{ Fall Crafting - Pine Cone Swag }

Hey everyone :)

Today's post is going to be a short, quick tutorial for a fun and pretty inexpensive DIY, that is just perfect for Fall.

I don't know about you all, but I always have pine cones on hand.  We have 3 acres of land, and a lot of different trees, shrubs, plants and flowers.  One of the biggest trees in our back yard, is a gorgeous pine.

{ Change of plans and some Fall DIY }

Yesterday, I told you that today I would take you for a walk around my property and see how Fall was starting to show it's face, as well as gather some Myrtle Crepes and other plants, foliage so that I can make some cute arrangements inside.

I fully intended to do that until I woke up and was faced with cloudy skies and intermittent sprinkles of rain.

I should have realized by the way the house seemed so dark, more than usual at this time of the day.

{ Back pain, fall crafting, grocery shopping }

I woke up with the worst lower back pain.  It's nothing new for me, osteoporosis runs in my family, and with it, scoliosis etc. 

A few weeks ago, I was going through my medical records, just out of curiosity and I came upon a report for a chest X Ray that I had done when I was 4 months pregnant with Jasmine. 

In the report it states.....well, actually, let me backtrack a second and tell you why I was getting the X Ray.

Cooking, Cleaning and Hopefully Crafting!

Image credit: www.walkcarmarthenshire.com

Good morning everyone, come on in and sit with me, I have hot coffee and warm gooey cinnamon rolls waiting for you.

What a week it has been, I'm so glad it's the weekend and a long one at that, I'm hoping to get some good rest and catch up on my reading too.

It feels great to know that Autumn is here and even though I am in hot Arizona, the weather has cooled down and is allowing a wonderful breeze to come through, the weather man is talking about a cold front coming in, but how cold could it really get here?!?!?!? If I was still in Idaho I would be pulling out blankies and sweaters and gearing up for a COLD COLD front....but here I can't really take it seriously because nothing thrown our way will be as cold as before. LOL


This past week my whole menu revolved around Slow Cooking and trying new recipes and I have to say, I'm pretty happy with every single one we tried, they were delicious. Italian Sausage Penne, Hearty Chick 'n Dumplings, Cantonene Dinner, Swiss Steak......all wonderful but if I had to say which one to try first, I would say the Cantonese Dinner, oh it was just so good I can't wait to have it again.


Today I'm giving my Slow Cooker a chance to rest and recharge, we're either having Sirloin Bacon Burgers on the grill or probably grabbing something while out. We'll see what the mood strikes.

The kids and I are also going to be baking some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, does that not sound like heaven???


Curt's aunt and uncle are vacationing in the area, actually about 2 hours from us so we're trying to come up with a plan to meet and spend some time together, either they will come and see us on base or we will head to the ranch they're at to spend the day. Whichever one we decide on, we're super excited for.

Today though we're cleaning up around the house a bit and then heading to the Historic Sahuaro Ranch which is but a few minutes from our house.

Return to an earlier time when you visit this lovely historic park built in the 1890s. Seven original buildings set on 16 acres are home to rabbits, chickens and peacocks. Originally a citrus farm founded by William Henry Bartlett, the ranch is now a Glendale City Park. Tour the main house and view exhibits of years past.

There's a playground for the kids to play at, there's a picnic area and volleyball courts and then there's the historic part with the buildings where tours are available to take you inside the houses. Something fun to do and we don't even have to spend money....now that is my kind of family outing LOL

Now onto crafting, with the cooler temperatures coming around I usually pull out my knitting needles and start making something, not sure yet what will come of it, we'll see what I am in the mood for.


This long weekend the kids and I are also going to make our very own Fairy House in the backyard. Jasmine and I LOVE fairies and when I first heard about the Fairy House Series, I knew it would be something we both would enjoy....then I started looking online and found out that all over the country there seem to be a lot of little girls (and adults alike) who love making fairy houses even seasonal ones, in the woods, in their backyards, at the beach, pretty much anywhere.

I'll be sure to take a picture of our very own first Fairy House once it's complete.


For now I'm heading out, I want to get things straightened out here at home so we can head to the Sahuaro Ranch, I'll be back with pictures and stories I'm sure.

I leave you with my favorite song from Casting Crowns "Who I Am"......nothing like this song to remind us of who and what the Lord is to us. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL song!

song codes watch films

Crafty Hands and Runny Noses!!!

The title of this post tells you exactly what you will find around my house, especially yesterday. Hubby came down with the cold and since he loves us all so much, he was very kind to pass it on, full force. Here I was thinking I was feeling better, but now I'm miserable again.....the kids are sick, hubby's sick, and mommy is "sicker". Can't really say I'm sick, I just never got better :)

But you know, I'm not one to let it get me down. While sitting on the couch yesterday, I decided to finally give that Purse a try. If you have an hour and want to make something really cute for your daughter or niece, or even a friend....this is the perfect project.
It's sooooo easy to make, the only thing that took the longest for me, was the blanket stitching around the edges....and why you may ask???
Because for some reason it took me 20 minutes just to remember how to do it LOL Very frustrating!!!

