Snow Day

It is pretty uncommon for us to get any snow this time of year, so this was a real treat.  It started snowing after the kids went to bed last night so I was anxiously waiting for them to wake up in the morning.  Surprisingly the one day I'd be fine with them waking up early, they didn't wake up until after 9am!  While downstairs I heard Jack's little voice coming from his bedroom, "Mom, there is snow outside!"  Not sure if he goes and looks out his window every morning before he comes downstairs but he did today and was so excited for the surprise that he found out there!

 Right away we bundled up in our coats, hats, and boots and went to play in the snow. This here is just another reason I love staying at home with my kids!  Such a fun day!!!

 Jack was asking to make big balls with the snow so we could make a snowman.  There wasn't enough snow this time around for that, but he still had fun. I mean look at that happy face! He kept saying, "Mom, this was such a nice surprise."

 Amelia was most interested in tasting the snow.  Her fingers got sooo cold!

 A snowy white November morning at our house

 We came inside to warm up these little fingers at the fireplace.

 I had a new activity I wanted to do with the kids today since it was a snow day.  Since they slept in so late I decided it would be fun to wrap up the activity....just for the fun of it.

Who wouldn't want a Happy Snow Day gift?!

 Inside was an indoor "Build a Snowman" Kit.  I had used foam board and cut out pieces for a snowman.  Jack and Amelia then used paintbrushes and painted water on the shapes and built a snowman on the window.  The water made the foam stick to the window.

 The finished product!  They loved this and I can see them having lots of fun with this all season long.

 Next up - making rice krispie treats

 We used cookie cutters and cut out snowmen and snowflakes.  I had forgotten how yummy rice krispie treats were.  I think I may have eaten about 1/2 the pan throughout the day as I kept going back for just one more little taste test.  Oops!

 Rice Krispie treats picnic

 Playing with the pumpkin scented play dough Mom-mom made for us.

 Tonight's bedtime story - Snow (Sticking with the theme even though the snow was all melted by the end of the day :-)

I love days like this. So thankful that I have the privilege of being a mom and the ability to stay home with my kids each day.  I wouldn't trade these days for anything!

A Couple Projects Around the House

There are so many projects I want to do to help me get organized, or things to improve the home, or things to do to make our home feel unique and special for our family.  This last week we accomplished 2 things that I have been wanting to do for quite some time. 

 First off, my handy husband built me the perfect desk for me to use to do all my sewing and crafting.

 He worked several days measuring, cutting, and building an L-shaped table, peg board wall, and ribbon holder to help organize my overflowing supply of crafting materials.

 The end result - my perfect sewing corner built by my husband.  Now if he can just prepare himself for the many receipts that will come from the many trips to the crafting stores as a result of having such a handy work space. :-)

 I've also been eyeing a chalkboard wall that I had seen done on pinterest several years ago.  I'd debated for quite some time whether I should do it or not and finally just did it.  I LOVE IT!!! All I did was put a couple layers of chalkboard paint on the wall, then painted some of the left over crown molding that has been sitting in our garage for the last 7+ years to hang up around the chalkboard. 

 Jack and Amelia are the perfect ages and sizes to get some good use out of this.

What project will we do next? So many to choose from!

Happy Halloween

Such a fun Halloween this year! Both kids really got very into all the festivities.

 Decorating cupcakes

 I had no idea how covered in sprinkles one could become!

 Bundled up for an evening of pumpkin carving.  She loved walking around with her hands in her pockets and hood up. :-)

 Look at that girly girl playing with the pumpkin guts.

 After carving the pumpkin, we baked the pumpkin seeds. Such a yummy treat!

 Santa Jack & Amelia the Snow Girl

We went with our friends Cora and Claire to visit the Grandmas & Grandpas at the assisted living home the morning of Halloween.

Talking to one of the residents and her dog

 They even got candy while there.

 While there, we introduced ourselves, had a costume parade, sang songs and danced, read stories, passed out cookies, and had a great time visiting the grandmas and grandpas.

 Afterwards we had a jack-o-lantern face pancake at IHOP.

While eating dinner, Jack made this cute face and said "I'm so excited for Halloween!!!"

  Along with our annual Halloween chili cheese hotdog dinner, we had Jack-o-lantern juice :-)

 All ready to trick-or-treat

 They went strong from sun down to nearly 9pm!

 At the first 50 or so houses we went to, while Jack was walking up to the door, he would turn to us and say, "What am I suppose to say?" TRICK-OR-TREAT!!!

 Amelia was very protective of her candy.  Every so often we would try to put some of her candy into a backpack I was wearing just to make her bucket not so heavy to carry.  She didn't like that idea at all! "No!!! Amelia's candy!!!" she would say.  She also carried her bucket around like a purse all night long all by herself.

The end result - dessert for the entire year!