboo from my ripple blanket (I used a 3.50 hook). It would be good for a pin or magnet. The green is made out of embroidery floss (I used a 3.25 hook) . I don't know why I used green?!?!!? I'll be making a set of these for Kiersten's pig tails.

I just had to make a smaller one...

This one is tiny but looks cute in Kiersten's hair! This was a 1.65 hook. It was hard to hold but oh, so cute!

I spent the evening frantically cleaning:-) The mess inside was worth the playing outside!

~Shopping and Lunch Out~

What a fun day! Yesterday, Kiersten and I spent some girl time doing girl stuff:-)

The boys were all in need of new jeans and some other wardrobe basics. After breakfast, I packed up Kiersten and a bunch of coupons and headed out. We were in no hurry to get home (Gregg was taking care of lunch for the boys) and just wanted to enjoy the bargain hunting!

We hit Kohls first and found some good deals and added a 20% off coupon to make them great deals. I got a beautiful winter white wool coat...love it! I got a bunch of other things for the kids and in total I saved75%!

By now it was after lunch and we were hungry. Kiersten had a snack in the fitting room but we were both read for a sit down food fest! We drove across the street to Panera! Oh, yum! We split a sandwich, drink and bakery item.

We headed to Target (across the parking lot) to get some good coupon deals and to look for the items I couldn't get a good deal on at Kohls.

I found some great grocery deals... boys jeans on clearance for $5... and beautiful glass cups on clearance (that I hope to use for pudding/dessert dishes).

I was going to hit Aldi and Michaels afterward, but Kiersten had a mini break down in the checkout so I figured she needed a nap.

We were almost home and stopped at a bent & dent grocer for food to get us through the weekend. I did not get groceries this week since we had special services at church.

I look forward to many more shopping trips and special lunches out!

My favorite moments:

*Watching Kiersten pull things off the rack exclaiming how "pretty" they were. She loved anything with sequins.

*We were in the fitting room. I was trying on clothes and Kiersten was eating her snack. She finished her snack just as she saw a sweater in the cart that I was buying for her. She started taking all her clothes off to try on the sweater:-)

*She was busy making friends with everyone at Panera.

~Busy Week~

We had special services at church all week. I felt like I was on fast forward... trying to get everything done before supper that normally takes me til bedtime to finish.

The speaker was very good... a Marine. We have heard him speak before and were looking forward to hearing him again. There were several great messages but his first one on anger was my favorite. It was a "Family Conference" so he spoke on communication in the home, Husbands role, wives role etc.

We purchased some new music Cd's and some Patch the Pirate for the kids.

We have had playmobile (mess) out for a few weeks so I finally packed that away for a few months. They love to play with it and it works best to put it away for a little while.

Nathan has been building wonderful towers with books. He often builds one and wants it to remain standing til Dad gets home to show him... it isn't always still standing, but we try to protect it as much as possible!

I have tried several new recipes lately. Two were really yucky. My family was very gracious.

This one was excellent! Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls...


Kiersten did make the week a little more interesting. I was talking to someone after church and left her in an empty classroom to play. I came back to get her and she was choking with a red face... I could smell hand sanitizer. She had pulled over a chair and climbed to get the bottle. She put some on several plates (she was having a little tea party) and ate a spoonful. It must not have tasted good. Anyway, we called poison control (again!) and they said it happens all the time not to worry. It would have done damage if it was in her eyes but to just eat a spoonful was ok.

Tomorrow I take my girl out for some shopping and lunch... wonder how that is going to go!?!!??!

~My Grand Day Out~

Gregg has several vacation days to use up this month. I was a little concerned about him being home so much... the school days still need to be done and it isn't as easy when he is home. He told me he would do school a couple of days while I take a vacation day:-) Doesn't that sound great!

Today was my first "day off."

I packed up my GPS, some coupons, and my Christmas list and took off around 8 am. First stop... the bank:-) Then I picked up some coffee! I had an hour drive to my next stop so I listened to this...

We just got Teddy's Button in the mail so the kids haven't even heard it! Their audio books are the best... and they have a sale coming up on Monday if you are interested!

I stopped at a craft store for some supplies... I was going to visit my Gram in the nursing home and thought it would be fun to "do" something with her. I found some plastic ornaments (half price this week) and got some beads and pompoms to fill them. I also got some ribbon to tie on the tops.

