Thankful

We had a great weekend spending the holiday with Burke's extended family. The kids played with their cousins, the adults ate (and ate), and Burke got to go shooting with his brothers and their boys.
I got to go shopping.
What more do you need?
I am so thankful that we have family who can gather together and enjoy a nice meal.
I am thankful that my kids love to play with their cousins.
I am thankful that we are all healthy this year.
I am thankful that we could still talk about Grandpa and how much we miss him.
I am thankful that I have a great family of my own.
I am thankful that my boys held the door open for me and my girls on Sunday.
I am thankful that my husband hung all my Christmas lights.

I am thankful that my driveway gets shoveled when it snows...
Lest Grandma see this photo and think poorly of my mothering skills, I claim ignorance. This was Daddy's little helper who was supposed to be in bed, and sneaked out to help daddy shovel the driveway. And no, I didn't take this picture, but I did laugh really hard when she came in with freezing little feet.
I am thankful for my children who keep things interesting and for a husband who makes a 4 year old get out of bed and want to be with him in bare feet on a cold snowy night.

Perfectly Princess-y

We went to see Disney Princesses on Ice. It was a special treat, and I didn't tell the girls we were going until we got there.
We had excellent seats. It was a great experience and we had so much fun.
It started with Mickey and Minnie. Adrienne was fine.
Then we got into Snow White, Ariel, Mulan, Belle, and Aurora.Adrienne was not so happy to see the villains in each story. She sat on my lap for the entire first half of the show.
The second half was Cinderella's story.
That was better.
The stepsisters were right in front of us. Adrienne was a little scared of them too, but she stayed in her seat.
Of course, every princess needs her fairy godmother. Sometimes a mom needs one too.
At the end, all of the princes and princesses were on the set waving in their beautiful gold and white sparkly gowns. Annika was in heaven.It was nice to have a girl's night out with the cousins, aunt, and grandma.
Thanks grandma!

What Goes Around...

Shortly before parent teacher conference, Nathan informed me that he had a project in his social studies class.
No problem.
He had to build a model of a Native American home. A teepee or a long house, etc.
No problem.
Then he told me it was due the next day.
And it was already 10 PM.
And he didn't have any of the paperwork for directions or requirements for the teepee.
And it had been assigned for a month, he thought.
Now we have a problem.

I was more than a little perturbed at his lack of responsibility, but had to keep my tongue in check because someday my own mother hoped that/warned me this would happen.

I was in Mrs. Achziger's class for 7th grade English. She was just as her name sounded: awful.
We had to do book reports once each month. The requirements for the reports varied, sometimes we had to do a simple description of the report, sometimes we had to do it verbally.

There was one way we could get out of it. It was by reading a book that was extra long. Then we could skip a month and there was one less book report to do.

I decided that was the way to go when I had procrastinated one month and didn't have time to read an entire book before the report was due.

Now I just had to find a book that would fit the bill.
I picked Jane Eyre.
Not a short book.
Very long, very complicated for a 7th grader.
But I read it, and mostly liked it.

For the next report, the teacher had decided that we were going to illustrate each chapter with a drawing.

I had to illustrate each chapter of a 600+ page book.
Plus, this happened to be over Christmas break. Who wants to do a stupid book report over Christmas break?

So....

I found myself doing some drawings the Sunday night before school started. I didn't realize how long it was going to take until I had been working for an hour and had only done about three pictures.

My mom was hanging around the kitchen while I worked, asking questions. When she figured out what a predicament I had put myself in, she had pretty much the same reaction I did when I found out about Nathan's teepee assignment.

Grrrrr.

She let me work for a few more hours, but finally took pity on me around 10 PM and grabbed some paper and worked with me to get it done.

We worked for a while longer, and finally finished the report long after my bedtime.

I got an A.

But,

I have never heard the end of it since.

Which is good, because it helped me have a smidgen more patience with Nathan as we worked on his teepee.

He got an A.
He will never hear the end of it.

