WINTER'S COMING GIVEAWAY HOP!!!

Welcome to

Winter's Coming Giveaway Hop

hosted by Planet Weidknecht and

Going Crazy!! Wanna Go??!!

Each blog on the list below has a giveaway for you to enter,

so after you enter mine, hop around the list and enter the other giveaways.

Each giveaway is worth at least $20.

Bundle up in your sweats, pull up a chair, 

and warm your fingers on the keyboard!

Begins November 1 at 12:01am and
Ends November 15 at 11:59pm.

My prize is stuff to get you warm and stuff to keep you warm. Hot cocoa, cookies, tea, gloves, and some great surprises. Do not forget to enter all of the other great giveaways and Mommy's little sister at http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com
GOOD LUCK!

My prize is...
a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

List of Participating Blogs:

Great Turkey Escape Giveaway Hop!!

Welcome to The Great Turkey Escape Hop hosted by me, Cheap Is The *New* Classy! A bunch of cool bloggers have come together to bring you this awesome Thanksgiving themed giveaway hop! With NO TURKEY! This event will run until 11/15 to give you plenty of time to enter on every one's blog for more chances to win fabulous prizes to give you a little something extra to be thankful for this holiday season! All of the prizes are worth at least $25!  My prize is kitchen gadgets, some items for your holiday table, and other surprises. Don't forget to enter all of the other giveaways and Mommy's little sister at http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com    GOOD LUCK!!!


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Hurricane Sandy is almost here!!!

   So it's just about here! We have been talking and hearing about Hurricane Sandy all week. Our television stations have forgotten about the presidential election. I guess that could be a good thing, a lot of people I have talked to are kind of sick of listening about it.
   Well, back to the hurricane, it looks like most of our family members will be home around noon. We are hoping that their companies close down.  The threat of severe flooding is very real. If you live near our shoreline there is a mandatory evacuation. They are closing our highways in the state. They are not allowing any trucks into Connecticut.  They are saying that a lot of us will lose power which could last for days just like last this time last year. We were without power for 8 days but my sister was without power for 11 days. It doesn't seem possible in today's day in age but it is a huge task trying to put electricity back up to over 500,000 customers.
   The newest report is that they will be closing all highways to trucks at 11:00am and all non-emergency personnel at 1:00pm.  I hope that we do not lose power here again. we lost our lights our phones and the cell phones were overloaded. You know it's pretty back when DUNKIN DONUTS  is almost out of coffee!
  The most important thing in all of this is that people are safe. There are some people along the coast that did not want to leave last year and one of the reasons was that they could not take their pets. This year they have shelters that allow people to bring their pets. I am so happy! I know that I would not be able to leave my pets behind.
    We have some giveaways ending soon and some starting soon. We will start them as soon as possible and try to stay on as long as we have power.

BOOK REVIEW LOVELIER THAN DAYLIGHT BY ROSSLYN ELLIOT

     I was given the book  LOVELIER THAN DAYLIGHT BY ROSSLYN ELLIOT for the purpose of a review from http://www.booksneeze.com . This was a fantastic book that made me want to keep reading it until I reached the last page.
    Susanna Hanby finds herself  in the year 1875 with the knowledge that her sister Rachel and her children are missing. She rushes to her sister's house where she is met by her sister's alcoholic husband who informs her that she has run away and given her children away. She vows to find out what really happened .  When she finds out that the children have been given to orphanages she falls into despair.
     I found myself wanting to run and get her nieces and nephews myself. I felt myself cheering everyday that she will be able to get them back and upset when she was unable to.    Susanna is a strong temperance crusader but when she meets Johann Giere who is an heir to a German-American brewery the sparks start to fly. She cannot bring herself to ignore his profession when she is so against alcohol. This makes her passion and her principles clash.
   Johann decides that he will help her with her problem and makes her an offer. It is an offer that she wants to refuse but cannot. I was unable to put this book down without thinking about it. I really loved this book.
   I was given this book without any other compensation. All opinions are my own.
  

GETTING READY FOR THE STORM!!

