Halloween Festivities and Picture Overload

What is your favorite time of year?

I simply LoVe Fall. The crisp air outside. The warmth coming from the heater vents. Snuggling with a soft blankie and a warm body. The awesome colors of leaves outside my window. The burn of hot chocolate hitting your tongue for the first time.

My very most favoritest (yes I know that isn't a word but too bad) holiday is Halloween. Don't get me wrong I love Christmas and the excitement and feeling that seems to be the entire month of December, yet I still favor Halloween. It's the beginning of my favorite time of year and leads to 3 more wonderful holidays.

This year we missed the Wee Witches Weekend at Gardner Village, but we at least were still able to make it to Ride To A Witch. We went on a little Hay ride to a Witches house. They showed us all through the house and yard. Little Princess had a blast!! She was beside herself with excitement. We hardly get to see her get so excited so it was so rewarding for us as parents to watch her.



The first witch who we met spoke with a British like accent. She was hilarious! After her explaining that eating eyeballs is like gummy snacks, Little Princess turned to me and said "oh my gosh, she is so weird huh mom?!" Of course I burst with laughter.

We froze our tooshies off, brrrr.

Then Little Princess had a primary activity at Gramma's church. She was so excited to get dressed up as Morticia...I think that's my favorite part of Halloween, getting dressed up. We had fun being girly and flipping her hair and applying lots and lots of makeup, which I did stress to her is only appropriate for Halloween.



A few days later it was off to the Pumpkin Patch to get our pumpkins to carve this weekend. But before we could leave the yard we just had to play in the leaves. Little Man loves the leaves. He especially liked when Daddy would drop a big handful and let them spill on his head. Little Princess decided that she wanted to wait til all the leaves were raked so it'll be a HUGE pile for her to jump in. When we made it to the pumpking patch Little Princess was very particular in choosing the perfect one. LOL, the one she chose is lop-sided dirty and warped yet it's her perfect pumpkin.



Such a time of year to spend with the kids and forget for a moment that I have grown and am no longer a child. It's fun to be a kid again:)

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails....

If I were the author of that cute little saying I would have chosen a different set of words to describe little boys. Wiggles and Worms and lots of Germs.

I am NOT used to this busy BUSY body boy!! He is all over the place and into everything. I know he will be just like his dad and have to tear everything apart and see how everything works, I can see it in his eyes already.

Since the womb, Little Man has been full of wiggles. He doesn't know how to hold still. If he ever stopped moving for more than 2 seconds, it'd be because he was dead. You might think I'm exaggerating, but NO I'm not. I just want to cuddle him and rock him while I feed him or get him to sleep; but the little guy won't have it. His legs will just be going crazy or an arm will be swinging. If I don't lay him down soon so he can wiggle all over, he'll arch his back and pop out of my grip.

Another thing I'm so not used to is his messy MESSY face, hands and feet. Anything he can grab instantly goes into his mouth. He likes to play in the toilet, EWWW I know. He likes to try to grab things under the floor boards and while in the process grabbing dirt, rocks, and cobwebs. He's eaten cow manure, dirt and just about everything but human feces.

This kid amazes me....Boys are so different from little girls!! Or at least from my little girl. Sometimes I'm ready to pull my hair out, like today. I figure it's easier to kill one bird with 2 stones right? So for bath time I throw them in together (literally throw). But you know it becomes quite a trick to get Little Princess's hair washed while he's playing Spider Man and trying to climb up the shower wall. He got his leg up and over the faucet and thought he could ride it! I freaked out, and he just looked and me and laughed...Can you just see it? Oh what the future holds? I don't even need a psychic for that one...lots of dr visits and stitches I'm sure.

He's a joy none-the-less. He's a rather happy boy, always has been. I love hearing his deep gutted laugh, it makes my whole day. He makes my heart just smile. He's definitely become quite the momma's boy and I'll admit I love that whole-heartedly (don't know if that's a word...hmmm). He loves me to hug him and hold him, even if it is briefly, and loves to lay his head in my lap while he plays or watches tv.

I DO LOVE BEING MOMMY TO A SWEET BUSY LITTLE BOY! It's an adventure for sure, but such a thrill too. MUAH Little Man!

