Halloween!

This year, our Halloween went on and on . . .. and the boys loved it!  I will warn you that some of these photos you may have seen in previous posts but I still wanted to put all of our Halloween stuff in one post.

The very first Halloween activity was the Autumn Festival that is hosted by our town.  The boys could hardly contain themselves all day while waiting for Darryl to get home so we could go Trick-Or-Treating!

The Harvest has a "Truck-Or-Treat" set up.  The first area includes lots of games which the boys enjoyed playing.  The second part is local businesses that have set up their "trunks" so you can just walk by and pick up more candy.  The boys so enjoyed it all.  Noticed that Darryl is in Shorts ? Yep.  It was that warm . A near perfect night! 

The following evening, we went on a hayride and had a cook out with our church.  I did not take any photos since it was dark and . . there was hay being thrown but we had fun.  The boys got into throwing straw/hay and thought it was funny.  Nate fell fast asleep about half way through the ride and did not wake up until the next morning.  Josh LOVED roasting hot dogs with Darryl and ate two :-) 

Our next activity was the Zoo Boo which I talked about in Josh's birthday post:

Finally, on Halloween Night we went Trick-Or-Treating for real.  We started by attending a Trunk-or-Treat at a local church so the boys could play some games.  Thankfully the weather turned nicer - no wind and only a few sprinkles.  After finishing the games at the church we started walking door to door and the boys would yell "Trick or Treat".  They loved this part of the night . After going about a block and a half, Nate's legs were so tired that he would take a step and his legs would just collpase.  He was sooo tired!  It wasn't long after that when Josh started saying, "Mom, I just want to go home, I'm so tired" :-)  So we headed back to the car - it was ok, though, they had full buckets :-)

You may notice that we never carved the pumpkins we got at the pumpkin patch . . . well, I figure that we can start that in another year or so.  For now, I'm enjoying using them as decoration :-)

Also, a shout out to a friend of my parents who supplied me with the costumes.  I was really at a loss this year - she sent this over and the boys loved them :-)

Weekly Menu

First of all, I wanted to share this easy soup that I made last week.  It's called Corn Chowder and looks like this:


My mom got this for me and it is fabulous.  You can just prepare it out of the bag or add to it - which I did.  I added a can of cream corn and a package of diced ham.  It really was fabulous and I love that it was super easy and super quick to make.

So, what are eating this next week?  You will probably laugh when you read this menu.

Monday: Chicken Scallipini, Noodles, and a veggie.  This is actually from last weeks menu . I forgot about a potluck on Sunday at church so I ended up with an "extra" meal. 

Tuesday: Election day :-)  We like to take the boys with us so as soon as Darryl gets home, we'll vote and then grab something for dinner.  Maybe Applebees since kids eat free on Tuesdays or just a pizza.

Wednesday: Darryl has practice so it is just the boys and I.  I'll either do Mac and cheese or we'll go run errands and grab something for dinner. 

Thursday: Chili and French Bread.  Wait for it . ..  .when I made Chili last month, I froze half of it for this month HA!  I don't even have to cook - just heat it up!

Friday: I'm leaving to attend a weekend scrapbooking crop so Darryl is on his own. (The kids are going to the grandparents house)

Saturday: I'll be home for dinner so I'm thinking about having Darryl grill some burgers and maybe I'll pick up some sides from KFC on my way in to town.

Sunday: Darryl has a concert in the morning so I believe that we will stop for lunch somewhere on our way back home.

Seriously - how about that menu??  Yes, my grocery list is VERY small this week HA!

Food Friday - Sauted Cabbage and Bacon

Hello!  First up, today over at Kellys Korner, she is hosting her weekly "Show Us Your Life" party and today is favorite dessert recipes.   The recipe I have set up to share today is not a dessert but I thought I'd share some links to some of our favorites that I've posted in the past:

Boston Cream Pie Minis - If you love Boston Cream Pie but want a version that you can hold in your hand - check out this recipe.  It's a cupcake version that is fabulous and super easy to make.

Too Much Chocolate Cake  - Need I say more? 

