SCENES FROM A WEEKEND

I love three day weekends. Even when they're "celebrating" people who did not in fact "discover" America. We ignored that and had a super fall themed weekend.

On Saturday night we went to Byrne Farm Market for their Annual Jack O Lantern display. We went last year and it's so fun. They have hundreds of pumpkins carved and lit up. You can also buy fabulous pumpkins and gourds there. My kiddos love the goose necks. If you're in the area, you should definitely check out Byrne's!

Sunday started off rainy, but cleared up so we went apple picking at another farm, Johnson's Locust Hall. Ava has gone to this farm twice now on school field trips and has been asking us to go as a family for months. It was so worth it! The kids had a great time and we got some delicious, huge apples. I have to admit, I was cracking up a little-I grew up on a small farm and picking fruit was a chore for me growing up and now I was paying money to let my kids do it.

Sunflowers are my favorite.

And with our extra day off? Harry Potter.

Seriously Voldemort, don't even. Professor the Dowager* will destroy you and and all your hooligans.

I've been reading Spark Joy, the second Marie Kondo book and have been going through my clothes and folding them properly again-I have gotten out of the habit. I was pleased to find that there were no clothes that didn't "spark joy" in my closet though! I had the hubs go through his stuff and get rid of his unjoyful clothes as well. I also started using my bullet journal for tracking my KonMari Method cleaning-because I'm that person. I've done the clothes in our house and the papers, but I need to work through my miscellaneous and keepsake stuff still.

I like neutrals.

Finally, last night Dylan had a baseball game. A night game under the lights. Where he pitched. He's been playing first and short for the past two years, and just moved up to pitching, Neal and I had zero chill, guys, Like standing at the fence, clapping, and yelling positive things and closing our eyes tight because we were so nervous for him. And we so didn't need to be nervous, because he CRUSHED IT.

When he struck his first person out, I asked Neal, "So I shouldn't yell really loud 'THAT'S MY BABY!' right?! Because my heart is telling me do it, but my brain is saying that might be embarrassing for him and maybe I should, like, calm down."
He agreed with my brain. IT WAS HARD GUYS.

And THEN. The Giants won their game. It was a good day for baseball.


Hope you had a great weekend!

 *If you don't understand this reference, please go watch Downton Abbey and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows and then return.

SCENES FROM MORE THAN ONE WEEKEND

 Oh, hey there! I'm still here. The last couple weeks have been batshit crazy, so blogging was one of the things that had to be pushed to the side. Priorities sometimes shift, and I have been trying to give myself the grace to accepted that I cannot do everything all the time. It's a struggle for me.

 Let's catch up a bit, shall we?

 November is here and I'm taking a moment everyday to reflect on being grateful. I made this chalkboard art to decorate my front porch.

 

 

We had a long weekend the first week of November, so we flew home to California. I ate Mexican food. Every. Single. Day. I also got to meet my best friend's new baby (sweetness overload) and spend some much needed time with our families. The kids were beside themselves getting to see their grandparents, and all their cousins and "hometown" friends. This military family life is amazing, except when it's not. Where we grew up and were lucky enough to be stationed for 3 years is our village. There, not only do we have our parents, but we also have our dearest friends. Part of living close to home that was such a blessing was that our kids had lots of adults-family members and non-family members-that they could go to for help and love. We miss that.

 

 

Leaving on a jet plane.

 

 

Dylan turned 9 (!!!!) this week. We had a HUGE birthday party for him. It was a bit stressful for the husband and me (what kind of working parents plan a birthday party for Friday night?? Ones who aren't thinking, apparently.), but the kids had a blast. It was Minecraft themed, which I seriously just don't understand at all. Dylan tried to explain all the games to me, but I still don't get it.

 

 

 I did like how the cake turned out though. Easiest birthday cake I've ever made, hands down. I usually reserve a half hour for every birthday cake to have a freak out; this year I stayed calm. Rice Krispie treat cakes for the win.

 

 

This kid, all on his own, decided to forgo presents at his party this year and asked all his friends to bring items that could be donated to the local animal shelter. I couldn't be more proud of him. We ended up donating a huge amount of stuff from his generous friends!

