Wonderful Wednesday!

I haven't done one of these in a while so I thought I would revive Wonderful Wednesday. Today's Wonderful Wednesday product is my Apple/Peeler/Corer/Slicer from The Pampered Chef. Its a mouthful but without it, there would be no apple pie for Thanksgiving. I seriously don't have the patience to hand cut and especially peel 5 apples for my apple pie. The APCS does it all in a few cranks of the wheel. Really it's an old fashioned tool that does the job perfectly. They can't really improve on this one. Even making it automatic would not be helpful because I still like to think of my pie as "handmade." If you don't have one, I would suggest you get one, it will change your life! Apple cobblers become a breeze, dried apple slices, so easy, apple pies a dream, and your kids can do it too!

My Home Is Not A Haven: Today's List

OK so the list thing worked too well for me. I haven't made a list since last Friday and what has happened? My home has become a dump, definitely not a haven. So I guess I have to make a list to get anything done. Even if I don't check everything off of my list, it will be much more productive than sitting here thinking "what should I do now?" I also found that writing the list down on paper for only me to see doesn't help me either. Posting it here where everyone sees (including my husband) gives me much more accountability. So here is today's list, may it make me productive today.

* Clean Kitchen counters
* Laundry (all day)
* Shopping List (took longer than I thought)
* Lunch (Grilled Cheese! YUM)
* Shopping for next week (Done! But I can't believe how much Thanksgiving is costing this year!)
* Nap (short and sweet)
* Pick up Kindergartener
* Baths for the girls
* Dinner (Pizza - need something fast)
* Kindergarten program at the school
* Bedtime for kids
* Make brownies or cookies for Tomorrow's Thanksgiving Feast at school
* Crash into bed

I'm tired now, I need a nap, but that will have to wait. Too much to do today!

Making My Home a Haven: Inviting

Thank you Monica from The Homespun Heart! It has been a revealing, fun week for me this week.

Well, since my husband has been away on business for most of the last month and a half, we are really just looking forward to a quiet weekend at home. But with Thanksgiving around the corner we are hoping that our friends will be joining us. With family far away, we find it lonely around the holidays. Most of our friends live close enough to drive home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it would take us at least 3 days just to drive home! Leaving us the only ones in town, it seems. This year we have invited some new friends for Thanksgiving and though they haven't officially gotten back to us yet, we are hoping to have them for Turkey day. On that note, I want to encourage those of you who have family close to invite at least one of your friends who is far from family to join yours for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Being invited to be part of a family helps a little when your miss your family.

So here is my plan for the day, not much in inviting. We're carrying fun Thursday over to Friday!
*Get 5 year old to school - complete with lunch in hand today!
*Library with 3 year old
*local Firehouse with our playgroup!
*Dollar menu lunch
*Straighten up counter tops
*Laundry
*pick up playroom and media room with help from 3 year old
*pick up 5 year old from school (devotion and knitting in the carpool line)
*Read/play with the girls
*dinner- Pizza tonight!
*Mommy goes scrapbooking!

So that's our day. A mixture of fun and duty today. Hope all of you have a blessed day!

Day 4 update: Fun

Today's plan was pretty simple: have fun! So we did.

I only had a couple of to-dos other than playing with my girls and I was able to complete them.

I got my 5 year old to school unscathed.
Ran to Super Target and got some fruit and the needed bread,
Ran home to make a lunch for my 5 year old then ran it to school.
Played Candy land, Chutes and Ladders and Dominoes with my 3 year old. How does she always win?
Had lunch
Made Cookies (burned one pan thanks to my timer that makes one weak chirp when it goes off)
Ate Cookies
Napped with 3 year old
Picked up 5 year old
Announced my plan to feed the ducks and go to the park which was turned down for playing in the driveway with their various vehicles and chalk. (5 year old doesn't like ducks?)
Still playing while I am typing.
Getting ready for dinner and a night of more fun (so glad Daddy is home!)

Since I want to focus on being real with everyone, I want to be clear that things do get derailed from time to time, it's really an unspoken part of my plan. I'm not usually a lister but after this week of being focused on my home, I think I will make more lists. Like I said in my comment on the last post, I feel like I was able to get a lot more done. And if something were to get in the way, oh well, I can put whatever got missed on my list another day. I'll get there eventually!

And on a spiritual note, today I found myself thinking of those dealing with cancer a lot today. I think its because of my knitting. I decided to pray over the piece that I'm attempting to make for someone I don't even know, who may not even know they are sick yet. I pray for healing and comfort and that they know the maker of the universe and his love.

Hope everyone else has had a successful day! Thanks again Monica from The Homespun Heart for hosting this challenge.

Pictures from Day 3 and 4

The beginning of the knitting project (ok, I had to start over a couple of times after this picture)

The first game with the 3 year old (can you see how far ahead the red marker is from the blue? Yep, that's me in the blue, she caught all the breaks and I wasn't even making it easy for her)

Making My Home a Haven Day 4: Fun

Fun! Woo Hoo!

I'm sure our house hasn't been too much fun lately thanks to my husband being out of town (he's back!) and me being sick. Today we are going to do something fun! Here's my list for today.

Get 5 year old to school on time and fed (hair brushed is a bonus)
Make another quick grocery run (I have to get bread to replace the 1/2 of a loaf that I discovered with a big bubble hole in it- that gives me an idea)
Play board games with the 3 year old (Candyland and memory)
Lunch
Make cookies with the 3 year old
Nap
Pick up 5 year old
Take a walk to the pond by our house and feed defective bread to the ducks and then on to the park
Dinner: Roast Beef and Augratin Potatoes (back to real meals since hubby is home)
Read books and spend family time together in the play room (maybe more board games)
Bedtime


Got to go have fun! hope y'all do to!