Pumpkin Muffins

Yum. You need to make these muffins. The boys were crazy about them! They are delicious! Andy liked them. Wilson liked them. Luke liked them. Tyler liked them. I liked them. The End.

*I'm just not a food photographer. Or any kind of photographer. Sorry. There is a picture after the link!

Happy Fall!

This weekend we went to the pumpkin patch to get pumpkins, ride on a hayride, and buy apple donuts! It was a lot of fun. The boys fed the goats - even Tyler! I also bought mums to plant for the porch. Andy drilled holes in my planters so the water could drain out and not oversoak the flowers. It looks so nice out there now! I bought a new door mat and a sign that is fallish to hang on the door. I tried two new recipes, buttered rosemary rolls and pumpkin pie squares. I didn't use rosemary on the rolls because that is one of the few herbs I don't have...I just used dried italian seasoning. The pumpkin pie squares are pretty good, but not exceptional! I have many more pumpkin recipes I'm wanting to make this fall. Yum!

Fall Break!

We've really enjoyed our fall break. It's sad to see it come to an end! I'm always a little down on my last day from a break before returning to school - even though I really like my job. It's just hard to get myself back into the swing after a few days at home with my family. Anyway- here's what we've been up to!

Day 1 - my mom and I took my boys and Cara's girls downtown to look at a bunch of horse statues. We ended up seeing 15! It was fun to see all of the different artwork and read the names of the horses. It was like a scavenger hunt. We packed a lunch and ate a picnic in one of the parks. That afternoon I met up with a friend for a walk in a different park. I got a lot of walking in on Wednesday! That evening we hung out at home and made pizza. This horse is name Bluegrass.

This horse is named Teacup.

Day 2 - I had lunch at The Glitz with my mom, sister, and a friend of my mom's named Cathy. She gave this lunch to my mom with Cara and I for Christmas. It was fun! We've known Cathy a long time so it was nice to catch up with her.
Day 3 - we left for Great Wolf Lodge with my side of the family! My parents, grandparents, 2 family friends, my family and Cara's family all went. We stopped at the outlet malls nearby for about an hour and then went to the water park for a couple hours before dinner. We had a great time that night doing GWL's trick or treat scavenger hunt, playing in the arcade, and listening to story time.
Day 4 - we spent from 10:30-3:00 at the water park! It is so much fun. Andy and I took turns riding some of the bigger slides with Wilson or Luke. If you haven't been you should definitely plan to go! Last night we finally ate at our new Cracker Barrel for dinner as we came back into town.
Day 5 - church, cleaning, laundry, grocery list, etc.

Pizza Sauce

Last weekend Andy and I made Pizza bites. We've made them before using homemade pizza dough. Yum! The boys love them too. I've wanted to try the homemade pizza sauce from Annie's Eats for a while and finally got around to it. We put ours in the blender so it would be smooth and not chunky. I don't own an immersion blender. It worked just fine! Have pizza sauce in the freezer for the next time!

Whirlwind

That's how life is feeling. Like I'm in a whirlwind. I'm trying to keep things running smoothly at home and school. So many things to juggle. I've been sick for two weeks on top of my allergies. Went to the walk in clinic this past Sunday and didn't get much help. I did get a cough syrup that allows me to sleep so that was good. Finally made it to my pcp today and found out I have bronchitis. Thankful for the antibiotic and an inhaler so I can breathe a little easier. I'm taking 3 OTC medicines for allergies, 2 medicines for bronchitis, and a cough syrup at night. I'm ready to feel well again! Thankful to have a pharmacist for a sister - she helped me out a lot last weekend in knowing what all I could take. I never would have thought I could be taking this many medications at once. That seems kind of crazy to me but she assured me it was ok as did the nurse practitioner today!

School has been good but busy of course. My student teacher has been a HUGE help. I keep getting new students. Four new students have joined my class in the past 3 weeks. It's been a little wild. I get one settled and then the next day it seems another new student is at my door. I knew it was coming- I started the year with 19 students. Now I'm up to 23. It's just been a lot of new students in a short amount of time. Next week is my student teacher's solo week and my list of things to accomplish is LONG! I'm soo grateful for the time to work. It's always weird to be there, watching in your room, and not teaching!

The boys are doing well overall. Luke loves pre-k at his preschool. He started walking by himself from the drop off lane on the second day. Tyler is cute as can be and talking a mile a minute. He loves playing and eating peanut butter now. Wilson is having set backs in the anxiety department. It's been quite difficult at times but I was so proud of him today. He had been worrying about something happening in his class at school for 3 days. Up at night trouble sleeping, wringing hands, biting nails, saying he didn't want to go on Friday etc. But today with bribing of a piece of cake after school and a trip to the public library this afternoon he used his courage and went to class by himself. That was HUGE! I was kind of dreading today because of what I thought he might be like. He surprised me and I told him many times today how proud I was of his courage. He got 9 books at the library and a piece of cake! :)

I've stopped the thankful journal and I need to start again. It really helped me to focus on the positive things from the day instead of being bogged down by the overwhelming craziness of life. I just keep telling myself to take things one day at a time. Even one step at a time. I'm an organized procrastinator. But I think my procrastination often stems from being a working mom from 7am-8pm when the boys go to bed! LONG day. EVERY day. I remember when I used to come home from work before kids and think I was soo tired. Wow. Somehow things keep getting accomplished, maybe not as soon as I'd like - but I'm getting it done! I'm so thankful for my friends and family who help me!

Party Pictures!

The cake was good!

Daddy decorated, mommy baked. :)

Thomas theme!

Playing with his new track and trains.

He is so happy with the new train stuff!

Opening a gift

Applesauce at lunch

2 Years Old!

Tyler turned 2 on Sunday! We celebrated on Saturday with family at our house for lunch. My mom brought a bouquet of balloons and he was super excited about them! The theme was Thomas and we had a homemade cake with a Thomas on it and Thomas plates. The party was very simple with very easy food. He got several train gifts and some new pj's. He loved his cake! After the party we went to buy new tennis shoes with Gamma and Terry. My mom and dad got him new shoes as part of his gift. He loves his new shoes. Saturday night after his bath he wanted them back on and cried when we took them off for bedtime. So cute! He had his 2 year old doctor visit today and here are his stats:
Height: 93%ile
Weight: 81%ile
Head: 97%ile
He is ready to try peanut butter now! Sunday I let him eat a McDonald's hamburger and fries downstairs in front of the tv for dinner while watching his favorite movie WALL-E! He thought that was pretty great. He opened a few trains from us and a train movie from his brothers. We had a picnic lunch at the park before Luke's t-ball game and it was a beautiful day. Thankful for a sweet, healthy, and very happy boy!
*Pictures to post soon...