Too Cute Not To Toot

Well, my almost 4 year old loves candy corn so when I saw this cute idea with pudding over at Yellow Origami Bird, well I knew I would want to make them!  Aren't they so cute?

Ever wondered how to make a scarecrow?  Well, check out this simple tutorial from Family Home and Life and make one for this fall season :-)

Ok, I just picked up some of these solar lights at our local store for $0.54 each to use in our landscaping - how cute would this idea be for fall though?  Check it out over at Smart School House.

Enjoy your week!

Homeschool Happenings Week 7

When I taught elementary school, I always had a "planning period" that gave me an hour (or 45 minutes) to work on lesson plans, paperwork and planning.  So even if I walked in on Monday morning without lesson plans, I knew that I could wing it until that planning period and then get the week planned.  Let me tell you, homeschool is not like that!  I figured that on Monday I could get my planning done and we'd pick up on Tuesday but that never happened.  We did do some learning this week, just not anything I planned :-)

 This week we organized cars, used dump trucks to load them up, drive them around, and dump them out. 

We also practiced lining up all of the babies, changed their diapers and got them dressed every single day - all teaching responsibility ;-)

 We read books (Josh can read this one all by himself and it is HIS book).

 Watched Happy Days with dad and took very good care of our injured daddy too.  Darryl messed up a disc in his back this past week and was in bed most of the week.  Josh took very good care of him all week and yes, spent hours laying in bed with him watching Happy Days re-runs.

The boys played in the mud and loved it.  They created their own mud puddle and stomped in the mud with their new rain boots which they love!

 We learned that M and M's DO melt in your hands, on your face and on your clothes but they sure do taste good :-)

And this little 3 year old took a very rare and very long nap on Saturday afternoon :-)

In all honesty, we had a fun week.  We did more hands on playing than we normally do, went to Friday school, played outside, and went out to lunch on Saturday before running a few errands.   I had plans to take the boys to a park on Wednesday but rain came in and changed those plans so maybe we can go this coming week.

I do plan to get back into a better routine with the kids again this week and have more class time.

Linking up with:

 

Things My Kids Say

*Recently I took the boys out to lunch at a new Mexican Restaurant here in our town.  Amazingly, it's cheaper than Taco Bell.  Anyway, Josh was dipping his chips into the salsa when a piece of cilantro got stuck to his chip.  He said, "Look mom, it's Lawnmower Sauce, it has grass in it".  I seriously burst out laughing.  How creative is that?

*I've noticed Josh saying something lately and it makes me giggle.  Anytime things "drip" (I.e., his eyes watering so they are "dripping", Fruit Loops escaping his bowl so they are "dripping") he says "I am DRIPPING with sweat" HAHAHAHA  I wonder how many times he heard THOSE words this summer?

*Nate is my future engineer.  He loves to take things apart . As a matter of fact, he has recently taken apart every single pen on my desk, a music box, and . . there was something else I can't recall.  These are famous last words.  "Mom, I'm fixing your ____ (fill in the blank . . pen, music box, etc).  For the record, he is very good at taking things apart.  The putting together side of things is not going so well yet :-/

**The other day, the boys showed me that one of the dinosaurs had fallen off of Nate's wall hanging.  I asked them if they had pulled it off or if it had fallen off on it's own.  They replied, "We can't even reach it mom so it fell on it's own."  Later when I asked them if their blankets hit it, they said, "Well, the blankets flew in the air and it just fell off." HA!  Nice - creative play is good, right?

**I had a bowl of peanuts and candy corn.  Josh, loves candy corn so he was eating it when he said "Mom, look at this, this is different candy corn (pointing to the peanuts) and it is icky."

I'm sure my kids have done/said some other funny things but for about two weeks I was pretty sick and kind of out of it so I didn't really listen well ;-) 

Things My Kids Say

*Recently I took the boys out to lunch at a new Mexican Restaurant here in our town.  Amazingly, it's cheaper than Taco Bell.  Anyway, Josh was dipping his chips into the salsa when a piece of cilantro got stuck to his chip.  He said, "Look mom, it's Lawnmower Sauce, it has grass in it".  I seriously burst out laughing.  How creative is that?

*I've noticed Josh saying something lately and it makes me giggle.  Anytime things "drip" (I.e., his eyes watering so they are "dripping", Fruit Loops escaping his bowl so they are "dripping") he says "I am DRIPPING with sweat" HAHAHAHA  I wonder how many times he heard THOSE words this summer?

*Nate is my future engineer.  He loves to take things apart . As a matter of fact, he has recently taken apart every single pen on my desk, a music box, and . . there was something else I can't recall.  These are famous last words.  "Mom, I'm fixing your ____ (fill in the blank . . pen, music box, etc).  For the record, he is very good at taking things apart.  The putting together side of things is not going so well yet :-/

**The other day, the boys showed me that one of the dinosaurs had fallen off of Nate's wall hanging.  I asked them if they had pulled it off or if it had fallen off on it's own.  They replied, "We can't even reach it mom so it fell on it's own."  Later when I asked them if their blankets hit it, they said, "Well, the blankets flew in the air and it just fell off." HA!  Nice - creative play is good, right?

