We're learning

Last week I took the children for a drive along the Blue Ridge Trail. It was fun, but we were woefully unprepared. This time I had plans! We packed a picnic lunch and less science materials. We also made a point of stopping at the visitor center to pick up free publications, which will help in our future adventures.

It feels like there is so much pressure to make everything EDUCATIONAL, but I'm slowly beginning to learn my children seem to learn more when I let go and let them find their interests. That doesn't mean to say they don't learn their letters and math, but when it comes to science and social studies, letting them go on their own is best. 

Bear found this awesome caterpillar! We gathered a few nuts, which had fallen from a tree at the visitor center and brought them home to figure out what tree they are from. The children climbed all over rocks. Both fell down. They didn't break. When other tourists would say hello, they politely replied. When I asked they draw one thing from today's trip in their journal. They happily did it.

Who's children are these? haha! I really needed this day and if the weather proves good next week, we're headed back up the mountain. I'm beginning to also see the value of field trips and I'm thinking more are definitely in order.

Product Review: Asking for Trouble

I've been a fan of Asking for Trouble for a while now. The designs aesthetic sings to my soul. Simple and cute.  So when Marceline announced she was offering 10 year anniversary blind boxes, I couldn't say no.

I'd been dragging my feet about spending money and missed out on her super cute Fuji-san enamel pins, so I couldn't pass this chance up. (Argh! Hopefully she will remake them.) But I was so happy when I got my box. Look at this cuteness! She drew a unique character on each box making the  number 10. Inside was a Fried Egg enamel pin, a Little Ghost fabric patch, a Planet paper cut, a Bunny & Panda craft paper, 2 Happy Stars, a Happy Cloud badge, an Asking for Trouble pencil, two 10 year anniversary stickers, a 10 year anniversary postcard, and a mini zine.

What a box! So much great stuff and as a mega-woah bonus! I won a golden ticket! Which means I got to pick a free mug from the Marceline Smith Redbubble shop! Of course I had to go with Fuji-san! Here he is brewing up some tea while I get the children's lesson plans in order.

I feel so lucky and yeah, I'm going to be buying more things from Asking for Trouble in the future. 

What's even more lovely is Marceline is a huge supporter of all things cute and has runs her own blog about all things cute, Super Cute Kawaii. You should definitely be following all of her blogs. So much cute!

What do you do?

Ok, so  today I fell into a tricky trap and I don't know what you other mama's do in this situation.

We had to go to the Walmart and while waiting in the check out line, Bun saw a tiny Elsa doll. It was cute and reasonably priced. It would be perfect for a Christmas stocking stuffer.

Except I was caught putting it on the conveyor belt. Then Bear saw his sister was getting something and he wanted something too.

Well fair, is fair, right. So I bought him something too. And then I felt I couldn't not give them their toys right away, since they'd caught me.

Augh! Even though I had no plans to get them more toys and now I'm beating myself up for spoiling them and wasting money I should be saving.

Ahhhh!!
The guilt.

Seriously, what do you do in this situation. Should I have left Elsa and come back to the dreaded Walmart later on the rare chance I will be without children? Should I have lied and said the doll was for someone else? What would you do?

Help? I'm a terrible mother.

Tips When Visiting an Apple Orchard

Did I say I love Autumn, because I do!!!

This Sunday, our family made a drive over the mountain to a local apple orchard. Having observed others and experience from my last trip, I thought I'd write up a quick tip list for when you visit an apple orchard.

Tip 1: Dress for a farm.
I know you want to look your best and maybe take that autumn family photo in the orchard, but you're on a working farm. You will likely have a long walk. There is dirt. There are bees. Please don't wear heels and a short dress.

Tip 2: Bring reusable shopping bags.
The orchard will often give you something to put your fruit in, but I find those reusable shopping bags, which are handed out for free at supermarkets, are perfect for picking apples. They are strong and best of all you can put them over your shoulder to easily carry your produce back to the weighing station. They also hardly weigh a thing, so you're paying for more apples and less bag.

Tip 3: Know your purpose.
Why are you picking apples? Is it the experience? Are you making pies? If you know what you're planning to do with your apples, you will be sure not to over pick. (This is the hardest for me, because I always want to pick all the fruit. It's so fun, but then I always end up with a huge bill in the end.)