 

 

Paris. I do not have words to express the sorrow I feel over what happened in this beautiful city. I can only send my thoughts and prayers.

 

 

Our poor dog tore his ear on a thorn bush this weekend. He looks a lot worse here then he does in real life. Also, he's been freed from the cone head.

 

 

After the craziness of the past two weeks, we finally sat down to a family Sunday Supper last night. We all cooked together, which I love. It was such a relief to have this important part of our family life back this week, we've been really hit or miss with it lately.

 

Hope you've had a lovely November so far!

SCENES FROM A WEEKEND

 

We had another busy, fun weekend! Here's a few highlights:

 

 

I was honored to be asked to make flag for a Gold Star Mothers Memorial Ruck. Gold Star Mothers are mothers who have lost a son or daughter in combat. This ruck (a 10K with a loaded backpack) was made up of 21 teams, each who carried one of these flags with the name of a service person who gave their life. I hand cut each of the Gold Star and thought of each of those Mothers as I made them.

My Saturday mornings are devoted to meal planning, grocery shopping, and food prep for the week. I'll be writing a more indepth post about my process soon.

 

 

The kids went to a birthday party at Sky Zone. We'd never been there, but will defiantly be going back, especially with the cold winter days that are coming! So fun.

On Sunday we headed to Philadelphia for Boo at the Zoo! We're members of the Philadelphia Zoo, and I highly recommend that if you're ever in Philadelphia that you check it out. It's the oldest zoo in America and the setting for The Trumpet of the Swan.

 

 Love these three.

 The leaves were on point this weekend! We've at the peak for fall foliage.

 

My baby girl got her first haircut this weekend. I wanted to take her to my salon, but the husband pointed out that $50 for a trim wasn't a smart financial decision. So she went with daddy to his place.

 She looks so big now. And extra sassy.

 

 An outtake from some family photos I took this weekend. This one pretty much sums up our kids.

 

 

 

We had oven baked ribs for dinner on Sunday. SO yummy! I served them with dairy free mashed potatoes, a big salad with a Dijon vingarette, and kamala olives.

 

Hope you had a great weekend! Grab a cup a coffee and get after this Monday.

Raise a Reader: BOOK SERIES FOR BOYS



My son is a big reader, which is fabulous. Finding book series for boys that are 1. not gross out books, 2. not fantasy/magic books 3. not books for "your reluctant reader!" is not so fabulous. My son loves true stories, facts, and ideas, and there doesn't seem to be a huge market for that geared toward our sons (book publishers - pay attention! Our boys are smart. They like reading. GIVE THEM SOMETHING GOOD TO READ.)

However, we are determined readers and have found these five fantastic series:

1.I Survived, Lauren Tarshis. This series of books takes some of histories disasters and events, such as the Battle of Gettysburg and Hurricane Katrina, and tells the story through the eyes of a boy. The details are both age appropriate and accurate and the stories are thrilling for kids. This is my son's favorite series currently. 2. Alvin Ho, Lenore Look. The main character in these books, Alvin, is scared of everything, making him shy at school and any other public place. But at home, with his family his true colors shine. I love that this character is Asian American-a rarity in kids books in general. The books are both funny and touching. 3. Who Are/Was/Is...?, various authors This are simple biographies about famous people ranging from Albert Einstein to Jesus to Derek Jeter. Current favorite is: The Wright Brothers. 4. The Magic School Bus, Joanna Cole and Bruce Degan. Both my kids love all these books. MS. Frizzle and her class are classics and the books are chock full of facts and humor. 5. Eyewitness Books, various authors. Dylan loves these books, they are what he always checks out from the library.

What are your favorite books for boys?

WHAT I WORE WEDNESDAY: BACK TO SCHOOL EDITION

Welcome to a new series on the blog, What I Wore Wednesday! On Wednesdays I will feature an outfit I'm wearing that week, along with all the shopping details. For our first installment though, let's check out some Back to School style, courtesy of Dylan and Ava.

The kids went back to school last Thursday. Ava started preschool and Dylan started third grade.

 

 Seriously, how did this happen? I still think of Ava as "the baby" and third grade seems SO OLD. I mean, he understands multiplication!