Mountain Dew Cupcakes with Mountain Dew Frosting - yes, you read correctly (but you can use any lemon lime soda)  They are fantastic and I always get rave reviews when I make these.

Turtle Cake - This is a wonderful chocolate caramel goodness of cake.  I always forget how good it is until I make it again :-)

Check out my recipe tab for more dessert recipes and some cookie recipes too.


Now, on to today's Recipe

Sauteed Cabbage and Bacon
adapted from  Comfy In The Kitchen

I've mentioned before that I've acquired a taste for cabbage. Then, add it to bacon and it gets better.  This is such a simple side dish to make and it is a great side to so many things.  I actually cut the bacon up into medium sizes pieces and then cooked it.  Also, next time, I would not use the olive oil.  I found it almost too oily since you don't drain the bacon.  You could always add just a drop of oil if you need more moisture to cook the cabbage in so it doesn't burn. This would make a great side dish with a holiday meal since it cooks on the stove top and is ready so quickly.  :-)

Ingredients

• 1 head cabbage
• 6 slices bacon {I use center cut}
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

1. On medium-high heat, brown bacon in a large stock pot.
2. Add olive oil and onions- sautee for appx 3-4 mins.
3. Rinse cabbage and tear apart in small pieces.
4. Add cabbage into stock pot with bacon, renderings, and onions.
5. Toss with tongs. Bring heat down to medium and let cook for 20 mins until tender.
6. Season with salt and pepper.

 

A 4th Birthday Adventure

Our oldest, Josh, turned 4 on October 22nd.  I've waited to post about his birthday because part of his gift we just did this weekend.  So, here is the full story in pictures!

On Monday, the 22nd, we had a small party with two sets of Grandparents.  I couldn't believe how excited the boys both where to have people over.  The funny thing is that they kept saying that Uncle Ken was coming over (one of my brothers) and then they would mention my other brothers too . . .we had to break the news that those Uncles were not coming :-( 

 Don't you love that shirt? I ordered it from Sassy Pants Designs and was beyond thrilled with it.  The quality was fantastic, the price was perfect and the owner of the shop was so great to work with - I will be putting in a special request soon for another birthday :-)

 Decorations for this party were pretty simple and Josh helped.  He put the tissue paper on the slider door and he picked where to put the streamers in the living room and also helped to set the table.  When it was almost time to eat, he even went and gathered extra chairs that were needed.  (Then he told my mom that he had to rest because he was so tired HA)  He was SOOOO excited to say the least.

Josh was overwhelmed with his gifts - he just wanted to open one after another.  I will say thought that he has played with everything since his birthday and really enjoys all that he got that day. 

Now, Josh specifically asked to go to a hotel and swim in a pool for his birthday  We decided that this would be something fun to do (which is why we did not have a big party like we normally do).  I went onto Priceline and "bid" on a hotel.  I was able to get a fantastic hotel for at least half of the normal price.  We got up on Saturday morning, the 27th and started with some brunch.  Then we loaded up and headed to town to go to the Zoo Boo. This is something we have never done and it was so fun!  The weather was perfect - the sun made it warm enough to be comfortable but there was a crispness to the air making it feel like fall. 

 I tried to get some really good photos of ALL of my boys together but let me tell you, trying to get moving targets to stand still AND stand by each other just wasn't in the plans.  This is the best I could do of my Fireman, Race Car Driver and . . Husband :-)  There was a treat trail in the zoo where they boys got lots of treats plus we walked through the zoo.  There is a new area that just opened that we walked through - right now it is just a scenic pathway through what will eventually be the area that houses the big cats - it was very peaceful :-)

 Do you know what this is?  I asked Josh and he said it was  a Hippo.  Are you going to tell him he's wrong?

 And this?  A mouse.  Yep, a mouse. 

After the zoo we went to dinner at our favorite Mexican Place - Beltline Bar (it is really a restaurant but it is REALLY old and was originally a bar . .. we aren't bar people :-) )  When we walked in, Josh looked at the hostess and said, "I want a Quasidilla to eat please" HA!  Then when the waiter came to get our drink orders (Just water and pop!) Josh told him too :-)  Apparently, he knew what he wanted.  We ate chips and salsa like no body's business and enjoyed a fantastic "dinner" at 3:30. 

