Slimy Snack

We made a fun Halloween Snack this afternoon that I thought I'd share. Max really enjoyed playing in the Jell-O... it was a good post-dinner adventure to dig in this Slimy Snack. I found the idea in Parenting Magazine...thought it was cute. I just used some Jell-O boxes that I had ( I would have chosen green and blue, or green and purple, to make it not look so Christmas-y), and I got the wormies at the dollar store (so this was dang cheap). The directions are below if you're interested...

SLiMy sNaCKs

1. Prepare a package of lime or apple Jell-O as directed and divide among 8 oz mason jars or clear bowls (I used those little clear dinner cups they have at parties). Fill halfway, refrigerate them until firm.

2. Prepare another Jeoo-O flavor, such as cherry, berry-blue, or grape. While Jell-O is cooking, place three gummy worms on top of set gelatin and let another hang over the lip. Pour second flavor over the worms, filling to the top. refrigerate.

Max LOVED that there were wormies hiding in the Jell-O and had fun digging him out! PS, I only had a dollar store's supply of worms, so I only put one in the Jell-O and one on the lip...they get hard in the fridge, so they don't really taste that well. Do what you want. :)

Happy Autumn...and Halloween!

Some Fun Things...

So, another daily update from us...do I blog too much?? First of all, Sunday dinner was much looked forward to by Jeff and I, we invited our friends Jeremy and Emily over for our favorite Halloween dinner: Dinner in a Pumpkin! Emily made a yummy dessert and we had fun laughing with some of our new friends. The recipe for our annual Halloween Dinner (an Ellsworth tradition) is as follows: 1 small-medium pumpkin

1 Chopped Onion

2 Tbsp Oil

2 lbs Ground Beef

2-4 Tbsp Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 4oz can of Sliced Mushrooms

1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 1/2 Cup Cooked Rice

1 can of Water Chestnuts (sliced)

Put oil in frying pan, saute the onions until tender.

Add meat and brown.

Drain Grease; add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushroms and soup and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add cooked rice and water chestnuts.

Spoon into carved pumpkin.

Place on foil-covered cookie sheet and cook at 350 for approx. 1 hour ( or a little longer) until the pumpkin is cooked.

** Don't forget to scoop out and serve some of the cooked insides of the pumpkin to eat, too!

Holy Yum, Batman!

Today was my day to cook for the dinner co-op, but while my chickey pot pies were in the oven, I got a little crazy and decided to make strawberry freezer jam for my first time. It was easier than spitting, but so fun for me! yeah for homemade jam!

AND...Max has been doing a great job tinkling on the potty every night before his bath. He gets an MnM every time, and gets really excited about it, but isn't interested in pooping (even though he is bribed with new monster trucks) and is not interested in tinkling any other time during the day. Soooo, I tried a new thing tonight, which he certainly enjoyed, much to the dismay of our neighbors. We went potty about 20 minutes sooner than normal, he got his MnM and then, he got to put on Big Boy Undies!!! Isnt' he so cute in them?!? He ran all over the house, hardly able to contain himself, and the new-found freedom!

Here's Max doing the excited dance with his MnM! What could be better. Then we ran down the sidewalk to go tell baby Corban that he was a big boy, up the stairs to tell Berkleigh and Merrick that he was a big boy (but they stinkin' weren't home), then we saw Kristy and Tom outside, and then Keith, our other neighbor...so now, all of Huntington Beach is in on helping get Max to tinkle on the pot regularly. Don't be alarmed if YOU get the next random visit from a little boy in baseball or Handy Manny BVD's. Soooo cute!!!

There was a Random day from us...hope you enjoyed!

Happy Autumn!

Carving Pumpkins

(ewwww!)
Our friends had a Pumpkin Carving party on Saturday and a bunch of our friends came! It was so fun, and such a good idea: I've never been to a pumpkin carving party before. We had pizza and everyone brought pumpkin treats to share. Tom and Kristy did a really fun job, thanks guys for hosting it, and Ammon and Becky for letting us use your yard! Kristy picked out a very special design, just for Max, and he was so excited to do that one: Lightning McQueen, his hero! We scooped out all the guts, which I thought Max would really enjoy doing, as he likes to squish up his PB and J sandwiches, but to my dismay, no such luck. He had waay more fun playing in the dirt and eating cookies! (thus the face) So, we carved them out, mommy poked the holes for the design, and daddy executed. And he turned out sooo cute. Way better than the usual pumpkins that I've carved in the past!

