I Can Do This!

Came across this amazing post this morning, and I HAD to share it.  Read it and then come back here!

dear sweet mom who feels like she is failing.

I sometimes get into this funk where I feel like on the outside our home may look like that Pinterest pin where we made it perfect in 6 easy steps, but in reality...not so much.  Most of the books we picked up on our last trip to the library haven't been read.  The sink is full.  There are clothes in the washer and dryer (which reminds me maybe I should go turn the dryer back on to get rid of those wrinkles because I really don't iron).  And both kids are sick.  

Here I am sitting at my desk, drinking my coffee and blogging.  I haven't checked Facebook yet, but I will after I check my email.  I look at our schedule from last week and see all the things we didn't get done, not the ones we did.  So I'm going to make that list.  What I Want to Do, What I Need to Do, and What I'd Love to Do with my family today.  I want to read a couple of the dinosaur books we checked out from the library to the kids.  I need to go to the grocery store before pre-k to get a drink to go with the snack for my son's class.  And I'd love to do the dry pasta dinosaur fossil craft I pinned on Pinterest with the kids.

Even after listing out those three things, I'm still thinking about all the other things on a to-do list.  How I want to get a workout in, how I need to get the kitchen cleaned up, and how I'd love to really finish my own library book!  But after going back and rereading that post at Finding Joy a second time, I'm not letting the things I don't get done on my to-do list get me down.  I'm going to start focusing on the things I do get crossed off, the fun we have, and the fact that there are at least enough clean clothes that nobody is naked right now.  What's the old adage:  Don't sweat the small stuff.  And in the grand scheme of things, this is really really small stuff!

So here's what I know...

I am not Supermom or a perfect mom.  But I'll never give up.  Ever!

I can do this!

Top 10 Reasons To Love Fall!

It's officially here!  Although it's felt like fall for a few weeks now, today it's official!  If you know me personally then you know there's no secret that my favorite season is fall.  Yes the summer is wonderful, and I do love the heat, but nothing is quite like the changes that fall brings.  Years ago it meant back to school and marching band competitions.  But even though those days are long behind me, I still love this time of year.  So in honor of this amazing season, here is my first official top 10 list on this blog:  the Top 10 Reasons To Love Fall!

10 - Fresh Cool Air

Flickr photo by C4M30

Nothing lets us know that fall is here like the change in temperature.  The days of triple digit heat waves are over, and the perfectly comfortable fifties and sixties are here.

It's the time when the air conditioner gets turned off permanently until next year, windows are opened, and the cool fall breezes bring much needed fresh air into our homes.  Breathe it in deep.  Just remember to close the windows when it gets cold enough for you to see that breath!

9  - The Changing Leaves

Flickr photo by Konstantin Leonov

Typically the most obvious indicator that fall is here or fast approaching, the bright greens of summer turn into brilliant fall colors.  Nearly everything that was green around us starts turning a vast array of lovely fall colors.  Reds, oranges, yellows, browns, and purples in every shade.  

Just going for a walk around the neighborhood or making a special trip to a park (or Brown County, IN like many of us around here tend to do), to see all of these stunning colors produced by nature is amazing.  That's an even better way to enjoy that fresh fall air.  I wish the trees stayed like this longer!

8 - The JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes

It's become a fall ritual for us.  Here in Indianapolis, the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes always takes place in late September or October.  Recruiting for our friends and family team and fundraising for JDRF is another reminder that fall is here.

On walk day, the  path the walk follows is one of the most beautiful places to be in Indianapolis in the fall.  It's a way to combine the fresh cool air of fall and the beautiful colors of all the changing leaves along with friends and family to support a worthy cause.

7 - Halloween!

Who doesn't love Halloween?  Free candy and you get to dress up as anything you want!  Ok, well my days of dressing up and getting candy are long behind me, but as a parent I get to revel in this joy with my children now.  Seeing people decorate for Halloween is the next best thing to Christmas lights, and seeing the children bring their favorite characters and animals or whatever they chose to be for Halloween to life in their costumes is a treat!

A few years ago we started a tradition of trick-or-treating with friends, and I'm looking forward to that again this year.  Also, I'm going to help my Grandma with her tradition of making popcorn balls to pass out to friends and family for Halloween treats, and it's a tradition that I plan to keep going in our family.