Hurricane Sandy update!
   Yesterday after calling places and waiting in line for over 2 hours Mommy's little sister http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com and Uncle Mike got a generator. Now, the bad news is that then the unforeseen spending begins, the generator part was easy, not. The extension cords, special ones, are about $60 each. Then a big gas can another $20. Mommy also talked to her little brother and he was able to get a generator secured  for her but they had to go over half an hour to get it. So now 3 of my children have one so I guess I will be okay.
  The gas stations are already crazy, heck they were crazy last night. I went to a Sunoco station near Mommy's house and I almost got hit. Then I went to Lowes, no D size batteries, no flashlights, and very little lights that use batteries. I think that last year everyone was scared, the summer made us forget. But, now this one looks even worse than last year.
   Tomorrow is Uncle Lala's birthday party, today is his "real" birthday. We have decided to cook 2 turkey breasts so that 1, we will have a nice dinner before the storm and 2, we won't have to throw them away. I used to think that I would miss TV the most now I think I will miss my computer and my blog.
   We are having so much fun getting new followers and following other blogs. Bobo has a cold so he and I are having a together day. Yesterday he told us how the sun goes down and the moon comes up. Then he said that we live on the earth and there are 9 planets. I think we have 8 now, but I am sure that will change like everything else in education.
   This is where we show our ages. We are going to make our own solar system out of a hanger and some play dough. Oh my gosh for the first time in many years we will not have to watch the closings for school. Although I never sent my kids anyway, when I as the parent thought it wasn't safe, not the school officials. I guess I was a homeschooler even then, just waiting to realize it.

WE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN A GENERATOR LAST YEAR

     So, here we are again. We are experiencing the same thing that we did last year at this time. I guess some of us have already written off Halloween for the second year in a row.
     The latest weather report showing the tracking path of Hurricane Sandy shows with a 90% certainty that it will hit the Northeast U.S. Sunday or Monday. They are saying it might hit New York City, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Whichever it decides to hit all of the eastern seaboard will see a lot of problems. Last year we were without power on the average of 6 to 9 days.
    We said last year we should get a generator.Now, as usual we kept putting it off. Yes, we worry about ourselves but our main concern is for Bobo and Sissy.  I suppose it is time to start taking out the flashlights, and all of the other essentials.
    Every day is another day of learning.  I've said it before and I will say it again, the kids are teaching us. They continue showing us every day just how much they can learn if someone just takes the time to make sure that they are really listening and taking part in the lesson. Whenever I drive by one of our public schools I wish I could go inside as a past Board Member and tell them how much kids need that extra little boost so that they can succeed.  I know I will hear all and more that I have heard before. Classes are too big, not enough teachers and etc. So, what is the solution? It's a tough question. One of the answers, I believe, is more parental involvement, like the PTA, helping out at the school and many other ways.
   We have found that Homeschooling is actually giving us more teaching time. When Bobo was in kindergarten there were fundraisers, PTA meetings, helping out at the school, waiting to drop off and pick him up. If  a child is not going to get all day kindergarten then they should just forget it altogether, for them to be in school for just a little over 2 hours is ridiculous.

HOPPIN' HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY HOP

EVENT DATES: October 25th (12:01am EST) - 31st (11:59pm EST)

Please visit the host of this hop here http://www.mamanyc.net/

HASHTAG → #HoppinHalloween

Welcome to the Hoppin’ Halloween Giveaway Hop hosted by MamaNYC! We’re celebrating Halloween with an amazing event that’ll feature ALL sorts of prizes, which means there is going to be plenty of prizes you’ll want to get your hands on! With over 90 blogs participating, Hoppin’ Halloween is surely going to be a BLAST! This event will run from October 25-31st so you will definitely have plenty of time to enter all of our giveaways. Good luck and Happy Halloween!

  Another Halloween Giveaway Hop! We in the Northeast are watching Hurricane Sandy as she is looking like she will be coming to us or will be near us. Last year we were unable to have a Halloween at all. It was the great October snowstorm and we were without power for 6 days, some of us were even longer than that!
  So, in the interest of keeping warm we will givaway some of our favorite things.
  Let's start with with 2 mugs , coffee, tea bags, marshmallows, hot chocolate, cookies candy  and some surprises. Maybe something scary??

