Happy Halloween!

It's Halloween night and as tradition goes, Alan is out with the little kids trick-or-treating and I get to be the one home passing out candy. (I love that part!) The big boys? Well they are on their own this year. Later we will head over to the campfire and homemade donuts at the swim club and then on to our neighbors "haunted garage" for ice cream and nachos. Yes I am hating it--no self control! Oh and just wait for the kids to fall asleep tonight so I can rummage through all their candy and take out all the snickers bars and almond joys. yum yum! Oh I just love the holidays! As you can see, my kids look pretty cute this year. Noah insisted on being "Hannah Montana" (in case you couldn't figure that one out) but I think he pulled it off okay. Zach pretty much just looked in our costume closet and found something he could put on to justify going trick-or-treating since I told him this is his last year. Connor, well let's just say he can play up ANY PART to the "T". At his preschool parade today, all the other kids were pretty reserved and were all in these cute costumes and Connor was running around scaring everyone with his fangs! He had all the moves down and believed completly that he was a real vampire! Abby is just as cute as a "bug"!

Pumpkin Carving at its Best!

The kids wanted to carve pumpkins the other night and Alan and I both looked at each other with dread knowing it had to be done but neither having the energy to accomplish the task. Thank goodness for an ambitious, excited and overzealous 12 yr old who immediately put newspapers out on the driveway, got out all the appropriate tools, and even thought to set bowls out to put the guts in. It wasn't long before they needed help cutting and scooping and before we knew it, Alan and I were right in the thick of things carving our OWN pumpkins. Thanks to Alan's parents for growing enough for everyone in the family. Anyway, for what seemed like a daunting task, it actually turned out to be quite fun and was a bonding experience for the whole family. No one was fighting. Zach and Noah were actually complimenting each other and encouraging one another which is a rarity in our home. Connor of course picked the biggest pumpkin and as you can see drew the face all by himself... and Abby? She just drew all over herself with marker.

And I wonder why I feel FAT...

I am cursing Alan's dad right now for giving me bags of fresh apples picked from their trees. They happen to grow the BEST apples! Well, since then, an apple pie has been calling my name. This is the reason that I curse his dad. (not really) Growing up, I hated fruit oriented desserts. (cobblers, pies, apple crisp, etc.) They always seemed like "old lady" desserts. Well, I guess I have become an old lady because I would now almost always pick pie over cake. Alan's dad is quite the pie maker and a few years ago I wanted to challenge myself to learn to make pie and I have to admit, I succeeded. It is Sunday afternoon and afterall, what is Sunday without a yummy dessert? So I have been in the kitchen the past hour making an apple pie. Considering I ate half of a HUGE piece of Mud Pie last night on our double date with Katie and Josh and today will be indulging myself in a rather large piece of apple pie..it is no wonder that I feel I am busting out of my jeans! All of my efforts to go to the gym this past month are not paying off and my lack of self control in the area of food is the reason. Why can't I be like Brooke and be satisfied with only a sliver? Should I wait until after the holidays to begin to restrain myself or should I use the upcoming holiday season to learn some self control?

p.s Abby laid in her crib for over 2 hours attempting to take a nap this afternoon. She never cried..just hollered out a few times for a drink or to tell me she pooped. I finally conceeded and got her up and she said "nice nap mom!" She is so funny!

Have I mentioned that I LOVE fall?

Is it a Man Thing?

I am not much of a TV watcher in the summer. I have to admit though, as soon as it gets dark and cold at night, one of my favorite things to do is wash my face, brush my teeth, get in my cozy pajamas and ......turn on the TV! 9pm has become one of my most favorite times of day. My house is almost always quiet and I can hardly wait to get down under my big fluffy comforter and watch something really uplifting and inspirational on tv. (like The Bachelor!) It really frustrates me when they get you all hyped up for a new season of shows and then they start throwing some old episodes in with the new. (Like we aren't supposed to notice that Olivia from Law & Order SVI has her hair super short in some episodes and long in others?) Anyway, the inspiration for this blog came from the sudden panic that just came over me when I just realized that it's pushing 9pm and Alan actually got to the remote before I did. Which means he will be lying in bed channel surfing for the next 30 min. Then before he can get involved in any particular show he will break out into a loud snore and I will be ticked because it is 9:30 and any show I wanted to watch would be half-way over. Should that bug me? Because it kinda does!

Is channel surfing a "man thing"? or is it just an "Alan Thing"?