Everyone's Jack-O-Lantern's turned out sooo good! I especially loved Kevin's on the far right...he made a 3-D guy...actually scary looking! Here's the line-up, AND...

...Here's Lightning! (isn't he fun!?!) I love it!

Happy Autumn!

Got Max?

We came out of Albertson's today and there was a lady just pulling into a parking spot. I saw her license plate and said: "Max, what does her license plate say?" He looked, and when he got closer, he said " Aa- Ex" He skips the Em, but knows that that spells his name...

We ran up and asked if we could get her to take our picture in front of her license plate. She obliged. It was pretty fun!

Pumpkins Gone Wild Table Runner

Yet another check on my list of projects to be done. My mom bought me this cute charm pack, and I made it into a table runner. Unfortunately, I laid the squares out on the dresser at the foot of our bed...and sewed them together a few days later. I cut the main center piece...and then realized that I was missing a row...it had fallen down between the bed and the dresser and could have been lost forever. SO SAD!!! so, I cut the other side to match, and re-sew-ed, but it's just not my best work. I loved the charm pack, so much, so I'm sad I screwed it up. But, it's still cute, and unless you are actually looking for it, I guess you can't so much tell.

Quilt for a Rainy Day

The Ellsworth's had a family reunion this August up in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was so fun to be with everyone, and we always had some sort of activity going on. The one that I came up with was to make a quilt for mom and dad (Mar Mar and Paw Paw) with all of our handprints...kids, spouses and grandkids. So, my mother-in-law who has a gajillion fun patterns had a book with fun things to do with handprints, and since mom and dad live in Seattle, where it's always at least cloudy, we thought it would be fun to make everyone's hands into umbrellas. So...don't know if you can see my quilting on this up-close and personal picture, or not, but this hand is supposed to look like an umbrella...and all the blue spots are our fingerprints for rain. I finally finished it, just have to make a tag that will say..."Bless this Blanket, to keep you from the Weather!"

I hope mom and dad like it...

Mini-Caramel Apples

We invited the twins over to do a craft today post-nap.It didn't turn out as magical as I'd hoped, but it was a fun little activity!

I used my melon baller to get little balls from a few apples. (Ha! I actually have a melon baller...becky!) We dipped them in melted caramels (which were very hard to find, for some reason, but that's another anti-Wal-mart story)...And then dipped them in sprinkles.

So, the caramel didn't stick very well to the parts of the balled-apples that didn't have the skin...lesson learned, next time we'll just melt chocolate chips.

And...after we delivered them to our friends, we realized that the caramel was so hard that it almost pulled out MY teeth...sad! Anyway, don't know how to fix that problem, but, that's why we buy carmeled apples from gourmet shoppes like the North Pole in Big Bear or the Rocky Mountain Whatever Company. but all in all, it was a fun little activity for the little guys and girl. Thanks to Merrick and Berkleigh for playing today! Sorry to those of you that we gave our sweet treats to...you can toss them if you want!! :)

They're cute-ish, right?

Painting his Pumpkin Guy

This is the 'Pumpkin Guy' that Max picked out at the fun pumpkin patch we went to in Yucaipa. He's been eyeing it up on the shelf ever since we got back, begging to hold it, but I saved it for today for his fun project...
During his nap I got out a couple of Halloweenie paints and a couple brushes and started taping newspaper on the table. While I was making dinner for the two of us, Max had a project...
He worked so hard on it, and I could hardly get him to tell me he was done...I was worried that the darn thing would never dry...will it? Anyway, he really enjoyed painting his halloween pumpkin guy...we'll carve one next week for a party and for dinner in a pumpkin, but here is Max's scary finished product. A mixture of bBack, slime Green, Pink and Turquoise. So fun!! The I-am-the-long-one stem is my favorite! Good job, Max!