Here's the purse halfway done:

And here is the finished purse. Jasmine LOVES it. She got to pick the fabric and what sort of embelishment she wanted on the front. All that it needs now is a clasp, which I'm going to buy today and add.

It gave me ideas for some simple gifts I can make for my nieces in South Africa. I think these would make great christmas gifts, and they would be handmade by their aunt, so I'm sure they would love them :)
I'm also going to change the design a bit and make myself a cute cellphone holder.

But anyway moving on, so we have germs galore in this house, which means I'm going to be giving it a good clean top to bottom. Going to change the bed linens too and vacuum again and all that fun stuff. I'm just wanting this cold gone soon.

Last night I had meatloaf planned for dinner. I thawed out the meat and then went to get ready to cook, opened the package and was met by this overwhelming HORRIBLE stench. The meat was bad. I JUST bought it. How annoying is that???

So I had to make quick changes to the menu. I decided to make a quick pot of soup, can't go wrong with that, I fixed "Baked Potato Soup". It was SO good, just hubby alone had 3 full bowls. It doesn't make a lot though, so next time I'm going to double or triple the recipe.

You all know that I LOVE books, but I'm not much, or actually at ALL into online books. To me reading a book means picking it up, holding it in my hands and smelling the pages....I absolutely love the smell of books. But recently while browsing around on the internet, I found this site called "19th Century Girl's Series". It includes a list of plus some samples of the books. I've had a lot of fun going through them, and I can't wait to use it as a reference next time I go to the library.

Another great site I found is called "Classic Book Library" and it has a wonderful list of old Children's literature, books that we either grew up reading or remember hearing about. Go take a look, I'm sure you will be happy to see "Anne of Green Gables", "Black Beauty", Pollyanna" and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm". Can't wait to share these with Jasmine :)

Here in an hour we're heading to Jasmine's school. This week she's the most important person in the class, the kids get to take some of their favorite things, pictures and they can also have a show and tell. Of course Jasmine was thrilled with the idea of taking the pugs to show her class mates.
So we're off with pugs in tow, just hope the girls behave. :)

I've got so much to do today and I'm just glad that my day is set out for me, if I didn't follow a schedule, I really don't know how how I would ever get through so much.

I usually post my recipes on my food blog, but since I'm in an Anne of Green Gables mood, I am leaving you with a recipe for some delicious tea.

Marilla Cuthbert's Ginger Tea

Altogether, Anne went to bed that night in a rather pessimistic mood. She slept poorly and was so pale and tragic at breakfast next morning that Marilla was alarmed and insisted on making her take a cup of scorching ginger tea. Anne sipped it patiently, although she could not imagine what good ginger tea would do. Had it been some magic brew, potent to confer age and experience, Anne would have swallowed a quart of it without flinching.
(Anne of Avonlea, Chapter 4)

Ingredients:

4 cups of water
1/2 cup of fresh ginger root
honey
lemon

Directions:

1) Peel the ginger root and slice it into thin slices.
2) Boil the water in a saucepan.
3) Add the ginger slices once the water is at a rolling boil
4) Cover the saucepan and reduce heat to a simmer for 15-20 minutes.
5) Strain the tea to remove the ginger slices.
6) Add honey and lemon to taste.

And that's it for me this morning, my coffee has gone cold, that's the sign that blogging time is over. I do promise to come back later and visit you all. Enjoy your day :)






For dinner I'm making Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Garlic. It's a portuguese recipe and I'll share it later, so if you're a garlic fan (which I am), be sure to go take a peek at the food blog this afternoon.





Ironing
Changing Bed Linens
Sweeping and Mopping
Jasmine's show and tell at school
Library

Come in from the cold......

It's chilly outside, and inside I have Hot fresh coffee, we're having "Maple Pecan", and I also have breakfast all ready. How about some bacon, eggs, sausages and some biscuits and gravy???

So come in and sit down, I have a lot of photos to share with you today, you might want to get ready for that. If you don't like looking through photos, you may want to skip this post altogether, but I'm hoping you'll change your mind and stay a bit :)

What a wonderful day we had yesterday!!!

You know as a parent it's much too easy to get so caught up in the daily grind, the schedules and errands, work, house, cooking and cleaning, responsibilities. It's easy to brush aside the importance of spending time with the kids all in the name of "BEING BUSY".

I've done it way too many times, I'm not ashamed to admit it. Then there's the times that I buy them a toy because I feel guilty, like THAT'S supposed to take the place of spending time with mommy. But you know, at least I realize what I'm doing and try really hard to change it.

