Is it really only Wednesday?

We've been a little busy with Fall activities, a new class, and trying to go outside any day it isn't freezing cold! 

John loves to jump in leaf piles, wear his Halloween costume, watch the Cubs with his Dada, and go to his Gymnastics class.

This minion has a poor work ethic

I immediately thought of this

Hopefully I'll post more soon! I've been busy binge watching a new show doing productive adult things like organizing cabinets and steaming my floors. And sometimes you just cant get your shit together!

Felt Pumpkin

This is an easy and fun activity for toddlers during the Halloween season! During Christmas we use a green felt Christmas tree. Felt is great for toddler crafts because its soft and cant be ripped apart by their disastrous hands. I mean...children are a gift from God.

Materials:
Orange felt
Black felt
Scissors
Tape

Instructions:
Make a pumpkin shape out of orange felt
Tape it to the wall (Don't forget the blue tape!) or refrigerator
Cut out various face shapes with the black felt
Let your toddler make different jack-o-lantern faces

Tee-hee-hee

What a love bug

My toddler is a big wuss scaredy cat when it comes to spooky Halloween decorations, so this was innocent and fun for him!

Pumpkin Patch

Despite the cold weather and sick toddler we still managed to have a great time at the pumpkin patch this year! 

John and Dada taking a selfie with Buzz Lightyear

I will take snuggles whenever I can get them.

We ended our weekend with some pumpkin carving! 

Colors!

John’s favorite word/color these days is “ooch” aka orange. I think it's because of all of the pumpkins and his favorite fish Nemo. 

Nemo's #1 fan

We’ve been working on color identification lately since he loves to point out the colors of freakin everything all things around him.  We have a few activities/toys that John likes to play with that have colors we talk about.

 Garages and cars- Melissa and Doug

John loves this toy set because he can stack the blocks (that are colored and numbered) and put the cars in the corresponding garage. 

Legos

These need no description! John loves playing with duplo legos and when we build things we say the color aloud. 

Color/shape block sorting: Fisher Price

I love two in one games because I'm lazy into teaching two things at once. We talk about colors and shapes with this classic toy. 

Kid after my own heart- take the shortcut!

When I taught preschool we did a lot of color sorting so we try and incorporate that into clean up time. For example, "John please for the love of God clean up the RED blocks." Also, "John please put that YELLOW booger in a tissue." Kids are gross. There's so many things to do with a toddler to teach colors: painting, puzzles, books, coloring, playdough, and so on. We also find colors all around us in the house and outdoors. Now that the leaves are changing colors we have a lot of fun crunching different colored leaves and talking about them. 

We are off to a pumpkin patch this weekend and I can't wait to post pictures of us pretending to have fun in the pumpkins!

 Happy Friday all! 

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Costco had canned pumpkin this week and I love to eat cookies bake whenever I have the chance. Therefor...pumpkin snickerdoodles. These cookies are soft and chewy in the middle and oh so delicious! There's no chocolate in these cookies so they are totally acceptable to eat all day for breakfast. Right? Right.

pumpkin EVERYTHING.

Recipe found at:
http://www.cookingclassy.com/pumpkin-snickerdoodles/

Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups flour
3 1/2 tsp cornstarch ( I didn't have any so I added extra flour)
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 sticks butter
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup canned pumpkin*
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
*Note: The pumpkin wasn't very strong, so I would add a little more next time!

For rolling:
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:
Combine flour and spices in a bowl
Blend butter and sugars together with mixer
Add yolk, pumpkin, and vanilla to the mixture and blend
Slowly add flour mixture to wet mixture
Split into two bowls, cover with saran wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour
Make balls of 2 tbsp of dough
Roll the dough in sugar/cinnamon mixture
Place on cookie sheet
Bake for 12-14 minutes at 350'

Green Smoothie

Good morning!!! I'm only chipper because I consumed a crap ton of Dunkin Donuts pumpkin coffee this morning. I also have the jitters and organized my spice cabinet alphabetically. Just kidding...who has the thyme? Get it? Thyme? Oh Christ, I need to get out more.

Anyways, this is a really easy green smoothie recipe that Bryan and I drink everyday. I also trick my toddler into consuming kale this way.

Ingredients:
2 bananas
1 cup of greek yogurt
1 cup of kale
splash of cold water
frozen fruit (pineapple, strawberry, etc.)
optional: honey

Instructions:
Put it all in the blender and blend.
Seriously, isn't that obvious?

Enjoy!

Remember...I'm a cool mom. Who might be wearing Costco sweatpants at the moment...

I'm still here!

I have been a slacker lately with my posts and I apologize! My excuses: Bryan was out of town, John is cutting his molars, and my Mother in Law is in town. Real reason: I've been exceptionally lazy. 

Here are a few photos from my week! We've decorated for Halloween so I will have to post our decorations and crafts/activities we've been working on! 

Woah, I'm impressed with his coloring skills.

Right after this he asked him for a snack.

Pumpkin chalkboard and table cloth: Target dollar spot! He insisted I draw "Octa." 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I promise I will be more interesting next time! 

Apple Hand Pies

I was going to make a traditional apple pie, but I decided to try and impress you guys something new! I thought about mini apple pies made in a cupcake pan, but I stumbled upon this adorable recipe instead! 

http://www.cookingonthefrontburners.com/2014/11/apple-hand-pies.html?m=1

Ingredients:
4 cups peeled diced apples ( for me- the smaller the better)
2 tbs flour
/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 package of pie crusts ( I used pillsbury and needed extra- they are smaller)
1 egg
carmel sauce


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper ( I didn't have any-I just sprayed)
In a bowl, toss the apples with the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg

On a floured cutting board, roll out pie crust until a little bit thinner
Using a 3" biscuit cutter, cut as many circles as it makes! 

Place 2 tablespoons of apple mixture on a dough circle
Press another dough circle on top and pinch to seal
Use a fork to seam the edges
Brush egg wash on the pie (1 egg and 1 tbs water)
Cut 2 small slits in the pie 

Place on cookie sheet and bake 15-20 minutes 

They were delicious and oh so adorable!
I'm done with apples for now. Stay tuned for pumpkin recipes and some half assed festive Halloween crafts!