planning for fall October 15, 2009

I guess it’s just going to be a strange fall no matter WHAT part of the country you live in!  We are all trying to make the best of it and enjoy the changing seasons (whatever they are changing from or to!)  Fall is my favorite season,  so I really am hoping that we get some ‘normal’ fall-like weather at some point and we will definitely still try to enjoy the tasty treats that just can’t be left out!

Our fall ‘must-have’ list includes:

• A trip to Greenbluff for apple picking (This is usually on, or around my late Sept birthday.  This year we made it up the first weekend of Oct w/family friends only to be welcomed by bitter cold rain, but we picked apples anyways!)
• Make some Chai tea mix … I’ve been enjoying the last of the HUGE double batch that I made last year, but the stock needs to be replenished.
• Enjoying pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin sausage soup (not together) … seems that pumpkin recipes are a good theme this week!
• Knit or crochet something.  While I do this year round, there is something nice about making something warm when it is so cold outside.  My latest project is this.  I made one for our daughter due on Dec 31st, and I’m working on one for my 2 1/2 year old too!
• Go for walks and admire all the different leaves – shapes, sizes and colors!  I guess this year our walks will involve winter coats, mittens and scarves!
• Find a routine!  I feel the need to get back into a routine now that the weather is changing to be a little less outdoor friendly.  So my goal is to settle back into a routine (or maybe make a new one!) now that vacations are done and school year activities have been going for a month.
• This year my fall list includes painting the 2 kids bedrooms.  One will be the nursery come January and the other my son and daughter have been sharing in all it’s purpleness for the last year!   I’d love to get some mint green paint on the walls in the nursery and I’m still looking for inspiration for a boy/girl room!  Any ideas for a gender shared bedroom??

Comeback Fall, we miss you! October 14, 2009

This has been a strange fall season thus far.  We went to the apple orchard when it was hot and humid and were building snowmen in October :)  There are many fun fall activities that I hope we get to experience before winter settles in and here are the top ones for us…

1.  Roast and freeze pumpkin for holiday pies, pancakes, soups, etc.

2.  Make applesauce.

3.  Find the perfect apple cider recipe. (if you have a favorite please, please post)

4.  Bake lots of pumpkin stuff.

5.  Decorate pumpkins and search for ways to keep the squirrels from eating them if I put them on my porch. (once again if anyone has tips feel free to comment!)

Here is my favorite pumpkin bread recipe that I have modified from the original…

Pumpkin Ribbon Bread

Filling:

1 pkg. (8 oz) low fat cream cheese

1/3 Cup sugar

1 T. flour

1 egg

2 t. grated orange peel

Bread:

1 cup cooked pumpkin

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 t cloves

2 t cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

For filling- beat cream cheese, sugar and flour together in a small bowl.  Add egg.  Stir in orange peel and set aside.  Make bread by combining pumpkin, oil and eggs in a mixer.  Add sugar, salt, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and baking soda.  Pour 1/4 of batter in to 2 greased and floured loaf pans.  Carefully spread the cream cheese mixture over the batter.  Add remaining batter, covering filling.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, or until bread tests done with a wooden pick.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans.  Store in refrigerator.

Modified from a base recipe in the cookbook Gooseberry Patch – Welcome Home for the Holidays.

Oh Pumpkins, how I love thee…. October 13, 2009

Seriously now ladies, I have a complete LOVE for the pumpkin.  I love the color, the smell, the TASTE….I love it in coffee, bread, pancakes, muffins, cookies, ice cream, smoothies, in cheesecake, and of course…in PIE.  :-)  With that in mind, my “must do before Fall leaves us!” list is this:

• Bake some chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.
• Make some pumpkin bread (per my son’s request)
• Pay WAY TOO MUCH for a couple Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks
• Enjoy a fat-free Pumpkin smoothie from Burgerville.  YUM.
• Roast me some seeds!
• Buy some outrageously priced pumpkin butter from a local grower…and then eat it on some pumpkin pancakes.

I also plan to do some things that don’t include the wonderful pumpkin:

• Make a batch of the Chai Tea Mix (I really did have this in mind BEFORE Andie’s post!)
• Head to Hood River and enjoy the Fruit Loop!
• Put flannel sheets on the beds (ahhh, so cozy…)
• Get a family photo taken (I’ve got 5-10 more lbs to lost before I’m willing to schedule this one, I’m aiming to get there BEFORE Christmas…)
• Clean up our espresso machine – this little appliance has the potential to save us a lot of money through the cooler months…we definitely did not take full advantage of it last fall/winter.
• Chop down the big ugly bush/tree thing that is next to our house.

I think that’s it for now…

What are you going to do?

The Irony October 12, 2009

This week’s question that we planned months ago was “What do you want to do before fall is over?” The ironic part is that I woke up this morning to find our lovely fall leaves covered in a blanket of thick, wet snow. Sad. Winter may have already arrived here in MN.

My answer to this question has changed out of necessity. What I would like to do still this fall….

