Mom Chatter

The Boy's photography

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:25:00 +0000

The boy has taken a liking to taking pictures. I think Santa (or someone) will be bringing him a camera this Christmas. He's been using my camera up to this point, but I think he'd be happy to have his own to tinker with whenever and wherever!! Here's a sampling of his recent photo shoots...

Some of his favorite shots are... self portraits (I have a million or so of those), extreme close-ups (of anything and everything), BIG trees, and then on occasion his family!!

Day at the park...

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:11:00 +0000

There's NOTHING like a walk in the park on a BEAUTIFUL fall day!! So, that's what we did today. We took a hike along a river trail and enjoyed some of natures bounty...

The kiddos enjoyed the river view from their perch on the fence...Running... had to tire them out for the day!!
Love the vines... looks like a jungle!!
I swear it looks like there is a face in this tree (think profile)...
The kiddos saw it and made their own silly faces!! :)
Finding a pile of leaves...
always turns into a leaf fight!!! :)If you're near water, you've got to throw rocks...
...and Mr. Wonderful had to show off his rock skippin' skills!!
Balancing on the Osage Oranges...
There were PLENTY to choose from!! This looks a little like a pumpkin field...
...and part of the reason to take the hike was a "Family Turkey Project" The Boy had to do for kindergarten. Using some of the bounty we found on the hike and some items found in the craft cabinet, this is what we created together! A pretty good looking turkey...

AND in case you're wondering... YES, it's been about a year since my last blog post... and I've been missing it! I'm working on coming back. It's starting to seem that this is the easiest way to chronicle the lives of my sweet kiddos and just to show that I DO do something from day to day. I've also decided to come back to my "blogger" blog... I learned how to blog on this site, might as well stick with it!!

Thursday Night... TV Night!

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:59:00 +0000

For some reason, I can't seem to avoid watching TV on Thursday nights. For a little while I was using Thursday night as my night out (a bookstore, coffee/dinner out with friends, shopping, etc.), but I've reverted back to my old ways. Ever since the Friends/ER combo I got hooked on way back in the college years, I just can't stop watching. I don't watch ER anymore... I know it's still on, but it got old a LONG time ago. Friends will always hold a special place in my heart... I got through college and the early post-college years watching it. I always watched with my own friends... and post-college when my friends had spread out around the country I still watched it with some of them via phone (I so miss those talks... relaxed, fun, and continued to help me feel connected to my best buds despite the miles between us... it was good to feel like we were still together). Thursday night TV has always been an "I've almost made it to the weekend" celebration. A time to chill and enjoy friends...

Now, as the lineup has moved on (well, except for ER), so have I. I still watch to chill and have a few smiles, but my shows have changed. I now watch Survivor and Grey's Anatomy (I could be happy watching most of the offerings--Ugly Betty, Kitchen Nightmares, My Name is Earl, The Office--but I've settled on these two shows for now). They help keep me connected with my younger, more carefree years. Unfortunately, I don't watch with my buddies anymore (well, Mr. Wonderful will watch with me on occasion... but that's not the same as watching with girlfriends), but there's not a Thursday night that goes by that I don't think of the Thursday nights gone by. And that makes me smile...

So, to all my former Thursday night TV buddies... thanks for the smiles! I'm still watching with you...

The New "Ring A Round the Rosie"

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:48:00 +0000

After our nightly toy clean-up (I admit to cleaning toys up only once a day... keeps me happy... keeps me sane), The Kids always take a few laps around the house. I think they just enjoy having a clean room to romp in every night... all that space they forgot they had. The last few nights, The Girl has taken to running in circles in the living room singing "Ring around the ring... Ring around the ring... ring around the ring..." She could power a small city with this new nightly activity! I love how she's starting to sing nursery songs... this one is especially cute 'cause she's singing like me... just make it up as you go. Sing to the tune, but change the words! She doesn't exactly do it on purpose, but I think it's GREAT! AND, she's definitely got the "Ring Around the..." part of the action down! Now we just have to work on the rest of the song/actions! I think she'll LOVE the falling down part, too. :)

The Weekend Review

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:50:00 +0000

Saturday I was away from the computer all day... I was away from the house all day... I was away from The Kids all day! It was a good day. I took an eight hour environmental class. It was a good break from the regular life and I learned some fun ways to help my kids and other kids connect more with nature and the outdoors. I hate to admit, but I think it's the LONGEST I've ever been away from The Kids since they came along. Guess you could say I really need to get out more!!

