First Snow

“The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?”
~J.B. Priestley

 Found on my friend Misty's facebook page.

Andrew and Mya

I think Andrew misses having a baby around...:-)

Grocery Deals

Here's my haul from Meijer tonight.  The best deals were the cranberry juice and the Idahoan potatoes.  They were free.  The panko crumbs were 79 cents each and I got 75 cents off my next order.  The Rotel were 73 cents each after coupons and the Jack's pizza were $1.45 each after coupons.  The GoGurt would have been about $1/box but for some reason my Mperks coupon for $2/6 didn't come off and I didn't notice until I got home.  Eggs are also 99 cents/dozen so I got 6 dozen eggs.  


Also, at Aldi this week, their artisan salad lettuce is 99 cents.  I've bought this a few times before and we really like it.  It's a box with 4 different kinds of lettuce in it, enough for about 4 large dinner salads.  Also, butter is $1.99 and cream cheese is 89 cents this week.

Christmas concert sneak peak

My  most favorite of the songs we are singing this year:

The Savior of the World
I cannot tell how he whom angels worship
should stoop to love the peoples of the earth,
or why as shepherd he should seek the wanderer
with his mysterious promise of new birth.
But this I know, that he was born of Mary,
when Bethlehem's manger was his only home,
and that he lived at Nazareth and labored,
and so the Savior, Savior of the world, is come.

I cannot tell how silently he suffered,
as with his peace he graced this place of tears,
or how his heart upon the cross was broken,
the crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, he heals the broken-hearted,
and stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
and lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
for yet the Savior, Savior of the world, is here.

I cannot tell how he will win the nations,
how he will claim his earthly heritage,
how satisfy the needs and aspirations
of east and west, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see his glory,
and he shall reap the harvest he has sown,
and some glad day his sun shall shine in splendor
when he the Savior, Savior of the world, is known.

I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
when, at his bidding, every storm is stilled,
or who can say how great the jubilation
when every heart with perfect love is filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
and myriad, myriad human voices sing,
and earth to heaven, and heaven to earth, will answer:
'At last the Savior, Savior of the world, is King!'


Words by William Young Fullerton (1857-1932)

What's Cookin'

Mon~Spaghetti, broccoli, salad
Tues~Tea Party tailgater
Wed~Church potluck-Not sure what I have to bring but if it's a main dish, I'm bringing this:

Source: joelens.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

Thurs~Steak, mashed redskins, carrots, cauliflower
Fri~Pizza (I finally made pizza that my husband said was REALLY good!  I'll share my recipe/technique next week.)
Sat~Hamburgers, cold veggies
Sun~Crockpot chicken and dumplings, applesauce muffins

Zoo trip (last of the year?)

Andrew had Cady overnight so we headed to the zoo.  We tried go on Tues, but starting in November, the zoo is closed on weekdays.  Looks like its closed for the winter starting in Dec.

Penguins.  They were pretty active.  Aaron liked them.

Andrew and Cady

Aaron enthralled with the wavepool.

Checking out some frogs, and warming up!  It was a bit chilly.

The boys love playing around this mini-cabin.

Frog

Cady Beth

The otter was dragging leaves into this hollow log.  Must be trying to make a soft bed.

This pic is blurry, but the monkeys were watching us leave.  We watched them for quite awhile because they were so active and close to the window.  When we looked back at them when we left, they were watching us leave!  So we went back to watch them again and they seemed to be showing off by swinging on their ropes and wrestling.

Traditional last pic at the zoo :-)

Fun morning at the zoo! It was like we had the place to ourselves. One of the benefits of having a membership I guess, you can go whenever.

10 FREE photo cards

Check out Saving Addiction's post on how to get 10 FREE photo cards!  I just did it and it worked great (site was a little slow, but the code worked perfectly).  These cards look very high quality and I liked how there was room to add a verse with our names.  You also have the option of adding text to the back of the card so if you wanted to type up a family Christmas letter, you could do that there.  The cards come with high-quality designer envelopes and a pre-printed return address on the back flap.  What a deal!


Also, if you need more than 10 (and who doesn't?), here's another post that shows how to get 20 for $1.49.  You can do multiple orders using the same code if you need more.  I've ordered from SeeHere in the past and I like how customizable the cards are, but they don't have near the selection of designs and the quality isn't as good as other printing services.  But if you need a lot of cards, its a good deal.   I just made 20 and I may make 20 more tomorrow.

Pinterest Cleaning tip

I love my Swiffer Wetjet. When I first bought it, I thought I would be able to reuse the bottles and was quite disappointed when I realized that you couldn't screw off the top to refill it with your own cleaning solution. So I was pleased to find this little tip on Pinterest this morning.

Source: lifehacker.com via Heather on Pinterest

Dip the tip of an empty Swiffer 

Wetjet solution bottle into boiling water 

for about 10 seconds and the lid twists off (use a towel). Refill with your preferred cleaning solution 

at appropriate dilution and re-cap.

Goldfish Math (graphing)

I found this idea on Pinterest too, but I had to search for the printable.  Here's the link.

 This was really too easy for Andrew, but he had fun doing it and got to practice making a picture graph.

 Noah LOVED this activity, since fish crackers are his favorite snack!  He did a great job matching the fish to the right column too.

Joel did excellent too!  He doesn't really know the names of the colors but he can match them up right.

PS  If anyone wants an invite to Pinterest, let me know.  But be warned, it can be addicting!

Octopus Math

I saw the idea for this lesson on Pinterest.  Part of Andrew's math lesson was learning how to write the words for numbers and this was so easy to adapt for the other two boys.  I found a printable for a blank octopus and wrote the names of numbers on the arms for Andrew and the numeric numbers on the arms for Noah and Joel.  

Andrew had to read the word and then glue the correct number of cheerios, or suction cups, on each arm.

  

Andrew's finished octopus.

Noah needed a little help staying on task but he's getting really good at one for one counting.

Andrew helped Joel with his octopus.  He was just happy to get in on the big kid stuff!

Psalter 400

What's Cookin'

Mon~Chicken Alfredo (freezer), cauliflower
Tues~Worcestshire chicken, potatoes, corn
Wed~Grilled chicken salad with buttermilk ranch dressing, bread
Thurs~Bbcued pork ribs, mashed potatoes, green beans
Fri~Boys get mac n cheese with babysitter
Sat~Frozen pizza, salad
Sun~Creamy chicken noodle soup (This is fabulous, although I didn't exactly follow the recipe.  I didn't add any milk and I only used 1 can of cr of chicken soup.), bread or rolls


Lots of chicken in upcoming menus.  I just bought 40 lbs of chicken from Zaycon Foods.

Heads up for Aldi next week

Saw these deals on Sarah's Deals for Aldi next week:


Broccoli-89 cents


Cream cheese-89 cents (Excellent price!)


10 lb Russet Potatoes- $1.59

It's what's for dinner tonight...

Just me and Aaron tonight.

With some chunks of pineapple, onion and green pepper thrown in with the chicken. Yum!

Life on earth

“I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.”

Marjorie Pay Hinckley (Marjorie was married to a leader in the LDS church.  She died in 2004.)

I'm not advocating works religion here, but if Christ lives in our hearts, some of our greatest pleasures on earth will come from serving others, and when we serve others, we serve our King.


Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
Matthew 25:40

Some Fall Decor

I bought some mini pumpkins a few weeks ago for 50 cents a piece.  I have a few autumn decor items I usually set out but I haven't had the energy to dig them out of the basement closet.  Maybe Saturday.  Or maybe I'll just wait until next fall.  :-)  Anyway, here's what I did with one of the pumpkins.

I hollowed out one of them and stuck a votive snugly inside the hole.  I love lighting candles!

Meijer Deals

Meijer deals this week~Everything in the above pic cost me 78 cents!  The tea was free (facebook coupon), the Cool Whip was 50 cents for all three (facebook coupons and Meijer mealbox) and the ginger ale was 28 cents (Mperks coupon)

Bone Weary

Yesterday the boys and I decided to go to the library and to Meijer.  We didn't end up leaving until 10:45 so it was 12:30 before we got home.  Aaron has been skipping his morning naps and was so exhausted after he ate his sandwich, he fell asleep in the high chair.  I even washed his face before he woke up!

From October 26, 2011

What's Cookin'

Mon~Sun-dried tomatoes and chicken pasta (freezer), carrots, Bread sticks
Tues~PW's beef stew with dumplings
Wed~Bbcued pork, mashed potatoes, corn
Thurs~Spaghetti, cauliflower
Fri~Pizza, cold veggies
Sat~Grilled hamburgers, cold veggies

Close Cousins

Fun and fruit snacks (and closed eyes!)