Autumn time is fun time...

A few days ago we went for a walk down to the pond at the end of our street and into the adjoining woods.  It was one of those perfect fall days with the crisp cool air that is just right for leaf jumping.  We picked cattails and whacked them on the ground, releasing their seeds into the air.  My son could have stood for hours at the edge of the pond tossing in small pebbles while I tried to unclench and let him enjoy himself rather than imagine his drowning in 1 ft of murky water.  Then we went into the "scary woods" as my daughter calls it.  Marching around in the tall grass we saw yellow butterflies, beautiful fall leaves, and the tracks of something that may have been a raccoon (a Girl Scout I am not).

This day reminded me of the importance of taking small moments to spend with my children, letting them just "be."  As a mostly-SAHM you would think I would have all of this time to spend with them but the truth is there is laundry, dance class, grocery shopping, playdates, kitchen clean-up, and about a 1000 other things to do all day that involve not being tuned in to my kids.  Not to mention the daily "Can you just give Mommy 5 minutes, pleeeeassssee?" time that I comes up.  Surely I'm not the only one!

 
 At the doctor's office today for my daughter's 4 year check-up, I watched her sit up and answer the nurse's questions like such a big girl.  She is growing up so much and it is amazing to watch.  I am glad I took 30 minutes to walk in the woods with them.  The laundry was still there when I got back but so what?  I need to remember to take more time for things that don't have anything to do with "getting stuff done."  I hope I always make time for a walk in the woods with my children, and I hope they always want me around for their walks in life.

Just Us Grown-Ups

Hubby and I, B.C. (before children) had a pretty good hobby visiting local wineries.  If you don't live in Oklahoma, you probably didn't know it but we have a pretty great climate for grape growing and a nice selection of wineries all over the state.  Here is a site with a little more information about wine producers in the state.  We have a couple of favorites and one happens to be just a few miles down the road from us.  So, when my mom unexpectedly showed up at our door over the weekend (she lives 100 miles away but these random pop-ins are not unusual) we decided to take her up on the offer of "couple time."

The fall leaves are beautiful here right now (it's like some sort of rainbow of promise after the crazy drought/heat wave/tornado/blizzard/earthquake kind of  year we've been having).  So off we went down a lovely country highway to Native Spirits Winery.  Beautiful fall leaves, warm and breezy air, the vines in the background, perfect!  We settled in and readied our palates for some lip-smacking yummy wine.  This winery offers a pretty large variety, you will see the usual players like chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot, and reisling (they make one of my favorites).  In addition, they like to experiment with some more unusal fruit and grape blends.  This time, he had a merlot blended with blueberry flavor to create an interesting dessert type wine.  Sweet wines are just not my thing, but they do sell around here very well and he has several quite popular ones.  After some sipping and sampling we settled on a few of our favorites and headed back into the fall leaves.

Sweet and simple, but it's these little trips that seem to renew the spirit, in a world where you often refer to your husband as "Daddy" and not in a fun way!  It has taken me a little while to come out of the fog of babyhood (hey, I had two babies in less than two years) but I am starting to remember lots of the fun stuff Hubby and I used to do.  Today a wine tour, tomorrow maybe we'll make it back to the symphony!

Thankful Turkey...or As Crafty as I Get!

This year a friend gave me a great idea: make a turkey craft where you write things you are thankful for on the feathers.  What an awesome lesson in a house where we often have to discuss gratitude and graciousness!  My friend found a turkey template on the Internet.  Done!  Then she had her kids decorate him.  Done!  Then she "free-handed" some really great looking feathers for the kiddos to write all the things that they were thankful for.  Um...roadblock!  I'm a terrible artist and even worse with scissors.  Once my daughter asked me to draw Santa Claus and when I was finished she said "Mommy, why did you draw a dog?"  I blame it on being a "lefty."  But, I can trace and cut along the lines, so we made turkey feather hands.  This actually turned out to be pretty cool.

