(click here to view full credits)
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Tuesday, October 25, 2011
your time is coming
i threw this together in about 15 minutes last night... just a fun, quick layout warning our new-found pumpkins of their impending doom. bwaahh haaa haaa haaa!
(click here to view full credits)
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(click here to view full credits)
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Monday, October 24, 2011
the pumpkin train
i love it when we have the chance to do something out of the ordinary with our kids. even better is when extended family can be involved as well. i think it just makes for great memories. how can i not want that for my children?
yesterday we had a day like that. we took a train ride to a pumpkin patch. we spent about an hour there, picking out pumpkins, of course. but there were also a few farm animals to pet, and a hay maze to go through, and a ring toss game (that isaac loved because he LOVES to win trinkets as prizes. LOVES it), and a hay ride to and from the fields. it was a very simple, no-fuss, back to basics way to spend the early part of our day.
the train departed from the transportation museum at the park in town. meagan was beyond excited to be going on a train destined for a field full of pumpkins! she was definitely ready to go!
while we waited to board, there were engines and cars and cabooses to peek at. they have a collection of old - some VERY old - trains that are waiting to be restored. i'm so thankful that someone cares enough to restore and maintain something that was such an integral part of our culture at one time. sadly, if no one does it, these giants of the past threaten to slip out of our awareness altogether. i love that our kids have had so many chances to see trains up close and to enjoy them and develop a love and fascination with them.
(don't you love how excited meagan is? she's great! and sebastian is always so serious. it's funny how different they are.)
it seems boys will FIND a way to see inside those compartments and cubbies they want to see into. *lol*
on the ride there, meagan made a simple, yet profound observation. she said the best part of the train ride is that you can just sit and talk, and you don't have to be distracted by where you're going like you do when you're driving. she really values quality time, and no other statement could have made that any more clear.
meagan was really the only one (besides grandpa) who got excited about petting the farm animals. but she was thrilled with it, despite her brothers' disinterest. she saw an opportunity to learn and enjoy, and she took it.
i swear this was this girl's dream come true - to have a wide open field full of pumpkins at her disposal. she took off running through the pumpkins, headed straight for the biggest one she could find (there weren't many big ones left, since we're so late in the season, and many of them had holes in them and were beginning to rot. but she did manage to find one that was big enough for her liking, so she was happy.)
the boys had a good time, too. don't get me wrong. they are just so much more subdued about their enjoyment. they no longer wear it out there for the world to see. i guess they're just getting too grown up to run around care-free all the time. :(
grandpa wore meagan's gloves while she was picking her pumpkins.
(i don't know what it is about these far away pictures, but i just love them)
riding home with the loot.... it was a good thing we had an extra seat in our section...
when we got back to the park, grandma stopped in the shop to find the kids each a t-shirt to help them remember the day (as if they could ever forget it). i snapped a few pics of them just hanging around waiting, and i was pleasantly surprised at how they turned out.
it was a long morning, and we were all quite hungry, so we made a straight line to logan's steakhouse for lunch before grandma & grandpa headed back home. what a great day!
**********
yesterday we had a day like that. we took a train ride to a pumpkin patch. we spent about an hour there, picking out pumpkins, of course. but there were also a few farm animals to pet, and a hay maze to go through, and a ring toss game (that isaac loved because he LOVES to win trinkets as prizes. LOVES it), and a hay ride to and from the fields. it was a very simple, no-fuss, back to basics way to spend the early part of our day.
the train departed from the transportation museum at the park in town. meagan was beyond excited to be going on a train destined for a field full of pumpkins! she was definitely ready to go!
while we waited to board, there were engines and cars and cabooses to peek at. they have a collection of old - some VERY old - trains that are waiting to be restored. i'm so thankful that someone cares enough to restore and maintain something that was such an integral part of our culture at one time. sadly, if no one does it, these giants of the past threaten to slip out of our awareness altogether. i love that our kids have had so many chances to see trains up close and to enjoy them and develop a love and fascination with them.
