More fall....

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

Autumnal Projects....

Today we decided to spend some time doing our autumn "art" projects with the kids. They had fun, especially Little Man. I think Mushie Face is still a little young to enjoy certain projects, but we let her have a go anyway :) First up was painting the pumpkins we picked out last weekend. Mushie wasn't all that thrilled with this activity, so after a little coaxing from mama, we gave up. Little Mama however LOVED this and had a grand time mixing all the paints on his palette. WHITE is his favorite color (his is the left pumpkin) and he kept asking for "More white, more white" as it got mixed with the other paints.

Next up were leaf pressings. After letting the leaves dry and flatten all week, M was anxious to try his hand at the pressings. The leaves darkened and lost some of their luster while drying and you can't appreciate their colors under the wax paper. They're hanging from the curtain rod in front of our balcony door, hopefully they'll be good "suncatchers", who the heck knows, LOL. But Little Man really liked getting to iron with Daddy.

Fall is in the air....

We went pumpkin picking on Saturday and had a blast. I was a little disappointed because the website for the farm we went to said "Pick your Own", but when we got there, they weren't in a field, they were in large boxes and you picked from there :( Ah well... next year I'll research better.

We went on a hayride and the kids got to see some very cute calves running around.

After pumpkin picking, we drove around looking at the trees changing colors. We stopped at my mom's house and picked some leaves for pressing later this week. M has been talking about pressing leaves with Little Man for 2 years now, he wanted to do it with him when he was 7months old, but I talked him out of it. This year, I think Little Man is ready and we're looking forward to the project.

Works In Progress and my Updated Lists

I've gotten a little bit of knitting done since my last post. I've been steady plugging away at M's birthday scarf and kicking out some gifts off my list.

Knitting
5 3 pairs Little Turtle Knits Stripey Slippers
1 Scarf
1 Janet lace shawl
3 0 Washcloths (all of different designs and patterns)
2 Washmitts
1 Felted purse
Variety of fruits and veggies

Sewing
13 pairs flannel pj bottoms/ lounge pants
3 pairs Mini Mocs
5 Eye Pillows
8 4 Bean Bags
2 Smocks in Holiday/ winter prints

Ever wonder.....

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were out of commission for 3 days??? Since having Little Man in 2004, I've never actually been out of commissin for more than a few hours (well, when I had Mushie and had to be hospitalized I guess I was, but my mom took care of everything). Anyway... what would happen to the laundry?? the dishes?? the housekeeping in general?? Who would cook and WHAT would they cook?? Well I got to find out this weekend.

Wednesday evening I told M I wasn't feeling well and I thought I had a UTI. Sure enough, by bedtime I was in a full blown fever. Didn't get much sleep that night, actually woke up a few times and puked (I know, too much information). Thursday, only the Lord knows how we got through the day because M had to work, my mom and sis were busy, so I was left with my 2 babes and me, lifeless on the couch. Somehow I managed to nurse them, change their dipes, get them down for naps, and feed Little Man, but other than that, they had free range of the apartment and boy did they ransack it. When M came home from work, he ate, we packed the kiddos up and headed to the dr's. I was worng, it wasn't a UTI, it was a full on kidney infection.

Two shots of heavy antibiotics in the tush and a very $$$ dr bill later, we were home, the babes were asleep, and I was passed out in bed. My fever pressed on, as did the puking and I was within inches of dehydration. Friday, fortunately, M had off from work. He picked up pretty much all of the slack, except laundry, he still doesn't know how to use our washer, and my mom brought dinner. I started oral antibiotics and was still lifeless on the couch.

Saturday I was well enough to get off the couch, but M still called out of work and my mom brought more dinner and my sister. While my sis played with the kids for a while, I was able to throw some diaper laundry in. My fever finally broke Saturday evening. So what did my apartment look like?? Not too bad. The laundry had taken over the bedroom, so I worked on it on Sunday. The dishes had piled up and the clean ones needed to be put away. I could walk on a clear floor because M kept the toys piled up and out of the way.

Overall, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. M learned some valuable lessons about what it actually takes for me to keep up our household (at one point the baby wasn't wearing a bib and her shirt was soaked, I asked why she had no bib on and the response I got, "Cuz you're sick and I don't know what the h*ll I'm doing") and I learned that life goes on without me. I used to dread thinking about what would happen if I got sick, but now I know, and it's not bad at all.

"MY" Fipper

Well, here they are, Little Man's LTK Stripey Slippers (minus the stripes) for Christmas. Only, I don't think they're for Christmas anymore, lol. I started them Saturday morning and finished the first one Saturday evening. Little Man saw it sitting on the dining room table while I was casting on the second slipper. "MY fipper??" he asked so innocently picking it up and putting it to his feet. I figured I'd at least make sure the sizing was right (it was), but before I knew it, he was up and running with the one slipper. "More fipper??" was what he kept asking me all night pointing to his bare foot.

I worked on half the slipper Saturday night and finished it up Sunday morning. All that little boy needed to see was 2 finished slippers.

"Fippers on" was the end of that. Now I need to come up with another homemade Christmas gift for him.... but at least he loves his "fippers".

Apple Picking

Ahh... Friday we went apple picking at a local orchard. It was a GORGEOUS day for it, perfect autumn weather. The air was so crisp we all needed to wear light weight jackets. Have I mentioned I LOVE this time of year?!?!?! The kids had a blast. Little Man really got into *helping* daddy use the apple picker and thought it was the greatest thing ever when M lifted him up into the trees to pick apples right off the branches. Even Mushie got inot the spirit of things, watching and giggling from the comfort of the sling. At one point, she grabbed an apple on a branch and chomped right into it while it was yet unpicked (we did pick the apple for her and she held and gnawed on it for the rest of our visit at the orchard).



The orchard also has some livestock, a bull named Sparky, a BIG pig, 2 donkeys, 2 sheep, and quite a few goats. Little Man was in awe watching the livestock eat their "lunch" of corn feed, apples, hay, and grass. A rendition of "Old MacDonald" was sung as we entered the *Harvest House*. OMG!!! I don't think I've ever smelled anything as lovely. The orchard staff make fresh pies, fresh breads, canned preserves and jellies and jams, RAW HONEY (it is SO DELISH!!) and so many other delectables. They even carry some art pieces from local artists. We're going back at the end of the month as more apple varieties ripen.


It was days like Friday that make me in awe of the beautiful things our Creator has surrounded us with.