Sunday I took The Boy out for a hike (more outdoor time... all around great weekend). I had tried to get The Kids out for a short hike on Friday, but The Girl was refusing to play along. I made a promise to The Boy that just he and I would get out for a nice hike... and on Sunday he collected in on that promise.

It was a beautiful day. We brought the camera along and just wandered the trails for a good hour to hour and a half. I thought I'd post The Boy's pictures from the hike. He's been using my camera more and more lately. I think Santa will be bringing him a camera of his own for Christmas. I think he's got a good eye... some of his pictures come out a bit blurry, but I think it only adds to the creativity he is beginning to show!

This is a hole he found in the trail.

Some vine branches The Boy found cool and twisty. I think this is his best picture of the day!

A fox hole we visit pretty often while hiking at this particular park... The Kids are hoping to see a fox in it one day. I think that's why they keep requesting to see it again and again!

These pictures totally remind me of the Skeksis in the movie "The Dark Crystal." He took three pictures of the same thing... it almost appears as if the "thing" is moving in his pictures.

And... this is what those pictures really are! A fallen tree.

The park we visited on Sunday was FULL of mushrooms. He were a couple shelf mushrooms The Boy took a liking to.

It was the longest hike I've been on with The Boy and I realize now that we'll have to do it more regularly... he loved it, I loved it... and it made us both smile! I'm happy to know that he's old enough for longer hikes now... the outdoors have always been a happy place for me!

Homemade Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:21:00 +0000

Tonight was pizza night at out house...

YUM!!

I've been making my own pizza for quite sometime... so much better than both frozen and delivery. So, I do look forward to every Friday night that is pizza night... which is almost EVERY Friday night. I have to admit that I was looking forward to this pizza night more so than other pizza nights. Why? Well, last week I had put the dough ingredients in the breadmaker just in a nick of time. The pizza might be a hair late, but it would be done in time for dinner. Just before Mr. Wonderful got home... the bread machine gave me the signal that the dough was ready and the pizza could now be assembled. I open up the breadmaker to grab the dough... AND it's not done. It hadn't even really started. The flour at the bottom was a gooey mess, but the stuff at top, including the yeast and spices, hadn't even budged. WHAT?! I so was not in the mood for that type of disappointment... on a FRIDAY... during the witching hour. It turns out, I forgot to put the paddle in the machine. UGH! I've never done that before. This didn't make me smile last week, but today... now that I've had the yummy pizza I was supposed to have last week... it seems hilarious! (Oh... it turned out alright last week... once Mr. Wonderful got home, I dragged everyone to a local pizza place... The Kids got their pizza, Mr. Wonderful got a hoagie that he LOVES, and I got my gyro that I'd been craving!)

Just in case... here's the recipes for the pizzas I make...

Exquisite Pizza Sauce - I follow this recipe to a T. It is EXQUISITE and cheap!! I do omit the anchovy paste and double the recipe and divide it into four... seems to be the perfect amount for four pizzas. I use one and freeze the other three for the remainder of the month.

Amazing Whole Wheat Pizza Crust -For this recipe, I use 1 teaspoon of honey instead of 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 1/4 cup water instead of 1 1/2 cup, 3 1/4 cup whole wheat flour instead of 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, and I add about 1 tablespoon of basil and 1/2 tablespoon of oregano. I put all ingredients in the breadmaker, set the machine for dough, and 1 1/2 hours later I have enough dough for three pizzas (we like a thinner crust). I use one and freeze the other two for later.

