Fall is my FAVORITE… always and forever! I mean, just look at the beautiful tree I get to stare up into all season long! I’m sharing more favorites below!
Over the weekend, our family made the 20-minute drive to Dave and my alma mater for Homecoming weekend. Despite the lack of miles, I honestly can’t remember the last time I was back on campus — it’s been YEARS!
The weather was perfect and the various on-campus events seemed specifically tailored for our family’s interests. I’m so glad we set aside our lengthy list of fall yard work and weekend projects to participate in this fun, family-friendly event.
Nora enjoyed a couple of art exhibits, got to watch students make a screen-printed bag for her, and had the opportunity to do her own watercolor painting down by a wooded pond. She later announced that she wants to attend this college to become an art teacher one day.
Simon was super excited about his tour of the Minerology Museum… and was beyond thrilled to snag a giant rock as one of his prizes for a fun outdoor scavenger hunt later in the day! Simon’s comment as we left the Minerology Museum was, “I am definitely going to be a geologist when I grow up.”
James could hardly sit still as we watched the baseball scrimmage and soccer game — especially since “our” teams won both games. He is certain he will eventually be a professional athlete or a coach — maybe both.
Clara easily kept up with everyone else all day long (no strollers!!) and her favorite part of the day was the nature walk with a make-your-own trail mix station. She later told me that she wants to be a carnival worker when she grows up! 😂
Dave and I bumped into several people we knew but hadn’t see in ages… and we were amazed by all the updates and improvements made over the last 15 years.
I have 2 pictures of the entire day, neither of which turned out great — I must have enjoyed our day so much I never thought to get my phone out.
Now… onto my favorites for the month!
FAVORITE MOMENT = After School Snacks
One of my most favorite parts of being a stay-at-home mom of school-age children is having an afterschool snack ready and waiting for them when they walk in the door.
I know — I’m weird!
The snacks themselves are rarely ever fancy — usually just a salty, sweet, and fruit or veggie option — but Clara and I enjoy coming up with a variety of options each week.
Sometimes we surprise the kids with something extra special (like last week when we picked up donuts and cider from a local apple orchard) but mostly, it’s just normal snack stuff we have in the house.
The reason snacktime made my Favorite Things list is because I love that the kids usually hang out in the kitchen to eat their snacks while I finish prepping dinner stuff.
The benefits of having a couch in your kitchen, I suppose!
Snack time is when they tell me all the happenings at school, on the playground, in the hot lunch line, on the bus, and in their “specials” classes. I want them to keep talking, so I’ll keep feeding them!
Simon recently told me that his favorite part of the day is coming home so he can see what snacks I have for him. If you know Simon, you know he LOOOOVES snacks (and he also loves school). So it just warms my heart to know that he loves coming home after a fun day at school and playing with friends.
RELATED READING: Our favorite snacks.
FAVORITE ROUTINE = A Cleaning/Laundry Day
Throughout the years when I had multiple little kids at home with me all day, I stayed on top of housework by doing little bits every day. I had a loose system of sorts — and things were usually clean enough, but I never had the satisfaction of a fully clean house at one time.
All that changed last year when I suddenly found myself with the house to myself for about 5 hours every Monday, after getting the older 3 kiddos on the bus and carting Clara off to her cousin’s house down the road.
Since I actually enjoy cleaning, I decided to use my free time on Mondays to thoroughly clean the entire house in one fell swoop — all while listening to favorite podcasts and audiobooks. It was glorious!
Even though Clara is usually home with me on Mondays this year, my goal is still to clean the entire house (she enjoys “helping” me). I also added laundry to my Monday to-dos, and sometimes I even get groceries and do a little meal prepping too!
I know this might seem like a waste of a day… but I feel significantly more productive, more creative, and more rested when I live and work in a clean and clutter-free space. So for me, cleaning the entire house and doing all the laundry right away on Mondays is such a great way to start the week. I know the benefits I feel eventually trickle down to my family too.
NOTE: If you’re not in a season of life where you can’t thoroughly clean your entire home in one day, just do whatever works best for you right now. Something is always better than nothing!
