Candy Corn Day!

Today is National Candy Corn Day, so be sure and grab a handful before the day’s over!

While working on our Harvest lapbooks yesterday, we learned that candy corn was invented by the Wunderlee Candy Company in 1880. It was made in the shape of a corn kernel, and thus the name was born. The colors also were chosen to resemble corn. I was surprised to learn that one of the ingredients in candy corn is marshmallow.

My brother held a poll at last week’s family birthday party on which was the most favored candy corn – the yellow or the brown. I, of course, voted for the brown due to it’s close resemblance to chocolate. However, in the end, the yellows won by a narrow margin, with the result really being summed up by my nephew, Dylan, who said he voted for yellow because – “it’s classic”.

Which is your favorite color of candy corn?

Blessings,
Nancy

An Autumn Tour

I walked around the house the other day and took some pictures of a few spots that have been decorated for the fall season. Just a few of the touches that we have added to our home to celebrate. Some we put out every year, traditionally. A few others are new this year. Many are just simple, but I love their simplicity. I didn’t take pictures of everything, but here are a few areas that I did capture ~

The above picture is on the front porch, as is this one – I put a big pumpkin in this chair by the front door each year ~

I love the way the yard looks when the leaves start falling ~

Coming in the front door, the first thing you would see is this autumn wreath hanging on a closet door ~

In the living room, the mantle has been decorated with fall berries and the blocks changed to reflect the season ~

Atop the living room hutch is a seasonal basket, while the lower part of the hutch holds several types of pumpkins, real and handcrafted, as well as a Harvest candle ~

The piano holds my annual favorite berry pumpkin candle ~

On the nature shelf, our ceramic Fall houses have been set up. I almost didn’t put these out this year, but the children wanted them – many of the pieces have been broken over the years from being played with by little hands. They light up at night and look very pretty, I must concede. Next to the houses sits a basket of colorful autumn gourds ~

The stairs and church pew have been dressed up with cloth pumpkins and corn husk garland (the kitties love this!) ~

The dining room cabinet needed just a simple pumpkin to fancy it up ~

The dining table holds my old milk bottle with red, orange, and yellow berries (love these!) and a lovely white pumpkin that I picked up at the store ~

Into the kitchen, there are pie pumpkins sitting around the counters ~

A Jack-Be-Little on the windowsill is a yearly must ~

A small ceramic pumpkin in a corner and a glass pumpkin serving up Autumn mix candies on the island (you may remember this from my Daybook) ~

Finally, the kitchen hutch is decorated with berries, baskets, and mini pumpkins ~

On the way out the back door, is one of several Fall signs that I have hanging around the house ~

I hope you have enjoyed this Fall mini-tour of our home!

Blessings,
Nancy

Keepers Cake Decorating

Last night was our monthly Keepers of the Faith meeting. The girls spent the evening in the church kitchen, decorating the cutest little pumpkin cakes I’d ever seen.

They were made in mini bundt pan molds and then the girls decorated them with orange, brown, and green icing. There were many different variations of pumpkins that resulted ~

The girls also made fruit kabobs which they used to decorate a pumpkin for a centerpiece, which turned out just lovely ~

It was a fun evening, but the best part of all, in David’s opinion, was eating the cakes at the end ~

Blessings,
Nancy

Bloggy Anniversary!!

Today is my 2 year blog anniversary! Two years ago today I wrote this post. I didn’t know how long it would last, but I’ve found that I really enjoy writing about our adventures, sharing recipes and thoughts on life. It is sometimes a challenge to find the time to write about what’s going on, since the going on doesn’t ever stop around here! And the truth is, sometimes I’m just too tired to write about it all! But, I’m always glad when I get a new post done, and it is archived for our family to look back on and remember our days by.

I appreciate all of you who stop by to visit with our family and share your thoughts and encouragement with me! So many of you have inspired me with your own blogs and I am thankful for you!

Blessings,
Nancy

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ October 26

Here is my Daybook entry for today ~

Outside my window. . .cold and rainy – a good day to stay inside. Many leaves have fallen and I love the way the yard and drive look covered in their yellow color. A bird was fluttering outside my bathroom window this morning. He kept hitting the window as though he couldn’t fly away – maybe his wing was hurt.
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I am thinking. . .about making some Pumpkin Cobbler sometime this week.
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From the learning room. . .continuing work on our Harvest lapbooks.
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I am thankful for. . .a cozy warm home to snuggle into on cold, rainy days.
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From the kitchen. . .King Ranch Chicken Casserole, with a salad for dinner.
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I am wearing. . .pink shirt and blue jeans.
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I am creating. . .costumes for the children to wear to our annual Reformation celebration at church and to the Fall Festival later this week. I’m not sewing them, just putting things together!
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I am going. . .to be continuing my Fall cleaning this week – last week was rather productive, with a number of jobs being completed.
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I am reading. . .my Bible.
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I am hoping. . .to get a post up this week showing some of our Fall decorations around the house.
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I am hearing. . .children giggling, “Gilligan’s Island” dvd, a board game starting up.
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Around the house. . .a hay bale has been placed on the front porch to hold pumpkins and scarecrows, 2 carpets freshly cleaned (although one of them doesn’t look much better – we think we may have to replace it – so the children can start working on staining a new one!), roses are blooming in the rose garden.
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One of my favorite things. . .the “Eloise at Christmastime” movie. We start watching this one about this time of year, and watch it several times a week – lots of fun!
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .a busy week – monthly Keepers of the Faith meeting, Reformation Celebration at church, Fall Festival, and preparing for both of these fun events.
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing. . .

