A Date at the Mall

Many of you know I am not a fan of the mall. My daughter, however, is a huge fan. She loves the Galleria Mall (The Sunshine Mall) and asks me every week if we can go.

For Abbie's birthday Lindsay and Sammy invited her on a trip to the mall to pick out a gift. They love the mall and to shop so spending a couple of hours roaming around isn't painful for them. Thank goodness for sisters.

Abbie's big afternoon was today and she has been asking and talking about it for a couple of weeks. This was possibly the longest morning of her life, waiting for 12:30 and her aunts to arrive.

Lindsay told me she was eating a Cup of Noodles or Ramen or something similar in the car and Abbie wasn't fond of the smell of Aunt Lindsay's noodles. She definitely got her sniffer from me. They took her to a bunch of stores to find one she liked to pick out a gift. None of them were up to snuff until she found Claire's. I guess it has a princess section in the back and she told them, "This is my favorite store!". She picked out a princess backpack, like her friend Halle from school, a crown, a mask and a necklace. They even bought her an enormous lollipop from the candy store. I think, in her short almost 4 yr. old life, it was the best afternoon ever. Thanks Linds and Sam.
On a separate birthday note, Abbie's teacher, Miss Joy, scheduled her to bring the snack Thursday so we made special yellow flower birthday cookies with sprinkles. Her class sang "Happy Birthday" to her and Miss Joy even gave her a present (we are saving it for her birthday). How sweet of Miss Joy to make Thursday such a special school day for Abbie. She felt like a princess.

One Day in Reno

For Mother's Day Abbie & I gave Grandma Sandy a special day visit. We promised to fly to Reno for the day and spend it doing things with her. Grandma's birthday is Friday so we flew to Reno yesterday for our Mother's Day visit and pre-birthday celebration.

To say Abbie was excited about "our special day" is an understatement. She has been talking about it for weeks and that morning she could hardly focus. Going to the airport to ride a plane and visit her Grandma for a day was such a special treat. She hardly grouched or complained all day long, and that is quite a record for her lately.

Grandma picked us up from the airport and we went to her house to play with her toys for awhile. She has lots of stuffed animals that Abbie loves to play with. She had a Grandma's House snack of butter on a rice cake. I couldn't get her to eat that at home but she's happy to eat it at Grandma's house.
Then it was off to a pottery painting store where Abbie and Grandma painted Christmas ornaments. We met Aunt Susie for lunch at The Stone House then Grandma picked a movie for us all to see, AstroBoy. It was a little scary for Abbie but she loves eating popcorn and drinking fruit punch.

After the movie we went back to Grandma's for some more play time. Susie brought dress-ups for Abbie and she played most of the afternoon and into the evening with the dress-up and stuffed animals.

Grandma made dinner and it was time to eat, clean up and head to the airport for our flight home. Abbie and I were pooped but we had a wonderful day trip to Reno. She was a good traveler until the very end, when she just pooped out. Our plane didn't take off until 8 p.m. so the flight home was tiring. After landing, we walked to the parking garage for Tripp to collect us and Abbie said, "Mom, I'm so tired of walking. I just can't go another step." Some business travelers in front of us thought that was pretty funny...they must have had a long day as well.

Hallelujah

That's right folks, we have grass. This project has taken a really, really long time to complete. From complete demolition of our backyard to the flagstone and now the grass probably over a year.

We had grass before the demolition but it wasn't well cared for by the previous owners and was always just shy of dying. We tried to re-plant a few areas but finally decided if it was going to be done, we needed to start fresh. So if we were going to start fresh, we might as well tear out the entire backyard and get rid of all the trees and plants we hated and put in trees and a garden we actually wanted. Then, my parents had a pile of unused flagstone on their driveway that they were kind enough to give us and we got started. But as with anything Tripp and I do, we don't jump in and go. We really need to think everything through and make sure it's what we really want because goodness knows we are doing this again, ever.

After a lot of sweat and aching muscles, the main portion of the backyard was finally finished on Saturday afternoon. We still have lots of trees and more garden to plant but that will have to wait. Other projects and a good long rest are calling our names. I have to be honest, Tripp did all the work. I was simply support staff. But he couldn't have done it without the help of these fine fellows: my dad, Wes, Kyle, Mason & Miles Putnam, Steven Brooks, Clay Treese and Sean Gubler. Thanks to you all. Your help is appreciated and will forever be remembered when we frolic on the grass.

A lovely day...

Thanks to everyone for the emails, notes and presents yesterday. I'm sorry I missed every last one of you (except the Gublers, who caught us just as Abbie & Daisy were finishing up breakfast) but I neglected to renew my drivers license and so I had to take care of that pronto. Luckily, I remembered Wednesday so I wasn't driving illegally today. Sadly, I was at the DMV for almost four hours getting it taken care of.

I narrowly made it to dinner with Tripp and the kids. We stuffed our faces full of mouth-watering sushi and other Japanese delights. Yum. They gave me the books, "My Life in Paris" and "How to Master French Cooking" both of which I'd wanted for quite some time. Tripp kindly remembered me mentioning it when we saw "Julie & Julia" a few weeks ago.

My dad and Barbara took my sisters, Nate and our family out to Cafe Rio and Nielsen's Custard Wednesday night for a quick celebration. Again, yum.

