HALLOWEEN practice run.

I'm incredibly jealous of all the towns that decide as a community

to do Trick-or-Treating on the Friday or Saturday night

BEFORE Halloween, when it falls on a school night.

A LOT of towns in our area do it like that... except the one we live in.

 

So tomorrow night we will be hitting the streets!

I can't imagine we will last long though because it's DARK here by 6pm

and the high for tomorrow is a crisp 46 degrees.

 

We really have to work for our candy in Minnesota.

 

We do however have a Truck-or-Treat event downtown every year,

the weekend before Halloween. They block off several blocks downtown,

local businesses decorate a vehicle or trailer, and hand out candy.

(And shove business flyers in the hand of every parent as they walk by.)

 

 Its nothing to write home about,

but its an excuse for my kids to wear their costumes, so we're all about it!

 

Here is a little preview of what's to come tomorrow night...

 

Cam and JP are Avengers OBSESSED so it was no surprise to us

when we took the kids to pick out costumes that they wanted to be

Captain America and Iron Man.

 

As for Eva, she picked the pink-est costume she could find.

I don't think she cared what it was, she just saw pink and it was all over.

She's my sweet little Fairy Princess.

 

 

I just love them.

 

 

And in case you ever need to know, the way to Iron Man's heart is cherry lollipops.

 

 

The highlight of Truck-or-Treat was, without question, the train rides.

 

 

And the annual candy thief has returned! We didn't even

make it home before Jay was looking through their buckets for Reese's cups.

(And in case you need to know, the way to a grown man's heart is peanut butter.)

 

Have a HAPPY and SAFE Halloween!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Parenthood FAIL.

Well, we had a major fail a few nights ago.

I'm talking about the choke-back-tears kind of fail.

Let me set the scene:

Several weeks ago we were considering getting a puppy.

It's been years since Jay and I had a dog and Cameron was

far too young to remember.

We got the puppy itch, did some research, found a breeder, etc, etc.

Now I could go over the pro's and con's with you all day,

but long story short, despite REALLY wanting a dog,

we decided against it. For now.

Unfortunately we made the mistake of telling Cameron we MIGHT get a dog.

Clearly, children, or at least mine, NEVER hear the word "might".

In fact, I'm pretty sure they are programed to have no sense of the word.

BIG mistake.
HEART BREAKING mistake.

Once we decided against it, the puppy talk around the house ended

and things went back to normal...

until last week.

We were sitting at the dinner table, eating a meal together

when Cameron (completely out of left field) asked,

"Did I do something naughty?"

Confused, I quickly replied, "No, honey. Why would you think that?"

Cameron, with the saddest eyes I've ever seemed in my life,

looked up at me and said, "Well... I didn't get a puppy for my birthday."

I was mortified. I immediately felt the tears start to fill my eyes.

I had been punched in the gut.
I don't know why he thought not getting a puppy was some sort of punishment
and I don't know what we had done to make him think that
but I felt AWFUL.

"We'll get a puppy someday, babe... just not right now."

(Yes, I call my son "babe"... in fact, I call all my kids "babe". Judge me.)

Seeming to accept that answer, he looked back down at his plate

and slapped me with a one-liner that dang near shattered my heart:

"It's okay. I'll just ask Santa instead."

We are the worst parents ever.

At least that's how I felt at that moment.

BLUE VELVET PANCAKES

I'm a sucker for all things red velvet.

It's easily my favorite cake, and slowly becoming

a favorite for my entire family.

And now that I've found a way to incorporate "red" velvet

into every one's birthdays, not only is it a favorite,

but a tradition.

All birthdays in this house now start with version of red velvet pancakes!

So for our BLUE VELVET PANCAKES...

(at the request of my handsome 4 year old)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon blue food coloring

(this is where you get to be creative and tailor it to the

crowd you're cooking for... like BLUE for my son's 4th birthday)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons melted butter

This is a THICK batter, so I usually add 1/4 cup water

to thin it out, and make it so it better resembles standard

pancake batter. The water also makes it easier to pour

onto your griddle.

Cook as you would any other pancake.

These can be topped with pretty much anything.

We usually stick to whipped cream and fruit of some kind.

My daughter has requested pink velvet pancakes for her upcoming birthday.