Daddy's Little Helper

No, I didn't do this either. Just sayin'...
While we wait for them to send us the right microwave part, my dishwasher decided to stop working too. Thankfully(?), Burke fixed it too.
He had some help though. I'm sure the feather was extremely useful.I guess this is what happens when you are literally picking out your appliances 30 minutes before you have to be on an airplane back to Michigan (and you just had major sticker shock after picking out your carpet).
Maybe one of these days something will break and he won't be able to fix it....Hmmm... I doubt it.

Pretty Laced Rainbows

I did this on Adrienne the other day and loved it. I have done something similar a million times before, but this one was really fancy and turned out beautifully.
It took a quite a while to finish. Adrienne was a very patient trooper. She read me a book and we visited while I worked on her hair. I got to hear all about preschool, primary, and her plans for the future (she is going to grow up and be a mommy). By the time we were done, I think she was sick of sitting. This one lasted only two days. She had a crazy night and the 'do didn't survive.

Pumpkin Pancakes

We made the yummiest breakfast ever the other day.
At least, Burke and I loved it.
The kids were foodie wimps.
I first had it at my sister's house in Ohio.
Pumpkin Pancakes with Apple Syrup=YUM!
I found the recipe at Allrecipes.com

Pumpkin Pancakes With Hot Cider Syrup
HOT CIDER SYRUP:
3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions
In a saucepan, combine the syrup ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until slightly thickened. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.
For pancakes, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, milk, pumpkin and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into batter.
Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot greased griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with the syrup.

Another Harvest

I got another shipment of produce on Saturday. This time I got up early to volunteer. It was a lot of fun. We distributed the fruit and veggies evenly to all the baskets and then got to take some of the extras home. I got some extra cauliflower, strawberries and bananas.
We have already eaten all the strawberries.
We made crepes (again) with strawberry, orange, banana and spinach smoothie for Sunday dinner. Tee-hee, the kids were eating spinach without even knowing it.
I am all about simple Sunday fare.

Here is a photo of the latest shipment and Adrienne's hand:
The only problem is that I got a billion kiwi. Any ideas on what to do with them?

Thanks

On Veteran's Day, the scouts had an opportunity to learn how to take care of the flag from a vet who is in our ward.
Although they range in age from 8-10, are a little rambunctious, and didn't always pay attention, I was grateful for the opportunity to be there while they were taught the correct way to respect our flag from someone who fought for it.
Thanks for the sacrifices of those men and women who have served our country.
We salute you (even if it is with the wrong hand). I love this photo. He is showing the boys the proper way to hold the flag, and telling them how important it is to be sure the flag is secure in your arms.
His grasp shows his reverence for it. I hope the boys got the message.
I know I did.

And They Call It Puppy Love...

Adrienne has a boyfriend.

She is positive she will marry him.

But she says she won't kiss him until they are married.

That made daddy very happy.

His mom and I are friends and carpool to preschool together. Adrienne and her "boyfriend" really hit it off and get along well together. He is quite the little gentleman, he even asked to carry her backpack for her.

When a child has a birthday at school, they get to sit in the special VIP chair and wear the special VIP crown.

Sure enough, on her boyfriend's big day, Adrienne asked if she could put her chair next to his because she is his queen (her words, not mine). This photo is courtesy of Adrienne's future mother in law.

She does photography (not just a point and shoot like this photo, but the real thing), you can find her here.

Mom's Brag Blog

Okay, today is parent teacher conference, so I am doing this post to buoy up my spirits before I get to conference and hear about how Annika doesn't stop talking and Nathan doesn't pay attention.

**Sigh**

Annika and Kade both got the Citizen of the Month award for their class in September. The interesting thing is that they got it for the same thing: Great Attitude.
They didn't tell me about it until October when they brought home these pictures:


The other day I was in my bathroom combing my hair before an outing, while Adrienne waited for me in my bedroom. She was doing a puzzle that has simple words on it to keep herself occupied because I was "taking sooooo-everrrrr".
Then I heard something that made my heart sing:
She was sounding out the words!
I love that. A beginning reader is the most amazing gift! In my excitement, I offered to take her to the library and get a new book just for her.
We have expanded our horizons to Hop On Pop. She loves being able to pick out books for herself (with help from mom) just like the big kids.
Forgive my bragging. I'm just very proud.

