Almost There

Wow...
Seriously, how'd that happen? It seems like the weeks just fly by one after the other. The days just melting into one another. I had no idea I would be this busy, but it seems that now that Madelyn is in school half time, I am running around more than I ever thought possible!

Tomorrow is the last day of school in October. It also happens to be the Friday before Halloween. I'm thrilled this year, because the kids are both able to, and encouraged to dress up for Halloween tomorrow.

I've been working on a few things, first I thought I'd share this picture I did for our 'vampire wall'. What's the matter with this picture? I'm looking evil, while Barry just looks jolly. I kept redoing the picture, over and over saying "Ok, this time hiss at the camera"

This is what I got:

Considering he rarely smiles such a lovely smile in pictures, it's a bit ironic actually. I just went with this picture. Me looking evil ["or just like yourself", as Barry pointed out] and him looking like a jolly vampire.

These made their way into the kids lunch boxes this week. Spooky finger cheese sticks, with delightful red pepper nails.

These are the things I whipped up to send to school with Mason tomorrow. He was quite pleased. He helped me put them together.

This is a little something for the kids teachers. Just a small hand sanitizer and a box of tic tacs decorated with a strip of paper and ribbon.

Then I packaged them up like this. Darn cute if I say so myself.


Only a couple more sleeps...

Last Week's Full Moon

One day in September, I looked outside and realized, hey... that moon looks full, and it was. But we had too much on the go, and we weren't able to co-ordinate a moonlight walk. This month, I was sure to jot it down on the calendar, so we wouldn't miss it again. My new calendar, doesn't keep track of the moon cycle... Can you believe it? [So it's not really my fault we missed the full moon in September, it's the calendar people's fault.]

We went for our full moon walk [only it wasn't much of a walk] last Friday night. The day ended up being cloudy and cool. The days that led up to it were SO nice and warm, but full moon walk day was chilly. We decided to try a different location. After some brainstorming at breakfast, we decided to head to the airport. There's a viewing area there, to watch planes land and take off. Since the clouds were hanging on the horizon, we knew we might not see the moon, and had to see something. So off we went.

We had a fun time. The kids really look forward to our outings. They do their drawings, and write down what they see. They were both quite content sitting in the backseat of the car, sketching and watching. They only got out for a few moments, the arctic wind was just too cold. One of the highlights for them, is the snack that is offered. And it hasn't really been a big deal. First time we had licorice. Then we've had granola bars, dry cereal. It's not like it's something extra special like say a Crave Cupcake.... Mmmmm... But they LOVE the idea of a snack, and they love it when the snack gets to be eaten in the car. That's not the norm around here. NO FOOD - NO DRINK is our motto. [And when Daddy realized a chocolate chip had melted on his seat, and as a result, on his work pants... I didn't say it to the kids, but it' pretty much guaranteed, that they just consumed their very last snack IN the car...]

December Daily and other Halloween Stuff

I've decided to follow the idea of the December Daily, like Ali Edwards does. You can check hers out here. It's a lot of work to begin with, but if you start early enough, and plug away at it, all you have to do is take the pictures and collect the mementos for the actual month of December.

I did it last year. I won't lie, getting it together was a lot of work. And yes, you have to be dedicated to take the pictures and and do the documenting, but once the month is over [the whirlwind that the month of December typically is] you have these wonderful images and pictures to cherish. Seriously... This couldn't have already been a year ago could it have?



Last year I tried to make every page unique and different. This year, it's going to be a lot more simplistic. I created my own 5x7 template, and the book will be that size. I'm anticipating it being very awesome upon completion.

Speaking of anticipation... This little girl is getting very excited about Halloween. I made her this lunch last week. She refused to eat the clementine... Too cute she said. [I had no problem eating it]


These are the cookies the girl and I did last week. I decorated them over the wknd. I'm afraid I won't be going into business any time soon. Next time, I think I would do one type of cookie at a time. It gets a bit time consuming to change colors. Plus you need a thicker icing to pipe around the edges, then you need to thin it a little to flood the cookie... I haven't perfected it, to say the least. But they ARE dang cute. I love the cauldron...

I picked Mad up from Kindergarten to today and we had to 'fly' to art class. I packed her a little lunch to eat there. I found the ideas for brown paper lunch bags here. [I also sent the skull and cross bone bag to school with Mason] Last night, as I was putting the labels on the juice boxes, Barry shook his head at me, and said "I sure hope the kids realize how lucky they are".
Well, to be honest, me too. But I know if they don't realize it now, they will eventually.

Every year for Mason's class, I've always sent in a little class treat of some sort. This year, his class size went from 18 to 29. So I had kind of decided that maybe I wouldn't do anything for his class this year...[Now that I have one in Kindergarten AND one in Grade 3] That's close to 45 treats... Eeks. Any way, he came home from school today, and informed me, that he told his teacher today "My Mum likes to send in treats for the kids..." Good thing I have an idea up my sleeve. Better get it going!

