That's what I have been. We had a great trip to Indiana. We got there at 3am Saturday morning. We lost an hour on the way. We slept for a little bit then went to eat breakfast with Aunts, Uncles and cousins at Bob Evans. We visited my Grandpa at his little apartment then went to visit Grandma at the nursing home. They are both doing well. Then we met back up with the Aunts, Uncles and cousins at the Persimmon Festival. We decided that it would be better to buy the arm bands and get to ride more rides. We started with the super slide and kiddie rides. Blaine got the best of both worlds. He is still small enough to ride the kiddie rides "with Bryson" but is just big enough to ride the big rides with Brayden. We snacked on nachos, Persimmon Pudding, Big Red, and cokes. I had already bought the kids cokes when Stephen came walking up with Reds so they weren't very happy with me, but they got over it. Blaine and Bryson split a hot dog. It was almost time for supper, but we hadn't had lunch so we were all hungry. Then we got back to the rides and as soon as we got to the ones that Brayden could ride the sky turned black and we were afraid we were gonna get ran out with a storm. Brayden and Blaine got to ride another ride and then the scrambler (my favorite) before it started to sprinkle. We headed to the car and started pulling out of the parking area and the bottom fell out.
We headed to Spring Mill Park to eat at the Inn and had more Persimmon Pudding. They had the best! We hung out with the family again while the kids played. Good food, good times! All the kids were pasttheir bedtimes so we headed back to the hotel and got ready for bed. Brayden had some homework to work on so I took him down to the lobby to use the computer. Had no luck so we headed back to the room and went to bed. We had to get up early for breakfast, church and then went to lunch again with the extended family. We also had to check out before church so we had a lot to do that morning!
And yes, it would have been easier to skip church, but God doesn't take a vacation from us so why should we from Him?
We went by Uncle Bob's and Aunt Kathleen's house to change clothes and say hello. We went to see the Grandparents again and tell them goodbye. We left town two hours behind schedule. We arrived back in Huntsville at almost midnight. It was a long, quick trip but always lots of fun.
I would post pictures but every time I started to grab my camera I was having to herd all the kids like a sheep dog so it didn't happen. We had an 11, almost 9, almost 4, 2 1/2, and a two year old all trying to go a different direction! Whew! It got crazy at the Festival. So no, I didn't even get my camera out. Maybe Molly or Jennifer will send me some to post? We will see.
Sara
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Fun Fact Friday
This weekend me and my family will be heading up to our hometown in Indiana. How is that a fun fact? Well....we are going to the Persimmon Festival, of course! And yes, it is fun, for a small town. And the best part about it is the Persimmon Pudding we will get to eat. I know all you southerners are gagging about now because the only Persimmons you have probably eaten were not ripe.
Someone played a cruel joke on you.
I know this because my dad played that same cruel joke on us when we were kids and I can remember it like it was yesterday. We lived in Knoxville, Tennessee and we were in Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg. Dad saw a Persimmon tree and told us they were one of the best fruits. He handed me and my sister each one and we munched down.
I kid you not. It feels like someone turns your mouth inside out. We gagged and spit and my parents laughed and laughed.
But now I know better because it is seriously some of the best stuff when fixed in Persimmon Pudding. Now if I could only find a recipe for it and a tree loaded with Persimmons! YUM!
We will also be meeting up with lots of family that comes down from Michigan. By the time you all are reading this they should already be on their way! Can't wait!
Have a Fun Friday!
Sara
Someone played a cruel joke on you.
I know this because my dad played that same cruel joke on us when we were kids and I can remember it like it was yesterday. We lived in Knoxville, Tennessee and we were in Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg. Dad saw a Persimmon tree and told us they were one of the best fruits. He handed me and my sister each one and we munched down.
I kid you not. It feels like someone turns your mouth inside out. We gagged and spit and my parents laughed and laughed.
But now I know better because it is seriously some of the best stuff when fixed in Persimmon Pudding. Now if I could only find a recipe for it and a tree loaded with Persimmons! YUM!
We will also be meeting up with lots of family that comes down from Michigan. By the time you all are reading this they should already be on their way! Can't wait!
Have a Fun Friday!
Sara
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Thankful Thursday
Today I am thankful for a few things. I am thankful that I don't have pink eye or some other contagious eye thing. I have had an itchy eye for several days and it then turned to a hurting, burning and blurry eye. I was able to get to the eye Dr. today and found out all the rubbing I did over the weekend due to allergies caused an abrasion on my eye. So now I have one dilated eye and one not. I hope it lasts long enough for the boys to see it because I have a feeling they will think it is pretty cool.
