Pumpkin Party

Last night was the third grade pumpkin carving party at the school.   Have I mentioned how much I love this school?   This is the first time the girls will get to wear costumes to school on Halloween and have a real costume parade and class party like we did growing up.  I'm ridiculously excited about it.

Last night we carved pumpkins in the cafeteria with all of the third graders and their families, and then lined all the jack-o'-lanterns up along the walk outside the school.   We went to the classrooms for a delicious buffet of high fructose corn syrup in every form imaginable, while someone lit all the pumpkins.   And then we did the pumpkin walk--went outside and walked past all the jack-o'-lanterns to inspect the handiwork.

 And then the sugar-rush kicked in and all hell broke loose.  It was Lord of the Flies--crazily clad third graders running and screaming all over the hillside.

Mr. Elms, Madeline's teacher who started this tradition 17 years ago, was standing next to Kolby observing all of this.  He said calmly,  "Now this right here is a great example of the difference between last year's class and this year's.  Last year I told the kids they weren't allowed on the hill, and they all stayed down.  This year...."  And there was Madeline right in the thick of it,  running and cackling in the forest like a crazy person, with her spiderweb cloak billowing behind her, acting like she's been at this school all her life.

New Recipe

Last night we had such a yummy dinner.  I got a recipe for Feta Chicken from a friend (she got it from Cooking Light, which means you need to use more butter, olive oil, and salt than the recipe calls for).  And I winged it for the rice and veggie side dish and it turned out great.  Rave reviews from all four of us.  The girls almost never eat meat, but they loved the chicken.  They even at the spinach salad.  

So this is the chicken recipe, but I didn't really measure anything.  I'm sure I used more butter and  feta than the recipe called for.  

Feta-Stuffed Chicken

4 skinned, boned chicken breast halves

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese with basil and tomato

1 1/2 teaspoons of butter, melted  (Seriously? How do you measure that little butter?)

3 cups torn spinach

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1 T. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. olive oil (again...seriously?)

1/8 tsp pepper

Pound the chicken to 1/4 inch thickness.  Dredge in butter and then breadcrumbs.  Spoon feta onto one half of each chicken breast, then fold the breast in half.

Place halves in a baking dish, and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until chicken is done.  

Combine spinach and basil in a bowl.  Add balsamic and olive oil, sprinkle with pepper, and toss to coat.    Serve chicken over salad.

Brown rice with zucchini and carrots

1 1/2 cups brown rice, cooked according to package directions, substituting water for chicken broth.

2 small zucchini, shredded

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1 T. olive oil

1 T. butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

lemon

feta

While rice is cooking, saute the shredded vegetables and garlic in the olive oil and butter for about 5 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  When rice is done, add to vegetable mixture in the pan, and mix together.  Add a squeeze of lemon.   And since the feta was sitting there on the counter, I threw in some of that too.  Wise choice.

I just ate the leftovers for lunch, and it might have been better than last night.

Fill or Lube? (Edited for clarity)

The other day the girls were in the car with me and I said, "Oh, I need to stop and get some gasoline."

From the backseat  Amelia asked, "Why?  Does your bum itch?"

I had to explain that GASoline is what we put in the car.  VASeline, on the other hand is what one might put on one's bum when it itches, or in some cases, if one has balls, one might put Vaseline (not gasoline) around those balls if there is chafing.

Actually, I didn't say the part about balls.  But I also didn't think I'd have to explain to ya'll what confused my daughter in this scenario.  I thought Vaseline was the universal cure-all for, as my sister put it, "all things bum-related."

Fall and friends

So we've had two weekends in a row with friends in town, and it's been great!  Burrells came up the weekend before last.  Emily was feeling under the weather, and since it was cold and rainy out we just hung out at our house most of the weekend.  We had a great time catching up, playing music, talking politics, and I think all of us just enjoyed the down-time.

And this weekend Nelsons came to town. (That's Cooper with Madeline in the first picture above).  We explored Capitol Hill and Madrona with them, and found two great places for breakfast, and some great places for shopping too!  Kolby, Alex, and Nellie went to the football game at Husky Stadium,  while the rest of us went to the pumpkin patch.  It was a GORGEOUS day, and the kids had a great time.  We sent them into the huge corn maze with Zoe and her cell phone, and they not only found their way through, but also found all the clues so they got a free baby pumpkin at the end.

And today it rains.  Spent too long at the dentist's office today and he's telling me I need braces.  At 33 years old.  My sisters will be laughing their asses off when they read this.

Bunny ears

Mia's learning to tie her shoes right now, and in true Mia form, she's extremely focused and determined.

Tag!

4 Random things about my husband:  he can quote lines from movies he's seen only once, many many years ago.  He writes songs and plays the guitar.  He does not censor himself, almost at all, which I find refreshing since I censor myself too much.  He's a better cook than me.

4 movies I could watch more than once:  In America, Cinema Paradiso, Wedding Singer, Old School

4 TV shows I watch:  Big Love, Grey's Anatomy, So You Think You Can Dance,  Arrested Development (syndicated)

4 Places I have been:  Tahiti,  New York City, San Francisco, Victoria B.C.

4 Places I would like to visit:  Thailand, Italy, Costa Rica, Ireland

4 things I am looking forward to this year:  skiing, nursing school, Florida, enjoying time to myself

People I tag:  uh.  Michelle tagged everyone already.   If she missed you....tag. 

