Halloween Proof

We went to my sister's for their annual Halloween party last weekend. We always have so much fun eating frito pies and laughing as the kids go through the giant haunted house and run around like crazy monsters and goblins!

MMMM MMMM Muffins

Wanna know why I loved homeschooling today?  Because I got to sit at the table with my kids at 8:30 in the morning eating fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip muffins and sipping hot cocoa as we watched the snow flutter in the front yard.  Homeschooling or not, you should try these muffins.  My kids were raving about me all day...well, at least for five minutes of it. 

 

 

Sour Cream Chip Muffins

(coutesy of my Taste of Home cookbook)

 

1 1/2 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup sour cream

5 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup chocolate chips

 

1.  In large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, b. soda and salt.  Combine the egg, sour cream, butter and vanilla in separate bowl.  Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  (Yes, it will be thick.)

 

2.  Fill greased muffin tins or lined muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean  Brace yourself for deliciousness and lots of compliments. 

 

 

 

Mama Nutisms of the Day (so far)

{Spewing water from my mouth onto the dining room floor}  "ACK! WHO PUT JUNK IN MOMMY'S WATER?  ROMAN!!!!"

 

"No, Roman!  You can NOT make a snowman in the house.  Take the snow back outside!"

 

"Kids, let's play a game.  Just pretend Mommy does not exist right now, okay?"

 

"How did Teagan get the bubble bath?  There is a ginormous lake of pink goo in the hallway!"

 

"Teagan!  What is in your mouth?"  Pop.  She spits out a blue marble.  Pop!  She spits out a purple marble. Pop!  She spits out a pink marble.  "Teagan, we do not eat marbles in this house!"  {Muttering under my breath, "We just lose them!"}

 

I assigned Hali the task of teaching Roman his ABC sounds and two-letter blends.  So, when it was time for his lesson I called out, "ROMAN!  It's tutor time!"  Apparently he interpreted that as me having called out, "ROMAN!  It's tooter time!"  And I got nothing but laughter from my boy for five straight minutes. Hali-- rolling her eyeballs-- replied, "Can't we just call it teaching time from now on?"  

 

Mama Nutisms

While I get up every morning feeling happy to have my children all home with me and excited to start a new day of teaching and learning together, I have to admit that some days can get pretty hectic.

 

This morning I was trying to teach Hali multiplication while entertaining Teagan on my lap and intermittently giving Melody advice on her writing assignment.  Roman and Leah were scootering in the dining room while chasing eachother in and out of bedrooms all the while Leah was screaming and slamming doors.  I did what any Mama Nut would do.

 

"LEAH!!!!"  I (not so) calmly said as I opened the recently slammed door she was hiding behind.  I had caught her attention and really wasn't sure what to say next.  So, I just tried the honest route.  "Do you want mommy to go away to a place for crazy people?"

 

She returned my grumpy look with one of surprise and--was it fear?  "No."  She simply responded.

 

"Okay, then.  Please stop screaming."

 

She nodded her head and I closed the door behind me as I left her in the bedroom.  I didn't hear any more screaming all morning. 

Trish

Anniversary Compromise

We recently celebrated our 11th Anniversary. Although Jimmy had big plans (and high hopes!) for us to go to a bed and breakfast and spend the day soaking in natural hot springs we ended up settling for more company and less romance.

We took the kids up to a lake in the mountains. The leaves were amazing, the lake was gorgeous! We had a picnic (with food purchased from a nearby health food store FOR FIFTY DOLLARS JUST FOR LUNCH. Yeah, I'll never do THAT again. Subway here I come!) and went for a hike and Melody rescued a dragonfly who was stuck in the swamp and Jimmy collected cattails for the kids (hello, MESSY) and the kids and Jimmy skateboared/scootered/rip sticked around the parking lot by the lake and I snapped pictures the whole time.

It was a wonderful day that ended with chocolate covered strawberries and....stuff that included a lot less company and a little more romance. *Wink* We're all about compromise around here!

Forgotten!

Sundays are our family's most hectic day. In the rush and madness of getting everyone ready for church I often forget to make sure my son's socks match or that we have a sippy cup full of milk. On the way home from church we forget things sometimes, too. More than once we've had to pull over on the side of road and watch as Jimmy scrambled to recover papers and scriptures that were left on top of the van and forgotten about as we drove away.

Today we were on our way home from church again listening to the beautiful singing squabbling of our dear daughters. "Mel, stop!" "Leah, just look out your window and ignore her." "Hali, don't antagonize your sisters."

Pause.

"Where's Roman?"

Melody, who normally sits next to him in the back seat, looks over in instant realization and her mouth drops open. Hali gasps. Leah stares. Jimmy swerves in an instant u-turn. We had forgotten our only son and left him at church!

As we hurried back a million questions ran through my mind. Did he notice we were gone? Was he still playing on the lawn at church? How in the world did we manage to completely forget our boy and drive away?

As soon as we reached the parking lot Sister O. waved to me and pointed towards her van. I looked over and there in her back seat was my sobbing, blond-haired, unmatched-socks boy who leaped out of the van as soon as he saw me. I picked him up, kissed him, and thanked the heavens that it was the church parking lot we left him in instead of somewhere worse.

Help me feel better. Have YOU ever forgotten any of YOUR children and

drove away without them?