Now...off to parent teacher conference.

An Easy Harvest

I joined a co-op.
It is a new and exciting venture for those of us who like the simple, unexpected things in life.
It is basically where you pay, then go to a local location to pick up a basket of produce.
You don't know beforehand what you will get, or what quantities it will come in.
This was my first pickup, and I will definitely be back for more.
This is what I got this time:

This time I got lettuce, eggplant, grapes, a bag of apples, tomatoes, pineapple, broccoli, potatoes, guava, avocados, and bananas.
I was so excited by the time I got home I already had a menu planned.
I was going to make eggplant-something for dinner. I had watched an episode of "Good Eats" on the Food Network and was ready to impress my family and my computer friends with my daring feat of cooking eggplant.
The Good Eats episode said that before you cook the eggplant, you must "purge" it by sprinkling salt on it and letting it sit for about an hour. He said the salt never gets absorbed by the eggplant, it just runs out and is washed away when you rinse the salt off.
Alrighty...
I purged, breaded, then baked the eggplant.
It looked wonderful.
It tasted...
horribly SALTY!

We went out for pizza instead.

Other than my eggplant debacle, the rest of the produce has been wonderful. We ripened the pineapple then grilled it last night for dinner. It was yummy.
The next delivery should be this Saturday. Looking forward to it.

Maybe I'll get another shot at eggplant...

Cafe Rio Tortilla Soup

I was craving soup the other day.

Warm, gooey, chicken and vegetable soup.
Cafe Rio sounded soooo good.

But too much effort to drive 20 minutes for soup.

So I found this recipe HERE.

Made it for dinner and it was sooo good.

I adjusted some of the ingredients to taste (Burke hates cilantro, I LOVE garlic, and there was no coriander to be had).
I also added some cubed avocado (got that from the food coop I joined and also LOVE).
MMMMM. Good stuff.

Cafe Rio Soup
(4 WW points/serving with the avocado and fat free mozzarella on top).
from the "I Love To Eat Good Food" Blog
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large white onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and very finely diced
1 stalk celery, very finely diced
1 15 oz. can diced or whole tomatoes
1/2 bunch cilantro, stems discarded
1 small can mild diced green chili's (I only used half of this)
4 cups chicken broth
1 Tablespoon cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Heat oil in large pot. Saute onion until clear. Add garlic, carrots and celery and continue to cook for a few minutes. In a blender, combine tomatoes, cilantro and chili's. Blend until smooth. Add pureed mixture, broth and seasonings to the pot.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Top with:
cooked and shredded chicken
mozzarella, cheddar or jack cheese
guacamole
fresh pico
corn tortilla strips (cut corn tortilla into thin strips, then fry in oil until crispy. Season with salt)
lime juice

My Hero, Kind Of

My microwave died on Thursday. The light came on, but no heating happened.
I was frustrated because of the inconvenience, but a little excited because now I could get a stainless steel one (then I would just pick off the other appliances one by one until everything was all stainless...Bwahahaha).
I looked around online, dutifully checking reliability data, features, prices. More research at the library. Went to a couple of stores, had the one I wanted all picked out...
Then he figured out what the problem is.
It will cost about $9 to fix it.
A lot cheaper than the $350 it would cost to buy the one I wanted.
yay! (?)

Boo!

Adrienne was a spooky ghost:
Annika was a cute cowgirl (with a home-made costume I am very proud of, by the way): Annika's dance class had a party last Tuesday for class time. The kids got to wear their costumes over their dance clothes. Annika's vest and chaps over a leotard had a little bit of a "Prince" feel to it. I didn't realize it until I was walking behind her into class :)

Kade was an all-powerful ninja turtle:
Nathan had his first year of inviting his good friend over to go trick or treating together. It sounds like they had a lot of fun. They came back to the house and told me a tale about some girls...
Too funny. I love tween boys. They are hilarious, and easily embarrassed.
I neglected to get pictures of them, so this picture of all the kids at the ward trunk or treat will have to do for a shot of Nathan's Anakin Skywalker costume:

Happy Halloween!