Boom! Fall!

September first, baby!

Autumn, I am SO ready for you! Bring on the apples! The falling leaves! The pumpkin spice everyfreakingthing! I am READY for fires in our fireplace, and pumpkins, and having our house be super chilly in the morning because it got down to 50 overnight and I left the windows open so wear your flannel footie pajamas, kids who can't stay under blankets!

BOOM! FALL!

I feel like there should be some fall memes here.

That's better, isn't it?

What was I saying? Oh yeah:

Summer 2016, don't let the door hit cha where the good Lord split cha, and in the words of Tom Petty, "Don't come around here no more."

Why the animosity? Well, let me break it down for you with a summary of my least favorite summer in remembered history. It started out with Travis having sciatica problems in May. He missed the last weeks of school, slept a lot from the muscle relaxers, and ate dinner on the floor. Then he went out of town for work. He was gone for most of June doing work for family while I was solo parenting. Then, while he started a (paying!) job building a garage, still out of town, Tee began teething. Four teeth came in at once and there was a lot of crying and not a lot of sleeping at night - for Tee or me. There was more solo parenting and in the end the exhaustion and stress caught up with me and I started to spiral. Thankfully my mom and Travis were able to step in and help before things were too late.

Then, for my 35th birthday my body decided to send a sudden burst of wiry grey hairs. : /

Travis was still working, and still an hour away from home, when one by one everyone but he and baby Tee came down with Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease. I was the hardest hit and tried to navigate back-to school everything (registration, bus info, supply purchases, doctor visits, unpack-your-bag, etc) while Lysoling the crap out of my house, keeping everyone quarantined, and trying to nap. It all came to an end with party planning, meeting with people about JF's food allergies and dual enrollment, finding out that Ben needs glasses, and L breaking her elbow.

There were a few highlights: like some really wonderful quality time with my in-laws, a fun day at the zoo, and lots of fishing while Travis was still recovering from the sciatic problems. And one day I took a three hour nap - that was amazing. But overall, we've had a rough go of things for awhile and I'm looking forward to things calming down a bit more. (Please, Jesus.+)

So good-bye Summer, and "Come to Mama, Autumn!"

Fall in Love

This summer I had the honor of throwing a bridal shower for my sister-in-law. Since she is having a fall themed wedding I wanted the shower to be autumnal, too. Plus, I was really hankering for summer to be over. 

I love looking at what other people have done for celebrations, decorations, and party-planning. I usually don't don exact copies, but I am always inspired by the creativity and beauty of others. So with that in mind, I'm sharing what I did to make my sil's shower really pretty and special, and for not too much money!

To begin with, I designed the invitation on PicMonkey. I had them printed at a local office store and loved how they turned out. 

In case you want to try something similar I used the fonts Geo Sans Light, Jellyka Delicious Cake, and Dead Hardy. I have the Royal subscription for PicMonkey and some of the fonts and pics are Royal - just a head's up.

I also used PicMonkey to make a sheet for one of my favorite games:

You can feel free to use that one if you'd like!

Then, for the shower itself I spent a lot of time checking out Pinterest. You can see my inspiration board here, but in the end this is what it looked like. (My apologies for the grainy cell phone pics - I forgot my camera!)

The menu was caramel dip with apple slices, cupcakes from the local bakery, homemade mints (a family tradition!), cheese, crakers, grapes, and fruit salad. My sister-in-law requested Moscoto punch but because girls would be there I wanted to keep it alcohol free. The punch bowl has the Sprite and pink lemonade concentrate and anyone who wanted was free to add the bubbly wine. 

My mom owns white table clothes - which I borrowed, I gathered her and my fall decorations and Mason jars, my friend Katie made this lovely banner for me, and I bought six plastic table clothes in the party section of WalMart for the back drop. For $6 it made a huge impact. 

Another request from the bride was recipe cards. Guys. I looked everywhere for recipe cards and in the end they were nowhere to be purchased so I could slip them in the envelopes. I then tried making them myself but it was overwhelming for me so I printed these up...

 ...stuck them in the invite envelopes, and found my way to this great Etsy shop, where I purchased, downloaded, and printed up super cute recipe cards.