So yesterday, even though I'm still sick, I told the kids it was their day. I honestly didn't think hubby would join in, he's got his shifts all switched around and is struggling to get some sleep. One day he has to be at work at 5am, then the next it's 3pm, and then the following it's 11:30pm. But anyway, I thought he would be sleeping and wouldn't be able to join us, but I was wrong, he wanted to come along, especially knowing that next week he will be heading out again.

We started the day with a trip to the library, always my favorite place to head to. I was able to snap some pics, is there anything more precious than kids and books together???
Now here is where the endless photos begin, so come on and sit at the kitchen table with me, we can eat while we look right???

Oh let me just say that on the way to the library, we had already been picking leaves for our LEAF COLLAGE. I was amazed at the beautiful leaves we had already found, I mean, not just shape wise, but color and size. Truly amazing!!!

We came back home to drop off all the books, and that is when hubby decided to join us in our quest for leaves. It turned not only into a search for the perfect leaf, but also a learning experience for all of us. Have you ever just gone outside near your house and around the area, and really looked at the flowers and nature around you???

The first thing we saw were some crabapples, which Jasmine actually mistook for cherries and was sooooo thrilled :)

What is beyond the fence that has the kids so enthralled??? Well the playground off course, they tried mighty hard to see if they could squeeze through that small hole in the fence. But their attention was only lost for a minute before they set off on their quest for leaves again.

I kept having to call Nicholas back, he was trying to sneak off to the park LOL
Gotta love those wagons though, just pop them in there, they love going for a ride, and we love being able to keep them with us at all times :)

Along the way we saw some really pretty desert flowers. Yes we live pretty much in a desert, and I had no idea that it could be so beautiful, if you just take the time and pay attention to what is around you.

It wasn't long before we came upon a beautiful butterfly.

And then our friend grasshopper, he actually stopped right at our feet and remained there while I snapped pictures. Look even Jasmine got to touch him, not a peep from Mr Grasshopper. The kids were beyong thrilled and we kept hearing "OH we love this day, this is the best day ever".

As our walk came to an end, the kids wanted to make a "wish". They LOVE these, so every chance they get they pick one. Wonder what they're wishing for???
No doubt more toys!!!

By the time we got home, everyone was tired and hungry, although extremely excited at the beautiful afternoon we had spent. So instead of grabbing some sandwiches, we went to the Food Court at the BX to have some lunch. Now that may not sound like a great deal to you guys, but we hardly ever go there to eat, if we get food we bring it home. It's just that with the two kids, it was painful trying to sit down, they wanted to run all over, fight with each other, scream and shout....you understand that young kids and sit down restaurants don't necessarily mix. LOL

When we returned home it was time for some art. I think we were all dying to get in there and make our leaf collages. The rules were = THERE'S NO RULES!!! Just use your imagination, so we set to work. Wow, did we have fun, we allowed ourselves to have fun, no holding back, there were leaves all over the table, glue and glue sticks sticking here and there, sticky hands and lots of laugh.
But here's the end result, everything ready for the frames, which I'll have to do later today.

Aren't those just adorable??? Look at all that color, it really brings out the best of Fall :)
I'll be sure to share the pictures once they're all up in frames and hanging on the wall.

So there you have it, I guess you could call it our day in pictures? It just served to remind me and hubby that we don't have to go far or spend loads of money, to enjoy having fun with the kids. All they want is some alone time with mommy and daddy, so next time you're out walking, stop and look at things around you, get down on the ground with the kids and explore together, it's SO much fun ;)

Anyway, yesterday I told you all that I would share my daily schedule, of course this is just a rough draft, if I have appointments or if something comes up, I just adjust it, but it's pretty much what my day consists of. As you can see it leaves me plenty of time for TV and crafts or reading etc. Hope it helps some of you get an idea to jump start your own schedules, and here's the thing, the kids LOVE knowing what's happening next, gives them structure too and stops the "I'm bored, so I'll pick a fight with my sibling" problem.

I used to think that if I want to watch a show on TV, then that's all I'm doing and have to leave everything around me for later. NO NO NO, I've now learnt that I can do SO much while watching my favorite show, during commercials I can pay bills, make a budget, draw up a menu, look through recipes, or I can fold clothes, iron and even read my favorite book.
This way I enjoy my show AND I don't neglect the household chores. Works for me :)

And then to finish off my day, last night after the kids were asleep, I was able to sit up and watch Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel and I also started Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it :)
Only got to sleep at around 1am, and then back up at 6am with Nicholas, but I don't mind....I wouldn't have had it any other way.

It's days like yesterday that remind me why I'm a mom, the rewards far outweigh the bad days, and even the bad days are not BAD per say, just a little chaotic at times. Then again, anything worth having is filled with hard work right???

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the breakfast, nothing like good company first thing in the morning.

I have laundry to do and I also need to get things ready for my "Ultimate Meatloaf" dinner. I'm posting the recipe on my food blog, right after I'm done here :)

Have a beautiful sunday :)