Quick Update...

Where am I? 

Well, I had a lot of writing lined up for the last two days, but something amazing happened: The weather was nice! Yesterday and today, the temperatures hit the mid-60's. I was certain that the weather was just going to get colder, wetter, and windier for the rest of the month, so I had plans to hunker down inside, writing and baking, and doing some fun Thanksgiving projects with the kids. Instead, we've been hanging out outside.

Yesterday was spent exploring the river shore. Since many of the wildflowers and weeds dies off from the frosts we've had, we can now walk around near the river without being hampered by all of the flora. Little Guy was amazed with all of the different ways that plants regenerate. We found milkweed "floaties", burrs of all shapes and sizes, and "beans" with seeds inside. Since he is very good at plant-identification, he was able to understand which plant each type of seed comes from. For instance, the Queen Anne's Lace has little seeds that hang onto your pants for a ride to their new home. While we were checking out the seeds, we made sure to bring some home to make seed bombs for Christmas gifts to give to those who live locally (you don't want to go sending them across the country and introducing a new species to an area - it may become one of those things that takes over native species and kills them off!)

We also explored the woods behind our home. Just like nearly every other kid, Little Guy loved finding himself knee-deep in leaves! We created a very big pile of leaves and he got to play "hide & seek" in the pile. He just loves hiding and having us scratch our heads and ask each other where he went. My oldest even got in on the fun and taught Little Guy how to throw the leaves into the air and watch them float down all around him.

Today, we already headed for a nice walk to the store. It's very windy, moist, and warm out. Later, we'll be heading out to the garden to get it ready for winter and collect some herb seeds. I also need to cut all of my herbs back. I've already lost all of my basil thanks to procrastination. I need to get to the parsley (I use it for everything!), oregano, thyme, sage, and lavender before a hard frost settles in. Looks like today's the day! I also need to cut down the marigolds and grab the seeds for gifts and next year's garden. Then we need to collect leaves and cover the mint and strawberries. Last year, I took the time to add a 2"-3" layer of leaves under a few inches of soil throughout the garden. I don't know if it helped, or not, but it did attract a huge number of earthworms. If there's time, I'll do that again today.

I made pumpkin seeds and cooked my pumpkin last night. Today, I need to puree and freeze the pumpkin. I'm going to probably spend the evening baking some kind of sweet yummy thing using some of the pumpkin. There are so many amazing recipes out there - I just don't know which to pick... Maybe I'll take a poll of the family and see what they'd like.

Well, that's it! Hopefully, I'll be able to write my Topic 2 post for the Mindful Parenting Collaboration tonight. It's all in my head - I just need to get it straight and type it all out! I've also got a couple of other posts that I need to write before the ideas leave my head and I lose my motivation. Oh, and there will be a few more giveaways posting this week, too!

Oh, and last, but certainly not least, PLEASE take a minute to enter my current giveaways. They are all sponsored by Etsy shops and I'd love for you to show these wonderful artists some love.  All of these giveaways are open to the US and entries are easy to complete with Rafflecopter:

Custom Stacked Hair Bow in Winner's Choice of Colors 11/15

$25 GC to ElJay Plushie (stuffed animals, paintings, dolls, blankets, etc.) 11/17

A Very Special Customized Greeting Card! (11/21)