I love fall time a ton. Of course my favorite thing to do is go to our local fair. It opened up Friday night, but we didn't go until Sunday. We got there just after it opened (10am), so we missed the traffic. We do know all the backroads to get to the fair grounds, so traffic wouldn't have been a big problem anyway. It's called the Topsfield Fair and has been around for 190 years! It is America's oldest agricultural fair.

So, we get there and park and head into the grounds. The first thing we go into is the sportsman building. Hubby see's a buddy of his and starts chatting while Matt and I check out the Curious Creatures booth. Matt and I got to pet a skunk (stinker removed of course), frog, and a scorpion. Well, the kid wouldn't let us pet the scorpion. Of course Matt goes to me "It looks like Scorponok". (Transformers) As I was telling Matt that this one won't transform, is when the kid was down near us and chuckled a little. They also had this huge iguana that just didn't wantto stay put and ended up climbing above the camo netting that was attached to the rafters and tried to make a run for it outside. The kid did manage to get the escape artist and stuck him in the Water Dragons tank. In time out as I called it.

From there we headed to check out the flowers and garden displays. Stupid me, I forgot I had my camera on me, so I didn't get any pictures of the pretty gardens.

Next was the climbing pole. I always loved watching kids and adults try to climb this very tall metal pole. It starts out thick and then gets very thin as it goes up. It is also very slippery. One kid (probably about 10) made it up. Of course he had already done it 3 times that day, but Matt didn't see those times, so this one really impressed him. Now he wants to head to the park to practice on the firemans pole there. LOL

Produce building was next. Apparently the local homeschool group I belong to hada ton of pumpkins entered in this section, but I didn't find out until later on when I was home. Of course they had the HUGE pumpkin winner there. This years weights in at 1,464 lbs.

If you want to buy the seeds from this pumpkin, it was like $5.00 per 3 seeds or something nuts like that.

We visited all the animal buildings. I love chickens and was showing my hubby which ones I would like to have once we move. They also had huge turkeys there. I was showing Matt the difference between a male and female turkey by just looking at their heads. I had my finger pointed, no where near the cage, when the female turkey lunged out and bit my finger I was pointing with. That darn bird hurt a ton. Apparently she did it againto someone not 3 minutes after she bit me. Here I was telling Matt not to stick his fingers in the cage (another mom even moved Matt's hand away from one cage) and I get bit by this stupid (obviously hungry) bird.

After seeing all the cows, sheep, pigs, and birds, Matt and I headed to the Rabbit and Cavie building. This is Matt's favorite building. He loves how HUGE some of these rabbits are. Our rabbit is an oversized (aka fat) dwarf, and looks like the size of some of these rabbits heads. Anyway, the building was practically closed as all the 4-Hers were showing their rabbits. This of course ment we could not check any of them out. One thing that bumed me out about all the animals is that I did not see one GOAT! I love goats and kept going (like a little kid would) "Where are the goats?".

Food was next. Of course Matt and I had some fried dough. You can't not go to a fair and not get some fried dough. We also had Chinese from a placethat is right near our house (don't ask LOL), German Fries (yum), and apple crisp. Well, I ate that myself. LOL.

Steve had to run to find an ATM and was also running out sweatshirts to the car. When the sun came out, it warmed up enough to just be in our long sleeve shirts. So while he was doing that, Matt was playing around on these tractors and mules.

Right next to all these tractors, we an National Guard hummer. Of course I had to take a picture per matt's request. It was a pretty cool hummer and had 7 tv screens and a sweet sound system in it. Of course a moive was playing, Ironman.

Next we hit all the rides. Bumper cars was the big hit. Steve and Matt went on together first, then Matt went on alone.

Next year he will be the perfect size for all the adult rides. He is just tall enough for them now, but only by 1 or 2 inches. Matt also had to go on his favorite truck ride. he always manages to get the same orange truck. As you can tell from the picture, this is Matt's last year on this ride. It took him a bit to get out of it after the ride was over.

Next up for rides was the fun houses and the glass house. Then we hit the "scary" stuff. Matt loves horror stuff almost as much as I do (I grew up with Freddie and Jason after all). Matt went on the Haunted Mansion ride with Steve before heading over to thehaunted house. Both of which Matt said were not scary at all.

By the time all the rides were done, it was nearly 3pm. We were exhausted and decided to head home. As we were leaving, the crossing guard said to us that soem of the people stuck in the traffic to get to the fair, had been stuck for 1 1/2 hours! I am so glad we got there early as we did. We drove past about 5 miles of traffic of people trying to get to the fair.

