halloween dinner idea

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I am making these cuties for dinner tonight. I am so excited- the kids are going to love 'em!

They are fast and easy. Here's the recipe, if you're interested.

Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold
bun length hot dogs
mustard

For each Mummy Dog, cut one dinner roll in half. Roll each half into a 22-24-inch rope. Wrap one rope around hot dog from bottom up 4 1/2 inches. Cut a 1 1/2 inch piece off of the second rope and set aside. Wrap the second rope around the hot dog from the bottom up 4 1/2 inches going the opposite way. Wrap the 1 1/2 inch piece around the top of the hot dog. Place Mummy Dogs on a sprayed baking sheet and bake at 350°F 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven, cool slightly and add mustard eyes. Serve warm with ketchup and mustard.

a work in progress

we got home from our trip on friday afternoon. . .

addie woke up in the middle of the night throwing up

jacob had it sunday night- ALL NIGHT- every 20 minutes

tyler had it monday night- all night- every 10 minutes- then ended up in the ER because he started throwing up blood. everything was fine.

aaron is currently in the throws of it. lucky him.

lots of fun around our house. anyone want to come over for dinner??

needless to say- I've been a little busy.

sorry for the ugly blog- i'm working on it.

2 things to be excited about (for me!)

I have fallen off the wagon lately- sorry. Not much new lately- just the same old stuff that keeps us all busy.

Aaron and I are off for a few days. He has some meetings in San Francisco- and I'm invited. Hooray! Kids will be well taken care of and loved while we're away.

Also, Tai Pan Trading just made it's grand debut in Rancho Cucamonga! About 5 minutes from my house. Addie and I checked it out this morning- and it's awesome! You must make the drive out here to do some serious shopping.

A Tag

I was tagged by my friend Tanya, and since I really am procrastinating putting the groceries away- this is perfect timing!

The rules:
Link the person who tagged you.
Tell about 6 quirks of yours.
Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same.
Leave a comment to let them know.

6 quirks of mine:

1- Blinds
The first thing I do every morning is open ALL the blinds in my house. I HATE having the blinds closed and it makes me crazy. They can't be slanted- they have to be straight- allowing optimum sunshine into my house.

2- Drinks
I am not a big"drinker"-- as in I don't drink a lot, but I really like certain drinks with certain foods. And if that drink is not available at that time- I'd rather skip the food. Here are a few examples: I must have OJ with oatmeal (good OJ, not the nasty kind from fast food places and especially airplanes- sick!), I must have milk with Taco Bell and I must have diet soda, preferabbly cherry 7-up with popcorn. Strange- especially the Taco Bell one.

3-Dishwasher
I hate unloading the dishwasher. So to make it less painful, I set the timer for 3 minutes and try to unload the whole thing in that amount of time. I found that it's not so bad this way, because I can do anything for 3 minutes, even things I hate! I can usually do the whole thing, unless I am distracted by a kid. But don't mess with me while I'm unloading, I hate for the timer to go off and not be done. It makes me feel like I "lost" and I don't like to be a loser.

4- Sour Cream
My family (and now Aaron, too) eat sour cream on our pancakes and waffles. A little sour cream with some jam or strawberries- sour and sweet. Yum! Try it, it's really good.

5- Being Late
I can't stand being late. It makes me very nervous and I get a stomachache when I am running late, therefore, I am rarely late to anything. I usually get things ready the night before, because waking up, getting 4 young kids ready and out the door at a decent hour is highly impossible. Can I just admit something I am proud of? I can't remember the last time I was late for church (and we go at 9 am). I get things ready the night before and get up early so that we are always early for church. Plus, I am solo on Sunday mornings and have been for almost 5 years because Aaron attends PEC, as YM President. Preparation is key these days! I also feel like it's respectful to people's time to not make them wait for you.

6- Pillow
I started sleeping with a second pillow when I was pregnant for the first time. After Tyler, I put it away and then got it back out 6 months later for Jacob. Well, I ended up being pregnant so often that I'm addicted to it now. I CAN'T sleep without my 2nd pillow. It has to be positioned perfectly for me to sleep (and it has to be king sized).

