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:
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.
Riding on the East Troy Electric Railroad (and loving it)!
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.
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!)
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”.
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.
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.)
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.
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: