Crafts
Family Activities: Fall Pumpkin Carving Fun
The girls carved pumpkins glowing on the front porch! Can you guess who designed which one?
It has been a tradition for our family to carve pumpkins around Halloween. A lot of times we carve the pumpkins the weekend before Halloween, but with everything going on this year it was a little later this year. On Halloween afternoon our family went out to search for the perfect carving pumpkins. After stopping at three stores we started to wonder if we were even going to find any pumpkins to carve. Finally, we ended up at Publix and thankfully they still had a lot of pumpkins including some huge ones. All the pumpkins, not matter what size were $5! Of course the kids picked the biggest ones they could find. We came home with one 25 pound and one 26 pound pumpkin!
This year instead of dressing up and running around doing trick and treating the kids decided they would rather spend the evening as a family celebrating Halloween. So thankful that the girls wanted to hang out and spend a relaxing evening with us. We let each kid pick out their favorite bag of candy, a pumpkin to carve, some fun games, and family activities to do Halloween evening. For Halloween dinner we picked up Chinese take out as a special treat.
My brother and sister-in-law brought my nephews came by dressed up as the cutest little lion and minion! It was the first year we had trick or treaters because usually we are never home for Halloween! It was great getting to see them and spend some time hanging out with them on Halloween!
The pumpkin is fresh, washed, and ready to be carved!
Cleaning out their pumpkins! They did the majority of the cleaning, designing, and cutting on their own!
Brina saw a cat designed she liked online and used that as an example to draw one on her pumpkin! We used wet erase marker to draw on the pumpkin before carving it out.
Karlie couldn’t find a design she liked online so she drew a rough draft of what she wanted on a piece of paper than drew it again on the pumpkin! She really wanted a rocket, Saturn, and a star on her pumpkin so this is what she created!
Brina carving her cat pumpkin out!
Karlie carving her space pumpkin out!
We have a space and cat pumpkin glowing on our front porch!
The girls chose more non-traditional pumpkin designs. Brina got her cat idea from another pumpkin she saw. Karlie designed her rocket, Saturn, star, and space one completely on her own (and fit her personality and interests perfectly)!
The pumpkins! I am pleased with how well the girls pumpkins turned out and they really did most of the work on them!
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
It was a crazy week. I spent some time in Kansas with my family helping Fall Harvest last week, however, I continued to have difficulties and pain with my back, neck, arm, and numbness in my hand so I came back home earlier than expected. Jake picked me up from the airport and took me directly to the doctor. After a couple more doctors visits they “think” it is a bulging, dislocated, or chipped disc in my neck along with strained/pulled muscles in my shoulder, and a pinched nerve. They are hoping I will feel better with the current treatment soon otherwise the next step is a MRI and possible surgery.
While away I did learn a lot. My time in the Midwest made me appreciate my parents and many of my extended family members who are in the farming industry even more for all the hard work they do on the farm. During Fall Harvest the days are long, very busy, and a lot of activities are going on simultaneously (harvest, drilling, hauling, prepping fields and meals, and so much more). It takes a lot of coordination, communication, and skill to keep everything and everybody moving forward smoothly. Plus, you have the weather that effects your days and activities too.
I am thankful that I was able to pitch in a small way and learn a few new things as well. I did manage to drive the tractor and grain cart a little bit and the track tractor for a few hours which is something I have never done before. Thankfully, I managed to make some progress forward and didn’t break anything (when operating such big equipment like the tractors, trucks, combines, vehicles, and equipment during harvest it is one of my fears that I will break something which could be costly in time and finances). I was super excited about helping my family with Fall Harvest, my biggest disappointment was that I had to come home early due to my health. For some reason God wants me home during this time, but I continue to pray for safety for all my family members still working the long hours out in the fields, prepping meals, and traveling to deliver the crops during this very busy time. I love my family dearly and truly wanted to be a blessing to them during this time.
Praying that I heal quickly because after over two weeks of sleeping restlessly in a recliner, being in pain, and having the side effects from the medicines I am ready to be myself again (I think my family would really like that too). With all that being said I have made adjustments with my schedule and hope to still accomplish many of my goals this week, but I want to be realistic as well with everything that is going on right now.
