Instagram September

We started off the month of September with a visit to the local public pool with the Scout Troop, but it was cool and overcast, so although the scouts had the pool to themselves and Jack had a ball with his friends, Maddie and Ben were bummed that there were only eight year olds there.  They never even got in, just mostly sat on the bench occasionally saying, “When is it time to eat?”, “We’re bored.”, and “When can we go hoooome?”

                                                           Blue lips--- it was so chilly.

In mid-September we closed our pool.  Here is one last look at a pretty sunset in September before we covered it all up with the boring green cover.

Now that both the temperatures and humidity are down, our cul-de-sac is filled once again many times a week with bikers and scooterers and chalk artists.  I love it.

It’s happy grasshopper time again, people!  Shield your children!  These two grasshoppers found a way to pass the time while locked up in Jack’s bug catcher…

Bug Boy’s also loving Praying Mantis time.

Dave and three of his friends have been organizing a golf scramble to benefit our church’s building fund since last spring.  It was so exciting to be a part of the actual scramble day!  Karen and Carol, two good friends (and wives of two of the organizer guys) and I were in charge of a contest on one of the golf holes.  The best part was we got to drive a golf cart!

And even better, I won a prize in one of the raffles!  No, not the big screen t.v. , and before you ask, it wasn’t for the giant basket of Hershey products.  We won…

                            It was gone in less than a week.  We all love sweet bologna! 

Grandma W.  took us and the cousins to Kugo’s!

                        No eyebrows were singed in the making of this photograph.

My personal decorator helped me with my Halloween décor.  He is available for a small fee to decorate your house.  His schedule is tight though, I’d call him soon for an appointment!

I got a new hairdo this month.  Right after the stylist cut my hair, I was left sitting in the chair so she could mix up my highlight stuff.  I sat there thoroughly horrified.  I seriously wanted to cry, as I felt I looked like either Leather Tuscadaro from Happy Days fame or possibly a member of an eighties rock band.  See for yourself.

       Those are the eyes of a frightened little girl held hostage inside Leather Tuscadaro.

It wasn’t any better after they blew me out, and then it took me about three weeks to figure out how to style all of those layers.  But now I seriously love it!  I really mean that! 

We’ve done the Rails to Trails quite a few times with the kids this summer.  Since we can only fit 4 bikes on the rack/in the car, that means I am usually the one who drives the car from a drop off point on the trail to a pick up point.  Maddie always rides the whole way, but Ben and Jack usually give in (with lots of whining) earlier on the route.  Dave and I even went biking ourselves on the trail and I think we biked 12 miles in all on our trip.  No snakes were spotted, which is always a bonus.

                                                                               I had a nice view.

What do you get when you put a bunch of eight year olds in uniform and tell them to sit quietly on the floor while you initial their achievements in their scout books?

             I am so glad I didn’t volunteer to be a leader.  God Bless Wolf Scout Leaders.

We all took a hike with Jack’s troop last weekend at the Middlecreek Wildlife Preserve in Schaefferstown.  As you can see, Maddie and Ben were so excited to be a part of hiking and geocaching!  Their enthusiasm was catching!

                                                            NOT a posed picture, people.

There were a ton of mennonites hiking too, and they all seemed to enjoy it.  Aren’t they cute?

Look at this view!  It was a gorgeous day!

~

That’s right.  He SEWS!

And he sews like a classy person.  Just look at that pinky raised up!  He’s got on his (former Steeler’s Coach) Bill Cowher face, which is the face he has when he’s concentrating a lot or not happy with a developing situation.  Compare:

photo source

Ben was so happy when his fifth grade teacher showed up in church the other week!  I pointed him out to him, and he got a big smile on his face, a look of wonder in his eyes, and he immediately sat up straighter.  Mr. B. was there with his wife and adorable baby and we got to watch that sweet, smiley, wiggly baby the whole service because they sat just a few rows in front of us.

My good friend Laura moved.  Far away to New Jersey.  We are all going to miss her and her family so much.

And we had our last Rainbow Snow of the season.  Booooooooooooo.  They have closed until the spring.

And finally, it’s time for Celebrity Instagram!  Have you ever wondered what goes on at school assemblies where Rosie O’Donnell’s children attend school?  Well, wonder no more!

 

Happy October, everyone!

The Meal That Tore the Family Apart

On Sunday, Maddie and Dave finally made an apple pie (or two) from those apples we picked last week. 

The house  smelled so good, and we were all looking forward to dessert so much.