Offended by a comment left to me over at my Homeschoolblogger blog ~vent~

The other day I posted about a odd bug I had seen in my yard and have gotten lots of replies and help identiflying it. I am very greatful because of that.

Just because I educate my children does not mean I know everything there is out there. Hell, even public and private school teachers don't know everything. I honestly had never seen this bug before so that is why I posted about it here to get some help from someone who might.

I know I shouldn't let a stupid little comment left to me rile me up so much, but I have had it. I get comments left to me alot here (homeschoolblogger) and over at Cafemom about my choice in education and faith. I am tired of letting this stuff roll off my back and say oh well. It bothers me and I am sick of it. I usually just delete the comment, but this one is staying.

To that person who left that comment to me, why are you anonymous? Afraid that a homeschool educator might be a better teacher than you? Scared that I actually might know something more than you? Or is it that your jealous of the fact that I am able to stay home and give my child a better education than his peers?

Sorry about the vent/rant post, but I really just needed to get it off my chest.

Want a free month of Netflix?

I have been a Netflix subscriber for a little bit now. As a former Blockbuster subsciber, I love Netflix so much more. More educational movies to rent, although the site does lack some organization, over all, I have been very happy with them.

In the mail yesterday, I recieved 4 cards each for a free month of rentals for my friends. My friends already belong, or don't care to, so I am passing it on to you.

So the first 4 people who send me a message with you email address, I will send you the activation code and website to go to. Please do not leave a comment because I will need your email addresses and I hate for people to leave them in a comment.

Another odd bug

As you can tell, I am not a bug person. I hate them. I honestly don't mind them when they are outside (like the cicada) but inside, in the shower with you, well that just freaks me out.

A few months ago this little bugger was doing just that. I have no clue what it is. I posted it on my homeschool blog, but got no answers as to what it is, so I am hoping someone here knows.

I found another in my sink today, that is what reminded me to ask about it here. It's rather pretty, but it still "bugs" me out. hehe

Feels like fall

Today it is in the low 60's here in MA. Even though fall doesn't start until Sunday, I just had to add some fall touches to my blog. I am always changing my homeschool blog to reflect the season and even holiday changes, so I will probably do the same thing here. hehe

The trees have yet to start changing here and I can not wait until they do. I love the colors and smells of fall. It is my favorite season. It might have something to do with me being born in the fall, but probably not. hehe.

The local fairs start up in a coupl of weeks. We normally go to the Topsfield Fair, but are skipping it to try out the Deerfield Fair. Topsfield is like 20 minutes from our house where as Deerfield is in another state. LOL.

Apple picking has started up, so we may hit our favorite place this weekend. Applecrest in Hampton Falls, NH. I have been going there since I was a little girl. Every year we would go and once I met my hubby, I told him we were continuing the tradition.

Weird Bug ~UPDATED~

Anyone have any idea what kind of bug this is? It is a rather large bug that my neighbor found while we were chatting not to long ago.

~UPDATE~ I got a comment over at my homeschool blog and we found out it is a Cicada. Cool bug!

Super Duper Windy Today

I have no idea what is with the wind today, but it is super crazy windy out. Not only was stuff blowing around outside (today is trash day too, so that was going everywhere), but all our stuff was blowing around inside.

Matt's school desk is in front of a window and we had to hold his school work down with a book (or my camera). It took us a little bit longer because if we moved the book or our hands, the papers went flying. I did try moving back to the kitchen, but it was just as bad in there. Eventually we got our lessons done before I had to head out to the store for some half & half for dinner tonight.

I am making corn chowder tonight. Normally I make this when it is cold out or for the Autum Equinox (which is this coming Sunday!), but I had roasted a chicken last night and used the carcas to make some stock that I am using for the chowder.

My kitchen smells yummy right now. Normally I wouldn't cook it this early, but I have to leave the house at 4:30 to meet my hubby and hand Matt over to him so I can get to work on time. I work at 5:30 and usually my hubby is home by 3:30 or 4, but he started at 9am today, so he won't get out until 5 and home until 5:30. Stinks with him not having a set schedule. Ahh such is the life of a truck driver.

Home made Yule

Did you know there are only THREE shopping weeks after Thanksgiving until Christmas?!? My family celebrates Yule however, but we also gather with my hubby's family on Christmas.

For the past few years, my sister and I have been making our gifts for each other and our parents. This year, due to lack of money on both our ends, we are taking it one step farther and making our gifts for our hubbies and kids as well. My sister crochets and knits. I can quilt, sew, and cross stitch.

