Halloween - Looking Back...

Oct 2003 - Georgia's first halloween - a hydrangea.


Oct 2004 - Georgia's second halloween - Tinkerbelle.


Oct 2005 - Georgia's third halloween - a Ballerina.

Oct 2006 - Georgia's fourth halloween - Little Bo Peep.
Olivia's first halloween - a Sheep.


Oct 2007 - Georgia's fifth halloween. Olivia's second halloween, Sophia's first halloween - the three little pigs!

Pumpkin Patch

We have been to the pumpkin patch! We took the girls on Friday afternoon. They had such a good time! It was a beautiful day, sunny, but not too warm, with the high at about 65 degrees. The girls played, dug in the sand mountain, went on a hayride, and went down the slides over and over again. Even Chris got in on the fun!



Whoops!

Another Youtube find...

I got this one from Marcia and Lori. Pretty good!

What's Cooking...

I have made a couple of yummy recipes this week and I thought I would share them with you!

Broccoli-Sausage Pasta

2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 large onion, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
8 oz white mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 c half and half

1. heat oil in large pot. Add onions and cook 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, sausage and mushrooms; cook 10 more minutes, stirring ocasionally.
2. Add wine; cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes, paste, salt, oregano, nutmeg, pepper. Bring to boil. Lower heat to low and cook, covered, for 25 minutes, stirring ocasionally. Add broccoli during the last 5 minutes.
3. Add in half and half and simmer, covered, for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Serve over pasta and sprinkle with parmesan.

Brie and Caramelized Onion Stuffed Chicken Breasts

1 tsp olive oil, divided
1 1/2 c sliced onion
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2/3 c dry white wine, divided
2 ounces Brie or Camembert cheese, rind removed and cut into small pieces (about 2 Tbsp)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
4 (4oz) skinned, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tbsp minced onion
1 tbsp chopped fresh or 3/4 tsp dried sage
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (10 1/2 oz) can low salt chicken broth

1. heat 1/2 tsp oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onion, saute 30 minutes or until golden brown. Add sliced garlic; saute 5 minutes. Stir in 1/3 c wine; cook minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Spoon onion mixture into a bowl; let cool. Stir in brie, salt and pepper.
2. Cut a horizontal slit through the thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff about 1 1/2 tbsp of the onion mixture into each pocket.
3. heat 1/2 tsp oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken; saute 6 minutes on each side or until chicken is doen. Remove chicken from skillet. Set aside; keep warm.
4. Add 1/3 c wine, minced onion, sage, and minced garlic to skillet. Cook over medium high heat for 2 minutes. Stir in broth. Bring to a boil, and cook 7 minutes or until reduced to 3/4 c. Return chicken to skillet; cover and simmer 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve sauce with chicken.

Something fun to check out!

Visit this blog and comment so we can both win!

Food doesn't have to be boring!

You know me - I love to do little fun things to jazz up food for the girls.
Recently, we made a couple of cute critters.
Ladybugs!

G was pretty tickled to open her lunchbox at school and find this surprise for snacktime.
To make:
2 ritz crackers
smidgen of cream cheese
licorice
gel icing
- spread some cream cheese on one side of one cracker. Carefully cut the other cracker in half. Cut small pieces of the licorice for antenna and place those in the cream cheese. Position the cut cracker on top at an angle to form wings. Pipe 3 small dots of gel icing on the dimples on each cracker wing.

Kitty Cat Pancakes!

Daddy makes pancakes or waffles with the girls for breakfast each weekend. G had seen a picture of a kitty cat face on a pancake in her new magazine, so we created one like it using some strawberries, grapes, bananas, apple, and coconut.

Wow, what a week... Wait, it's only Wednesday!

I am soooo tired right now. It feels like a really long week, and it is only Wednesday!
Georgia started ballet classes this week. They will be every Tuesday. Olivia started mommy&me tumbling, which will meet every Wednesday morning. Georgia also has soccer every Wednesday evening. At her age, she is only learning how to play soccer and it only lasts for 6 weeks, thankfully! We were thinking of taking the girls on a family outing one afternoon this week, to a pumpkin patch, but we are now not sure if we will be able to do it. We will probably have to re-schedule for next week. Sadly, the cupboards are bare, so we have to do a big commissary grocery shopping trip. We generally go every other week.
We have our very good friends, the Kucabas, visiting this weekend with their two kids, and are really looking forward to that. I am sure I will have lots of adventures to report about next week! And, Georgia has a birthday party this weekend!
Wow! I am tired just typing about all of it!
Part of why I am so tired is because I am not sleeping that well. It must be a phase of the moon or something. I spent an hour reading in the middle of the night. At least I have a good book to read!

I believe

This is a nice little email I got today...

I believe
that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe
that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in awhile and you must forgive them for that.

I believe
that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I believe
that it is taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe
that you should always leave loved ones with kind words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe
that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe
that sometimes when I am angry, I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe
that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe
that no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe
that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I believe
that life is more precious than money will ever be able to be.

Thanks Maggie for sending me this!