I traced each family member's hands and then we had forty "feathers" for us to write on.  Plus, it will be a nice keepsake of the kids' hands when they were ensy wensy little kiddos.  Sorry, had to throw that in!  So, here's what you need:

1 turkey template (or draw one if you are that skilled)
Crayons or markers for coloring and writing
Fall-colored construction or craft paper
1 pencil
Glue stick

Trace hands on construction paper and cut out.  Have each person write 10 things that they are thankful for on their finger/feathers.  My son was thankful for the dog that bit him, motorcycles, trains, God and Jesus, about in that order.  He was not thankful for his sister, no matter how many times I suggested it.

Glue hands to the back of the turkey.  It helps to start at the top with the smaller hands and fan out with the larger hands.  Tape finished product to coveted spot on refrigerator and admire its loveliness.

Not bad, right?  The kids had fun making it and I thought it was a good way to introduce the "real" concept of Thanksgiving to pre-schoolers.  Incidentally, if you are looking for a slightly more grown-up craft, check out this awesome fall wreath!  It looks so cute and simple that I'm actually considering giving it a shot.  Maybe...

You Say Cold Front, I Say Pot Roast!

What's more comforting than a big pot of roast with veggies and gravy?  Yesterday a cold front hit and all I could think was "it's time for pot roast!"  This is basically my mom's pot roast that I grew up with, with the exception of the mushrooms.  I love mushrooms and will pretty much sneak them into any dish!  Here goes:



1 2-3lb chuck roast
4-6 T all-purpose flour
1t Paprika
1t dried Oregano
1T Black Pepper

Heat a large cast-iron skillet to high heat with 2-3T extra virgin olive oil.  Trim roast of any extra fat or connective tissue.  Mix flour and seasonings together in a bowl and rub all over the meat.  It's nice to have an extra helper to stir and sample the raw flour!  Add meat into skillet and cook several minutes on both sides (turning only once) to sear the meat and form a nice crust.  This will add extra flavor to the roast and the flour will help thicken the gravy.


While roast is searing, add liquids to the slow cooker:
2 C beef broth (or 1 packet concentrated beef stock w/ 2 C water...I had a coupon)
1 can Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup
1 bay leaf
Turn slow cooker on high so that liquids can start heating.  You don't want to add a hot roast to a cold soup.  And don't judge on the "well-loved" crust of my slow cooker, she and I have been though a lot together!

Now you are ready to introduce Mr. Roast to his hot tub.  Toss that guy in and cook on high for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Then, turn the cooker to low and add the veggies:

1 medium onion, chopped
2 russet potatoes (I like to "roughly" peel these)
3-4 medium to large carrots

4-6 oz white mushrooms, sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bunch fresh rosemary

I like to large chop the veggies so that there are big, recognizable pieces in the roast.  Cook with veggies on low for 4-5 hours or until everything is tender.  Then add 1 T cornstarch to a splash of water in a small bowl.  Stir to mix into a "slurry" and add to roast.  This will help the juices thicken into a nice gravy.  Cook for another minute or two then turn heat off and serve.  Mmm....hearty and delicious!

Grandpa's Birthday

Last weekend was my dad's birthday and they were nice enough to bring the party to us.  In exchange for them making the trip down the Turnpike (with some of the "Jersey" clan in tow), I decided to make him a nice birthday dinner.  Making something special for dear old Dad is a little difficult as he is not really a fan of most food that I would consider "special."  As in, he's pretty much a meat and potatoes,nothing "weird" type of guy.  But, he does really love a good lasagna (who doesn't?) so that's what I decide to make.  I even threw in dessert.  From a box, of course

On a rare trip down the baking aisle, my ever-helpful 4 year old said with some skepticism "Mom, do you even know how to make brownies?"  Well, my dear, I know how to buy a box and I know how to follow directions, so there!  Just to stack the deck a little bit, I sprang for the "gourmet" brownie mix, no plain ol' Betty Crocker for my dad.  So, here's the line-up:

Lasagna (adapted from my great friend Catherine...10 years later and I still call it "Catherine's Lasagna"):

1 box Barilla lasagna noodles
1 lb lean ground beef (sometimes I thrown in a little breakfast sausage, it gives a nice extra flavor)
2T Extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
4-6 button mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced or chopped
1 large (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes with basil (Muir Glen is my favorite)
1 T dried oregano
Black pepper
1 large tub (3 cups) low-fat, small curd cottage cheese, drained slightly (just pour some of the liquid out with the lid slightly loose)
1 egg
1/2 cup grated Parmiggiano Reggiano
Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (or 1T dried)
8-16 oz good-quality mozzarella cheese

Heat a large pot of water to boiling.  Drop noodles in and stir.  Under-cook noodles by a few minutes, as they will keep cooking in lasagna.  Drain noodles and set aside, tossed with a touch of olive oil to keep from sticking.

While noodles are cooking, brown meat in olive oil.  Avoid stirring meat for the first few minutes so that it develops a nice brown "crust" that will add flavor to the sauce.  Drain fat, if necessary.  Add veggies and cook a few more minutes until veggies get some color on them.  Add remaining sauce ingredients (tomatoes and seasonings).  Turn to low and simmer for 20 minutes or so.

In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, egg, parm cheese and parsley (with a little extra black pepper).  This is your "ricotta" layer.

Spread a little extra olive oil evenly over a large glass baking dish (or use cooking spray).  Spread a thin layer of red sauce in the bottom of the pan.  Slightly overlap noodles over sauce (my pan takes 4 noodles per layer with a little extra for the ends).  Top noodles with 1/3 of the cottage cheese mixture, 1/3 of the red sauce, and 1/3 of the mozzarella.  Add another layer of noodles and repeat sauce layers.  Repeat again until you have three layers each.  Add a bit more mozzarella and parm and fresh parsley to the top if desired.  Toss that baby in a 350 degree oven and wait 45 minutes for bubbly, cheesy goodness!

 I apologize for the lack of an "after" shot but by that point I was focusing on hostessing and not blogging!  Trust me, it was yummy and beautiful.


I served this with a chopped salad of romaine, red bell pepper, kalamata olives, yellow tomatoes, and more cheese.  And, of course, buttered garlic bread!  Crack a clove of garlic and heat it with 2-3 T butter in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.  Discard garlic and add some olive oil, fresh herbs, and black pepper.  Smear on bread and forget to count the calories while it browns lovingly in the oven with your lasagna.  Gild the lily with some Ghiradelli turtle brownies and a nice glass of red wine.  I chose Jarhead Red for this one in honor of my dad.  Does he drink wine?  No, but he was a Marine and I managed to enjoy a nice glass in his honor anyway!  It was actually quite tasty, and the proceeds go towards the Marine Corps Scholarship Fund.  Bonus!  Semper Fi Dad!  And happy birthday.  I hope this makes up for the fact that I didn't actually buy you a gift.

Cookie Cutter Pumpkins

A couple of years ago, I had a newborn, a young toddler and a burning desire to do everything just right.  Can you say 4th trimester hormones???  So, one morning I suddenly decided that we just had to carve a pumpkin.  The problem was, I am not well blessed in knife skills myself and I couldn't figure out how to allow my daughter to carve a pumpkin without putting a death instrument into her chubby, clumsy little hand.
Suddenly, I had a moment of brillance!  For some reason I have a ton of cookie cutters.  It's doubly strange because I do NOT bake.  We leave that to Hubby in this house.  So I busted out some star cookie cutters in various sizes, strapped Baby in his bouncy seat and got myself set to "carve" a pumpkin.

Here were my supplies:

1 small to medium pie pumpkin
Paper, for the goo
1 large spoon, for scooping
Several metal cookie cutters
1 small, sharp knife, for touch-ups
1 meat mallet (In revisiting this idea again this year, I discovered that I did not invent the wheel on this.  Here is a great link with extra carving tips.  Note that they use a rubber mallet.  We will be trying this method this year as the metal mallet sometimes can damage the cookie cutters.)