I am also trying to be thankful for Blaine's innocence. I guess this could be categorized as that. He asked me this morning if cars had been invented yet when I was a little girl. I politely explained that my 91 year old Grandpa had cars when he was little. I can remember trying to understand things like that and asking my parents and grandparents things that probably made them feel old. One of my favorites was asking my Grandma about...guys might want to stop reading here....pads and tampons. Did they have them? No. What did they use? Rags. OOHHHH....that's where that came from.
I don't know how I got off on that tangent but I guess I should be thankful for feminine products now.
I am thankful that my in laws have two vehicles. I am having my torque converter replaced today and they are letting me borrow their car. They have a Honda Accord. But after driving a van for almost 3 years I did feel like I was driving a go-cart down the interstate. That was a weird feeling.
Be thankful today!
Sara
I am also trying to be thankful for Blaine's innocence. I guess this could be categorized as that. He asked me this morning if cars had been invented yet when I was a little girl. I politely explained that my 91 year old Grandpa had cars when he was little. I can remember trying to understand things like that and asking my parents and grandparents things that probably made them feel old. One of my favorites was asking my Grandma about...guys might want to stop reading here....pads and tampons. Did they have them? No. What did they use? Rags. OOHHHH....that's where that came from.
I don't know how I got off on that tangent but I guess I should be thankful for feminine products now.
I am thankful that my in laws have two vehicles. I am having my torque converter replaced today and they are letting me borrow their car. They have a Honda Accord. But after driving a van for almost 3 years I did feel like I was driving a go-cart down the interstate. That was a weird feeling.
Be thankful today!
Sara
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
It Ain't Food Network, But They Eat It.....Tuesday!
This is a recipe that my mother taught me to make as a child. I am assuming she got it from her mother but I am not sure about that. We call them Butterscotch Brownies but some call them Blond Brownies.
Butterscotch Brownies
1/2 cup butter
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt better in mixing bowl. Mix in sugar and eggs. In separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and add vanilla and nuts. My recipe says to melt 2 Tbsp. of butter in pan then add mixture, but I use cooking spray and that works just as well. Bake 30 minutes.
Now that I am reading the recipe, the whole melt the butter in the pan thing tells me this is an old recipe. Seeing how they didn't have cooking spray back then. I don't remember my Grandma Row making this so it must have come from my mom's mom. Now I will have to ask her. These are so good! My mom got to where she used pecan halves instead of chopped because I don't like nuts. So she would lay them across the top of the batter so that when she cut them, each brownie would have a pecan half in the middle of each brownie. Then I would pick mine off and give them to my dad.
Enjoy!
Sara
Butterscotch Brownies
1/2 cup butter
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt better in mixing bowl. Mix in sugar and eggs. In separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and add vanilla and nuts. My recipe says to melt 2 Tbsp. of butter in pan then add mixture, but I use cooking spray and that works just as well. Bake 30 minutes.
Now that I am reading the recipe, the whole melt the butter in the pan thing tells me this is an old recipe. Seeing how they didn't have cooking spray back then. I don't remember my Grandma Row making this so it must have come from my mom's mom. Now I will have to ask her. These are so good! My mom got to where she used pecan halves instead of chopped because I don't like nuts. So she would lay them across the top of the batter so that when she cut them, each brownie would have a pecan half in the middle of each brownie. Then I would pick mine off and give them to my dad.
Enjoy!
Sara
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
It Ain't Food Network, But They Eat It....Tuesday!
Yesterday was Grandparent's Day at church. We had our first service, then potluck lunch and then our second service. I laid out three dessert recipes and let the boys pick which one I should make for the potluck meal. Their choices were Caramel Brownies, Blonde (or butterscotch, depending on where you are from) Brownies or Lemon Squares. They picked the Lemon Squares, which was fine with me since I had all the ingredients on hand to make them. I got the last one on the plate! Everyone probably already has this recipe, as it is very common. But just in case you don't, here it is!
Lemon Squares
First Layer:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 sticks butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift Flour and sugar in bowl. Melt butter and pour over flour mixture. Mix and press dough into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
Second Layer:
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1/3 lemon juice
4 Tbsp. flour
Mix together and pour over baked crust. Sprinkle with some extra powdered sugar. Reutrn to the oven and bake for 20 minutes more.
