Too Cute Not To Toot

Boo! I'm really struggling right now finding great ideas that I love, that I want to make, and that fit into my lifestyle.  I've always loved this post because there is so much fun stuff out there but . .. if I can't find it, I can't share it!  I may have to do what I was trying NOT to do and that is share ideas from Pinterest instead of ideas that people actually post on blogs.  I'm going to give it another week and see what I find!!

A few ideas of Thanksgiving Crafts :

I've been looking for some fun Thanksgiving type things to do with the kids - one a day for something fun!.  I love this simple idea from Racks and Mooby for making Turkeys.

Another great turkey craft - this one is from Crafty Journal.

Also from Crafty Journal is this simple paper plate Turkey Craft.

Maybe I'll actually have posts to share about making at least one of these crafts!

November Goals and December too!

For a goal oriented person, like myself, having no goals means I flounder.  Yet, on the other hand, when I write out goals, it gives me a jumping off point.  Now, I may now complete the goals on my list but it does help me focus on accomplishing something and that is the key.  I know I wrote goals for October but I don't remember them and, quite honestly, I don't want to look back at them and see what I didn't do!!!  Instead I'm going to go just regroup and refocus for the end of the year.  One "bonus" this month that I'm meeting with ladies for our annual Solutions Social Calendar Planning Event for 2013. 

Here is what is on my radar for the next 7 weeks?? Wow . . .

Home
1. Finish the basement. Organize, clean, and just have it done!
2. Prep the playroom - basically have everything moved out of that room that is not staying so that we can start in January on putting in some softer flower, put in a reading nook and add some fun things to the walls.
3. Decorate for Christmas - I know this is a given but it is a big deal so I think it deserves a spot on the goal list.

Family
1. Go the Santa House for Santa Photos - this is a Holiday house in the next town over that I heard about last year - looking forward to checking it out.
2. Check out Christmas Lights - the boys LOVE them so I really want to make sure that we take time to do this - a ball park near us sets up a huge display and for a small fee you can drive through - I really want to do that this year.
3. One "bonus" thing I'd like to fit in is a trip to Shipshawanna for their big Christmas Activities.  I say that it is bonus because with family parties, play practice and concerts I'm not sure IF we can fit this in or not.

Homeschool/Kids Activities
1. Create our new Advent Calendar based on the "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" AND be ready to start it on December 1st.
2. Plan special Christmas Activities to do each day (I did this last year and the kids looked forward to it each day).  I will be incorporating a book called "Truth in Tinsel" that goes through the Christmas Story and provides instructions for a craft each day so I need to prep for those as well
3. Plan some Thanksgiving activities to do throughout November - I have stuff printed, I just have to prep it all.

Christmas
1. Plan and budget all Christmas gifts - the Boys, Darryl, the parents, Sunday School Teacher, and Pastor.
2. Have all gifts purchased and wrapped by December 15
3. Prepare for Nate's Birthday (Not really "Christmas" but it is Dec 22nd so when I plan, I make sure and include this activity in my planning)
4. Make Christmas Cookies this year!!!!!

Pinterest
1.  My new goal with Pinterest is to spend a full month on 2 separate boards.  So over the next 7 or so weeks, my goal is to accomplish at least one item from the following THREE boards (since this list encompasses 1 1/2 months).  The boards are - Thanksgiving, Christmas and For the Home. Two of the three should be easy since they are the current Holidays!

That's all!  I'm printing this and posting it on my desk so I can remember!!!

Remember, I said Life is Busy?

If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know that I post almost every single day.  I do it because I enjoy it - it is my outlet and adult conversation :-)

Sometimes, though, life gets busy and I need to put other things first.  Guess what?  This is one of those weeks. 

On Sunday, a long time family friend passed away unexpectidly.  In order to attend the funeral the boys and I are leaving on Wednesday afternoon to go to my parents home.  I am returning on Thursday (while the boys get some grandparent time) just in time for a hair appointment.  I then leave on Friday for an overnight crop with ladies from much church, getting home Saturday evening.  On Sunday I'm attending my husband's concert with him so, Yikes!

So, with that list out there, I highly doubt I will get any posts written this week . . .don't worry, I'll be back next week, refreshed and ready to go. 

Enjoy your week!

Life is Busy

Normally I like to post about what we've done in relation to preschool on Mondays but . . .Life is busy.  I'm a really good planner but I'm not always a really good doer.  Life seems to get in the way sometimes or I find myself watching my boys play and use their imagination and really don't want to interrupt.  Last week, in particular, they played.  Together. For hours.  Trains, cars, planes, blocks, Lego's.  At one point, I had train tracks running from one end of the house to the other and two little boys having a grand old time.  I chose to let them play, giggle, laugh and . . .tackle each other :-)  I'm working on some ideas for this month and the month of December.  Then, in the cold months of Winter, we'll retreat to the classroom and tackle more book learning :-)  Life is busy but Life is fun. 

Pinterest is my friend . .. and my nemesis.  I love all of the ideas but boy, do I wish I had the hours and supplies to make everything I pin!  I tend to get into idea overload and can't focus on just one project to get done.  I'm working on that problem :-)

Cleaning is over rated :-)  Yes, I want a clean house but I'm tired of cleaning every day . A little here or a little there .. I'm starting to get back to one day of lots of cleaning - at least then, I have one day when everything is picked up :-)  THEN I might have time to work on projects and play with kids :-)

So, that's all for this week . It's a busy week.  I'm preparing to go on a scrapbooking retreat this weekend and, a funeral to attend due to the very unexpected death of a long time family friend.