We then went and checked into the hotel.  Now, here's the one thing with Priceline . . because I chouse 3 star hotels or above, you are guaranteed a pool.  Our hotel did not actually have an indoor pool but it has several "sister" hotels and we could go to any one and swim.  Needless to say we drove down the road, changed and got in the pool.  The more than slightly cold pool :-(  We did actually stay for almost an hour and had a ton of fun .. .and then walked to our truck in just our bathing suits and bare feet because there was no place to really change (as we figured out after we got there) . . .yes, it was 40 degrees and cold. 

We had planned to stop on the way to the hotel for chocolate milk (the boys before bed snack) but there was no way we were going into a store in our bathing suits so we pulled in to McDonald's to just get milk.  The boys begged for Chicken and Fries so we gave in . . little did we know they were STARVING !  Notice Josh is reclined on the bed eating his food?  They both ate every last bite of their late night snack, got PJ's on and went to bed.  They were tired.  Now, once they were asleep, Darryl made a food run for us and got us Checkers burgers and fries - oh, I wish we had a Checkers closer to home!!!  There is nothing like a burger from Checkers.  One perk of this hotel was free pop.  Yep, they had a soda machine (fountain style) in the lobby and, thankfully we were just down the hall from the lobby so Darryl made several trips to get us drinks. 

We all slept in on Sunday until about 8:30, which was great.  Then we headed down the hall to breakfast.  Now, in May when we went on vacation, doing the Continental Breakfast did not work well at all.  The boys couldn't quite handle all of the "excitement" and we ended up eating our room the other mornings.  They did fabulous this time.  I did bring pop tarts  for them to start with and then Josh asked for donuts and cereal and wouldn't you know it - they had Fruit Loops (aka "Soup Soups")  Plus orange juice and milk.  Oh, and bacon.  Lots and lots of bacon HA!  They entertained a couple next to us . .. actually several couples. . .and all was good.  I was very proud of my boys. 

The next stop on our weekend was Toys-R-Us.  Every year we take the boys to do "pre-christmas" shopping.  This lets them show us what they really like.   Josh has still been talking about a couple of specific things so I think we know what to get him! 

We had a special Surprise for Josh - we took him to the viewing park at the Airport so we could watch the planes land and take off. 

Yes, it was a HUGE hit :-)  We left the park and went to lunch at Bob Evans.  The boys had gotten coupons for free meals so it was the perfect place to go :-)  It was funny because the boys knew exactly what they wanted so I asked them if they normally get that with Papa and Nana and they said YES!  Then Josh said, "I miss Papa and Nana".  Notice the connection to Bob Evans? :-) LOL   Just so you know we aren't perfect, Josh started to throw a fit in Bob Evans over a french fry so Darryl picked him up to carry him out and Josh screamed, "Mama Help me, Don't let Daddy hit me".  Seriously.  Talk about wanting to crawl under a table!  The simple truth - we've never hit our kids.  Shoot, we don't even spank because it makes ME feel bad - I try to do other things for discipline and thankfully God gave me kids that respond to those things!!

Just a couple final photos for you of the Birthday Boy

Hard to believe that this little guy joined our family 4 years ago - he has brought so much joy and happiness!  Such a great kid, if I say so myself!

Foodie Pen Pals

Several months ago, I ran across a blog called "The Lean Green Bean".  She hosted something called Foodie Pen Pals and it sounded like so much fun that I signed right up!  This was my first month to receive a package and let me tell you, waiting for the package is like waiting for Christmas!  I was beyond excited when I got this fabulous box in the mail.