I know what I am getting from my sister (a beautiful shawl) and my mom (arm length fingerless gloves, for those long nights of playing computer games LOL). They asked what I wanted and showed me patterns. My sister had already thought of a shawl for me, so she is happy that I asked for one.

For my sister, I am making her some cross-stitch ornaments for her tree and some cloth pads. She loves the ones I made for myself, so she asked for some. She just wants me to make them with removable liners so if she needs more or less, she can adjust it. I am also making her some cookies and snacks.

For my sister's kids, I am getting the youngest a cement truck, just like my hubby drives, the middle one some Spider-Man finds from the dollar section of Target, and the oldest I have no idea just yet. Something princess-ish and girly.

For my brother and his new wife, I am making them some cross-stich ornaments as well. They just got married, so they have like nothing.

For my brothers kid (they had a baby a year before they got married), I am getting him a Little People tractor.

I honestly have no clue what to get for my hubby as of yet. Probably some hunting gear or something. I know he will get me some cookbooks on how to cook game, a pressure canner, and a dutch oven as I have been driving him nuts about wanting them. LOL.

For my daughter, she asked for a Nintendo DS and some cloth pads (she over herd me talking to my sister about them and asked for some). I will probably also get her a game to go with the DS as well.

For my son, I am working on a pirate blanket (I have put his orange quilt on the back burner for now) and already have some Transformers and cars from the Cars movie (the tiny ones as he has all of the other ones)

My son gets spoiled by my hubby's family as he is the only nephew and gradnson (when my inlaws were alivethat is), so we don't get him much gifts.

I have been working on the ornaments between calls while at work. It seems to be the only time I have to do them as I am so busy during the weekends with my family and with selling our house. Now that would be a great gift for my family. If someone would buy our house. hehe

Catch up time!

Life has been crazy here. Trying to adjust to homeschooling after a long break (4 month break because we finished up in April) and going back to work again. I only work seasonally, so it isn't too bad, but still it is a change after 4 months off. hehe

This year I am still only homeschooling 1. My oldest is now living with my sister in NH and is attending high school, so I only have my youngest home with me. This is his first year homeschooling (2nd grade though), so it isa big change for him. For the most part, he is loving it. He does miss messing around with some of his public school buddies, but some of them live in our neighborhood, so he can play with them when they get home from school.

Going back to CBD (Christian Book Distributors) was a fairly easy transition. I was retrained for one day, then it seemed like my hands were remembering all the moves to make on the computers and I was put back on the order and customer service lines as well as the homeschool spcialist line. So, if you call to order anything or have homeschool questions at night and get a Heather with a sappy voice (my work voice LOL) then it is probably me. LOL.

I love it there! Everyone I work with is super nice and it makes working there so enjoyable. When I came back after my 4 months hyatus (I hadto leave more so for personal reasons then end of a season), I got lots of hugs and welcome backs. It truly felt like I was home again. No other job I had treated me like this.

Well, I need to get dressed (I woke up at 10am OMG! and have been hanging around in my jams all morning) and make out my weekly menu so my hubby knows what to pop in the oven (I work from 5:30pm to closing).

Been super busy

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I have been super busy. With homeschooling now in full swing and I started back up at CBD for the holiday season, I really don't have time for myself. LOL.

I have my hubby DVRing all my nighttime tv shows so that I can watch them during lunch or on the weekend.

The past few weeks I have been at my sisters every Sunday to visit her family and my daughter. This past Sunday was my son's 8th birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. His real birthday was on the 2nd.

So eventually, once things get settled and back into a nice smooth rythum again, my posts will be much more regular.

My John Deere Apron!

A month or so ago, I entered a contest over a Mindless Jibber Jabber and won an apron. Amy Jo made it and sent it to me a week ago and I totally love it. I am afraid to get it dirty though. LOL. Here is a picture of me in it:

I had to crop the picture to hide my ugly kitchen as much as I could. LOL. My son took this picture of me and did a pretty good job.

The apron has John Deere fabric (so adorable and pink gives it a nice splash of girly to it) and is made from jeans. A nice way to reuse those out grown jeans.

Of course when I first put it on to show my hubby and son, my son kept telling me I had it on backwards. I kept trying to tell him that it was on right because it was an apron made from the backside of jeans. He never got it. LOL.

Menu for the week

I guess I had this on draft instead of clicking add entry, but anyway, here is our menu for the week.

