The Week of Sept. 20-27, 2009

I've found myself so busy doing things this week, that I haven't had anytime to blog about it! This blog is going to be about our week.

Sunday: we started the week out with Football Scrimmages on a warm afternoon at the local park. My Oldest is a Longfellow Lion and this is the first time he's played football. He's finding it isn't as easy as he thought it would be. It is more than running around on the field trying to hit your opponent!

Monday and Wednesday: found us out at the Baseball field with the first 2 games of the Fall season that were not postponed due to rain. That has happened 3 times already this year, so we were happy that the rain has seemed to gone east and we can try to squeeze this season into October instead of having it extended into November.
Tuesday and Thursday: you would have found my Oldest practicing football for his first game which he played on Sunday, Sept. 27th.

Tuesday found me at Scouts with a bunch of rambunctious 1st graders. Although I don't have any boys in the Cub scout Pack, I'm still active as the Achievements Chair and I've been the Asst. Leader for the Tiger cubs, but I had to take the boys on Tuesday since our esteemed leader was hauling her clan around on vacation that day.

Saturday had the whole family packed into the van on our way to Guthrie for the Oklahoma Wildlife Expo at the Lazy E arena. It was a wonderful day and the weather was perfect.

The boys trying to catch a fish! (The hats were given to the kid's for free!)

My boys kayaking inside!

Painting with dirt.

An authentic chuck wagon...they were making bear stew that day and my Oldest and his Daddy ended up going back later and getting a sample. They said it was Yummy. Youngest and I were standing in line so he could shoot a bow and arrow...those are his favorites. He also got to shoot a pellet rifle, his older brother got to shoot one of the big guns and they both had fun at the atl atl station (throwing a spear or long arrow with a specially made throwing stick).

Coloring fishing lures. The next station had them making necklaces. Oldest made a necklace with a long bone, and youngest made his with a bear claw. They love those necklaces

I finally got pictures with my boys. This is the "Prevent Wildfires" station.

This is a great 3-day event that they put on every year and is totally free. They have stations and booths all over the place that have games, trivia, information, give-aways, etc. for the kids and their families on what they can do outside in Oklahoma. We sampled Bear Stew, Bison Chili, Antelope Bacon and Catfish Nuggets. They had booths to shoot guns, bows, atl atl's, mountain biking, atv-ing, fishing, rope climbing, kayaking, etc. They had demonstrations on hunting dogs, swimming dogs, casting for kids, birdhouse making, dutch oven cooking, etc.

We took a picnic lunch and spent 6 hours having free fun!

Sunday we were at the football field again where my Oldest played his first official football game...we lost :-( 27-13, oh well! It was fun, but very hot! They even had cheerleaders...watching little K-6th grade girls cheering for the boys was fun...they even made a banner for the boys to run onto the field through! Our next game is Thursday!

Football Scrimmage Weekend

After years of having my Oldest ask me if he could play football, my schedule finally allowed him to play. Here he is #14 on the Longfellow Lions team through our local Optimist Club.
Isn't he tiny? 6th grade is such a transitional year, the boys come in all shapes and sizes. It can be scary watching my little boy trying to jump on and pull down one of those bigger boys!

Playing Corner on the Defense

Trying to tackle...he was a little hesitant tackling in this his very first game ever, so the next game he was pulled off the defense and alternated as a wide receiver with another boy.

He was not happy to be pulled off defense, luckily he was given another chance.

Way to go son!

These were just scrimmages, a way to get the boys out on the field trying the plays and using the defenses they've been learning at practice. Soon we will be playing games for real! GO LIONS!

Muffin Tin Monday---Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

I must confess that I had never even heard of this book before seeing the Movie previews on TV. When this was suggested as a theme on Her Cup Overfloweth, I was at a loss, so unfortunately all of my selections have come from the previews, not the book.

