Our pumpkins this year

I saw polka dot pumpkins a couple years ago, but didn't get a round apple corer till this past year, so this was the first time I got to make them. I like how they turned out, but using pumpkins that are similar in size would definitely work better.

LMS wanted another kitty cat pumpkin, so I cut out more sticky back felt. We had a bigger pumpkin this year, so I had to make the felt pieces a bit bigger.

I love pumpkins in the fall- on the porch and in the kitchen. I've been trying out recipes for gluten free vegan pumpkin muffins and cookies. They've all tasted pretty good, and they smell heavenly! I looove the smell of baking pumpkin goodies (pumpkin with all the spices), so yummy!

Our Halloween Costumes

Little Miss Sunshine wanted to be Cinderella this year, so I decided to sew a dress that could be used for dress-up later, just like I did last year. I started out using the pattern I used last year for her Aurora dress, but the sizing was weird and I didn't like how it looked, so I ended up altering the bodice and side floufs. It was a lot of work, but the results were worth it, in my OCD opinion. I used the tutorials here for the accessories, which was a clever idea that I totally wouldn't have thought of myself. And of course, I changed them up a bit and made them my own. I'm really happy with how her costume turned out, and LMS loves it.

The angle of her head in this pic shows off  her hair nicely. I like this pic, even though the light isn't great.

I wanted to dress up for our ward trunk or treat, but like every year, I couldn't think of anything. As I sewed LMS's Cinderella dress, I realized there was a perfect costume idea in the movie. I sewed up some sheets, and I became Cinderella's Fairy Godmother.

Very blurry pic taken by a neighbor. We were leaving for the ward activity, and it was getting dark, so the lighting wasn't the best and I didn't have the flash on. And LMS wasn't smiling. Oh well.

Better pic, at the ward activity. 



I'll try for some more pictures tomorrow. Since Halloween is on Sunday this year we'll be hitting the mall for some trick or treating tomorrow afternoon. I just have to decide if I want to dress up also. Hmmmm.

Impromptu Apple Orchard Photo Shoot

When we were at the apple orchard last week, we spent a few minutes and taking photos of LMS. Since we were at an orchard, I had her hold an apple, which helped helped her be less self-conscious. I still need to work on lighting (and learn how to use the manual settings), but I do feel like I'm making a little progress on the quality of my photos. These were my two favorites- I love her smiles!

Sunday Funny

Awhile ago we drove past a construction site, and LMS pointed at it and said

"Look at the giant fishing pole, mama!"

I tried to convince her that it was a crane, but she insisted it was a fishing pole.

Now everytime we pass a crane she calls it a fishing pole.

Last week it rained,

and I finally found some rain boots for LMS. Everytime I've looked in the past I haven't found cute ones in her size. I'm not a big fan of characters on clothing, but at least it's just the Hello Kitty head- there's not writing plastered all over the boots (just on the back). LMS likes that they're pink. She's easy to please :)

My new favorite photo of her:

We both have pink polka-dot boots:

What do you do when you sit in a car for 7 days?

First, make sure it's not 7 days in a row (which it wasn't, thank goodness).

Second, have things to keep the kiddo busy. We brought the dvd player, but she only watched a couple movies. She preferred to play with her little princess dolls. You know the ones? (I'm not actually a fan of little plastic toys with lots of pieces, but she plays with them all the time, so they're keeping her engaged. The only pieces she's lost are Belle's little tiny shoes- everybody else's are painted on.)

We bought a couple new ones for the trip, so I think now she's got Aurora, Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, and Ariel. (she keeps looking for more at the store, but we haven't seen any other princesses). In any case, she's got a great imagination and will play with them for hours on end.

Third, have something to keep the driver occupied so she doesn't zone out and fall asleep.

I can't listen to music while driving long distances because it puts me to sleep. I listen to books on tape instead. I listened to:

The Warrior Heir
The Wizard Heir
The Dragon Heir
(all by Cinda Williams Chima, I highly recommend her books)

The Magician's Nephew
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
and most of The Silver Chair
(I still need to listen to The Last Battle to finish off the Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis, of course)

I've read and listened to the three books by Cinda Chima several times, but not often enough to zone out too badly while listening to them.

I've never actually read the Chronicles of Narnia- I just never got around to it. The Magician's Nephew was a bit slow-going, but once I got through that one the rest kept me more interested.

How do you stay awake on roadtrips?

Random thought

I thought the wind was bad where my parents live, but it's way worse in Kansas.

All those empty fields, I guess.

It was strong enough to carry off small dogs or children if you weren't hanging on to them.

I hate the wind. Guess we're never moving to Kansas.

Another goal to change

I only went for one run while we were gone- I was just too busy to do more.

I about died!

Holy cow, what a difference the elevation makes. Ok, that and all the sitting I'd been doing. But still...