Lemon Squares
First Layer:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 sticks butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift Flour and sugar in bowl. Melt butter and pour over flour mixture. Mix and press dough into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
Second Layer:
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1/3 lemon juice
4 Tbsp. flour
Mix together and pour over baked crust. Sprinkle with some extra powdered sugar. Reutrn to the oven and bake for 20 minutes more.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Cleaning Out
The past 2 weeks I have spent a lot of time getting things ready for Kid's Market. That is a seasonal consignment that we do around here. It allows me to get rid of things that we are no longer using for our kids and let someone else use them so it doesn't end up thrown away. Don't get me wrong. After three boys some things do get donated to charity or thrown out all together. But you know some of those outfits that were somewhat expensive but your baby only wore it once or twice? You can make a few extra dollars with things like that. So I hung and tagged 401 items. It is a lot of work, but I think it is worth it. I have to just keep what I am doing somewhat organized so I don't pull all my hair out. After I get a car load finished I take it to my parents' house and pile it all in one of the rooms there since I don't have any extra room here. And then when the contribute day starts it is all ready to go and I load it up and drop it off.
I did come across a few outfits that made me think, "Oh! I remember when they wore this to such and such!" Or, "I remember that!" Kind of made me sad.
Like this outfit:
This picture was taken with Pee Paw on Labor Day weekend. This was his first visit by himself. Mee Maw had passed away almost two months before.
And this one was one of my favorites!
Everyone thought Bryson was a girl. This picture was taken on his 6 month birthday...my birthday! It says, "I'm Not a Girl!" We got a kick out of this shirt. A few days before this was taken we were at a Cracker Barrel traveling back from somewhere and our waitress stopped and told us how pretty "she" was. She loved how "her" hair was cut into a wedge just like mine. I politely told her it was a boy and he wasn't even 6 months old yet. And he had never had a haircut! His very first haircut was the day after this was taken. I love how he has all the natural layers and highlights that I have to pay big bucks for! Kinda makes me a little jealous.
And then there is this little outfit that we bundled him up in to go to Santa's Village. He wasn't very happy that night. It was so cold and I kept covering up his hands in that outfit. He couldn't suck his thumb so he would cry until we got his thumb out. Then he would cry because his thumb would turn into a little Popsicle! He didn't know who Santa was and frankly he didn't care!
And then there was the Halloween Costume. He did make a cute little Zebra, didn't he?
This little jacket my sister found for Brayden at a Gap Outlet and I think she paid $6.00 for it. All three of the boys wore it and I can't believe how good it still looks. We definitely got our money's worth out of that one!
It makes me sad to think of getting rid of some of this but I have no plans to use it anymore. And why not let someone else be just as cute in these, too? Well...almost as cute.
This Kid's Market thing is one of those things like scented candles and flavored coffee. Why couldn't I have thought of this? The lady that runs this is racking up, ya know? All the workers are volunteers so they can have first chance at shopping. And she keeps 1/3 of the profit. They run it for 2 weeks in the fall and then 2 weeks in the spring. Isn't that an awesome work schedule? Oh well. I guess I will stick with my job.
Do you have anything like this in your area? Do you participate and if so, have you made good money at it? I would love to hear from all you blog lurkers...haha!
Sara
I did come across a few outfits that made me think, "Oh! I remember when they wore this to such and such!" Or, "I remember that!" Kind of made me sad.
Like this outfit:
This picture was taken with Pee Paw on Labor Day weekend. This was his first visit by himself. Mee Maw had passed away almost two months before.
And this one was one of my favorites!
Everyone thought Bryson was a girl. This picture was taken on his 6 month birthday...my birthday! It says, "I'm Not a Girl!" We got a kick out of this shirt. A few days before this was taken we were at a Cracker Barrel traveling back from somewhere and our waitress stopped and told us how pretty "she" was. She loved how "her" hair was cut into a wedge just like mine. I politely told her it was a boy and he wasn't even 6 months old yet. And he had never had a haircut! His very first haircut was the day after this was taken. I love how he has all the natural layers and highlights that I have to pay big bucks for! Kinda makes me a little jealous.
And then there is this little outfit that we bundled him up in to go to Santa's Village. He wasn't very happy that night. It was so cold and I kept covering up his hands in that outfit. He couldn't suck his thumb so he would cry until we got his thumb out. Then he would cry because his thumb would turn into a little Popsicle! He didn't know who Santa was and frankly he didn't care!
And then there was the Halloween Costume. He did make a cute little Zebra, didn't he?
This little jacket my sister found for Brayden at a Gap Outlet and I think she paid $6.00 for it. All three of the boys wore it and I can't believe how good it still looks. We definitely got our money's worth out of that one!