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
- Mail at least one note to Jake and the girls – I took cards and stamps, but with the busy days, pain, and coming home early it didn’t get done
Speak to my husband and kids at least once a daySend at least one Text, Picture, Instant Message, or Email a day to let them know I am thinking about them– my phone was not cooperating in KS, but I managed to IM at least once or twice a dayHave Hangout chat with the entire family at least once this week– I did do one short video hangout chat with Jake and the girls one eveningPrepare for Upcoming Fall Events & TripsSpend time with extended family– worked with them and went to the Country Harvest Pumpkin Patch with my parents, brother, and nephews on Sunday near Hastings, Nebraska
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day – didn’t do so well keeping up with my water (one day I left my water in the pickup while I was in the tractor for several hours)
Continue my YouVersion plan(s)– I was ahead with my plan before heading to KS so I remained caught up- Exercise at least 5 times this week – ummmmm….no this one didn’t get done, I was moving around, but really only out of necessity not for exercise because moving was at times pretty painful
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
Keep up with my laundryUpdate Evernote with any home / yard / pets activities for Jake and the girls
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention – there were some activities I let slide this past week, hoping to get caught back up soon
- Work completed for clients – still have a couple items that need my attention
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car – working on it
- Payoff Outstanding Debt (microwave and refrigerator) – working on it
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Pick another book to read to the kids (Jake is currently reading Last of the Mohicans to them)
- Plan one special activity with the family
- Prepare for Upcoming Fall Events & Trips
- Spend time Monday – Friday helping the kids with Homework
- Attend After School Activities
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Ride Bikes with the kids
- Go for a Walk with the Kids
- Play a Game with the Kids
- Attend School Board Meeting
- Start Organizing the Kids Scrapbook Items
- Plan Family Halloween Dinner & Celebration
- Orthodontic Appointment for Kids
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Exercise at least 5 times this week
- Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Do at least one “Make 1 & Freeze 1” Meal Prep (make a main dish to eat that day and one to freeze for later)
- Clean out & Organize Refrigerator & Freezer
- Clean House (Focus – Basement Floors)
- Organize Chaos (Focus – Storage Room)
- Put Spring/Summer Clothes in the Attic
- Yard Cleanup (Focus – Pool taken down and put away)
- Pet Care (Focus – Refill Goat Food Bin & Make Homemade Treats with the kids for Skipper)
- Make 1 – Freeze 1 Meal Prep (make a main dish to eat and one to freeze for later)
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Prep for our Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child boxes
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car
- Payoff Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, and other debt)
- Pay Bills & File Paperwork
- Make an extra payment on Outstanding Debt
- Earn some Creative Cash
- Go grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
Mom & Daughter Date Night at Hearts of Clay
Brina working on her new plate!
Earlier this year I took the girls to Hearts of Clay to make their first pottery creations. We were super excited when we got the call from Hearts of Clay saying that the items were ready to pick up, however, one of the pieces had broken (Brina’s big flower plate). They were very sweet and offered to let her create another plate if she wanted to come in and do it. Although, she was sad about the broken plate that she had worked so hard on she was a good sport and felt a lot better knowing she could create another one. We made it into a Mom-Daughter Date Night and had a great time being creative together. Thankful for Hearts of Clay and their kindness in letting her come make a new plate. We had a wonderful time and look forward to another fun activity at Hearts of Clay in the future.
Brina’s new plate! She made the plate beautiful, but simple this time around. Instead of a flower she chose a square shape. Her colors are very similar to the last one she created.
We also picked up the pieces that were done from the previous visit to Hearts of Clay! They turned out really well! Glad the girls enjoyed this fun adventure!
All the pieces that survived the first fun creative evening at Hearts of Clay. Karlie’s is the rocket plate and the goat! Brina’s is the purple heart, black lab, giraffe, and cat (whose tail fell off).
Karlie was so thrilled “Oreo” the goat came out well.
Karlie loves space so her rocket, stars, and planet plate was a perfect display of something she enjoys! She was pleased with how it turned out!
We are looking forward to seeing how this Brina’s recent plate turned out along with her other little creations she made with the extra clay. We met up with Jake and Karlie after finishing up at Hearts of Clay and the four of us went out to dinner together. It was nice to spend a little one-on-one time with Brina as well as a relaxing rest of the evening with the family.
Kids Day at THE AG: Framers Who Were Farmers Constitution Day
The girls earned their Jr. Historian Badges for Framers Who Were Farmers – U.S. Constitution Event
On September 17th every year we celebrate Constitution Day! Back on September 17, 1787 a total of 42 of the 55 delegates held their final meeting at the Constitutional Convention. It was the day they signed the Constitution of the United States of America!