**I had a bowl of peanuts and candy corn.  Josh, loves candy corn so he was eating it when he said "Mom, look at this, this is different candy corn (pointing to the peanuts) and it is icky."

I'm sure my kids have done/said some other funny things but for about two weeks I was pretty sick and kind of out of it so I didn't really listen well ;-)

Weekly Menu

After I posted last weeks menu, I totally changed it ;-)  I decided to use up some meat we had in the freezer this week instead of buying more so that changed some of this weeks recipes.  I'm also working on creating more of a monthly menu.  Let me explain.  I've gone through my recipe binder (which is HUGE quite honestly) and weeded out some recipes that I haven't made in at least a year.  I then went through and pulled our top 15 favorite recipes and those have gotten plugged into an every month rotation.  That leaves 15-16 days a month for other recipes, new recipes, and eating out.  This will make planning so much easier.  It will also make shopping easier because I can stock up on the things for those 15 favorites whenever I see them on sale and only have to shop for the odd things instead.  I would also like to end up with 12 months of menus that I can then reuse next year.  I know there will be new recipes I try that we won't like so there will always be room to move things around :-)

My basic plan is this:  Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays will be Family Favorites (those top 15).  Mondays and Wednesdays will be for other recipes we like but we don't need every month.  Friday and Saturdays are for new recipes or eating out depending on what we are doing on the weekend.  Since we eat our big mean normally on Sunday afternoons, Sunday evenings will be "fun".  I would like to rotate some of our favorite appetizer recipes two Sunday nights and then the other 2-3 will be pizza (sometimes homemade sometimes out) or some other treat.

With that said this is the plan for next week:
Monday -Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Baked Brown Rice, Roasted Green Beans with mushrooms, Balsamic and Parmesan 7-Up Biscuits

Tuesday - The Best Chili, French Bread.  I'm going to a ladies meeting for church tonight and am going to make Chicken Salad Roll-ups.  I haven't made these in a long time so I hope they are as good as I remember!


Wednesday - Chicken Pot Pie,

Thursday - Ham and Cheese Quiche, hashbrowns, Easy Banana Bread

Friday -Spaghetti (I will be scrapbooking all day so I'm leaving something easy for my husband to feed the kids and they all love Spaghetti)

Saturday -Apple Stuffed Pork Chops with Herb Gravy (a new recipe), Bacon Cheese Potatoes, and Sauteed Cabbage with bacon.

Sunday - Lunch will be Tortellini Soup (this is one that can be put together the night before and then cook while we are at church) with homemade Garlic Bread.  I'm going to do some fun snacks for dinner - Sausage Ball Puffs (These are great because you can mix a bunch up, freeze them and just make what you want), Holiday Bacon Appetizers (again, a make ahead recipe), A sandwich like appetizer that I have no idea the name of HA!

The extra things this week are:
*Wild Plum Chicken Salad - several years ago when my husband and I were in Gatlinburg, TN on vacation, we ate at the Wild Plum Tea Room and I fell in love with it.  I've wanted to make this recipe for a long time :-)   This is what I plan to eat for lunch a few days this week.
*A banana, strawberry, banana, granola roll-up for breakfast - something new to try that is easy but I think will be filling.
*Pumpkin Pie Granola (Figured I might as well make my own!) 
*Pumpkin Seed Snack Mix
*Fresh Apple Cake
*Peanut Butter Cookies

Food Friday - Caramel Apple Crisp for Two and Show Us Your Life

I haven't linked up with Kellys Korner for her Show Us Your Life series in quite awhile for two reasons.  One, it didn't apply to me and two, I would forget even when it was a topic that applied to me!  Well, the next several months are all topics that I want to participate in :-)  This weeks topic is Tailgate Recipes.  I have several recipes posted on my blog that are great for tailgate parties.  Here are links to a few of my favorites:
Bacon Crescent Rolls AND Warm Bacon Dip
Donut Muffins AND Little Fruit Pizzas 
Baked Teriyaki Chicken (Use Wings!)  
Beef Drip Sandwiches 
Chili 


This weeks recipe of choice is a great dessert to serve when you are watching football at home.  The recipe is just perfect for two or you could always double (or triple) it and serve it to friends. 

Caramel Apple Crisp for Two
adapted from Hils Blog

I made this for dessert just a week ago and have been craving it ever since.  I love that it is a serving size and the ice cream topping adds the perfect sweetener and flavor to the apples.  We ended up dumping them out of the ramekins to eat them only because they were too hot to hold on to but if we had been patient and let them cool more, they would be great served right out of that dish.

