What we've been crafting in kindergarten

   I cannot even express how thankful I am it's Friday. It was a long and exhausting week. Thanksgiving break temptingly looming in the future has really been playing with my patience but, I made it :o)
  One of the aspects I love about teaching kindergarten is that sometimes I get to squeeze in a craft or two. I figured I'd share our most recent crafts with y'all.

   We've studied the seasons, temperatures, what to wear when it's hot and cold, and clouds so for the last day of our weather unit we learned about and made rainbows.

   To make our rainbows I cut large coffee filters in half. The kids colored them with markers and then "painted" them with water because, it takes water in the air to make rainbows.

   Yesterday we started a short Thanksgiving unti. After learning today about how the Indians helped the Pilgrims survive by showing them how to hunt, find food and, especially, plant corn we made our own Indian Corn out of toilet paper rolls. I wish I could boast coming up with this idea but I actually found it here.

Have an absolutely wonderful weekend friends!

DIY Tin Can Luminaries

The other day when we had our friends over for my belated birthday party, I made some luminaries to add a pretty glow to the table. 

To make some of your own....First soak your cans in some sudsy water to get rid of all the stuck on food and to easily coax of the labels. 

Fill the cans with water and place them in the freezer until the ice is frozen. When the're frozen solid lay the one you want to beautify on a towel to keep it from rolling and soak up the melting ice and use a hammer to hammer a nail into to make a lovely design. 

Let them dry out and then add a candle for a little ambiance. Foe a hanging luminary, just add some wire to the top. 

Fire and s'mores

  Last light I had a belated birthday party. It was really just an excuse to get together with three of our dear friends, eat delicious food, watch a couple episodes of The Office, and roast marshmallows.

   After eating way too much, we huddle around beautiful fire the guys built in the big grill at the apartment clubhouse pool.

   It was such a wonderful time with our friends and yes, the s'more was as fantastic as it looked. The remnants of it were still stuck in my hair this morning.... 

Pumpkin Waffles

   Sometimes I just don't feel like making a big supper, ya know? So when I have those days I usually have a bowl of cereal and make Brandon waffles or pancakes. When I suggested making him pumpkin waffles one night this week, his eyes lit up. I found the recipe here, halved it, and left what I didn't have out.

Pumpkin Waffles

Ingredients
1 1/4cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 stick melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions

Preheat a waffle iron. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl and set aside.

Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, pumpkin purée, sugar, butter, and vanilla in another large bowl until smooth. While whisking, add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.

Generously coat the waffle iron with vegetable oil and cook the batter in the waffle iron as recommended in the manufacturer's instructions. Repeat with remaining batter.

Try them!

Pumpkin Carving

   Today was a long, hard day so it was so nice to spend some time with my husband finally carve our pumpkins!

   I prefer jolly, round pumpkins while Brandon prefers pumpkins with long, picturesque stems.

Brandon's pumpkin lost his eye in a carving accident so Brandon taped it back on...

I do love Halloween :o)

Enchantment Tuesday

 These candy apples look so rustic with real sticks.

A non-tradition and totally beautiful way to decorate a pumpkin.

This wall of plates is just plain fantastic.

Beautiful silver pumpkins and candles.

Pumpkin doughnuts. Need I say more?

Pumpkin Frosting

   Today was such a pretty fall day. My bike's had a flat for a while but my brother fixed it for me yesterday so today, I was back to riding. I went with a fiend of mine and we reveled in the perfect Fall temperature and the leaves that are starting to color!
  We have a staff meeting at work tomorrow so this afternoon and evening I whipped up a cheeseball and some special cookies. I figured it's time to try another fall recipe so for my cookies I made pumpkin frosting. I know, yuuuummmm.

Pumpkin Frosting

Ingredients
1/4 sup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup pumpkin

Directions
Beat all four ingredients together. Add more sugar to make thicker and more milk to make thinner. For the perfect consistency, refrigerate before using.

   I'm a huge frosting fan so, I could have easily devoured this whole bowl (I'm sure I'd feel really great afterwards...). I spread it on spice cake cookies using the same recipe I recently made not so long ago minus the white chocolate chips. Perfect combination.

Pumpkin Coooookies

  Yesterday was a surprising lovely day. The sky was cloudless and blue, school went as smoothly as expected, and I came home to spending some time on our porch with Brandon, baking, grocery shopping, and then we enjoyed our supper by candlelight back on our porch.
  Remember how I bought all that pumpkin the other day and then I promised that I'd be trying out a new pumpkin recipe each week this month? Well, yesterday afternoon I baked up my first pumpkin treat. (I found this fabulous recipe here)

I had to deny myself the taste of cookie dough. If I'd given in I surely would have devoured the entire bowl.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats-uncooked
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and set aside. Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix. Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin. Stir in chocolate chips and drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes until firm and lightly browned.

Pumpkin cookies = Autumn

Pumpkin!

   Oh, Friends..can you believe the weekend is nearly over already? Ugh. It's been a nice and productive one though. Yesterday I spent the day selling at the CoHill festival (pics here) and though it was miserably cold and windy, it went well.
   Today I cleaned, started Fall decorating and we did some grocery shopping. I was overjoyed when I realized that the grocery store had a wonderful supply of canned pumpkin. It was absolutely necessary for me to buy eight cans.

   I've got great plans for this pumpkin. One of them being to make one pumpkin-centered recipe each week this month. It is now October (my birthday month!) so it's time to embrace the coming Fall. We'll see how long these eight cans last...

Enchantment Tuesday: Fall Edition

   Tomorrow's a very special day...the first day of Fall! My classroom is decorated and I'm getting excited about hot tea, scarves, beautiful leaves, my birthday, and Halloween. Today I'm sharing all things delightfully fall.

Such a pretty and simple picture. 

I bought these beauties last year and I can't wait to put 'em on again.

Scarves are a Fall necessity.

Pumpkins and gourds.

All pumpkin recipes.

One of the very best things about this season.