Winners of the shower games, the bride, and the mother of the bride all took home a little treat: a packet of s'more love with marshmallows, mini Hershey bars, and graham crackers.

The bride-to-be loved the shower and, as a lover of fall myself, I was delighted to throw the party for her. 

Heading back to school and flipping the bird at the Mommy Wars

Back to school is early in Illinois (mid August) but it makes me think Fall thoughts.

After a summer of playing in the sprinkler, eating drippy popcicles on the patio, and watching movies in the cool air conditioning during the heat of the day I am ready for the next season. It's much less sweaty for this pregnant woman.

I'm pretty pumped about autumn and what that means in my part of the country. I can't wait to get the autumn decorations out, but I'm also feeling a little emotional - just like I did when L started school. The same kiddos who went to school last year will be in school again this year, but Ben is now beginning kindergarten with the official school uniform and full school day. There's so much I want for all my kids, but this just about sums it up:

But this is not about me - this is about you and you, L, are about to do some amazing things. School is so much fun. Being a part of a school community is so much fun. You will learn, play, grow, and be loved. I hope you are happy and challenged and encouraged. Please know that your father and I expect you to always show compassion, generosity, and respect. We expect you to always be kind, good, honest, and hard-working. We want you to love and serve and glorify our good God.

As much as I am getting misty-eyed over milestones, I am also remembering that the schedule and rhythm school brings to our home is a huge gift for me - it is freeing for me. That's one of the things I learned in Kindergarten:

More than anything, what I learned in kindergarten, after two years of pathetic attempts at super basic "homeschool" preschool (we're talking letter, shape, and number recognition here along with a little catechism), is that I need structure and I am really bad at giving it to myself. Our days ran so much more smoothly when the school day made us get up, get dressed, and be out the door by a certain time. Our home was immeasurably more peaceful following the school day routine. And perhaps most importantly I thrived with that schedule. Thrived.

Next year may bring something different for us as we make decisions to keep James safe from his dairy allergy, but right now I feel really great about what we're doing right now:

I am " interested in educating and building up [my] children, family, and community through traditional school," and I'm seeing that happen in our family's life now, which is really wonderful.


At this time of year I see a lot of my friends beginning their homeschooling. My good friend Grete is in week 3 because my good friend Grete has got her act together! Sometimes I look at her life and her amazing kiddos and the wonderful things they are able to do and... I am so happy for them while not wanting that life at all. (Which I say with a laugh and confidence that Grete would laugh too. Or at least smile. Perhaps while shaking her head at me.) I've seen how the schooling choices they've made over the years have really blessed their family and I feel like I've watched my friend become a better and more truer version of herself.

It's been really beautiful and totally a flipped birdie to the Mommy Wars that her parenting choice has been so different than mine and yet we are both so happy in our vocations and homes, and we are friends.

Once I wrote about not homeschooling:

Having the desire for be part of a traditional school community, to have time to volunteer in your community, to create or work, and then using the time while your kids are at school to do those things doesn't mean you're selfish or that you care less for your children. God has gifted you with certain talents, convictions, and holy desires - be who He has made you to be and you will set the world on fire.

I 100% believe that is true, and it's been a gift for me to have the hours of the school days to spend more time with my littles, to work on and create things that I love, and to try to serve our parish, friends, and family. But I also want to stress that that's what works for me and you should see Grete and all the things she is able to accomplish.

Back to school time can be such a beautiful testament to the fact that God has made us each unique, that there are seasons in our lives, that we have been gifted with different talents and strengths, that we are all on a path towards holiness, and that when we embrace those things our lives will look splendidly different but equally good.


Today two of my kiddos have their first day of school with another beginning mid-week. I'll be laying low in internetland over the next couple of weeks, tackling various projects and obligations and helping my cranky, hot, tired, hungry kids re-adjust to the school year. By September we will be on a roll so you'll see more of me then. Have fun, keep cool, and be good. ;)



Tangent in question form: Do you think it's okay if I get out the lovely fall decorations for the August 22nd Blessed Brunch I'm hosting? I have a rule (that I usually break) of no fall decorations before September 1st... What do you think?