Next fall I wanted to run the marathon that I ran two years ago, but after that short run (1.5 miles) I don't think I'll be able to do it till we move back to the mountains. I'll have to find something more local. Hopefully it'll be a fast, flat and/or downhill like that one is.

Sunday Funny

While we were visiting family, we were at Mr. M's parents' house and Little Miss Sunshine started talking about their house and my parents' house. She said the word "house" several times in a short period of time, and I realised that she was saying it with a Canadian accident!

At her cousin's birthday party (Minnie Mouse themed), I noticed she said "mouse" with the same accent. It's not super-noticeable, but it's there.

I haven't noticed a lot of words that have a Canadian accent (I'm sore-ee, Anne!  -name that movie-), but there are a couple.

I'm guessing she picked it up from watching "Caillou", which is Canadian, though I hadn't noticed that they said "house" that often.

Fall is coming

As we drove, I saw the first signs of fall

a few of the trees are starting to change colors

It's interesting how scenery changes as you drive across the country. It goes from flat and blah to hilly and green, from no trees to lots of trees.

These were taken out the window as I drove, so they're not the best.

We start out flat and treeless:

drive past the grain silos:

and the hayfields:

oh, a few trees!

back to flat:

pretty church off in the distance:

some rolling hills covered in trees:

more trees:

higher hills:

hills covered in trees:

is that a mountain? I think they call that a mountain out here:

more (small) mountains covered in trees:

more fields, but surrounded by hills and lots of trees:

tree covered valley, stretching into the distance:

I chopped off my hair!

So, remember that one of my goals was to donate my hair to locks of love? 

We measured it and thought it was long enough, so I made an appointment to get my hair cut.

Unfortunately, when I got there, the stylist said she'd have to cut it really short (buzz cut short) in the back in order to get the minimum length. I didn't want it buzzed in the back, but I'd already made up my mind that I was cutting my hair, so we cut it anyway.

And really, I couldn't handle the headaches and lack of a real hairstyle any longer.

Cutting off all that weight has allowed the curl in back to be way more visible. I've fought it in the past, but I've finally embraced it. I let it flip out wherever it wants now. I rather like it.

Not the best pic (taken at my parents' house), I look like I'm in pain, but I'll try to get a better one soon. My hair flips out over my ears, but again, I'm embracing it, though it's actually a little less flippy since we got back. Guess the humidity is good for something. I do like the hair cut though. I think it makes me look, dare I say, older. Not a bad thing, since I've always looked young (ok, way young) for my age.

A better expression anyway (taken at our house):

Fall Soccer Season

We actually missed the first couple weeks of soccer, but since it's a low-key league, it wasn't a problem.

We got home Friday evening and Saturday morning we went to soccer practice.

LMS actually came in to my room at 8 am, all dressed in her uniform, down to her shin guards and her cleats. She wasn't terribly happy when I told her she had to wait another two hours till practice started.

Too cute not to include (she's in the center of the pics, with the braids):

Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

Note: I wrote this before we left, and thought I'd posted it, but apparently not.

Last week I was wondering through Whole Foods (after hitting Kroger first) and I was getting more and more depressed by the number of things I can't eat it right now. In general this wouldn't actually be that big a problem for me, but since we have a roadtrip coming up I've been trying to find snacks and food that won't make me sick.

Normally I try not to eat too much junk food, but I do believe that roadtrips are made for junk food: m&m's, pringles, and licorice used to be our standard snacks, and we'd hit up whatever fast food place we came to when we were hungry.

Since those days are done, I've had to really plan out our trip (it's times like this that I really wish we had a small RV so I could just prepare normal food with the help of a refrigerator, stove, and microwave)- where we'll stop, what we'll bring, and so on. The candy we're bringing consists of fruit snacks. I can't find anything else that isn't manufactured in a facility that also processes wheat, milk, and/or eggs.

It was in this state-of-mind that I was perusing the peanut butter shelves, looking for little foil packets of nut butters. They're great for hiking and I thought they'd do well on the roadtrip also. While looking around, I saw this:

The label states that it's gluten free and dairy free, and there was no eggs or corn in the ingredients, so I read the label further, and it said that it contains a lot less sugar than other chocolate hazelnut butters, so it doesn't taste like frosting. Hmmm, I like Nutella, but it is on the sweet side, like frosting. Less sugar is definitely a good thing.

It is pricey ($9.99 for 16 oz), but it's not like I'm buying any other junk food now. The texture reminds me of the chocolate peanut butter, and the taste is similar too- not overly sweet, tiny chunks of nuts, but hazelnut instead of peanut butter. It's a healthier version of Nutella! Which I can't eat because it has dairy in it.

Definitely a thumbs-up!
Have you tried Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter?