Crackling fires. Football. Chilly nights. Pumpkin spice everything! Welcome Fall with The Best Fall Bucket List: 50 Fun Ways to Celebrate Autumn.
My husband and I started a tradition when we got married. We have a Christmas advent calendar. For 25 days, we celebrate Christmas by doing something Christmas or winter related every day. I can honestly say, it absolutely gets us out of our rut and into the spirit. It’s a great way to spend quality time together and to make memories.
So this year, I decided to do the same thing with fall. It’s been so much fun and the kids love it too. Here are 50 ideas that you can do to get that into the Autumn mood.
Also, I’m giving away a free printable to help you plan your fun-filled Autumn Calendar. You’ll need to make sure you have Adobe Acrobat or other pdf viewing software to view and print it.
Thank you for reading. Don’t forget to PIN this post for later and share it on your Facebook wall. Also, before you leave please subscribe to my blog for future posts, giveaways and FREE printable every month.
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Looking to take your Halloween party to the next level? Try this Ultimate Halloween Party Playlist, a creepy curated song list for your next spooktacular event!
I love Halloween. The costumes, the candy, the fun food made to look like insects and bones. Seriously, how fun is that? I love Halloween and not because I get to live out my Walking Dead fantasy (yes, I love zombies with a passion). I throw a Halloween party as often as I possibly can. For years I struggled trying to find Halloween themed music, but after much trial and error, I think I’ve found a good mix!
So today, I’m sharing my Ultimate Halloween Party Playlist. I’ve done the work for you compiling a list of old school and new songs that make for a great party atmosphere.
These days, it’s easy to find playlists on applications like Spotify, Apple ITunes, and Pandora, but if you’re looking to DIY it, here you go! I’m sure this will help get creepy party vibes!
The Ultimate Halloween Party Playlist
Thriller, Michael Jackson
Ghostbusters, Ray Parker Jr.
Witchy Woman, The Eagles
Bad Moon Rising, CCR
Psycho Killer, Talking Heads
Sympathy For the Devil, Guns & Roses
Special Death, Mirah
I Put A Spell On You, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
Devil Inside, INXS
Love Potion Number 9, The Searchers
Spooky, Classics IV
The Addams Family Theme, Vic Mizzy
Werewolves in London, Warren Zevon
Twisted Nerve, The City of Prague Philharmonic
Devil Went Down to Georgia, Charlie Daniels
Black Magic Woman, Santana
Nightmare, Artie Shaw
Superstition, Stevie Wonder
Ghost Town, The Specials
Time Warp, Little Nell, Patricia Quinn, Richard O’Brien (from Rocky Horror Picture Show)
Monster Mash, Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Crypt Kickers
Season of the Witch, Donovan
Weird Science, Oingo Boingo
Freakshow, Britney Spears
Somebody’s Watching Me, Rockwell
The Boogey Monster, Gnarls Barkley
The Imperial March, John Williams (from Star Wars)
In the Midnight Hour, Wilson Pickett
Super Freak, Rick James
Out of Limits, The Marketts
American Horror Story Theme, Cesar Davila-Irizarry & Charlie Clouser
Witch Doctor, David Seville
Beetlejuice Theme, Danny Elfman
Evil Ways, Santana
Jump In the Line, Harry Belafonte
Little Red Riding Hood, Sam “The Sham” & The Pharaohs
Hedwigs Theme, John Williams (from Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets)
Warm white chocolate raspberry muffins are the perfect addition to your breakfast repertoire.
Welcome! Today we are cooking up something yummy for breakfast. I’ve been making these amazing white chocolate and raspberry muffins for a few years and it all started with a kitchen throw down!
If you are unfamiliar with a throw down it’s where you use ingredients on hand to make something amazing. Part luck and part intuition, some recipes are fails while others are total wins. Well, I had a basic muffin recipe I’ve used over the years to make blueberry and chocolate chip muffins. Well, I had neither on hand, but I did have fresh raspberries and some left over white chocolate. Boy was this a happy accident. It has become one of our favorites!
Making White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins
I learned the secret to perfect to great muffins from a professional baker. He said that to keep muffins soft and fluffy you should avoid over-mixing. Mix just enough to the combine ingredients. Always either grease the pan or use a muffin paper liner. Otherwise your muffin will be impossible to remove. Additionally, you always want to aim for filling your muffin tin about ¾ of the way full. This makes sure to give you those beautiful golden-brown domed tops we all love. Lastly, when you remove them from the oven, you’ll also want to remove them from the pan. Letting them cool in the hot tin and cause them to dry out.
