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.)

Super Shopping Trip!

Last week I began my quest to stock my freezer full of meals. I don't do this all the time but I needed some relief with dinner prep. Hopefully this will help!

I planned 12 recipes:

Baked Ziti

Lazy Lasagna

Mexican Meat Filling

Sweet & Sour Kielbasa

Curry Chicken

Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken

Hungarian Goulash

Baked Salmon

BBQ Meatloaf

Marinated Pork Chops

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups

Chicken Pot Pies

(Don't worry. I'm digging up the links and recipes for you too.)

BUT - as I'm guessing it is for you, shopping is not my favorite thing when I have my littles in tow. This particular week I would have 2 of the 3 so I knew it was going to be a challenge. However, with a little fore-thought and a couple of clipboards (my secret weapon), we managed. OH, and these awesome printables from TipJunkie. There are 2 Bingo cards and an "I Spy" game. What an awesome invention!!!

This was Karis's.

Cade loved it!! He kept asking if we had put these things in our basket. I don't think he truly got the idea but then again, I wasn't making it a competition.

They were totally occupied for the entire trip. It was unbelievable!! I'm sure it will never happen again . . . . so I'm just going to relish it for now.

More to come . . .

An Organized Home

I'm a pretty organized person. Even with 3 kids I think I've held it together pretty well. Ok, most days I hold it together. Some I just let it go . . .

Anyway, I have decided to get things more organized in my home. We've lived here in this house 2 years now and I feel like most things were just put in a closet so they could be unpacked, not necessarily because they went there. Now, of course, we have expanded our stuff and our needs have changed. Our game closet used to have a few grown-up games but now our kids have their own games so that space is crammed. Our hall closet and pantry are so confusing I can't even begin to describe what issue is the biggest problem there. UGH.

However, I only get a little done at once and have very little motivation when I have down time.

So. Here's my solution: I've got a friend that's just as nuts about organization as I am!! She and I are going to help each other out by going to each other's houses and helping clean out and organize. We have both started on our pantries separately and done a pretty good job. (Pictures to come.)

Next week, we are getting together here and working on one of my many projects. I'm so pumped!!

A wonderful quote my organized friend found for me: "If a home doesn't make sense, nothing does." I feel it. Do you?

PS: Here's some websites to motivate you!!

Honey & Fitz (my dream pantry!)

Whole Nine part 1

Whole Nine part 2

Oh Yes, It's that EASY!!!

Today I made the easiest meal. Clean up was a cake-walk too.

Ready for the recipe? Here you go.

1 whole chicken

1 bottle of BBQ sauce (flavor of your choice)

Pour the sauce on top of the chicken and cook for 4-5 hrs on low in the crock pot. If you use a crock pot liner (like the ones Reynolds makes) you can throw the bones and fat into that when you de-bone that sucker and toss the whole bag out. Clean up - DONE!

PS: It smells amazing too . . .

Family Fun Friday

Yesterday we went to San Diego for a little fun day. We went to Daddy's school, the beach (just to play in the sand), to eat some yummy BBQ. Oh, and to pick up our friend Jay from the airport. We had a lot of fun!!

Mmmmm.... Ribs

Picking Blueberries

Each kiddo wanted to be Farmer Mike

Picking Blueberries

Only pick the blue ones that aren't squishy!!