Conner Prairie's Headless Horseman

 

It’s mid October, and fall activities are in full force around here.  Over the weekend, we took the girls to Conner Prairie’s Headless Horseman.  The dates for the event are the last three weekends in October, and the gates open at 6:00 p.m.  If you’re a member, the event is free on Thursdays and Sundays; otherwise admission is $15 a person.  To read more about this event, click here.

 

Here are a few pics from our night…..

 

 

 

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The Pumpkin Patch

 

 

The pumpkin patch….for the past five years I’ve been taking the girls that I nanny for to this annual event, and for the past five years they wait with anticipation and excitement for this particular fall activity.  We usually go on the first Saturday in October, and this year was no exception.  Our pumpkin patch of choice is Stony Creek Farms, located in Noblesville, IN.  It’s very well organized and filled with all sorts of fall fun and festivities.  Be aware that it can get pricy, but overall it isn’t any different than taking your kids to the zoo or the museum for the day.

 

If you’re a local, and Stony Creek interest you, here’s what you need to know.   Parking is $5.  Each game and activity cost tickets, and tickets are $1 each.  I find that 25 tickets allow the girls to do just about everything once, and it gets all four of us on the hayride to the pumpkin patch.  In addition, certain activities are cash only, like the pony rides, rub-on tattoos and face painting.  We usually only encourage the pony rides, which are $5 each.  Oh, and they have a zip line that is an additional cost as well, but since you have to be ten years old to ride it, the girls have yet to experience this.  Like amusement parks, where you will spend the money is on food.  I don’t think the food is that great, so don’t waste too much money there.  And of course who can go to the pumpkin patch without buying pumpkins? Pumpkins are priced by the size.  In the past, we have always told the girls that they had to pick a pumpkin that they could carry all by themselves.  This has always kept the cost down, but this year all of the pumpkins were behemoth in size.  Seriously, there wasn’t one small pumpkin in the entire patch, and my poor hubby was forced to carry both of the ginormous pumpkins for them!  Even worse was that the two pumpkins totaled $20 which I thought was ridiculous, but whatever…it’s the all about the experience, right;)  Overall, it was another successful trip to the pumpkin patch where memories were made.

 

Here are a few pics of our day……

 

 

 

 

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A Trip to the Apple Orchard

 

Fall….it’s officially here! It’s my favorite season!  It’s a season full of cooler weather, colorful leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, hot apple cider, warm soups and stews, and trips to pumpkin patches and apple orchards! 

The girls that I take care of look forward to fall, because we go to all sorts of kid-friendly places this time of year.  Last week, we celebrated the official start of fall by taking a trip to our local apple orchard, Tuttle Orchards. Due to the drought, there wasn't any apple picking this year, but we still had fun.  Here are a few pictures of our day……

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DIY Little Girl Lamp Shades

As most of you know, I am a nanny for two girls, ages 5 and 7.  The girls are in the process of getting new décor for their bedrooms, and their mom asked me if I could find or make lamp shades to match the new décor.

The youngest is a girly-girl, and her room has lots of pink in it with fashanista accents. This is how her shade turned out......

The oldest girl has more of a funky look to her room and just got blue and black zebra bedding.  Goig off of the blue and black zebra theme, this is how her shade turned out.......

To get these shades to look the way they do, I first went to Goodwill and found two plain white shades for $3 a piece.  Then, I went to my local craft store for the following items: scrapbook paper (two pieces for each lamp) was $59 each, ribbon was $1 for each spool and fabric trim was $3.49 a yard (one yard for each lamp). The supplies for the lamps ended up costing about $7 for each lamp shade. 

To begin transforming the shades, I first covered the shades with scrapbook paper.  Then, I hot glued the paper to the edge of the shade and cut off the excess paper. Next, I glued the trim around the bottom of the lamps. Lastly, I added ribbon to the top of the lamps and made a bow to embellish each lamp.

The girls were really happy with the new lamp shades.  I’m still on a Goodwill hunt to find the perfect lamps to go with the shades.  I have four really great Goodwill’s that I browse all the time, so I’m sure it won’t be long before I find the perfect lamps:)

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Santa's Late Delivery

           

          Christmas just doesn’t seem like Christmas without snow, and this year we haven’t seen a whole lot of the white stuff.  It’s actually been unseasonably warm this year, and the only thing we’ve seen is a whole lot of rain!   Six weeks of what seemed to be non-stop, weary-dreary rain made it look more like the most “depressing” time of the year rather than the most “wonderful” time of the year!  It seriously seems like the majority of November and December have been full of soggy, dreary, grey days with not even a hint of holiday frost in the air. 

