First Grade Fall Party

It's our first party that Steve couldn't attend (he's been fighting a cold all week, a fever and today just felt horrible. He didn't feel like going and sure didn't want to share germs). At first Kaya was very down in the mouth about Daddy not being there but letting her be my helper made her smile :)
  The other Mom did an excellent job on snacks (Halloween cookies) and the game (Toss the pumpkin) complete with every kid getting a prize. We did the craft (toilet paper pumpkins) which the kids LOVED as did the teacher. We also did the juice. We combined together to make nice treat bags so every kid got a bag.
  The party lasted an hour and was a blast. The kids were well behaved, had fun and the teacher told us we did a great job :)
  One boy told me "Where is Kaya's Daddy?" because he remembered us from last year ;) and Steve does an excellent job with the boys. I told him that I'm sure he'll attend the next one.
  The only complaint I've had with school parties is the lack of parents that get involved. If you can't attend the party that is understandable. We all do different jobs, have different things on our plate and I'm far from judgmental on anyone. But if you can't come to the party at least donate something. It doesn't have to be huge but it's huge to the kiddos. We are far from rich but we not only do the parties, we donate to them as well. One time last year we donated 40 cupcakes, 2 gals of juice, plates, cups and candy!! I try very hard to not get frustrated at other parents but..I wish more would think how fun those parties were when we were kids and try to make it that way for their kids too.
  All in all the party was fun, I really like the other mother that helped and the kids were great. Kaya was all smiles and I really appreciated the kind note from her teacher as well as her asking about Steve.
  Sure doesn't seem like it should be fall party time...but I love sharing every moment with my girl :) 

It's almost ...Halloween!!!

The Hacienda LOVES Halloween. Kaya's lunchbox has been Halloween for the last two weeks complete with pictures taped inside and spooky treats or sandwiches cut into Halloween shapes. We've had monster pancakes, pancakes cut out to look like pumpkins and witch hats. We've had mozzarella ghosts show up on our garlic toast ;) Hot dogs that became bloody fingers, spaghetti "worms", bat brownies....you get the picture. We've carved jack o lanterns, got a costume ready to go, set up a Halloween theme on the front porch complete with a 7 ft tall Frankenstein! We've made chocolate candy in Halloween shapes. We've basically been set for Halloween this month!!! We have always loved the holiday and that love is also present in Kaya. As well as Day of the Dead etc. 

Fall Break is here!!!

   Fall Break went from October 17th to October 25th. I took vacation as well and I can't lie....it was absolutely awesome and went too fast!!! We did something every single day. We had Pappaw up to spend the night, did cocoa, did the fire pit, cut wood, went to parks, went down home, had one day of lounging around the house, camped in the front yard one night (even though it was not for the whole night lol), mulched/mowed/did yard work for over 4 hours and prepped the garden area for winter, visited Steve's baby sister and her four kiddos (lots of laughing and fun that day!), visited with Kaya's great great aunt and Uncle, went to the lake, went to the falls...oh good grief we did tons of things. 
  Let's see we......

We went to the falls, spent the day hiking, climbed the fire tower, played at the playground, had lunch at our fave Mom n Pop diner,went to the overlook and had a great day!

We went to the lake, spent the day at the overlook at the lake, played on the playground there then Kaya got asked to go to the park with a dear family friend who was taking her grandkids...and she treated them all out for pizza. Miss Social didn't get home till after 6 then the kids hung out here playing on the trampoline and having fun!

We drove by a supposed Haunted House, stopped to take pictures and Kaya is "investigating" this whole thing LOL 

We took tons of gorgeous fall pictures!! Kaya did too!!

We hung out at Pappaw's for a day, jumped and ran across hay bales, and played with buddies

We spent the day at the park of Kaya's choice, took a drive and had a great time!                                                          

We had Pappaw up to spend the night, we got the firepit going, made a pot of hot chocolate, a pot of Mexican hot chocolate, made smores and enjoyed a great evening. 

We cut wood and Kaya was amazed at the awesome heart the wood made. Her Daddy and her Pappaw cut her several slabs of "heart shaped" wood :) 

Got my pantry started!

  I had to be off work for a school meeting so I decided to take a vacation day and just enjoy the day. Once the meeting was done I thought...ohhh we'll have a nice day lounging around and chilling out (something we rarely do). Steve of course had another idea and hated to waste the day. So what did we do??
   We pulled the cabinet and counter out of my utility room, moved it to the garage to make it into a workbench/storage, cleaned the floor, painted the wall behind the counter, added floor trimming, and moved the pantry rack Steve had started building in the garage into the utility room. We added the wire shelves (Steve used the ones from Lowe's, braced the back with a flat 4x4, and used the wire shelf upside down to give the front a "lip" to keep cans etc from sliding off. The board in the back slightly raises the shelf in one spot so my cans are slightly at an angle to keep them moving down. The bottom of the rack is built so I can fit a clothes basket under it for dirty clothes, my basket that I keep plastic bags etc in and still have space for a large plastic storage container of pet food. I also have room to store my big glass jars, my canning jars etc.
  The best thing is that Steve put my Great Grandma's corn slicer onto one section for decoration and then we put some cute things that mean lots to us (Mimi's spice rack, a candle from Granny's funeral etc etc).
  To say I love it is an understatement. I LOVE IT!!!!!
  And where I had stored my can goods in the kitchen is now where I put my mixing bowls and skillets/pots. Before they were shoved into the "hole from hell" that Steve so lovingly calls my cabinets that are near the fridge (and hard to get into).

Have extra tomatoes.....make salsa

We had some last minute tomatoes start turning from our garden. Then a buddy at work had bought waaayyy too many from the Amish and they got passed to us. I absolutely detest wasting anything. So my mind went instantly to salsa. In our house Kaya and I love salsa, Steve likes more of a restaurant style sauce...smoother. He loves the local Mexican restaurants salsa sooo I googled some recipes, altered it a bit and found one we all like. It's also excellent to cook with and warms in heat factor (as in spicy) the longer it sets.
  The recipe:
   28 oz can of diced tomatoes (with or without chilies) (or you can use 10-12 fresh tomatoes....just get water boiling, drop tomatoes in till skin starts to crack, put in cold water....then peel and dice the tomatoes)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsps pickled jalapeno rings, diced
10 cilantro leaves
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend till smooth. Chill before serving

  If you use ripe tomatoes (especially very ripe tomatoes) use less than the recipe calls for because the juicer it is, the more juice it will make! And you'll have more juice, less spices etc.
  I also use about 18 to 20 cilantro leaves because it really makes it taste like the restaurants and we LOVE cilantro. (I'll admit...I'm a cilantro addict. Just smelling it on my fingers...heavenly lol).
  I process mine up then put it into a plastic container with a lid (refrain from using a metal bowl...the acid of the tomatoes can damage your bowl and the salsa will take on a twang from the metal).
  I use it in rice, fajitas, you name it. It dips well but remember it is a thinner salsa so it won't be super thick. You can also use it in out of garden season time by buying canned diced tomatoes. 

Have I ever mentioned that I love October? It's one of my favorite months and has my favorite things:
 **warm firepits and hot cocoa
** changing leaves
**crisp air, apples, apple cider
**hay rides and pumpkins
**snuggles under the blankets
**Halloween

   We are all October nuts in this house :)