A Parking Lot

This is Max's favorite thing to do. I'm sure every boy likes to do this...I've seen it before with some of Max's friends, but it's so fun to see Max develop new skills. I remember watching Parker, one of Max's friends play trucks like this and make a huge parking lot, and wondering when Maxer would start doing that. He picked out all of his Monster Trucks out of his truck box, which is loaded with a gazillion cars and trucks, and lined them all up. Monster trucks are his latest and greatest obsession, and even sings a song about them. Unfortunately his daddy is obsessed with them too, and if I ever leave them alone together, I'll for sure come home to find a new one. crazy boys. Anyway, here is one of Max's parking lots!

Fun Weekend at Big Bear

We had such a fun weekend with our friends up at Big Bear. Jeff was out of town, so Max and I flew solo with a bunch of other couples and their kids. Our first stop was at the Pumpkin Patch in Yucaipa. I think it was called Live Oak Canyon Pumpkin Patch...maybe...

(the pumpkin patch)

Anyway, it was a huge pumpkin patch with food, a petting zoo, bounce houses, tractor rides...lots of things. Max got to go in the petting zoo and pet the goats, the sheep and the baby llamas (we like llamas in our family:) He loved it, especially the little baby goats. (Max and some of the goats in the petting zoo)

We were planning on going on the tractor rides which would have been heaven for Maxer, but when we got there, they were closed, so we settle for the giant pumpkin bounce house, and he didn't know the difference. Max also got to pick a cute little pumpkin to paint for an activity this week. It was a cute little patch...hopefully we'll get to go back next year with Jeff. After the patch, we drove to our friend Melody's mom's house, which is nearby, where we had a yummy dinner and hung out with all the girls and the kids. The kids all took a bath together, which was quite a sight! We made it to the cabin up at Big Bear Lake at right about the same time that everyone's husbands got there, we set up shop in the Ward's awesome cabin, and talked for the rest of the night.

Saturday morning, we woke up and went for a walk to the ski resort, which is pretty much just out the back door. Max found huge pine cones which were so fun and lots of rocks. Some of the boys even found a snake that the kids enjoyed seeing. yuck! Max was a good little hiker, just like his Paw Paw, and walked the whole way, holding my hand. (Autie, Becky, Jen, Kristi, Emily and Melody, in the village...we're missing some people!)

When the kids went down for their nap, the moms got to take a trip down to "the village" where we looked at all the cute shops and boutiques and got candy apples. It's such a cute little Park-City-ish down. We were planning on going to the alpine slides before we headed home on Saturday evening, but our trip was cut just a little short with a visit from the ambulance (which was awesome for max, despite the circumstances...)and a 4 hour vacation in the ER because we thought Max had eaten some Tylenol and Pre-natal vitamins. He fortunately didn't eat anything according to his blood levels, but it was scary nevertheless and makes you feel like a crappy mom. I hate that. He was a tough little guy while they were trying, fruitlessly, to draw his blood 4 times. Lightning McQueen band-aids fixed his "pokes" and our friend Emily brought us our favorite dinner to the ER, Taco Bell bean burritos. Hooray!
We had a fun time getting to know our friends a little better and relaxing in a little bit chillier air, and a slight tinge of autumn colors (as close as we'll get to a true fall vacation). Can't wait to go again, minus the ER!
I didn't take my camera all the time, so I will hopefully get some more pictures...

Maxs ABCs

Sorry, again for the blurry video...I don't know how to make videos go from the regular video camera onto the computer...Maybe one day. Until then, I'll use my cell phone, and this is what we get! Here is max singing on the potty. He really knows all of his letters, but the cell phone video only lasts this long. He's been singing the alphabet over and over all day today. So cute!

The Santa Ana Zoo with the other Moussers!

Steve and Becky and the girls came to visit us for their fall break...we are sooo lucky!

Last night we went to Ruby's on the Pier in Huntington, which was so fun, and this morning they took us to the Santa Ana Zoo.

Our favorite part of the zoo was Creans Farm...and the zoo train! woo hoo! Max's first train ride, and he loved every minute. The farm had all the usual farm animals which are always fun to see...includeing the hugest pig ever. Here are Aimee, Julie and Lexi and Max playing in the goose eggs...

Jeff, Autie and Max by the horsey...don't judge (I'm pregnant, not fat)...sad. ha ha

Stay tuned for more adventures!!! So excited that Steve and Becky came our way to play!

