Books for the Season!

It is the time for apples...and pumpkins and hay rides! My favorite season is usually summer but for some bizarre reason I am really getting into and enjoying the new arrival of fall this year! I have put a small pumpkin display outside our house at the end of the driveway and have been itching to go to the local farms to see the pumpkins and enjoy a hay ride with Luke!

One of the boy's favorite pastimes is reading - they both can't get enough of it! Cody wants to go sit on his potty chair just so he can read and Luke will sit for ages in his room reading which helps when I'm trying to get ready in the morning! We're always looking for ways to connect books with recent happenings (i.e. potty training, traveling, holidays, etc.) and as some of you may or may not know - my mom is a wonderful 1st grade teacher and is always giving me great ideas from her numerous years of experience, including her favorite books! With our recent trip last week to Iron's Fruit Farm we came home with apples for apple pie, fresh home made apple cider and pumpkins! If you ever go, be sure to get one of their fresh doughnuts they make themselves - YUM! They are currently doing orchard tours during the week with groups of 12 or more. Attendees are guided through the process of how apples are picked, washed, sorted by size and placed into our large cold storage room.  You are then walked through the apple bagging room where apples are hand sorted and selected for quality control to be sold in their store.  After the tour concludes, there is apple cider and an apple cider donut for all! Also worth noting about Iron's Fruit Farm is that unlike some farms, if you decide you want to take a hay ride to get a pumpkin they won't charge you for the hay ride, only for your pumpkin which I believe is $.49/per pound. It's a great place to take the kids and definitely one of our favorites! Plan a trip to get some apples with your kids and then check out one of these great teacher recommended books about the story of Johnny Appleseed!

Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed

The Story of Johnny Appleseed

Money Saving Monday: Recycle & Save Your Money

You know we are all about recycling and we love finding cute crafty things to make, so when mama Jenny sent us this email of something she came up with we HAD to SHARE! Not only is it super cute and good for the environment, but it saves on your pocketbook!

Here is what she wrote:
"Have any containers from baby snacks? Chips?  Any container really..... Instead of throwing away, recycle them into office organizers. You can take different sized ones and glue them together to make neat arrangements of them.  I have the Gerber veggie crunch containers and decided to make pen/pencil holders.  Or maybe I'll use one in the bathroom to hold cotton balls, brushes, whatever!!!  I have lots of stamps and scrapbooking stuff, so I stamped mine, but you can do anything, just use your imagination!  You could get contact paper to have it match a room."


Here is her finished project. Way to go Jenny!!!

I LOVE this idea! The possibilities are truly endless. I can't wait to try this! You could even let your kids decorate some of them to store their crayons, stickers etc. Don't forget to talk about why it is so important to recycle :)

** Don't forget to check out our Coupon Queen for other money saving ideas!**

We Have A Winner!!!

Congratulations to (post name) Whosspecial for winning a FREE class series to the Cincinnati Family Enrichment Center. Please contact us at jennieandkim@gmail.com to claim your gift certificate! You will have until Oct. 10th to claim your gift!


Thanks to random.org for helping us choose our winner and thanks to all who entered! We will be doing more CFEC class giveaways in the future so stay tuned! 

Gorman Heritage Farm

I have talked a few times about Gorman Heritage Farm (in Cincy). They are having their annual Sunflower Festival this weekend and if you are a local, I highly recommend you take a family trip and visit!! Steve, myself and Cody went last weekend for their Great Outdoor Weekend. We had an absolute blast!

They have so many educational programs for the kiddos, teaching them where their food comes from, composting, recycling, and so much more! They have walking trails and a place where you can hike to the top of the farm which has been voted 100 best things to do in Cincinnati. They have a slew of animals for the kids to see including horses, donkeys, turkeys, goats, roosters, and chickens (there were probably more but you get the idea!). They have a BEAUTIFUL sunflower garden and an adorable kids garden area. This was my favorite! They had different theme gardens, a sand play area, a dirt digging area and a cute little wishing well. Almost all the different things used within the kids area is made of other recycled pieces. You will not be disappointed!

Here is one of the theme gardens. How cute is this?!
They were growing tomatoes and other goodies you can put on a pizza!

This is the wishing well that they made out of  old tires and bottles!

These were the buckets with the sand.
Steve thought these were recycled old wash tubs.

I was so excited to see this!
I have been wanting to purchase a rain barrel and this inspired me to
 make my own (or should I stay Steve lol)! It really didn't seem too hard :)

This is the very beginning of the sunflower patch.
  It does not do it justice! You really have to go and see it for yourself! 

What I appreciated so much about this farm is that they use everything as a teachable moment and they are really teaching kids and adults about getting back to the basics and they make it FUN! I was really inspired to see how they did everything and made it a place to have fun but also a place to learn and explore. It was truly an amazing experience! I cannot wait for Cody to get a little older to attend one of their classes! 

So, have I convinced you to go this weekend?! If you can't make it, take some time and make plans to visit another time. We would love to see your pics! If you are not local to Cincy, I would love to hear about your favorite farm in your area that you feel is a must visit!!