6 - Wood Burning Fires

Flickr photo by georgygrrl

One of the best smells on the planet, and they keep you warm!  Bonfires and wood burning fires in fireplaces make their reappearances this time of year.  Back in school the marching band would get together on a rare night off for a bonfire.  Those were so much fun.  I'll never forget my first time snipe hunting at one of those bonfires!  

We have a gas fireplace we've never actually used and no firepit, so I just have to inhale as much as I can when our neighbors are outdoors using theirs!  We sat outside the other night eating root beer floats enjoying the smell of a firepit a couple doors down from us.  I love when I'm out driving and catch the smell of a bonfire in someone's yard.  It's like a stranger just gave you a gift!

5 - Sweaters and Jeans

"Fall Faves" Created on Polyvore

Take a big comfy sweater (preferably in gray, but I'm slowly branching out into other colors!) and a favorite pair of jeans, and you've got my fall uniform!  It's also time to put away the flip flops and bust out the boots.  I also like to change out the sweater for a hoodie and the boots for flats because afterall, it is all about the comfort!

Being able to snuggle up into my favorite sweaters is definitely a fall favorite, especially those sweaters I picked up on clearance months ago that have just been waiting for these cooler temps!

4 - Apple Orchards

These next two can sometimes be knocked off the Fall Bucket List at the same time, but they don't have to be.  We love making an annual trip to the apple orchard.  There we get to snack on caramel apples, apple slushies, and so many other goodies!  We also like to get some fresh apple cider to take home.  Nothing beats hot apple cider on a cool fall evening!

We haven't been apple picking yet, but we've still got time.  Regardless of if we get them straight from the tree or from the orchard store, we'll be enjoying some really good apples!

3 - Pumpkin Patches

We also know that fall is here and Halloween is right around the corner when it's time to go pick out pumpkins.  The past couple years we've only painted our pumpkins, but this year we will be carving for sure!  I've got recipes lined up for the insides of those pumpkins that I can't wait to try.

There are so many great places around here to go pick your own pumpkin straight from the field.  It's pretty cute watching the little ones make their choice and even trying to figure out how to carry one!  Luckily we'll bring the wagon along to make that part easy!

2 - Pumpkin Scented Candles

Ok, maybe this shouldn't appear as high on my list as it does, but well it does!  I seriously love pumpkin scented candles!  This particular one is called "Spiced Pumpkin Pie", but regardless of what they call it, if it smells like pumpkin I want to use it!  I'll burn them for a few hours in the evening and the whole house just smells amazing.

I normally buy one every year this time of year, and it will last for a few months, but I think I may have to pick up a couple more to just keep this going all year 'round!

1 - Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Yes, I do believe I'm addicted to these.  And that's what makes them number one on my list.  I look forward to them all year long!  Strangely though until this year I've only ever ordered them hot.  I had no idea the iced version was just as amazing!  Unfortunately, I can't go out and get one whenever I want.  Thankfully though pumpkin spice coffee creamer also starts hitting the grocery store shelves this time of year, and it's much more budget friendly!

These are a wonderful treat from you know where, but Pinterest is full of at home versions I'm dying to try this year including this crock-pot pumpkin spice latte recipe!

I hope you've enjoyed my first top ten list!  I bet many of you share some of these fall favorites.  Leave a comment and tell me what other ways you celebrate this glorious season of fall!

D is for Dinosaur

We are having so much fun learning about dinosaurs.  And since "D" is for dinosaur, this letter D craft was just too cute to pass up.  We customized it by adding brads so our dinosaurs had moving parts to play with!

I've seen a few of these letter D dinosaur crafts going around Pinterest.  The one we liked the most is from Little Page Turners.  There wasn't a template to follow here, so I just prepped the materials by cutting out a capital letter D shape, legs, neck, head, scales, and tail from construction paper.  (There are double the materials in the picture above because each of my kids were making one).

The kids glued on the legs and scales.

We used brads to connect the head to the neck, the neck to the body (the letter D), and the tail to the body.

Then the kids glued on a googly eye (you could also use two eyes), and we drew on a smile.  Now we have a fun letter D dinosaur that moves!  My son said we should have used brads for the legs too because legs are supposed to move!  Oh well, maybe next time!

Then we used this $1 dinosaur book from the dollar store to see what kind of dinosaur we made.  We decided it had a long neck like a brachiosaurus but because of the scales was most likely a stegosaurus.  My son decided to call his "Steggy"!