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SPOOKTACULAR GIVEAWAY HOP

Wow we are starting yet another giveaway. This one is hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/2012/10/spooktacular-giveaway-hop-50-gone.html   & The Diary of a Bookworm. I guess you have figured out that this is about scary books. What do you think of when you think of scary books around Halloween? We always think about vampires, witches, ghosts and more.
               We have decided that we will be giving away 2 books about vampires.
    The first is BEYOND THE PALE THE DARKWING CHRONICLES   BOOK ONE BY SAVANNAH RUSSE. This is a story about a vampire named Daphne.
    The second is THE VAMPIRE ENCYCLOPEDIA BY MATTHEW BUNSON. This book is in A-Z format with over 2,000 entries about the legend and the myth of vampires. These are both sure to make you a little bit scared.  Picture will be posted soon. This giveaway starts October 24th and continues to October 31st. Please feel free to enter this giveaway and all of the other blogs in this giveaway. I know that they will also have some great books hoping to scare you. Also please enter Mommy's little sister's blog http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com .  Enter below. There are 500 yes 500 blogs participating in the giveaway hop!
   While you are here if you want to don't forget to enter all of my other giveways.
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enter other giveaways here

Colletta's Kitchen Sink: Jane Austen Giveaway Hop ~ Ends 10/24/12

Colletta's Kitchen Sink: Jane Austen Giveaway Hop ~ Ends 10/24/12
pride and predjudice all the way!

BOOK REVIEW BORDERS OF THE HEART BY CHRIS FABRY

    I was given the opportunity to read and review BORDERS OF THE HEART BY CHRIS FABRY. This is the story of a man named J.D. Jessup who stops in the desert near Tuscan and takes on the daily grind of an organic farm. He has given up the songs in his head and his guitar. He will do anything to dull the memories he has and the pain he still feels. There is one rule that his boss has made perfectly clear, J.D. must call the Border Patrol if he sees an illegal.
  It is on one of his early morning rides along the fence line that he sees a beautiful woman named Maria. She is near death and instead of calling the Border patrol his heart steers him in another direction. He is trying to make up for his past mistakes that brought him where he was, he decides to hide Maria. When he does this he releases a deadly chain of events that he could never even thought of.
  He and Maria set out on the run from a killer and they fight to stay alive, together. His secrets continue to haunt him the more he learns of Maria's past. He realizes that he needs to save her so that he will save both of them. This is a love story, and a story of great hope.
  I enjoyed this story as I love all stories of love and hope in the face of so many seemingly insurmountable odds. I was given this book to review by Tyndale Blog Network and all opinions are my own.
  If you have questions about the author please visit http://mediacenter.tyndale.com/downloads/press_kits/bordersoftheheartQ&A.pdf   You can also view the book trailer at
  http://www.tyndale.com/video/399
Another great book by a wonderful author.

HOWLING HALLOWEEN HOP!

HASHTAG → #TrickOrTreat
 Welcome to the Howling Halloween Hop being hosted by Mom With a Dot Com. http://momwitha.con Halloween is our families favorite  time of year. In order to celebrate , a group of amazing bloggers have got together to give you chances to win some great prizes! The Howling Halloween will begin on October 22nd and will end on October 31st. Do not forget to hop around, there will be some great prizes , we hope that you will win something.  Each giveaway will have a prize valued at $25 or more! LINKY end linky.
Don't forget to enter and good luck to all. Don't forget to visit Mommy's little sister http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com she is also in this giveaway! Onto the prizes. Our blog will be giving away all things pumpkin and more;
   We are starting with   a BRAINS CUPCAKE KIT,    kit  includes cupcake mix, frosting mix, piping bag and 12 Skull cupcake aprons...............PUMPKIN SPICE PANCAKE & WAFFLE MIX...................PUMPKIN SPICE COFFEE CREAMER...............NAPKINS...............A CONTAINER SET OF SPOOKY SPRINKLES TO PUT ON YOUR CREATIONS, it has purple and orange sugar, small ghosts,pumpkins,witches, purple green and black shots,...............and do you believe PUMPKIN SPICE ORANGE MARSHALLOWS.......................and as usual some more surprizes.....






