October Odds and Ends

My cute Grandma had another fall and was placed in a home for some temporary care.

High school had a day off for parent teacher conferences so Josh, Abby and I were able to go visit...

 We had an early snow and I thought these tiny snowballs on my rose leaves were a pretty picture...

I got working on my Christmas ornaments.

One year I had them done by labor day but most years I am scrambling to get them ready in time to deliver by mid December.

I also did my annual caramel apples...

The kids had their fall piano recital...

For the last several years I have struggled making dinner for my family.

I had a hard time deciding what to make because I knew I couldn't please everyone. There were only a few meals that at least half of my family would eat so I ended up getting into a rut.  Consequently, I would then try new dishes that no one but Andy and Ben would end up eating and eventually, I felt like I gave up.

A friend suggested I have my kids make the meals.  That wasn't a new idea...I had heard it before but for some reason, this time, it clicked for me.

I assigned each of them a day of the week and they get to choose the menu and make the meal.  I do the grocery shopping and help when needed but the rest is up to them.  We've only been doing it for about a month and a half now but it's been wonderful so far!

They now take responsibility for what to make so they can't really complain and it's teaching them valuable skills for when they are off on their own.

Another perk is that by the time my turn comes around on Thursday, we often have leftovers from the previous three nights :)

It has really taken a burden off of my shoulders and dinner time isn't nearly the drudgery that it used to be.

Also, the kids have all had a really good attitude about it.  I kind of expected them to drag their feet but they have been almost eager to participate!

We ended up having a really serious snow towards the end of the month.  It was super cold that week and we all felt like autumn had been passed over a little too quickly :)