Friday, September 30, 2011

Fall is here.

Oh how I love fall. It opens up the day for us. The weather no longer restricts outside play from before 11am and after 6pm. The crisp air sends me into a pumpkin bread baking and soup concocting spin. I can't get enough of it.

So many of my fondest memories are during the last three months of the year. Refreshing evening walks, cups of steaming hot chocolate, cozy blankets, costumes, football, slippers and sweatshirts, cinnamon scented candles, parades, family dinners, wrapping presents, toasting with friends, snuggling children in puffy coats, ginger bread houses, and decorating...

Which is what I've been trying to get to. Last year's fall decorations are making a comeback. Pinterest hasn't made this an easy decision for me, but there just isn't enough time to bedazzle pumpkins for the front porch. This year is simple.

Mantel
The white pumpkin minis are the only thing I purchased this year for Fall decor. I couldn't resist these little cuties - only 29 cents each.


I'm such a sucker for white pumpkins!

I spied this candlestick at my mom's house and borrowed it for the season - or forever.


On the ottoman.

On the sofa table.
I didn't even have to buy candy corn. I found an unopened bag from last year in the back of the pantry. Score!

Kitchen table.

Front porch.
`

We have a family tradition of visiting a pumpkin patch and filling up a wheel barrel with pumpkins to carve for the porch. That usually happens early October so these pumpkins will eventually be replaced.


I like simple. Simple suits me, at least for now. The saying, "The days are long, but the years are short" is the perfect way to describe how I'm feeling. So simple is where it's at, especially during this time of year. I don't want to get lost in the irrelevant details. I want to get lost in my kid's blue eyes and in my husband's arms.
Fall is here. And there are memories to be made.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Kidding Around Friday {LINKY} - 9/30

Welcome to {Kid}ding Around Friday
{Kid}ding Around Friday is the place to share your kid-related posts about:
Crafts, Milestones, Homeschooling, Kid-Friendly Food, Pregnancy, Decorating, Photography, 
A Funny Story, Great Deals, Organization and more!

{To Join the Party}

Growing Up Gardner
1. Follow your hosts, Katie & Amanda (first 2 links)
2. Link to a specific kid-related post - not your main page.
3. We'd love for you to grab our adorable little button.
4. Enjoy reading through some of the other posts and make new friends!

Each week we will feature a few posts from the previous week.
By submitting a link, you are granting Katie and I permission to use the photos from your post.

WE ENJOYED READING THESE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

A Very Hungry Caterpillar {Baby Shower}
I love that the hosts served all of the treats the caterpillar eats through!

Ghost feet - My Crafty Weekend
from Diary of a Working Mom
YES! We are making these tomorrow!


The day I found out we were having twins
Such a beautiful story!

Thanks for linking up!



Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Gardner Grub - Chicken Nuggets



This week's Gardner Grub comes from My Name Is Snickerdoodle. Back in March, Amy posted a recipe for Sweet Chicky Nuggets - that happen to taste almost exactly like Chick-fil-A nuggets. I made my first batch last month and have been addicted ever since.

A few comments on the recipe post suggest marinating the chicken in pickle juice for a couple of hours before the milk marinade. I tried it and thought I'd love it, but it turns out my taste buds did not enjoy the dill-flavored chicken. You can give it a try and see what you think. One thing that I don't skimp on is using peanut oil to fry the nuggets. Vegetable or canola oil will not give you the same delicious flavor that peanut oil does. And I always drizzle honey over my nuggets before serving.
And sometimes I use 3 Tbsp of powdered sugar :)

Head over to My Name Is Snickerdoodle for the recipe and tell Amy that Growing up Gardner sent you!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Oh Snap Wednesday {linky} - 9/28

{Oh Snap}

My boys.


Link up your photo post here.

Growing Up Gardner

My work day + homeschool update

A week before Noah was born I went on "maternity leave" and 5 weeks ago I started working again. My job? Watching my sister's kids, Emma (3) and Evan (2). It's hard work, but hardly a job. Those kids are such blessings.

