Skillet Update!

You guys are a crafty bunch. I definitely should have spent some more time cropping the pic to cut out the striated piece on the left that I realize now shouts "FISH"!! And it is, in fact.......................COD.

It was just so strange to me that the big fillets I put in the skillet ended up breaking into all those little sections when I flipped them. I guess I'm not sure I've ever cooked cod before but, once all those little pieces were scooting around the pan, I realized that it absolutely looked like it could have been pieces of apples or any other of your wonderful suggestions! Even though my brilliant cousin deduced it right away, it was fun to see all the guesses. Thanks for playing! (And Lindsey, thanks for making me feel much better about my view that it was "ambiguous"! :-)

The fish is the only thing in the pan, but it was covered with taco seasoning for fish tacos. I found a super-easy recipe that mixed cabbage (or coleslaw mix) with Greek yogurt, lime juice, salt, sugar, and cilantro--which was then loaded on top of the seasoned fish in a tortilla (or taco shell) with fresh tomatoes on top. It was definitely a tasty way to use our CSA cabbage, cilantro, and tomatoes!

Friday Quiz

What's in the skillet?

It's That Time Again!

We had our third annual Halloween par-tay yesterday morning with what's left of the original crew....

Fireman Jack:

Gene Simmons-in-a-poodle-skirt Jillian:

Sheepy Amedeo (in a Brenna-made costume!):

Funshine Bear Jocelyn (costume by Denise):

And our own scamp as..........GIANT RAFFIE:

Wonder of all wonders, the kids did a great job with the group shot. We missed Cady and Colin from last year's group, but were thrilled to be joined by 7-week old Jessica! (Baby Henry was napping so he is represented by the monkey costume on the back of the couch!):

And, just like last year, the B-man got nekkid afterward:

Thanks for hosting again, Em2!

Shocker

We got our first individualized comment on B's preschool report yesterday:

Mmmmm.......marshmallows!! He clearly has some good taste!

(And in case you're concerned about my child's urinary/digestive health-- preschool is only 2.5 hours and we always do a bathroom trip at drop-off! ;-)

Y'all....

...I'm having trouble coming up with anything to tell you these days. Decent photographs are hard to come by as the Brookster becomes a bit more demanding each day in terms of wrangling. But he does love himself some outdoor time (here, at a local farm)!

BTW, I feel like I need to be a good Baylor fan and say WHOO-HOO to the Bears achieving bowl-eligibility and a #25 ranking in the BCS poll! It's been a looooooong time coming, and while--let's face it--the ranking is likely not to last, we'll certainly soak it in while we can!! Sic 'em!

Trash Man

The recycling bin is still too large for him to maneuver by himself, but he's got the regular trash can down! Do not even TRY to help him carry it-- we're very into "all by myself" right now!! But really, this is a task I can get behind him doing on his own!

Book It!

Wandering around the library the other day, I suddenly became confused as to whether I'd entered a portal to Borders or B&N, or the like. What was this? A table piled high with crisp paperback fiction novels?

Making me feel like I'm getting the cream of the (okay, probably chick-)literary crop? For FREE? Um, yes please!! Brilliant "marketing" idea on the part of the library branch....at least for people like me who unabashedly choose books based on the cover (at least sometimes).

I couldn't stop myself and checked out 4. I've read 2 so far: For My Daughters by Barbara Delinksy, and The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller. FMD was about what I expected--moderately enjoyable but full of cliche characters and not much plot development. TSW, however, was much more fully-written and quite a nice little exploration of relationships in the lives of two women living in attached houses in New England. I'd recommend it for some light reading!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I Know, I Know...

...a picture of a kid-in-adult-shoes is soooo yawn.

That being said, this latest version reveals that we've finally entered the world of imagination and pretend play, and that makes me happy! Guys, he's not just wearing parental shoes-- he's "stepping into [his] boots like the fireman." DUH!

He also is clearly exhibiting the latest in leave-your-shirt-tucked-into-your-stylish-sweats-after-using-the-bathroom fashion!!

Acting His Age

Every once in awhile we get a glimpse of Two Year Old Attitude from our normally mellow boy. Someone wasn't too keen on gathering for a family pic:

'Course, someone's daddy doesn't much like to get his picture taken, either. (Something about the camera stealing the soul...blah, blah, blah...so maybe it's more a question of genetics! :-)

Camille's First Friend

Grand Big Daddy sure knows how to spoil us all! We enjoyed so many tasty meals out, and the B-man got a few new "transportation treats" as well. And even the in utero family member was included-- check out what we happened upon in a cute children's store that Big D couldn't resist purchasing for his newest granddaughter:

I was too lazy to retrieve our current stuffed Olivia to show scale, but this new one is several times larger. She's a pillow and ALSO has a giant blanket zipped up inside her!

We will be SO ready for sleepovers! :-)

Grand Big Daddy and the Pumpkin

(Doesn't that sound like it could be the title of an "Early Reader" book or something?)