The long walk home

It's actually not that long. It's about 2 blocks home from school, and I love it. Madeline isn't one to chat about her day, and I still only get snippets about school from her. But she will talk the entire way home from school, usually about animals or bugs or she'll tell me dumb jokes she made up, or I'll hear all about Bella Sara Land which is the imaginary horse game she and her friends play at recess. So I might not hear about her school day, but for that 10 minutes she has my undivided attention and tells me about what interests her in her world.

(Amelia is usually wiped out on the walk home and ignores us. Or she'll run ahead to beat us there.)

My floors needed washing anyway

It's a damn good thing I bought that second Halloween mug last year.  I just tripped over the dog and smashed one of them against the granite counter top (taking a coffee shower in the process).  Good thing for the dog I have two mugs.  

Although I guess this would be when having two of the same would be better...because then I'd still have the cute black and white one.  But that would be wrong.   Two of the same could be considered a set.   And as we already discussed:  unmatchiness=happiness.

Negotiations

Today Madeline and I were having a difference of opinion on something.  I said, "Honey, please stop arguing with me, and just do what I asked."

And Madeline very sweetly responded,  "Mom, I'm not arguing with you.  I'm reasoning with you."  

Things I miss

1.  Friends.  We especially feel this loss on the weekends.    We miss all the BBQs and Sunday dinners and spontaneous nights hanging out.  It is really nice to have Burlingames here so we aren't totally on our own.

3.  Neighbors.   There are no school age kids on our immediate block, which is a huge bummer after moving away from the Browns and Wissmillers.  It was so nice being able to depend on each other for little things and nice to have the kids running back and forth all the time.

3.  Hardwood floors.  Gabby was barfing this week, and I sorely miss my hardwoods which made all manner of dog and kid messes easy to clean up.  

4.  New Seasons Market.  Another thing I totally took for granted, having New Seasons down the street.  (Kolby hated that store, but that's his issues, not mine.)   The closest comparable is PCC Market, which I haven't been to yet because it requires a drive into Kirkland.  I do love that Trader Joe's is the closest grocery to us.   But I still miss New Seasons and all it's locally grown yumminess and hometown feel, and that it was .5 mile from my house.    

5. The city and neighborhoods.  Is that broad enough?  I miss downtown Portland in general, and all the close-in neighborhoods with distinct personalities.  We loved NW23rd, Mississippi, Hawthorne, Alberta, Belmont.  We had our favorite restaurants and shops in each.  I loved people watching, and I loved the people in Portland.  I know that Seattle has similar neighborhoods, and we've started exploring them, but they aren't familiar to us yet.

Obviously, there's more.  But these are the things I've been missing this week.

Little sips of happiness

I've always assumed that the dishes in my cupboards need to match. I can't just buy a glass or plate because it's pretty, I have to either buy a whole set of them, or nothing at all. Not because I'm overly neat, but because I thought that's just the way it had to be.

I do really really love my set of these. They are the perfect weight, perfect sized brim, nice simple design. I love having my morning coffee from them.   

However, my friend Stephanie kept talking about how much she loved her holiday mugs--she buys a different one for each holiday and drinks her coffee from it for the duration of that holiday season, and it makes her happy. For a while, I couldn't get past worrying about the unmatchiness of that. What do you do? How do you live with it? I don't know! But one day, while fondling the Halloween mugs at Starbucks, I decided that I was going to buy one.  How would I handle the cognitive dissonance caused by bringing this mug home without its family?  I didn't know, but the mugs were just so cute, I thought it was worth a try.  

Guess what? She was completely right. The world was a better place with that little spider in my coffee.   I loved having a Halloween mug so much that I bought an entirely different Halloween mug when Starbucks marked them down.  

Then I bought a Christmas one a few weeks later (my favorite mug ever, but you'll have to wait to see it). And they are like a little piece of MORE happiness (as if there wasn't enough already!) every morning when I pour my coffee.

And I decided to just call them holiday decorations so I don't have to worry about them not being part of a set.   They get packed up with all the Halloween decor on November 1st.  

Second Born

Amelia kind of got the short end of the stick, as often happens with a 2nd child, as far as bedrooms go. Hers is smaller. She doesn't have the cool skylight. Madeline's bed is more fun. Amelia got stuck with the bedding from our last house instead of getting new stuff. But she hasn't complained a bit. She loves having her own room. She picked out the purple paint, and tells me all the time "I just love my room." She keeps it spotless and organized. She can fall asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow because Madeline isn't in there puttering around keeping her awake. She makes her bed every morning and likes it perfectly smooth, which is a bit of a pain with the bunkbeds, but with a little help from me we can get it there.

So Amelia's room isn't as cool as Madeline's room, but I think it's cuter than Madeline's, and it feels warm and cozy in there.  

It needs curtains.  I thought at first I could handle not hanging curtains here, since it is a rental.  But I'm rethinking that.  Just looks a bit nekkid without them.

But I just drove by the landlord's house to drop off the rent check, and their house is for sale.  That has me very concerned...