Let there be ART!

From the time they were tiny, the girls had markers. They had paper. They had glue. They had scissors. It was a given that at some point, almost everyday, we would do art. My years as an early childhood special education teacher ingrained in my brain the need for children to create. I LOVE to create. This week, I've tried out new recipes:

Banana Muffins (recipe adapted from here)

• 3 ripe organic bananas
• 3/4 C organic coconut sap/sugar
• 1/4 local apple butter
• 2 large organic eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Combine wet; add dry; bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

I made a baby beanie for a friend of the family ... I made a new wreath for the front door:

Having something to do... some way to occupy my time that is productive... having a hobby... it gives me such satisfaction, such a feeling of accomplishment. I see that very same feeling when the girls make something - we are drowning in paper around here. Paper with words. Paper with stickers. Paper with glue. Paper with drawings. Paper folded in half. Paper in envelopes. At their disposal, at all times, the girls have markers, glue sticks, scissors, stickers, crayons, pens, easel (with dry erase board/markers) and tape. Let there be art, people! Let there be art! It gets messy, it gets sticky, and it totally clutters your house. :) But then you get masterpieces such as these, which are 100% worth it:

Cards, hats, and horses... OH MY!

As you may have noticed, the blogging has slowed lately.  I can promise you that I am still cooking... still baking... still feeding my family. But, as the weather changes, so do my hobbies. I consider blogging a hobby; it's a great thing to do when I have time but is not a "must do" in my day. Added to the already long list of hobbies that I love, sometimes I must take a hiatus. I definitely have the "craft" gene (thanks, Mom!) because I find handmade to be simply wonderful. 

The girls have 2 new (not pink!) stocking hats. I handed over 4 gorgeous (did I mention that I 
take great pride in my creations???) packs of cards to Grammy. And as I sit here and look at these pictures, the less I want to be typing and the more I want to be doing!

**Quick sales pitch... the cards make GREAT gifts (insert testimonial here from repeat buyer... hmmm... I wonder who that could be??? Linda). I make packs of 4, they are lined - which actually makes them reusable as the receiver could take the liner out and tada! - The holidays are rapidly approaching... if interested, email notemailcards@gmail.com **

In addition to the frenzy of paper and yarn, our family of five (don't get carried away... I'm including the dog here) have been visiting the Farmer's Market on these lovely fall Saturday mornings. Fresh, local goodies. For lunch last weekend, the girls had a bit of everything in this bowl:

And we really enjoy this homemade buttermilk ranch dressing recipe. I used lowfat buttermilk and substituted Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise.

To top off fall, we spent Saturday afternoon at the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin, complete with a festival of meats courtesy of one of John's buddies. As we walked up the driveway, Abby saw the smoker and said "Wow! Look momma - choo choo train!". It...was...huge. A steam-engine sized smoker and a merry-go-round made for a splendid Saturday, I must admit.

           

While I'm lacking pictures of my own, here are a couple of recipes that we consumed in the past week - one was breakfast and one was dinner. We LOVE steel cut oats - John discovered these a little over a year ago. Thank you, darling! I sometimes wonder how Abby and Elise manage to eat a bowl as big as ours without exploding. The other recipe involves the crock-pot. Yes, it is crock-pot time. Could fall bring any more enjoyment to our lives???

• Apple cinnamon steel cut oats
• Chicken tacos

Living right...