Happy Fall Ya'll

Today is the first day of Fall!  You know, the cooler weather, sweaters, cute boots, etc, season?  But not really in Florida.  This is what we see.....

Green palm trees in the yard.
Taft and walked around the neighboorhood when we got home this afternoon to try to find some little signs of Fall.  We really had to look.  But this is what I found under the palm tree...

A red leaf.

And then a yellow in the grass.

And off course the magnolia tree is changing, even though it stays green all year.

We saw these pumpkins.  At Wal*Mart.

And our house smells like Fall.  Thanks to Glade.

Our changes here are very subtle.  And slow.  And well, if you wear those boots and a sweater, you will have a heat stroke.  But by this time next year, we will be in Alabama.  Back to living at the bottom of Cheaha Mountain and things will be much more Fall like.  Can tell I am looking forward to it?

Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday, we went to the Pumpkin Patch with our friends Aunt Casey and Stran.  We were hoping to get some really good pictures of the boys.  But Taft is at the age where it is a total fight to get him to smile and "real" smile and give you time to click the photo.  And he was a pretty good distraction for Stran.  But we did manage to get a few, like this one, that I love.  And the boys enjoyed each other the most of all.
Here are a few others:

Fall Intentions

And no, it doesn't look like that here.  It is still green grass, palm trees, and sand.  But a girl can wish.  I even had to alter a free stock photo to have changing leaves.

Sunday was the first day of Fall.  We still have very warm weather and people are still going to the beach and swimming, wearing shorts and tank tops, and of course, flip flops. Not very Fall-like. 

But I do have some things that I want to get done this season.  A few will be easy, others will have to be made into habit, and some take ongoing commitment. 

1) Take a walk daily. This is something that I really enjoyed in the Spring. I would love to say, "Take a run daily", but let's face it, I only run if being chased. And yes, I know that I need to work on that. Summer here is very hot and I prefer climate control in the comfort of my house so I will give it good Fall try.

2) Plan our October. October seems to the gateway month to craziness for us. We have a lot coming up with Pumpkin Farms, Festivals, Trunk or Treat, and so forth.  It is also fall semester at church and all of us have different classed to take.  It is just nice to get them on the calendar and have an attack plan.

3) Catch up on and post some Project Life. I promise that I have been working on this project. Really, I have. But I have stayed behind and I am determined to get caught up. If I am not caught up by January 1, I will start a new year and still have to play catch up. I don't want it get out of control. I have found that my main problem is that I over think too much. I want it to be perfect, not just finished. But the main goal of Project Life is to get things done in a simple way and document the things that matter. I am working on a better plan to accomplish this in the coming year.

4) Plan and complete Week In The Life with Ali Edwards. I have loved stalking her over the years when she does this project and I truly see the appeal. Years from now we will forget what our daily routine was at different stages of our life and I think that it will be great to look back at one day when I am sitting in the nursing home. I also realize that I would love to be able to look back at something like this from my childhood and I hope that Taft would like too also. Be sure to check out Ali's post here. And yes - I know that Ali's week has passed but I am sure that it will be ok if I pick another.

5) Plan my December Daily. I had already decided on a plan for making this easier this year. It can be simple and still serve the purpose. I had planned on doing a small Sn@p! brand album with simple 4x6 and 3x4 photos. It seems that the official sponsor, Studio Calico, had the same idea. I love Studio Calico and I do subscribe to the Project Life Monthly Kit. But I am sure that my Christmas album doesn't need to cost $99 just for the base. Photos still have to be taken and printed and I am not willing to put that kind of money into it.

6) Participate in 31 Days hosted by The Nester.  I have my topic and I am working on posts and a schedule.
Do you have any specific intentions or plans for fall as a season?

Inspired by this post written by Elise Blaha Cripe.

Family Turkey Project

As Thanksgiving approaches, everything at Taft's school is changing.  Lots of fall of turkey themed decorations are going up.  And it is time for for the Family Turkey Project again.
Taft didn't have this lovely project last year but we did do it the year before.  You can read about that here.  The idea is for the children and parents to decorate and disguise the turkey so he makes it through Thanksgiving without being eaten.  A little morbid maybe, but cute all the same. 
The last time we used mostly paper and crayons, but Taft is older this go around so we broke the paint.

 Taft was was able to do the painting with very little help from me.  After getting the little bird painted, we had to let him dry for a few hours.  We went to Michael's to get some supplies and try to figure out what to do with it this year.  We had decided to use blue feathers and make him Blue from Rio.  After we got home, the idea started to fall about.  Taft decided that the turkey is a girl and he wanted her to be a princess.  I was not prepared for princess attire.  We decided to use the blue feather and put in a few orange and white.  He had a lot of fun gluing them on.
He said that it was not the princess that he wanted so I told him I would make her a diamond necklace and that made him happy.  After gluing on the eyes and a little mouth, "she" was ready to go to school.  I added a back to the project this year to help hold the feathers on and to make a little not about what Taft said she is.  She is a Florida Football Princess.  Or course she could also pass for an auburn fan. 

Fall Books

Taft has really enjoyed learning about fall at school.  They have made so many projects with leaves and apples.  So - Taft and I picked up a few Fall books at the library.  These are a few of our favorites.

