Happy Halloween

My son told me he wanted to be a Super Hero for Halloween. So...here he is: Dash, the fastest little super hero boy that we know of. :) We put his "fast shoes" on and he raced around the neighborhood for candy.

Weekend Update

On Thursday...I managed to complete the grocery shopping, as I predicted, and I finished my crochet project...as previously posted...and, bonus...I was able to plant the flower bulbs that Kim sent me for my super-early Birthday present. :) She is all over it this year! I was so grateful for the spurt of warmer temperatures. I really was worried that the bulbs would sit in the garage all winter b/c I don't like even the hint of a chill in the air and wouldn't go outside to plant them. But, those worries were for nothing b/c they are hiding outside in the warm dirt now. :) JMS is a super bulb planting helper...anyone need help?

So...Friday...I had to work...minor obstacle to the weekend. Oh, and did I mention that the hubby is sick.

Here it is Saturday...JMS and I crept out of the house around 9am to avoid any unnecessary contact with the germ carrying...grumpy sick man in the house. :) And, we initially set out to run errands...pick up dry cleaning...well, that was the only errand we had to run since I was so efficient on Thursday. So, we went and saw Sesame Street: Elmo Grows Up...live in the downtown arena at 10:30am. We walked up to the ticket window...and the lady says, "I've got two seats, floor level, row B...only $25" um...no thanks....what else do you have? "18 dollar...." um, no thanks...what else do you have?..."12 dollar..." perfect...sold... A $3 box of popcorn and we were set until lunchtime. :) I guess he enjoyed the show. He isn't very fond of oversized costume wearing people. They creeped him out a little when we were at the amusement park too. He did enjoy seeing Abby (the fairy) make herself disappear.

And, last thought before I crash for the night...I started making Yo-Yos. Um...yes I did. Only 2979 to go for that queen size quilt. Haha...who am I kidding?!?

My Latest Crochet Project

When I finished the hats for my dad, I started on a sweater for JMS. I have the front and back almost finished...arms and hood are what remain of that project. But, I decided for the month of October...Breast Cancer Awareness Month, that I'd make a pink blanket for my bosses' mother who is 81 and fighting breast cancer. I read this book about a Prayer Shawl Ministry and the impact they have on the givers as well as the receivers. So, I prayed for her with every stitch and hopefully she'll get better. I finished the blanket today...here it is: The neat thing is that she doesn't know about it!

Nothing New Here

Just wanted to let everyone know we are doing fine here. Just working...and trying to keep healthy. I have today off so that will involve a little grocery shopping and crocheting...and not much else. We will be taking care of the neighbor's cat this weekend...I told my husband this and he gave me the "look" and then I clarified that we'd be going next door and giving the cat food. JMS is excited b/c it is his "friend's" cat. The horse races are going on here in town this month, and we haven't made it yet. If the weather is nice, I might take JMS on Sunday to watch them run a few times. We also have Sesame Street Live at the downtown arena...but it seems a little overpriced to charge 12 dollars for a 2 year old. I'll make my decision on the day of the event...factors: weather, patience with my son, price, how we all are feeling, and our risk factor for H1N1 - considering how many kids we'd be exposed to at this event....hmmm. We probably won't go. :o) And to finish off my paragraph of rambling...last night JMS was wearing underwear with a plastic cloth diaper cover over them (like for when they go swimming). I thought maybe this would help him realize when he wets himself...but at the same time preserve our carpet and furniture. He giggled so hard at the funny noise these plastic pants made...it almost made me laugh and wet my own pants...ok, so who is potty training who, I wondered? But it was really funny to watch him shake his butt and tell me his pants made noises. At this we had to call grandma and let her listen to him laugh. So as we had her on speaker phone he had to turn his back to the phone and shake his little butt at the phone so she could hear...too funny. It was hard to talk to her I was laughing so hard.

What's in Your CrockPot?

This is what is in mine:

Chicken Breasts (boneless)
1/4 cup lemon juice
dash of oregano, paprika, garlic powder

I love when the weather turns a bit colder and I can fill the house with wonderful dinner scents.

Harvest Fun

We went to Devine's Corn Maze today. They had other fun stuff for us to do in addition to the three corn mazes...hay rides, pipe slides, cattle car rides, pumpkin picking, haystack mazes, etc. The weather has turned cool here, and we had awful storms yesterday, but that didn't stop us.
JMS had a lot of fun going down the pipe slides. He even convinced his Dada to go down the big one...more than once :) despite landing butt first in the mud.
JMS was really good at the mazes. We had him choose which way we'd turn in the corn maze and for the "first timer's maze" they estimated 15 minutes and we were done in 7!!!