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To read more Daybook entries, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook, and have a lovely day!

Blessings,
Nancy

A Trip to the Pumpkin Farm

Monday found us with a beautiful Fall day just perfect for our trip to the Pumpkin Farm. After our morning studies and a quick lunch, we packed in the van and headed for the farm. It was a lovely drive, down country roads lined with farms and Autumn trees.

We arrived at the Pumpkin Farm and were greeted inside the front gate by many friendly (and hungry) goats. Thankfully, they were behind fences! We had been given cups of feed when we entered and the children started feeding them while I started taking pictures -

In addition to the many goats, there were also sheep to feed -

And a few Longhorn steer, too – in classic Texas style -

Next we took advantage of the abundance of Fall decorations and pumpkins around the property for a few posed pictures -

We spent some time climbing on the hay bale spider, one of several neat hay bales around -

The next part of our adventure was the hay ride, always lots of fun -

Finally, it was time to hit the pumpkin patch and pick pumpkins. Each person was allowed to pick one small pumpkin from the patch to take home (part of the entrance fee). It was fun wandering around the field looking for the ones we wanted -

We did a little more socializing with the animals before leaving -

And took this group picture – they really did have a good time, even if they don’t look like it! ( I told Jeff it looks like a mug shot!) I think they were just a bit tired by this point – I know David was -

And speaking of David – did you notice how many pictures of David are in this post? Can you tell he’s the baby of the family? Well, here’s one more, for the road, because I’m a mother and I just can’t help myself (again) -

Blessings,
Nancy

Bread Pudding

This is my Mom’s recipe for Bread Pudding. We enjoyed this many an evening after dinner while I was growing up. Since then, I have made it many evenings myself. I have a tradition of baking this for the first time each year on the first cold night of Autumn. I can always be heard to say, sometime around this time of year, that “this is a bread pudding night”. We had one of these chilly nights last week, so I made my first bread pudding of the year, To be honest, not everyone in my family shares my enthusiasm for this dessert, but that just leaves more for those who do. If you like custards, you will enjoy this recipe. I really like custards ~ for the flavor as well as the simple, old-fashioned homemade classic that it is.

Bread Pudding

1 egg, beaten
1 cup sugar
2 cups milk
dash salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3 biscuits (or bread slices), torn into small pieces
Nutmeg

Mix all ingredients and pour into greased square glass baking dish. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

I doubled the recipe for my family. It tends to flatten a bit after it comes out of the oven, but serves up nicely in bowls. Enjoy it the next cool Fall evening where you live!

Blessings,
Nancy

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ October 19

Good Morning! Here is my Daybook entry for today ~

Outside my window. . .a gorgeous sunny fall day in store today! The leaves are starting to make a blanket across the lawn, and the squirrels are scampering about.
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I am thinking. . .what a blessing technology is . . . and what a burden, as well (printer troubles again).
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From the learning room. . .a little change from our normal routine this week. We will be working on Harvest lapbooks, along with the basics of reading, writing, and math. A field trip today to the Pumpkin farm will include learning about farm animals, as well.
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I am thankful for. . .the nice weather and break from the rain that we had this weekend.
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From the kitchen. . .Pulled Pork Sandwiches in the crockpot. We will have these with french fries and a platter of raw vegies with Ranch dressing. Peanut butter cookies for dessert.
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I am wearing. . .white shirt and blue jeans.
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I am creating. . .my Christmas Card design for this year – just ordered some of the supplies I will need to make them.
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I am going. . .on a hayride today!
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I am reading. . .I just got a bag full of Christian fiction novels from a friend at church that I am looking through – trying to decide which one to start with – possibly Lori Wick’s “The Princess”.
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I am hoping. . .that Anna will get used to sleeping in her new room soon. We rearranged some beds this past weekend, and Anna and David are now in bunk beds in a room together – which is farther away from Mommy than she wants to be – even if it is only across the living room.
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I am hearing. . .David singing, cat bells ringing, dogs barking, the house waking up.
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Around the house. . .I am on a mission to get this place cleaned up! (to my standard, anyway ). Is there such a thing as “Fall Cleaning” as a cousin to “Spring Cleaning”? Anyway, I am going with the urge (while I’ve got it) and will be working on Fall Cleaning my house some this week. And I am shamelessly bribing my children to help me in the cause. I have purchased a big bag of candy, and have promised them a pick from the candy basket for each completed job that I assign them.
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One of my favorite things. . .Bread Pudding on a cool autumn evening. (my mother’s recipe coming soon!)
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .cleaning, Ladies Bible Study, Pumpkin Farm, shopping with the girls for winter clothes, Homeschool seminar, and celebrating the October birthdays in our family.
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing. . .