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A CRAFTER'S DREAM CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY ! #ACraftersDream

Wow, we are starting a new giveaway tonight ! We are bringing  you  A Crafter's Dream Christmas Giveaway! My Merry Messy Life, Earning-My-Cape and Tutus & Tea Parties are hosting this wonderful Giveaway and it has a Christmas, crafting, and supporting small business theme! Each blogger is offering her/his own giveaway worth $25 or more going on now through Sunday, November 4, 2012.  Christmas is just around the corner, and it is never to early to start crafting our gifts for our family and friends! Some of the blogs in the giveaway group will be giving away some great  crafting supplies! It is nice to give a homemade gift but some of us cannot find the time with so much to do right before the holidays , and really do not have the know-how to be able to make them ourselves. We are not a small business but we love to make things ourselves. This is also a great opportunity to support small businesses and shops who offer handmade items! Some of the blogs in our giveaway group will be highlighting such small businesses and offering giveaway items for them, as well. Even if you don't win the giveaway, we hope that you will keep these small businesses in mind when shopping for that perfect gift for your special someone.

We thought about what comes to mind when we think of Christmas and we thought of baking cookies and the wonderful smell all around the house. We are giving away a beautiful homemade apron and some other surprises! I will be posting pictures later because I have to get this posted as soon as I can.

Now you can hop from blog to blog entering as many giveaways as you want! Don't forget to enter Mommy's little sister's giveaway at http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com
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WE ARE PARTICIPATING IN A QUITE A BIG AMOUNT OF GIVEWAYS

    We will in the next few weeks be participating in quite a few giveways with other bloggers. This are going to be a lot of fun. Details will follow soon.

LEARNING ABOUT ODD & EVEN NUMBERS, PATTERNS AND RHYMING WORDS

  Today we again worked on even and odd numbers. We had a set of cards from numbers from 1-30. They happened to be a red apple if they were even and a chalkboard if they were odd. We first put them in order on the floor. We looked at and discussed what a pattern was. Then we took the cards  and separated them, by odd and even numbers saying that  2, 4 , 6 , 8 , 10 were some of the first numbers that were even. Then we talked about how the others 1, 3, 5, 7 9 were odd numbers and we repeated this  quite a few times during the rest of the day.
  While we talked about patterns we also talked about rhyming words in a story and read some books that had rhyming words in them. We discussed which words rhymed with which. It is a really good idea to try to crossover through different subjects. These were, of course, in this case Math and Reading. The difference with homeschooling is that we can work a little, stop and return a little while later. 
  We are starting to think about some different crafts that we will be doing the next few months as well as field trips. It is really a good idea to try to do these now, before the snow starts to fall.   
   Today Auntie Lala brought Bobo a SPIDERMAN outfit for Halloween and Sissy was given a MERMAID outfit.  We had a very hard time getting Bobo to take it off and he wore it all day. Sissy's was a beautiful color but, as all girls do, she changed her mind and now wants to be RAPUNZEL. If you have read this blog earlier you would know that first she wanted to be a princess, a fairy, JESSIE FROM TOY STORY ,just to name a few. Bobo wanted to be WOODY FROM TOY STORY, or SPIDERMAN. They are getting very assertive and independent. We love every minute of it and every minute of Homeschooling.