We were treated to such a great visit with Big D this weekend. We got to do all kinds of fun autumnal things, not the least of which was purchase a pumpkin (from the Amish market, where we also bought enough sweets to send us all into sugar shock) to carve B's first Jack O' Lantern!

The B-man "draws" some facial features:

PUMPKIN GUTS (hmm-- actually, this is more like BRAINS!):

Carving out the drawings as modified by the BG:

Success! (It even features "janky teeth" in honor of the mama of the house!):

Big D's annual fall visit is a highlight of our season, and we're so glad we got to spend some time with him!

(We are not so glad, however, that this pic turned out to be blurry. Sigh.)

Come again soon, Grand Big Daddy!

Happy Friday!

Seriously. That's all I got!

Big Daddy arrived yesterday in time for naps, a bit of play, and a trek to watch the BG's game (randomly on Thursday eve this week). Thanks to FAC and Eric who came over to mind the scamp, I was able to go with him and actually see the entire game. Unfortunately, it resulted in a 28-16 loss. Even more unfortunately, yet another kid was injured (broken ankle?) and carted off in an ambulance, so the BG is down to one backup linebacker. Or something like that. Coaching at a smaller school with fewer kids is a whole 'nother ballgame.

Anyway. There's no school today because of the state teacher's convention (which is completely optional) so after morning practice, the Daddy will be home all weekend to hang with the Big Daddy and the kid who is sure to think he's on cloud nine. So I'll do my best to score some good pics this weekend! That is, if they even let me in the room....!

Fill My Freezer!

We've lived in our house for almost 7 years, and are lucky to have wonderful neighbors on either side of us. (This is not to say we have anything in common with them, age- or life stage-wise, but they are very nice people.) But they're really the only people we've actually known in the 'hood. Over the last couple of years, I've finally gotten to know a friend down the street with small kids but we just never seemed to be able to coordinate our lives and schedules to hang out much.

Then.... a family moved this summer into a house that backs up to ours, and they have a son exactly a week older than Brooks as well as an infant. The neighborhood tot lot served as a great facilitator for us to meet them, as well as another stay-at-home mom a couple of streets over and BOOM! Finally....after all these years....we have an actual coterie of neighborhood friends! Between the 4 of us, there are EIGHT boys. And only boys. (And the oldest is only 4 years old!) In the last month or so, we've gathered for some family time on a Sunday afternoon as well as random playdates during the weekdays. But yesterday was our first big project: a freezer meal swap day!

Each of the 4 of us made a dinner recipe appropriate for freezing for each of the other 3. Then we all got together and swapped, so we ended up with 3 new dinner meals ready to be thawed, cooked, and eaten. Not a bad way to get some fun variety without a lot of extra effort!

I'm sure it surprises no one that I checked out a Healthy Freezer-Recipes cookbook from the library! My contribution was Mexican Chicken Casserole. The building blocks:

Completed pans:

And my haul! Meatloaf, Split Pea Soup, and Turkey & Rice Quiche. Score!

Five Faves

The kids weren't the only ones excited to be reunited! Lindsey and I had hours and hours of girl talk, and even enjoyed a dinner and movie night out! (Thanks to Kevin, Chief Manny.)

Just two ladies hanging out with babies in their bellies. No biggie.

We got to be present for the first reptile sighting...in the house! Kevin determined the little guy in question was an anole, and the larger little guy had no fear trying to play with it!

Doesn't it look like Cady is exerting some acupressure/deadly mojo on Brooks?

Big eyes in the big pumpkins.

Can't wait for our next visit!!!

Part II: Reunited!

We arrived in Stepford the Carlson fam's fabulous new neighborhood around lunchtime on Friday. The big reunion:

Our personalized greeting:

After naps, we sent the kiddies outside to play on the awesome backyard swing set:

They didn't get especially dirty, but we never pass up a bathtime photo opportunity!! (See here, here, here, or here!)

Cady has now found her calling as a shampoo girl:

Although B doesn't seem to mind:

And besides, turnabout is fair play!

Turns out that air mattresses are really all you need to keep tykes entertained. These two probably could've spent the entire weekend bouncing!

Saturday, we headed to a local pumpkin patch/farm. Not surprisingly, Brooks loved hanging out in the sandbox and even had the chance to sing a few tunes into his cuke mike:

Typical boy-- B looks fascinated by the fact that Kevin is pretending to eat Lindsey's head, while Cady looks very concerned!

Sadly, our time drew to a close on Sunday morning but not until after they snagged a few minutes rocking:

Sweet hugs!
Final installment tomorrow: my fave photos from the visit!

(PS: Thanks to Lindsey for taking many of the above pics with her far superior camera!)

Tar Heel Trip, Part 1

The scamp and I headed south on Thursday afternoon in order to spend the weekend with his long-lost twin, Cady, and her parents. To break up the driving a bit, however, we scored a bonus visit with loyal blog reader (and real-life friend!), Suzi!

