Pumpkin carving! The kids drew the faces they wanted on their pumpkins and then I cut them out after they had cleaned out the insides. The white pumpkin was very hard to cut! Next year I have to remember to only get big orange pumpkins for carving.
Going through their baskets trying to decide which three candies they were going to choose to eat before bedtime.
Here is my meal plan for the week. We are going to be studying Israel for geography this week. We didn't do meals for Japan or India so the kids are begging to make one for Israel. I am using an excellent resource for recipes from around the world called 'Eat Your Way Around the World.' It really makes it fun to try the food from the different countries. I'm sure I will be posting pictures of the meal and what the kids thought of it.
They passed the taste test! You can't beat warm cookies and a glass of milk!
I spent the entire afternoon making this bag. I intended for it to be a birthday gift for my neighbor girl who is turning 13 but she might end up with a gift card to Target instead. I haven't decided yet. There are so many mistakes that the pictures don't show. I think the fabric choices are what save the bag. My favorite fabric store is finally selling Amy Butler fabrics now!! The busyness of the prints help to camoflauge all of the puckers! I also didn't install the magnetic clasp perfectly so when it is snapped together the handles aren't lined up nice and neat. And the hand sewing in the lining proves that there is plenty of room for improvement! Sewing is challenging for me. I have annoying firstborn perfectionist tendencies! I should just be happy that I actually finished the project and that it is usable. Elle said that she would be happy to have it. :)
The pantry door got left open just enough so that Ava could break in and get to the ginger snaps this morning. We caught her right away after she'd pulled her first cookie from the box. She just looked at us and said 'Cookoo'. I couldn't help but take a few pictures while she enjoyed a couple of cookoos. It's time to rearrange the pantry shelves and put the stuff that she can't get into on the lower shelves and put the good stuff up high!
I stopped in the yarn shop after Thomas's orthodontist appointment this morning to pick up one skein of yarn for the lap blanket I am working on but of course left with yarn for another project too. There are a few really great yarn shops around here and everything is so tempting when you're in the store! This cute little cable knit beanie was on display and they had a yarn that perfectly matched the scarf I made for Elle last year....really how could I resist?! Plus I had never done a project involving cables so this was a great pattern to try them out on. It knitted up in about 2 hours and was very fun...so was the photoshoot! :) I think Ava Mae is going to need one too.
I made this split pea soup today for lunch and the jokes were flying while it was being made and eaten. I wish I would've captured the look on the kids faces when I served them their bowls. I just told them that it was an early Halloween meal and I'm pretty sure you can figure out what we called it! Surprisingly though everyone ate it and said that it was pretty good. Scott decided to be an Iron Chef judge while he ate his bowl and said that while the flavor is nice I need to work on the presentation. :) This is another new recipe that I will not be making again!
In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt & yeast. Heat milk, water & butter until warm (115º to 120ºF). Pour into flour mixture. Add eggs and beat on low, with a paddle attachment, for about 30 seconds.
Continue to beat on high for another 3 minutes.
Switch from a paddle attachment to a dough hook and gradually add the remainder of the flour until the dough holds it shape but is still a little sticky. I often take it out of the machine when it's getting close and kneed for a few minutes by hand because I go by how it feels. Keep adding small amounts of flour until you can kneed the dough easily with it not sticking to the counter but yet it still feels a little sticky to the touch. Makes sense right?! :) Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let it rest for 20 minutes or so while you make the meat filling.
Now is also a good time to pick up the baby that has been hanging on your legs and give her some kisses and cuddles. :)
Brown the ground beef and onion in a large skillet. Add shredded cabbage and seasonings to taste. You don't want the filling to be too wet so only add a few tablespoons of worcestershire sauce. Just keep taste testing the meat filling until you get the seasonings just right. The meat filling is done cooking when the cabbage is cooked. Allow the filling to cool for awhile before shaping the runzas.
To shape, cut off a dough ball about this size and flatten it with a rolling pin into a rectangular shape.
Place a slice of American cheese on the dough and then cover with a couple of large spoonfuls of the meat and cabbage.