Brach’s Autumn Mix – a staple every Fall.

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Thanks for visiting! To read more Daybook entries, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook,
and have a lovely day!

Blessings,
Nancy

Poppy Seed Chicken

Oh my, that does look just like another one of my Chicken Stuffing recipes (or here or here), but it really isn’t – not a hint of stuffing anywhere! It does have cheese in it, of course.

I got this recipe from a friend at church (thanks Hannah!), and then realized that I had another recipe for Poppy Seed Chicken in my recipe file that called for the addition of cheese, so I combined the two recipes and came up with my own version. I doubled the recipe and the two pans ended up feeding us for two nights (yippee!!). The first night I served it over white rice, and the second over brown rice, which was even better.

Ingredients

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
1-2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 stick butter
2 sleeves Ritz crackers

Start with thawed, rinsed chicken breasts -

Cut up chicken into small chunks -

Combine chicken, soup, cheese and poppy seeds in a bowl, mixing well -

Crush crackers (or have your helper crush crackers – my kids just love to do this!) -

Melt butter and mix together with the crushed crackers -

Place half of the cracker mixture in the bottom of a buttered 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Spread chicken mixture over the top of the crackers -

Top casserole with the remaining cracker mixture -

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly. Serve over hot buttered rice -

Yummy!

Blessings,
Nancy

Our Homeschool ~ Charlotte Mason Style

Over my 14 years of homeschooling, I’ve tried a lot of different approaches and curriculums, but even from the start, I always had an idea in mind of what I wanted our schooling experience to be like. It would be Christ-centered, simple, nurturing, and would encourage a love for learning. My love for books – especially storybooks – fit in beautifully. As I read more over the years about different methods of homeschooling, I saw that I agreed with many of the ideas that Charlotte Mason wrote about in the late 1800′s. Some of these ideas included copywork for writing, reading of great ideas in living books, narration, short lessons, and nature study. I have been incorporating several of these into our homeschool for the past 5 years or so.

This year, the Lord has taken us a step further in our journey. I have added in some new studies on a regular basis that always seemed to fall through the cracks before. Some of these include artist and composer studies, Shakespeare, nature stories, and character studies. Another difference is that we are reading living books for science, history and geography that take us on wonderful journeys every week.

Here is our weekly schedule as it stands right now – I’ve been tweaking it since September 1st, but for now, this is working for us. Every day we do:

Bible & Scripture Memory
Read-aloud classic novel
History (M-Th)/Geography (F)
Copywork
Spelling
Reading (independent assigned)
Phonics (Anna)
Math

Some of these we do together, and others are done independently. Tommy and Sarah also add in a short daily grammar exercise.

In addition to the subjects we study daily, we have others that are only studied from 1-3 times a week -

Monday – Poetry
              Science (older kids)
Tuesday – Character studies
              Composer study
              Shakespeare
Wednesday - Missionary story
                  Nature Stories
                  Science (older kids)
 Thursday – Artist study
                 Drawing
Friday – Book of Centuries (Timeline)
            Map Drill
           Science (older kids)
           Nature Study (outdoors)

Along with these, I am doing the Bible/Science (fun) portion of My Father’s World Kindergarten curriculum with Anna and Michael – this includes many classic children’s stories and fun, easy crafts set up around the alphabet (A-Apple, B-Butterfly, C-Cow, etc.) four or five days a week.

Does that look like a lot? Well, it is, but remember – we do all of these in short lessons, many about 15 minutes each – some less, some more. We average around 3-4 hours for our school day, although that may not be all at once, depending on life – it may be spread throughout the day, and if we don’t get to something, I either make it up later in the week, or start there the next time we are scheduled to do that subject. Also, not all of the children do all of these studies – Anna does the least amount, being Kindergarten age this year. Michael joins us for most subjects, but isn’t doing formal grammar yet or Shakespeare. Laura (10th grade) does most of her work independently, except for a few of the family subjects. In fact, the 3-4 hour day usually refers to my time, as I work with each of the children individually and as a group.

I have really enjoyed this year so far, and feel like we are having the richest learning experience we’ve ever had. We have laughed over Shakespeare, enjoyed classical music, travelled down the river with “Paddle to the Sea”, gone into outer space as we study the planets, had fun with drawing exercises, marveled at Monet paintings, and spent a little time each day in the Big Woods with Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I hope to share more about each of our studies, and how we do them, in future posts.

Blessings,
Nancy