Month: October 2010

We started the day with candy

Then we played a little:

Then we handed out candy to the Milwaukee County trick-or-treaters:

Next up was dinner (Jack-O-Lantern Pizza) at the Strouds’ before Tosa trick-or-treating. We attempted to get a picture with all three boys. These are the best I got:

Amber did get a shot of all three boys on the couch – very impressive:

Then we were off for some neighborhood trick-or-treating:

The funniest moment of the night was when Alex wanted the pumpkin on someone’s front porch. He wasn’t at all interested in the candy or the people opening the door. He did eventually give up on the pumpkin and resume trick-or-treating.

I’m not sure Tabit would make it in the wild. She has no fear and evidently no self-preservation instincts.

Madison puts up with so much. Poor pup.

Alex is practicing his comedy routine. He was playing with his firetruck on the coffee table and backed right up to and into his drum. It was just the right size and had few enough toys in it that he was stuck. He was content to sit and wait for a picture before I got him out.

Alex had been asleep for hours. I was in bed reading with Madison beside me when I suddenly heard Alex’s piano playing music downstairs. Then I heard some of his toys skittering across the floor. I was pretty sure Tabit was to blame and I caught her in the act.

I’m not sure who is “it”, but both Madison and Alex are trying to catch Tabit (under the chair). She pops out every once in a while and takes a gentle swipe (no claws) at either Alex or Madison. Alex is laughing hysterically at this game.

I feel like there is a continual game of tag going on at our house. The players are Alex, Madison, and Tabit. And someone is always chasing someone else.

Wade and I host a pumpkin carving party every year (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005). One of my favorite parts is trying out new Halloween-themed recipes and decorating ideas.

My favorites were the chocolate dipped marshmallows, ghosted tootsie pops, and the spider-web cookies. I also tried mummy-style pigs in a blanket. I think next year I will stick with regular pigs in a blanket. The mummy-style weren’t cute enough to be worth the extra work.

Every year we have more and more kids which just adds to the chaos and fun.

The two newest additions (Maddie and Maggie) got lots of attention.

Then of course we had a group photo – 20 people this year!

We had a fun-filled weekend. We started the morning with a ride on a choo choo. The East Troy Electric Railroad has a short ride between East Troy and Elegant Farmer. Amber, Nick, Abram, Nicki, Riley, Wade, Alex, and I arrived in East Troy with a little time to spare. We checked out the museum and the old trains sitting on the tracks. For the ride to the Elegant Farmer we were the only ones on the train and the boys had a blast.

After an insanely long afternoon nap (3+ hours), we finally woke Alex up at 5. He was in a great mood and loved helping me fill the candy bowl:

We finished off the night by decorating our Halloween Gingerbread house. Alex supervised (with snacks) while Wade and I made quite the mess.

I thought the end result was actually pretty good. Thanks Mom!

Amber and Nick had an early morning meeting at Abram’s school so Abram came over to play. They brought donuts, which I loved. We gave Alex one with sprinkles and he pretty much pushed it aside for his regular breakfast of a boiled egg – silly boy.

Then the boys ran wild and had a blast.

And no play time is complete without the Firetruck and the Recycling truck. Thank goodness we have two:

Now we just need the pirate ship and the wrecker. (I’m not sure if this is my tendency to collect sets or Alex talking, but Christmas is coming!)

Wade built a useless machine and I think it’s awesome!

Alex was a little unsure of it, but happy to watch:

Tabit was fascinated and kept trying to catch the arm:

Thank goodness the “rough” look is in. I attempted to patch my jeans and was rather pleased with the results. I don’t have a lot of hope that this is a long-term solution, but it should last for a little while:

Alex and I were attempting to rake the leaves in the front yard when Amber and Abram came to visit. We moved the party to the backyard to let the boys run. Amber started raking a large leaf pile for the boys to jump in (and therefore raked my leaves). The boys didn’t get the “jumping” in the leaves, but they loved wrestling in the leaves:

I am enjoying pumpkin bread on my pumpkin plates. It’s definitely fall.
Recipe from Cooking Light:
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Cooking spray
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients (through mace) in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
Combine sugars and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add pumpkin, oil, and vanilla; stir well. Add raisins and nuts; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
*I left out the golden raisins and substituted pecans for walnuts.