Fold up the two ends and then the sides. Pinch all three seams closed then place on a greased baking sheet.
Cover & let rest 40 - 60 minutes.
Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, approximately 25 minutes. Rub the top of each runza with a small amount of butter while still hot.
You'll notice runzas on the menu plan again this week. Scott had to stay a day longer for his business trip than he had planned to last week (they are his favorite so I couldn't make them if he wasn't going to be here!) and Friday night we were invited to some friend's Octoberfest party so they got moved to this week's menu instead.- plant flower bulbs
- finish washing windows
- clean garage
- start sewing Elle's Princess Leia costume for Halloween. Thomas is still trying to decide if he is going to be Anakin or Darth Vader. Wouldn't it be so cute to have Ava dressed up as Yoda?! Any ideas how to pull that one off?
Once the leaves turn they just don't last long enough! We have several bare trees around our house now and a yard full of leaves. Scott helped the kids rake a big pile to jump in this afternoon.
Then they played catch together. Now they are starting a fire outside. There are lots of pine branches that need burned. I'm sure Thomas, the pyromaniac, will take care of that for us!
The first one is to freeze chicken broth in icecube trays. Pop them into a freezer bag when they are frozen solid. It's so easy to pull out just the amount you need depending on what you are making and the cubes are so easy to thaw in a hurry.
I'm pretty sure I learned this one from Martha - store your celery tightly wrapped in aluminum foil and it will stay crisp for weeks. It really does work!
A pizza cutter makes cutting noodles a breeze.
A friend gave me this kitchen gadget for Christmas last year. It's called a mezzaluna and I love to use it for chopping fresh herbs. The blade is very sharp and it doesn't bruise the herbs at all and the rocking motion makes for swift work. Very nifty!
For more ideas visit Works for Me Wednesday, hosted by Rocks In My Dryer.
I saw this at Amy's Humble Musings and could not stop laughing! I couldn't help but watch all 9 minutes.
The big fall de-junking started last week with Elle's room. I am thankful that we are into October now so that finally the summer clothes can be put away and I no longer have to fight the battle of trying to fit two seasons of clothing in the closets and dressers. Actually, I lost the battle and should have took a picture of the girls room before we started with the piles of clothes on the floor since there was no room in the dresser that they share!
Last week I found this little rocking chair at the secondhand store I drive past every time I go into town. I occasionally stop in hoping to find some little chairs to go around the table I picked up there this spring. So far I haven't found any but I did spot this rocker for the girls that I couldn't pass up. I sanded it and gave it a good cleaning then painted it a very pale pink to match their also thrifted doll cradle. I am planning to make a cushion for the seat but that requires a stop at Joann's to get some foam, so that project has to wait for a few more days.
The girls are supposed to be sharing it but Ava hogs it most of the time. She sits in it with Elle's Bitty Baby and says 'Rock Bye, Rock Bye' over and over.
Then she gets up and walks over to the cradle to tuck the baby in for her nap just like a little mommy.
Monday
Scott went into town and rented this machine to help make the job easier. He cleaned all of the high places, I cleaned the low parts. We first cleaned the siding with stiff bristled brushes and then Scott sprayed it all down with a Home Defense spray to help keep the spiders under control. We then washed the windows, garage doors, light fixtures, and window screens.
Thomas kept busy raking the yard. While Elle helped out by playing with Ava in the house. They were great helpers today. I was so proud of them.
Here is Scott working on another part of the house that is hard to work on from ladders. While he worked on the dormer I worked on the lower half. We were able to get two sides of the house done. We really would've liked to use this machine to finish the rest of the house but it would've tore up the yard too much. We aren't going to get this side yard done until next spring so we didn't mind messing it up a little.
Thomas and Elle got busy working on tidying up their playhouse today too. Elle cleaned out the inside while Thomas washed windows.
And here is where Ava hung out while we did our cleaning after she had taken her nap. When she got tired of playing with her toys she swang in her swing on the swingset for awhile and then Thomas pushed her around the lake in her stroller. She's got her big brother wrapped around her finger! :)
