Thankful...

I haven't forgotten my blog. I've been focusing more on family time over here especially during the holiday season! We've been spending hours upon  hours learning and exploring over here so during nap time I've been cleaning like a mad woman instead of blogging!  During this season I am thankful for my faith, my family, my health & my friends!

Pumpkin Picking

Happy Monday! We had a laid back and fun weekend that included a pumpkin patch, staying in our pajamas for way too long & a church.  We live in a pretty rural area so the closest pumpkin patch is 30-40 minutes away. Our upcoming weekends are packed so I knew this weekend would be perfect. The weather definitely wasn't the best...70ish degrees so I had to change up our fall pumpkin picking attire.

We wandered through the patch in search of the perfect pumpkin and stopped along the way for a photo op.

Headband 

Five on Friday

Starting our Friday off fabulous-ly, I have linked up with Darci to bring you Five on Friday!
                                         



                                                   

ONE

I made these pumpkin spice cookies with some leftover pumpkin on Wednesday. Do yourself a favor and make them now or tonight! 

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 
1/4 teaspoon ginger
dash of allspice
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup pure pumpkin (same as canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree)
pinch of vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

For the icing
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1 tablespoon melted butter
milk, as needed

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until well combined, about 1 minute. (Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing).

Add the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla and mix on low speed until blended. Stir in the flour mixture with a spoon.

Using a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop out mounds of dough onto prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart. Use the back of a spoon to smooth out the mounds.

Bake the cookies until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, whisk together powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and melted butter in a small bowl. Gradually add milk by tablespoons, until you reach a spreading consistency. Spoon the icing evenly over tops of cookies. 

TWO

Found this yoga bag at Target for $6...SCORE! I loved it so much I used it as a diaper bag last night!

THREE

If you follow me on instagram (whitney_collins1) you would have seen our first of many trips to the pumpkin patch yesterday. This way my favorite picture. She walked holding this two punkins and wouldn't put them down. We had a blast!

FOUR

 I have been working with Frame Your Event over the past couple of weeks on a giveway! For a chance to win an item of your choice comment below with "win". If you are a runner or triathlete, you will want to visit their Etsy shop! Take a look at these beauties!

         

The picture frame on the left can be found here                   The medal display can be found here

FIVE

I am a sucker for playdates! I literally would have 5 3 in a day if we had more SAHM's in my area. I love this post on playdate snacks!

Pinterest Fail

My beloved pinterest has failed on me for the 1^st time! A couple weeks ago I found an edible pumpkin play dough recipe and knew it would be the perfect fall sensory activity. Well, I thought wrong! The play dough recipes that we use are all edible because Berkley still puts everything in her mouth! I also wanted to use a no-cook play dough recipe for a change. I like to cook, but I don’t like cooking up play dough. There wasn’t  a “recipe” we used the website just stated to use 1 can of pumpkin, add pumpkin pie spice, and enough cornstarch to thicken. I did all of the above and it ended up being the exact thing we started with. So what did I do….throw it away? Heck no, I am no waster! I dumped the entire batch of mushy pumpkin onto her highchair. Seriously, this chic is so not into the “mushy texture” which is why I continue to do them. She touched it with 1 finger….really?

 

I laughed so hard that I may have snorted, but who cares it’s just the 2 of us. After realizing that it wasn’t the best texture she held out her hands and screamed. Again insert another snort/laugh. 

                                           

I then took her hands and dug right into the center. She calmed down a bit and played for another minute. By play I mean trying to pick it up and throwing it on the floor and saying “uh-oh momma.”

                                          

These are the times when my Type A personality is kicked to the curb, my teacher instincts come into play and most importantly my mom emotions rage. I’d rather spend every second playing, making messes, exploring and soaking up every minute with her! This is my little rant for the day. I do have to remind myself that she won’t be little for long and that I know I will miss these days when she’s older and wants to play with her friends more than her momma. Now I am off to cry a little!

our WEEKEND

Our weekend was jam packed with fall decorating, fall shopping, mud, glow run, a birthday party and church! On our way to drop the car off to have the oil changed Berkley thought it would be fun to watch her phonics video on daddy's phone. She normally watches it on the iPad during breakfast & snack time, but she was a little fussy in the car so we knew it would make her happy! Happy baby equals happy mommy & daddy right???

Saturday morning we were up with the chickens...literally at 5am. We drove an hour and a half to Youngsville for our first mud run! This wasn't just any mud run it was a zombie mud run. We completed the mud run with some friends and it was fantastic! Running through mud, sliding down muddy tarp, slippery monkey bars, running from zombies, crawling under ropes, walking across logs, running from zombies....and the list goes on! This will definitely be one of our annual races!

 
             

Here we are doing our weekly chores! Berkley is in the imitation stage so we took our our vacuums and got to work!

After our race Saturday we came home to finish up our fall decorations...minus the outside decor.  I LOVE pumpkins! I not a matchy matchy person when it comes to decorating I like different textures, patterns, etc.. Here are a couple pictures of our entrance table.

And we can't leave without a closing picture of Berk Berk! This is what she does when we ask her how old she is! Such a smart baby! 

Boo!

I'm feeling festive today! The weather is starting to cool off and the days are getting shorter  which means I'm patiently awaiting the arrival of fall. For all my festive mama's out there, here are a few of my festive favorites.

More Gap...

Just for fun here is a picture of Berkley celebrating her first Halloween

When is the appropriate time to discuss Halloween costumes? I'm debating on family costumes or just letting Berk dress up. What are your costumes plans?