Unfortunately, the evening meal consisted of grilled chicken, broccoli, and…gnocchi. (DUM DUM DUMMMM!) I mentioned here how much Ben hates gnocchi*, and I have to tell you, we rarely have gnocchi, maybe once every two or three years, because it brings out such strong, negative reactions from him.  However, Dave loves gnocchi.  He almost always orders it any time we eat at an Italian restaurant, so after not making it in over a year, I decided it was time to try it again.

If you thought allowing Ben’s taste buds to mature over the previous year would be helpful, you would be wrong.  And as an added bonus, Jack climbed aboard the the Anti-Gnocchi Train with an enthusiastic fervor that was impressive in one so young.

At first, their grumpiness was merely annoying.  There was the usual whining and bargaining, and questions about how many more they needed to eat to still be able to get that pie for dessert.  And then the gagging and tears began.  Every bite of gnocchi elicited an actual gag reflex in both boys.  It got to the point that Dave, Maddie, and I were  in tears (of laughter)  ourselves over the ridiculousness of the boys.

                                      People, they had like five gnocchi each to eat.  No need to call the Child Abuse Hotline.

Maddie ‘s comment? “Gnocchi… the food that tore our family apart.”

They had the option of skipping the gnocchi but foregoing dessert, but Jack wanted pie so much. Ben, who doesn’t like pie crust, just wanted ice cream.  I silently vowed that I would never, ever bring the Devil Gnocchi into our house again.  Never EVER!  Dave did a lot of eye rolling, and Maddie was almost doubled over laughing at all of the gagging going on. 

Finally, they each managed to work their way through their five little gnocchi.

And the pie made it all worthwhile.**

*Gnocchi is made from potatoes, flour and salt.  Not liver and onions. Not scrapple.  Not pig knuckles.  POTATOES, FLOUR AND SALT!!!

**No.  It did not.

A Hit and a Miss

I recently made two very promising recipes that I found on Pinterest.  One was a definite Thumbs Up from everyone and the other one was a big fat miss.

Let’s start with the Hit!

Four ingredients, Woo Hoo!

Chicken is the missing fourth ingredient.  I only thought to take pictures after no one cried at dinner, so the chicken was already in its finished, yummy state.

The recipe calls for a 1/2 cup of mayo (I used light and it was fine), a 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese, and a sprinkling of bread crumbs.  Mix together the mayo and cheese (and to be honest, I just eyeballed my amounts), spread it onto chicken breast cutlets (I thought I had cutlets, but there must have been a package of tenders mixed in, because I ended up with those instead…they worked out just fine), and then lightly sprinkle some bread crumbs on top.  Spread the mayo mixture on pretty lightly as it does not melt into the chicken, and a little goes a long way.

Bake, uncovered at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Here were the tenders that were leftover:

Next time I will increase my cheese amount and put them under the broiler for a couple of minutes to get it nice and toasty on top.

This was very creamy with a nice sharp touch from the cheese, and the chicken wound up super moist.  I will definitely be making this again.

Up next…my miss.

I love cauliflower, but no one else does, so when I saw a recipe for mashed cauliflower, I knew I’d be making it just for me.  The blogger who posted the original recipe said it was even more delicious than regular mashed potatoes, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. 

I microwaved cauliflower with some butter and milk and then threw the cooked mixture into my food processor with some cheese and salt and pepper to grind/mash it all up.  Here’s what I got:

It looks totes delish, but I’m here to tell you that it was grainy and tasted nothing like mashed potatoes.  Which is fine!  I like cauliflower!  But I didn’t like this.  Here is the blogpost I borrowed my recipe from if you’d like to try it.

However, if I were you, I’d either make the Parmesan Chicken or maybe some of these Snickerdoodle Brownies, and then you could bring some over to my house and surprise me with them!  And we could be best friends forever.

Pumpkins, Apples, and Butts…Oh My!

Jack finally broke me down after weeks of begging to go pick out our pumpkins, so last Thursday when Maddie’s swim practice was cancelled and we found ourselves with a free (yes, free!) evening, we headed to the…

Actually, we only looked at the Pumpkin Patch.  We picked ours out from the stand like civilized people.   (We actually walked back to the PYO part, but decided it looked too mosquito-y --I swear, we have all been bitten so much this year-- that we chickened out and headed back to the stand).

First though, we took time out for a brief photo session:

Then we started looking around and we found a gorgeous selection of gourds, baby pumpkins, and big pumpkins.  And then, joy of joys, Jack found a pumpkin with a butt!

And then he put it down somewhere and we couldn’t find it and we were totally heartbroken to leave that place without our pumpkin butt.  If you go to Risser Marvel on 322, look for it.  We will let you have it and will only be a little indignant when you become the envy of all of your neighbors.