Mmmm... GOOD!!! :)

Yellow Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:28:00 +0000

I've always been drawn to the color yellow. Yellow flowers make me especially happy. This week I've been pleasantly happy with a pot of flowers that Mr. Wonderful gave me for my birthday (back in March). I must admit, early this summer I thought they were goners... still green, but just growing up, up, and away... with no flowers. I didn't re-pot them right away and I'm afraid by the time I got to it... they seemed a bit sickly. I've held on to the hope thought that they would survive. And now...

The flowers are blooming. Not the prettiest plant from afar, but from close-up they are quite beautiful!

There's a very lite rain outside today that definitely add to the beauty of these flowers! (Raindrops on flower petals, grass, leaves, etc. are always a nice site.)

I'm not a gardener. I have the potential to be one, but so far just experimenting (maybe once we move to our OWN house I'll become more of a gardener in my OWN yard). I'm not totally positive on identification of flowers either, but I'm pretty sure that these are Yellow Daisies. Lovely.

While on the topic of yellow flowers, I might as well share these Marigolds that a Sister-in-Law got me for Mother's Day this year.

I've been pretty proud that I haven't killed these things yet... good thing they are hardy flowers! And so pretty!

Lovin' the yellow...

Fall Colors

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:42:00 +0000

Fall has always made me happy. I'd say it's my favorite season. Spring has made a run on the top spot recently (the colors of spring here in the East are much more vibrant than anything I ever saw in the Midwest), but I think fall is holding it's position. I LOVE the colors... so soothing, so pretty. Here are some pictures I've taken on recent outings...

Funny Websites...

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:57:00 +0000

I escaped life for a little while today... and just surfed the web. Here's a few of the sites that tickled my funny bone...

Computer error message

A twist on madlibs

Disney meets Desperate Housewives

The Bailout Plan

A Halloween Story

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:11:00 +0000

The Boy pulled off the Wall-E costume for his night out trick-or-treating... except for one or two incidents. Here's the costume again... just as a reminder of what we're dealing with here...

So, a couple times The Boy got so excited and ran to a house to get "more candy." Twice in his excitement he missed a stair or a small branch that was in his path. I'd hate to say this (makes me feel like an AWFUL parent), but he tripped. Now imagine him, in the above costume, face down with arms and legs flailing. "I can't get up!" Arms and legs flailing more... until Mama or Mr. Wonderful saved the day by lifting him back up. He so looked like a bug/turtle flipped over on it's back trying to flip back over right side up... or like that poor younger brother on "A Christmas Story." Mr. Wonderful and I were dying laughing... and trying so hard not to let him see us.

(NOTE: He was not harmed either time he toppled down... in fact he even mentioned that "my costume makes it so falling doesn't hurt." How's that for a super homemade, forcefield costume!!)

Bathtime Ritual

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:01:00 +0000

Mr. Wonderful does bathtime for The Kids in our house... in of itself... that really helps my sanity! One less thing for me to have to worry about getting done. Anyway, lately on bath nights The Girl has been lingering with Mama until the bath water has stopped filling the tub. During this time, she says "Bye" to me, blows me a kiss, says "I wuvou," and runs to the stairs. It would be cute if it stopped there, but she runs back and repeats the whole thing... about six or seven times... sometimes throwing in a hug. I must say... she is in a SUPER whiny stage right now (I'm hoping it's a stage)... but I can't help but melt like putty for her every time she does this little ritual. I forget all the crying and just enjoy her sweetness!

Happy Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:24:00 +0000

Happy Halloween!

Here's some of the Halloween crafts/gifts that we've done/gotten for Halloween. We got some beautiful "Mr. Potato Head" pumpkins (squashes) that we did at a playdate today, some salt dough figures (ghosts and pumpkin patch) that we did earlier this week, and even some crazy hair pumpkins that The Kids got from a friend! I say we got a pretty good lot of decorations for the year... and you can't forget our big pumpkin.

I wasn't able to wrestle The Girl into her Elmo costume this afternoon, so I have no pictures of her yet. I did get The Boy into his Wall-E costume though... he could live in that thing! He's in so much love, which makes me so happy since I made his costume this year (my first homemade costume)! I feel slightly talented and he has given me TONS of appreciation... something that isn't always given freely! I'm quite happy with the results...