It makes me sad to think of getting rid of some of this but I have no plans to use it anymore. And why not let someone else be just as cute in these, too? Well...almost as cute.
This Kid's Market thing is one of those things like scented candles and flavored coffee. Why couldn't I have thought of this? The lady that runs this is racking up, ya know? All the workers are volunteers so they can have first chance at shopping. And she keeps 1/3 of the profit. They run it for 2 weeks in the fall and then 2 weeks in the spring. Isn't that an awesome work schedule? Oh well. I guess I will stick with my job.
Do you have anything like this in your area? Do you participate and if so, have you made good money at it? I would love to hear from all you blog lurkers...haha!
Sara
Friday, September 11, 2009
Fun Fact Friday
I know a few months back you all might have been thinking this was turning into a Recipe blog and I assured you it wasn't. Now I am here to tell that it isn't turning into a Fun Fact Friday blog either. I have just been super busy. And Friday is my day off so that just happens to be when I have had time to blog. I have dropped off almost all of my things to Kids Market. More to come on that...as in a post I started 2 weeks ago and have been too busy to finish it because I want to post some pictures to it. And of course I can't find a CD to go with the pictures I wanted to post. Which leads me to the fact that I have to scan the pictures from our "slow a Christmas" computer. That's why it is still a draft.
On to my fun fact. I just read a friend's blog post from this week about forgetting things and running around trying to find them. It was reassuring to me to know I am not the only one to do silly things like that. But I am sure I do it a whole lot more. It's called ADD. Seriously. But I am gonna turn it into a fun fact for you all just for fun.
What it is like to be ADD:
Every morning I get up and get straight in the shower. Not unusual, I know. But let me go on. Let's just say I need to go to the laundry room and get a shirt or something. I see that I need to unload the dishwasher so I get started on that. Then the buzzer goes off on the dryer and I stop unloading the dishwasher to hang up the clothes so I don't have to iron them. And I then I have to move the clothes from the washer so they don't sour before I get home from work. Then I remember I need to take the sheets off the bed and get them washing since the washer is empty and who needs an empty washer, anyway? I take the sheets off the bed and take them to the washer. I Get that started. Then see the dishwasher open and remember that I didn't finish that job. I finish that then wonder why I came in there in the first place. Oh yeah! My shirt. I grab my shirt and go to get dressed in my room only to see my bed torn apart and needs sheets put on. Oh look! A chicken!
That's my favorite ADD joke. That just shows how easy a person with ADD can get sidetracked by something as simple as a chicken. And no. There wasn't a chicken in my bedroom. It was really a joke.
Have a fun Friday!
Sara
On to my fun fact. I just read a friend's blog post from this week about forgetting things and running around trying to find them. It was reassuring to me to know I am not the only one to do silly things like that. But I am sure I do it a whole lot more. It's called ADD. Seriously. But I am gonna turn it into a fun fact for you all just for fun.
What it is like to be ADD:
Every morning I get up and get straight in the shower. Not unusual, I know. But let me go on. Let's just say I need to go to the laundry room and get a shirt or something. I see that I need to unload the dishwasher so I get started on that. Then the buzzer goes off on the dryer and I stop unloading the dishwasher to hang up the clothes so I don't have to iron them. And I then I have to move the clothes from the washer so they don't sour before I get home from work. Then I remember I need to take the sheets off the bed and get them washing since the washer is empty and who needs an empty washer, anyway? I take the sheets off the bed and take them to the washer. I Get that started. Then see the dishwasher open and remember that I didn't finish that job. I finish that then wonder why I came in there in the first place. Oh yeah! My shirt. I grab my shirt and go to get dressed in my room only to see my bed torn apart and needs sheets put on. Oh look! A chicken!
That's my favorite ADD joke. That just shows how easy a person with ADD can get sidetracked by something as simple as a chicken. And no. There wasn't a chicken in my bedroom. It was really a joke.
Have a fun Friday!
Sara
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Happy Birthday!
Today is JaneClaire's birthday! She is Bryson's friend from Bible class. This picture was taken at Bryson's 1st birthday party.
I think they like each other!
Happy Birthday JaneClaire!
Sara
I think they like each other!
Happy Birthday JaneClaire!
Sara
Friday, September 4, 2009
Fun Fact Friday
We went out last night for my birthday with friends (also our bosses). It reminded me of something I could tell you about today for a fun fact. When our waiter introduced himself last night, Tony told him we were there for my birthday. I could feel my face turning red and all I could think was, "Great. Now they are going to come sing to me and make a big deal." And here is why that freaked me out.
