PJ Bliss

Here is my darling girl at Mere Mere and Pere Pere's house on Christmas night.  She loved her new pjs.

New Year

We had a quiet New Year's Eve at home and the next day picked our Patron Saints for the year:

John:  St. John of Parma
Jenny: St. Cecilia
Cherub-St. John of Damascus
Thumbelina-St. Bernadine of Siena
G-Force-St. Patrick

We look forward to a bright year and wish you all a very happy 2012.

Pruning

Because I have not posted anything this month and because I probably will not do much blogging this month, I'm grateful to have come across this blog post today which rings so true for me. 

Mary, make my heart like yours---capable of loving.

Quote of the Day

This morning, I was teasing Cherub before we left for work/childcare and said that he looked like a ragamuffin.  In fact, he looked nothing like a ragamuffin--more like a fashionable hiker in a hoodie and vest.  And with his hair pulled back in a ponytail, he looked like the toddler version of this guy:

So when we got to school, he said, "Mommy, you know what I look like? A regular muffin!"  And then hopped out of the mini-van, "White Lightning."

Defeated

This year I was ousted as Pumpkin Champ. :(  My first mistake was letting John see my technique for guessing the weight of the pumpkin. My strategy was to have Cherub and Thumbelina sit like pumpkins and then pick them up which they thoroughly enjoyed.  The second mistake was not going with my gut instinct guess of 37.5 pounds, Cherub's weight.  John guessed 36.5 and I guessed 33.   The pumpkin weighs 38 pounds.

The victor was overjoyed as you can see from the photos.  I will rally again!!!!!
We've been making pumpkin spiced lattes using this recipe and saving lots of money from it.

Falling

Although we got gypped out of a summer here save for the last couple of weeks of August, I can't help being excited about Autumn.  The thought of cool evenings and changing leaves, piles of pumpkins and baking pumpkin bread and soup gets me in the mood for this fun season.  I've been thinking about Halloween costumes for the kids.  We don't dress the kids in witch, ghoulish or scary costumes, but there is a VERY cute witch costume that would be darling on Thumbelina, because, well sometimes, she's a bit of a witch.  Hey, I am, too, so I can't judge her harshly.

During this season, John and I compete for Pumpkin Guesser of the Weight Champ.  The prizes are a coffee of the winner's choice paid by the loser competitor and bragging rights.  Last year's champ was a charming and delightful (and humble) person, if I do say so myself.

So, it's time to push the '66 Valiant out of the garage so that I can climb into the attic and get out the fall decor. It's time to buy some pumpkins and make this delicious soup. It's time to post some photos and recipes on the new blog.  Since I'm the only sister in the Northern Hemisphere, I'll be posting autumn dishes, while Mary and Kate will most likely post summer dishes. Or maybe not. We haven't posted anything yet.  Either way, I hope you'll join us over there and send us your own favorite fall recipes.  We'll post them!

Photo taken at one of my favorite stores near work.  

Wordless Wednesday

Hoh Rain Forest and Ruby Beach