Cut the top off of Mr. Pumpkin and hand the spoon over to your toddler.  They love this part, mucking around in all that stringy pumpkin goo.  Once pumpkin is clean, choose the cookie cutter shapes you like.  I used stars for the first time and it turned out really cute.  I have also used a candy cane as a crooked smile and small Easter eggs for eyes.  Really, you can use anything and see what you come up with.  Give your cookie cutters a good inspection and see what else you can "see" in their shapes.  Gently tap cookie cutter into the flesh of the pumpkin.  I used the cookie cutter to cut all of the way through the pumpkin but you can also use it just to make your outline and then finish up with a knife.  You may want to use the second method with a larger, thicker-fleshed pumpkin.  Either way, you should end up with a cookie cutter design on your pumpkin.  You can create "faces" with the cutters or just simple designs.  Here is an example of our first attempt:

 Not bad for a crazy sleep-deprived mom of "two under two!"  If I can do this, anyone can.  Break out those cookie cutters and carve yourself a pumpkin!  Happy Halloween!

A visit to the Pumpkin Patch!

Recently, my mom came to spend the day with us.  I love Grammie day, and so do my kids.  On Grammie day, we go out to lunch, usually do some shopping, and play, play, play!  I'm pretty blessed with an amazing mom who is responsible enough to be a great mentor but kooky enough to be a small child's superhero.  Way to go mom!!!

So this last week, instead of hitting the mall, my mom and I took the kids to the pumpkin patch at a church in our hometown.  Rumor has it that there is a pumpkin shortage this year, so you'd better stock up while you can!  The McFarlin pumpkin patch is so cute and the perfect size for little ones to explore and chose a pumpkin for their very own.  I let each kiddo choose one decorative pumpkin and one carving pumpkin.  I don't know if I will be brave enough to allow carving this year or not, but we're prepared just in case.  My daughter chose a green pumpkin called a "Cinderella" pumpkin...surprise, surprise.  My son "chose" the one my daughter shoved at him and said "Here, this one is YOURS!"  Luckily, he seemed happy with it so I let it go.  Then, of course, we had to do the wagon rides!  I think they are suppose to be for the real pumpkins, but my little pumpkins loved it.

Pull, brother!

So, now we have a porch full of pumpkins that I have to try and keep is relatively good shape for another month or so.  Wish me luck!

Here's a side tip:  When my son was a newborn, I determined to carve a pumpkin.  With a newborn.  And a not-quite-two-year-old.  I just had to make sure that my daughter not miss out on fun holiday stuff just because there was a new baby in the house.  Can we say "4th trimester hormones?"  Anyway, I ended up discovering a a neat trick:  Using metal cookie cutters instead of knives.  Just use a meat mallet or something else heavy to pound them in.  Sweet and simple!

Awww, look at that face!

Sculpture Walk

The weather this week has been so lovely that I really wanted to do something fun outside.  We are lucky enough to live very close to an awesome and beautiful university campus, the University of Oklahoma.  For those of you not in Oklahoma, you may be used to hearing the word "football" after that particular title but I assure you that there is a lot of other great stuff about OU, which is saying a lot considering I am an alum of Oklahoma State University!

Annnnnyyyyway, one of my favorite things about OU is the amazing public art, including a huge variety of sculptures, intricate gardens, fountains, ect.  Some of it is beautiful in that classical sense.  Some of it is very modern and abstract.  Some of it is even controversial, but the mix is what makes it all the more interesting.  So I gathered up cameras, snacks, friends, and off we headed for our very own self-guided "sculpture tour."  We started with the ballerina sculpture, 'cuz we had two four year old princesses in tow!  Pirouette, girls, pirouette!

