Happy Thanksgiving

Thanks to a lovely friend, I'm making this post on the actual holiday.  Whoa!  The reason a friend made this possible is because she invited our family to dinner today, and saved me the headache of spending the day in my kitchen doing what I really dislike.  She can't possibly know the depths of my gratitude (especially after yesterday...details to follow).  So to this dear friend, you know who you are.  I was thrilled to accept your invitation, and we are super excited to come over today! 

 

In preparation for today, I decided to make some pies yesterday.  We've had eleven pumpkins sitting on our porch since October, so I was definitely making pumpkin pie.  I was also feeling ambitious.  I don't like to be wasteful if I can avoid it, so I'd been intending for a long time to preserve these pumpkins.  So, my plan in the morning was to clean, cut, steam, and puree all of these pumpkins, make pies, and process two bags of apples (because they'd somehow frozen in our fridge and were very mushy).

 

The kids hauled in the pumpkins for me (except for the one that is still green) and we started optimistically.

We started by cleaning out the seeds and guts.  This took some time, but wasn't too bad.  The kids were great helpers with the seeds.

My problems started once the pumpkins were ready to be steamed.  I've made fresh pumpkin puree before, so I knew what went into it, but I hadn't done 9 pumpkins at once (one was rotten and went straight to the garbage).  Basically my kitchen wasn't equipped to handle so many pumpkins, at least not in a reasonable amount of time.  I had four pans in the oven, my biggest pot on the stove, and our steamer working on the counter.  I quickly realized that it was a day to have a window open.  :)  That covered half the pumpkins.  I could have used the microwave as well, but felt that would be too many things at once. 

While the pumpkins steamed I chopped apples, made apple compot (a drink we always had in Russia), and prepped the pies.  I had one casualty early on.  In the process, I managed to ruin my big (and best) pot because all the water boiled out and I didn't realize it for a long time.  :(  Apparently, I had at least one too many things going at once.  At that point, I decided to take the pans out of the oven as well and let the steamer handle the rest of the pumpkin. 

I took a pre-clean up picture here.  I used every pot, pan, and bowl yesterday, as well as several appliances.

By the time my pumpkin puree was almost done, I decided that this whole process wasn't worth it.  Two pumpkins would have been fine, but nine was too many.  It took longer than a once a month cooking day!  My freezer could have been full of dinners instead of pumpkin puree.  My back and feet hurt.  So NOT worth it.

Here's most of my puree yield.  That's 20 cups worth.  There were 8 more cups unprocessed at that point.  At least I can bake with pumpkin all I want now.  *sigh*

I yielded four pies and a pitcher of apple compot.  The pumpkin pies had an incident with the broiler...that's why the edges are black.  :(  Thankfully, that was the only part of the pies to be damaged...my other casualty of the day.

I also yielded lots of pumpkin seeds.  I would say that this part was worth it.  I LOVE seeds, and the time it took to get them wasn't so bad.

It was a LONG day for a pregnant woman who dislikes cooking.
So to my friend who has enabled me to relax this morning, thank you!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

Kids Say

Alex after tooting and between laughing about it, "A bark!"

Part of Annie's prayer the other night, "...and please bless Mommy and Daddy to be a good boy and girl..."

Logan, "What would happen if a house fell on Dad?"
Me, "He would die."
Logan, "What woul happen if a tractot fell on Dad?"
Me, "He would die."
Logan, "That's why he never goes under falling down houses and falling down tractors!"

Annie is so sweet.  She frequently says to me in her mousey voice, "You're a good mommy!" and as I tucked her into bed the other night it was, "You're my best mommy!"

Logan, "I'm organizing my Legos cause I'm a smart boy with my tiny brain."

Annie totally out of the blue, "One time I thought I was going to bite you, but apparently I didn't."

Logan was asking me why my hair mousse was white.  After some discussion, he considered and observed that there is an animal called a moose.  Then he said, "If it was red (meaning the mousse) it would be made from the blood of a moose!"

Logan, "Mom, I'm addicted to reading scriptures."

Alex while trying to unbutton his white Sunday shirt, "Open me!"

Logan, "Mom, I'm addicted to working.  Is it good that I'm addicted to working?"

Logan, "How would you like a blob of purple streaks of blue?"

Alex to me, "Kiss my bum."  I guess he had an owie...

Logan while I was trimming his nails, "I'm holding back my blood so it won't come out if you cut me."

Logan, "I'm as warm as an elephant in elephant skin back home in Colorado."

Annie to Jim, "There's white dots in your black hair."

And the sweetest for last.  Over the last two weeks, Alex has started saying his own prayers.  He's becoming rather insistent about when it's his turn, and I love hearing his sweet little voice say each word.

Little Mister Piggy

What would we do without our Alex?  This little guy is funny in so many ways.  One way that he cracks me up is his attitude toward food.  He believes he is entitled to anyone's leftovers should they not finish their own meal.  This happens most frequently with Annie.  If she says she's done, he immediately takes her plate and finishes hers before he continues with his own.  If we try to take it from him, he gets mad.  "No!  Mine!"  Perhaps this is why he's our biggest toddler so far.  :)

Making Brownies

Or rather, licking brownie batter.  I love these guys!

 

 

Happy Halloween

I'm a little behind here I know, but at least I'm getting these pictures up before Thanksgiving.  There's something about having to upload photos that always delays me...

 

Anyway, we had a fun Halloween last week.  During the day we started our Christmas shopping (hee hee) and in the evening we went trick or treating.  Considering we had no budget for costumes, and I had no patience to make any this year, I was pretty happy they all had something to wear.  :)

 

Alex was excited when I pulled out the Thomas costume.  My mom found this for us at Goodwill four Halloween's ago, and this is the fourth year in a row it's been used.  Alex was excited about it because he LOVES trains right now, BUT he was less than thrilled to put it on.  I bribed him with candy.

Logan's Superman costume consisted of a t-shirt and pajama pants he already owned, and a $1 cape we found at Goodwill.  The best part is that once he put the coat underneath, he bulked up just like he was supposed too.  :)

I was set to make a butterfly costume for Annie out of fabric scraps this year, but when we found this at Goodwill for $4 I was happy; I didn't really want to sew for Halloween.  I'm busy focusing on Christmas!  She still considered herself a butterfly because this little fairy dress had wings on the back.

They were excited to go!

We trick or treat in a different neighborhood every year; we're strange like that I guess.  Anyway, we went to a couple of streets near the church, and ran into two families we are friends with.  The kids had fun trick or treating with their friends, and knocking on the doors of five families we know from church.  After three short cul-de-sacs their bags were FULL.  I couldn't believe it!  Gone are the days when you get one piece of candy per house I suppose.  I remember it being work to get a good bucket of candy as a kid!  :)  As a parent I can't complain, though; it sure went fast.

We unloaded their loot when we arrived home.  They had a LOT of chocolate!  Nobody was complaining.  :)

Happy (late) Halloween!

Parenting Joke

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?'

'Yes,' was his incredulous reply.

She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

(Side note:  Jim never asks me what in the world I do all day; I just found this really funny.)