When me and my sister were little we never really had "birthday parties" like the kids do now. We could have one friend over to spend the night and we never had a store bought cake. Mom always made something from scratch. She always decorated them so it wasn't just a cake...it was a cool birthday cake. Two that stand out in my head were one that was shaped like a big umbrella and was covered with colored coconut. Another was a round cake and was topped with elephants made out of different sized marshmallows held together with toothpicks. In the middle was a straight candy cane and they were attached to look like a carousel.
One year (I am not sure how old we were, but we moved from there when I was eight, so I would have been younger than that. I am thinking we were turning 5 and 7) my parents decided to do something very special for our birthday. We could each bring one friend. I brought Patty and Rachael brought Leslie. It was a really neat pizza joint in another city that my parents had found out about. They didn't tell us where we were going. That was part of the surprise. The place was decorated with a fire engine theme. I don't remember that part but when we were talking about this with my parents one time dad was refreshing my memory. Here is why I don't remember that part. After we ate our pizza we heard this really loud noise. We started looking around wondering what it was. It was apparently the siren on the firetruck and then someone comes over the loud speaker. I don't remember exactly what they said but they were very loudly inviting everyone in the restaurant to sing happy birthday to us. We were so embarrassed! They brought us these huge sundaes with a candle in the top and sang to us.
We cried. We cried a lot. We were mad and embarrassed. I wouldn't blow out my candle. I cried for so long my sundae melted. Dad said he would eat it if I wasn't going to. I wouldn't let him. That candle could melt all the way down into the ice cream and I didn't care. If I wasn't going to eat it , nobody was gonna eat it!
That was the last time we had any sort of birthday party. My parents never sang happy birthday to us. For years when we went out to eat and the waitresses all started getting together to sing to someone I could feel my face getting red and I could feel the blood pounding in my ears. One time that happened and my parents could see it on my face. They starting laughing at me and dad said, "Sara, it isn't even close to your birthday!" They have scarred my for life.
I was talking about this not long ago with my dad and I was telling him how I was so embarrassed that day at the pizza joint.
He looks at me and says, "Why were you embarrassed? We were the only ones there!"
I don't remember that part either.
Have a fun Friday!
Sara
When me and my sister were little we never really had "birthday parties" like the kids do now. We could have one friend over to spend the night and we never had a store bought cake. Mom always made something from scratch. She always decorated them so it wasn't just a cake...it was a cool birthday cake. Two that stand out in my head were one that was shaped like a big umbrella and was covered with colored coconut. Another was a round cake and was topped with elephants made out of different sized marshmallows held together with toothpicks. In the middle was a straight candy cane and they were attached to look like a carousel.
One year (I am not sure how old we were, but we moved from there when I was eight, so I would have been younger than that. I am thinking we were turning 5 and 7) my parents decided to do something very special for our birthday. We could each bring one friend. I brought Patty and Rachael brought Leslie. It was a really neat pizza joint in another city that my parents had found out about. They didn't tell us where we were going. That was part of the surprise. The place was decorated with a fire engine theme. I don't remember that part but when we were talking about this with my parents one time dad was refreshing my memory. Here is why I don't remember that part. After we ate our pizza we heard this really loud noise. We started looking around wondering what it was. It was apparently the siren on the firetruck and then someone comes over the loud speaker. I don't remember exactly what they said but they were very loudly inviting everyone in the restaurant to sing happy birthday to us. We were so embarrassed! They brought us these huge sundaes with a candle in the top and sang to us.
We cried. We cried a lot. We were mad and embarrassed. I wouldn't blow out my candle. I cried for so long my sundae melted. Dad said he would eat it if I wasn't going to. I wouldn't let him. That candle could melt all the way down into the ice cream and I didn't care. If I wasn't going to eat it , nobody was gonna eat it!
That was the last time we had any sort of birthday party. My parents never sang happy birthday to us. For years when we went out to eat and the waitresses all started getting together to sing to someone I could feel my face getting red and I could feel the blood pounding in my ears. One time that happened and my parents could see it on my face. They starting laughing at me and dad said, "Sara, it isn't even close to your birthday!" They have scarred my for life.
I was talking about this not long ago with my dad and I was telling him how I was so embarrassed that day at the pizza joint.
He looks at me and says, "Why were you embarrassed? We were the only ones there!"
I don't remember that part either.
Have a fun Friday!
Sara
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