Our October Fest

It actually got a tiny bit cloudy today! And my son and I found one tree with leaves that were definitely yellowish. All this and it's now OCTOBER. So we decided to have an October Festival.

Recipe for an October Festival:

1. One large pot of apple cider (one jug of cider, two cinnamon sticks, 8 whole cloves - hot!)
2. Three maple glazed donuts.
3. One origami session (taught by daughter) on crafting black bats and orange pumpkins (cool!)
4. Thirty minutes of watching "Garfield's Halloween" - classic.

Results - toasty, sweet, silly October fun!

What Happened to the September Books?

I can't believe I only read 4 books this month. Then again... school started, soccer started, I began working full time, I got a memory foam mattress top (puts me right to sleep!) So maybe that explains why I only read FOUR books. Here they are:

1. Peak - Roland Smith - This was one of my son's books and I hadn't read it yet because it looked too "boy" for my mood. But it was great! Basic story is, a teen boy climbs Mt. Everest. I was fascinated by the climbing stuff. Wouldn't ever do it - but loved reading about it.

2. The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan - Thank you to all my siblings who recommended this book (and the series). It's modern day boy meets Greek Myths (or are they myths?) Very funny writing style too.

3. The Truth About Forever - Sarah Dessen - This was the right book at the right time for me. About a girl who tries to be "fine" and "perfect" after she loses her father. It's a great "slice of life" story.

4. Levin Thumps & the Gateway to Foo - Obert Skye - This was fun fantasy. Boy and girl find out they have to save life as we know it and battle dark things and win - you know how it goes. :-) But it's well done. There are more in the series I'm going to have to read.

OK - Got to go catch up reading!

Autumn in California

It's been autumn for a whole week now. And this is what our trees look like.

Still as green as can be. It was 90 degrees yesterday. No chill in the air here. Nope, in California, autumn happens just about the time we go trick-or-treating. Then the leaves all fall off the trees the week of Thanksgiving and we're done.

So we like to make our own autumn... indoors!

The kids have a tradition of making their own autumn/Halloween decorations and covering the house with them.
Our stairway (and the door and the television armoire) have the candy corn chicken pox this year.
Lone Pumpkin Man embraces the full moon. And looks incredibly styling in his yellow plaid flannel.

Happy Autumn!

The Mother of Invention

My brother recently shared with me a memory of something our grandmother said to him. He told me that when he was 10 and he mentioned within her hearing that he was bored, she told him, "If you're bored, it's your own fault." He said he was never bored again.

My childhood was blissful in the fact that my mother let us create, invent, and otherwise make a mess. We got to make our own home movies. We got to turn the hide-a-bed into a spaceship. We even got to dig our own "pool" in the backyard. We went as far as lining it with a black tarp to keep it clean - which didn't work of course - and we ended up with a spa mud bath.

I vowed early on to let my own children create, invent, and on occasion make a mess. :-) I encourage activities that don't involve a screen and do involve a great deal of thought. In the midst of all of this, my son has become quite the inventor.

He recently spent hours putting this together:

It's a light and fan (made of balsa wood) that really works! He used a little battery power pack and taped the whole thing up to a piece of cardboard. Then he proceded to tape the whole thing up to the underside of our dining table which then of course had to be made into a secret tent. And they had to sleep there that night.

I went to bed smiling. No wonder my mom let us make the mud pit. This is cool.

Sunshine in Seattle

Sunday I left very early to catch a flight up to Seattle for my grandmother's funeral. I had packed well, prepared for the rainy, cloudy, cold weather that the Olympic Peninsula is well known for. But as I drove around Puget Sound to my grandparent's house, the clouds parted and a beautiful blue sky broke through. And it stayed that way the whole time I was there.

Sunday was a wonderful day spent visiting with so many family members. All of my grandpa's children were there with their spouses, as well as 13 of the 24 grandchildren, and 4 of the 19 great-grandchildren. (Actually there was one more in utero. :-)

Monday was a beautiful day. The graveside service was simple and lovely. The cemetary is beautiful and my favorite part is that my grandmother's grave is right near a hillside of blackberry bushes. Just right. The memorial service at the church was wonderful. My aunt had put together pictures and mementos of my grandmother on tables and also put out her wedding dress and her harp. My dad gave a sweet overview of her life and the other siblings shared memories of her. That night we continued to visit and remember.

Tuesday came all too soon and after a brief visit with my grandfather, I was off to the airport again and heading home. It had been so long since I had been to my grandparent's house - 15 years - that this was a trip I really needed. I got to see family that I just adore, tell my grandpa how much I love him, and celebrate my grandmother's life and Graduation.

And the sun shone through it all. Even in Seattle.

Fall Into Baking

One good thing about this time of the year ('cause of course I'm not happy to leave the warmth of summer) is that when it gets cooler, I can bake more! That's my way of heating up the house.

My kids and I decided to have a baking night. They each got to choose a recipe and make a treat. My son chose Chocolate Zucchini Cake. My daughter chose Eclairs. Mmmmm. Happy tummies and the house was warm. Double treat.

Going quickly!

The Rules

When my kids were younger (and I was home more) in the summer time we had what my kids called The Mom School. Every weekday for a couple hours we did projects, field trips, etc. and each week was a different theme. It was something I learned from my mom and it was great for keeping busy and having fun on long summer days.

Tonight I happened upon a binder filled with items the kids created one summer. I think they were about 4 and 6 years old. One item in particular that cracked me up was their maps of imaginary lands and the rules they made up (I think we were studying countries that week). I thought I'd share the rules they came up with - they are so fun!

My daughter's rules of the land:
1. Do what I say.
2. Be kind.
3. Do not hit.
4. Love everyone.
5. Never put sharp things in your mouth.

My son's rules of the land:
1. No picking grass.
2. No picking leaves.
3. No picking flowers.
4. Stay stil when I'm talking.
5. Do everything I say.

Oh my! I'm wondering what I was saying to them at this time of their life! :-)