Quilts

As everyone knows my maternal grandmother passed in April. Well, since this event, my mom and her sisters have uncovered 15 (or more) hand made quilts. No one knew that my grandmother made quilts...and most are pondering the idea of "how did she have time for this?" knowing that she had 10 children across a span of 20 years. Each of her daughters has claimed a quilt and each grandaughter was given one too. One of the quilts was made in a way that I had never seen done before.

Have you heard of a Yo-Yo Quilt? Apparently these were popular in the 1920s and 1930s. They are made by taking 4" fabric circles and stitching them into a circle puff and then piecing all of the circle puffs together. I looked on the internet and some of the antique Yo-Yo quilts (still in good condition) are selling for 5-600 dollars. Yikes! Well, my point in sharing this is that they are beautiful and I was excited to learn my grandmother's secret. (this photo is an internet example, not my grandma's quilt, although very similar)

I already knit and crochet like both of my grandmothers were known to do, and I've attempted quilting but just never enjoyed how much space and time it took up. See, with crocheting I can do it in the car, I can do it while watching TV, I can do it while sitting around talking with friends. Quilting...its much bigger and not so travel friendly...so I thought...the Yo-Yo quilt technique, however, allows you to make all the pieces by hand (so maybe while riding in the car) and then you piece it together. I think the piecing together used to be intended as a social project hence you needed enough for everyone to do. By social, I mean that all the family's women could sit around and piece after a family dinner and at the end of the night you'd have a quilt. Doesn't that sound efficient? Anyone want to help make a yo-yo?

Church Choir and Good Food

At Church on Sunday we celebrated our church being open for two years and we had the choir serenade us...click on the link

He Never Failed Me

The soloist is in the fifth grade (I think.) He was singing without a microphone...mom...he'd be a great candidate for SCPA in Cincy.

Also, another simple recipe for those of you looking for a change.

2 frozen microwave lunch packets of pasta and alfredo sauce
2 cups of fresh sugar snap peas
2 cups of cubed fully cooked ham
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp black pepper

Prep the pasta according to the package, microwave the sugar snap peas in water for 3 minutes, mix cooked pasta, cooked peas, ham, oregano and pepper...then cook uncovered in the microwave for 4 minutes. Serves 2 adults. (Change your portions by increasing the number of pasta packs.) Enjoy!

Recipe for Picky Eaters

Last night I made Chicken Shephard's Pie. Delicious! Take 3 chicken breasts and cut them into cubes, brown up in butter on the stovetop. Make 2 (3.3oz) packets of instant mash potatoes (roasted garlic). Set both the chicken and mash potatoes aside. In saucepan (where you browned the chicken) add 3 Tbsps butter, 3 Tbsps flour, 2 1/4 cups of milk, a dash of thyme and a dash of sage. A touch of salt and pepper. Now for the good part...add 7 slices of swiss cheese to the gravy. Continuously stir...now add 1 cup of frozen corn and 1 cup of frozen peas (we did fresh snap peas...your choice).

In a buttered casserole dish, put the chicken, then top with the gravy and veggies, and then top with the mash potatoes. Now, place three slices (or shredded) of swiss cheese on top of the mash potatoes. Cook at 350 for 30 minutes. Then, broil high for 2-4 minutes until the top gets a nice brown on it. Take out and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

So...this recipe met my "no mushrooms, no onions, no broccoli, no hot spices, no red meat...etc etc" demands for tonight's dinner. Enjoy! These measurements served 6.

Don't Panic

We have less than 90 days until Christmas...ok...panic!

October: Read Your Bible Month

Most folks probably don't know that it is "Read Your Bible Month." Well, at our church, the children decided this month was going to be "Read Your Bible Month" and asked the congregation to commit to reading the Bible daily. They handed out peppermint candy with ribbons attached that said, "This is a reminder of my comMINTment to read the Bible."

I've been reading the Toddler's Bible with JMS every night for the past week. Let me just say...(and I'm biased)...but my child is a genius! We read a different story each night and then re-read the ones we read the night(s) before. Now, by just looking at the pictures he can tell me the Story of Creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Noah and the Ark, Tower of Babel, and after tonight's bedtime story - Abraham, Sara, Isaac and Rebekah. It makes me feel good as a parent. :)

Alright...so, now that you know...go read your Bible and celebrate.