Last but not least. I made this over the weekend. I took an old frame, the glass had broken on it, mounted some halloween paper on cardboard, and hot glued some spiders onto the paper. Super cute!

Apple Pie

The anticipation around here is mounting!! Yesterday Madelyn and I made our first batch of sugar cookies! Mmmmmm...

Speaking of yummy things, I made an apple pie!! This apple pie right here! It's not going to win any awards on appearance, but in taste... It was phenomenal. I bought the crust, I just wasn't quite ready to get into pastry yet... I may never be. And that's just fine with me. [After all, you can buy it ready to go] simple-schmimple... I made the filling from scratch. That's right, real apples, cinnamon, sugar, flour, a little bake in the oven and voila... Pure goodness. This pie was eyes rolling into the back of your head good... Next time, I'm going to add some caramel... Sweet Mother of Pearl... Just when you thought it couldn't taste any better, I'm going to make it taste even better. I'll have to keep you posted about the Caramel Apple Pie. It's going to have to hold on a while, I've reached my maximum dessert quota for October already!

The recipe I used for the pie is this:

5 apples, peeled and thinly sliced [I used MacIntosh]
2/3 cup white sugar
3 tbsp floor
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 375°
Put bought pie crust into a pie plate.
Place apples in a large bowl, add lemon juice and toss apples. Add sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Toss until all apples are mixed well and thoroughly coated.
Spoon into crust.
Top with remaining bought crust. Seal edges [important if edges are seals, there will be leakage]. Cut steam vents and brush the top of the crust with milk.
Cover pie with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 25 mins. Remove foil from pie and bake for another 20 - 25 minutes, until the crust is golden. Serve warm with vanilla icecream.

This cute little fella went to school in Mason's lunch yesterday. Guess what, it came home in Mason's school lunch without cranberry eyes... That's all he ate, the cranberry eyes. The kid likes cheese, and he likes bread, he even likes a grilled cheese, but a Cheese Sandwich... Well, he wasn't even going to entertain that idea. I'm always hopeful!

For Today - October 20th, 2010

Outside my window... Bright and sunny. October has been absolutely GLORIOUS.

I am thinking... I only have a week and a bit left, to get all the 'baking' of sugar cookies done in time for Halloween.

I am thankful for... my husband, who let's me live the life I've become accustomed to [thanks Hun]

I am wearing...Jeans, long sleeved turtle neck and a my new grey sweater.

I am remembering... The days when the kids were little, and every day wasn't a mad house around here, with getting up, and getting sorted out, getting fed, getting lunches ready and getting to school on time. Sheesh, it's a lot of work first thing in the morning.

I am going... to have a quiet morning at home alone tomorrow. First time this week. It's been hectic to say the least.

I am currently reading... A book I picked up on a whim at the library, called Leopard Rock. I read the back cover [I usually go by the title] and realized it's a 'romance novel'. Too funny.

I am hoping... The weather will stay amazing for Halloween. It's so nice when the kids don't need to be bundled up when they head out to Trick and Treat.

On my mind...I'm making a delicious smelling concoction, it's in the crock-pot right now. The house smells WONDERFUL. I hope it tastes that good. It's a recipe called Asian Peanut Butter Pork.

Noticing that... As the kids get older, it's getting to be more and more fun spending fun, silly moments together. It's so cool to watch these personalities come into their own a bit.

Pondering these words... All I know for sure is today.

From the kitchen...It smells so good in hear, I've already mentioned the food!! We'll be having salad and new potatoes with it. Mmmmm....

Around the house...My house smells clean, and looks clean. Rose was here today. I can enjoy this until Mason gets home at 3:45 pm.

One of my favorite things: The sun is still hot. In another month it won't be. It feels so good, and I'm just enjoying it so much. I feel so thankful for October, I just wish we still had our leaves.

From my picture journal...

Countdown

Whose excited already?

Printed off some fun jokes to put in Mason's lunch tomorrow. Have such great plans, to spook up lunches and food etc. Got some GREAT recipes to make over the next couple of weeks. I don't know who has more fun, me or the kids.

An Actual Conversation with Madelyn...

We took the kids to BP's last night for dinner. It's the celebration of both the end of the week, and my not having to cook dinner. Our young waitress took our order. Madelyn couldn't take her eyes off her... Once she walked away, we had this dialogue:

Mad: "Why did she have a pin sticking in her mouth?"
Me: "I don't know, looks like it hurts"
Mad: "Yeah, I bet it hurts" [the next sentence was my biggest mistake, rather than just stopping right here, I added]
Me: "I think it looks kinda awful"
Mad: "Well, I think it looks pretty"


We will never be able to say, that anything she does surprises us... God help me.