Autumn in my home - a blog hop

When it comes to decorating for Autumn I have two rules.
#1 - Nothing Fallish before September 1st.
#2 - Nothing Halloween before October 1st.

I regularly break both those rules.

I don't know about you, but I love seeing how other people decorate for special occasions. It can say so much about one's style, sense of humor, and beliefs. I always appreciate seeing the thoughtful and fun ways people mark the seasons and celebrations in their homes.

That's why I asked a handful of my favorite bloggers if they would join me for a blog hop. Today we're each showing off our Autumn decorations. Get yourself a pumpkin spice anything, get comfortable, and enjoy!

Here's a look at my home during September, October, and November.

September
My husband is a physics teacher in an area public school and two of my children attend parochial school with one more in the Early Childhood Education classroom at the local public school. After a long summer, September really is "the most wonderful time of the year."

A little more about our mantel.

I made this wreath for less than $10 from items in the WalMart craft section. I love way the colors pop against our front door. 

A little vignette on the front porch.

 

October
Many of September's decorations remain but the mantel gets a new treatment and many more items come out of storage.

The white board in the back is actually one of the ceiling tiles we ripped out of our basement. 

The tombstone I made for my parish's All Saints' Halloween party.

The ghost carrying the pumpkin was my mom's and I have always loved it. She gave it to me a few years ago and it's one of my favorite things.

I made this wreath a few years ago but added the bird this year.

A little bit of autumn on every shelf.

The chalkboard is back in the playroom.

Halloween and Fall books in the book basket.

Halloween tree and skull.

Even the owl lamp is dressing up for Halloween.

I found the print on Pinterest.

November
Once again I reuse a lot of the same decorations. My door wreath and the leaves on the mirror remain. Other items get moved around a bit and overall it feels a lot more simple than Halloween and October.

Early in November the kids and I make turkey handprint crafts with a list of all the things they're grateful for. The pictures hang in the house through November and I keep them with the decorations so each year I can reminisce a little as I pull them out of the box.

So that's my house all autumn long but I'm not the only one showing off my decorations. There's a whole group of us doing a Blog Hop today.Check out all these other lovely ladies and all their fabulous decorations.

Mama Needs Coffee
House for Five
Fountains of Home
Team Whitaker
This Ain't the Lyceum
Two O's + More
Surviving Our Blessings
Better Than Eden
Svellerella
Clan Donaldson


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Plus, I'd love to connect with you. You can find me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. I hope to "meet" you soon!

A Knot Bad Interview with Haley from Carrots for Michaelmas

September 29th is the feast of Michaelmas.

If you're like me, you're thinking, "What? The feast of what? Who? What's this? Why are there dragons?"

My friend Haley came to my rescue and did an interview, walking me through the pronunciation, background, and some ways to celebrate the feast.

Haley was a delight and I hope you enjoy the video! There's links below you'll want to check out too - follow up on some of the things we discussed during our conversation.




Haley's blog, Carrots for Michaelmas.
Haley's cookbook, Feast!
Kendra's devil pinata and more ideas: Fun, Feasting, and Beating the Devil with Swords: a Family Michaelmas
Molly's ideas: Preparing for the Feast

Haley said Embertide and I had no idea what she was talking about. This is what she was talking about.

Menu:
Roasted chicken, not from Haley but it'll do until your cookbook arrives in the mail.
(Or you can get a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery story!)
Whiskey glazed carrots from the Pioneer Woman.
Blackberry cobbler, also from the Pioneer Woman.
Angel food cake (if you don't want to use a mix)
Blackberry compote for the cake.


And in case you don't know the prayer, here it is:
+St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, cast into hell satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. 
Amen.+


So raise your hand if you're going to make whiskey glazed carrots and a roasted chicken this Monday, and finish dinner with (Arch)Angle Food Cake with a blackberry compote and the prayer to St. Michael.
(hand raised)

If you're new here, stick around! You can follow A Knotted Life on Bloglovin' or Feedly. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you never miss a Knot Bad Video. too!
Plus, I'd love to connect with you. You can find me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. I hope to "meet" you soon!

