Wordless Wednesday (Halloween 2017)

  Every year even if we go to the same places Halloween is different.  The trunks are different at the Trunk or Treats, the festival events are different and even a trip though the neighborhood brings new experiences.  Regardless of all the candy the kids will remember what they were, who they were with and maybe how much they walked.  Candy cravings will fade and I can't wait.

    The hardest part of Halloween is not what candy to eat first, or which house to start at first.

It's what costume to wear!

The festivals are fun because they have so many activities and crafts to do.

Master Gardeners always have such fun crafts.  They glued different leaves on plates and the kids used their imagination to complete the picture. 

No lollipops for these ghosts. These were made from the Sweetgum Tree pods. 

Finale to our night was Trunk or Treat.  I can't say if there was a theme or not but, some of the trunks are so fun no theme is necessary.  

It's extra fun when people match the cars! Hello Mario where's Luigi?

This was my favorite!  Such minimal work but a huge statement!

We went to the circus.

We didn't touch the jellyfish.

Emoji's are a language everyone knows.

Special appearance by the Golden Girls.

An interactive trunk. I-Spy!

This was the most elaborate car. The starship enterprise.

4 pumpkins brought this yellow brick road together.

Pumpkins were not going to be showed up by some cars!

                

                

  This fun was the weekend before the big day so we had days of Halloween fun!  How did you spend you Halloween or last few days of October?  Did you attend a fall festival?

Indoor Pumpkin Craft

(When you apply a face on an upside down jar think it through first)

  This is an easy way to bring that glow into your house!  My disclaimer: I may or may not be a hoarder.  My littlest one hasn't eaten baby food in years.

For this project I pulled out old glass baby food jars and plastic ones as well.  I didn't know which one would work better so I used one of each.  The plastic leftover cups from fruit may work to depending on the height.

  I  addition to the jars you need:

                            tissue paper (and glue)

                                   paint

  The glass jar was painted.

The plastic jar was glued and scraps of torn tissue paper was applied to it.

Orange was the name of the game since these were supposed to be pumpkins.  Red and yellow paint on the glass jar to give me orange and I layered yellow tissue paper first then red on the plastic jar for an orange glow.

Cutout your faces.

Add your light device under the jar.

You now have indoor pumpkins less the mess, and clean up.

Weekly Recap 10/23

  Last week I stayed busy and on task between crafts, school with my son, and dinner!  What was really exciting was starting our week off catching a rocket in the sky!  I missed the shot in the sky but it is forever in our memories!

                     (Photo credit to NASA)

I am still reading The Husband's Secret but hope to be done soon.

On deck is The Silent Wife.

  Do you see a theme here?  I had seen a post for it somewhere and selected this as my next read.

Dinner for the week did include a meal out on Tuesday as it was Pink Receipt Day at Chick Fil A.  I moved one recipe to the next day and one recipe got rolled over to next week.

Salmon Alfredo

Cobb salad (Chick Fil A)

Zucchini burgers

Meatloaf

Crafts were in an abundance to include items I made outside my house.

We made mummies, a pumpkin and ghost!

I had fun at my first ladies night out at Home Depot making this Snowman and  decorated a mason jar at my MOPS meetup

   

School with little man was letter E this week.

I look forward to fine tuning this crafting thing and seeing if I can pull off some crafty gifts for the holidays.  I have read a lot lately and plan on keeping this hobby up.  I would like to change somethings up with little man's schooling so we will see how that goes.  Dinner for next week is already to go and I'm excited to go grocery shopping soon!

I hope you had a good week and good luck to both of us for next week.

Fall Bucketlist

I don't need to make a bucketlist I have children.  The children are always submitting their requests to me.  Each season and even regardless of the season.  Sometimes they try to use the season as an excuse to request something or go somewhere.  

I like to take it easy when the season changes.  I don't need to run out the gate to a pool on the first day of summer.  Nor do I need to build a snowman when winter hits.  There will be plenty of time to do it so there's no point of stressing with a list.