I was going to make spaghetti and meatballs since they are in the title of the movie, but I don't really like spaghetti and we had leftover hamburgers from last night, so today in our Muffin Tin Monday we had hamburgers, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, orange jell-o and juice. (All of my favorite things :)

Amish Friendship Bread

A friend asked me 10 days ago if I wanted some Amish Friendship bread starter and I said yes for 2 reasons: 1-I love baking and 2-my husband loves bread.

This is how the bread starter came too me:

It takes 10 days from the time you get the starter to baking the bread...you mush the bag once a day and leave it on your counter for 7 of those days. On day 6 you add milk, sugar and flour and on day 10 you add more milk, sugar, and flour and then you measure out 4-1 cup batters and put them in baggies to give to friends:

This recipe makes 2 loaves of bread, or if you're like me and only have 1 large loaf pan: 1 large loaf, 4 mini loaves and 3 cupcake sized loaves of bread.

They're sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon before you bake and when they come out, they are YUMMY!

Bread tonight!...And repeat the process in 10 days (husband made me keep a bag!).

Muffin Tin Monday---Apple Theme

Muffin Tin Monday comes once again from Her Cup Overfloweth with the theme: Apples. I have to admit this one stumped me a bit, because I did not want to make everything with apples. This is what I finally came up with:

Top: apple juice based juice pouch, caramel-apple cookie bars that I made yesterday, and applesauce

Bottom: peanut butter & apple jelly sandwich cut out in the shape of an apple, broccoli "apple" trees, and cheese with an "apple toothpick"

Of course he went for the cheese first. It's his favorite. This doesn't seem to be one of his favorite meals, or he's just plain not hungry. Oh well...I'll try again next week.

P.S. Several people have asked for the Caramel-Apple Cookie Bars. I was experimenting this weekend and they didn't turn out as bars really, but here's the recipe:

Caramel-Apple Cookie Bars: I took a roll of sugar cookie dough and spread it out in a 9x13 pan. I cooked it in a 350 degree F oven for 15 minutes before taking it out and cooling it for 30 minutes. I mixed 3/4 a jar of caramel ice-cream topping with 1/4 c. of flour and 3 apples peeled and chopped into little pieces (I had 3 small apples, but 3-4 medium or large apples would be better), which I spread on the cooked cookie base. I mixed up a classic crumble topping with 1 c. butter, 1 c. oats, 1 c. brown sugar, 1/2 c. flour and 1 Tbsp of cinnamon, which I sprinkled on top.

(In hindsight it was too sweet...I would cut the brown sugar at least in half) and I popped the whole thing back in the oven for another 25-30 minutes.

Little Man loves Pre-K

Little Man is loving Pre-K! He loves everything about Pre-K, from the activities, to the Teacher, to the other Kids, and he's doing great! It is amazing to see him walk into the class every morning and put up his backpack, grab his name and put it on the attendance board, I hug him goodbye before he sits down with a book and teddy bear or he goes and explores one of the tubs put out on the tables...He is in his own world now and I am but a distant thought.

This week has been a busy week in Pre-K. He learned the ABC song and Old MacDonald song, he had homework on Wednesday, which had me write down how he got his name, and him writing his name. That was an interesting experience and one that showed me how ready he is to learn. I tried to guide his hand in writing his name, but he fought me and ended up with scribbles on the page, so I tried it another way. I wrote down his name on a piece of paper, gave him the pen and told him to copy it, he did...perfectly! They made rainbows at school and they were given torn red, green and blue paper to glue on the rainbows. His colors are perfectly lined up in the order they are supposed to be in, it is a beautiful rainbow.

Grandparents day was today and his school always does a big program. They sang, read poetry, and danced for the grandparents, and after the program was drinks and cookies. My Mother has attended the last 5 years with my Oldest and now she is attending for my Youngest. She said it was the best program they've had so far. The school always has a book fair at the same time and she always takes them and buys them a book or two. Little Man came home with 3!

He really, really, really loves school! I have been lucky...both boys enjoy school.

"Nooooo! You are too young!"

Had an interesting conversation yesterday with my 6th grade son and his friend when I picked them up from school. It's one of those milestones that you expect to happen, but when it does you shake your head in disbelief and say "Noooooo! He's too young!"

