Daisies and Magnolia seeds...

This post is brought to you by the colors yellow, as in yellow daisies, and red, as in red magnolia seeds. Finally, our cooler, (though still not too cool), fall weather has returned. Luckily, I had a crockpot meal from pinterest simmering in the kitchen, so I was able to enjoy a late afternoon/ early evening out on the front porch with my girlies! They spent a LONG time decorating our porch with yellow daisies (see above), and red magnolia seeds, (see below).











They commented over and over and over how much they love fall... Yes, they must be my girls!

Random Life...

This post may more appropriately be called "Why I blog." As you may have noticed, I take pictures. Daily. A LOT of pictures. Believe it or not, I don't even post all my pictures. Nor do I take pictures of all my homeschool activities, as it would take up most of this blog. None-the-less, I take a lot of pictures... Here are some examples of things that didn't even make it into the blog this past week; (until now!):

Our girls, along with our neighbor, making a rabbit trail of lettuce for the rabbits.

Sierra picking flowers for the slide.

The big girls taking delight in setting the table, (including centerpieces and folded napkins!)

Chilling on the couch; a rare 3 smiles all looking at me!

An organic brown vs. standard white egg taste test via Daniel who insists the difference is great enough to justify the price difference.

Finding inspiration in our Halloween books to draw and then paint Halloween pictures outside.

Swimming with friends... (Yes, the pool is way too cold, and the kids are crazy!)

Having a rummage sale. (Not really!)

Coloring by lamp light.

You see, none of these is really an "extra special" occasion. I'm not sure anyone else would care to read about them or see them... other than Grandma, of course. But, for me they are priceless. These are the simple, every day things that warm my heart. By blogging, I am preserving these memories. I am taking lots of pictures and attempting to be creative with my photography. I am cherishing the simple, every day moments. I am filled with gratitude as I record how blessed we really are. I see past the messes and screams that rarely make it into the blog. I look back and see how the kids have grown and matured both physically, mentally, and spiritually.

I am not pretending to have it all together. I don't purposely make it look like we are perfect... because, of course, we are not! But, I do choose to see the positive. I would almost say blogging for me is therapy. It forces me to reflect, encourages me to make the effort for things I may not have otherwise tried, allows me to be creative, and provides a record of recipes, games, and crafts for me to look back on and try again. I am so thankful for this outlet! Thanks for reading!

Oh... and, in case you were wondering, the girls thought the organic brown eggs tasted better. (I still couldn't tell the difference!)

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Happy Family Fun Friday! What do you do when October gives you 100 degree weather? Make pumpkin ice cream, of course! And, while I personally am not pumpkin'd out at all, unfortunately my family is. I may need to take a break from all things pumpkin... or else trade-in my family. I think I'll go with option A!

As we learned the first time making this super simple type of ice cream, it's always best to do the shaking outside!

And, even though they claim to be pumpkin'd out, they certainly seemed to enjoy this special treat! Although, Allison did only eat half of her bowl...

Here's my fellow pumpkin-lover:

Once Allison gave-up her ice cream, she traded it for the camera...

Finally, here's what happens when you try to take a bite of Sierra's ice cream:


Oh, so sad. I couldn't resist taking a picture! You see, her last bite of ice cream had melted, so she reached into Natalie's bowl. When I picked up her bowl and ate her last bite, I devastated her world. It was all over. Natalie even gave up her own bowl, but it was too late - Sierra would have none of it. Oh, the rough life of an (almost) 2-year-old!

Truly, I thought it was delicious and simple! Here's what I did:

Pumpkin Ice Cream:

1 1/2 cups half and half
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
red and yellow food coloring (optional)

Put all ingredients in a quart-size ziplock bag. Fill a gallon-size ziplock bag half full of ice, and add 1/2 cup coarse salt. Put smaller bag into larger bag, go outside, and shake away for 5 minutes. That's it! I promise! Hope your weather is a bit cooler than ours, but enjoy anyway!

Pumpkin'd Out?

That's the question my husband asked me when he walked in the door from work, yesterday. (Apparently, he's been reading the blog! :) ) Luckily, it didn't stop him from bringing home a pumpkin bundt cake! (Yes, I blame him for all my excess baby weight... and the lure of pumpkins in the fall... and Claremont... ok, perhaps I'm to blame?)

Anyway, we enjoyed a yummy pumpkin bundt cake with cream cheese frosting for our mid-morning snack today. Yes, I said "we" because I actually decided to share with Natalie and Sierra today. Sadly, Miss Allison is not a huge pumpkin fan. Or, not so sadly as I enjoyed a larger piece than my other girlies.

And, I am still not done with pumpkin! I'll show you what else we decided to do with pumpkin... tomorrow!

Pumpkin Muffins

Yes, we're still going pumpkin crazy over here... despite the near 100 degree heat projected for today and tomorrow! I've posted the recipe before... you can find it here. Happy pumpkin season!

Salt Dough Fall

There are so many fun ideas I find online, and I love that I can just throw them on Pinterest now for safe-keeping. However, I try to only pin ideas that I truly think I will do! So far I've tried a few recipes, and a few crafts. Here's one we tried recently:

Salt Dough. So, so simple! I bet you can memorize this recipe. Ready?
1 cup salt
1 cup flour
1 cup luke warm water

Unfortunately for me, the dough came out a bit runny, so I just added a little more salt and flour. Once I thought the consistency was right, we had to let the dough sit for 1/2 hour. (Well, that's what the recipe said to do.... perhaps you could get away with it, but I made my girls wait!)

