Gingerbread Building

During holiday break, we need some entertainment before we open our new presents. SOOOO . . . When I found a gingerbread house on sale (25% off already!) I HAD to buy it.

Mommy and Jayci handled most of the icing jobs and the kids added the candy. So we decorated . . .

. . . and we ate a little bit too.

And we had a lot of fun!!!

(Mommy tip: The frame has to dry for 30 min! It is very hard to wait 30

WHOLE minutes to start decorating . . . .)

Happy Fall Y'all!

A couple of weekends ago it was rainy and yucky and we needed an indoor project because the natives were restless . . .

I saw this cute idea on pinterest but didn't realize it was a wedding guest book idea where each guest would add their thumbprint to the tree as a sign in. Cute, but not what I had in mind

So, as all parents do, I adjusted. We made finger print trees. I just drew a tree onto cardstock with a brown crayon and gave each kid a stamp pad and a wipie.

They printed leaves in green, brown, orange, and yellow all over the tree. Then they wiped their color off and traded ink. Some got real creative and made piles of leaves under the tree or falling leaves.

They had a great time and made a keepsake for Mommy. (I'm a sucker for anything with and hand/foot print.)

Cute and happy little Natives now. YAY!

Pumpkin Carving Time

Karis has an easy job! Mr. Potato Head pumpkin pieces. Great present from Granna. Thank you!

Jayci picked a "scary" pattern off bhg.com. She was so excited to carve it herself. No, I did it actually, but she pressed a push pin through the lines of the pattern and thought it was awesome.

Of course, Cade was delighted to get all the gunk out of the middle of the pumpkin but even more excited to roast the seeds.

Finished product. They are totally rotten now but it was a really fun afternoon! (Try this tip to keep your pumpkins fresh. I didn't try it in time.)

Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas

My house is beginning to smell like Christmas and I love it! This is my favorite thing about this season. My mom found this recipe somewhere and I make it every year. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. (It makes a great hostess gift too!)

Christmas Scent

3 - 4 inch cinnamon sticks

3 bay leaves

1/4 cup whole cloves

1/2 orange

1/2 lemon

1 qt water

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer as long as you want. Add water as needed. Cool and store in the refrigerator when you're done simmering.

Happy Chicken Day??

For the second year in a row we went to Chick Fil-A for Thanksgiving. Our friends that own it have opened up their restaurant to us and those that don't have family in for the holiday. We all bring something and eat to our hearts' content!

Our kids are beginning to think this is what Thanksgiving is all about . . . and I guess it is. We have come to find our Ridgeline friends to be our adoptive family in Cali. It is fitting that we spend Thanksgiving with those we love!

Feeling Halloweenie

Today was a spontaneous halloween fun day. We went to the Pumpkin Patch after nap, watched the Backyardagains "It's Great to be a Ghost", and made pumkins/ghosts/cats out of orange playdough.

I was thinking, while Iwas building awesome right arm strenth stirring homemade playdough, "This is the life. This is what having kids and being a mom has always been about to me . . . and it won't last long." Snif. It made me a little sad.

Nonetheless, it was an awesome day. I don't know why I don't do more things like this. Maybe I just

needed a day to realize how fun it is and that the days of being a dorky mom in my kids eyes are just around the corner.

We called it a Halloweenie day! I have a feeling there will be more. . . .

**Playdough recipe (makes enough for 2 kids, in my opinion)

1 c flour

1/2 c salt

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp oil

1 c water

Stir dry ingredients in a pot on the stove top. Add oil and water and mix well. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pot.

Pour dough into a bowl and cover with a wet towel for 1 min. Make a well and add 10-15 drops of food coloring (ratio for orange is 2 red : 1 yellow). Knead together until color is uniform. ENJOY!