Suzi lived down the street from Carrie S back in the day, and we all swam together in high school even though they went to the other school. (Swimming was one of the sports in which there was a combined district team rather than individual building teams.) We spent many a practice side-by-side gossiping while holding onto kickboards for drills. Several years after she graduated, she ended up reconnecting with--and eventually marrying--Greg, who actually grew up across the street from me! So it was really fun to spend an evening catching up with them since I have history with each!

Of course-- there weren't just adults involved. Katie is about 6 months older than Brooks and clearly wasn't quite sure about the visitor:

She warmed up to the interloper, though, and even shares a love of geography with the B-man! She's a bit more globally-minded and showed us her favorite country:

All glammed up for school-- and dressed especially for us!

Even little sister Julia got in on the pig action!

I can't even remember the last time I saw Suzi, but I'm thinking it was easily at least 10 years ago. But you know what? It doesn't even matter! Motherhood and the blog world really are powerful (re)uniting forces!

Thanks for letting us crash at your place, guys! We had a blast!

Harvest of Savings (and Cuteness!)

Hobby Lobby is finally here! To celebrate this Southern addition to these parts, I treated myself to an autumnal wall-hanging. And don't worry, Linds, it was definitely 50% off! :-)

Hope everyone has a fabulous fall weekend!!

It's Not Just Babies

Toddlers are pretty darn angelic-looking when sleeping, too. I couldn't resist snapping this shot. Thank goodness for our champion sleeper who didn't even stir when a flash went off in the pitch dark!

Checking In on the TV Season

I keep reading that this fall has been a "weak" television premiere season, and have had similar discussions with some of you. Here are my thoughts so far:

Two shows have been canceled and they were both on my "record" list: Lone Star and My Generation. I don't really have a strong opinion on substance either way, but I do feel bad for the actors involved when a show gets canceled after only TWO episodes air. I know it's all about the ad money, etc, etc, but that just stinks.

According to the entertainment news, The Whole Truth might be next to get axed. I've actually been enjoying this late Wednesday legal drama with Maura Tierney and Rob Morrow, but it may be because I never watched Law & Order or The Practice/Boston Legal or any of those, so I'm getting my courtroom fix now. (Of course, The Good Wife is still way better!)

I've canceled the DVR recording of Undercover. I really wanted it to be an Alias redo, but I just found that I couldn't get into it. (But the leads are SO pretty!)

I'm kinda "meh" on The Event, but it's one of the few shows that the BG is still interested in watching, so it's fun to have some "together" shows. I have enjoyed both episodes I've seen of Blue Bloods, though. It's always nice to see a New Kid on the Block done good.

I'm fearing that both The Office and How I Met Your Mother might be past their prime, but 30 Rock, Modern Family, and Cougar Town still make me laugh. (Cougar Town also makes me want to drink red wine. Thank goodness I stopped watching the wine-guzzlers on Brothers and Sisters a few years back, or I'd really be jonesing for some! ;-)

Hmm...what else is there? Still enjoy Glee as fun fluff, and Parenthood as an engaging family drama. And I'm sad that Rubicon and Mad Men are about to end their (too-short) seasons.

What are your thoughts 2.5 weeks into the season? And are any of you going to watch American Idol with the new judges in January??

Bit O' Brit

Before B was born, we joked about how fun it would be to teach him to speak with an English accent and say things like, "Mumsie, might I have a spot of tea?" Unfortunately, I never actually followed through with that so now it's more like, "TEA!" (Or, actually, with his latest fave verbal phrase, it's "PLEASE....can I have some TEA?"

Sometime last year, my parents brought him a "Wheels on the Bus" book that they had purchased in London, so it has a few differences from the version we're more familiar with here-- most notably that the bus does everything "all day long" rather than "all through the town." The last page features all the teddy bears signing off after the bus ride, and someone has really enjoyed memorizing that goodbye photo-spread! To help you understand what he's saying in the video, here's a snap of the final pages:

And-- the main event!

Facebook = Friends

Facebook seems a timely topic these days with The Social Network out in theaters. (And, by the by, my super-critical brother says it's a must-see so get thee to the movies soon!)

As much negativity as there has been regarding certain aspects of Facebook, the fact remains that it can be an amazing tool for (re)making connections. I had no idea until joining FB a couple of years ago, for instance, that a Baylor friend lived right here in these parts...and had been here for many years, too! We finally were able to coordinate our schedules this past weekend and get together for a visit. There really is nothing like catching up with old friends!

Of course, such an event mandates a walk through ye olde photo albums, so here are some snaps from the 1998-1999 school year (also known as the year I sported the Carol Brady 'do, per AKH's description at the time):


If you're wearing your detective hat, you can spot the friend who appears in each of the pics and that would be the winner of the "I live in the same state as EMK award!" (heh)--- MEGAN!!

Seems we've all grown up now:

I promise B had way more fun at his playdate than he appears. See? There was swinging involved, too!

While the boys played, there was lots of "Fill me in on the last 10 years" talk plus, of course, reminiscing about (and drooling at the thought of) some food and drink at Ninfa's. Ah, college! Such fun times!

And hooray for social networks that put old friends from those fun times back in touch!