It's sad times. I mean, it's happy and exciting times, but sad yo.

 

But the clothes! Both the kids chose their own outfits and accessories.

Ava is wearing:
Blue and White Gingham Dress, Crazy 8 (It's on SALE!)
Gold T-strap sandal (Target, no longer available)
Best Friend Bead Necklace made by her, kit from Jo-Ann Fabrics similar to this
Essie Nail Polish in Strut Your Stuff
Sass, kick up her heels attitude, all her own

Dylan is wearing:
Hat, from daddy
Monster Truck Shirt, Crazy 8 (also on sale)
Camo Cargo Shorts, Old Navy
Gray Desert shoes, Target
Cheesy, over taking photos smile, all his own

FIRST

 

My baby boy started first grade this morning. He was happy and ready to go back; confidence fairly dripped from him this morning. He chose his own clothes, down to his socks, and was feeling good about it.

 

"Really?" said my husband, as he looked at Dylan's black socks and neon shoes, things he would have never worn as a boy. Things he would never wear now, for that matter.

"He's got style! He's HAPPY." I said.

"True," said the husband, shaking his head, but smiling too.

 

Last night I made a cake and Dylan's favorite meal, spaghetti, for dinner, as a little back to school celebration.

 

This morning, I packed him a lunch ("Peanut butter with honey, not jam!") and wrote him a note.

 

Every first day of school, we measure him, and I cannot get over how much he grows every year. It makes my mama heart ache and fill with pride at the same time, because even though he drives me crazy, he is sweet and kind and polite and funny and respectful and growing up only makes him more fun, more loveable and how is that even possible because look at this. This is loveable!

 

 

And yet, I wouldn't go back. Not back to first day of kindergarten or preschool. Not to little plaid shorts and baby smirks. Not to first steps, or first days, even. Because I love the person this boy is, and is growing into.

 

Happy first day of school, baby son.

BOOKS FOR BOYS

 

 

My son started reading his year. Really reading. Sit down with a book and read the whole thing himself reading. And I was so joyful, bursting with happiness really, because reading is such a gift that I have wanted so much for him.  Watching him read, sounding out words, knowing that he can do it, is not only a gift for him, but a gift for me to watch.

We've spent a lot of time lately looking for not only books at his reading level, but books for boys at his reading level. Here are some of our favorites.*

Here's what my son's reading right now.

 

1. Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes, Eric Litwin.  Pete the Cat was a BIG DEAL on the kindergarten circuit. We love all the Pete books, but right now with school approaching, we're rereading School Shoes. These are great books about not letting the little things get to you.

 

2. How Rocket Learned to Read, Tad Hills. Rocket is a dog that is learning to read. Dylan likes this book especially because it encourages the reader to sound out the words (D-O-G, R-E-D) and it was one of the first books he was reading words in on his own.

 

3. Race Team (Step into Reading), I'm not a huge fan of character books personally, but my son loves reading about familiar characters. The Step into Reading books are great for him, because he can read them completely himself, and the characters make the books fun for him.

 

4. Bernstein Bears Series, Stan and Jan Bernstein. Classics. These books are slightly challenging for an early reader (which is good).

 

5. Close Up Sharks, This book focuses on facts about sharks in an easy to read format. It was a set of three about marine life. Dylan loves books about facts, so these are a perfect fit.

 

6. I Can Read! Biscuit Books, Dylan is a big fan of books about animals, and finds the Biscuit stories funny.

 

7. The Big Green Book of Beginner Books, Dr. Seuss. These classic stories come in one big book. Dylan loves this because there are several to chose from, and there is something about reading from a "big" book that makes kids feel smarter and more accomplished. These stories are also funny and familiar to him.

 

*I'll be writing more about the challenges we face with reading and boys in the next coming weeks.

CELEBRATING...TEACHERS

I love my son's teacher*. She truly is all I could ask for as a kindergarten teacher: she's passionate about her students learning, she truly cares about their well-being, she's firm but loving to each and every one of them. I would love for her to be my son's teacher for the rest of his life.

