Autumn is most certainly here! It is official – Ken has turned the heat back on, Trinity is wearing socks and the boys long pants. For around the house I dug out a fleece type long skirt to snuggle down in. (talk about old – I picked it up back in college for a steal!) Along with all this cold came leaves on the ground which excited the boys to no end and sped up our introduction to our fall lapbook with LEAF RUBBINGS!

The collection of the leaves was combined with a special treat – a nature walk with Daddy! Even Trinity got to go along… though she went for more of a nature carry! We are still getting used to coats and socks and shoes (the twins have LACE UP ones… pain in bum!)… good bye the ease of going out in the summer… hello the long Albertan winter!

Our morning, of course, started with a letter – V… this was Ken’s first try of what is basically a mini lapbook on his own – I think he took TWICE as long as I do! ACK! So our morning did not exactly go by my plan. They did have fun though and that is what counts!

I spent a portion of my day sorting through Emanuel’s clothes to make a pile of give aways. A homeschooling friend has a little boys who hopefully can use them! It amazes me how Emanuel ends up with SO MANY shirts and yet so few pants. So now his drawers close easily and his closet is much better organized. Double bonus!

Trinity has a new favourite song… seriously our kids are WEIRD! She went from educational to this:

Ok so I like it too and Emanuel is now trying to learn the words! But after a while her continuous wish to hear this tune is a little frustrating, yesterday I caught her attempting to move the mouse around to get it started again!! She dances along and waves her hands in the air which is totally cute so I guess I can live with it.

Supper was a bit of an experiment today… even without our 50 lbs of free potatoes we ended up with 20 lbs this weekend thanks to my mom and her lovely hubby… so I mashed up a bunch and set to work making a shepherds pie (with beef instead of the traditional lamb)… it was a hit! Though I think I will try it again with thyme instead of the tarragon we had to substitute.

American Shepherd’s Pie

1lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 can condensed vegetable soup

1/2 tsp dried thyme (we used tarragon)

3 cups mashed potatoes

1 cup shredded cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease 2 quart baking dish.

2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, stir and cook ground beef, onion and celery until juices run clear. Drain. Pour mixture into baking dish with vegetable soup and thyme; stir well. Spread mashed potatoes on top.

3. Bake 20 min. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and bake 5 min. more or until cheese has melted.

Trinity had a paired down version of just potatoes and beef but decided it was time to strike out on her own and GRAB THE SPOON! Towards the end of the meal she was soloing it… maybe not quite like a pro but with a great success rate!

Actually this week we had another big kid moment – Emanuel had decided to take it to the next level and sit on the toilet little boy seat free! Another high success rate as I have yet to sit down and get a wet surprise on the seat! With all these boys in the house that is a great big bonus – that and the seat being down when I go in at night… I have been VERY pushy about that one since the twins learned how to stand and pee.

Sewing wise I have been less than diligent but my completion of Tux has left me with nothing but the stocking to focus on for the moment… probably a good thing, I am finally seeing the end of  the bulk of it and dealing with the blending filament. I am hoping and praying that my last skein of Kreinik 032 (pearl) holds out… thank goodness for Thread Heaven and its magical thread conditioning properties. The amount of fray and actual broken strands is so low I ALMOST enjoy the stitching I am doing with it… almost. The shiny is terrific and I am loving the almost finished look but I find this the most frustrating part of a stocking – it is soooo close but NOT done!!!

We made a run out to the stores this afternoon… only two and with cash in hand of course. Ken ran into Staples and finally managed to get us some glue sticks – UHU as was suggested by some fellow homeschooling moms… so here’s hoping they stick better than the ross ones did. We actually got them for right around 5.00 for the pack of 3 which was a pretty good price (especially compared to the individual ones we saw at Michaels of the same brand!). So we shall see! Tomorrow we do a letter AND glue on leaves. Which reminds me we DESPERATELY need more white glue as well… but I figure I can dollar store that purchase easily.

The second stop off was Michaels, 40% off coupon in hand (if you go to flyerland.ca you can get the Michaels flyer and coupons now). We went into the wood section and got each of the boys a 1.50 craft. This time it was little wooden 4 piece puzzles  that each came with 3 mini markers. Emanuel chose the bee and the twins each a monkey. With 40% off one of the 3 puzzles we saved 60 cents. I wish I  could have gotten more – there were little bead kits for the same price but a budget is a budget… maybe if I sell a few more items on Kijiji or have someone commission me a Tux!

Speaking of which I did sell something today – the 6-12mth snowsuit I bought Trinity at the tail-end of the season last year that she never wore. Another 10.00 towards one of the kids’ large presents! We have a 15.00 limit on those and I already purchased Emanuel’s before life blew up in our face again. I have enough on my paypal to get one too so I may hunt down Trinity’s there and I have a Trios coupon for 5.00 off if you spend at least 10.00 so maybe go that route? Keeping Christmas tight and responsible is HARD!!!

I have some more plans to put in action (I can just feel people – like Ken – shuddering)… first off, tonight I am going to work with Ken to revamp the pattern and commission portion of my blog site – I will make that its own page and move my finished works (the ones done from other patterns) to a new section. I figure I should set them apart a little more and still leave myself the space to add my own works freely. Hopefully I will get some feedback about the new look. I do love to find out what people think.

Hmm what other plans – well Thursday we are tentatively heading out to the Fort… It may be cool but that is what coats and hats are for! I am determined not to let that free pass go to waste! I am also slowly working through my craft stuff to tidy it up and see what supplies I have to add to the pot for making Christmas ornaments. I am also going to focus some energy on getting together kits for the kids on our Christmas list. Tonight I am working on the caterpillar names for each of the kids. Ken has to make up the instructions yet but the boys love theirs on their doors. All in a little ziploc bag!

I guess keeping busy is cathartic for me… so tomorrow morning I bet I will end up baking! After all we are almost out of bread (both kinds) and completely out of cookies for Trinity. In making THOSE cookies I will have egg yolks to make another double batch of SUGAR cookies… which means I can make those and then freeze them for our Halloween party! Ohh I also need to make invitations to that… as I make myself MORE work! Wish me luck!