It's hard to find words to describe Emma. She is far beyond her 3 years. The girl is crazy smart. Tell her something once and she'll remember it for-ev-er. And she is hilarious. Noelle and Emma together make me laugh all day long. I really need to record one of their conversations. Target almost always is mentioned.

I've been watching Evan since he was around 6 months old. He is the sweetest little guy. I'm amazed by how much he has grown during the past 7 months. He speaks very well and now keeps up with the girls. Noelle and Evan play great together. She acts like his little mommy, it's so cute! She asks him if he wants to hold her hand or if he wants to play a game with her. Sometimes she reminds me to do a better job at being present for them. Last week we were walking to the park and Noelle said to Evan, "See that white car, that's the mail-lady, she brings mommy the mail from the post office." And I thought, man, I should have told him that.

Needless to say, things are busy around here. The only thing keeping my head on straight is a solid schedule. Our day goes exactly like this. 

7:45 - the E's are dropped off by my brother-in-law, Sean. Noelle and Emma quickly examine the contents of the bag Aunt Tina packed. See Noelle's face? "Wow!" I can't remember what was in there but apparently it was pretty stellar. 

7:46 - the girls are in their Princess dresses and dancing around the house. 


8:00 - Breakfast, during which the kids catch up on hot topics such as Hello Kitty, Halloween costumes, & lunch.

After breakfast we wait for Noah to wake up (usually at 8:30) then head to the park until 9:30.
It's a short 4 minute walk, but usually takes much longer because puddles are puzzling obstacles,

mailboxes are a math lesson,

 and trees tell when seasons are changing.
(Grandma taught the kids to shake trees to see if the leaves "fall." Get it?

At the park the fun begins. Their new thing is climbing up all of the slides. Apparently stairs are so last year.

Every stranger we see asks one of these questions
Are they all yours?
Are the girls twins?
Is this a daycare?
or simply,
You sure have your hands full!
Emma

While the big kids play, Noah hangs out with his toys and watches all of the park shenanigans.

Like the Chicken & Fox game. I am always chosen to be the fox, surprise surprise, who chases the chickens around the park until I catch one and "eat it."

Where on earth could those chickens be?

"She's coming...RUN!"
Probably why I've lost 8 lbs since I started watching them again. 

Anyone who is around 3-year-olds knows that it's not all fun and games. I probably say, "please share the toy" and "be nice to each other" and "no mean faces, girls" a dozen times a day.
Timeout for Noelle

On our way back from the park, Evan walks a little faster because he knows it's time for his favorite part of the day - the bounce house!
I set the bounce house up in the garage and after a water break, they go crazy. It's short-lived, between 15 and 20 minutes of bouncing, because once I say the word "snack" they are lined up at the door ready for the air conditioner and ice cold juice.

10:30 - Snack time
During snack time, I put Noah down for his 1st nap of the day. He sleeps until 12:30.

From 11 - 12 the kids play on the back porch with water. We have a water table and squirt guns. They love it.

At noon, the kids eat lunch and then we go into the play room (also the classroom) to do school work. It was challenging at first trying to get the three of them to sit quietly and work at the same time. I tried stations, but that failed. I couldn't be 3 places at once. So now, Evan sits next to me and does 2 activities (coloring, numbers, colors, matching) and the girls do their work (patterns, tracing, writing, coloring, letters, etc). So far so good with this routine.


At 1:15, I start to get the kids ready for nap time. They all go to the bathroom and then I read a book...or three. The big kids nap from 1:30 - 3:30ish, and Noah goes down for his 2nd nap from 2 - 3:30ish (when one wakes up, they all wake up).
The last hour is usually spent picking up all the toys dispersed around the house and playing in the play room. Sean picks them up around 4:30pm and then I get busy making dinner.

Noelle usually asks for more school time after dinner, so we do another 30 minutes to an hour. We both really enjoyed J is for Jesus. I found a Mary and baby Jesus printable HERE. All you need is a toilet paper roll, scissors, and tape.

I cut the pieces out and let Noelle do all of the taping. Heads up - the glue stick didn't work.

The "Mary and Jesus" on the right was printed in black and white for Noelle to color. That one is "mommy and Noah" - so sweet.

