Tag Archives: fall

Indoor Nature Study on Apples

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I don’t like to be outside. I love to be indoors where there’s no critters that attack you and leave you covered in itchy red bumps. I don’t like to be outside, but God gave me to boys that LOVE the outdoors. This year I committed to doing more nature studies and nature walks with my guys. The calendar may see that it’s Fall but where I live it’s still Summer. It can be too hot to be outside so I’ve started doing some nature studies with my boys indoors.

When I think of fall I think of the leaves changing and pumpkins and apples. I thought it would be fun to do a quick nature study with my boys about apples. They are one of our favorite fruits so it was fun to learn about how they grow. I started off with a short story called “How the Apple Blossom Came Back” from Outdoor Secrets. I also asked both my boys for a narration and then we headed to the table for some hands on fun!

Our short story explained to us that you can find a blossom on the inside of an apple. I never realized this because I typically cut our apples the other way. My boys were very excited to see the blossom in the center of the apple once it was sliced. The trick is to cut the apple from side to side and not top to bottom.

I had one more activity for my boys before I was going to let them eat their apples: apple stamping. This is the first year that we have been keeping nature journals and I love them. My plan was to have them stamp the apples on a page so that we could still see the blossom in the center. It didn’t work out that well but they still had a lot of fun. Also both my boys wrote short poems that I copied at the bottom of their pages.

While my boys enjoyed apples for a snack we read some books about apples and apple trees. I wish that we had an apple orchard to visit, but we grow citrus where we live. We spend some time reading books about apples, orchards and farms. I even threw in some fun picture books and stories about Johnny Appleseed. I found some pictures of apple orchards and blossoms online and we had fun looking at the beautiful pictures. Here are some of the books that we enjoyed:

How Do Apples Grow by Betsy Maestro
Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh
Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Life on an Apple Orchard by Judy Wolfman
A Tree is a Plant by Clyde Robert Bulla

We have actually gone on ~~a few~~ one nature walk so far this school year. But we have done several indoor nature studies. My boys found a frog by our front door and we spent some time looking up different frog species. We were able to identify our little friend and my oldest son even drew pictures of the life cycle of the frog.

What about you? Do you get outside and explore God’s creation with your children? Do you have a favorite indoor study that you’ve done? I’d love some more ideas.

Frugal Fall Decorating Ideas

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Happy Fall Y’all!

I love decorating. I love making my home beautiful and a place that my family can enjoy. But, I admit, when I browse the blog world of home decorating blogs, I get a little home envy. Most of us can’t afford to have big decorating budgets, so where do I turn for frugal fall decorating ideas?? Pinterest, of course! 🙂

I want to share with you a few of my very favorite ways to decorate my home seasonally and frugally at the same time!

TOP FIVE Favorite Frugal Fall Decorating Ideas Continue reading →

Fall Skin & Hair Care

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Don’t you just love fall? The leaves are changing, and the cool weather is slowly making its way in. As much as we will miss those fun pool days, and long sunny days – we are excited to welcome this new season. There is so much excitement in decorating our homes, pulling out the cooler-weather clothes, and digging through all our favorite pumpkin recipes!

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But with the new season and cooler weather, we also get drier hair and drier skin. Taking a little extra time to care of your skin can be the difference between healthy skin and flaky cracked skin. And keeping our hair moisturized throughout the cooler months can make the difference between hydrated healthy hair and dry, brittle hair.

I picked out my must have items that help me keep my hair healthy and my skin nourished throughout these cooler and drier months.

Hair care must haves:

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Hair Mask. Ever deep condition your hair, just to finish with what feels like hair that needs to be washed again? If you have, you know how frustrating that is. This deep conditioner doesn’t do that. It is incredibly hydrating, doesn’t weigh down your hair, and keeps hair healthy and soft. A small amount goes a long way too, don’t be fooled by the size of the jar. This jar usually lasts several months.

L’oreal Nourishing EverCreme Leave-In Spray. This is my go to extra care protection product, especially if I’m going to be outside in the cooler weather. It is incredibly lightweight, which is a big deal for me as I don’t like to feel products on my hair.

Face care must haves:

I’m very picky with what I put on my face. Most products take my skin to one extreme or the other. The only product I’ve found that nourishes my skin, keeps it clean, and controls break out – is Cetaphil. I use both the cleanser and lotion. Cetaphil is very gentle, yet effective.

Cetaphil Cleanser. I use this all year long. I love that it’s mild, non-irritating, non-greasy, and rinses of easily.