I have not seen my grandmother in over a year and her memory isn't he best... I was really hoping she would be in the mood for company and that if she didn't remember me that I wouldn't upset her. Right before I walked in I called Gregg to tell him I made it and he said he would be praying for a great visit. Well, I walked in and told her I came to visit her and brought some Christmas ornaments to make and showed her our new family photo. I put the photo on her wall with the other family pictures and looked around her room pointing out pictures of people I knew and decorations I knew my mom had put up a few days ago. I figured if I looked like I knew what I was doing she would at least know I was family:-) She seemed fine that I was there so I settled in and got our crafts out.

She chose the flattish ornament and beads first...

She put them in one by one. White, green, red, white, green and red. She was a little upset when there were not enough white ones:-)

Then she chose the round ball and wanted the pompoms...

Gram LOVED the pompoms:-) She made three balls filled to the top. I liked them 3/4 full, but she liked them stuffed... so they are stuffed! She kept trying to put the biggest size in but they wouldn't fit. She finally asked me to cut them so she could put them in. I told her it would make a mess but she didn't care... so I cut them.

When she finished she sat back and folded her hands. I asked if she wanted to play a game or do a puzzle and she said "No, tell me a story." I asked what kind of story and she said "you have kids, you must have stories." So, I told her all about the kids.

Her lunch came so I did some crocheting while she ate. When she finished eating she started talking about places she wanted to visit. We talked about Christmas movies. She started naming actors and then threw in Christopher Columbus and Ben Franklin. I figured she was probably about done visiting. A few minutes of naming some more movies and she pulled out her little movie player. She started watching Snow White. I figured that was my clue that she was done visiting.

I am so thankful that she and I had a 2 1/2 hour visit and that it went so well. I don't know if she will remember that I was there... but I will remember... and I have the ornaments to prove it!

Now to the next part of my day... just down the road was a mall... Christmas Shopping!!!

I, of course, needed lunch... Chick fil a deluxe chicken sandwich with pepper jack cheese and honey roasted bbq sauce...yum... oh, and a peppermint chocolate chip milkshake please... It is my Christmas shopping tradition!

I found some great gifts and only have a tiny bit of shopping left to do! A great trip! The mall wasn't even that busy so that made it even nicer!

I stopped on my way home for more ornament supplies because I knew my kids would like to helped make some pompom ornaments.

I got home around 6:30. I showed off my treasures and the ornaments that Gram made.

I got the update that they all completed their school, the house was clean, they ate 3 meals and Kiersten was dry all day! Whoohooo!

The younger kids and I made some ornaments and got out the Christmas trees.



Ahhhh, exhaustion has hit! and now it's the WEEKEND!

~Wacky Weekend~

Our weekend started early because Gregg took a day off on Friday! It was beautiful... but a little cool. I did a bunch of grocery shopping but did have a few minutes to relax. Kiersten needed some outside time so I took her to see Ginger. She grabs and apple and runs out the door to see our neighbor's horse!

We had a fall fellowship at church. I took my camera but didn't take any pictures! Jordan drove our golf cart and pulled a wagon for some "hay rides." Some played Frisbee football while others stayed indoors and played games. I chose to stay inside and chat!

I made a pumpkin dessert for our annual cook off. Despite my best attempt, I didn't win. But these are super good anyway! Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake (I used an oreo instead of the graham cracker crumbs)

Poor Eric got hurt at the very end of the night. I was already home and in bed when the guys got home. Gregg woke me to check Eric's head. He had a big gash in it from the trailer gate falling on his head. I thought he looked ok and we all went to bed around midnight.

We woke to snow! Unbelievable. I remember it snowing twice before thanksgiving but snowing in October is a real surprise!

It was our week to clean the church so we did that early in case the roads got bad.

We went out for Chinese afterwards:-)

Gregg enjoyed making rooster tails of all the slushiness. The boys loved watching the slush fly. We stopped at the farm for milk and found the front of our van covered in snow/slush/ice! Nathan was really funny. He was so happy to see snow! He got really excited when he noticed that the sky was even white!

We woke to this beautiful sight this morning.

Our neighbors were trying to bring in all their cauliflower on Friday. I guess the soybeans will be ok because no one brought them in before the storm.

Church was canceled for the morning so we had our own devotions and went outside.