Shortly after Constitution Day we attended an event at the Bart Garrison Agricultural Museum. The event was called Kids Day at THE AG: Framers Who Were Farmers. It was for students in 4th to 7th grades. They had activities, role playing, field work, and discussions pertaining to the U. S. Constitution. They covered information such as:
- The Preamble
- Separation of Powers
- History, Framers, and Impact of the U.S. Constitution
- Declaration of Independence
- Articles of Confederation
- Bill of Rights
Staff dressed up as James Madison. Discussion on the U.S. Constitution.
The Founding Fathers used scientific inventions and various forms of farming techniques. Some of the men who signed the Constitution were farmers, a few of them were:
- George Washington
- James Madison
- Charles Pinckney
- Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
- Thomas Jefferson
- Benjamin Franklin
There were several things the farmers experienced such as depletion of soil nutrients, purchasing local produce and crops, local insects, trees, vegetation, and being self-supportive farms.
Some of the activities the kids did at the event were discussing the Constitution. Designing a poster. Experimenting with soil and the nutrients in it. Planting some seeds and recording their findings. The kids received a Jr. Historian Pin and a U.S. Constitution pocket guide. The girls had a lot of fun learning about the U.S. Constitution, activities, and experiments.
Timeline include French & Indian War, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, American Revolution, Constitutional Conventional, Bill of Rights, and more!
Brina’s poster!
The poster Karlie made at the event!
Introducing Febreze Fall Home Harvest Collection – #FebrezeFall
The Fall Season is just around the corner! Even though Fall officially starts on September 22, 2014 it is already starting to cool down in our area. The leaves are falling, apples are ripening, and animals are scurrying around to finish stocking up for the cooler months. Recently we received a package and this adorable barn was inside from Febreze, Walmart, and SheSpeaks! Let’s just say the kids were as excited about seeing the barn box as I was about getting all the amazing fall Febreze scents and goodies!
One of my favorite parts about Fall is all the amazing Fall smells from toasted nuts, pumpkins, fall harvest, apple picking, pears baking, and more amazing scents of the season. What are your favorite Fall Scents? Febreze has come out with their Fall Home Harvest Collection! Have you already tried the Febreze Home Harvest Collection? If not it is a great way to get you ready for the upcoming Fall season! They have some perfect Fall scents to get your house and car ready! Some of the scents you might want to check out this Fall season are Vanilla Latte, Autumn Harvest, Spiced Pear, Toasted Almond, Sugared Cranberry, and more.
We opened up our Febreze Fall Home Home Collection barn box and were pleasantly surprised with all the cool scents, goodies, and activities included. What a great way to get excited and prepared for the Fall Season! Febreze truly eliminates odors so your guests will only notice the freshness of fall when they enter your home.
We received a Febreze NOTICEables Warmer with two NOTICEables NOTABLES. One was the Autumn Harvest which is a blend of sandalwood and chai – smells amazing! The other NOTICEables NOTABLES was the Vanilla Latte which is a blend of vanilla and sugar – absolutely love the smell of this one! Reminds me of a fresh hot cup of coffee on a cool Fall day! Febreze even took care of bringing Fall to our car! They sent us a Febreze Car Toasted Almond vent clip which lasts up to 30 days and smells delicious! Even the teachers have commented that they really like the scent when I pick the kids up in car line at school.
The barn yard is complete with the awesome Febreze Fall Home Harvest Collection, activity cards in the scentspiration box, a gift card from Walmart, and cute decorative picket fence, wagon wheels, and hay bales!
They thought of everything! Included are some delicious Fall Recipes, fun Fall Activities to do with your family, and Fall Home Decor to get your home ready for the Fall Season! We will share a few of the ones we have done so far below.
We are already enjoying the Febreze NOTICEables Warmer with NOTICEables NOTABLES Vanilla Latte!!! Makes the house smell amazing! Do you like having a different fall scent in each room or one scent filling the whole home?
One of the recipes that Febreze included that will make your house smell like Fall – Oven Baked Smores:
What you need: A graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate bar per Smore and an appropriate baking sheet to fit all the Smores you are making.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place graham crackers on a baking sheet.
3. Press marshmallows between your fingers to make them a little flat, then place them on the graham crackers.
4. Bake until the marshmallows have puffed up and the edges turn a light, caramel brown color.
5. Remove tray from oven, and firmly press a piece of chocolate down into the marshmallow. You want the warmth of the marshmallow to melt the chocolate. Enjoy!
