Thankful Thursday

I am so thankful for RAIN!!! It hasn't rained in I don't know how long, but this morning and this afternoon we had a couple nice downpours. Not sure if it was enough to saturate the ground much, but it was helpful nonetheless! My annuals in containers are pretty much done for since I neglected them, but the ones in the ground were hanging in there and hopefully will be pretty for another couple weeks. A couple of our pines that we planted this spring were starting to look a little dry too. Praying they make it! I just haven't had time to get out and do too much yard maintenance this year since Matthew was born and Jim is doing all he can to just get the mowing done! We have so much that needs done, but it will happen in time, I hope!

Tot School - Review

 

Jimmy is 31 months old

We started Tot School last week. We reviewed letters A-J since that is where we stopped before summer and the baby came. We just did some of the past activities again and went over the letters on Starfall.com. We also looked over Jimmy's foam Letter Animals we made and I had Jimmy put them in order.

The difference in Jimmy from last spring is amazing! He can now say 2, 3 and 4 word sentences, he knows all the letters in the alphabet and can count and recognize numbers. Its amazing! We are still going to work on the alphabet so we can finish his letter animals and so that we can work on pronunciation. He is still having trouble saying words correctly, but is improving every day.

This year I also plan on starting to teach Jimmy to tell time and we will work on listening. We have really been struggling in that area. He does not want to listen to mommy, but will listen to daddy. So I am going to try to teach him through creative ways and activities. If anyone has any ideas to share, please do!!

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure you head over and check out the other Tot School posts for the week at 1+1+1=1

Tasty Tuesday - Apple Crisp

Jim's parents just moved into a new house and they have an old apple tree in the backyard. It was so full of apples when we were there on Sunday! Jimmy loved picking the apples and he filled up a shopping bag with them. The apples haven't been sprayed with any chemicals either - added bonus!! So what do you do with a ton of free apples? You make Apple Crisp of course! Then you give the rest to the horses =)
This is an oldie but a goodie that my mom used to make all the time, it has always been one of my favorites.

Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
8 cups peeled sliced apples (I think traditionally tart apples are used, I used whatever the apples were growing on the tree, not sure what they were)
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2/3 cup cold butter

Place apples in a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Mix the brown sugar, flour, oats & spices in a bowl, then cut in the butter until crumbles are formed. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the apples. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until apples are tender.

Super yummy served warm with vanilla ice cream! I also love it after its been refrigerated and is COLD!! Mmmmm!!

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God Bless America

The Budweiser Clydesdales always make me cry, no matter how many times I see a commercial. This one is no exception and was only aired once. In honor of those who were lost 9 years ago today....

(Make sure you hit pause on my playlist before viewing)

Thankful Thursday

I am so thankful for our weekend getaway with the kids & Jim's family last weekend. We had a very nice, relaxing time. It was Matthew's first "vacation" and Jimmy's third.

Here are a couple shots from a picnic area where we had lunch on Saturday. It was so pretty up there, such an amazing view!

One of the few shots of Matthew awake on the trip!

Daddy trying to teach Jimmy how to keep his face out of the water and to doggy paddle. Jimmy did pretty well! His favorite part was jumping in the water and daddy would catch him.

Our sleepy little guys!