Wednesday ~ McDonald's (had to change this one because I will be out driving around for 4+ hours)

Sunday ~ Roasted whole chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans (make stock from chicken carcass)

My first time canning ~Part 1~ Getting ready!~

I haven been reading and hearing about so many people canning and preserving food for so long (heck, my grandmother use to do it and I remember helping), that I decided to join in on the fun.

So, I ordered a BWB canning kit and a couple of extra things from Lehman's. I couldn't find any store near me that sold anything but the jars, not even my local Walmart (and I hate shopping there). I also got two books, Preserving the Harvest and The Complete Book of Home Preserving (I love love love this book). The Ball Blue Book came with the kit, but I wasn't impressed with it, so I may pass it on to my sister. The kit also camew ith 12 wide mouth quart jars, but they are too big for what I want to do with them right now, so I went and got pint sized at Walmart.

So, for my first attempt at canning, I am going to do peaches. They are on sale right now for 99 cents a lb, so I bought about 7 lbs of them. I have washed all the jars, bands and lids and are air drying them.

I was going to start doing them up tomorrow, but I have to go up 2 hours into NH to get my daughter from her grams and then drive her 1 hour across NH to bring her to my sisters. So, it will have to wait until Thursday instead.

I so want to do salsa, but all the recipes I found require like 25 lbs of roma's. Tomatoes are not cheap in my neck of the woods (MA) and my roma plants only have produced 3 tomatoes so far and they are still green. So salsa will have to wait unless I can find a recipe that doesn't require so much tomatoes.

Our Hallway Makeover

I don't have any before pictures, but once like 5 years ago ther ewas nasty pink striped and flowered wallpaper. Then after I stripped it, it remained a blank wall covered in dings and cracks (and the art work of one little boy in my house).

These pictures show the during, which is after mudding and priming the walls and trim and the after with the base coat and color.

This took me months to strip and I found these wonderful details under 30 (yes 30) coats of paint. I also have no clue why the carpet shows up brown, it is gray.

Well, I finally tried them

After hearing many good things about cloth pads, I decided to try them. I couldn't bear paying the amount for only a few pads that some companies wanted, so I made my own. I made two of each color here and have many more cut out ready to sew.

The panty liner one was plenty big for me. The 11 inch one looks way to huge, but might work for an overnight pad. I may have to make the multi layer pad. I made mine without the PUL, as I couldn't find it in my fabric store locally. I did find a few places online to buy it, but at nearly 9.00 a yard + shipping, I figured it was too much.

I just made mine with two layers of terry and two layers of flannel. I leaked through only once, but my periods tend to be very light and with using these, I swear it was even lighter than normal. So silly to be excited about using these, but they are so nice and soft and I will never go back to disposables. I am so tired of the rashes the chemicals that the disposables gave me.

Savory Meatloaf

I am not sure where this recipe came from, but it is a winner here in my house. We had it tonight for dinner in fact.

I have been nominated!

Amy over at ElCloud Homestead: Waiting on God has nominated me for the Brilliante Weblog Premio 2008 Award. I am so honored. I have never been nominated for anything before.

Green Cleaning Recipes

Clean & Green

Excellent nontoxic alternatives exist for those harsh chemical cleaners and many of them are already sitting on your kitchen shelf.

Baking soda works well for cleaning glassware, especially coffee pots, and removes red wine stains from carpeting. A baking soda and water paste removes tea stains from ceramics and polishes silver and stainless steel.

Use coarse salt to scour copper pots and other cookware. It will also help clean up fresh spills in the oven.

Lemon juice removes grease from stove tops and other kitchen surfaces.

Olive oil (3 to 1 with vinegar or 2 to 1 with lemon juice) makes a great wood furniture polish.

Here are some specific recipes for a clean — and healthy — home:

Air Freshener
4 oz. distilled water, 2 oz. rubbing alcohol, 30 drops of essential oil of choice (can blend fragrances. For example, 15 drops of orange and 15 drops of clove can be combined for a winter holiday air freshener)
Combine in a carefully labeled spray bottle and enjoy!

Carpet Freshener
In a container with a tight-fitting lid, combine 1 cup crushed dried herbs (such as lavender or rosemary) with 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 2 teaspoons baking soda. Shake well to blend. Sprinkle the mixture on carpet and let sit for one hour. Vacuum.

Copper Cleaner
With a rag or sponge, coat dirty copper with an even layer of ketchup. Allow ketchup to penetrate the tarnished metal for approximately 20 minutes. Rinse with warm or hot water and buff to a shine.