I love the photo above. It's taken from the cover of "My Life in Paris" and they turn it into a charming scene in the movie. I feel that way about all of you that took the time to remember me yesterday. I heart you all for the birthday wishes. Next year I promise not to be on the brink of an expired license.

Cook Group Week Eight: Grand Finale

With the end of the cooking group, I thought I might feature by far the most experimental eater in my group, Daisy. Throughout this experience, she has tried every dish I made and loved almost all of them as well. She is truly our best eater followed closely by her brother.

With the end of the cooking group, I decided to try a few new dishes. Each one was fun, although some were not really all that new.

While picking up my farm basket last week (more on that later), I decided to get a package of fresh mozzarella. My pick-up location is Valley Wine & Cheese and they have the most amazing cheese counter. Tripp and I love Insalata Caprese but we never make it at home. Why? Who knows. It's so easy and delicious. So I bought a package of buffalo mozzarella from Bob, the nice man at the cheese store, and made it last week. And it was delicious. The ingredients are simple, most of which are growing in our garden. If you need a recipe, try any number of online sources, shouldn't be hard. Mine included fresh tomatoes, basil, cheese, olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Abbie was the only one who wouldn't eat it but like her aunt Sam, no tomatoes will pass those lips.
Speaking of my farm basket, I've had a ton of squash and some potatoes and decided to try a squash soup. This Cooking Light recipe kept showing up so I gave it a whirl. I served the soup in bread bowls and it was very good. Daisy liked it (as usual), Kyle at it without complaint and even Tripp was interested (he isn't usually a squash soup lover).

Last night I was going to try a Spaghetti Squash with Jalapenos recipe until I realized that I used the Spaghetti Squash in my soup the night before (oops). It was still good so, o'well. I'm not sure what the other squash is that still resides in my fridge. I really have received so many varieties of squash that I can't identify them all or keep them straight. So, I'll have to try this one another time and figure out something new for the mystery squash.

I also made Blondies and Tollhouse Pie last week. Both of which I would swear that I've made my family before but neither of which they claim to have ever eaten. Simple, easy and Tripp and Kyle were in heaven so I guess I won't argue about whether or not we've had them before.

And with that being said, my cooking group experience is officially over. It has been a lot of fun. I hope my family has enjoyed it as well.

And about the farm share...our family joined another family to buy a share of a local farm. It's a CSA and our share entitles us to a portion of their harvest. We bought in to the fall harvest and our family gets the share basket one week then the other family the next. It has been a lot of fun and has helped Tripp and I work towards a goal of eating more locally (instead of our produce coming globally). With birthdays and Christmas, we are going to have to skip the winter share but plan to return again in the Spring. Can't wait!!!!!

Cooking Group Week Seven: Pumpkin Brownies

Our family's favorite Halloween movie is It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Tripp and I tried to recreate this pumpkin patch scene for the party on Saturday and Abbie watches the movie several times a year...she doesn't feel the need to wait until Halloween. Just like the movie, the recipe I tried this week would be good anytime, not only in October and November.

I stumbled across a recipe for pumpkin brownies and thought I would give them a try. I like the kids to understand that desserts come in all shapes, sizes, tastes and textures...doesn't have to be chocolate filled or sugar covered. Tripp is a huge fan of key lime pie so I try to make it several times a year...something a little different. I thought exposing everyone to a brownie that wasn't based on chocolate might be a good idea.

Let me just say, this recipe is delightful. If you don't give it a try, I will certainly be making them again and you'll have a chance to try them at my place or you might even get a plate dropped at your doorstep (doorbell ditching, my kids new favorite pass-time). Kyle wasn't home the day we had them but both girls enjoyed them immensely. I gave a plate to a friend I visit teach and her husband sent a text to Tripp later that night telling him how good the brownies were. An overall hit. Seven weeks down, one to go....

Halloween

Halloween Party

Abbie and Daisy had a Halloween Party Saturday morning for their friends. We started the tradition when Kyle was in first grade and we've had one almost every year since. Kyle spent the weekend with his mom and is a little too old for our traditional Halloween party so we had a little guy one just for the girls. It was a lot of fun. It's been awhile since we've played really little guys games and we had a really great time.

A huge "Thanks" to my sister, Lindsay, for taking the photos. Tripp and I both had our hands full with all the little guys, the games and the treats so photos were out. She took several hundred for me! It was so hard to choose which ones to use. I'm a lucky, lucky girl to have such a nice sis.

Halloween Night

The Butlers were so kind to invite us over for dinner and Trick-or-Treating. It came in really handy as Kyle had a soccer game at 4 p.m. so we were able to watch the game then head straight to their house to change into costumes, have some nice warm dinner, then hit the neighborhood.

Abbie loved being able to Trick-or-Treat with her friends. She thought it was marvelous to be out with Ruby and Lulu. In fact, Trick-or-Treating was just her thing. She loved everything about it. The big girls got tired and Abbie could have gone on for at least another hour if we'd let her. She just thinks Halloween is the best holiday ever and is already talking about what to be next year (a witch, like Lulu).

That night, both girls picked out a few treats (their candy bags were overflowing) and left the rest for the Great Pumpkin. In the dead of night, he scooped up their candy and left them with toys. Barbie movies for Abbie and Strawberry Shortcake dolls for Daisy. Halloween was so much fun, we can't wait until next year to do it all over again.