Donna's Pumpkin Apple Bread

Thanks to Donna M. for sharing this recipe.  I'm not a big pumpkin fan, but this is really good!  (Mine was without allspice & cloves, but still good.) The kids liked it too. I gave one loaf to the family that takes Brett to school so it's about gone already. 

PUMPKIN APPLE BREAD

For topping:

1 Tbs all-purpose flour

5 Tbs sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbs unsalted butter, softened

For bread:

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsps baking soda

1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1 (15-oz) can solid-pack pumpkin

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs lightly beaten

2 Granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (2 cups)

MAKE THE TOPPING: Blend together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a small bowl with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.

MAKE THE BREAD: Put a rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 350F. Butter two 9 X 5 inch loaf pans.Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice into a medium bowl.Whisk together the pumpkin.oil, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. Add flour mixture, stirring until well combined. Fold in apples.  Sprinkle topping on.  Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of bread comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.Cool loves in pans on a rack for 45 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.

Pounding Colors

One of our activities today was "pounding colors".  We picked flowers and leaves and then put them on the table under a piece of thin fabric. Then we pounded with a rubber mallet on the fabric until we saw the colors bleeding through. (Wish I would have thought to use the red berries  on the plants on the other side of the house! That might have been really messy though!)  This was a bit of a science experiment and art combined.  We learned that plants have water in them and they make colors that can be used as dye.  I love using nature in our activities.  What a fun project everyone enjoyed!

Fall Sensory Play

Rice (I didn't take the time to color it), red beans, cinnamon scented pine cones, fake apples/gourds/pumpkins and Toob Tree set.

Fall Mums

Going for a Ride

Stormy is sleeping in the doll stroller after Brett gave him a ride. It always surprises me that he lets the kids push him in the stroller but he always seems to enjoy it!

Lovin the new pic on my wall

and the fact that I took it myself.  It's an 11 x 17 ~ it looks bigger in person than it does in the picture.

Back to School: 2nd Grade

Made with Hopscotch & Hopscotch School Additions by ShabbyShoppe.

Bubber!

Today we're playing with Bubber.  It does feel really neat! Kind of marshmalllowy.

Bubber™, the worlds lightest modeling compound, feels light as air and fluffy as a cloud. It’s so light that it actually floats on water! Discover the joy of carving in a soft compound that leaves clean, sharp lines and amazing imprints. Bubber is non-toxic, leaves no stain or residue and never dries out, so you can play with it over and over! Whether building a tall skyscraper, a broad mountain range or creating anything else that you can dream of, you are limited only by your own imagination in the world of Bubber fun! 

Working with the soft compound feels pleasantly warm in your hands. Even the littlest hands can shape a large amount of this compound where old toys can add new interest to children’s play 

What is Bubber? It's sort of a cross between Playdough and Moon Sand: it's perfect for small and big kids and stimulates their fine motor skills. 

Cheese anyone?

Ivy

The ivy has gone mad this year. I've even trimmed some of it near the sidewalk.

Fall Hand Print Wreaths

A few left

In the garden

Fall Flowers

Various plants from our yard.  I wish this arrangement would last as is......

Yard Sale Fun

Another activity from Mother Goose Time

Simple Science

I thought this was a great simple science activity for the kids to play with.  The idea came with my Mother Goose Time curriculum.  The hanger was included and during circle time we used clothespins to answer yes & no questions to see which there were more of.  Now the kids can experiment with it and see which item they put in is heavier.

Playing Hot Wheels with Stormy

The kids prefer to not to have Stormy play but he loves to play Hot Wheels!  The cars come down the track and he's after them.  Today he laid in this spot and stopped them with his paw before the loop. Other times he races down to catch them in the loop or at the end.  It's so cute but the kids get sick of it.  : )  These kids were here early this morning and Brett enjoys playing with them before they leave for school.

This is a tiring game!

Apple Prints

Yesterday we made apple prints. It's an activity often done this time of year, but how could we let September pass without doing it??  The littlest ones can now say "apple" and of course thought it was to eat.  Apple halves are hard to pick up with paint on them so I used the corn-on-the-cob-holders as handles & it worked great!

Getting Ready to Go

To convention & Stormy thinks he should go too. He always loves to sit in the suitcases.

Brett's 8th Birthday

I'm really late in posting these pictures. Brett's birthday is September 14th and he had his party with family on the 11th.  We had a wonderful weekend and it was so fun being with everyone.  First we went for breakfast at Cracker Barrel with G & G Ransom. Then we watched Brett's first football game and came home for his early afternoon party.  We had chili and roast beef sandwiches and a beautiful fruit salad that Grandma R brought.

Clothes, duffel bag, skateboard, lots of books! Football DS game and more!

A skateboard!  He'll have to grow into this one.

Opening his present from Jon & Shanda - they weren't able to come so we video taped it.

Pictures at Marion & 8 Years Page