Yes, it's another Kid Concoction recipe... glitter paints! Corn syrup, food coloring, and glitter mixed together. You know what I LOVE about it? It's glitter, without the glue and glitter everywhere. Since the glitter is mixed-in, I don't think I had ANY on the table to clean-up. Can you believe that? And, once again, I love the vibrant colors the corn syrup produces. Overall, a fun activity!
My gestational diabetes has made my food choices very limited. I try to stay away from carbs during the day, but at night I allow myself some because... well, my dietician said it was ok for a few, and because I know I am going for a walk after dinner. (Not to mention, I am very tired of salads twice a day!) So, the other night I made hoemade bbq pork buns. YUMMY!Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 1 1/2 cups bread flour, whole wheat flour, honey, butter, and salt to yeast mixture; stir until well blended. Add 1/4 cup bread flour; stir until a soft dough forms.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining bread flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).
Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425°.
Coat 9 muffin cups with cooking spray. Divide dough into 9 equal portions. Flatten dough into a circle, add the bbq pork, then seam together to form a ball. Combine 1 tablespoon water and egg; brush over rolls. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.
Our theme for today was "corn day." To quote Allison, "I wish every day was corn day!"
Our first activity was to paint our own Indian corn. For this, the kids each counted out 7 q-tips for their 7 colors, and dipped the ends to paint the corn. Instead of using realistic colors, I let the kids choose their own colors. Needless-to-say, we had some colorful corn!
For our second corn activity, each kid got a real part of an ear of corn and used it to roll in their colors and roll onto their paper. These pictures turned out very cool... frame worth, in fact!
Next we read a poem about candy corn stars and glued it to our papers in the shape of a star. Allison was actually able to do this herself! 
Of course, we had to do some "real school work," and learned how to write the letter "c." For completing this activity, the kids got to eat some candy corn.
Finally, we learned a Bible verse. This, too, was rewarded with candy corn! (After all that sugar, we popped some popcorn for a healthy snack... yum, yum!)
In honor of my newly-discovered love of sewing, I decided I would make the girls their own trick-or-treat bags for Halloween this year. Yesterday, the girls and I decided what they wanted, and I began the project. Natalie wants a bat, and Allison chose candy corn. I have so many fun ideas, but alas with a baby coming I will most likely keep it simple. My goal is to finish by next week... we'll see! Keep me on track, ok? :)
Oh, how I loved today! The perfect day... We woke up to much cooler temperatures than we've had in a while, and it felt just like fall! So, we enjoyed a relaxing morning before heading out for a hike on the new North Etiwanda Preserve trail, just 3 miles from our house! It's a 3.2 mile trail, and the girls did great! 
The sky was awesome!
The girls ate "mini hiking sticks," (pretzels), along the way.
And, in honor of the glorious weather, we had hot chocolate and marshmallows to finish off the day. (Somebody please tell Natalie that it's far too cold to be wearing her favorite butterfly dress!)
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phillipans 4:13 Most of us would probably claim we believe this, yet we don't ever have it put to the test.
Today was "pink day" at MOPS in honor of breast cancer month, and it was lots of fun. I loved seeing all the beautiful ladies dressed in pink, and all the fun treats and table decorations they brought. In addition, we had one of our own very special MOPS mommies share her testimony with us. And, it was incredible. Phillipians 4:13 is her verse, and God's strength is definitely apparent in her!
Here she is... our beautiful Jan. Thank you for today and your awesome testimony! You blessed us all!
Our sweet friend Katie set-up a bakery tour for us at Old Town Baking Co. this morning. As soon as I opened the car door, Natalie commented, "I smell something!" Indeed, there is no better smell than fresh-baked bread and goodies!
Luckily, Daniel is home today and made it just in time for the tour. 
One of the best parts for the girls was just playing on the bar out front. For me, it was eating a pumpkin muffin and sipping coffee! Of course, it was also tough to say no to the chocolate croissant... Just 33 more days until I can enjoy one of those! Here are a few more pictures:
I briefly mentioned this a few days ago, but we have a bunch of old fall/ Halloween cards just stuffed away in our Halloween bin. I'm not sure many people save old fall or Halloween cards, but if you do, they are fun to recycle! (If you don't have them, you can use Halloween magazines, or even junk mail ads that have leaves, pumpkins, etc.!) Yesterday, the girls and I cut them all up and glued them to construction paper. We also added some stamps and stickers, and it was a hit! Now to hang them up... 
Remember my tiles from MOPS? Well, friends... they are on my wall! Thanks so much for all the comments/ suggestions from everyone on how to hang them. I finally decided on E 6000 glue. My friend promised it would work, and so far I feel confident! I got it at Michael's, and the lady told me it is a best-seller. (She said it's even better than Gorilla glue, which was my other choice!)
Most "real" crafts I do together with the girls. However, they are now at the age where they are able to get paper, sit at their own little craft desk, and do something on their own. I keep markers and scissors on hand, and get many "cards" each day! During the Holidays, I also add stamps that I get from the dollar section at Target. They are great because they don't require an ink pad, the girls love to use them to embellish their pictures, and they last forever! (And, did I mention they come in packs of 6 for a dollar?)
We finally made it to Oak Glen... only to find out that this was a bad year for apples, and they only allow you to pick on weekends. We had one sad 4 year old, who kept declaring that her parents had broken their promise. **tear**
Melissa!!!
I use lots of candles, even if they're worn-down and mis-matched! Grouped together, they still look good. (I think!) I also used my yellow daisies this year, which are normally only out in the spring. I needed something to vary the height on my table, so I discarded the fact that they looked springy, and used them anyway. Because of their orangy-yellow color, it worked!
On my fireplace mantle, I used the spiders my girls made the first day of fall. I think they're cute, and the girls feel so proud! I stuck with just black and orange to unify it, and give it more of a Halloween look. I know I'm early, but I just get too excited!
Ever since receiving some Fancy Nancy books for her birthday, Allison has become a HUGE fan! Naturally, she is going to be Fancy Nancy for Halloween. (I found the costume on sale in July... can't beat that!) A big part of the Fancy Nancy books is using fancy words... which Allison has taken to heart. Here are some of her recent quotes. Hope this makes you smile, as it has us!
Happy First Day of Fall, my friends! I've been waiting for this day for some time. Not only does it mean cozy jeans, fun fall decor, cooler weather, apple-picking, and Halloween, but it means Yehbie is coming, soon! Yeh!
Ok, so today isn't exactly cool. 101 and windy is not quite what I had in mind! But, we went forth with our day, as planned. With the a/c on by 8am this morning, we heated up the oven and started by making some sugar cookies.
Next came our first craft. We made cute little spiders using egg cartons, glitter, black paint, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners.
Didn't they turn out cute?
Of course, we had to have a snack... caramel apples, and these spider creations. Yummy!
Next we braved the wind and heat to blow some pumpkin bubbles.
Time for another craft! We took canned food lids and made them into pumpkin magnets with a little glue and construction paper.
For lunch, we had egg salad sandwiches cut into acorns. (By the time I thought to take a picture, all the sandwiches were half-eaten!) So, I'll move right onto dessert... decorating our cookies! I'll admit, this was no fun for me, as I still can't have sugar! But, it was fun to watch the little ones enjoy it. 
Hope you have a yummy first day of Fall!
 | 81 As a 1930s wife, I am |
