Halloween

Ellie & Ben were really looking forward to Halloween this year. Ellie was Alice in Wonderland (thanks for sewing the costume, Mom) and Ben was a soldier (he did have fatigue pants as well but they were WAY too large). The pics aren't too impressive, though, because the kids were too excited to hold still very long, but "Statue of Liberty" one is totally funny!

Friday was "Party Day" according to Ben and "the best day EVER" according to Ellie because of multiple Halloween happenings. Ben had his party at preschool that morning and had so much fun (he loves your Halloween CD, Teacher Wendy, especially "Ghostbusters") and Ellie had her Halloween parade and party in the afternoon. After Ellie got home from school we headed to Grandma's to play with Payton for a little while before going to Grandpa's house to see Grandma Suzy's witches and then went to my sister Angie's house for the Hansen Halloween party.

After all the fun on Friday, I was totally not feeling "Halloweenie" on Saturday and if we would have been able to talk the kids out of trick-or-treating and doing something else instead, I would have been all for it! It probably didn't help that I had a pinched nerve in my back all day Saturday and pretty much just spent the day lying around with a heat pack on my back. It wasn't so bad, though because the doorbell stopped ringing around 8:30 so we turned off the lights and put the kids to bed before I fell asleep not too long after.

Doesn't November feel like such a relief after all the craziness at the end of October? I would like to enjoy November instead of feeling compelled to begin all the December craziness. I'm sure it doesn't help that lots of local radio stations beginning playing Christmas music on November 1st. My choices of stations to listen to has been greatly diminished because of this; don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas music, but if I begin listening to it too early, by the time Christmas rolls around, I find myself absolutely exhausted from all of it. If only more people would boycott the stations who play the 'tunes' so early then it wouldn't be an issue.

The Face Of Concentration

This is what Ben looks like when he learned how to play a few classic games such as Pac-Man, Pole Position and Rally-X.
And to my family, he doesn't just get this trait from me, Ryan does it as well!

And this is what my boy looks like when he figures out what I'm up to!

I love little boys!!

Fall Update

Not too much happening lately. Just thought I would post some pictures from FHE last night. I hate carving pumpkins so we decided to paint them this year; the kids absolutely loved it!



I caved and let Ryan take a picture of me, simply because I've never had this big of a belly at only 24 weeks along----it's kind of a novelty.




P.S. Oh yeah, Ry got the pumpkins planted a little late so they didn't completely ripen up in time. Oh well.

The Help

by Kathryn Stockett. Loved it! Read it. The End.

Well, if you insist on a little more information, then I will include the synopsis from the author's home page, but I really don't think that the synopsis did it justice It did take me a couple of chapters to get into the book and fall in love with the characters, but please press on because it's worth it. I've got two words for you that you will understand after you read it: "Terrible Awful!"

Synopsis:

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

I grabbed this recipe from Studio 5 on KSL. I didn't even make the frosting for the cupcakes (which I'm sure is delicious) because I didn't have enough powdered sugar and they are good without it---I'm not much for frosting anyway. Along with this recipe is also one for Key Lime Pie cupcakes that I will have to try soon.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Ingredients:
· 1 box white cake mix
· 1/3 c. pink lemonade concentrate
· ½ c. buttermilk
· 3 eggs
· 2 - 3 drops red food coloring
Method:

Mix together all ingredients until smooth. Pour batter into paper liners and fill ¾ full. Bake 15 - 18 minutes at 350 degrees or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool completely before frosting.

Pink lemonade Cream Frosting
Ingredients:
· 8 T. butter, room temperature
· 3 ¾ c. powdered sugar, sifted
· 3 - 4 T. milk or cream
· 1 - 2 drops red food coloring
· 2 t. lemon extract
Method:

Place butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer before adding the sugar to avoid a large mess. Add sugar, 3 tablespoons milk or cream, food coloring, and lemon extract. Beat frosting starting on slow speed and increasing your speed until frosting is nice and creamy. Add up to 1 more tablespoon of milk or cream if frosting is too thick.
Mix together all ingredients until smooth. Pour batter into paper liners and fill ¾ full. Bake 15 - 18 minutes at 350 degrees or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool completely before frosting.

Lasagna Soup

In preparation for the colder weather headed our way on Wednesday and Thursday, here is a soup recipe that was also requested the other day by the ladies in my ward. I haven't decided if this will be my first soup of the season, but it very well could be (it's definitely coming down to this or Baked Potato Soup).
This is a recipe I received from my MIL and I was hooked after the first time! When it comes to the serving options, don't cringe, just trust me!!

Lasagna Soup

1 lb. Ground Beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (28 oz) can Italian Style tomatoes
1 beef boullion cube (1 tsp. boullion)
3 chicken boullion cubes (3 tsp boullion)
4 C. water
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
3 - 4 lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
Grated mozzarella cheese
Ricotta cheese or cottage cheese

Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Drain fat. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, boullion cubes, water and seasonings. Heat to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes. Add lasagna noodles; continue cooking until noodles are tender, about 15 - 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve hot with a dollop of cottage cheese or ricotta cheese on top and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Chewy Caramel Corn

I made this the other day to share with all the ladies who were heading up to the conference center on Saturday afternoon for the Relief Society General Broadcast (so great, by the way!!) and received numerous requests for the recipe.
This recipe is one that I received from my SIL, Lani, and it quickly became a favorite in our household; Ben calls it "Sticky Popcorn". It is so simple to make and I always have the ingredients on hand to make it. Enjoy!

Chewy Caramel Corn

Ingredients:
2 bags butter flavor microwavable popcorn
2 cubes butter (1 cup), NOT margarine
1 1/3 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. light Karo syrup (doesn't have to be light)
1 tsp. vanilla

Pop popcorn as directed and separate kernels. *Set aside.
Melt butter, sugar and Karo syrup in saucepan over med-high heat.
Bring to a boil and let boil for 1 minute EXACTLY (if you let it go longer, you'll have really crunchy popcorn).
Remove sauce from heat and stir in vanilla (be careful, sometimes it pops!).

*At this point, you can go two different directions, depending on what you like.
Option 1: pour popcorn in a large bowl and pour sauce over the top and stir continually until cool (don't let your arm fall off!)
Option 2: pour popcorn in a double-lined paper paper grocery bag and pour sauce over the top. Fold the bag over and shake vigorously to coat all of the popcorn. Then pour into a large bowl and stir just to make sure it all got mixed evenly.

If you like to have the excess caramel mixture on the bottom of the bowl, then go with option 1, if you prefer not to have all the extra gunk, use the paper bags. I typically go with option 2, unless I am low on brown paper bags!!