Pumpkin Patch

October 20, 2010
Hannah's class went on a field trip with the other kindergarten classes to a pumpkin patch.

I was lucky enough to get to go with them.

They had a great time seeing all the produce that is grown there..

The chickens were a big hit... 

but were probably happy to see all the kids go.

And the cute little pumpkins were the prize of the day.

It was fun to get to meet all of Hannah's little classmates.

A Little Bird...

Word on the street is that I don't blog enough... I KNOW!!
I just keep getting farther behind, and that doesn't seem to make it any easier.

A little bird told me that all the family far away is feeling cheated on all they are missing out on...
especially with this little one that is growing and changing.

To that I say... I'LL TRY TO DO BETTER! But if you aren't content buy a plane ticket!

A Postcard to My Mom....

Dear Mom,

I was getting ready to go do some reading, but quickly checked a few blogs, I saw your recent blog post.... 

I don't miss Utah winters!

I grabbed my book, and plopped on the couch face on the sunny side. 

That is when I thought more about your post.

I altered my plans a bit... blinds up, couch closer to the window.

WISH YOU WERE HERE!

P.S. Ignore the dirty windows...

most of the yuck is between the window and storm window.

He's Hot & He's Cold

(Photos Courtesy Lou Lou Photography)

Not sure if you know the words to the Katy Perry song, but it goes through my head daily. My little Milo is kind of that way. I always say that when he is sweet, he is REALLY REALLY sweet... melt your heart, want to bottle him up, sweet. And when he is sour, watch out -- DUCK AND COVER! -- he is REALLY  REALLY sour!  He is everything you read about 2 and 3 year-olds, combined with everything you read about busy boys, throw in a helping of angry outburst, a side of sweet hugs and kisses and you have my Milo.

Sunday morning Hannah came in around 5:30 to inform us that Milo had gum in their room. I go in, expecting to find a piece of gum in his mouth... no, I find that he has 2 packs of gum, one is empty and the other only has a few pieces left. Down on the floor were all the balled up wrappers. He had used a chair to reach up in the drawer and get two packs of gum. He has also pulled out the little drawer will all the magic markers in and they were dumped. (Thankfully he isn't big on coloring.) He did inform me that he couldn't find the matches (he is big on fire,) which are in a neighboring drawer. You can guarantee I was happy that I had moved the matches the day before because he knew where they were, and I like to make sure that isn't the case.

Yesterday we were standing in line at a store and the lady behind us in line said something to him, and in his grumpy voice he scowled at her, backed away, and snapped: DON'T YOU TALK TO ME!!
She seemed a little put out by his cheery disposition. I wanted to say: He's a little ray of sunshine, isn't it!?!

Lately when he doesn't like the answer I give him or when I ask him to do something, he informs me that I'm not his friend. I tell him that I am his friend. He says: NO, Daddy is my friend, not you!!

Do you wonder why I am writing this? Well I hope to one day look back and laugh at it... 

I hope we will be beyond our terrible 2's and 3's.

Bread Recipe

There was some requests for my bread recipe... I still love it, but I have come across a couple others that I am going to try. I'll let you know if they become my new favorite "everyday bread"

As I said before I love this bread, not only because it is soft and tasty, but because it is all whole wheat... and I love knowing that it is good for us.

Whole Wheat Bread
Makes 2 loaves

2 1/2 c. warm water
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. oil
1 Tb yeast
1 Tb salt
2 Tb vital wheat gluten
1-2 Tb dough enhancer
5-6 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour (white wheat)
Optional: I will often times put 1/4-1/2 c baby oatmeal in, but only because I have it.

Whisk water, honey, oil, yeast, salt, gluten and dough enhancer in large bowl (or kitchen aid bowl) Add 2 cups of flour and mix well. Let proof for a few minutes. Spray pans and set aside. Add remaining flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, make sure dough is soft, not too sticky. Knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth. Spray work surface and hands with cooking spray, and form 2 loaves. Place in pans and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let dough raise until an inch above top of pans.
Carefully place dough into cold oven. Turn onto 350 degrees and bake for 38 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on rack.

*If you are using fresh ground red wheat or store bought wheat flour, don't use all wheat. Store bought is much heavier than the white wheat I grind. Start with 2 cups of wheat flour & the rest white flour. You could probably increase it by another cup, but I'm not sure how it will turn out if you use all wheat.

Reduce, Recyle, Reuse...

Am I the only one that is loving how "In" it is to re-purpose things? I am both practical and cheap, so giving things a face lift with a fresh coat of paint really speaks to me.

I have wanted to paint the fan blades on the fan in our kitchen for a long time... 

not sure why it's taken me so long.

The ivy was just not my thing. (The kitchen was remodeled by previous owners who had a love of ivy.) A few years ago I did take the blades off with the intention of turning them over... Well the other side wasn't white...

This afternoon I finally did it. I took the blades down and gave them a good wash. I removed the fan from the ceiling... but I did let Jeff unhook the electrical wiring, because I'm a wimp when it comes to stuff like being electrocuted.

The blades got a nice coat of white spray paint. And all the rest was sprayed with a metallic paint.

At the last minute I decided to take down the medallion and give it a new coat of paint as well.

Jeff was kind enough to come hook the wires back up for me.

I LOVE how it all turned out!!

My little Owl

Milo has no idea who Darth Vader is (he kept asking where his Elebator costume was), but he saw the light saber, I tried to talk him into being a jedi or Han Solo.  

But he seems to be drawn to villains, he must go with his love of guns and all things dangerous. 

(Brings a mother such comfort.)

 Hannah was Aerial last week at the trunk-or-treat, but decided to go as a bride on Halloween.

She was also a great helper with the younger kids that we were with trick-or-treating.

We got invited to a party, we all met up to trick-or-treat and then back to a friend's for dinner and some karaoke. It was a fun evening, but all the festivities were exhausting!!

Halloween Projects

The week before Halloween Hannah had Thursday and Friday off of school for fall break. 

We did some Halloween crafts.

The kids decorated some cookies, but they got nibbled and licked and I forgot to take pictures. These were the last ones sitting before I dumped them in the trash days later. 

So wasteful!

We did carve pumpkins on Halloween (well on the 30th) but we are slacker parents and didn't get pictures of the process or the end results.

Chester's Party Barn

On Saturday morning we headed over to Piedmont Oklahoma to go to Chester's Party Barn. 

(Why you would name this place after a clown named Chester, I'm not sure.)

Surprisingly Milo was willing to feed the animals, but not Hannah....

We took a cold and windy hayride over to the corn and wood mazes, and the BIG Slide....

Yeah, they had pumpkins, but due to our procrastination the selection was a little slim. 

We were all a little cold, grumpy and ready to head home.... we were Party'd out! 

But how cute are these little monsters of mine??

I'd like to find a Pumpkin Patch to go to next year. Anyone know of one here??

Storybook Forest

We heard about The Storybook Forest a couple of years ago, but I always seem to forget about it until it's too late to go. This year I was reminded and we went. You wander through the forest on a path and come to little stops with props and stories. The kids could trick-or-treat their way through the forest.

At the end of the path there was a clearing where there were some games to play and a hayride to go on.

 

Publish Post

The kids had a good time, but if I'm being honest...we aren't sure if it's something we would do again.