(don't you love how excited meagan is? she's great! and sebastian is always so serious. it's funny how different they are.)
it seems boys will FIND a way to see inside those compartments and cubbies they want to see into. *lol*
on the ride there, meagan made a simple, yet profound observation. she said the best part of the train ride is that you can just sit and talk, and you don't have to be distracted by where you're going like you do when you're driving. she really values quality time, and no other statement could have made that any more clear.
meagan was really the only one (besides grandpa) who got excited about petting the farm animals. but she was thrilled with it, despite her brothers' disinterest. she saw an opportunity to learn and enjoy, and she took it.
i swear this was this girl's dream come true - to have a wide open field full of pumpkins at her disposal. she took off running through the pumpkins, headed straight for the biggest one she could find (there weren't many big ones left, since we're so late in the season, and many of them had holes in them and were beginning to rot. but she did manage to find one that was big enough for her liking, so she was happy.)
the boys had a good time, too. don't get me wrong. they are just so much more subdued about their enjoyment. they no longer wear it out there for the world to see. i guess they're just getting too grown up to run around care-free all the time. :(
grandpa wore meagan's gloves while she was picking her pumpkins.
(i don't know what it is about these far away pictures, but i just love them)
riding home with the loot.... it was a good thing we had an extra seat in our section...
when we got back to the park, grandma stopped in the shop to find the kids each a t-shirt to help them remember the day (as if they could ever forget it). i snapped a few pics of them just hanging around waiting, and i was pleasantly surprised at how they turned out.
it was a long morning, and we were all quite hungry, so we made a straight line to logan's steakhouse for lunch before grandma & grandpa headed back home. what a great day!
**********
Saturday, October 22, 2011
one more thing to share
outside decorations for holidays are a big deal for our kids. they LOVE them. and for some reason, decorating for halloween is always so much fun for them, no matter how much i may dislike the holiday. luckily there are certain aspects of this season that i don't mind - namely those things that naturally occur in the world around us, such as spiders, pumpkins, cats, bats, leaves. i'm good with all of these things.
meagan wanted to put spider webs all over our house. i, however, don't care for the stringy, messy white spider web stuff you can buy. so i saw an idea online, and thought it might be a good compromise for us. here' the end result:
super easy. i used mini command strip tabs. put 8 around the window. then used yarn (purple/brown/gray/black blend... meagan's choice) to make the base of the web... 1 vertical from tab to tab, one horizontal from tab to tab, and 2 diagonal from tab to tab (like an asterisk). then use a LOOOOOONG piece of yard doubled over to loop around the asterisk-shaped base, tie it off, and trim the extra. finally i used a twisty tie to fix a glittery spider to the web and voila.
original instructions can be found
here's the rest of our outside ensamble.
we also have lights on the bushes, which, by the way, are working now. hooray!
**********
meagan wanted to put spider webs all over our house. i, however, don't care for the stringy, messy white spider web stuff you can buy. so i saw an idea online, and thought it might be a good compromise for us. here' the end result:
super easy. i used mini command strip tabs. put 8 around the window. then used yarn (purple/brown/gray/black blend... meagan's choice) to make the base of the web... 1 vertical from tab to tab, one horizontal from tab to tab, and 2 diagonal from tab to tab (like an asterisk). then use a LOOOOOONG piece of yard doubled over to loop around the asterisk-shaped base, tie it off, and trim the extra. finally i used a twisty tie to fix a glittery spider to the web and voila.
original instructions can be found
here... . i deviated a bit from her instructions, but same basic concept. super easy. took about 15 minutes. and CHEAP. i like cheap.
here's the rest of our outside ensamble.
we also have lights on the bushes, which, by the way, are working now. hooray!