Cetaphil Lotion. I don’t use this as much during the warmer months, just in the drier areas of my face. But in the cooler months, my skin need it more. Best part? Its fragrance free, non-greasy, and hydrates all day long.

Vaseline Lip Therapy. Last fall my lips started to dry out a lot, and I was constantly applying chap stick but wasn’t getting any relief. I went to the store and grabbed tons of different lip products, but nothing worked. Until I tired Vaseline Lip Therapy. It is by far the best lip product I’ve tried. I apply it about twice a day, and that’s sufficient to keep my lips from cracking and drying out. I bought this last winter and still have more than half of it.

Sun Screen. Sun Screen? Yup! Even though those long sunny summer days are in the rear view mirror, it is still important to use sun screen. I use one of two things: a BB cream which contains SPF protection or an oil free sport SPF sunscreen.

Body care must haves:

Dove Go Fresh Body Wash. I recently switched to this body wash and love it! It smells SO good. Funny how the small things like great smelling body wash can be relaxing – especially after a long day of mommy duties. I really like how it hydrates and restores my skin.

St. Ives Body Lotion. This is one of the non-body-butter lotions that really keeps my skin hydrated. They say you should switch from lotion to cream in the cooler months, but this one works well. It doesn’t feel oily and doesn’t leave a residue. Perfect for a busy moms day to day moisturizing needs.

Extracts Brazil Nut Body Butter. I use this body butter about once a week. Usually right after I exfoliate. Much like the hair mask I mentioned above, you don’t need to use a lot, a little goes a long way. Most body butters that I’ve tried leave me feeling greasy and like I can’t touch anything, this one doesn’t. It is paraben-free and sulphate-free

Pacifica Body Butter. I carry this one around in my purse, and apply it as needed throughout the day – usually on my hands and arms. It’s 100% Vegan, made with Shea and Mango butters, almond oil and safflower oil. It’s also paraben –free.

Bath & Shower Gloves. This really isn’t really a product, but it’s a must have for me. It’s a great way to exfoliate, even if you don’t have a scrub. This will help keep you skin even toned and eliminate dry patches too.

I would LOVE to know what your favorite fall/dry weather beauty products are. And if you try any of these out, let me know what you think about them!

A Fall Family Tradition

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I love traditions. Seriously. If left to my own insanity, I would have a tradition for everything I do. This runs along quite well with my insane hate for change, so instead of insisting of my love of the regular… I label it Traditions!

And once Fall hits, It’s time for my cute aprons to come out and our baking to begin. Starting in September, September 1st to be exact. We welcome Fall into our Little Red house. It’s still hot in the south, but we celebrate a bit early to anticipate what’s to come.

What once started out as a simple apple pie to welcome in the season has now turned into an apple festival that spiraled out of control! With 7 kids and various family and friends who anticipate the start of baking day as much as we do….Pies, crisps and home made applesauce now adorn our days.

For me food means bringing people together… and that’s what I love the most. The gathering of my kids around the table, excited about the days events. As my children grow, my traditions have been taken over by them. I have graduated to the “overseer” as my teenagers happily start handing out jobs to the littler ones. Their friends come over to help with the baking.

There is something about a full house that warms my heart… and usually, in the center of that is food! It brings people closer, puts them at ease and warms the soul.

In our Little Red House the smell of Fall closely resembles Apples. Our huge crock pot is simmering with freshly peeled apples….Sprinkled with various amounts of sugar and cinnamon… And a bag of apples are always bought for my Aunt Diana who lives right down the street. My children love to pick the juiciest ones for her to make into the best apple butter this side of the Mason-Dixon Line.

This year, we learned the secret of “seconds.” Seconds are the apples that fall to the ground before they get the chance to be picked. They are gathered and placed in a huge farm freezer and are sold for mere pennies. So after my kids picked some fruit from the trees, we purchased a huge box of seconds for about $5. After making 4 apple pies, 2 apple crisps, 8.5 qts of apple sauce, 4 cans of apple butter, freezing 15 apples for later use AND eating apples with breakfast, lunch and dinner, we still had about 1/2 a bushel left over….

Our Apple Pie tradition has been celebrated for over a decade. It has been picked up by other families and inspired people to celebrate the little things.

My prayer is that when my kids grow up and go off on their own, that somehow, they will all make their way back to my Little Red House for a plateful of apple pie. That they will come back with their husbands and wives, their kids and their friends…

And that one day, when I am long gone, they will carry this tradition on in their own home. That on September 1st neighbors will smell the sweet aroma of cooking apples and know that in their house… Love abides.

XOXO

Heidi St. John

Speaking the Truth in Love