The Chicken Cordon Bleu was a Hit!

What's on the table this week...

Wow, second week in a row of meals planned and we actually ate all of them minus the tomato soup and grilled cheese so as you will see it has moved into this week's spot. I have planned another menu for this week and thought you would like to get ideas or copy the exact menu as my sister Tara did last week. (Her poor kids. They are at my mercy now with what shows up on their table!)
*** Chicken Cordon Bleu (as per Zach's request)
*** Cahoon's Pot Roast (the best pot roast EVER!)
*** Hamburger Casserole (Johnson Family Cookbook p. 55 -for my sisters' sake)
(basically hamb, corn, cr mush, cr chick soups, sour cream, onion, egg noodles, bread crumbs- sounds good and EASY!)
*** Parmesan Chicken and Lemon Peel/Zucchini Pasta (sounds fancy but it's not)
*** Chili Verde Pork Burritos
*** Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Side note: I have decided that while I may be an okay cook, I am a terrible baker! (except for my mean apple pie!) Lately, I burn every batch of cookies, my zucchini bread is soggy in the middle and my apple crisp that I made Sunday night was yucky! The apples were crunchy. I had it at a party and it was AWESOME! I followed the recipe to a "T" and it was gross. (I thought it was anyway..Zach has been eating it for 2 days straight! It's so great having a 12 yr old in the house that's the size of a small horse-literally!)

p.s. is my blog hard to read? or is it just me? it kind of makes my eyes hurt but it sure looks cute, huh?

Bye Bye Binky?

Do you ever feel like as a mom, it's easier to see what other people's kids "should" or "shouldn't" be doing but don't have a clue what YOU are doing? I had one of those moments today as I realized how often I am SHOVING a binky in my daughter's mouth anytime she bawls or even starts to stick her bottom lip out. (slight exaggeration-it's not that bad! Well, she does have it in her mouth most of the time.) I think it finally hit that I was making a big mistake when I realized her top teeth are starting to buck out a little from sucking on the darn thing so much. Okay she just came up to me while I am writing this and saw the picture of her with her binky and immediately started crying for her binky. Do I need to say any more?
So here is my question..Is it bad to let her keep it for a while longer since she is my baby and it makes her seem more babyish as she is approaching 2? If I am going to make the separation, do I do it gradually like just start giving it to her for naps and bedtime? Or do I just be heartless and cut the nipple off like others have suggested? Please help me! If this were your child I would have all kinds of wisdom to share with you but I am not the most objective parent right now!

What's on YOUR dinner plate?

With the cool weather upon us, I am anxious to get back into my routine of cooking. There is nothing worse for me than to look at the clock, realize it's 5pm and I have NO idea what I am going to make for dinner! For those of you who know me well, know that I am kind of a planner. I enjoy making lists each morning of what I need to do that day and TRYING to accomplish those things. Although I have to admit, the things I don't want to do almost always end up coming up again on the next day's list. Anyway, for several years now I have become pretty consistent at planning out my weekly menus. I SWEAR by this! I like to even plan when we are going to eat what depending on who will be home and what activities we have planned that night. It saves me several trips to the grocery store and in turn, saves me $$$! Well, as I started "planning" my day today, I came up with several meals that I had previously purchased the stuff for and here is what I came up with. I post this not to BOAST at my fancy dinners (which you can see they are not!) but to give you an idea of what WE eat on a given week. I am always wondering what other people eat for dinner? Do they regularly eat Hamburger Helper and Fish Sticks? or are they Chicken Marsala kind of people? I think we are somewhere in between. Dinners at the C house this week will consist of the following:

**Chicken Noodle Soup (made from leftover Rotisserie Chicken from Costco)

**French Dip Sandwiches

**Creamy Pesto Pasta w/Chicken (Knorr's seasoning packet--very yummy!)

**Chili and Cheese Baked Potatoes (leftover chili from conference sunday)

**Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup (Noah's favorite and total copout dinner)

**Beef Enchiladas

As you can see, we are not too fancy at our house but the ultimate goal is to get everyone fed and to hopefully "sit down together for family dinner" as Elder Dallin H. Oaks pointed out the importance of in conference. Do you remember the statistics he gave-something like 40% of kids who regularly sit down and eat family dinner, stay away from drugs and alcohol. (something like that.) This just reinforced to me how important this really is. I love to get ideas and suggestions for new meals and something about the fall weather really gets me excited to start cooking nice meals again for my family so do you mind letting me know "What's on Your dinner plate?"