Wow, I'm weird.

I tag: Ani, Marlina, Meredith, Janell and both Amber's- and anyone else that wants too.

Busy Bees

I was going about my business this afternoon and all of sudden- noticed that each of the kids were happily involved in their own activities. It cracked me up! Sometimes they can't leave each other alone and sometimes- they are all in their own little world.

Here's what they were up to:

Carter was fast asleep, after a morning of shopping with the girls. He had a death grip on his bottle and was taking his nap very seriously.

Addie was reading a new book.

Jake was doing chores. The boys are earning money for some new Lego's.

Tyler had set up "shop" and was having a toy store on the stairs. I wouldn't recommend his shop. . . binoculars were $50 and a jump rope was $20. Well, I guess it's not that bad considering the market these days- everything's expensive!

Smarty Pants

When I taught school, I had a pair of jeans on the wall that had smarties pinned all over them. (remember that, Ashlee?) When the students would get 100% on a spelling test, they got to take some smarties off and we would all sing them a little song. Well, I have a smarty pants of my own!

I think everyone knows I was a little worried about Tyler starting school. I had heard some things about his teacher that concerned me a little, plus, I was just worried in general. It's a big deal sending your first born out into that big, scary world! Now one month later- I am happy to report- I had absolutely no need to worry!

Tyler is doing wonderful in school! This is my blog (and journal) so I am going to take the liberty to brag a little bit.

He started off the year knowing all his letters and most of their sounds- but definitely not reading. His teacher sent some sight words home that first week and asked the parents to make flash cards and practice each day and by the end of the month, the child would know them all. Honestly, I was a little doubtful, but we practiced- and sure enough, when we went over them yesterday- he had them down, no problem! I started crying! Yes, poor Tyler looked at me like I was crazy. I tried to explain to him how proud of him, I am. I told him that I thought he was amazing and that makes me cry happy tears. I told him that because each day he goes to school and listens, pays attention and does what he's supposed to do, he is learning so much! I told him that when I used to teach 2nd grade, I had some students that still didn't know how to read. He thought that was amazing! I gave him a big kiss and hug and off he ran to go play outside.



I know 8 sight words really aren't monumental in his education- but they are to this mom! I am so pleased with the way things are going at school for him. I am regularly helping out in his classroom and I just love what I am seeing. His teacher is VERY experienced and could probably do this with her eyes closed. She is very firm and boy, those kids sure know where and what they are supposed to be doing every minute. It's impressive! It's very structured and it seems to be a perfect fit for his personality. He's made some friends, he likes to go each day and he doesn't complain when it's time to do homework each afternoon. He enjoys it! Every couple days his teacher sends home a little book that each child has been working on and without fail, he can read every word without mistakes. He's learning so much. I remember before school started, my friend, Janell, told me that one of the best things about kindergarten was watching your child learn so many new things. She sure was right.

As hard as it was to send him off that first day, it has been so worth it. I love the schedule that we're on now, the structure that the school routine provides our day, the knowledge that he is gaining each week and most of all, I love driving through the loop each day to pick him up and seeing his face light up when he sees me and those little, tan legs run as fast as they can to get to me. Having said all that, I sure love that he only goes 3 hours a day. I'm not quite ready to give him up all day. I sure love that boy.

The Nose Knows

I lost my sense of smell on Saturday night, along with this curse of a cold. I never realized how much I rely on this un-appreciated sense. . . until it's gone! Mom's need their noses.

Here's why. . .

I can't tell when someone has a dirty diaper

I can't tell when naughty children have been eating food that they shouldn't have.
I can't taste dinner, to see if it's seasoned right.
I can't smell Carter's yummy head.
I can't smell socks to see if they're clean- yuck!
I can't smell the pretty flowers my boys pick for me.
and lots of other things you would never think of!!


Dear Stupid Cold,
Go away- and stay away from me and my family.
You are no fun-
you make me tired and grumpy and
you make my nose red and sore.
I hate you.
You are good for nothing.

Good bye.