Delicious Oven Baked Smores! You can put another graham cracker on top if you want as well. You can probably use a little less chocolate too, but we enjoy the extra sweetness!
Febreze Fall Activities – Whistle with an Acorn Top
What you need: An acorn top. I recommend washing your acorns with water first to make sure they are clean and bug free.
Directions (once your acorn is washed):
1. Make a fist with your hands, then place your hands together with your fingers touching.
2. Place the acorn top on the top of your index finger.
3. Put your thumbs on top of the acorn top, angling them so that the tips of your thumbs make a “V” shape.
4. Blow over the top of your thumbs, and you’ll hear a whistle!
Our whole family tried the various acorn tops for whistles. Jake won the contest for the the loudest and most shrill whistle! These were a little more difficult than we expected, but if you got your fingers and acorn top just right you can get a really loud whistle which brings smiles to the kids faces. Do you have any of the great scentspiration activities you would like to share?
Febreze Fall Home Decor – Acorn Centerpiece
What you need: Acorns, leaves or flowers or ribbons, a vase, Febreze Air Effects
Directions:
1. Gather lots of acorns.
2. Take the vase of any shape and size and fill it to the top with acorns.
3. Add colorful leaves or flowers if you want to cover the top of vase.
4. Lightly spray the top of the arrangement with your favorite scent from the Febreze Fall Harvest Collection for a unique final touch, and then put it on display.
Do you decorate your tables with seasonal decor? Have you ever used Febreze to add an extra festive touch to your home or used Febreze scents to enhance your home décor?
I would love to hear how your family prepares for the Fall Season:
• Have you ever tried making toasted almonds?
• Have you ever tasted sugared cranberries?
• What is your most popular pears dessert recipe?
• Do you have another version of one of the recipes, decorations, or activities that I shared today?
• I would love for you to share any pictures of the Fall scentspiration activities you have tried.
• Are there any scents or designs that help inspire the ideas for you?
• What new ideas do you have to get your home fall-ready?More information about Febreze:
- Like Febreze’s Facebook Page
- Follow Febreze’s Twitter Feed
- Pick up your favorite Febreze Fall Home Harvest Scent at your local Walmart
A special thanks to SheSpeaks, Febreze, and Walmart for sponsoring this post! Any specific product information was provided by Febreze, Walmart, and SheSpeaks, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own. We received a complimentary products for sharing information and our family’s experience.
Pottery Creations at Hearts of Clay
Karlie and Brina having fun at Hearts of Clay
For the girls birthday they received a Hearts of Clay gift certificate so we did a “Girls Night Out” this summer. We had a blast figuring out what they wanted to create, making the moldings, painting, chitchat, and having fun together. It was neat watching them come up with and create their treasures. One of the best parts was when the store worker told them that at the end of the session they can dump any of their remaining paint from their pallets onto the floor, they girls thought that was awesome! They asked the worker several times to make sure she wasn’t just kidding….how often do kids get permission to spill paint onto the floor.
They both made plates – Brina made the flower one and Karlie the square one
Karlie made a miniature goat and named it Oreo!
Painting their pottery creations!
Brina having a grand time!
All smiles!
Karlie’s rocket, planet, and space plate!
Brina’s flower plate
With the extra clay leftover from their plates they made a black lab, Oreo the goat, a heart, cat, giraffe, and an egg!
At the end of their session they let the girls dump their remaining paint onto the carpeted floor! They thought that was awesome!!! Karlie’s ready to dump hers now!
Karlie emptying her pallet of paint onto the floor!
Brina putting her paint onto the floor! So exciting!
Need to get all the paint onto the floor…..can’t forget to clean the brush off onto the floor too!
It was a great evening out at Hearts of Clay! Thankful for a nice evening with the girls.
Window Easels
Noelle’s window art
One of our fun summer crafty activities that ended up a big hit with all the kids was Window Easels! Each kid (ages 4 to 12) got to pick their own window as their easel and could draw whatever they wanted on it. I had a stack of window paint (like the ones you put on car windows) and each kid could come grab what colors they needed for their particular artwork. They had a blast doing it. I didn’t get a huge amount of pictures during the activity because I was helping distribute the paint and wiping up any drips as they happened. It has a big hit! I left the painted easels up for the rest of their stay so everyone could enjoy their artwork for several days. You could see the artwork both inside and outside of the house which was pretty neat! Some of the kids choose to paint both the top and bottom windows (while standing on a chair) while others just wanted to do one window.