Seven Quick Takes

1 - If I had money I would actually buy this album when it drops next week. I love me some The Head and the Heart.

2 - For those of you who watched and enjoyed The Lizzie Bennet Diaries you'll be happy to know the same team has done a series called Emma Approved. I'll be saving them up so I can plow through them all at once.

3 - Since it's October I was craving fallish things. The weather hasn't been cooperating so I had to take matters into my own hands and make something pumpkin-y. Pinterest came to my aid and I made Joyful Momma's Kitchen's pumpkin scones with a maple glaze. They were delicious! Make some right now.

4 - So.... The Walking Dead... I just buzzed my way through the whole of season 3 so that I can... I don't know, wait another year until season 4 is on Netflix. I know what you're thinking. "Hey Bonnie, do you really think you should be watching that show any more? Remember how you couldn't concentrate enough to even pump gas because you became so preoccupied by the zombie apocalypse? You could barely even sleep at night you were so scared and worried about what you would do and how you would save your children in a world full of walkers. What are you doing?"

And my answer:
Yes, it is true that I do keep a pair of knitting needles in my car so I can stab a zombie in the eye should the world ever come to that. However! The show The Walking Dead has become much more about the survivors than the zombies and I'm interested in those characters. Especially Herschel and Darryl - I love those two men. Plus, Woodbury and the prison are not locations similar to my life so it seems more like pretend. (What?! It is pretend you say?! Well I say I will be prepared because I am taking all kinds of mental notes, friends!) When Rick, Glenn, Carol and the rest were on the run, holed up in homes and the farm, driving through the country or city and passing all kinds of walkers, well, that was just a little too close to my imagined reality and it freaked me out a bit.

And then there's this:

5 - It's funny the things you celebrate when you're a parent. For example: JP had become a little backed up. A week and a half ago he had a poopy diaper and then nothing but a couple of sharts for the next week. He was super fussy and I was super confused because he's only getting breastmilk - what is there to constipate him? Anyways, the doctor said to give him 1-2 teaspoons of prune juice a day until he had a BM. Three teaspoons later and JP pooped! It was at dinner and we all cheered. The next morning he pooped again and I called my husband to tell him. The next day he pooped again and my mom and I applauded.

And now I think he has allergies like his brothers so boo to constricted diets but yay to pooping, happy babies!

6 - Speaking of pooping, happy babies.: A HUGE congrats to my friend Kathryn! She's pregnant with her 6th baby and I'm so happy for her. If you haven't yet, head on over and read all about her exciting news. And then, even though she hasn't said it, please say a prayer for her, her husband Scott, and their new baby. Their baby #5 was a NICU baby and I know that once you experience the NICU you are forever afraid of it.

Kathryn, I'm praying for peace in your and Scott's hearts and for a healthy baby. Also, I'm hoping for a girl.

7 - Yesterday the kids and I were driving to the grocery store in a neighboring town called Washington. L, who is learning Spanish at school, asked me how one says "Washington" in espanol. I explained that you would just say "Washington" because it doesn't translate. Ben then said, "Washington. HEY!!! I just spoke SPANISH!!" He was so proud and excited -it was awesome.


Many thanks to Jen for hosting! You're the best, Mrs. Fulwiler!

7 quick takes

1 - Um, I love the following things about this song:
 a) how clean it sounds, not the lyrics of course but the singing, guitar, and air... if that makes any sense at all
 b) her red lipstick.  Probably when I'm 65 I'll have enough gumption and "I don't give a damn" about me to actually wear red lipstick.  And in the meantime I'll just wish I could pull it off now.
 c) the lyric about wiping the counters. way to my heart, I guess.  sigh.
 d) autumn.  Autumn is in the clothes they're wearing and the leaves.  I want autumn now, please.

2 - So the show that I'm making my way through right now is the fabulous White Collar.  You're probably already watching it, but if you're not let me fill you in:  The show is about a con-man on a sort of work release program with an FBI agent who deals with white collar crimes.  You can watch it instantly on Netflix.  Travis and I are both fans and probably my favorite part about it is there is no swearing, violence, or sex scenes.  Really.  Truly.  It's also very cleverly written.  Oh, and I like Mozzie.  Watch the show just for Mozzie.  He's the best.

