MusicWorks

Logan did awesome today at music class. One of the biggest challenges for Logan is his shyness. Its hard to get him to do anything with a group setting. I decided to go ahead and sign him up for music class. He still claims he hates going but he says that about everything. He really got involved in class today. He didn't nearly cling to me like he did last week. I'm going to do lessons again next month as well. Mrs. Katie always does an awesome job teaching the children classes. I really would like Logan to sit on his own square without me but its going to take time.

Trick or Treat

The Bella Vista Preschool took all the kids trick or treating this morning for a field trip. I decided this year to make the kids costumes for Halloween. We went with the Wizard of Oz theme. Logan and Leah threw the biggest fight this morning about not wanting to wear their costumes. I never thought I was going to be able to get them ready for school. I finally told Logan that no one would recogize him in his scarecrow outfit. He finally put it on than I had to deal with Leah. She kept crying about it being too big. I finally wrestled her to the ground and dress her. I was already wore out before we even made it to the field trip. We set off for the Town center for some trick or treating. We first stopped at the bank and picked up our goody bags. We walked all around the shopping complex. Leah was just being her little normal self. She would run right up to the front and grab a handful of candy. I tried to push her around in her stroller but she wanted to be like all the big kids. She acts like a 3 year old not like an almost 2 year old. We finally hit all the store fronts and headed back to the church for a little party and stories.

Pumpkin Patch

We finally made it to the Hal's Pumpkin Patch. My best friend called and wanted together after school for a playdate. We decided to pick up the kids early from school instead of waiting for the buss. What a mistake. Landon was sooooo upset about missing the bus ride home. He told me later on that his friend on the bus shares snacks with Landon. Nice! So, we finally load all the kids up to go to the pumpkin patch. Logan decided to go with V in her truck. Well, you guessed it. Landon ended up being super jealous and screamed/cried all the way up to the pumpkin patch. So, we finally make it. None of the kids would pose with the pumpkins. Leah kept on running around yelling "NO" at the top of her lungs. So, disappointed that I didn't get any cute shoots at the pumpkin patch. We did end up with three nice pumpkins. So, it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Carving Party

Yes, four boys with four knifes craving pumpkins. Do I need to say anything else?

Pumpkin and Orange Week-Part 2

If Logan can get his chore chart done this morning? We are going to use several of these ideas at Hummingbirded. I'm hoping we will be able to make pumpkin smelling playdoh and learn the five little pumpkin song. I really want to try her SQUISH ART PUMPKIN idea as well for art! I will try to post the pictures later on this evening.

Squish Art Pumpkin

Logan loved this art project. Logan used two different colors to make his pumpkin art. He used yellow and orange. I helped him fold the paper in half and told him to drop the paint on one side of the paper. I had him press the paper together and pull it apart. He was so shocked to see the other side of the paper had paint on it. He seriouslly couldn't figure out. Poor kid...

Happy Birthday

The kids decided to throw their favorite Aunt a birthday party. Landon made a cake for her and I wrapped up the presents for the kids. We opened up presents and cards. Afterwards, I went to put the candles on the cake but couldn't find them anywhere. After the party, I did find them. Duh, I was practically staring at them. So, we sang Happy Birthday song. We finished the evening by playing silly games like red light/green light, mother may I?, and hucka bucka beanstalk! It was really fun to just have a nice family birthday just like in the old days. Ha, Ha!!

Model Role Student!

Well, I just got back from Landon's parent/teacher conference. Landon is doing really well at school. His teacher told me that Landon's her model role student. She will be placing him in the top reading group at school. Landon is the only student in his class that knows all of his letter sounds, short sounds, and long sounds. She is very impressed with progressive at school. He recieved all plus's +++++++++++ on his report card. She said I did a great job with Landon at home. So, hopefully the rest of the school year goes just as smoothly.

Pumpkin Rolls

Logan attends preschool two days a week. I really love his preschool because its play base. He really enjoys it. So, no mommy school today. We will be making these fun rolls to stick with our pumpkin theme. I will post pictures when we are done. I hopefully can get these done before Landon's parent/teacher conference.

Pumpkin Knot Rolls: We loved these rolls and I loved making them! These are beautiful rolls with their golden color and knot shape. They have a very delicate pumpkin flavor, and are very soft and tender, yet substantial enough to make sandwiches with. This recipe makes 2 dozen rolls so I was able to freeze about half of them and I just thawed them at room temperature. These were also great with soup and would be a great addition to a holiday meal. This is a great recipe that I will be keeping in my files and be making again. I definitely recommend giving them a try.

Pumpkin Knot Rolls
Katie (Katiedid) from Taste of Home

2 packages (1.4 ounces each) active dry yeast
1 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
5-1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cold water
Sesame or poppy seeds, optional
In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the butter, sugar, pumpkin, 2 eggs, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape each portion into 12 balls. Roll each ball into a 10-in. rope; tie into a knot and tuck ends under. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. In a small bowl, beat water and remaining egg. Brush over rolls. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired. Bake at 350° for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen.
Katie's Notes: I used about 1 2/3 cups of whole wheat flour and 4 1/3 cups all-purpose flour.