 This month I was matched up with Karen over at Skinny In Pink and she out did herself!  She even was so thoughtful to put the goodies in a box that made it difficult for my kids to get into :-)

What did she send?  Well, the very first thing I went to was the Dark Chocolate Covered Blueberries.  I do believe that is my new favorite snack.  I've always enjoyed chocolate covered cherries but the blueberries have so much more flavor!!  Then, I really enjoyed the Chocolate Covered Pretzels.  Those were my evening snack for several nights in a row.  The container in the front holds Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds, which I consider my secret stash of energy.  I mean, aren't Almonds a power food?? She also included two packages of popcorn - so yummy.  I will admit that I did "lose" one item to my husband . . see that fabulous bag of chocolate covered Raisins? Well, those are HIS favorite snack so those disappeared before I had a chance to blink!!

Karen really hit the nail on the head with these treats and I loved having my own stash of snacks in the house :-)

If you would like to see what I sent to the person I was assigned, check out Kids and Canning Jars.  I'm looking forward to seeing how she liked her box too!

So, after reading all of this, are you interested in joining up?  
! Here are the details! -On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. 
If you’re interested in participating for November, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.
You must submit your information by November 4th as pairings will be emailed on November 5th!
*If you’re from somewhere besides the US, Canada or Europe and want to participate, send me an email and I’ll see if we get enough interest this month!

Fall Decor

I'm going to skip my normal "Too Cute Not To Toot" post this week in order to share our Fall/Halloween Decor.  I am REALLY late in getting our house decorated this year - I just did it this past weekend, actually, but I'm really glad I did because the boys have really enjoyed it.

 The boys each wanted to help me decorate.  This was what Nate did.  Yes, everything is on the floor around the bottom of the chair ;-)  We did have to rearrange a little so the matching metal pumpkins with handles are now in the boy's room. 

 The top of the entertainment center house my glass pumpkins.  Some of these were used as decor at a baby shower 4 years ago and then I picked up a few more over the years. 

 One of my favorite displays.  I made the wooden pumpkins two years ago and the Jack-o-Lantern is one of 4 that I have that my mom has given me.  The boys LOVE them!! 

 Another favorite - I think I've had this for about 15 years :-) 

 This was part of Josh's decorating  (I'll be honest, I moved this to the dining room table).  This stand also now houses a Jack-O-Lateran also . . . it originally was on the floor next to it where Josh put it ;-)

 Our marble table in the dining room.  This was decorated by Josh as well.

 The dining room table (which now has THREE jars instead of two HA!)

 I love this little display in the kitchen window.  For the record, it was almost 80 degrees the day I was decorating.  It just didn't seem right (But now it is in the 40's!)

 Yes, I have my very own black cat!  I actually also have a stuffed black cat that Josh claimed has his own.  He loves that thing - lays it down for naps, feeds it, and even named it Misty (which is our REAL cats name too!)

 The patio Door - I love it and so far I've kept the kids from taking the "stickys" off the window too!

The top of the fridge :-)  I love those two figures - I've had those for at least 10 years as well.

The boys also have a Jack-O-Lateran in their room and there is one on the piano:-)  Such fun times!

A Few of My Favorites

Here are a few blog posts that I found this week that encouraged me, stepped on my toes, or just made me smile.

1) The Year of Less - If you remember, my theme word last year was Simplify.  For as much as I cut out, I realize I could do more.  This post gives some simple reasons why we should live for less (And if you check  out the blog, she has other great posts too! )

2) Mothering.com shared an awesome post called 10 Great ways to be an unhappy mom. Wow, nailed that one right on the head!!

3) I Heart Organizing - A great post about . . .how to organize Lego's HA!  We are now the proud owner of our first Lego's and I want a plan in place now.  I love the Trofast system and, guess what? It is SOOO affordable. I actually want to get two systems - one to house all of their cars and trucks and then one to sort Lego's in.

4) The Sullengers - This is my inspiration blog - the whole reason I started blogging.  Ashley posted a great post about dealing with Denial.  She also gives some good insight on how to help others that are grieving and are IN that denial stage of grief.

5) Everyday Atchleys - Are you looking for a good laugh??  Read this post. The blog author makes me laugh 9 times out of 10 blog posts.  I wish she and I lived next door because we would be fast friends!

6) 31 Days to Impress your Kids - I just did a quick look at this one and it struck me as something that could be good.  I need to go back through and read it completely now though :-)