Sweet Treats

We had a fun evening hitting everyone up for sweet treats!

The Lion was unaware he wouldn't be enjoying his...

Dorothy zipped around to houses so much that her ruby slippers gave her a blister!

Grandparents always have the good stuff!
We joined up with friends to hit the neighborhood!
Then passing out candy was just as fun as getting it!
She waited by the door for an hour giving it out!

Off to see the Wizard!

Dorothy and the Lion headed to the fall festival last night! Thankfully the weather cooled down and Jay did great in his costume!

The train ride was a fave for both...
Kirkley buzzed around playing all of the games.
Chicken soup was her favorite which totally grossed me out.
It was a huge pot of water, onion, etc. that she threw a wet, slimy rubber chicken into!

Jay did great as a spectator!

We ran into lots of sweet friends!
Red Riding Hood is her precious friend Margie Grace from her preschool class.
They are so cute together and so excited when they run into each other!

It was a long night for the Lion!

Kirkley also informed Alex as he tried to snag her Whoppers that she "trick or treated for that candy!" Don't think she's sharing! :) Better pick him up some treats!

this one's for the fam!

This is a post just for the fam! The kids have received a zillion cards, fun packages, etc. this week! Kirkley loves checking the mail to see if she's gotten anything. A card for her is well spent $! She loves opening them to see who they are from!

The pumpkin patch pumkin that she kisses goodnight...

Has been replaced with this hilarious one that she made at school...

Joined by all of the cards they've gotten this week from the fam!Many thanks for all of the fun treats this week!

Costume Parade

Kirkley's class had a costume parade this morning to show off their cute cute outfits! They all looked adorable. Toto has been the favorite part of her costume -- she gripped him closely the whole parade!

K looked like she'd waited all of her life to do big pageant waves! She was sooo excited to see her brother and wave to him!
He even looks distracted from his Cheerio eating and excited to see her too like we didn't just drop her off 15 minutes earlier -- long lost friends! A stark contrast to what's been going on at home a lot of the time with Jay cruising all around and getting his hands on her stuff! I'm glad to see sweet moments like this one!!!

Fall Fun!

This is officially one of our favorite weeks of the year with so many fun family, kid-friendly events in our community! We kicked the week off with a tradition started by my mom and grandmother -- cut out cookies for Kirkley's class!Kirkley and I made pumpkin cookies a few Fridays ago and tucked them away in the freezer. This has turned out to be my very favorite recipe -- the chocolate version is great too! The class did great getting their cookie and spreading their dollop of icing. Much less chaotic than I expected a room full of 3 year olds to be with cookies and frosting! My mom and grandmother always made cut out Christmas trees for my class every year at Christmas -- on into high school I remember sharing with friends!

Then I loaded up Dorothy and the Lion to go to the Puppy Dog Parade. The Lion still needs some convincing --he's much more interested in cheerios than a headpiece! Looking forward to cooler weather this week when he can sport the whole outfit!

Dorothy on the other hand, is loving her outfit and loved petting and seeing puppy dogs everywhere!

Muffin Morning

Fridays have become our lazy, stay in pjs morning and also a great day to do a fun breakfast. This is a recipe that a mom friend did for all of her daughter's CBS teachers (with a precious pic and note attached) -- I was an excited recipient! I thought they were a great idea, and you may enjoy whipping these up for your children's preschool, Sunday school, etc. teachers! They make a ton!

Double Decker Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
*makes 48 muffins

For pumpkin batter:
1 regular size can of pure pumpkin
1 box spice cake mix
4 eggs
1/4 c water
1/2 c canola oil
2/3 c sugar OR small box jello pumpkin pudding mix

For dark chocolate batter:
1 box dark chocolate or devil's food cake mix
all of the ingredients on the box to make the cake (oil, water, eggs)
1 c chocolate chips

- Preheat oven to 350.
- Prepare 48 muffin cups with liners or Pam with flour.
- Mix all pumpkin batter ingredients together in a large bowl. Beat on low 1 min and on medium 2 min.
- Mix all dark chocolate batter ingredients from box directions together in another large bowl. Beat on low 1 min and on medium 2 min. Add chocolate chips right at the end to the chocolate batter.
- Fill muffin cups 1/3 with pumpkin batter then top with another 1/3 of the dark chocolate batter.
- Bake around 20 minutes until you can touch them and they spring back.
- Cool 5-10 min in the pans.
- Remove from pans and cool completely.
* These will not freeze -- chocolate chips will get hard!