            Now, don’t get me wrong, by the time January comes around I’m usually sick of the white stuff, but from Thanksgiving to New Years I really can’t get enough of it!   This year Santa disappointment me with spring-like weather on Christmas day.  I mean, I didn’t even wear a coat on Christmas day….can you believe that … there was no need for a coat!   And the neighbor kids were playing outside in there pajamas while riding their bikes!  And people were taking their morning run without a jacket….and wait for it…….they were in shorts….IN DECEMBER!!!  It was craziness I tell you! 

            Needless to say the early spring-like weather put me in a sort of “bah humbug” mood this Christmas.  Yep, I confess I’ve been a little bit of Scrooge.   I didn’t want to listen to Christmas music, I didn’t even plug in Christmas lights most nights, and I was ready to take down the Christmas tree the night of Christmas. Now I’m not gonna lie, there have been other contributors to my less than Christmas spirit, but the NO SNOW for Christmas just kind of pushed me over into the Christmas blues. 

            BUT…yes, there is a but...sometimes Santa can be late with our Christmas wishes.  Here we are, two days after Christmas, and what do you think I beheld outside my bedroom window when I woke up this morning……SNOW!  Now….it was a wet snow, because it really isn’t that cold here….and it will probably melt by tomorrow afternoon…..but it was SNOW nonetheless!  Unfortunately, it came on the day that I had to go back to work.  On the plus side, I am  a nanny afterall:)  You better believe we made time to play in the white, wet mess before it makes its disappearing act over the next few days:)

            So while Santa must have been late this year, at least he delivered:) Better late than never right:)   



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Handmade Personalized Lockets

           Do you ever have a hard time trying to think of a thoughtful Christmas gift for the special gals in your life?  I know that I struggle with that from time to time.  As most of you know, I am a nanny for a family with two girls.   Finding the right gift for the girls and the parents can be challenging for me whenever gift giving time comes around.  The girls have a ton of toys, so I try to avoid the toy stores when I'm contemplating what gifts to get them.   For Christmas, I always try to give the girls something small that incorporates the true meaning of Christmas, Christ birth, and then I usually get them something that we can do together like craft kits or games.  Sometimes I’ll even make them something sentimental.

            Recently I made jewelry and posted about it here.  Both Mom and Daughters really liked the jewelry that I made, so I decided to personalize a few pieces for them and add it to their Christmas gifts this year. For the mom, I made a necklace with a locket of the girl’s pictures and an appropriate quote inside.  For the girls I made necklaces with lockets as well, but I tried to incorporate a small piece of my faith inside their locket.  On the inside of their locket I glued a mustard seed, and then I made a tiny scroll with the verse Matthew 17:20 written on it and put it inside the locket. When the necklaces were finished I put them in festive sachets that I had leftover from previous gift giving ideas, and attached them to the top of their wrapped presents. 

            Since I already had most of the jewelry making supplies, this was a relatively inexpensive gift idea.  While inexpensive, the fact that it was handmade makes it thoughtful and specific to the person’s taste.  And by adding a locket, I was able to take it step further and personalize the gifts.  So next time you’re trying to think of a thoughtful gift for the special ladies of your life, try being creative with jewelry making;)

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Christmas On The Farm ~ Trader's Point Creamery

            Trader’s Point Creamery in Zionsville, Indiana, is one of the few places that I know of in our area that has a Winter Market from November to April.  During these cold winter months when most farmer’s markets are closed for the season, Trader’s Point Creamery converts their big red barn into a heated pavilion filled with all sorts of venders promoting fresh, local ingredients.  The creamery is also home of The Loft Restaurant where only the freshest organic ingredients are used for the preparation of food.  If dining in isn’t something you have time for, they sell all of their organic dairy products on sight as well as off sight in some of our local grocery stores.

            Since the location of the creamery is located on the opposite side of town from where I live, I don’t make a weekly trip to visit their farmer’s market.  I do, however, make one special trip to the creamery during the month of December.  On the second and third Saturday of December, Trader’s Point Creamery has Christmas on the Farm.   On these two days of the year, the creamery hosts a free event that incorporates their usual winter market with all sorts of other family-friendly activities such as:  winter hayrides, reindeer, a visit with Santa Claus and Christmas crafts.  Matt and I have taken the girls that I nanny for to Christmas on the farm for a couple of years now, and the girls really enjoy seeing the animals and purchasing a cup of fresh organic hot chocolate from the farm's Loft Restaraunt.  Yesterday was the last day for this free event, but it is an annual event.   So, if you’re looking for something fun and unique to do next December, make a trip to Trader’s Point Creamery for Christmas on the Farm.

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