Pumpkin Fun

Carving pumpkins has always been a Daddy and Samantha activity. I tend to sit back and snap pictures while they carve...and dig...and get gooey seeds everywhere! This year Sam drew her own face on her pumpkin for Daddy to carve. She did a great job cleaning the "guts" out...and we think the finished product was pretty great!

American Girl Place~Chicago

When I was a little girl I used to drool over the American Girl catalog every time it arrived in the mail. I would circle and re-circle the items I loved, and hope Santa would grant my wishes! One Christmas he did...and I received a Kirsten doll. I cherished her! I kept her on my shelf well into high school, until one day it was time to pack away my dolls...and I saved her in a box with the hopes that I would be able to one day share her with my little girl.

American Girl has grown A LOT since I was little. There are many historical dolls and dolls that look like you. They even have a line of baby dolls. Samantha received one of these Bitty Baby dolls for her 2nd birthday, and they have been buddies ever since. Samantha is now excited when the catalogs come in the mail. She loves going through page by page and picking out things for her baby "Addy"...

Two weeks ago my mom and I took Samantha on her very first trip to the American Girl doll store! I must admit...I think I was more excited than Sam! But...then again...she didn't really know what was in store for her!

She had her very first ride on a train...

Her first trip downtown!!! This included her first taxi ride! She was pretty upset that our cab was white instead of yellow, but she got over it when she realized she didn't have to sit in a car seat!

It was "Bitty Baby Day" so there were special activities going on for preschool age girls and their dolls. There were crafts, snacks, and a circle time where they learned little songs and fingerplays for their dolls!

The store itself was a bit overwhelming to her. It was really crowded, and a lot of the displays were over her head. She had fun looking at all of the historical dolls, and picking out a few new outfits for Addy to take home.


We ate at Gino's East for lunch! YUMMY!!! Sam loved all of the graffiti all over the walls, and she was such a good girl while we waited about an hour for her first Chicago deep dish pizza!

On the way back to the train we decided to walk. It was a little over a mile, but she didn't complain ONCE! She just kept looking up at all of the buildings and commenting on how tall they were! We walked over the Chicago River where she even saw a water taxi!

When we got on the train she decided to change Addy into one of her new outfits. It was SUCH a fun day, and we are hoping to make it a yearly trip.

When we got back to Nana's house I decided to pass along my Kirsten doll. I know she is in good hands, and I know we have many more years of American Girl doll fun!

A Day in the Patch

Last year Nana (my mom) and I took Samantha to this really fun pumpkin patch near South Bend. Matthew and I wanted to go there this year, but with gas prices we decided to check out our options that were a bit closer to home. We went to Coulter's in Westville, IN. It is a nice family run farm but there are still plenty of fun things to do! Plus we were able to visit my parents afterwards...so that was an added bonus!







I think she had the most fun striking a pose in front of all of the "photo op" places! But there was also a place for face painting (she had the Cubs painted on her cheek), a small corn maze, and of course lots of pumpkins to choose from!

She LOVED this big pumpkin!

When it came time to choose our pumpkins I immediately went to the largest section. I was SO excited to pick the largest pumpkin that Matt could carry! But much to my surprise Sam didn't want anything to do with the big pumpkins. She wanted a small pumpkin so she could carry it herself. She amazes us more and more each day as she begins to make her own choices in life...proving once more to us...that she isn't a baby anymore!

Stayed tuned for adventures in carving our pumpkins! =)

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

On Thursday October 16th Samantha's class went on a field trip to a pumpkin patch. We went to Countryside Landscaping which is only a mile or two from her school. And I should clarify...it wasn't as much of a pumpkin patch as it was a bunch of pumpkins scattered in a field, but it was still a fun day! =)

We had a hayride to their "patch"...got lost in a maze...and visited a petting zoo! It was a pretty simple field trip, but sometimes those are the best kind!

Spooky Fun!

Samantha always wants to help in the kitchen. I believe she will be the mom who makes pies and cookies for dessert all the time....

I bought this gingerbread house kit last year, but with changing jobs (and working both of them at the same time) we didn't get time to use it. I found it pushed to the back of the pantry, and almost threw it away (with the thought that it was a year old and probably yucky)...but my new found thriftiness just would not allow it. I figured the fun is making it, and no one would want to eat it anyways...so why not? So we had an afternoon of "baking" fun.

**I forgot that Matthew will eat virtually anything (especially sweets) so he tried it almost immediately when he got home. And he said it tasted just fine. We are taking his word for it, and won't be partaking! :)

A Rootin' Tootin Good Time!

Usually Samantha has no problem deciding what she wants...For example: What should we have for dinner tonight? A: "Mac and Cheese!" What do you want to wear today? A: "A dress!" What would you like for a snack?? A: "Reese's!" But for some reason she had a tough time deciding what theme to have for her party. She was wrestling between Cowgirl and Fancy Nancy. (Fancy Nancy is a character from a book) She went back and forth for awhile before finally choosing cowgirl (she decided to be Fancy Nancy for Halloween)...
I had a lot of fun planning this party! Even though I've only been out of the classroom for a year I have missed being creative and making fun activities for children, so this was a treat for me too!
I had a tough time finding invitations which made me be even more creative, and make them. She decided who to invite, and was really looking forward to the party!!! We ate "traditional" cowgirl foods like hot dogs and beans...played a few western games...and of course there was cake and presents! :)



This was my first attempt at making a cake. I was so nervous about how it would turn out! I finally had to let go of my "Monica ways" and just make it!!! (I secretly had a plan of running to Tysen's to pick one up if it looked completely crazy!) It was actually a lot of fun making it, and I am hoping to start making them for all of her birthdays!

She received many wonderful gifts and she wanted to use them all almost immediately! All of her friends went home with a bandanna full of goodies that all cowgirls enjoy...

Cowgirl Activities

Panning for gold...Boot pinata....decorating vests...target practice....

Panning for gold

The whole day I kept saying I didn't plan on having another party next year...but...I'm sure I will! They are just too much fun, and she will only be little once!

Happy Birthday Samantha Grace!

My first thought this morning was how fast the last four years have FLOWN by!!! I literally was shaking my head in disbelief at the fact that our baby is now 4!!!
She has been such a blessing to our lives, and we are so grateful that God gave us such a precious gift 4 years ago today!

First Field Trip to the Orchard

Samantha's Class

Her buddy Ellie

It has been less than a month since I have begun the privilege of staying home with Samantha. Last week I was able to attend her field trip with her class to the apple orchard. We had the BEST time! Sami was really looking forward to riding the bus! However, she quickly changed her mind once we started hitting bumps! She also thought it was really weird to not be wearing seat belts!!

We went to Mowry's Apple Orchard in Crown Point, In. It was small and family owned which was wonderful. It wasn't commercialized like other orchards we've been too which I really appreciated!

We started the morning learning about how bees help the apples to grow. The children also saw how honey is made and had the chance to try some fresh honey!

From there we went into the barn where the children learned what type of apples are grown at this orchard. They also learned how to tell if apples are ripe, and ready for picking. They learned the proper technique for picking...did you know you twist??? I've always pulled! Oops!! They also learned they do not spray their apples, so all they had to do was dust them off by rubbing them on their pants and they could enjoy apples right in the field!!! Sami thought this was great and ate two apples before we got back to the bus!!!
There were many other surprises for us on the trip...Johnny Appleseed made an appearance! We also were able to sample cider and some other yummy treats made from apples.

There is no where else I would have rather been!!!!

It's Like a Cows Opinion...It's MOOO!!!!

