pumpkin time has arrived

Tis the season for the baking to begin! We have already started trying out some new recipes for all of the upcoming holiday events. It is amazing what you can do with a basic can of pumpkin. I enjoy baking and my mini-me enjoys trying everything I bake. Let the baking showdown start.

We attempted a pumpkin roll, but I overfilled it. It ended up goozing cream cheese frosting everywhere. Despite this, it was gone in 3 days. Next time, less cream cheese. Lucky for me, no one I live with cares how nice the pumpkin roll looks!

Next up was pumpkin bars. These were perfectly perfect in every way. My favorite part is garnishing powdered sugar on the top like a gentle snowfall. It tastes good AND looks good. These are quick and easy for everyone and can hold walnuts or coconut if you like the extra.

Dog treats with pure pumpkin are an easy way to share treats with dogs. That is an easy crafternoon for a kid. If you buy a dog bone cookie cutter, then the dog treats are the cutest gifts ever. We got our cookie cutter at a Hallmark store. Just keep them stored like a normal baked good and you are good to go.

Add pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin bread to the list. Then you have a complete list of pumpkin baked goods for a fun holiday season. It is our favorite time of year- Baking time!

trying to embrace the traditions

There are certain things that we are outgrowing in this household. We have a very well stocked craft room, for example, that no longer sees as much love. Gone are the days of junk journals, scrapbooks, coloring, sewing, and all things girly. It's okay, for now. Aging brings progressing and my little teenager has progressed into a lovely child who crafts less and wants to hang out more.

Gone also are a lot of the cutesy holiday traditions. We have not colored Easter eggs, painted them, or decorated them in at least 2 years. We still have egg hunts, but it's the decorative plastic eggs or the ones filled with fun directly from her Easter basket. That's okay, too. That one always confused me. How did we get from the true meaning of Easter to a bunny to egg hiding? 

No longer do elves hide on shelves for us, either. We do get him out from time to time and hide him from each other. She now enjoys hiding our elf before smaller children come over, so they can laugh at whatever shenanigans our elf is up to. Passing on the joy is part of the fun. We enjoy that part now. 

On to Halloween. Our little town hosts a Main Street trick-or-treat complete with a party and we outgrew that about 2 years ago. Now she trick-or-treats with friends and I pick her up with just enough time to spare to watch her trick-or-treat at 2 amazingly decorated houses on our street before it ends. This one hit me in all the feels. For 3 years now she has gone to a friend's and years 1 and 2, mom and dad trailed behind at a safe distance. Last year they walked the neighborhood alone. 

Halloween has never been my favorite. I appreciate the costumes and decor, but ehhh. Not my thing. I enjoy creating my daughter's costumes and for a while, she would let me go as her matching pair. That was the best. We were Ariel and Irsula. We were Gamora and Groot. We were Alice and the white Rabbit. We were Wonder Woman and Super Woman.

Now that is gone, too. So no matching costumes, trick-or-treats, and no party. Even the pumpkins got the shaft! Last year's pumpkin sat on the porch until it rotted because it was supposed to get painted and never was. Same with the year before. It has been almost 3 years since she willingly carved a pumpkin.

Insert: younger cousins! They wanted pumpkins, they went and got them. She actually enjoyed carving this pumpkin until it came to the goo part in the middle. She says EW to the goo. But she created a design and carved it all by herself. So not all is lost in the land of wonderment and childhood. I have hope yet 😀

we paused to rest and it was great!

I came home last night just tired. Not exhausted, not emotional, just tired. There has been a lot thrown on my plate this last month and it caught up to me. I had no intention of doing anything or going anywhere. Wine and Hulu were on my mind when I walked through the door.

I went upstairs to check on my child and at close to 5pm, she was in bed with her head down. That is very unusual. I asked what was going on. She said she was sore from practice (legs and tailbone take a beating on a trampoline) and she just felt tired. I asked what she wanted to do and she looked shocked. "Wait, I get to decide if I go to practice?" I told her only she can read her body, so she decided to take a night at home and recoup.

We all stayed home and ate leftovers. No practice. No errands. No chores (except for that one load of laundry I couldn't ignore). Hulu, Netflix, and snacks were aplenty. And you know what? It was okay! 

Nothing bad happened. We didn't miss a thing. No one got scorned, shunned or judged. We just took a rest. And that is okay! Teaching kids to know the difference between skipping a practice and taking a rest when it's feeling like too much is monumental. Adults earned the right to rest, but at the rate our children are going, don't discount their downtime, too. 

Taking time to disconnect was a good idea

This summer was all about unplugging. We disconnected in a major way and our family is probably better off for it. It wasn't intentional to start, but it ended up that way. No one was hurt. Nothing went wrong, but DANG, people get super annoyed when you don't respond right away to certain things! 

Our new campground is a black hole. Finding a signal is like finding cheap gas. It's there, but you have to work for it! We originally opted for the internet package so we would have the comfort of home and people could work remotely. Then we realized NO. Camping is about relaxing, connecting, hiking, biking, swimming, enjoying. It's not about textathons and gaming and reels. 

What did that mean for us? It meant having signal in 3 or 4 places on our campsite. It meant me riding my bike to the store if I truly needed to make a call. Or wandering the campsite with my arms outstretched to find the money spot where the signal worked. And we were Okay with that! 

The kids watched DVDs at night to unwind. We listened to a local classic rock station all summer that kept us entertained. We had real conversations and made real eye contact. Our kids took up fishing and had photo shoots to fill their time, instead of catching up with texts from home. No one ignored the conversation with the glow of the cell phone in their hands. The kids were able to use old school walkie talkies for communication. 

We did play on our phones. I can't lie. Early in the morning I would drag my camp chair and coffee to just the right spot and play on my phone while everyone woke up. We streamed movies or shows on occasion. The kids would take their phones when they left for photos, but also to grab a signal. I would catch up on calls, texts, posts when we got home and unpacked. It was a lovely way to unwind after we got home.

In hindsight, I wouldn't change a thing. We could've paid for the internet package, but I am glad we didn't. No one felt ignored by shows, calls or scrolling. We connected and bonded in a way that isn't possible when we are tied down to our devices. It was wonderful. We needed rest. The rest wasn't from our life being hectic and overwhelming. The rest was feeling tied to devices and hitting nonstop speeds trying to live and do all the things.

Give yourself permission to rest, whatever that looks like, before it's too late!

Going to Anderson Gardens

One of Rockford's nicest places to go is Anderson Gardens. We love Khlem Arboretum and Nicholas Conservatory, so we don't go to Anderson Gardens often. BUT we should. I had the pleasure of doing their Tuesday night live music in the gardens last week. It was FANTASTIC! 

I cannot stress how wonderful that evening was. One of the owners of the Gardens was coming around offering up bags of fish food. We were able to feed the fish, the ducks, and even turtles that habitate the Gardens. No matter how old I get, I will always enjoy slowing down and just enjoying nature. We were laughing just watching the ducks and the fish fighting for the food. 

In regards to everything else, it was all great. The live music was entertaining. It was great to see kids running around and enjoying music and playing, just being carefree. There were many food choices. Even the drink choices were extensive. 

For anyone who enjoys the peace of the outdoors, I would recommend this spot. I have no idea what plants I am looking at, but I don't care. The impeccable Gardens, koi ponds, waterfalls, and pathways are great to look at and enjoy. You don't have to be able to identify anything to enjoy your time. If you want music and entertainment, go on a Tuesday!