You can check muffins for doneness in several ways. First, muffin tops should be a rounded peak and golden brown in color. When touched the warm bread should spring back. Lastly, when you insert a toothpick directly in the center it should be clean and batter free when removed.
Muffins can be stored in a covered container at room temperature for about 3 days. You can also freeze your muffins for storage up to 3 months. Just make sure you wrap them well with heavy duty tin foil and then place in air tight freezer bags. Taking the extra step of wrapping tin foil will help prevent freezer burn.
Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins
Raspberries and white chocolate are the two delicious main ingredients in these simple scratch muffin recipe.
It was week 20. It’s a big milestone for any mama. You are halfway through your pregnancy and you get the first big look at that little, but growing human inside. All of my pregnancies had been marled by complications. Two ended in miscarriage. I had GD with both pregnancies. My placenta had failed with my first son, something they noticed at our 20 week anatomy scan when my amniotic fluid was fairly low. So anatomy scans are both happy and slightly terrifying for me.
So when I laid there for my second son’s anatomy scan, I tried to calm myself with positive vibes. The sonogram tech did her thing, then handed it over to the doctor. She slid the ultrasound transducer across my glistening belly. Everything seemed fine, until she got to my son’s legs. She went back and forth, pressing harder each time, staring intently at the screen. My heart sank as I sensed something was wrong. “So, baby’s foot looks like it might have a club foot.” Fear swept over me as she continued to examine his little twisted foot. “It’s hard to tell because it’s up against the placenta. So is it like that because of the position or is it a club foot? Let’s see…” She measured both little feet. “So I’m going to say that he has a clubfoot because of the width, but we’re going to keep an eye on it.”
In an instant, our happy moment vanished. The doctor went on to explain that a club foot was a congenital defect that deforms the foot into a club-like appearance and causes patients to walk on their ankles. She didn’t have to tell me. I had seen it. When I lived in Europe, I saw it frequently. Their socialized medicine leaves so many untreated. Go the Vatican and you’ll seen tons of them, lined up along the streets begging. Let’s be honest, it’s a pitiful sight – at least in this day and age when you know the treatment is available. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. So when I left the doctor’s office, that’s about all I could think about. Those poor people I had seen years before.
My OBGYN didn’t give me a ton of information. As far as pregnancy is concerned, it’s business as usual. They said I would be directed to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon after delivery. So here begins our journey. This is where I tell you that I’m not a doctor or medical professional and I’m not giving any medical advice. I’m just sharing the emotional journey we went through because I had no idea what to expect and didn’t know where to find support.
An Emergency C-Section
At week 37, I developed preeclampsia and had an emergency c-section. My blood pressure was over 200 and so they had me on Magnesium Sulfate for 24 hours after delivery. My poor little guy was just barely 4 pounds. He had stopped growing due to my placenta failing. He was rushed to NICU minutes after delivery and let me tell you that Magnesium Sulfate (or Mag as the nurses call it) is just terrible. It gives you double vision, nausea, a screaming headache and disorients you. So it nearly 48 hours before I was wheeled down to the NICU to see him. Now let me be honest, when I found out my little boy was going to have a clubfoot, I went home and googled it. I scrolled through image after image of misshapen feet, slightly horrified and totally discouraged, despite reading that it was totally curable in a first-world country. But not even all that research prepared me for what I saw. That’s because when it’s your baby – the baby you hoped and prayed for – the baby you want desperately to protect – is born with a deformity, your heart sinks. I cried. Like body shaking, sobbing into my hands, can’t catch my breath, ugly kind of cry. Nurses comforted me. They tried to remind me that it would be okay and that the Ortho nurse Daphne would be up shortly to talk to me.
This is where I knew God was working. My ears perked. You see, Daphne is a special name to us. My husband had an great-aunt Daphne who never had children. She poured out all her affection on my husband and his other siblings and cousins, earning a special place in their hearts. So when we lost our second baby due to miscarriage, we decided to name her after our two aunts who loved us deeply, but could never have children of their own. Daphne Guadalupe is the name of one of the babies I lost and here – as if it were God’s own design, a Daphne was here to help my little boy. Chills.