Brina did both of her windows
Noah’s creatively decorated windows!
Nadia, the youngest one of the group, had a lot of fun doing her window – “All by herself!”
Karlie packed a lot onto her window – Art, Names, Signs, Shapes, Math, and more fun stuff!
Not only was it a lot of fun it gave me a good excuse to scrub down the windows this summer too! It was the perfect summer craft. It kept the kids entertained for quite awhile and there were very little clean up. Plus no one had to wait for turns at the easel because everyone had their own and they all painted at the same time. It was fun watching them paint and hearing them chitchat at the same time.
Our Snowman – Rainbow Sherbet
Karlie and Brina proud of their colorful snowman!
Of course one of the fun activities every kid wants to do during a snow storm is build a Snowman! While I cannot say our snowman will win any prices for being perfect or expertly made, especially since it was the girls and I who put him together, he is pretty colorful to look at. We had a lot of fun building and creating him together!
Since we were already doing the spray painting we decided to do something different this year with our snowman. We call him – “Rainbow Sherbet!”
Rainbow Sherbet added a little extra color to our white yard!
The girls are hoping Rainbow Sherbet will last for a few weeks. I am hoping he’ll last a couple days! Once it starts warming up everything melts quickly in South Carolina!
Karlie and Brina had the help of a certain black lab named Skipper! She was proud of their creation too, ha!
Karlie is armed with a paint spray bottle, wonder what she is planning to paint now!
A Rainbow of Snow Colors
Brina painting a huge rainbow heart on the snow!
We had a blast in the snow! One of the things we did this week was get some old spray bottles fill them with water and add a few drops of food coloring to it! We filled and refilled those spray bottles several times over the last few days as we painted pretty pictures in the snow! The girls had a great time!
I would like to take the credit for coming up with this awesome idea all on my own, but my amazing and creative cousin suggested we do some snow painting when I spoke with her earlier this week. Yes, it was a huge hit like all her fun ideas, thanks Renelle! The neighbor kids even came over and had a grand time painting pictures in our yard.
Pretty red heart in honor of Valentine’s Day spray painted in the snow by the girls!
Coloring the front porch steps! Coming up to our house was a rainbow of colors for several days, thanks to Brina & Karlie!
A friendly “Hello” to greet our friends and neighbors coming into our yard!
Pretty rainbow on the snow!
There were all kinds of random paintings all over the yard and driveway!
Karlie Kool Kat having fun painting the snow!
Brina Bee painted her name on the driveway!
Someone even did my name, so sweet!
A little more defined green star!
Someone painted Dad’s name on the yard too!
Karlie, Brina, and Skipper standing at the top of the driveway where they painted the word “Welcome”
I thought it was cute that they painted a smiley face next to the mailbox to bring some winter cheer to our mailman! Sweet kids!
Brina’s armed with a spraying, wonder what she’s going to do next!
The rocks, trees, bushes, and various random items had been marked by the spray painters!
The well covered was sprinkled with paint like confetti!
Skipper even got a pretty painted dog house. It looked like a big decorated gingerbread house when they were done!
Loom Bracelet Craze
The girls have a loom bracelet set and over the past few weeks there has been loom bracelets popping up everywhere in our house, car, backpacks and random places. In one day they went from making no loom bracelets to do several in a day. Not to mention, the little individual bands have been sprinkled like confetti around the house.
The girls are learning that these are not only fun making they are a blast trading with friends, giving them away to friends, or teaching their friends how to make them. They go to school with a certain amount of bracelets and come home with a different amount and a variety of other colors. They’ll even make custom-colored and various size bracelets for friends too. Yes, they even made one for Mom and Dad (we were recipients of the first couple they made)!
It’s neat to see them making these and sharing them with others. The nice part about them being easy to weave together is they can make several in one day. Since starting making the loom bands they have discovered a number of different patterns, shapes, sizes, and neat designs. So even though they learned how to make them one way they have adapted to learn a variety of ways to make the bracelets.
A pile of bracelets put on their bar stool the night before so they could put them on before school at breakfast time.
A common sight laying around our house the past few months!
Brina ready for school with a stack of bracelets on her arm.
The bracelets Brina made
Karlie ready to go to school with an armful of bracelets
Karlie’s bracelets she made in one night.