They had so much fun making Halloween "ornaments." Meanwhile, Sierra was given the pumpkin playdough to play with. Even that didn't last long, but she got 3 minutes of joy from it!

Next, came another hard part... waiting. The directions had you bake at 250 for 3 hours or so. So, I promised the girls we would paint them the next day.

True story:
We were doing school today when it came time to do reading. As usual, I sent Allison to her desk for spelling while I sat on the couch to read a little "Bob book" with Natalie. The couch seems to have powers of its own in the afternoon. Suddenly, I couldn't keep my eyes open. At least 3 different times, I dropped the book and realized I had fallen asleep; I had even begun to dream! I'm not sure Natalie noticed me falling asleep, but she did laugh and think it was quite funny when I would drop the book!

Anyway, we finally made it through the book. I told Natalie to go practice her handwriting, and I told Allison I would take a brief nap before reading with her. Seconds later, I was gone. I awoke to find this:

The girls had painted the ornaments themselves. They did a great job! I was very impressed. But, that is why I have no pictures of them doing it! Speaking of sleep...

Beautiful Fall Weather!

What a gorgeous fall we've been having! The weather has inspired us to be outdoors as much as possible.

Saturday Daniel was working, so I took the girls to the duck and turtle pond. We hadn't been in a while, so it was the perfect opportunity!

Allison and Natalie love runnning down the big hill, while Sierra prefers to run after the ducks!


We also spent tthe day Daniel was home working on our yard. Our poor little apricot tree finally got planted, along with a new lemon tree. We even cleaned out our front porch for the first time since moving here. Oh, how good it feels!

This week it's suppose to get back up to the 90's... but at least it still cools off at night! Looking forward to more gorgeous fall days!

Pumpkin Pie Crepes

Ok, so these weren't the best pictures. Personally, I like blogs with pictures best, so even if they're not the greatest, I tend to post them! Anyway, we made pumpkin pie crepes for breakfast this past weekend. Oh, yummy! I've found a new fall favorite! I literally just took the pumpkin pie mix right out of the can, squirted on some whipping cream, and rolled them up onto fresh hot crepes...

Natalie was a huge fan, too! I love that she loves all things pumpkin with me. If you have a crepe pan, I insist you try these. If not, come over and I will make them for you. They are that good!

Mission Accomplished!

When we began looking at houses back in May, I had a goal: get moved-in and unpacked in time to put-up my fall decor. It was a lofty goal: could we even find a house by then? Of course, I wanted a house with a pool as well in time to enjoy for the summer. Well...

We fell in love with the first house we looked at. We put in an offer. We closed escrow just 3 days into summer. We have thoroughly enjoyed the pool. And, as for the decor... we were all decorated by the first day of fall! I'm feeling so blessed! We still have a lot of little projects, of course... but I'm still feeling super blessed!

They Came!

Last Wednesday, our long-awaited package finally arrived from Amazon; "real" Bibles for the big girls! (Side note: it was not Amazon's fault that it took so long, but really mine and Daniel's, as we couldn't decide which one to buy!) We decided to go with the NLT since that is the version I use and it seems easiest for the girls.

They have been THRILLED! Natalie wants to read it every day instead of her school books. Allison is reading hers all the time, too. It is so fun for me to see them this way about a Bible! May it last forever! :)

Signed,
Proud Mama

Pumpkin Waffle Recipe

Pumpkin Waffles, (from Family Fun... these are the best!)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin

Instructions

1. Set up the waffle iron on a countertop or table within easy reach of the cook. Plug in the iron to preheat it. (Remind your child never to touch the surface of the iron; she should touch only the handle and always cook with adult supervision.)

2. In a medium-size mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, and pumpkin. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture and stir just until combined.

3. Coat the preheated waffle iron with cooking spray. Pour the waffle batter onto the center of each section of the iron. (You will need 1/4 to 3/4 cup of batter for each waffle.)

4. Cook the waffles for about 4 to 5 minutes or until they are crispy and light brown. (Read the manufacturer's directions for details about how long you should cook the waffles in your particular waffle iron.) Serve immediately with maple syrup and butter. Serves 4.

RAINY Day

Believe it or not, these pictures were taken THREE days ago! Yes, it was warm enough to swim... well, at least the kids thought so. (The pool was a bit chilly for me!) We could hardly believe there was rain in the forecast. But, alas...


Today it came! And, the girls LOVED it. And, I LOVED it! They came downstairs all dressed in warm clothes once again, and immediately asked to go outside. Wet clothes = wet floors... sigh... "Sure, you can go outside!"





The girls tromped around for a good 20 minutes, and then decided they needed to warm-up. What better way to enjoy this rainy day than our first hot chocolate of the season?


Sierra did great with her first-ever hot chocolate!

One of the reasons I love homeschooling is rainy days. We didn't have to rush out of the house; we put on our cozy slippers and jumped right into school after our jaunt outside and hot chocolate warm-up. Both girls sat on my lap to do their reading, and I just held them tight, looking outside, so thankful for this time.

We also studied a little about underwater creatures for our science exploration, and then I had the girls do an art project about the sea star and sea urchin. They had to figure out themselves how to give the creatures texture. They chose salt for the sea star and toothpicks for the urchin. I was so impressed! Happy rainy day!