Next up, we headed down the road to check out a sculpture of a Native American woman, then did a tour of the rose garden outside of the library.  Of course, we couldn't just go past the library!  Ahhhh, the lovely smell of books, books, books!  Nerd, you say?  Yeah, I came to grips with that long ago.  The "old section" of Bizzell Library is, in my opinion, the most beautiful building on campus.  There's all sorts of crazy stuff going on with that building; it's a work of art itself!  We visited with my former professor/boss from when I was in library school (yes, there is such thing) and then headed back out to explore.

Peek a Boo!

All in all, we probably ran across about 20 sculptures and hidden little gardens, not to mention just checking out the cool architecture.  The kids ran around outside and see some cool stuff, the mommies strolled and chatted (with a bit of kiddo chasing thrown in) and we all had a fun time.  This is one activity that is definitely going into the regular rotation!

Al Fresco!

It was another Saturday work day for me, something that is becoming increasingly tiresome for myself and the family.  Still, I managed to slug through eight hours and came home to find homemade brisket, salad, and jalapeno poppers.  Oh, and did I mention a bounce house at full throttle?

The first thing my daughter said when I walked in the door was "Can we eat outside Mommy???"  Well, sure, that sounds like a splendid idea!  Here's me with a beer in one hand and a giant bottle of magic bubbles in the other.  Yessir, we know how to have a good time!

I love to dine "al fresco" but the truth is that it often seems like a better idea then it actually is.  It's too hot or too cold or too windy or the flies are everywhere.  Today we had a rare "perfect" day in Oklahoma.  Low wind, clear skies, and wonderfully moderate temps.  This happens for a week or two every season change, right in between "hotter than hell" and "the worst blizzard of the decade, except for the one last year."  So, we'd better enjoy it!

After a lovely dinner thanks to Hubby, the kids and I took a spin in the nearly-new bounce house that my great friend gave us.  I love a bounce house.  What I really love is a trampoline, but I'm pretty sure they call child services on you if you buy one of those these days so the bounce house will do.  This one really isn't supposed to accommodate adults but I gave it a whirl anyway.  My daughter loves this thing, she has even figured out already how to switch it off and on by herself.  My son, well, he's still on the fence about it but he'll come around.  

This look says "I worked eight hours at the public library, came home, drank a beer, ate too much food, then had a romp in a kiddie-sized bounce house.  You're welcome!

"A fair is a veritable smorgasbord orgasbord..."

One of my favorite children's books and movies is Charlotte's Web.  So, every year when the Cleveland County Free Fair opens, I am sooo there!  I traipse around checking out the tractors, the 4H displays, the goat roping, and all that country classic fabulous-ness.  Maybe I am a wanna-be farm girl!  Except for the work.  And the dirt.

This year, for extra fun, we had very good friends from Northern California visiting us and we had to take them.  Yes, that's right, they have Napa Valley, but we have tractor pulls and turkey legs!  The first thing we hit was the kiddie tractor track.  My daughter thought that she would rather cling to my leg and whine, but after seeing all of the fun the other kids were having, she decided to give it a try.  Pretty soon she was zooming around and testing every tractor option!

Next up was a good ole' hayride and a tour of the antique tractors.  My son loved these tractors.  He kept getting that slow, shy little smile at each one.  Talk about a boys' boy; he loves anything with wheels!

Once inside the barn, we of course had to ride the ponies.  Then we watched some goat roping and headed over to the petting zoo.  This was clearly the place to be as it was packed!  But those baby animals are just irresistible: little piglets, goslings, bunny rabbits, and more.  When I gave my son his very own baby bunny basket, the look on his face was priceless!  He has been such a wild monkey lately that it's easy so forget his sweet and cuddly side.  I could have taken that bunny home right there just to see that little grin every day.  Of course, then I remembered our childhood bunny and how stinky his cage was!  So, Mr, Bunny stayed a the fair.

Overall, it was a great day.  A little dirty, a little stinky, but an amazing array of fun and cool and strange things for the kids to do, see, and explore.  For a suburban kid, this is like a step back in time or a peek at a completely different lifestyle.  And it's FREE (mostly).  Find your local county fair, you will find yourself with one happy kid!