...I'll leave this post with a picture of The Boy with the Chick-fil-A cow... gotta love Chick-fil-A!!

AND... gotta love Halloween... hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Halloween!!

The Sweetest Little Wall-Es

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:28:00 +0000

The Boy is dressing up as Wall-E this Halloween. We're making his costume (I'll have a picture up here tomorrow... still adding the finishing touches), but we did purchase Wall-E party masks to use for his eyes. Yesterday I was working on adding Wall-E's treds... and while I did that I let The Kids each try on a mask (why not, I have 8!). They were just the cutest lil' things... and they cuddled for me... always puts a smile on my face when they are getting along... the masks just made it extra sweet!

My 2 Year Old on the Elections...

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:09:00 +0000

[audio http://sites.google.com/site/momchatterstuff/Home/mcmama.mp3?attredirects=0]

I've never tried to do a sound file on my blog entries before, but I think I found a way for it to work. If I did get it to work, then here is a recording of The Girl telling me the candidates' names (ok, so she's repeating them after me) and who she is going to vote for (IF she could vote). She's two, so, if you asked her tomorrow she'd say she wanted "John John Tain" or even Elmo. I enjoy hearing her say both "John John Tain" and "A Rock Bo Mama." I can't help but smile everytime she repeats it after she hears it on the news or Mr. Wonderful and I talking about them. Makes all those election commercials a little easier to take!

More on Pumpkins...

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:37:00 +0000

The Boy got to carve his own pumpkin today!! (You can too by visiting this site.) He was so happy and wants to do it again and again. I was happy to let him... seeing him get creative always brings on the smiles.

I'm back, but I've changed...

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:55:00 +0000

So, after a L-O-N-G break... I've decided that I do still want to blog, but I need a change. I've started blogging again. I've changed blogging platforms (I'm now over on Wordpress) and my blog theme. I'm now blogging here about my daily smile inducers. I'm going to try to blog daily, but not going to kick myself if I miss a day, a week, or even a month here and there. This new blog is pretty empty right now, but I do have a handful of posts already. I'm still fiddling with the new place... settling in. Anyway, if you're still coming here... go check me out there instead! This blog will not be updated any longer... it just stopped working for me. Hope you visit!

Surprise Visitor

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:51:00 +0000

This afternoon while walking by the front door, I saw this...

Umm... not sure where this praying mantis came from OR how it got in our house. Not really one of the normal bug visitors we sometimes get (ants, spiders, flies, etc.). The praying mantis was laying just inside the door by a box of stuff I'm working on getting rid of. She probably got in while the door was open during playtime. As you can see in the picture, she didn't look too good either. The Kids like to see bugs (in or out of the house), so I brought them over to see before scooping her up for the garbage. I thought she was dead, BUT...

She moved! The Kids were VERY excited. The Kids and I have looked at praying mantis quite a few times during the last few years... they seem to be EVERYWHERE around our house... not a bad thing 'cause they look cool and they prey on other insects helping to keep the bug population down outside the door. This visitor had to be saved... no killing this interesting bug (I'm not so into saving ants and spiders... even though I know I should). So, we coaxed her onto a paper towel and brought her outside. She didn't want to move to our whims though... it took some coaxing. We did get her outside and onto a bush... more coaxing.

I didn't realize this last picture would be so blurry, but when I went back out to try to get another, less blurry picture we couldn't find the praying mantis. It's a bit chilly outside, so she probably headed immediately for warmer surroundings. Let's hope she fares well out there and... even though it made for an interesting afternoon activity... stays out there!!

Literal Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 21:08:00 +0000

Tonight at dinner we got a call from an unknown number (I LOVE caller id). I made a comment to Mr. Wonderful stating that in the coming week or two the phone calls would go "through the roof" because of the upcoming elections.

The Boy heard this and looked up at the ceiling and replied "I don't see any holes in the roof."