Healing Clubfoot
Taping
When she arrived, she explained she’d be taping Tristan’s leg and foot. The sooner you start training the foot to the correct position, the better success at a complete healing. So while he was in NICU, he’d under go this treatment. Everyday they’d undo it and perform a series of stretching and physical therapy. Then they’d retape his foot, carefully monitoring his skin color for circulation problems. This went on for nearly two weeks. It was still very turned, but already you could see he was responding to it.
Eventually we left the NICU and visited our new Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon. Thankfully we were paired with someone with a beautiful bedside manner. As my husband and I sat there nervously, he began to give us a brief history of clubfoot. For centuries it was a deformity that was left untreated. Then there was a French Method which involved the taping we had done in NICU as well as a surgery that honestly, sounded horrifying. It was a very invasive reconstructive surgery that as he described it “was basically taking the foot apart and putting it back together with pins” and then casting. It sounded awful, but he suggested we start with another, less invasive method and save the French method for a last resort.
Serial Casting
He suggested the Ponseti method which had proven very effective. The only catch was that it would require a strong commitment on our part. Our son would go through serial casting. It’s a plaster cast, like when you break a bone except that it would be changed out weekly to allow for growth and to check progress. Then he’d go through a small surgery where they cut the achilles tendon, then another cast for several weeks. Then finally special orthopedic shoes attached to a Ponseti bar that would keep his feet in the proper position. Then he hit me with a 2×4. He’ll have to stay in the boots and bar until he’s four.
He tried to comfort me by saying that he’d only be in them for naps and nighttime at that age, but immediately I thought about how I had fought my toddler to nap and how hard that had been. It ended with me giving up on naps. I couldn’t imagine fighting a toddler to wear a contraception to sleep. I left both hopeful and horrified, with our son’s leg in a plaster cast all the way up to the top of the thigh.
Living With Clubfoot
There are so many things that you don’t think about until you’re faced with it. What kind of clothes will go over a cast? How will I bathe him? I was surprised to learn that he could wear most regular clothes with the cast and I found that Glad Press & Seal was a life saver when it came to keeping the cast dry during baths. One day Tristan had a terrible bout of gas. That’s when I learned he couldn’t kick his little legs when he had gas pains. He became even more inconsolable. It broke my heart. By the way, blowouts still happen to babies in a cast and let me tell you, it isn’t fun trying to get the poop off a plaster cast.
Then there are stares. Most people never asked about his leg, but it was hard not to notice them stare… or do the exact opposite. Some people would look only at his face, purposely avoiding anything below the neck. Don’t let this bother you. Most people are good people and they have no idea what they should do, so even if they are awkward and obvious, don’t let that get to you. It’s their best effort at protecting your feelings. I even had a friend buy him shoes. It was hard not to be sensitive about it. There are going to be all kinds of opportunities to be offended, but I strongly caution you against giving into that. Believe that people have good intentions and you’ll be much happier.
Every week we went to the doctor and every week we had a new cast. If you’ve never broken a bone before and worn a cast, it can be a little unnerving when they remove it. They use a special saw that has a blunt blade. The blade moves back and forth and its the vibration that cuts. The result is that it cuts through the cast but not the skin. It’s loud and still looks like a blade, so it’s a little unnerving regardless when its cutting around your infant. It’s perfectly safe, I assure you. Our doctor was very thoughtful. At his suggestion, we planned appointments around his bottle time, so he was feeding during the cast removal and new cast application and therefore didn’t shed a tear. He was too busy chowing down!
Achilles Surgery
Several weeks in, they removed the weekly cast and the doctor felt confident it was time for the surgery. I admit, I was very scared, but I’m going to tell you, it’s not bad at all. They sent us out of the room and one local anesthetic and 20 minutes later, they were done. He had a new cast on already and you could see it was already bloody, something they informed me, was totally normal. Unlike the other casts, he would stay in this one for three weeks. He was a little fussy that day, but he seemed back to his normal happy self by the next day.
When I went back three weeks later and they removed the cast, I was shocked. His foot looked amazing. I couldn’t even tell there had been an incision. Our doctor said they used a delicate scalpel designed for eye surgery. It was perfect for little babies. It was time to move on to boots and bars.
So much of the success would be up to us. If we resisted the urge to take off the brace and follow instructions exactly, he’d be okay. We went to the orthopedist who fitted him. Tristan was so tiny that he’d be in the smallest shoe and he showed me how to properly put it on. The heel needs to be all the way down, the foot flat and held sturdily in place with the use of buckles and straps. This was crucial. Isolating the foot in that position is what will heal it. Fail and you risk reoccurrence. As they instructed me, I held back tears. All I saw was the heavy, clunky metal, straps and buckles. They showed me how I could easily remove the bar for diaper changes with a quick disconnect. It looked like a medieval torture device. They assured me, I’d get used to it and so would he. I wept all the way home.
The next few days were hard as we learned how to lace them and strap them. Explaining it to grandmothers is not fun. You can hear the hurt in their voices and you find yourself reassuring them that it will be okay. I quickly learned that pants would be difficult and I wasn’t going to be able to use all those cute footed sleepers that had been so handy with my first son. They find ways to untie the shoes and even kick them off when they are big enough. The metal bar scrapes things and I had to make a cover to protect him, us and our possessions from being damaged or hurt! (Ponseti bar cover tutorial coming) But this is where the sob story ends.
This is where I tell you that we are now six months into this journey and it’s amazing. The boots and bars have not held my son back. He’s found ways to roll over, to sit up, and to play. He is not bothered by it all. It’s completely normal for him and in some cases, even has a physical advantage because of it. This is where I tell you that his foot looks amazing! When he takes the shoes off, you’d never even know there was a problem. His foot looks totally normal. This is where I tell you that we don’t even think twice about it in our routine. There are plenty of other cute outfits out there and that he doesn’t even have to wear the boots and bars a good part of the day. This is where I tell you not to worry. Your baby will be fine and so will you. Parenting is hard even if your baby is well and somehow, by the grace of God, you’ll get through this and there will be far more joy than tears. Don’t waste tears over this. From one clubfoot mom to another, it’s going to be okay and it’s far harder on you than it is on them. Have your cry, but don’t stay there. Embrace it. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps (no pun intended) and show your child how to tackle life challenges.
I remember when we first met with the doctor and he told us about famous people who were born with clubfoot. Damon Wayans, Troy Aikman, Larry Sherry, Sir Walter Scott, Kristi Yamaguchi, Charles Woodson, David Lynch, Dudley Moore, Jim Mecir, Freddy Sanchez, LeRoy Butler, and even Mia Hamm just to name a few. I was shocked to learn how many of them went on to become professional athletes. It was hard to believe, but I totally get it now. Tristan has the best little attitude. His nickname from everyone is “smiley.” I can’t wait to see what he does with his little life. Something tells me it’s gonna be amazing and this was just a little road bump in an otherwise great life!
The post, From One Clubfoot Mommy to Another, first appeared on My Beautiful Mess
Some days we don’t feel like adulting. Other days we’re just downright miserable, lonely and frustrated. Instead of wallowing in mom guilt, try these tips for Resetting Your Day As A Mom
Bad Moods
It had been 9 days. Nine days of snotty notes, phlegm filled coughs and clingy, whiny children. Furthermore, I was sick and it was my fifth day battling this awful bug. All moms know there is no such thing as a sick day. Moms are expected to just chug some medicine and get right back to nursing others. Meanwhile, in the midst of all the coughing and sneezing, I had also managed to throw a birthday party for my husband.
By the time Monday rolled around, I was utterly exhausted and we were still sick. We hadn’t been out of the house in 9 days and let me tell you that cabin fever is a real thing. We were all sick of being sick and boy was it starting to affect my attitude.
Moodiness Is Contagious
From the moment I woke up, my toddler was under my feet following me around everywhere I went. I felt myself get irritated that I couldn’t even walk without feeling like I was going to trip over him. Normally pretty self-sufficient, he suddenly couldn’t do anything for himself. His mood crescendoed with a full-on meltdown when it was time for me to feed little brother.
Next, there was my infant who spent the better part of 5 days crying and refusing to be put down. The whining was so bad I felt like I could hear it even when he had stopped. Consistent baby cries are enough to make anyone feel like they’re going mad. I felt my blood boil. I just wanted to rest. The mess of the party was still looking at me and I had two babies that were requiring every ounce of energy I had. I wanted to walk out the door and run for the hills! My words whipped around the room like a scorpion’s tail. It’s a moment you pray no one ever sees. It reminded me of something someone said to me once.
If your pastor were to ring your doorbell right now, would your attitude change?