Tip 4: Only pick what you want.
Look at the fruit carefully before picking it. Sometimes a bug will have nibbled an apple, so be sure to turn it and look it over before you remove it from the tree. It's never nice to throw bad fruit on the ground. It attracts bees and that can be a dangerous combo for the wrong person.

Tip 5: Show up early.
Maybe this is just for me, but I like to get their early and beat the crowd. We went in the afternoon once and were swarmed with elementary school students. 

Tip 6: Check in.
Make sure you ask where to pick before you head out to the orchard. Not all fruit is ripe at the same time. You can even call ahead to ask what fruit is available so you can be sure to get the fruit you want. I'm a sucker for Fuji apples. I've never had a bad one.

I hope this comes in handy for your own apple picking adventures. Really if you aren't sure, check it out and find those local pick your own farms. It's fun! It's a memory! Enjoy those fleeting days, even if you're tired and flailing with the housework.

What is Balance?

For me, October is my busiest month.  I try to find balance between work and my children and I'll admit I fail sometimes.

This month, I'm working on two huge undertakings for my business and in the end it will pay off, but I will be stressed and up against deadlines and here are my sweet children who just want my attention.

Today, to make up for being so busy and stressed, I took my children for a drive along Skyline Drive on the Blue Ridge Mountains.

While we were behind schedule, without lunch, and my son scared the crap out of me more than once by climbing rocks like a mountain goat, we had fun! I promised them I'd take them again if next Friday was a good weather day.

Leaving was sad, but sweetened by some amazing King's Popcorn. It's an amazing little food truck just off the Afton Mountain exit on Rte 64 and they are totally worth it. I made sure I took a photo of their menu so I could order a meal from them next time, because there were a few people eating and it smelled so good.

Intelligent Girls... like hayrides

This Saturday, a local nursery was holding a custom appreciation day, so off we went to check it out. Bear was so excited because they had a free-use bounce house. To this day, I've never been inside a bounce house. They make my claustrophobia act up, but my son LOVES them. He probably bounced around for a good 10 to 15 minutes before we could convince him to take a break.

After that, we decided to take advantage of their free hayrides. Both children were excited, until the time to get in wagon. Bear jumped right in with his Papa, but Bun stopped. She said she didn't want to get in, so we quickly stepped aside to let other riders on. I told her we could wait while Bear and Papa rode. Then she looked at me and said, "Intelligent girls like hayrides." When I asked if that meant she wanted to ride after all, she nodded.

I'm not sure where this "Intelligent girls" phrasing came from, but she uses it often. Apparently, intelligent girls like to be helpful, coloring, singing, and I'm sure many other things, which currently escape me.

The hayride was quite nice and we got to see a lot of the valley. No actual pictures, since I was holding Bun on my lap. She didn't like sitting on the straw. While riding I realized it was the very first time my children have had a hayride.

So, I'd say my weekend was a win.

(Although I really wish I'd gone to a big Harry Potter event in Staunton, Virginia this weekend. However there were a lot of people there and satellite parking and my children don't know anything about Harry Potter yet. So maybe next year...)

Cat Crafts

All links are affilaate links. I may make a small amount of money if you click any links or make a purchase. 

Ok, so the other day, I fell down an Amazon hole. It's sort of like falling down a Wikipedia hole, except you're following suggested products based on items you're currently looking at.

It all started with this book Crafting with Cat Hair: Cute Handicrafts to Make with Your Cat. I'd seen this book in passing via my older sister and was just curious about the book. Well, let me tell you once I got to this book, my cat book journey had begun.

I noticed this book by Gemma Gorrell, Doodling for Cat People: 50 inspiring doodle prompts and creative exercises for cat lovers. I've been a fan of her pug art so I had to check out this cute doodle book. Now is it just me or are doodle books new? I've never seen these before 2017. Perhaps I'm behind the curve. But I'm totally for them, because so cute

Well, after that, I saw the cover of this cute coloring book, A Million Cats: Fabulous Felines to Color. I mean look at those chubby cat faces!

Finally I ended up here Cat Castles: 20 Cardboard Habitats You Can Build Yourself, and really let's just admire the brilliance of this book. Who has a cat that hates boxes and this book is all about making fancy boxes, because I think all cat owners have gotten to the point they wonder about the tiny cardboard shanty town they've slowly accumulated because the cat loves them.

Now, this is the last on, because I thought I was done, but when I went over to Amazon to get the links, I saw this Pusheen Coloring Book too! Who doesn't love Pusheen?