So that basically sums up a day in my life. Fun, exhausting, and completely rewarding. 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

{Kid}ding Around *Link Party* - 9/23


Growing Up Gardner
Welcome to {Kid}ding Around Friday
{Kid}ding Around Friday is the place to share your kid-related posts about:
Crafts, Milestones, Homeschooling, Kid-Friendly Food, Pregnancy, Decorating, Photography, 
A Funny Story, Great Deals, Organization and more!

{To Join the Party}

1. Follow your hosts, Katie & Amanda (first 2 links)
2. Link to a specific kid-related post - not your main page.
3. We'd love for you to grab our adorable little button.
4. Enjoy reading through some of the other posts and make new friends!

Each week we will feature a few posts from the previous week.
By submitting a link, you are granting Katie and I permission to use the photos from your post.

WE ENJOYED READING THESE LINK FROM LAST WEEK

I'm growing a penis!
Mrs. J just found out that she is having a BOY!
Congratulations! It is going to be so fun following her journey to motherhood.

Redneck Reading Program
Sometimes it takes a little creativity! 

Lego Learning
A great idea for teaching a kinesthetic learner

Corn Dog Muffins
I just might try these when my niece and nephew are over.



Thanks for linking up! We'd love for you to share about this link party on your blog/facebook/twitter to get more great blogs involved!













Button Code:

*Enter your blog's name and the title of your post.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

No Sew Pumpkin {tutu}torial



Noelle doesn't need another skirt, but I was itching for a craft. I've seen adorable tulle skirts just about everywhere. I figured they couldn't be too hard to make, and I was right.
In this post I'll show you what I did to create a "pumpkin" tutu.

{Supplies}
4 yards of Orange tulle
1 yard of Green tulle
ribbon
scissors
tape measure
Sunflower (optional)
Total cost approx. $8 in supplies

First off you're going to need to measure your little princess's waist. I wrapped the green ribbon around Noelle then marked where the two ends came together with a marker and made knots at those spots. I left about 20 inches of ribbon on each side just in case I made an error, and for a bow.

Next, get those scissors warmed up. I work with one yard at a time, always cutting all the tulle I need for the project before moving on - because it sucks going back to cut more when you're half way done. 
Lay the yard of fabric out on a flat surface,

and roll it up, three inches at a time.

then cut the roll into 3 to 4 inch strips. The strips will be the length of the fabric that you have. Now it's up to you to decide how short/long you want the tutu to be. The tulle here was 56 inches long, in order to use all the tulle I had, I cut each strip in half to make two 28 inch strips. 

Repeat this for all of the orange tulle you are going to use for the skirt. For the green "leaves," I cut each strip three times: two 20 inch strips and one 16 inch strip. The short 16 inch strip was used to tie the leaves. 
Now comes the fun! Weigh the ribbon down so it's easy to tie the tulle - I tied one side of the ribbon to the handle of a heavy saucepan and the other side of the ribbon was weighed down by my flour container as shown. You could also tie it around the back of a chair or around your legs.

Fold the tulle strip in half and bring the open-ended side of the fold under the ribbon,

Then bring it around and stick it through the loop on the other end.
Pull to create a slip-knot.

Repeat until you're out of orange tulle.
Then separate the orange tulle evenly so you can fit in 5 leaves (4 strips for each leaf).

I did 8 orange strips, then 4 green strips with one orange in the middle. 

To make the leaves, gather the green tulle and tie it with a short strip.
You can keep the leaves long like the one on the left,

or cut them. I decided to cut them. I envisioned it like this so I wanted to go for it. I think it looks darling and definitely like a pumpkin.

When you're done you can add any embellishments you want. This sunflower was half off at JoAnn's for .99.

The best part - watching your little beauty twirl around in it!




Mr. G coaches water polo, so I made this one for Noelle to wear at home games. Go Tigers!

For this purple & gold skirt I used a stretchy head band instead of the ribbon and it didn't work as well. It stretched out about 5 inches and I had to keep adding tulle. Ribbon works much better.

Have fun creating and happy fall!

-Amanda