Happy Fall!

Our leaves are falling and there are plenty of raking opportunities over here. While Emily laid down for her nap, I took Ethan outside to rake leaves. He was so excited to help me and I was excited to do something with just him.

I have felt lots of mommy guilt about not giving the kids the equal time they each deserve. Ethan and I had a heart-to-heart yesterday evening about how he sometimes misses doing stuff with just me. I am going to try to make more of an effort to take advantage of her naptime to create some time for just the two of us. Likewise, I need to make more time for just my Emily when Ethan is at school. I know I can't be the only mommy who feels torn at times.Raking seemed like the perfect opportunity to share some time together. I raked while Ethan ran through the leaves, batted the leaves with a baseball bat, and gathered leaves in his trick-or-treat bucket.

Ethan also worked on little hats that blew away for his pumpkins. The kids picked white pumpkins this year and we did a pumpkin decorating playgroup at a girlfriend's house. The best part? No pumpkin painting or carving. Foamy craft kits decorated the pumpkin faces and made for some good clean fun for the kids. I would have never thought to do this and the kids still had a blast making their pumpkin faces. I still enjoy the carving and painting, but this was an easy alternative for some last minute decorating.