It seems his Middle School is having a Fall Social in October and the two of them were looking for girls to "take" to the social. His friend had better luck when the 1st girl he asked said yes, but my son had a little more difficulty, but he finally asked one that said yes, yesterday. None of this is new to me...of course I've been eavesdropping on their conversations about this in the car so I can keep track of what is going on in their lives without being intrusive.

The "oh my gosh!" moment came when his friend asked him if she was a girl he was just going to take to the social, or if she was his "girlfriend". I whipped my head around so quickly, the scene could be a re-take of The Exorcist, and started babbling. It went something like "No, no way, no girlfriends...not allowed! Uh, uh...NO, you are too young!"

I understand that kids are starting to socialize more with those of the opposite sex at this age and I can back off on my mother's instinct to see my son as "my baby", by allowing him to "take" a girl to a social with a bunch of other boys and girls co-mingling, but the idea of him with a girlfriend (and the social pitfalls that can come with that, because face it...I met my husband when we were 6th graders, although we did not start dating until 10th grade.) scares me like The Exorcist scared me.

I guess I'm Chaperoning that night!

Labor Day Birthdays!

Labor Day has a different meaning in my house than in most others...My husband and son were both born on Labor Day, but they have different birth days, so instead of cookouts and days at the Lake, we have birthday brownies for my husband and a birthday party with all the goodies for my son. Neither one fell on Labor day this year though.

We went with a Star Wars theme...with a Lego's Star Wars cake, Star Wars: the Clone Wars presents and traditional Star Wars decorations. My Youngest received a few presents and ate some cake and had fun playing with his brother, his brother's friend and his 2 cousins. Now he's 5! (whimper, whimper).

It was a quiet weekend and now we are into the middle of the next week and I'm ready for a vacation!

Birthdays!

We're celebrating 2 this weekend, both of them Labor Day babies although they have different birth dates. My darling husband was born 37 years ago today in Arizona on...you guessed it! Labor Day! I'm making him Ghiredelli brownies tonight as his treat along with Brats & Onions & Beer! His favorite meal ever, and although it is not bought yet, he will get a new leather jacket to use when he rides his motorcycle.

Sunday is the 5th birthday of my Youngest and again, he was born on Labor Day! My Mother-in-Law loves teasing them about this fact :). He isn't getting a special meal, because all he really cares about is the cake & ice cream & presents! Our theme is Star Wars and since his favorite game is Star Wars lego, I'm making his cake look like lego blocks stacked on each other, and I found a Darth Vader candle holder and I bought 2 Star Wars: the Clone Wars figures to top the cake.

It's going to be a relaxing weekend: Sooner football, birthday parties, and free time!

1st Day of Fall---At least in my Opinion

Yesterday, Sept. 1st was the 1st day of Fall! Or it was in my little world and always has been! School is in full swing, the weather has started falling back to tolerable levels, Sooner football is in the air, and baking is starting to invade my thought processes, along with juggling (activities like baseball, football and scouts have begun!).

I love this time of year and my grumpy summer mood is drifting away with the lifting of the oppressive heat and humidity. I look forward to birthday parties for my boys, class parties, Halloween and Thanksgiving and mornings with the windows open. I love the oranges and yellows and reds that pop up everywhere and the party feel this town takes on every Saturday during the Football season. School is new and exciting for the boys and they love walking to school in the mornings. The dogs are playful, and soon mowing of the yard will no longer be necessary. Camping is fun and picnics, and parks and evenings outside.

The flavors of fall are the best: apples in their many recipes (pies, crumbles, butter, and dipped in caramel), pumpkin (breads, muffins and bars with cream cheese frosting), fall squashes (so much sweeter than summer ones), maple and pecan, turkey and dressing and sweet potatoes, Halloween candy (what is better than candy corn?), birthday cake with ice cream, and coffee or hot tea or hot chocolate. These are a few of my favorite things!

That is what the 1st day of September brings to my life...how about yours?