-Bake an apple pie
-Make my annual batch of Chai
-bag up a lot more things to take out of our small house to donate
-Use my Knifty Knitter to make a hat for the baby and for Ruth

and here is what I would have written if winter hadn’t already arrived….
- go back to the orchard
-jump in the leaves
-take in the fall colors somewhere beautiful

Friday Nights! August 27, 2009

As we entered a new stage of life with kids in school and a crazy work schedule for my husband we had to seek out new ways to reconnect and rest with each other.  We realized that for at least this stage of life we are all home on Friday nights and we are all REALLY tired by the time Friday rolls around.  So we started movie nights!  There are tons of classic and new family friendly movies out there.  We usually have something fun for dinner that requires little prep on my part like nacho night, pizza night, or appetizer night.  The girls love Friday nights and so do I :)  When school is in full swing movies and tv are rare which make movie night a treat!

Between the pages August 27, 2009

One of our favorite ways to refresh as a family is to read a good book together! During the day, I read the kids books before naps and at the end of the day Matt and I both sit down with the kids and read the Bible as a family. Not only is it relaxing for the kids, but it helps for us as parents to sit down together and really have focused time with the kids.

Recharging- day by day August 26, 2009

I am SO NOT a morning gal…so waking up to bickering children starts off the day all wrong for me and often there can be no coming back.  There are a few ways I’ve found to switch the mood of the day and kind of have a “do-over” (as my friend Christine likes to call it).  One way is simply stating the do-over.  It works suprisingly well for me and my almost-4-year-olds.  :-)

Another thing we started doing this last spring is a little something I like to call after-baby-goes-down-for-a-nap-and-before-it’s-time-for the-twins-to-rest-GAME-TIME  (got that?).  After we’ve picked up the house and had lunch, we read a few books and then play a round or two of a favorite game before rest time.  Our currents favs are Castle Candyland (for those days when we’re short on time) and Zoo Match.  Zoo Match is like three sided domino cards with animals instead of dots that you match up.  Our kids are totally addicted.  Playing games with my kids is something that gives us all a chance to sit down, spend uninterrupted semi-structured time together, and reset our day.  If the morning was difficult for one (or more…) people it allows rest time to start on a upswing- rather than entering rest time in conflict or frustration.

One way our family finds to recharge the batteries is by taking a walk to a nearby school or park (this evening it’s the Glendoveer Fitness Trail) and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation and the fresh air together.  I’ve found this is especially helpful for my husband and I as we get a chance to talk at the end of the day and there are no dirty dishes or overgrown lawns vying for our time.   Plus, it helps get the wiggles out of the children before they head to bed for the night.

Chill Time August 24, 2009

This week we are talking about how we refresh as a family. Here’s a recent picture of my kids chilling out.

As you can see, we like to go hang out in the great outdoors. We just returned from 3 days camping at our favorite state park on Lake Superior. There is something refreshing about being out of the city where the kids can run and not hit a fence or a street for quite awhile. It is also a relief just to be with our family for a period of time where we aren’t trying to get anything done and don’t have any engagements or deadlines.

Not just on vacation, but in everyday life we find it helpful to purposefully have down time. Andrew and I tend to be  project-oriented people, but doing non-stop projects wears on us all after awhile (i.e. the kitchen project). We have found that it’s important for us to spend days or evenings with the simple  goal of being together. The time doesn’t have to be  elaborate. Grilling in the backyard is one of my happiest family times because everyone is there, we’re outdoors doing low-maintenance cooking, and we can be together while we’re doing it. Plus, it’s fun for the kids because we call it a picnic.

Moon Sand- we made it! July 17, 2009

My kids have been eyeing the ever-so-overpriced “MoonSand” at stores lately…so when I ran across this post earlier this week I decided it was a perfect summer outdoor activity for us to do someday.  Then I realized it would be over 90 degrees here (that’s a screaming HOT day for us Portlanders) and my husband would be laid up with day 2 of some strange GI bug- I decided today was the day for MoonSand.

We hit Walmart and bought blue sand ($6.44 for 20 lbs) in the garden area- next to the turtle sandbox things) and some extra cornstarch.  The “recipe” used about 1/4 to 1/3 of the bag of sand and one box of cornstarch.  So, over all my moonsand cost less than $3.00 to make and my kids each had PLENTY to play with.
I put out a bowl of water for them to wash their hands before they came inside (it seems there is always a valid reason to come in when you have dirty hands, right?) and they played with it for HOURS (no joke) today.  Happy Summer!

Fun in the Sun July 16, 2009

Living in Spokane, WA where we definitely feel the length of our winters indoors, it is always WONDERFUL when we finally get to enjoy that Summer sun (hey, I even get excited about the Spring sun!)  It is so nice to just be able to let the kids run out side instead of in circles around my house :)  Not only do they play better, but usually they sleep better too, which is always a nice thing when you have early risers like I do!

Here are some of our favorite summer sun activities:

• Pack a picnic – we live only 2 blocks from our park and often pack up a sack lunch to take and eat after some playing on the slides.  We also enjoy meeting other friends at the park.  This is often the highlight of our day!
• Play in the water – while our wading pool is fun for the kids, they also thoroughly enjoy having the hose on and being able to fill what ever containers they can gather.  Last week we broke out the water colors outside and let them paint on themselves .. they thought this was wonderful and painted for almost an hour.  The easy clean up was great too!
• Card board boxes – we love making things out of empty boxes, at least I do!  The kids enjoy playing in my creations.  The latest creation was a ‘castle’ complete with windows, a door and turrets … and of course a crown to wear while playing.  Think outside the box (yes, the pun was intentional) and make whatever you want … fire truck, pirate ship, etc!  The kids will love it!  You could even let them decorate the box or help w/the creating if they are a little older.