Disinfectant — Heavy-Duty
Combine 1/4 cup powdered laundry detergent, 1-tablespoon borax, 3/4 cup hot water and 1/4 pine oil. Slowly stir the detergent and borax into the water to dissolve. Add the pine oil (available at hardware stores and supermarkets) and mix well. For bathrooms, use the mixture full strength. For kitchens, dilute with water.

Drain Clearing Agent
Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda in and around the drain opening. Follow with 1 cup of white vinegar. Repeat if necessary and flush with hot water.

Glass Cleaner
Combine 1/4 cup vinegar and one quart of water. Plain club soda also works!

Grease Stain Remover
Cover stain with a mixture of borax and water. Rub in and wipe off. Rinse well after applying stain remover.

Kitchen Disposal Freshener
Just drop in a few lemon wedges and flip the switch.

Laundry Bleach
The only ingredients are 1/4 cup of lemon juice and some sunshine! Use the lemon juice in the washing machine's rinse cycle. After clothes have spun, hang in the sun to dry.

Multipurpose cleaner:
Combine 1-teaspoon borax, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon dishwashing liquid, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 2 cups hot water.

Mold Remover
Saturate a sponge with full-strength vinegar and scrub the moldy area. Rinse well.

Oven Cleaner
Make a paste of equal parts salt, baking soda and water. First, wipe away any grease and scratch off burnt spots with a scouring brush or steel wool. Finally, apply the paste, let stand five minutes and wipe clean with a damp rug. Scrub if necessary. Do not allow baking soda to touch heating elements or wiring.

Rust remover:
Sprinkle salt on the rust and then squeeze a lime over the salt until it is soaked in juice. Let the mixture sit for up to three hours. The leftover lime rind can be used as a handy scrubber to remove the rust. Another option is to rub the rust with balled-up aluminum foil after wetting it with water. Use caution as aluminum foil will scratch chrome.

Silver Cleaner
Rub the silver with toothpaste; wipe off tarnish and then rinse. Dry with a soft cloth.

Tile floor cleaners:
Mop floor with solution of 1 to 2 teaspoons of liquid dish soap dissolved in 3 gallons of warm water. Rinse with 1 cup of white vinegar in 3 gallons of cool water.

Toilet bowl cleaner:
Combine 1-cup borax with 1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice to make a paste. Apply it to the inside of the toilet bowl and let it sit for one to two hours before scrubbing.

Wall and wallpaper cleaner:
Dissolve 1/4 cup borax in 1-gallon hot water. Stir to blend. Use a sponge or rag.

Window Cleaner
Mix 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water. Add 5 drops lemon oil or, if you like suds, 5 drops favorite all-natural dishwashing liquid.
Use to wash windows, other glass or mirrors. This mixture can also be kept in a covered container with a rag submerged in the liquid. For damp dusting, simply wring the rag out and wipe surfaces clean.

Wood floor polish:
Mix 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Rub on floor and buff with a clean, dry cloth.

These cane be found here at the Whole Foods Market Website.

What kind of bug is this?

I found him as I was hopping in the shower last week. He got a nice hot shower. Last night, I found another inthe tub when I was cleaning it out. They freak me out, yet it is a pretty cool looking bug.

My "portable" veggie garden

Well, I planted our garden late this year due to the fact that our house went on the market June 1st. I didn't want to leave my veggies behind should we have sold before I could harvest them.

So, I planted all my veggies (and some edable sunflowers) in huge window boxes and large pots out near my grill and outside table.

From left to right I have Sunflowers (there are some inthe little pots ready to go in bigger ones), squash, squash, basil, pumpkins, parsley, green peppers, two different types of tomatoes, and more squash.

The last two in this picture I wasn't able to get in the above one and they are more squash (yes I love squash) and cuccumbers.

These grow wild in my yard. I am going to miss them when we move. My hubby calls them black raspberries, I call them blackberries. What are they? They are sweeter than raspberries.

All the plants have flowers growing like mad (you just can't tell from the pictures too well). As you can see from the pictures, some of my squash plants leaves have turned yellow. I asked my dad (he is the gardener inthe family) what was going on and he said because of all the rain we have been getting, the plants are not liking it. I may have to move them to my front porch so they don't get hit with so much rain or something.

Right now the sky is pitch black and it is pouring out yet again (12:57pm). We had severe thunder storms all night long (RI even had a tornado! Thankfully I live in north eastern MA).

Heather on the Hill

It's Fair Time!