Cheese Burger Soup

Now the name is kinda funny and I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but let me confirm that this is one yummy soup. Especially when the wind is whistling outside my door, the clouds are dark, and when you just want to snuggle up with your favorite blankie.

I got this recipe from my friend Cindee's blog. She'd told me about it before, in fact I'm sure she's given me the recipe but when your mind is as young and fresh as mine (hahaha) it gets filed away somewhere and nearly forgotten.

Go try this for your next dinner, you won't be disappointed, you will be delighted. Now if only my dinner dates would just get home so I can eat more and not just snitching some every chance I get.:)

Cheese Burger Soup

1/2 lb ground beef, browned and drained
3/4 c shredded Carrots
3/4 c chopped Onion
3/4 c diced Celery
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 stick butter
2-3 c Chicken Broth
4 medium potatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 c Flour (add more if needed)
1 1/2 c Milk (add more if needed)
3/4 c Sour Cream
24 slices Kraft cheese torn into 1 inch pieces

In large pot or crock pot, add browned ground beef and broth. Cook on LOW heat. Peel and quarter potatoes. Place in microwave-safe bowl and cover with water. Cover and cook for 13-15 minutes. In the same pan you cooked the ground beef in, sauté 1/2 stick butter, onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley (about 7 minutes). Add sautéed mixture to large pot. In the same pan you sautéed vegetables in, place flour and 1/2 cube butter. Cook over medium heat and whisk in milk slowly. Let thicken. Add salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add sour cream. Mix well. Return to heat and add torn pieces of cheese slices and stir over medium heat until melted and smooth. Slowly add to large pot. Cut cooked potatoes into bite sized pieces and add to pot. Let thicken for one hour. You can adjust the milk and flour for a thicker or thinner soup base.

Everyone needs a Mexican Friend

LOL, I know that title may seem a bit "wow", but honestly that's how we refer to her. Either that or Pure bred. LOL. Let me explain that one cuz it's a funny story.

We were hanging out at my friend Jordan's apartment one night, the first time he and Pure bred met. Jordan meant to ask her if she was full Mexican, but it came out "are you pure bred Mexican?" It was so funny and has stuck.

NOW, back to my claim of everyone needs a Mexican friend. This Pure bred Mexican friend can cook. Funny thing she will assure us that she cannot, however I have been the guinea pig for many of her cooking attempts and I will vouch for her ability to cook, and not just good, but superb!

Have you ever had a Mexican style steak? If not, you need to try it. It is cut near paper thin and easy to just pull it apart with your fingers if you are savage like me. Pure bred invited my family and some of our other friends over for dinner. We all sat in her nice dining room around a large table and ate Thanksgiving style. We had steak, tortillas, pico de gallo, salsa, rice, followed by brownies topped with ice cream and flan for dessert. Not only was it delicious to the taste it was so much fun. More fun than I've had in a long time. Simple. Dinner, no movie, no games, nothing other than great company. It's moments like this that I consider myself one of the luckiest people alive.

I know I've said it before, but I realized it again tonight. My friends and I are all so different but so similar at the same time. We have Catholics, Mormons, Atheists, Christian, and just "whatever' but we all respect each others beliefs and surprisingly will often discuss religion, but with the utmost respect to the next person. Our lives are all so different and going in different paths that sometimes it does make it hard to get together...However we do always make time for one another. it's so nice.

Our evening was perfect. Little Man ate and ate and ate while Little Princess played with other children that were there (her new bestest friends). While we were sitting at the dinner table I mentioned that with all the variety of foods Little Man was taking in he would surely have a tummy ache and some yucky poop. Within an hour he vomited all over. I've never seen someone so little puke so much. It was so sad. I hate when my kids puke, they never do so when they finally end up doing it it terrifies them. It was all over himself, the carpet and me. Well, needless to say we learned our lesson about stuffing him full of everything in sight. Poor little guy:(

Anyways....we had a great night, despite the upset tummy of Little Man's. Thank you Pure bred. Sure do Love ya! You are a truly amazing cook!!
-side note: you know these Mexicans cook everything from scratch, either they don't know that much of it comes in a can pre-made or they just know how much better it really is home made. Really it is incomparable to the store bought anything. just a little tid bit from me.