I FINALLY GOT A CAMERA AND COOKING A GREAT MEAL ON A BUDGET

    I, Nana, got an early birthday present this week. I am finally getting into the real world. I have always used Mommy's digital camera, but now I have my own. The problem is that I will have to be shown how to use it. I can assure you that as soon as I learn how to use it there will be a lot more pictures being posted.
   As I have said many times before this is probably the most loved season in our family. Who doesn't love the crisp air when you get up in the mornings?  The days start out cold, get warmer during the day and cool down at night.  Which brings me back to cooking and smelling all of the different  smells of fall.
   Today Mommy's little sister, Auntie Lala made a recipe called BUTTERNUT SQUASH MACARONI AND CHEESE. It was really good. Auntie Lala and Uncle Lala went to a grocery store near us that had a sidewalk sale with really good prices. The squash was 3 pounds for a dollar and shredded cheese was also a dollar. The ziti macaroni was on sale a few weeks ago for 2 for a dollar. So, we used a squash which probably cost about $1.00, shredded cheese another dollar and macaroni for $.50. Altogether a great easy meal that serves 4 for $2.50. I am not sure where Auntie Lala got the recipe. She always looks at every magazine and cookbook that she could find! See, if I knew how to work my camera I could have posted a picture.
    I have to admit that I love all kinds of squash, acorn summer and butternut. Mommy and Sissy love to cook and Daddy and Bobo love to eat, a great combination.
    Today http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com and I along with others sat at a table in our local Fall celebration and handed out brochures talking about some of the agencies that can help people with disabilities. We began doing this volunteer work after Poppie had a stroke and was blind. Even though he is gone we are still volunteering.
   We will be setting up big posters with the calendars on them. The difference is that in our family we will be listing all the birthdays and holidays on it. We will talk about if we want to make homemade presents or buy them. This will give us a chance to talk about money and the actual worth of each coin. The kids already know about the paper money.
   The really amazing thing is that everyday the kids are actually teaching us. We are really trying to slow down, it hasn't been easy. All we ever seem to do is rush all of the time. Almost everyone in the family are getting over colds, some worse than others. Hopefully we are getting back to normal.

FALL INTO WINTER GIVEAWAY HOP

     Wow, we are having another giveaway hop starting tomorrow night at Midnight!  The 2 we have been a part of for the last 2 weeks will end on the 15th. This one is called THE FALL INTO WINTER GIVEAWAY HOP!
Welcome to the Fall Into Winter Giveaway Hop hosted by This Flourishing Life and Generations Of Savings. This event features items for all of your winter and holiday needs. Each blog participating is giving away a prize or prize pack with a minimum value of $25, and the hosts are giving away four prize packs with a total value of $650+! Winter is a time of family, shopping and cold weather!

    Like the last 2 giveaways Mommy and I talked about what we think most about during the winter and we agreed the cold, and how to stay warm. So, we decided for this giveaway we would giveaway something that we hoped would WARM you up.
    We are starting with 2 beautiful mugs, a candle, a pound of coffee, 2 packages of tea bags, 1 package of hot chocolate, with a package of mini marshmallows,  a box of cookies, candy, and a few surprises.

  There are also a lot of other great bloggers in this giveaway hop so be sure visit them as much as you can and enter. They are all giving away some great items. Be sure to visit mommy's little sister over at http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com . This giveaway will end on October 29th. Good luck to all!
Grand Prize:
This Flourishing Life and Generations Of Savings are each hosting grand prize giveaways on their blogs. They are featuring winter and holiday themed prizes for all ages, totaling $650+. Head on over to their sites to Linky Code:Use this code if the first one doesn’t work on your blog:HTML------
Grand Prize:
a href="http://www.thisflourishinglife.com/2012/10/fiwintergiveaway-hop-ends-1029.html" target="_blank"&gt;This Flourishing Life and Generations Of Savingsare each hosting grand prize giveaways on their blogs. They are featuring winter and holiday themed prizes for all ages, totaling $650+. Head on over to their sites to enter!
Hashtag: #FIWinterGiveaway Disclaimer: Please note that the Fall Into Winter hosts and participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prize, but we will make every effort to help the winner in obtaining it. Welcome to the Fall Into Winter Giveaway Hop hosted by This Flourishing Life and Generations Of Savings. This event features items for all of your winter and holiday needs. Each blog participating is giving away a prize or prize pack with a minimum value of $25, and the hosts are giving away four prize packs with a total value of $650+! Winter is a time of family, shopping and cold weather! Grand Prize: This Flourishing Life and Generations Of Savings are each hosting grand prize giveaways on their blogs. They are featuring winter and holiday themed prizes for all ages, totaling $650+. Head on over to their sites to enter! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use this code if the first one doesn’t work on your blog: HTML

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A CRAFTER"S DREAM CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY

We cannot wait!, We have decided along with My Merry Messy Life, Earning-My-Cape, and Tutus & Tea Parties, A Crafter's Dream Christmas Giveaway to have another giveaway.