Alex took a two hour morning nap and I decided to let him sleep through church. We then just played around the house in our pajamas till time for his afternoon nap. Alex got out his markers and managed to color the floor before I realized what he was doing:

I got out the cleaning supplies and Alex wanted to try the sponge. He motivated me to clean the rest of the house and even offered a little “help”.

Last night I noticed that someone had been playing with the roll of toilet paper in the downstairs bathroom. Although I haven’t seen Alex do this in months, I assumed he was to blame. Today I learned he was innocent and Tabit was the guilty party.

Alex has gotten to the point where he doesn’t always ride in his stroller very well. Amber and I took the boys to the outlets and it appears that Abram running around and lots of food solves the stroller issue. Alex was pretty happy to just ride along.

My favorite was the hug they wanted to give each other in the middle of the busy J. Crew store.

Today Amber, Abram, Nicki, Riley, Alex, and I drove to Green Meadows Farm. What an amazing place! On this huge farm everything is kid-friendly from tractors to turkeys to hay bales. For one low admission price you have access to everything. We started with the pony ride. I wasn’t sure that Alex would be content to sit and hold onto the mini horse’s saddle. He did great. Immediately after getting off, he ran to the platform and tried to get back on.

There were tons of animals in small pens all over the property. The pens would have 10-20 animals and would all be fine for petting or picking up. Alex was fascinated with the chickens but didn’t want to hold one. He loved petting the goats. He touched the pigs once and then didn’t want to touch them again – their skin is rather coarse. (Note Alex’s I’m-gently-petting-an-animal-face in the picture with the goat. I see that a lot with Tabit.)

There were play areas all around too. There were regular playgrounds, a wooden tractor, sandpits, hay bales, old tires, a wagon covered in pots and pounds and drumsticks, etc.

No trip to a farm is complete without a hay ride. The ride started out great, but got a little bumpy. We held onto the boys so they didn’t get too jostled.

This farm also had a pumpkin patch. The boys were pretty worn out and ready for naps, but we still picked up a few pumpkins.

Tabit and Madison play really well together. Their favorite game involves the green chair in the living room. Tabit hides under it and waits for Madison to lay on the rug in front. Then they alternate Tabit leaping out to attack Madison and Madison trying to get under the chair to get Tabit. It cracks me up every time.

Abram has an awesome new toy – a powered motorcycle. He’s got it down pat. Alex on the other hand is just starting to figure it out.

When both boys wanted the helmet, Amber brought out Abram’s bicycle helmet. Alex knows that helmet is worn with a bike and started asking for the “bike”. Abram’s bike is too big for Alex, but he was happy with his own.

It’s amazing how much fun Alex can have in the front yard waiting for Daddy to come home.

Most days that also means we see Amber and Abram too. Alex is fascinated with Abram’s bike and tries to ride it. We also had to check on Abram’s kittens – Bob and Louis.

We are still trying to teach Alex how to hold Tabit. He gets it right about half the time and thankfully Tabit doesn’t really seem to care.

Tabit is quickly learning how to live at the Burch house. We have taken her outside with us quite a bit and this is what she does if she gets stuck alone inside. She is literally hanging onto the glass frame with the nails on one paw. I think she’ll have the dog door figured out pretty quickly:

She also loves to copy Madison’s behaviors. I don’t think she actually eats off the dinner plates, but she comes running just like Madison:

Tabit also tolerates a little bit of hugging from Alex before running away:

Most days Alex will happily give a hug when requested and occasionally when not. Today he wasn’t interested in giving one so I took it

Milwaukee is having some crazy weather. Today the temperature was in the high 70s. Abram and Alex wanted to play in the water and we didn’t mind. The sprinkler was something new and they weren’t quite sure what to do with it initially. They quickly figured it out!

I’m not sure how to tell Alex his love isn’t mutual.