  What I would like to do this fall in no specific order.

1.  Go to ColonialWilliamsburg. I have been several times but never during Halloween time but they have some amazing wreaths to look at.

2.  A corn maze would be fun for everyone

3.  Last year I went apple picking and that was a fun experience for my little ones.  I would love to check out the trees again and of course the donuts and cider are just a bonus.

4.  Carve a pumpkin.  This year we picked up a dremel so let's see what happens with that.

5.  Visit some more state parks and check out those leaves!

There I have made a list.  One I may or may not follow but it's there for bragging rights.  Fall is all about leaves, apples and pumpkins.  I promise I will partake in viewing or consumption of all the appropriate fall season necessities.

Does drinking pumpkin lattes count?  If so strike that off a bucketlist because I have nailed it.

Reflections

  Fall is not over and winter is not close yet.  Hmm, is that like the glass is half full?  I want to take full advantage of the season and live everyday to the fullest.

 

 What my senses love about the fall!

Hearing:  I love to hear the crunch of leaves under my feet!  There is an odd silence in the fall maybe not so odd maybe all the bird I listen are gone!  I like the silence though!

Smell: So many smells in the fall.  I like the air in general I don't know if it's fresh air or dead leaves but there's something about it.  I also love the smell of fireplaces burning.  I don't personally have a fireplace but I enjoy the smell in the air when I'm walking around outside.

Taste:  Of course all things pumpkin and apples are not to bad either.  It's funny to say because I use canned pumpkin so what's the big deal; I could eat that anytime of year but it's not the same.

Sight:  All the leaves are a classic.  It never gets old.  I am not privileged to see the colors changing in VA (my part) as much as I have seen them in upstate NY but if I drive a few hours I catch sight of them.

Touch:  This one is a hard one.  What

touch is different than any other time of year.  I will choose cozy.  I like to be warm.  I love summer because no extra clothes are necessary.  In the fall however I have to regulate my body temperature more.  More sweaters, turtlenecks and sweatshirts.

  I do enjoy fall like any other season.  It is not my favorite but I make do and appreciate some points it brings to me and my environment.

Fall bucketlist

  We have already done alot this month and it's only just begun.  I have assembled items I would like to accomplish for fall.  This will be easier than breaking things down monthly.  I look at various sites for daily,weekly and monthly activities and events so those will get added at the bottom. My list is comprised of things for me to do as well as my kids or as a family.

Fall Bucket list
1. Apple picking -DONE
2. Cider and donut eating (we already did at the orchard but that was one donut and a small bit of cider)
3. Check out some changing leaves (leaves do not change here as pretty as there are when I drive away from the area)
4. Carve pumpkins
5. Attend the lighthousechallenge in NJ (next weekend fingers crossed I haven't made overnight accommodations)
6. Leaf crafts with my kids
7. Sewing project (beanie)
8. Shopping (score thrift store deals) Let's shoot for 2! Hoping I can reuse as gifts or repurpose.
9. Which brings me to be on the look out for Christmas presents.
10.  Finish my pumpkin challenge 30 days (not all homemade but let's focus on eating the pumpkin, lol)
11. New face! I have been wearing makeup, watching tutorials of different styles, techniques and products and hope to break into that area as well.  So far I have applied daily and am up to day 6! Pictures are on  my instagram.
12. I would like my daughter to know her money and time
13. Take a nature walk and scavenger hunt with my little ones.
14. A nice toasty night out with a fireplace would be nice ( might not happen as I like heat and my husband doesn't)
15. 1 new recipe a week (let's make it more complicated I have been doing this pumpkin challenge and all those recipes are new to me but how about 7 new vegetarian meals.  That will get me through Nov.)

Ok, I feel more fulfilled having wrote down some ideas.  Now to remember them and take the time to complete them.

Follow along as I will post updates when I have completed them and share with you how I am coming along.