RELATED READING: How to Create a Cozy Clean Home
PAST FAVORITE = The Every Mother Program
I’ve mentioned the Every Mother program a few times on the blog already… but that’s because it’s the best, easiest, fastest, and cheapest program I’ve used to fix my ab separation and alleviate my decades-long back pain.
In fact, it’s really the ONLY treatment that has actually worked for me!
Below you can see a few pictures of my results after using the Every Mother program — what you can’t see, however, is that the back pain I’ve had since I was 14 is now gone!
At roughly $15 a month and 5-10 minutes per day (all online whenever it works best for you), the Every Mother program has been a solid investment for me these last 15+ months.
AND… this week only (through Oct 8), you can try the Every Mother program completely FREE for 7 days — you don’t even need to enter a credit card number!
Just use the code: TRIALEM
Try it for 7 days — do the breathing and stretching exercise she shows you how to do, and I’m confident you’ll notice a difference within that first week!
Oh, and let me know if you do! I love hearing all the success stories from those of you who now use the Every Mother program — it’s so exciting!
FAVORITE FALL TREAT = Candy Corn Trail Mix
Every fall, I make a gigantic batch of our favorite Candy Corn Trail Mix and divide it up in little plastic cone treat bags to hand out to all our favorite people — classroom teachers, bus drivers, school staff and administrators, GEMS leaders, Sunday School teachers, pastors, our mail lady, etc.
I didn’t do this last year because of COVID, and I’m not sure if I’ll do it this year. But it’s still one of our family’s favorite fall treats.
Every year I consider stocking up on Candy Corn and freezing it for later in the year, but there’s something special about reserving this special treat for once a year! (Get my simple recipe here.)
RELATED READING: Our Favorite Clutter-Free Teacher Gifts
FAVORITE BOOK = Raising Worry Free Girls
I found Sissy Goff’s book, Raising Worry-Free Girls, over the summer, but didn’t read it until the school year started. WOW! It’s jam-packed with helpful information and encouragement for us parents raising girls who are prone to worry.
This book is written from a Christian perspective and is specifically geared towards younger girls (ages 8-12). She has another book, Brave, geared towards teens.
You can also listen to the audiobook free with the Hoopla App (through your local library).
READ THE BOOK: Raising Worry-Free Girls
FAVORITE MEDIA = She Reads Truth
I’ve enjoyed the She Reads Truth podcast for almost a year now, but they have so many really cool (totally free) resources too.
They have dozens of free Bible Reading Plans on their blog and if you join their email list, you get free daily devotionals.
AND… everything is SO well organized!
Each reading plan clearly states how many days it will take and lists each daily reading in order with corresponding podcast episodes, additional “food for thought” on each daily Bible passage, and links to other helpful passages throughout the Bible that tie in with the current day’s reading.
If you’re more of a hard-copy person, you can purchase their gorgeously designed Study Books instead.
FAVORITE RECIPE = Easy Oven-Roasted Veggies
Our family eats roasted vegetables all year round — but the Fall season is a more traditional time of year to enjoy this delicious treat.
Fall is the perfect time to crank up your oven and throw in a pan or 2 of fresh veggies — coated with a little olive oil and your favorite seasonings.
This is my absolute FAVORITE way to eat veggies. In fact, I make several pans at one time and reheat them in my cast iron skillets throughout the week — they taste fresh from the oven and I save a bunch of time in the kitchen.
I even eat roasted veggies for breakfast on a fairly regular basis!
GET THE FULL RECIPE: Easy Oven-Roasted Veggies.
FAVORITE ARCHIVED POST = Gift Card Storage
For as long as I can remember, I’ve used a tiny photo album to store and organize all my gift cards (and other store cards or membership cards).
It’s definitely one of my favorite things!
We love gift card gifts and since Dave is a teacher/coach, he often gets a fair amount of gift cards, so it’s nice to have a really simple solution to keep them organized and all in one place.
I realize that much of this information can be stored in apps on my phone, but I prefer to keep the physical gift cards as that still seems simpler and easier for me.