On Saturday we headed out to Sycamore Springs for some apple picking.  I only wanted to make some applesauce, but Maddie’s friend Kelsey came along and her mom asked us to pick 8 Jonagolds for an apple pie.  So we also picked 8 more for us.  And then somehow we ended up with 33 pounds of apples.  I really just don’t know how it happened.

We picked Crispins and Golden Delicious for eating out of hand, Empires for the applesauce, and Jonagolds for the pies.  And while we were picking, Jack found two apples growing together like twins.  They were not conjoined twins, but they were so close together, they looked like…

                                                                       That’s right.  Another butt. 

When exactly do boys emerge from the butt joke stage?  I’m thinking it may be never, based on the other boys/men I know. 

We headed on home and made our applesauce, though not our pie yet, and the applesauce is already gone!  I’m thinking I may make another batch from some of our apples previously planned for plain old eating, we liked it so much.  I noticed that my applesauce recipe is not in the Recipe sidebar (I guess I never linked it and frankly I just don’t feel like adding it right now) so here is the link to my applesauce post, if you’re interested.

 

Now our pumpkins are on the porch, and our apples are in our bellies, and our butts are…well, mostly sitting down (mine) or farting (Herbie’s…everyone blames him for the occasional odd toot around here.)

                                                                       I swear it wasn’t me!

Flag Football: Mother Approved

Ben wanted to join the local rec football team this year, and while I didn’t come out and say, “but you’re so little, and you’ll be the youngest age in the age bracket, and Dude!  What the heck is wrong with flag football?”  I was thinking all of those things.  Eventually, on his own, he decided to do Flag Football again, and I was so happy.

See?

     Jumping for Joy!   Wow.  Happiness really helps reverse the aging process.

Anywho, Ben’s team has been practicing hard, and that hard work paid off.  After not winning a single game in the last year (flag football last fall and baseball last spring), his team finally… lost their first game. Booooo.

But they won their second game!  Woo hoo!  Finally a win for Big B!

Forearm Alert in the background!

I have been loving these games!  They are really very exciting.  Maddie and Jack have been loving them too, literally on the edges of their seats!

Or maybe not.

Jack is mostly there for the big hill behind us and the snacks from the concession stand.  Maddie  occasionally looks up from her book to yell, “Go Ben!”   Maybe every chapter or so.  As you can see, we’re all about family solidarity!

Go Ben!  Mama’s cheering even if your brother and sister are party poopers.

The kids wear armbands (I think Ben calls it a “wristcoach”) and all of their plays are on there.  The quarterback or coach tells them which play to do and it’s cute to see them all studying their bands as they huddle and try to figure it all out.

Dave is the assistant coach.  That mostly means he stands around looking serious, yet cute, taunting me from across the field with his manliness.

I believe in the picture on the left he is thinking, “Dang!  Beth looks hot in those sweatpants.”

So for now through October, you’ll find us hanging around the football field on Saturday mornings:  cheering, reading, and rolling, for our favorite Flag Footballer, who is safe from tackles.  At least for another season.

Once Again…I Am CRAFTY!

I finally did one of the millions of craft projects I’ve pinned on Pinterest.  And then I went and breathed life back into a crappy old wreath.  I am a lifesaver, people!

First of all, let me start with my Pinterest project.  My inspiration came from here.  The blogger who wrote the original post changed up her mantle for all of the seasons, whereas I do more of a fall theme, so mine is a combination of both her Halloween and Thanksgiving mantles.  If you are a Type A person, you will probably hate my mantle.  Keep that fact to yourself. 

First of all, I did a little shopping at Hobby Lobby where most of my purchases were in the 40% off range.  I bought a small book of cardstock papers, a yard of burlap, and some chipboard letters.

I used the chipboard letters as stencils, and traced the words “Give Thanks” on various cardstock sheets.  After cutting out 10 triangle shaped pieces of burlap, I glued my cut out letters, using Aileen’s Tacky Glue, onto the burlap pennants.

My original plan was to sew the burlap triangles onto a jute cord, but unfortunately, thanks to the busybody hands of my precious youngest child, my sewing machine won’t thread properly anymore.  So instead I bought cute wittle baby clothespins, and clipped the pennants to the cord.

And then I decorated the mantle with my new banners and my Halloween decorations:

My two young men, ignorant of the beauty that lays before them.

Hmmmm.  I see there is a pen up there.  I’ll have to get that.

