Making my Fall Bucket List right now....there are a zillion things I want to do. I love this time of the year, the cooler weather, earlier sunsets, dinner from a bowl and snuggling with cozy blankets. Not to mention college football, all the fun holidays and sweet traditions that swirl around this time of the year.
So, what's on our Fall Bucket List....
Of course there are the usual things that are on everyone's list. But this year I added a game night because those have been few and far between lately. I added a flea market trip for Mahala since she loves doing things like that and for Kaden I added a few baking things. We are going to make bagels, banana bread, pie, baked apples and homemade pizzas. We are working on his life skills and cooking happens to be the main focus right now. I incorporated night walks, bike rides and park days to stay active along with movie marathons and snuggly afternoons.
Don't stress about these kinds of things, not everything has to be a Pinterest worthy moment...I mean look at my Fall Bucket List...so not worthy of the gram, but it will make for some amazing memories. Don't miss out on those because you are stuck on the perfection of what you think it should look like.
Guys....I had so many cute Valentine ideas to do with the kids this year. Kaden is really into celebrations more then normal and I kind of wanted to take advantage of it. :) But, honestly between the hourly essential oil rub downs, mounds of tissues accumulating around me like a Dr Seuss situation I can hardly give it another thought. If we do it, we do it and there is no shame or finger pointing. I’m the biggest finger pointer at myself... it’s in my DNA. But, days like today look so different then they would have 4 years ago. I have learned to just let go and practice self love. So, in this moment if you are struggling with sickness like me, finances, obstacles or just a never ending to do lists... just let go, love yourself where you are and accept the present situation for what it is, not what it’s not or what it should be. We have to Love Ourselves Mamas!!!!
Usually for the whole month of December the kids and I push school work to the side. But, this year because of our RV trip we "tried" to school this month. I use the word "tried" very loosely. :) There is just too many things to do. Literally I can count on one hand how many days we have left the house in the past 20 days. Instead we have been cozy inside building, reading, crafting and cooking. Almost daily we have something bubbling on the stove or crock-pot. Fresh cookies or something sweet and salty is always being freshly made and let me not forget the countless Bible Journaling I have done.
This has been an amazing month all enjoyed under the glow of our twinkling Christmas tree. This Season has been about slowing down, reconnecting and spending time doing what is truly important to us. How have you spent this Holiday Season?
Here is a few pages I've got started for
Christmas. We always make a ton of treats for Friends, Family and our
Neighbors. So, I have a several sweet treats that make their appearance
every single year. But, we also like to introduce some new treasures
each year too. This year I'm going to do some bread making, both sweet
and savory varieties.
The little house over on the right is just my way of being able to have a visual of what will be on our Christmas Chain. Read More
HERE!!
I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned that my oldest Son is getting married soon.....in a few days soon. Being the Groom's Parents kind of puts you out of the loop because it's the Bride's show...kind of. And I understand, every since Skylar was a baby I thought geez his clothing options were the adorable over the top baby suits, onesies, or jeans and basic T-shirts. When Mahala came around my eyes were opened to color, dresses galore and baby bling. So, how fun could it really be to dress up the Groom? Well, we did spend the day looking at bow ties together......don't laugh!
A few weeks ago we decided to have a StayCation. Sometimes you just want to skip over all the traveling, reserving and packing to just head straight for the super fun part! That was us this year, we knew we needed to get away and reboot our Family connection. But, we wanted to spend all that time and money on the actual act of doing it not the place we were sleeping and gas in the van. It was so much Fun that we decided to do it twice a year every year!
So, we kicked off our week with a trip to Our Kiddo's Favorite place to play...Dave and Busters. It's like a Chuck-e-cheese for older Kiddos and adults. I decided to have our first activity to be a Big deal, to create excitement for the week.
Looking back now, I would probably used this as a midweek outing. Just to break things up. I had only planned 2 bigger outings for this StayCation, so I guess it still worked out fairly well.
It's that time of the year again.....Fall! I generally HATE cold weather, so even the slightest drop in temperature usually puts me in a BAD mood. But, after living on the left side of the US for over 12 years now I have become a little soft around the edges when it comes to Fall.
Sparks were flying over the 4th of July Holiday. We had a Lazzzy 4th this year. I usually have tons of things planned like food, crafts and games. Not this year......We didn't even get our fireworks until 6 pm on the 4th. Talk about last minute!! HAHAHAHAHA
Since we are Gluten Free now, food options have changed slightly. :) Instead of the huge feast that I normally prepare. We had a more simple menu.....Steak, Grilled Veggies and a wonderful Salad.
We spent most of the day shopping and watching old movies. And when the sun started going down Kaden eagerly brought out the loot we had just purchased.
Usually Skylar is the one that lights all the fireworks. But, after years of begging Dad let Mahala light a few this year. I don't know why she wants to mess with all that, actually I do. She is such a daredevil. Not afraid of anything and most of the time she surprises me with her "ideas" of fun. Examples....let's build a robot out of an old cooler. What about the time she wanted to make a hot air balloon with a bucket, some tarp and kitchen torch. Yes, this is what I live with on a daily basis. HAHAHAHAHAHA