I found pink food coloring, so wish me luck!



PEANUT BUTTER-BANANA MUFFINS

We eat A LOT of bananas in this house.

They're an easy snack and not something any of my kids ever refuse.

But occasionally they ripped before we get a chance to eat them,

so it's important to have some go to recipes to use them up with.

 

Our newest favorite...

 

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA MUFFINS

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

2 ripe large bananas (mashed until smooth)

1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup)

1/4 cup brown sugar (I substitute another 1/4 cup honey)

1/2 cup plain Chobani Greek yogurt

1 egg

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

Preheat oven to 425F

Spray muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with paper cups

Combine wet ingredients until smooth in one bowl.

Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl.

Slowly combine the dry with the wet, mixing until smooth as you go.

Toss in chocolate chips.

 

Fill muffin cups at least 3/4 of the way full.

 

Bake for 5 minutes at 425F.

With the pan still in the oven, drop the temp to 350F and bake

for an additional 12 minutes or until a toothpick

inserted into the center comes out clean.

 

 

 



Pre-Halloween Festivities

We are in full Halloween mood in this house!

As much as I love Halloween, I could do without the

CONSTANT nagging asking about when we get to go Trick-or-Treating.

It goes without saying, C, E, and J are looking forward to it.

That being said, we decided to paint our pumpkins this year.

(I'm not a huge fan of carving... not so much the carving part,

but the slime/goo clean up afterwards. I'll pass.)

The kids did great with it!

Like most kids, they love all things painting, coloring, and creative

so this was right up their alley.

Unfortunately the red, yellow, and orange paint was

completely consumed by the green and blue, despite their best efforts.

Nonetheless, I love the results.



And of course a festive pumpkin for the front door...

Once we got cleaned up, we moved on to the cupcakes.

My husband and I had cupcakes at our wedding, so that's kind of

always been our thing... cupcakes instead of actual cake (we're so trendy).

And we always make a themed version for whatever holiday is approaching.

They were more then happy to decorate their own cupcakes.



Ghosts (thank you Little Baby Garvin for the idea) and sprinkles!

My kiddos are all the more excited for Halloween now (and so am I)!

The pumpkin patch.

A few days ago my family made the annual trek to the pumpkin patch.

Unfortunately we went to a new place, and it wasn't quite

what we were expected (and not nearly as fun as our regular pumpkin patch),

but my kids made the best of it.

There was plenty of pumpkins and lots of space to run around,

and lets face it, what more did they really need?

 

Thankfully everyone was in good spirits, so

despite questioning our decision to try something new,

it worked out.

How cute are these little witches?!

And I got plenty of pictures to chronicle the day!

A win-win in my book.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Happy Anniversary to my AMAZING husband!

I can hardly believe it's been 5 years since our wedding day!

It's gone by so quickly.

As individuals we're not perfect, but we fit together perfectly. I'm so proud of all that we've accomplished and all that we've overcome. Here's to another 50 years (and maybe one more baby... someday)!

Cameron's 4 year update!

I can hardly believe it's been 4 years since we welcomed the little

boy who changed everything.

The little boy who made me a Mom.

He has grown up so much!

Cameron's 4 YEAR update!

Height: 3' 8" (<---super tall!)

Weight: 45 lbs

Milestones: He's a preschooler now! He loves school (How can I ensure this lasts

through senior year?!) and is completely thriving! The change we've seen

in him since starting school cannot be described. I've always thought he was

a smart boy, but seriously, he's a smarty pants. He called his Dad out on not using

his germ catcher the other night after a sneeze (for those of you not schooled in "germ catchers",

its the bend in your elbow), and now he's teaching US sign language!

He's amazing!

PROUDEST moment: I know I've said this before, but he's SUCH A

GOOD BIG BROTHER! Yes, they don't always get along, but for the most part

he loves having someone to play with 24 hours a day. He has exceeded

the hopes I had for him in this role. 

I'm just trying to soak up every second of this little boy. He still wants to snuggle

with his Mommy and looks forward to helping his Dad out with everything he can.

I just hope that the relationship we have now is strong enough to overcome

any rebellion that might come with the teenagers years. OR better yet,

I'll figure out a way to keep him 4 forever! This is the best age!