 

This is a group giveaway with a Christmas, crafting, and supporting small business theme! There are many different items to enter for a chance to win.  Each blogger is offering her/his own giveaway worth $25 or more. I guess I should start thinking about Christmas. This giveaway will run from October 21, 2012 to November 4, 2012 and bloggers, as well as shop owners, are welcome to sign up to join in the fun.  Bloggers who are not crafters and shop owners who are not bloggers can still join the giveaway by pairing up together! If you need help finding a shop or blogger to link up with, we can try to assist you.

  <a border="0" href="http://earning-my-cape.blogspot.com/2012/09/acraftersdream-christmas-giveaway.html"target="_blank" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh547/EarningMyCape/a-crafters-dream-christmas-giveaway.png"/></a>

About our theme:

Even though we do not want to think about it Christmas is right around the corner, and now is the time to start crafting our gifts for friends and family! There are some of the blogs in the giveaway group that will be giving away some pretty awesome crafting supplies! 

There are different ways  we want to give a handmade gift, but just don't have the time or do not know-how to make them ourselves. This is a great opportunity to support small businesses and shops who offer handmade items! There are some of the blogs in our giveaway group will be highlighting such small businesses and offering giveaway items for them, as well. Even if you don't win the giveaway, we hope that you will keep these small businesses in mind when shopping for that perfect gift for your special someone.

Here is how it will work:

Bloggers:

• Each blogger will run their own unique giveaway, worth at least $25 or more, on their own site using Rafflecopter as the entry form. Please set your Rafflecopter to start at 12:01am October 21, 2012 and end at 12:01am November 5, 2012. You have total control over what you would like to give away (as long as it ties in with our Christmas/craft/small business theme) and to whom (country). 
• Please announce that you have joined on Twitter using this hashtag - #ACraftersDream,  and/or make the announcement on your Facebook Page.
• Facebook Group - (this is optional) find our group, A Crafter's Dream Giveaway Group, on Facebook and request to join (you must be using Facebook as your actual name and not through your blog page for it to work)
• Please write a post announcing you have joined the giveaway, and include the html from the form that you will fill out.
• Grab the giveaway button and put it in a prominent place to promote it on your site! The more bloggers who sign up, the more entries we ALL get!
• Please fill out this form to get started.

Shop Owners:

• You can team up with a blogger on your own, or we can help match you with a blog to sponsor with a giveaway item worth $25 or more, from your shop.
• Please announce that you have joined on Twitter using this hashtag - #ACraftersDream, and/or make the announcement on your Facebook Page.
• Facebook Group - (this is optional) find our group, A Crafter's Dream Giveaway Group, on Facebook and request to join (you must be using Facebook as your actual name and not through your blog page for it to work)
• Please fill out this form if you would like help being paired up with a blog.

Bloggers, please enter your blog link below.

OUR UNREAL CANDY IN HOME PARTY

                          We all had a great time at our UNREAL CANDY  IN HOME PARTY!

I was given the opportunity to host an UNREAL CANDY IN HOME PARTY. First of all I have got to tell you how much everyone loved the candy, even the adults. Their mission is to UNJUNK Halloween .

UNREAL CANDY is made with real cane sugar, no corn syrup, more cacao, no artificial preservatives, real milk, more protein and fiber, no artificial flavors or colors, and no hydrogenated oils or fats. As a grandmother I was very happy that Bobo and Sissy liked the candy.

These were some of the candies we were able to try. There were Candy Coated Chocolates, Candy Coated Chocolates with Peanuts, Chocolate Caramel Nougat Bars, Peanut Butter Cups, and Chocolate Peanut Caramel Nougat Bars. Who could ask for anything more? Everyone was asking for more to try .You can find these at Walgreens, CVS, Target and other stores.

We had a great time getting in the Halloween spirit and found a new way to enjoy candy, without all of the junk and additives. Thanks to UNREAL CANDY UNJUNKED for giving us this opportunity.                       I was given this opportunity by The Global Influence and Unreal Candy. They provided the party supplies and compensation for this post.   All opinions are our own!

HOUSE PARTY MRS. PRINDABLE'S

House Party: Post We applied for this House Party and cannot wait!  Chocolate and more chocolate, who could ask for anything more? 