Enjoy your day!  

Halloween!

This year, our Halloween went on and on . . .. and the boys loved it!  I will warn you that some of these photos you may have seen in previous posts but I still wanted to put all of our Halloween stuff in one post.

The very first Halloween activity was the Autumn Festival that is hosted by our town.  The boys could hardly contain themselves all day while waiting for Darryl to get home so we could go Trick-Or-Treating!

The Harvest has a "Truck-Or-Treat" set up.  The first area includes lots of games which the boys enjoyed playing.  The second part is local businesses that have set up their "trunks" so you can just walk by and pick up more candy.  The boys so enjoyed it all.  Noticed that Darryl is in Shorts ? Yep.  It was that warm . A near perfect night! 

The following evening, we went on a hayride and had a cook out with our church.  I did not take any photos since it was dark and . . there was hay being thrown but we had fun.  The boys got into throwing straw/hay and thought it was funny.  Nate fell fast asleep about half way through the ride and did not wake up until the next morning.  Josh LOVED roasting hot dogs with Darryl and ate two :-) 

Our next activity was the Zoo Boo which I talked about in Josh's birthday post:

Finally, on Halloween Night we went Trick-Or-Treating for real.  We started by attending a Trunk-or-Treat at a local church so the boys could play some games.  Thankfully the weather turned nicer - no wind and only a few sprinkles.  After finishing the games at the church we started walking door to door and the boys would yell "Trick or Treat".  They loved this part of the night . After going about a block and a half, Nate's legs were so tired that he would take a step and his legs would just collpase.  He was sooo tired!  It wasn't long after that when Josh started saying, "Mom, I just want to go home, I'm so tired" :-)  So we headed back to the car - it was ok, though, they had full buckets :-)

You may notice that we never carved the pumpkins we got at the pumpkin patch . . . well, I figure that we can start that in another year or so.  For now, I'm enjoying using them as decoration :-)

Also, a shout out to a friend of my parents who supplied me with the costumes.  I was really at a loss this year - she sent this over and the boys loved them :-)

Weekly Menu

First of all, I wanted to share this easy soup that I made last week.  It's called Corn Chowder and looks like this:


My mom got this for me and it is fabulous.  You can just prepare it out of the bag or add to it - which I did.  I added a can of cream corn and a package of diced ham.  It really was fabulous and I love that it was super easy and super quick to make.

So, what are eating this next week?  You will probably laugh when you read this menu.

Monday: Chicken Scallipini, Noodles, and a veggie.  This is actually from last weeks menu . I forgot about a potluck on Sunday at church so I ended up with an "extra" meal. 

Tuesday: Election day :-)  We like to take the boys with us so as soon as Darryl gets home, we'll vote and then grab something for dinner.  Maybe Applebees since kids eat free on Tuesdays or just a pizza.

Wednesday: Darryl has practice so it is just the boys and I.  I'll either do Mac and cheese or we'll go run errands and grab something for dinner. 

Thursday: Chili and French Bread.  Wait for it . ..  .when I made Chili last month, I froze half of it for this month HA!  I don't even have to cook - just heat it up!

Friday: I'm leaving to attend a weekend scrapbooking crop so Darryl is on his own. (The kids are going to the grandparents house)

Saturday: I'll be home for dinner so I'm thinking about having Darryl grill some burgers and maybe I'll pick up some sides from KFC on my way in to town.

Sunday: Darryl has a concert in the morning so I believe that we will stop for lunch somewhere on our way back home.

Seriously - how about that menu??  Yes, my grocery list is VERY small this week HA!

Food Friday - Sauted Cabbage and Bacon

Hello!  First up, today over at Kellys Korner, she is hosting her weekly "Show Us Your Life" party and today is favorite dessert recipes.   The recipe I have set up to share today is not a dessert but I thought I'd share some links to some of our favorites that I've posted in the past:

Boston Cream Pie Minis - If you love Boston Cream Pie but want a version that you can hold in your hand - check out this recipe.  It's a cupcake version that is fabulous and super easy to make.

Too Much Chocolate Cake  - Need I say more? 

Mountain Dew Cupcakes with Mountain Dew Frosting - yes, you read correctly (but you can use any lemon lime soda)  They are fantastic and I always get rave reviews when I make these.

Turtle Cake - This is a wonderful chocolate caramel goodness of cake.  I always forget how good it is until I make it again :-)

Check out my recipe tab for more dessert recipes and some cookie recipes too.


Now, on to today's Recipe

Sauteed Cabbage and Bacon
adapted from  Comfy In The Kitchen

I've mentioned before that I've acquired a taste for cabbage. Then, add it to bacon and it gets better.  This is such a simple side dish to make and it is a great side to so many things.  I actually cut the bacon up into medium sizes pieces and then cooked it.  Also, next time, I would not use the olive oil.  I found it almost too oily since you don't drain the bacon.  You could always add just a drop of oil if you need more moisture to cook the cabbage in so it doesn't burn. This would make a great side dish with a holiday meal since it cooks on the stove top and is ready so quickly.  :-)

Ingredients

• 1 head cabbage
• 6 slices bacon {I use center cut}
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

1. On medium-high heat, brown bacon in a large stock pot.
2. Add olive oil and onions- sautee for appx 3-4 mins.
3. Rinse cabbage and tear apart in small pieces.
4. Add cabbage into stock pot with bacon, renderings, and onions.
5. Toss with tongs. Bring heat down to medium and let cook for 20 mins until tender.
6. Season with salt and pepper.