If you’d like to try a super simple method to organize your gift cards (just in time for the holiday season), check out my tried-and-true method.
Read the full posts here.
FAVORITE QUOTE = Isaiah 40:8
“The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our Lord stands forever.”
Every fall, when I’m loading up our yard waste bin with hundreds of “faded” flowers and “withered” grasses, I think of Isaiah 40:8.
I actually like the version that says… “the word of our God endures forever” better, but I wanted to include the picture I made for one of our kids’ teachers, so I used that version in the quote above.
A few years back, we had a teacher who joked about how much of a brown thumb she had… so I thought this would be a fun gift for her at the end of the year (along with a gift card!)
NOTE: I did draw it myself, but I modeled it after something I found online — I’m not that artistic!
That’s all for me this month!
If you’re interested, you can scroll through ALL my Favorite Things posts HERE!
Susan B says
Welcome home! We’re glad our efforts to offer hands-on and free activities made it a fun outing for your family — and the weather sure helped that day too. – your alma mater alumni team 😉
Andrea says
Thanks Susan — it was a well-run event (and yes, the weather helped!)
Penny says
Since you drink so much water, do you have a filter or just drink tap water?
Andrea says
Good question — we have REALLY good drinking water where we live, so we just drink tap water. But we do have a Berkey filter for our outbuilding that we like too.
Jeanine says
I love your favorites posts! I got a good laugh out of Clara’s goal, and it made me remember what my youngest son said that he wanted to be when he grows up. Mind you, this was at his preschool graduation. As each child was given their diploma, the teacher said a little bit about him/her including what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most children said the usual doctor, fireman, etc. but my son said that he wanted to be a garbage truck driver, haha! Nothing at all wrong with that, but I think he’s probably a little happier today working as a Chemist! Also, thanks for the good ideas about roasting veggies. I like to add a few sprigs of rosemary to veggies as well as chicken before I roast them. It infuses them with the good flavor of rosemary, and then I just throw away the rosemary sprigs once the food is cooked.
Andrea says
haha — for a long time, Simon was going to be a garbage man! Now he’s just so obsessed with rocks, gems, etc. that geologist is his new future career 🙂
Oh, and you’re welcome about the veggies — aren’t they amazingly delicious! I agree about the Rosemary too… I like the flavor, but I don’t like the pokie dried herbs on my food (so using and removing full sprigs is totally the way to go!) I grew them in our garden this year!
Holly S says
I love the gift card storage idea.
And although I love a clean and clutter-free home, I somehow was not blessed with that gene. And I no longer have young kids at home to blame it on. I keep reading your blog and suggestions though and maybe one day the “gene” will kick in, lol.
Andrea says
haha — I’m not sure the gene will ever kick in, but you could train yourself to develop new habits 🙂
As for me… I’d love to train myself to develop the habit of regular exercise. I do good for a few weeks and then fall off the bandwagon again. I just don’t enjoy it.
All of that to say… “I totally get it”! You don’t love cleaning and organizing like I don’t love exercising. You’d rather put up with a slightly disorganized home versus force yourself to keep it organized (just like I’d rather put up with a few extra pounds than constantly force myself to exercise!)
such is life!
Katie says
I just love your blog posts! Love that verse and She Reads Truth also! Their Advent devotionals are my absolute favorite. Your blog always gives me so much encouragement, just to have joy in the simple parts of motherhood and home management. 🙂 Thank you!
Andrea says
wow — what a compliment!
Finding joy in the simple parts of motherhood and home management is exactly what I’m trying to do over here (and giving it out online too). Thanks for putting that into such a concise statement!
Chris says
No, it’s not weird that you like to give your snacks and as a means of spending time with them. Actually, it’s quite awesome!
My husband has a bad sway back. I wanted to ask you, in your progress photos, it also looks like the sway back (for lack of a better word) was also improved. Have you noticed if this was the case? I’m so glad it has helped you so much.
Chris says
Thank you for the free trial code. I want to help my back.
Andrea says
you’re welcome! I hope you notice even just a tiny difference in 7 days and then want to stick with it.