3 - If you're looking for some new meals to try we had a successful week.  I highly recommend:
- Pioneer Woman's Simple Hearty White Chili
- Tyler Florence's Chicken Enchiladas
- Burgers, cooked on the grill, topped with tomatoes from our garden and seasoned with Excalibur Ultimate Steak and Roast Rub.  They're not paying me to say this (though they could by sending us free samples!) but their stuff is the. best. Period.
Rachael Ray's Mexican Lasagna (except I don't cut up the tortillas, I just bake it in my round Corning Ware dish.

4 - Here's some adorable pictures of my kids.

Ben got sent to time out.  When I went in to talk with him about it he was asleep.   He'd literally cried himself to sleep.  

A-dor-a-ble!

They're so big!  And sassy.

Princess Resa, dressed up by her big sister, Princess L.

5 - I got nothin'.

6 - If you need something sweet and heart-warming to read, go read this article: The Business Nine Women Kept a Secret for Three Decades.  But be warned, it'll make you want to buy a pound cake!

7 - After Labor Day weekend I'm going to begin homeschool and official chores.  I'm wondering if I should have some kind of chore chart and daily schedule for the kids.  They can't read but it may help keep me accountable and if I use pictures and words it may be helpful for them.  Do any of you have any opinions on this matter?  I'd love to hear them if you do!

7 quick takes

-1- Congratulations go to two families!  My high school friend Amanda and her husband and daughter welcomed into the world baby boy Briar.  He is so cute!  And my nomad church friend Alison and her husband and two sons welcomed baby girl Caitlin!  Precious!

-2- I have a new post up over at VirtuousPla.net.  Go check it out - it's called What we're not saying

-3- September is going to be a very busy month for us.  We have 11 appointments, three birthday parties, a fish fry and the Behold Coffee and Chocolate Night.  Oh yes, I also have to figure out a good preschool schedule for L and the family.

-4- Speaking of which, I will be working with Lacy from Catholic Icing on a review of her Catholic Preschool Curriculum Catholic ABC's.  I hope to have it to you in a week or so.

-5- Why do babies think it's so much fun to pick food off their trays and drop it on the floor?  I do not think this is fun.

-6- Once the temperature is out of the 90's I'm going to decorate for fall.  I look forward to using my autumnal/Halloween and wintery/Christmas decorations as soon as we get to Lent.  But right now it's too hot for me to stand on my porch hanging a garland of fall leaves.  I'm not going to break a sweat thinking about cool weather, people.

-7- But Fall!  Beautiful Fall!  I love thee!  The leaves changing colors!  Highs in the low 70's!  Wearing hoodies as we sit around a bonfire making s'mores and drinking spiked cider and cocoa!  Taking pictures of the kids by pumpkins!  The Bears!  Welcome back, Autumn.  I have missed you.

oh autumn, how I love thee...

Fall is my favorite time of the year, and for me it officially begins the first day I see the first combine in the field.  At this point, harvest is almost over with, but autumn will just keep on getting better because we still have the leaves changing color, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and many pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks to look forward to.  :)

Today I decided to load the kids up in the car and head to the orchard/pumpkin patch for some good October fun.

Unfortunately, on the way to our good ole October fun the gas pedal gave out on the van.  Fortunately, I was just outside of the town Trav works in and he was able to step out of class for a moment and basically restart my car to find that everything was fine.  Not sure what happened with that, but I hope to God that it won't happen again.

We took advantage of the wait for daddy to eat our Subway lunch and take pictures.

(look at little buddy's nose - all scraped up from falling  down the stairs)

Yay for Daddy - coming to our rescue!

Fun picture with our friend.  L's on the left.

Ben's thoughts on being the only boy.

L, super excited about goats.

Playing on the train.

My friend Lisa and her two girls joined us at the orchard today.  It was so great to watch our kids play together, and probably my favorite part was when L and E shared their ice cream with each other - feeding one another.  It was kinda weird but also really cute and super sweet.

And this might sound odd, but I came away from my afternoon with Lisa feeling like we'd been on a little date.