**********
what i did yesterday
remember my crazy mess in the front room?...
well, last week (i think) i made a target trip and got 2 desks (for $50 each) and a storage unit ($69) to start down the path or organization. once i got the furniture put together, lucas brought sebastian's computer down out of his room (a move that was greatly motivated by the fact that the child has a rather nasty allergic reaction to dust and dust mites), and set it up, along with the old green laptop, in the front room for the kids. now there is a lot less on the floor... still a pile in the corner, but it's SO much better than it was... and i'm working on the master closet so that i can get the corner pile dwindled down significantly.
so yesterday i decided to go a step further to get the front room put together. my plan, besides the desk and storage unit, is to put a bookcase on either side of the window, and a sitting bench under the window. well, we just so happened to have a bench, although it was in pretty sad shape. wood slats had busted off of it, and it was VERY worn and not-too-pretty.
so i emptied it out and drug it down to the garage, masked the front of the drawers with masking tape, and spray painted it dark brown.
When it was all done and dried (which took a lot less time than i had expected), i hauled it into the front room and dressed it up a bit with a few throw pillows that were just lying around.
in a matter of maybe 2 hours total it went from this:
to this:
i still plan to make a new cushion cover for the older-than-my-kids cushion that's on it, but for now this will due. so here's the front room as it sits currently:
quite an improvement from a week ago i think. yea, i love the feeling of progress.
*****
and since the bench didn't take all that long, and the paint supplies were already out, i decided to drag a dining room chair out to the garage and get started on it. we got these chairs for bargain price from a red lobster that was remodeling. but they are nasty. ugly. worn. and in need of some sprucing up. they will soon become the same dark brown as the bench. i've got one almost done already, and have started a second. i figure if each chair takes me one can of paint, i will have a total of about $45 into refinishing six chairs. that's not a bad deal, $45 for 6 chairs.
the before and after:
*****
and just for fun, i thoght i'd share this random picture of my daughter who was building a HORSE in the garage while i was painting this morning. yes, this is a horse. use your imagination. hers works great!
okay, i'm off to enjoy my saturday... and maybe get some laundry and closet cleaning done. by the way, please pray for sebastian. he's not feeling well today at all. we have a big exciting day tomorrow, and i really hope and pray that he makes a speedy recovery so he can enjoy the fun.
**********
well, last week (i think) i made a target trip and got 2 desks (for $50 each) and a storage unit ($69) to start down the path or organization. once i got the furniture put together, lucas brought sebastian's computer down out of his room (a move that was greatly motivated by the fact that the child has a rather nasty allergic reaction to dust and dust mites), and set it up, along with the old green laptop, in the front room for the kids. now there is a lot less on the floor... still a pile in the corner, but it's SO much better than it was... and i'm working on the master closet so that i can get the corner pile dwindled down significantly.
so yesterday i decided to go a step further to get the front room put together. my plan, besides the desk and storage unit, is to put a bookcase on either side of the window, and a sitting bench under the window. well, we just so happened to have a bench, although it was in pretty sad shape. wood slats had busted off of it, and it was VERY worn and not-too-pretty.
so i emptied it out and drug it down to the garage, masked the front of the drawers with masking tape, and spray painted it dark brown.
When it was all done and dried (which took a lot less time than i had expected), i hauled it into the front room and dressed it up a bit with a few throw pillows that were just lying around.
in a matter of maybe 2 hours total it went from this:
to this:
i still plan to make a new cushion cover for the older-than-my-kids cushion that's on it, but for now this will due. so here's the front room as it sits currently:
quite an improvement from a week ago i think. yea, i love the feeling of progress.
*****
and since the bench didn't take all that long, and the paint supplies were already out, i decided to drag a dining room chair out to the garage and get started on it. we got these chairs for bargain price from a red lobster that was remodeling. but they are nasty. ugly. worn. and in need of some sprucing up. they will soon become the same dark brown as the bench. i've got one almost done already, and have started a second. i figure if each chair takes me one can of paint, i will have a total of about $45 into refinishing six chairs. that's not a bad deal, $45 for 6 chairs.
the before and after:
*****
and just for fun, i thoght i'd share this random picture of my daughter who was building a HORSE in the garage while i was painting this morning. yes, this is a horse. use your imagination. hers works great!
okay, i'm off to enjoy my saturday... and maybe get some laundry and closet cleaning done. by the way, please pray for sebastian. he's not feeling well today at all. we have a big exciting day tomorrow, and i really hope and pray that he makes a speedy recovery so he can enjoy the fun.
**********
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