I truly noticed a lack of pain after 7 -10 days and after the full 12 weeks, I was honestly amazed at the night/day difference!
Andrea says
haha — not weird that I like to give my kids snacks 🙂 I think it’s weird that the snacks are one of my favorite things about being a stay-at-home-mom 😉
And yes, I’ve never heard the term “sway back” but I do think the curvature of my spine is better now.
Alissa says
I love your favorite posts! I’m a life stage or two behind you (my kids are 4.5, 2.5, and 9 months) so I like to see what comes in the stages ahead. Just a quick question – do your kids still eat supper if they have a snack after school? I really try to limit snacks as my kids don’t seem to eat as well at meal time.
I’m six weeks into Every Mother. I don’t feel like I can see a change yet (I am 100% doing the 12 weeks for vanity reasons – I feel like I still look pregnant!) But I’m glad you posted about it because I will take all the encouragement I can get! Thanks for such a fun post.
Andrea says
Hi Alissa! Thanks so much for your kind words 🙂
Yes, our kids eat dinner just fine (and we usually eat really early — 4:30 or 5:00)
We don’t usually have huge after-school snacks, but we always have something. Even in the summer, our snack times are right around 9:30/10am and 2:30/3pm. That said, Dave and I are big snackers — so they probably get it from us!
And regarding the Every Mother program. I don’t want to totally burst your bubble, but my stomach still isn’t nearly as flat as it was before kids (those were the days) but I’m just so thrilled that my back pain is gone that I will tell anyone and everyone about it. My chiropractor (whom I no longer go to!) said my ab separation was fully healed after only a couple of months on the EM program — so even though my stomach isn’t quite as flat, the muscles are back where they need to be — which is good.
Hopefully you get the results you want!
Alissa Ferguson says
I think I need my bubble bursted 🙂 Thanks for sharing your experience! I wondered if you guys still ate supper early (said as a faithful follower not a creeper). Enjoy your fall!
Andrea says
haha — well everyone’s bodies are different. Your abs might bounce back better/faster than mine!
I had SUPER flat abs my whole life until after Simon was born. I didn’t realize I had the ab separation from his pregnancy, and then got pregnant with James right away so nothing healed… and it’s basically been downhill from there (in terms of my abs — not my life!)
I *think* that if I would have realized the issue and had time to heal it after Simon, they would be flatter now… but it could be worse, I’m trying to just focus on the fact that I no longer have back pain!
Tammy says
I have been roasting vegetables since I saw you post about them quite a few years ago now. (Thanks for that!) It’s literally changed my my whole way of eating. Because I have a texture issue, I could only eat a few vegetables besides salad. Now I find I can eat almost any as long as they are roasted.
JJ says
I love Clara’s goals. 4 year olds are so fun! What a fun weekend you guys had! You are great about including your kids in every day activities(like Clara helping with snacks).
I started Every Mother. Thanks for the tip! I like how they give you a checklist each day with information and exercises. It is awesome to have everything laid out. I especially like that they teach you simple things like how to lie down and do every day things to strengthen or help your core. I had no clue I was doing it all wrong. So so helpful already!
Andrea says
oh good — I’m thrilled you are finding this program helpful! And yes, 4 year old goals are hilarious 🙂
Kim says
The time (and snacks) you give your children each afternoon is a wise investment.
So many choices from years past have made this gift possible for your children. I wish couples would think ahead about finances, how much college debt to take on, what size home to purchase, car choices, etc., long before children are on the scene. Being able to be home to lovingly invest in your children will pay off! These children are very blessed by the intentional choices you and Dave have made.
Sarah says
I agree!!!
Andrea says
if you feed them… they will come (Ok, that’s not how the movie goes, but it works in our family!)
Dave and I are all about planning and thinking ahead… but as some some encouragement for those who might not be so forward thinking — I think there’s always time to make major changes in our lives (even if it seems crazy or if your friends and family think you’re nuts). You can start right now, this week, or before the New Year — consider what you want your life to look like and start making changes to stear it more that way. Hope is never lost!
Kim says
Absolutely true, Andrea. It is never too late!