Caramel Apple Crisp for Two

Ingredients:

2 medium apples, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons quick-cooking oats
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 to 2 heaping tablespoons Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel Topping
Cream or Ice Cream (optional)


Directions:

Place apple slices in two small, greased ramekins.  Spoon Butterscotch Caramel topping over the apples.  In a bowl, combine flour and brown sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add oats and cinnamon.  Sprinkle over apple slices and caramel.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until tender. Serve with cream or ice cream if desired

The Boys Room

This was the final room in the big room switch in the house and I'm so glad it is finally done!!!  We moved the boys into what has been our room since we bought the house 10 years ago.  It is the biggest bedroom so it fits two boys perfectly.

First, a little look at what it used to look like.  Once again, my husband started moving things before I had a chance to get photos!

Now for the finished room!

 The view from the door of the bedroom. We painted it a great blue color that is in both of the boys bedding.  The curtains were actually panels my mom had and wasn't using.  Eventually I might shorten them but for now, I'm leaving them as they are until I decide.

 The view from the closet side of the room.

 The obvious door wall.  Yes, there is a TV in this room. The TV has always been in our bedroom but, since we only have a family room (not a living room or a great room or any other room) we decided that putting the TV in their room for now is the best option.  This way, if we have people over, the kids can always watch cartoons or DVD's in the boys room while the adults have conversation in the family room.  This is also nice for Football Sundays when we watch football all afternoon.  As the boys get older, we'll decide if this is the best place for the TV!  Also, the orange Hooded Towels are made by a good friend of mine - they are fantastic and the boys love them!

 The view from the beds.  The boys love to "cook" and love to "build" so this is their favorite thing in the room right now.  Notice the mirror hanging in the closet (it is round) - the boys LOVE to look at themselves in the mirror so this was a perfect addition to their room.

 The Closet!  Their names above the closet are something that we picked up a few years ago at a Craft Fair.  Everything in the closet is theirs except for the shoes in the top section of the closet.  I haven't found a good storage option in our room yet so for now, our seldom worn shoes are staying in their room.

 Now for a little more detail on the art work.  I picked up the vinyl from Simply Said Designs and am in love with it.  It went up so easy (even on paneling!) and just adds so much to the room.  I already have my next purchases picked out :-)  The Display boards are from Creative Memories (they don't carry this style anymore but they have other styles to choose from!).  I actually got one board as a shower gift for Josh and bought one for Nate.  I used to print individual photos and would attach those to the board but just this month I put together 12x12 pages prints using Storybook Creator  from Creative Memories and ordered the prints from Scrapping Simply.  I plan to make one each month and then I can put them in the scrapbook. 

 This idea originated from Pinterest.  I created this, again, in Creative Memories Storybook Creator and ordered the print from Scrapping Simply.  (A shout out to Scrapping Simply - holy cow they did a lot of work to get the print size I wanted!!)  I quietly went into the boys room one night and took photos of them sleeping - isn't that just too cute!

 The train with Josh's name was a gift from Papa and Nana.  The art piece is my own creation!!!  I took a frame that I already had and spray painted it green, first, then lightly sprayed it with dark brown to give it some depth.  Then, I covered the glass with burlap, added a dark blue ribbon and hot glued three matchbox cars onto the ribbon.  The total cost of that project was about $4.00.  Amazing.  And yes, we hung it high enough that no one can pull the cars off HA!

 I did the same thing with this piece as with the sleeping artwork.  This time I had taken photos of Nate's hand and Josh's feet and used them to create this photo.  I pray that my boys can live that verse - Micah 6:8.

 I followed the same procedure for Nate's artwork.  His name also came from Papa and Nana.

 Nate's bed is brand new.  He moved from his crib when he moved into this room.  He actually has the same headboard has Josh but with just a bedframe since his bed sits over the heat vent.  (Good thing he is my cold kid!).  His bedding came from Bed, Bath and Beyond and, it was marked 50% off when we went to get it (I was THRILLED!!)  The quilts on the end of his bed were made by Nana :-)  He has a new lamp too - I love the green touch next to the blue wall.

 Josh's bed!  He actually got his bed last year.  His bedding is from Target as is his lamp.  Yes, the quilts on the foot of the bed are made by Nana.  I need to point out that the flooring is brand new.  My husband and dad put that in and we love it.  Normally I might not put a hard floor in a bedroom but with little boys who love cars and trains and things that move, this floor is perfect.  Their car mats sit on the floor and give them a great place to play.

One last item - their new nightlight!  I made this as well.  It's just a Krafty Block filled with blue and white gemstones.  Prior to finishing up this room, the boys slept with their lamps on.  They really struggled to sleep with all of that light going on.  So, between this night light and another "cool to touch" plug in light by Josh's bed, we have conquered the "sleeping with the light on" time (hopefully).  They sleep better, and sleep later which is great for everyone!

Their bedroom is 99% done.  What's missing?  Just the floor strips between the new floor and the carpet we left in the closet (The closet organizer sits on top of it and we didn't want to have to take that out) and in the door way.  We have a bunch of that to put down throughout the house so we going to do it all at once.  The only other item on the wish list is a new light fixture but it is really a "wish" not something needed.  Oh, and some vinyl for the walls - Planes and trains for Josh's side and Dinosaurs for Nate's.