So behind!

Getting ready to put up Christmas decorations this weekend and still haven't posted any Halloween photos. So here you are.....

Wasn't in the mood to carve this year, so we painted our pumpkins instead. I'm such a good mom that I took a picture of my own pumpkin, and not of my kids'. (I'm an only child, remember. Sometimes I forget about other people.) And no, I had no idea there was a dried stream of liquid on my wall. I'm sure someone did that when we weren't looking.

These were the cat cookies we made for Xander's teachers (and for us, too).

Here are the trick-or-treaters

Jordis and her friend Megan

The kids are big enough now that we have this down to a science, so it was a quick night. And they're already talking about costumes for next year.

Hayride

Two Fridays ago both of the kids had the opportunity to go on a hayride. Xander's was his first field trip that I desperately wanted to attend, but they won't let you chaperone if you have other children with you, so I wasn't able to go. However, my bible study had a hayride scheduled at a local farm, so Jordis and I went to that.

When I went to get Jordis out of the car I saw that she was wearing flip flops after I had told her to put on socks and shoes. The mom in me thought I should just let her stay that way so she'd learn a lesson about following directions, but the police wife in me figured someone would probably call Children's Services on me if they saw my 4-year-old out in flip flops when it was 42 degrees. Luckily we got there early enough that I had time to run home and grab her some socks and shoes.

I know, right, you're still not believing I was early somewhere.

We each got to pick two Indian corns and one pumpkin.

Someone was pretty feisty most of the time.

Then we had a potluck.

Junk food makes everything better, doesn't it?

The pumpkin patch

Last month I took the kids to the pumpkin patch we typically go to, so today we decided to try somewhere new. Living close to some rural areas is nice because it gives us multiple locations to choose from. The first thing we did was go on a hayride.

Then we navigated our way through an 8 acre corn maze.

After the maze we went to the front of the property where the kids jumped in an inflatable, sat on some tractors, grudgingly posed for pictures, and picked out a few pumpkins and some homemade black raspberry preserves.

After leaving we decided to go check out a new BBQ restaurant that came to town. I didn't want to go there because I hate that their name is Dickey's, but Jason wanted to try it so we were going to go get something and take it home. Turns out that kids eat free on Sundays if you dine in, and they also have free soft-serve ice cream. So it ended up being pretty economical.

The kids even sat next to each other without fighting. It wasn't amazing food, but it was good enough that we'll go back. Especially if it's somewhere that the kids will cooperate. We had such a fun time!

My Fall Crafts Are Finished!

The kids and I have been crafting like crazy over the past month or so. Actually, I've been doing most of the crafting. The kids like to help in the beginning and then part way through decide they're finished so I end up doing the rest.

Here's what we've made this fall:

Jordis' spider



Our clay pumpkins for the banister. These were fun, and we made some Christmas ornaments as well.



Okay, so this isn't technically a fall project, but it was fun. The kids are earning allowance now and they get to split it between a bank for saving and a bank for spending. Xander already had more than one bank, but Jordis didn't, so I made her one for her spending money. It's decoupage and I made it to match her room.



Finally, to see what I did with the black socks I bought at Goodwill (referred to in my post dated 9/24). I know my neighbor Lisa's sister, Katie, has been on the edge of her seat to see what will become of said socks. Ha, ha. They have turned into bats for our front yard tree.

I would like to have more than two bats, so maybe I'll make more next year. The kids liked this craft because it involved playing with batting. I did not like this craft because the glue gun and I had a rough time reacquainting after some years of non-glue crafting.



Last, but not least, are my ghosties. I think these are my favorite. They're not quite as spaced out as I wanted them, but our dirt is horribly filled with rocks and we had trouble getting them in the ground, so they couldn't go exactly where I had planned. But they're fun, and the neighbor's dog likes to bark at them, which is kind of cute.



Jordis likes the ghosts, too!

Our trip to the pumpkin patch

Typically we don't go to the pumpkin patch until October, because I like it to be chilly out and for the leaves to have changed. But last Saturday was the opening day, where all activities were free to families with children who have autism, so we decided to go and check it out early this year.

Xander remembered the big area full of corn kernels from last year and ran to that first. Jordis didn't get to do it last year so he convinced her to get in as well. She took to it quickly, pelting her brother in the face with corn while giving him one of her ornery looks.


After that we went to some slides and to play in the barn. The slides were a big hit! The barn full of hay, not so much. I think they just didn't like how it felt. But they did like climbing on the tractor.



Then we went on a hayride and I went with the kids on the banana train. I barely fit in that thing with Jordis so I don't know how Jason did it last year with Xan. It was Jordis' first time to ride and Xander got to ride by himself. They got to pick out their own cart and really had fun. Xander sang the whole time.


After some snacks Xander rode the zip cord and we fed some goats. The kids also got to pet some donkeys. They were so friendly!





Then we got Jason to ride the big-kid zip cord. I used the camera to take a video, so I only got pictures of him after he was making his way back to get down.


The kids each got a free pie pumpkin and they look great sitting on our kitchen table.

Thanks to Leeds Farm for a great day! http://www.leedsfarm.com/

Kids in the Kitchen

The kids and I have been busy lately, because around here there is a lot of truth to the saying "idle hands make for devil's tools." If the kids don't have something structured to do around here, more than likely they are getting in trouble.

Last Friday we made some yarn pumpkins. The kids got a kick out of wrapping me up with yarn and then Xander took my remnants and made his own art.



Today we were supposed to be making trees, using the side of our hand as the trunk and our fingerprints as leaves. Jordis started out as a willing participant, then decided the leaves needed to be smeared all over. Xander decided to paint a bug. I like my trees though.


We also made a new snack. I found a recipe in the September issue of Wondertime magazine for Powerballs.


It's a fairly healthy snack and Xander had lots of fun dumping the ingredients into the mixer.


The kids enjoy eating them and I had plenty to freeze, too.

http://wondertime.go.com/life-at-home/article/powerball-cookies.html