Our Apple Tree by Gorel Kristina Naslund

Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell

Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood

Pumpkin Town by Katie McKy

It's Pumpkin Time! by Zoe Hall

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall

Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro

Last Year On This Date | Day 5 of Fall Back Into Blogging

***Today is Day 5 of the SITS Girls Fall Back Into Blogging.  Our prompt for today was to re-post something that we posted last year on today's date.  I didn't post last year on the 28th so I went for the 27th.***

Do you get those little Scholastic Book Club order forms from your child's school?  We do.  They are always at the front of the school.  I have looked at them before but never ordered.  I am not even sure why I haven't ordered.  The prices are great.  Each grade level has a $1 book selection and there are about 4 different levels that we can order from.  Starting in October, we can order online and the school gets more points and free books.  Plus - parents and grandparents can order books for the children even if they don't live close by.

Taft's class has themes each week and for two weeks in September they are studying apples, autumn, and trees.  The Biggest Apple Ever was one of the $1 books so we got two.  One for Taft and one for his class.  We did the same with the Five Little Pumpkins.  I told him that we were getting some for his class and for him.  He seemed excited.

When I got to the school yesterday, the book orders where in their cubbies.  I picked up the books and he only had three.  Ms. Erin told me that he was so excited and wanted to give her the books.  He said, "Ms. Erin, these books for you."  She said that the class told him thank you and she had already read them both to the kids.  And Taft and I read Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch in bed last night.

I plan on doing the same this month with the book order.  I think that it teaches Taft how nice it is to share so that his friends can enjoy books that he likes also.  It also helps to built the library for his class for years to come.  He is making his mark on the world.

Favorite Falls Recipes & Crafts | Day 4 of Falling Back Into Blogging

Our favorite fall recipe has got to be Sante Fe Soup.  It is just about the easiest thing ever to make.  I mean, it does great in the crock pot and feeds a lot of people.  It would be great for tailgating too.

And Cranberry and Apple Pork Chops have to be a close second.  They are just wonderful!

As far as favorite crafts for fall - I love apple stamping for kids.  You can make all kinds of things with apple stamping.  I am hoping that Taft and I will do those in the coming weeks and make an apple pie together.  You can't get much more fall than that.
I also have a few things on my list to get finished this season.  All of which are on Pinterest of course.  Here a few of my favorites:
I have used the same fall wreaths for a few years now.  Very simple ones with leaves.  I really like the look of this one and I am thinking about making two for the front door.

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I also need to come up with a great way to display photos of Taft's past Halloween costumes.  I really love this frame and I think that it would be perfect for at least one of the photos.

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And these coffee filter pumpkins are wonderful!  I would love to make a few different colors.

Source

What are you cooking and making this fall?

What We Look Forward To Each Fall | Day 3 of Falling Back Into Blogging

Today is Day 3 of the SITS Girls Fall Back Into Blogging Week.  Our writing prompt for today is to write about what we look forward to in the fall season.  So I thought I would just do a little list of my top 5 things that I look forward to:
1.  I am looking forward to Trunk Or Treat at Taft's Preschool.  Last year was the first time that we did it and it was so much fun.  I am still working on what or car will "dress" up as but here is a photo from last year when were a monster.  It was very simple and the little kids seemed to love it.  You can read a little more about that here.

2.  I also love to pick out a costume for Taft.  He has had some cute ones in the past years.  My favorite was his first Halloween when he was a golfer.  One day he will hate me for it, but we didn't see another kid in the same costume all season.  Here is my post from last year with a few years worth of costumes.

3.  I love to carve pumpkins.  Taft is still pretty small but I think that this year he is finally old enough to enjoy helping.

4.  The Great Pumpkin is another big tradition for us.  You can read more about that here and here.  It seems to be working well for us but I know that it is only a matter of years before he will no longer believe.

5.  I love going to fall festivals, craft shows, and pumpkin patches.  We don't really have pumpkin farms here for you can pick a pumpkin, but some places try pretty hard to give you a fall experience in Florida. I believe that we will be going back to this farm in October. It is the Stanley Pond Adventure Farm.

What do you look forward to in the fall season?

What Fall Looks Like Here | Day 2 of Fall Back Into Blogging

Fall here does look like fall.  We live on the east coast of Florida and seasons don't necessarily look like they change. We don't have the lovely changing leaves with all the red, orange, and yellow.  Instead, we have flowers blooming, pools that are still in use, and temps in the high 80's and low to mid 90's.
Fall here is based entirely on the calendar and the decorations that people put out. Otherwise we would never know the difference.  The temperature doesn't start to change that much until on into October.  We do have fall festivals and activities but I have to say that it feels a little weird going to them in shorts and flip flops. 
So here are a few photos of the flowers outside my window at work.  Lots of buds ready to open and even butterflies and friendly little lizards.

Today is Day 2 of the SITS Girls Fall Back Into Blogging Week.  What does fall look like where you are?

Fall/Autumn Card Challenge @ Operation Write Home

I made these cards for Operation Write Home.  I am not a cardmaker at all, so these are very simple.  I do scrapbook so I am lucky to have A LOT of supplies on hand. 

This week's challenge is to make Fall/Autumn themed cards.  Here are three that I have made tonight.  I scanned them and the color is not great.  I need to find a better way to photo them.  ;0

I am linking up to their Stars & Stamps Blog.