Mr. Stinky Feet

Another one of our annual October traditions is attending the Mr. Stinky Feet concert at Country Club Bank. The kids were able to get on a firetruck, have a balloon made, and of course...listen to Mr. Stinky Feet. Jack was even able to be part of the "band." What fun!

Visiting the Pumpkin Patch

It's an annual tradition in our house...the first weekend in October we head out to the Pumpkin Patch. I think it's funny though how much our adventure changes each year. Before children, Craig and I ventured out alone to pick out the perfect pumpkin, but did nothing else. When Jack was born; even though he was too little to partake in much, I was so excited to finally have a little one to share this tradition with. In his last two years there, Jack has been overjoyed to crawl through the caterpillar and bounce around in the inflatables. Last year Maren was just along for the ride in her stroller and Jack picked out her pumpkin. This year however; as every year has been for us, was another complete change representative of our growing family. Jack was petrified of the caterpillar and inflatables (it must be a three-year-old thing), but had so much fun playing the beanbag toss and hillbilly golf. Marsy enjoyed the playground and carried all the beanbags and balls around as the rest of us tried our luck at hillbilly golf. Jack and Maren both picked out their own very special pumpkin. It was the first year we were all able to really enjoy ourselves (minus keeping Jack far away from the "scary things"), and I know it will just get better from here. I thought it might be cute to put a comparison picture above of last year's trip and this years--it's amazing how much things have changed in a year.

October Snacks and Crafts

FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS SITTING ON A GATE...
Spread a Graham cracker with peanut butter. Place 5 pumpkin candies on top.



Recite the following rhyme...
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh my it's getting late."
The second one said, "There are witches in the air."
The third one said, "We don't care."
The fourth one said, "Let's run, and run, and run.
The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun."
Then whoosh went the wind and out went the lights
and the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

PUMPKIN PIE IN A CUP (note: Jack was not a fan of this, Maren ate it up!)

In a large Ziploc bag, mix one box vanilla instant pudding with a cup of milk. (The little helpers can mix it up by squeezing and kneading the bag.) Add 1/2 C. pumpkin, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and a sprinkle of ginger, and have the little helpers squeeze the bag again until mixed.

In a separate bag, place three graham crackers inside. Have the little helpers roll over the bag with a rolling pin until crushed.

Cut a hole in the corner of the first bag and squeeze the mixture into cups. Pour some of the crushed graham crackers on top. Grab and spoon and enjoy!

SPOOKY SPIDERS




Insert 4 licorice pieces into each side of an oreo cookie. Place a little frosting on top of the oreo and use bite size m&ms for the eyes. (See photo)

PUMPKIN PIE PLAYDOUGH (Thanks Jen and Nicholas!!) (Pictures coming soon...)

2 1/4 C. flour
1 C. salt
4 tsp. cream of tarter
1/4 + 1/8 C. oil
1/2 (1 1/2 oz.) container pumpkin pie spice
orange food coloring (2 parts orange, 1 part red)
2 C. water

Mix all ingredients together. Cook and stir over medium heat until the lumps disappear. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth. Store in an airtight bag or container.



MAREN'S FAVORITE OCTOBER BOOKS
Spot's Halloween... Eric Hill
Buscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch...Alyssa Capucilli
Spooky's First Halloween...Salina Yoon
Pumpkin Faces...Emma Rose
Spot's Halloween Party...Eric Hill
Where's Baby's Pumpkin?...Karen Katz
Peek-a-Booo!...Marie Cimarusti


JACK'S FAVORITE OCTOBER BOOKS
Omar's Halloween...Maryann Kovalski
Sam's First Halloween...Mary Labatt
Pooh's Happy Halloween...Ann Braybrooks
Courduroy's Trick-or-Treat...Lisa McCue
Franklin's Halloween...Paulette Bourgeois
Tucker's Spooky Halloween...Leslie McGuirk
The Halloween Play...Felicia Bond
Trick Or Treat, Smell My Feet...Diane DeGroat

Happy Birthday Parents As Teachers!

This morning Maren and I attended the Parents as Teachers birthday celebration. Maren had so much fun. She played with toys, painted a rock for the rock garden, played with a birthday cake tower, painted a laminated cake with shaving cream, and decorated her own "birthday cake." Her favorite part was getting to frost her own cookie and ea
t it, of course. What fun!

September is Apple month!

We've spent a great deal of September learning about apples and centering a lot of our activities around them. Since a couple of you have mentioned you like getting recipes and ideas from the blog, here are couple of Jack and Maren's favorite books and snacks from "Apple Month!"


JACK'S FAVORITE APPLE BOOKS:
Ten Apples Up On Top by Theo LeSieg
Up, Up, Up It's Apple Picking Time by Jody Shapiro
Out and About the Apple Orchard by Diane Mayr
10 Red Apples by Pat Hutchins

MARSY'S FAVORITE APPLE BOOKS:
Cutie Pie by Matthew Kempler
Apples, Apples by Saline Yoon
Apples, Apples by Kathleen Zoehfeld


OUR FAVORITE APPLE SNACKS:

Apple Smiles:
Core and Cut an apple into wedges. Spread slices with peanut butter. Line the rims with marshmallows.



Apple Trees:
Use green food coloring to tint vanilla frosting green. Spread over a nilla waffer. Place green M&M's on top for the apples. Use a pretzel stick placed vertically under the nilla wafer for the tree trunk.

Class Fieldtrip to Deanna Rose

Today Maren and I joined Jack's class on their fieldtrip to Deanna Rose Farmstead. We couldn't have asked for better weather, and the three-year-olds were so excited to be there. The kids were able to see a cow get milked, feed the goats, and visit all the animals they've been learning about. Jack's favorite part however (and Maren's too) was playing on the playground and getting to enjoy a picnic lunch with his friends. He promptly fell asleep on the way home in the car...a sure sign that he'd had a ball!

Lakeside Nature Center

Today we met our friends Katie, Carter, and Bode at the Lakeside Nature Center. The kids had a lot of fun looking around and seeing all the animals, birds and reptiles. I think Jack liked the doors you could open to see what was hiding behind them the best, while Maren's favorite was a tunnel with buttons you could press to make it light up. We saw a bunny, turtles, eagles, owls, a salamander, snakes, and even rats, mice, and cockroaches. After we were done seeing everything inside, we walked the nature trail outside and had a picnic. What fun!