Our New Game

Max, Berkleigh and Merrick learned how to play hopscotch today...it was so funny to watch them!

Pumpkin Cookies!

So, I read my friend Dawn's blog and got a way easy recipe. Since I had a lonely 15 oz of pumpkin left in the fridge, I decided Max and I would make some cookies today. So good, but of course we knew they would be: they have pumpkin in them!

Dumping ingredients...

Max Stirring

Max tasting...

And after all that tasting, Milk was a must!

Now This is More Like It!

October 9, 2008

No...don't be fooled, this was not an accidental picture of nothing. I felt inspired to take a picture of a much-welcomed cloudy sky...It was my favorite thing today! It's been hot...not AZ hot, but hot. I'm sooooo glad to not be in Arizona anymore for the sheer fact that I no longer have to deal with the too hot outside, and the too cold inside. Woo hoo! But, nevertheless, it's been 80, or 85, for the last little while here, and I guess it's the fact that we don't have AC, but it's been hot. Anyways, soooo today was a fabulous day! I'm grateful for a cloudy sky, sweatshirts, having to put a blanket over my legs while I was sitting outside, and for Max asking me to put a sweatshirt on him while he was playing. These are words I've never heard him say before! ha.
We had such a fun day for no reason at all. We started out with a walk down at the beach with 3 of our friends. We hit JoAnn's for some last minute supplies, then after lunch, Max took his nap-a-roo and mommy sewed and chatted with some friends that live across from us. After Max's nap, we watched a fun little movie, and played outside in the overcast-ness with Berkleigh and Merrick, Max's two new friends and Kristy, Jen and Kim, Mommy's new friends, until an amazing dinner of Chicken Parmesan was delivered to our door in lieu of our newly established dinner co-op. Angels sang as we ate, because it was soooo good, more playing outside, a trip to the Grocery store because they were having a dang good sale, home to read books, take a tubby(we miss you, Rylee) AND now, as Max is now sleeping in his bed, I am slowly sipping on the long-awaited nice cup of Hazelnut Hot Chocolate. Happy Autumn!
I hope everyone's day was as good as mine, for absolutely no reason.

New Purse

I finally finished my new Autumn Purse...Had to hang up my favorite purse for the season, because it was just a little too springy/summery for this fabulous time of year. So, I finally finished her, and her inner pockets are my favorite thing. Hooray for projects being checked off your list. Next items on the agenda are finish quilting my mom and dad's Umbrella Quilt to keep them from the weather up in Seattle and my Pumpkins Gone Wild Table runner, their both coming along famously. Get excited for Pictures that are sure to follow! Happy Autumn!

Batting Practice

Max is getting to be quite the little slugger. He must get his mad baseball skills from me. (autie, ha ha). Anyways, sorry this if from my cell phone, but I thought it was pretty fun...max likes to watch it. Watch out MLB, here I come!!!

Pumpkin Pancakes

I found this recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes on the internet. They were soooo good, I thought I'd share. We made them for the first day of Autumn. woo hoo!

Ingredients:

2 Cups all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp Brown Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Ground Allspice

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ground Ginger

1/2 tsp Salt

1 1/2 Cups Milk

1 Cup Pumpkin Puree

1 Egg

2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

2 Tbsp Vinegar

Directions:

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

I made these into waffles, and it worked out great, too... They smell so amazing when their cooking and have just the right amount of sweet to make them perfect. I love this time of year!

Allan Jophes... hee hee

This is a picture that's hanging above my kitchen table... It's my dad eating corn flakes. Isn't he cute!?!

Today is my dad's birthday, and I just wanted to make sure that he knows what a great dad he is. I look up to him in so many ways, and I'm so grateful to have him as my dad. Happy Birthday, Dad, I love you!

I wish we could be with you to celebrate!!!

Finished Projects

We've been project-ing! I finished the curtains I wanted to make for Max's room, and jeff hung up the curtain rod...I think they look so cute, and it's waaaay darker at naptime which is fabulous! And...I have this addiction with Halloween, so here's the latest Halloween decoration. My wreath of death. So fun! Don't be alarmed, it's closer than you think!