Next week is teacher appreciation week. While I appreciate Mrs. C everyday, I wanted to do something special for her next week. But what? Pinterest was crawling with ideas, but so many of them seem exceptionally labor intensive for the parent/student, and not so fun for the teacher themselves. I mean that teacher initial made from crayons? Every time I see it I think that the teacher would probably had preferred the parent donate the actual crayons to the classroom.

 

Then I found this from Chickabug. Posted by an actual teacher friend, so I know it's the good stuff.

 

 

 

So, so, so perfect. So easy! But even more, so great for your special teacher! Because don't teachers deserve to spend a little something on themselves after spending so much on our children? They do indeed.

 

You can visit Chickabug and download your own printables for free!

 

*His student teacher is also amazing. We lucked out in the biggest, best way possible this year. Gift cards for all!

EGG CARTON RABBITS AND FLOWERS

There are so many lovely spring time crafts out there, aren't there? But some of them just seem a little overwhelming. Who wants to paper mache with a 1 year old? (Not this girl.) I wanted a simple craft that both of my children could enjoy. And these egg carton flowers and rabbits are just that.

 

 

This little craft is sweet, simple, and so easy. All you need is an egg carton, a pair of scissors, a few sheets of pretty paper, glue, and markers.

 

Cut out the "cups" of a cardboard egg carton. Trim them down a bit. Cut out some pretty paper into several leaf shapes.

For the flowers, glue the paper around the inside edge of the egg cup. Fold the paper slightly, so the colored side shows. (Or, you can leave them straight up for "tulips".)

 

For the rabbits, glue two of the papers, colored side out, to one side of the egg cup. Draw a face.

 Happy spring time crafting!

CELEBRATING...100 DAYS OF SCHOOL

It was the 100th day of school yesterday, evidently a BIG DEAL on the kindergarten circuit. I found this shirt idea from Really Quite Lucky on Pinterest, and thought it would be perfect. It was easy, although cutting out each tally mark individually with scissors was a bit of madness. But what's a little madness when you get a smile like that?


What you need:
White shirt
Colored fabric (two to five colors works)
Scissors
A tally mark silhouette
Heat'n Bond or some other iron-on adhesive

1. Trace your tally mark onto the smooth side of the iron-on adhesive paper.
2. Iron the adhesive onto your colored fabric, marking sure to divide the number of tallys per color that you desire.
3. Cut those tallys out like crazy.
4. Arrange in the pattern of your choice on the shirt. Iron.
5. Let your kid be the rock star of the 100th day of kindergarten.

CELEBRATING...FANTASTIC MR. FOX

 

We just finished reading Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox to our son, and decided to have a little celebration because we loved the book so much*. And what does one serve at a party for Fantastic Mr. Fox? Chicken and vegetable pie fit for a Feast**, bien sur.

Chicken, of course. And carrots for the rabbits.**

 

I had these Woodland Animal Cookie Cutters, which just happens to have a fox. So we used that to cut the vents in the top of the pie.

 

 

And of course, apple cider. Though not hard, as it is in the book. We wouldn't want any disgruntled rats showing up, now would we?**

 

 

 

Good book, good food. What else do you need for a cause to celebrate?

*It was also a great way to convince my son to eat chicken and vegetable pie, which is not a favorite of his.
**If these Feast/animal references sound crazy, please read Fantastic Mr. Fox for clarity. :)


Chicken and Vegetable Pie
adapted from Real Simple

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 large carrots, diced
3 heaping tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups milk
1 10oz bag frozen peas
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (optional)
salt and pepper
1 9inch store bought pie crust, thawed if frozen

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Heat the oil and butter is a large, heavy bottomed pan ( I use my cast iron skillet) over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots, cook, stirring, until they begin to soften, but not brown (about 5 minutes). Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
Add the chicken stock and cook until incorporated into the flour/vegetable mix, about 5-7 minutes. Using a whisk, add the milk and simmer until the sauce has thicken, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken and peas, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a shallow 1 1/2-2 quart baking dish (I use a pie dish).
Lay the crust on top, pressing to seal. Cut several vents in the crust. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake until bubbling and the crust is golden, about 45 minutes.

 

Poor Mr Fox. His tail was the first to go.