Apple Cake

This is what I'm planning on making for the Ward Halloween Party on Friday!
Apple Cake
Katie (Katiedid)
½ c shortening
2 c sugar
2 eggs
3 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
6 c raw apples

Cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs. Stir together dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in apples. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. Frost cake while warm.

Caramel Frosting
½ c butter
1 c brown sugar
¼ c milk
2 ½ c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla



In a pan, combine butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add milk. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Stir in vanilla. Frost warm cake.

Potty Training

Logan and I were in the bathroom brushing his teeth. Leah took off her diaper and put the potty seat on the toilet. She climbed on top of the seat. All of sudden, I heard her peeing. I had her jump off and flush the toilet. So, we are officially potty training. I checked her diaper to see if it was wet or dry. It was very dry. She went the whole night dry and peed a little bit the potty. When, I went to seat down on my computer chair to write up this post. My bottom was all wet. She must of finished peeing on my chair. We are going to have to work on this. She will be turning two in December.

Pumpkin Cutting

Logan threw out a big box of halloween fruit snacks in the trash. I looked over and discovered it had a huge pumpkin to cut out of the back side of the box. I pulled it out of the trash and gave Logan a pair of scissors. Logan loved it. He worked really hard on cutting it out. He did a really good job and is getting really good with using scissors.

Mixing Colors!

Logan discovered today what happens when you mix yellow and red paint together!
So, I gave Logan two bowls with red and yellow. I had him mix the two colors together. He was so surprised when he discovered it made the color ORANGE. I painted an outline of a huge pumpkin and had him paint it in. I finished it off by painting eyes, mouth, and a nose. We ended up hanging it up on the front door. Than, logan wanted to paint again. He ended up painting a huge letter "A" but he ended up drawing it upside down. Remember, their's a reason why we call him the backwards kid.

Mommy School-Pumpkin Seeds?

Science Experiment! Logan loves learning about science. One of his biggest obsession is over seeds. So, for mommy school I decided it would be perfect timing to read this awesome book called.How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret Mcnamara and G. Brain Karas. We started off by cutting open our biggest pumpkin on the kitchen table. We did it just like in the book. I had Logan spread out newspaper and grab a spoon. I cut off the top and Logan got busy trying to scoop out the seeds. After, we scooped out all the seeds from the big pumpkin we started on the mini-pumpkin. Logan thought the mini pumpkin would have more seeds in it than the big pumpkin. Logan even tried to open up the mini pumpkin all by himself without me knowing about it. We scooped out all the seeds and started to wash them all in the sink. Logan was terrified that one of the seeds would escape the colander and be lost forever down the sink drain. So, I dried them off all the seeds and roasted them in the oven with some olive oil and salt. We counted all the seeds. The big pumpkin had a total of 180 seeds. Logan and Leah kept on eating the seeds so I'm not really sure if that's a correct number or not. The mini pumpkin had a grand total of 80 seeds. Afterwards, the kids enjoyed snacking on the pumpkin seeds. Leah managed to dumped them all over the floor but that didn't stop her from trying to eat them.

WFD-Monday

******This weeks challenge is to cook only with ingredients in my house. I'm really bad about running to the store to pick up stuff for dinner. I will find a recipe and want to make it immediately. My hubby said no more shopping this week. So, I looked into my freezer and found a ham hock. So, I spent some time this morning on the internet and came across this recipe. I'm soaking my own beans. This will be first time for me. Hopefully, I don't mess it up and bean will be soft enough to eat.

White Bean and Ham Soup Recipe

Ingredients
1 lb of white beans - Canellini or Great Northern
2 quarts of water
2-3 lbs of ham shanks (preferred to ham hocks because the shanks have more meat), each shank cut into 2 or 3 sections
1 cup of diced onions
1 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup chopped carrots
2 cloves garlic, diced
Tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper
Herbes de Provence
Fresh parsley
Method
1 Soak the beans in at least 2 quarts of cold water for about 2 hrs. Drain the water.

2 Put the ham shank pieces in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about an hour. Add the chopped vegetables and beans. Cook for another hour, until the vegetables are soft and the ham meat easily pulls away from the bone.

3 Add several drops of Tabasco to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a pinch of herbes de Provence. Serve with a pinch of chopped fresh parsley.

Serves 8.

Pumpking Counting & Sorting

I decided against getting pumpkins at the Right Choice Corn Maze. The pumpkins were small and overpriced. The kids really wanted to get some pumpkins so I decided to let them get these mini pumpkins. The first thing I did was have Logan seperate the pumpkins by color and I had him make AB pattern with the pumpkins. He decided he wanted to make a letter "L" with pumpkins. He ended spelling the letter "L" backwards. There's a reason why we call Logan the "backwards kid"!