Pumpkin Mum Pots

Good Wednesday morning!

You may have noticed that I actually write Wednesday's post the night before. I may say "Good Wednesday morning!" but I really don't mean it. I'm not a morning person. Mike and I have decided that I'm really a mid-afternoon person. Two o'clock in the afternoon I'm at my best. Anything before is "iffy," and anything after is rapidly going downhill.

As I stated in an earlier entry, I am a great copier. I get many ideas from magazines, other people, books, etc. If you've heard of the ideas we try out on the blog, please know I am not claiming to be the creative genius behind all the things written. I will always try to give credit where credit is due.

Also, I just wanted to write a little disclaimer regarding some of the activities you will see. I've tried many, if not most, of the things I write about, and I will tell you if I have not. I've tried things that have not worked out very well for our family, but have been big hits in other families. The main thing is I'm always willing to try something new. If it's a "keeper," that's great. If not, we just move on.

For example, when Austin was in second grade, I came up with a little idea of putting a huge, uncooked, unwashed sweet potato in his lunch box. It was wrapped in a fall napkin, and I had written on the front of the napkin "I yam your biggest fan!" I thought it was hilarious. All day long thinking of him opening up his lunch box and finding the napkin and yam just made me laugh out loud. (You can tell why I named this blog "A Simple Life." It doesn't take much to get me going!) I even thought about putting a handful of black-eyed peas in his lunch the next day with a note attached "Peas be good!" The next day... a giant carrot that still had the green on top which would say, "I carrot a lot about you!" The list got bigger and bigger. I could not wait to pick up Austin and get his reaction.

I pulled into the car line and saw my little seven-year old storm cloud waiting for me. I thought someone had done something to upset him... which made me very angry because I was afraid it had ruined my yam joke. When he got into the car he said two words to me. "Just drive."

I asked him what was wrong. "Did you put a raw sweet potato in my lunch box?" he asked.

"Yes," I admitted. "Didn't you read the napkin? It was a joke."

"What napkin?"

Oh, no. In my excitement over my joke, I forgot the cardinal rule of being a little boy. You never use the napkin. You never read the napkin. The napkin basically doesn't exist. That's why all boy mothers everywhere have to Spray 'n Wash seven-year old boys' sleeves. That's where they wipe their mouths... and their noses. That's where I should have taped a giant yam to his wrist and written on the cuff of his sleeve, "I yam your biggest fan!" Rookie mistake. I hate making rookie mistakes.

"I had to take it over to Ms. Kim and ask her what it was?"

"You took it to the teacher's table? Where all the teachers sit and eat... and talk about crazy mothers?"

"Yes, ma'am. They asked me where I got it, and I told them you sent it for my lunch. They gave me money for pizza."

"Austin, you had other food in your lunch box. You had your REGULAR LUNCH. Didn't you show the teachers the napkin?"

"What napkin?"

I called Ms. Kim when I got home (hoping I could catch her before she called a Social Worker), and explained what I had done. She laughed (a little), and said that none of the teachers could figure out why I had sent the yam. "I wish you had looked in his lunch box and read the napkin," I feebly replied.

"Oh, Mrs. Faulkner. Little boys don't use napkins."

Just so you know, the handsome 17-year old young man pictured at the beginning of this post uses a napkin from time to time... and he even gets away with wearing all white.

Pumpkin Mum Pots

This is a great thing to do with your kids. If you have a grandparent or an elderly neighbor, make a beautiful, easy fall gift for them.

First buy a medium to large pumpkin and cut off the top and empty all of the pulp and seeds. (If you're into roasting pumpkin seeds, save them for later that evening.)

Use a screwdriver and put two to three holes in the bottom of the pumpkin for the water to drain.

Have a small bag of potting soil ready and a medium-sized mum. You can usually get these at Wal-Mart, Lowe's or Home Depot in the $3 to $5 range. There is potting soil in the mum pot, but it is not usually enough to fill the pumpkin to the top.

Once you have transplanted the mum and filled the empty spots in the pumpkin with the potting soil, wash off any dirt and have the child either make a card using fall stickers or attach a card with this verse, "In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do. Live so that they will praise your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:16.

Deliver the pumpkin with your child. Make sure to let the recipient know it is an "outdoor" pumpkin due to the holes in the bottom for water to drain. You don't want them to set it on their counter or dining room table and have a mess to clean up.

It's a little time spent with your kids. It's a little time spent thinking of others. It's a little time spent visiting an elderly relative or neighbor who may be a little lonely. As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing!"

This great idea was taken from a magazine years and years ago. (Probably Family Fun Magazine or Southern Living... those are my favorites!)

As I stated in an earlier blog, Thursdays will be a "surprise" day. It will be a fun family devotion, an inexpensive date with a child, or just a fun little family outing. You'll just have to wait to find out!

Have a great day!