ADDING MORE AND MORE NOTEBOOKS

    Mommy has been busy going over different curriculums and what our state lists as benchmarks for each grade. We have notebooks, notebooks and more notebooks filled with hundreds of things that we are helping the kids master. It is really unbelievable at how many they already have attained. I truly believe that some of these should not be in the kindergarten or first grade curriculum. They really expect a lot of our children, maybe a little too much.
    There is no conceivable way that a teacher can attain these with 25 or more kids in a classroom. The ones making these up better get a grip and understand the words age appropriate. Even if you do not homeschool you should still get involved these decisions, they get away with it because we allow it.
   We are starting to make everything into a class. Auntie Lala's birthday was today, and it was easy to say how the the cake was cut into equal pieces. Sometimes it is hard to get their attention and that is the wonderful thing about homeschooling. We can go at our own speed. The kids  really wanted the cake, they waited all day, so we kind of changed the focus.
    They are learning at a speed faster than they did in school . It is apparent that every few months we will have to get more notebooks and we will need to buy a file cabinet with large drawers.

A VERY EASY DELICIOUS APPLE PIE

     I really love apples, apple cake, apple pies, applesauce, even the smell of apples!  I cannot, no matter how much I have tried make an apple pie!  Mommy can make the best apple pies, I did not teach her.
    I remembered when I was younger my sister found this recipe in a book and it was called Lucy's Apple Pie!  My kind of pie, simple and delicious. I have been known to change it a little bit but believe me this is wonderful.
    5 medium apples peeled and cored.
    1/2 cup sugar
    1/4 cup water
    1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon  & a dash of salt 
here is where you can add nutmeg.  If you want to you can make the filling only, and use as applesauce

Slice apples into saucepan. Add water, sugar,cinnamon and salt. Cook covered stirring frequently until the water is gone. Do not burn the apples. Cook on medium after starting to boil, for about 15 minutes Test to see if the apples are tender with a fork. Stir the apples and mash to the apples to your preference. This is your applesauce.
 Take this mixture and put into 8 inch pan. It is probably a good idea to use glass so you can see it cook.
The topping is made with;

1 cup flour
6 tablespoons of soft butter
1/2 cup scant brown sugar,could be light or dark
dash of cinnamon
Use your fingers to blend ingredients together. Sprinkle this over the  filling, Bake at 375 degrees until edge is brown and golden. Serve this with whip cream and or vanilla ice cream.
This is made with ingredients you probably have on hand. Please let me know how you like yours.

HALLOWEEN BIRTHDAYS BAKING BREAD

    We found a great way to get ready for Halloween.  There is a family farm very close to Mommy, Daddy, Bobo, and Sissy's house that has little animals, some things to ride and places to take pictures. But today when Sissy, Mommy and Auntie Lala went  they led them right into the pumpkin patch. Bobo was home with me because he didn't feel well. Sissy went into the patch and picked the 2 biggest pumpkins and then  Mommy asked how to get them off of the vine. They were told that they had to twist them off themselves.    I wish I was there, it must have been a lot of fun!! Bobo will go as soon as he feels better, but, Bobo and I had some time to work on the ipad. In our family we all suffer from allergies!  With all of the leaves falling we are really having a hard time.
    Thursday is Auntie Lala's birthday. I will not tell her age, she might get upset with me. Since she was born there has been a kind of race to see who would buy her a pumpkin first. If we had 10 or more pumpkins with Auntie Lala's presents we would not be surprised. Now, in our family the fun begins. Auntie Lala's birthday, then comes Uncle Lala's a few weeks later. Then Nana's Mommy's birthday,  Nana's Mommy and Daddy's Anniversary, which happens to be their 60th. Then Mommy's, mine and Nana's sister in the same week. We also cannot forget that this is usually the week of Thanksgiving.
   Which brings me to my love of cooking in the fall and winter. I am not a person who likes to cook in the warmer months of the year. When I was first married, because I come from a huge Italian family I learned how to bake my own bread. When Mommy and her brother and sisters were little they used to love it.  I am not sure if I could make it now, but I am thinking of trying it. If it comes out okay I will  let you know, if I doesn't we will just try to forget about it!  Usually a few weeks before Thanksgiving I start to go through books and magazines for great recipes to try. Sometimes, they have turned out better than we thought and sometimes we have had keepers. Next is Mommy's brother's birthday a few weeks before Christmas.
                       I guess we better start getting busy!