Ugh! Of course it would. It would,’t even have to be my pastor. But the answer tells you that you are totally capable of changing your attitude. You are in total control of how you behave. Therefore, if you could straiten up your attitude in a moment’s notice, it tells you that this crabby, ornery mood is totally on you! That’s right – it’s up to you. Believe me, I fail at this more than I care to admit. Moments like this that douse me with buckets of mom guilt afterwards. Here are some tips for resetting your day as a mom.
You Set The Tone
Have you ever noticed that whenever you are in a bad mood, you’re kids also seem to have the roughest, most emotionally charged day? That’s because you set the tone in your house. It’s true. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but girlfriend, it’s true. Your kids look to you to see how they should behave and they emulate what they see. If you are resistant and angry, they pick up on it. Worse, they mirror it.
The good news is that you can reset your attitude. It takes some determination, but more than anything it takes your will. You have to decide to change your attitude. Here are some things that have helped me in the past.
Take a Time Out
Stop. Just stop right in the middle of that fire-breathing sentence and pull yourself together. Listen to what you just said and how awful it sounded. Walk away from your kids for a second if you have to, but take a moment from spitting venom and cool down. It’s not easy to admit, but the truth is, toddlers aren’t the only ones who have meltdowns! If you need to, phone a friend. Sometimes distraction or talking with a supportive person is enough to change our attitude.
Breathe & Reset Your Day
Go strait up zen and breathe in and out meditation style. Listen to your breath. Let your heart rate fall. If you need to, talk to yourself. Pray. Mediate. It’s up to you. Because I’m a Christian, I often call out the enemy and rebuke him out loud. I recognize that I’m in a battle with an enemy who wants to steal my joy (John 10:10) and devour me (1 Peter 5:8). Compose yourself and decide not to act like that. You have the power to reset your day as a mom.
Gain Perspective
If there is one thing that I learned with my psychology degree, it’s that hurting people hurt other people. When we are hurting or depleted inside, it rears it’s ugly head in the form of lashing out. Normally there are rational explanations for our mood. Maybe we are running on a few hours of sleep. Similarly, maybe our kids aren’t feeling well. Maybe we’re just all a little tired of being cooped up in the house. It sometimes helps to get to the bottom of why we’re so moody. And if it’s your kids’ behavior that set you off, consider they are hurting or frustrated about something too. This is the place where reason and compassion meet. Gain some perspective and remember you control what happens next. You have a great life and you have so many things for which to be happy and grateful.
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”- Maya Angelou
Resetting Your Day as a Mom
Be Flexible
If you’re anything like me, you had grand plans for your day that suddenly feel like they have been hijacked. You must realize that that is a symptom of needing to be in control. Your plans; your way. Things don’t always go the way we planned and we must accept that. Be willing to let housework go for a day. It’s never ending anyway. I promise you, there would be housework tomorrow even if you worked today. No load of laundry is as important as loving your child.
Reprioritize and remove unnecessary commitments. Many times our moodiness comes from a place of being overwhelmed and frustrated. Take a good hard look at what you have on your plate. Remove unnecessary things that are weighing you down and reorder what you do have, spreading them out into manageable chunks. Delegate tasks to your husband. Usually most people don’t help, because they don’t know they’re needed.
Finally, ask for help. That friend, parent, in-law, sibling or neighbor who always says, “let me know if you need something,” is the one you need to call. People don’t go around offering help if they don’t mean it. If they offer, they truly don’t mind. Swallow your pride and ask for help. No one is going to think any less of you. If you’re truly struggling you need to call on the people that love you for help. Sometimes just having some support changes everything.
Extend Grace
This is the hard part. Letting it go. Once emotions are settled and the moment has passed, we are quick to feel guilt and condemn ourselves. Identifying regrets is a healthy way to stop ourselves from making the same mistake, but it can become unhealthy if we wallow in self-pity and condemn ourselves. That’s because over time, we believe what we say about ourselves. If you constantly tell yourself you’re a failure and a bad mother, you’ll start to believe it. Don’t give into that. Part of self-care and self-love is forgiving yourself. Allow yourself to be human, including making mistakes. This life is about progress, not perfection. Hold yourself accountable. Apologize if necessary. Commit to change. Move forward.
“Allow yourself to be human, including making mistakes“
In conclusion, it is awful that are children see us at some of our worst moments. But even in our adult-sized tantrum we can show our children how to regain self-control. Don’t be hard on yourself, mama. You got this!