Moving on to the wreath.  Last year I made a cute pumpkin wreath that I saw on Pinterest, but then I took it apart to make my Valentine wreath last February.  I scouted around at Hobby Lobby thinking I could make something, but never really settled on anything good (I need to come with preconceived ideas…I’m so not creative).  When I came home, I searched around in the basement and found an old, fading wreath, literally covered in cobwebs (not purposeful Halloween cobwebs, but real, yucky cobwebs.)  I pulled it out, dusted it off, and added an orange bow I made from some old wired ribbon I had.  Then I spray painted a chipboard W I had bought at Hobby Lobby using a nice matte silver color.

The orange bow is just stapled to the old bow and the W is just kind of stuck in there.  Let’s hope a big wind or a slammed door don’t knock things apart.

I also added a little crow to the wreath…did you see him?  I love to welcome my friends and neighbors with symbolic signs of death.  It puts them right at ease and practically shouts, “Hello, friend!  If this was a novel, I’d be foreshadowing something grave in your future!”

Jack helped decorate the rest of the house with me for fall, and has been bugging me daily for us to go pick out our pumpkins.  If only he was as interested in keeping his room clean.

Happy fall to you!

Sick Day

Jack stayed home from school on Monday.  He was very sick.

Ahem. 

He had started a cold on Saturday, which didn’t seem so bad, but he woke up congested and froggy on Monday morning, so I loaded him up with Tylenol and some cold medicine and hoped he’d make it.

I drove both boys to school because it was band day and Ben’s drum weighs as much as he does, and as Ben was getting out of the car, Jack told me his stomach felt sick.  Jack really likes school and didn’t want to miss any, so I knew he wasn’t faking it.  Back home we went.

He had a quiet morning, mostly playing cars and watching Lab Rats (ugh) and Gravity Falls (yay!).

But after lunch he was feeling antsy.  First we read some more chapters in his bedtime book.  Then we did some of his Wolf Scout badge jobs (learning to f0ld a US flag, learning about the PA state flag, etc.) and then I forced him suggested he do some addition facts on the computer.

But then I let him outside.  It was a gorgeous day!  He came inside to get me and said, “Mom, come here!  And bring your camera!”  He just wanted me to photograph his bubble blowing.  Which I clearly did.

At one point he condemned the Bubble Kit because it contained a pipe, which he thought wasn’t such a good thing to give kids.  Then, he realized the kit also came with a “cigar” and a “cigarette” bubble blower too.

And just like that, he gave in to the pressure from the Bubble Company, and he became a smoker, people.

And little did I know it, but Dave was taking his own picture while I was taking mine.

Honestly, I was thrilled!  I don’t like being photographed, but I’ve always wanted a picture of me taking pictures!

Then we went to Wal-Mart, and made supper and ate it, and then I went to the middle school Back-to-School night, after which I came home to both boys jumping up and down at me in the garage.  I was all, “Wow!  They really missed me!” but they were all “Maddie just spilled the fruit salad all over the floor!”

It’s just so awesome to tattle an outrageous act like that.

And may I add, that I had just cut up that fruit that was all over the fridge and floor (she was putting it away at the time) and that I had just majorly cleaned out that fridge and washed the floor the weekend before.  My mom always said, the best way to get someone to spill something is to wash the floor, and darnit, she has been proven correct so many times around here.  Right there is the reason I don’t wash the floor all that much.

And then it was bedtime, and Jack’s sick day came to an end.  He was back in school the next day and things went back to normal. 

(Although, we’re still finding sticky spots when we walk near the fridge, but we are as back to near normal as possible.)

Blocked

My brain is stumped.  Even more than usual.

I’m sorry, I just don’t know what to write!  And worse…I kind of don’t care.  I was busy last week, and a few times I thought, “I should blog.”  But then my mind would wander happily somewhere else, like to the file cabinet in my brain where I keep x-rated copies of Dave’s forearms, and then I never sat down to make myself think. 

And then I worried that Tara’s mother would die without ever reading another blogpost I’d written, and I felt guilty.  But apparently not guilty enough.  I hope you’re still out there, ichi-ban critic!

You see, even though when I went private 5 months ago I warned you that my blog was going to be less entertaining and more about my children, I still agonize (yes, agonize!) when I write too many posts in a row about my family, and I really do try to break up the swimming/lost tooth/cutesy Wolfe stuff with non-family stuff, but now it appears that I may have hit the end of the road with non-family stuff, so I think I’ve sorta kinda mentally put the blog on the back burner.  Blah.

I’ll try to work on it.

Now excuse me while I go check out that file again.