Friday night Sami and I spent the night at Nana's (aka my mom) house. We had big plans to ride a bus with her work and go to Brookfield Zoo. It had been raining all day, but we were going to tough it out. Well...at about 6:00 am my mom and I decided it most likely wouldn't be that fun of a day at the zoo.

We went to breakfast at Schoop's where Sami had her very first chocolate chip pancakes. We wanted to have a fun day, so we were talking about going to St. Joseph, MI to visit their children's museum. However, we looked across the street at the gas station and saw that gas was $4.59/gl so we quickly decided against that.

We decided to go to the Fair Oaks Dairy Adventure. We hadn't been since Sami was a toddler, so we thought she would enjoy it.

She had a blast!!! They have added a lot more since the last time we were there. She had a blast in the string cheese maze, driving tractors, and riding a train. Matt had fun looking around at the changes because he did a big chunk of the electrical work. We saw a calf being born which was...um...interesting!

All in all the day turned out to be super fun!

Sami and Nana in the String Cheese maze!

A Trip to CVS

I've been trying to get better at this whole shopping with coupons business. A few of the girls have gotten really good at shopping at CVS, and many times CVS "pays" them to shop there. I decided to try it out yesterday, and I was pretty successful!
I bought:
3 Revlon Nail Polish for $3.99/each
So I paid $11.97 OOP BUT I got $9 Extra Care Bucks back

So I did another transaction and I got...
Aussie Shampoo $2.49
Aussie Conditioner $2.49
Colgate toothpaste BOGO free $1.59 (with one being free)
Right Guard deodarant $2.99
Aquafreash $1.99
Loreal Face Wash cloths $5.99

My total was $17.54 (before tax)
So I used my $9 ECB
And the following coupons:
Aussie $2 off 2
75 cents off Colgate
Right Guard $1
Aquafresh 50 cents off

So out of pocket I paid $4.29 (before tax!!!)

BUT I also got $9.99 in ECB to use on my next transaction!!!! So...hopefully I work this right next time I can always pay less than $5.00 out of pocket!!!

First Day of Preschool

Sami was a little apprehensive about going to school. They had an open house last week, and she was a bit overwhelmed because all four classes were there plus all of their parents...

We talked about it throughout the week...how much fun it would be...what she would learn...and (of course) we read books about going to school.

This morning I let her help me pick out her snack to take and get her bag all ready. We took a ton of "first day" pictures even though the weather wasn't exactly cooperating!

Right after we took the pictures she wanted to get in the car and leave! It was WAY too early, but I figured she was excited, so why make her wait...so we drove around for a bit. She was singing a song that she had made up about going to preschool. I decided to stop so we could pray together before her first day. I got teary eyed as I prayed just realizing how big she is! I have always wanted to be the type of mom who embrasses the milestones and is happy about them. I am really happy that we decided to go ahead and send her to preschool this year.








She marched right into the school like she owned it! She found her cubby right away, and went right into the room! I was so shocked!!! She was so grown up and mature about it! She just started chatting away with the teachers and kids. I can't wait to fill up the fridge with her papers and artwork!!

Adventures in Couponing

Last night was another fun night "couponing" with Karen. Angie went with last night which made it even more fun!!!! I am pretty sure we have her hooked!

I'm still trying to get used to using coupons. Karen is seriously such a pro!!! She got packs of Luvs diapers for 99 cents a pack!!! It's so fun to watch her total go from $55.XX to like $11.XX...it makes me smile everytime! :)

I was pretty proud of my pop purchases last night...they had twelve packs on sale for $2.50/12 pk. and I had $1 off coupons...so that made me smile...for sure!!!

I think we have started a new tradition of going out for breakfast after our shopping adventures...for some reason toast just tastes better at 1:30 in the morning!!! He,he! There were a few moments that I was wishing I had my camera, but...who takes pictures at Target??

Day One

After reading Dawn and Angie's blogs I have decided it's time to start one of my own. I am hoping this way distant family can keep up with our day to day lives...(no matter how boring!)