Gotta love how literal kids are... :)

Pumpkin Time

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 22:03:00 +0000

Today we carved our pumpkin. Our pumpkin was picked out a couple weeks ago during an apple picking excursion (they had a pumpkin patch, too).

It's been awhile since we last carved a pumpkin. Last time Mr. Wonderful and I did it, we had a kit (Mr. Wonderful bought it for me as a very sweet present). I didn't want to buy a kit this year... but where do you start? Since I wasn't totally sure where to start, I jumped on the amazing web and found templates and instructions on how to make it an easy and fun activity for the whole family. The Boy picked out our template. He VERY excitedly chose the "scary" Blockhead template. After Mr. Wonderful cut the top off, The Kids helped scoop out the innards.

Once that was done, I "stenciled" our Blockhead template and Mr. Wonderful cut the pieces out. Ta da... our pumpkin.

Once the candle was lit, The Girl broke out into song... "Happy Diaper to you, Happy Diaper to you..."

The Kids LOVE it! I LOVED seeing their reactions during the whole process!

...AND I love the pumpkin seeds we roasted afterward! Made the house smell YUMMY and gave our bellies a nice little treat.

Wonderful activity for the day! Already looking forward to the next pumpkin!!

Natural Curiosity

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:45:00 +0000

Letting children explore their surroundings is always a wonderful activity. One that always brings me a couple smiles. It's amazing what they are drawn to... curious about everything...

Gives New Meaning to Play with Your Food...

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:31:00 +0000

My kids play with their food. This does not always make me smile, but now after seeing this, I need to just remember to grin... they might become great food artists one day! It's always good to find reasons to smile at things that usually drive you mad.

Pop Goes the Butterfly

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:53:00 +0000

I Stumbled across a site recently that showed how to create your own pop-ups. This sounded like a fun thing to do with the kids, so I printed out the butterfly and set it aside for another day. Today we finally put it all together...

The kids colored, I glued, and we are all now enjoying our own little pop-up butterfly! We will definitely be doing more in the near future!!

First Bowl of the Season

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:45:00 +0000

Today I made my first batch of chili. There's nothing like that first bowl...

MMMM-mmmmm!! I'm a chili girl through and through, BUT I only like it during the cold days. Today was perfect for the first bowl (and second), 'cause we also had our first frost. I'm definitely ready for the colder days now and more of this YUMMY comfort food!!

Weekend Smiles

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 08:44:00 +0000

Pure joy! The Boy did a BIG bounce this weekend. I must admit I thought he was going to chicken out... he is afterall only 4. He did it though. Waited in line for a LONG time (a monumental task for a four year old), got hooked up, and then bounced. Definitely pure joy... so worth the wait!!

The Girl enjoyed herself in the hay maze! At first I didn't think she liked it, but once she fell in the hay (on accident), she was hooked. She really got into walking on top of the hay bales. "I do it" was all I heard whenever I asked if she needed help getting from bale to bale. AND she kept falling on purpose and cackling with joy!

...To top the weekend off, my Mr. Wonderful gave me some flowers and chocolate for our anniversary! Never fails to bring a smile...

OH... must also mention we actually got to go out for an Anniversary dinner sans kids! VERY exciting since that doesn't happen very often... I'm so VERY grateful to my friend who made it possible!!

Bargains & Vegetables

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:10:00 +0000

A grocery store near us is having a double/triple coupon sale this weekend. I figured it was worth a little extra effort to run out to get an ad (usually don't get one until Sunday)... I hate looking at ads on the computer when I'm searching for multiple items. Anyway, before leaving I did clip a couple coupons for a "special" lunch bribe. I ended up getting pizza rolls, pudding, and canned soup. A bargain lunch for 2.84 for the three of us!! So, that made me smile since I was getting a little shopping done (I did get a few other needed items) and they got a cheap, "special" lunch.

My BONUS smile came when The Boy (my darling little 4 year old) actually ATE the soup. It was Italian Wedding soup by Campbell's. I figured he'd like the sausage and pasta bits, but was totally surprised when he began referring to the spinach as "yummy green stuff." He has an aversion to all green foods, so I was completely surprised by this change of opinion!