I want to make these except for the fact that they look like they'll take forever to do: Pumpkin Creme Pies. Sticking with the muffins for now! :)

Pumpkin Patch

What a perfect pumpkin patch pic this would be -- just imagine that Jay doesn't have goldfish and animal crackers in his mouth at once...

gone fishin

We've taken it easy this weekend and enjoyed some family time! Like our totally staged gone fishin picture?? :)

Alex and Kirkley took a trip to get some crickets...

She appeared fearless and set to go!

And no, it's not really cold enough here for a fleece jacket, but she's in love with it!

Her fishing skills have improved, and she reeled her own fish in!

But then was squeamish about touching it!

Then I unexpectedly went fishing for my lens cap that got knocked off helping her cast!
I appreciate my man capturing this moment forever...

10 months

Little man has come into his own in his tenth month! Here are some of his favorite activities....

Crawling everywhere -- he finally got off of the ground, but he still army crawls half the time!

Despite this increased activity level, his chunky thighs remain unaffected,
much to my delight and strangers that ask for a squeeze!

He's cruising everywhere -- cautious but determined!
We'd taught Kirkley to keep everything out of his reach on top of tables, but now nothing is safe...
We attempted to collect things last year for Christmas that would last him till this December
when his birthday/Christmas rolls around again. It's been fun pulling these bigger toys out.
Of course, true to all children, the box was just as fun when we got out this riding toy.
See his smile underneath!

I'd love tips from moms of boys for this birthday/Christmas of what he'd love from ages 12-24 months!

He's a total sport about being in the stroller 99% of our time outside of the house.
I'm starting to get teased about it, but I love it.
It's my biggest tip for moms with more than one:
load it down with everything you'll need and don't try to carry
your stuff + 26lb baby + diaper bag + another toddler in hand! :)He's started hanging off of the side and staring at the wheels while he rides.

And no ride is complete without his new favorite snack:Note the red mark on his finger from when he bit it earlier today snacking and totally broke his heart!


And as of now, he's the easiest child to get to smile for the camera!

Mimi's 90th

A few more pics from Mimi's 90th! Kirkley sang her happy birthday at least ninety times while we were there. She was beside herself when it was officially time to sing!The kids got loved and doted on the whole party...
Pics coming soon from our second trip to Texas for another sweet family celebration!

swingin siblings

first of October

loving the fall weather around here...
it finally feels like summer is starting to move on.
this is a sure sign that fall has arrived in our home:

kirkley asked last week if we could start making pumpkin muffins.
these are a staple in our family from September to December.
i give my mom a hard time for making them year round,
but they are totally good enough to enjoy all year!

jay got his first taste this morning.
he finally started feeding himself this week!
these are a must try for your family!
i have a full fat/cal version, but here is the version we eat on a regular basis.
i freeze them and pull two out every night for her breakfast the next day.
another time saver: when making them, get out several quart size ziploc bags
and put up sets of the dry ingredients in your freezer.
then it will be much faster next time you make them.

select just the recipe, go to print, and hit print selection so you don't print my whole blog :)

Light Pumpkin Bread

1/3 c canola oil

1/2 c milk (skim, 2% or whole)

1/2 c brown sugar (I use dark)

3/4 c sugar

1 regular can pumpkin puree

2 egg whites

1 egg

1 c flour
1 c whole wheat flour

2 t pumpkin pie spice or 1 t cinnamon + 1/2 t cloves

1 t baking powder

2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt
1 T ground flax seed (optional)

1 cup chopped pecans (optional, leave out to keep light)
1 cup mini chocolate chips (again, optional, but yummy!)

- Mix first set of ingredients together on low speed in a large bowl until well blended.

- Whisk second set of ingredients together in a small bowl.

- Add dry ingredients to the large bowl. Mix on low speed just until blended. It will be a little lumpy, but if you overmix, the bread will be gummy.

- Pour into two loaf pans coated with cooking spray (I use Pam with flour/Baker's Joy) or 24 standard muffin cups.

- Bake two loaves at 350 for around 30-35 minutes. Bake muffins for around 18 minutes.

- Bread is done when cake tester comes out clean.

- Cool in pan for 10 minutes.

- Continue cooling on rack.
- Freeze when completely cool.

I have 7-8 pumpkin recipes I love. You can tell the ones I made pre-children like pumpkin creme brulee. Last year I even tried pumpkin chili! And we just came across the Publix brand Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream -- this is amazing and would be an easy fall dessert put in a graham cracker pie crust or sandwiched between gingersnaps! Might be running more than 3 days a week with the arrival of fall food! :)