Zoe Up A Tree :)

Since Aunt Tracy demands to know . . .

Of course she's reading, it's Zoe  :)  She's reading the second Harry Potter book, and she doesn't want to put it down. She might just finish the whole series this month. My father will be so proud  :)

And when the rest of the kids came out and started making too much noise.

She found a different tree . . . further away  :)

Love my Zoe  <3

Guess What's Going on in This Picture???

I saw her from in the house. She wasn't actively climbing, just hanging in the tree. So I went out to investigate . . .

All I can say is . . . Only My Zoe!!!

Blankey Baby!!!

I don't think that I had any kind of security blanket as a child, but I know that my husband did until it was falling apart at the seams.

Zoe had a stuffed dog that she named "Rags". She was never completely attached to him. If he went missing for a while, it didn't bother her. She just liked having him around.

Audrey and Cameron were never attached to anything.

Then there is Emmitt. He has claimed a blue and brown polka dotted blanket. The funny thing is, as babies I always wrapped Castiel up in it.

He started grabbing it from the laundry pile months ago and I let him have it. Then he started asking for it when I layed him in bed and I gave it to him. Now he has a grip on it when I take him out of bed and I let him carry it around.

Now he doesn't like other people using it, otherwise he will fight them for it.

This is what happened this weekend when I decided to wash it.

You can almost hear the pleading in the pictures :)

We went down by the lake and fed the fish for a bit and he forgot all about it.

As soon as we got back, he stood infront of the dryer and asked for it.

Then he preceded to drag his freshly clean, still warm blanket around the kitchen floor  :)

 

Whatever puts a big smile across that face, makes me happy  :)

Funny thing, Castiel wants to do everything his brother does. So sometimes, he chooses to have a blankey too  :)  As long as he doesn't choose his brothers, he'll be okay . . .

My 100th Blog!!!

I noticed that one of my blogging friends just celebrated her 100th blog not too long ago, so I had to check out where I was at . . . 98

I should have reached 100 a while ago, but life just isn't normal. (Update at the end of this blog)

Happy, fun stuff first!!!

The boys and I have been enjoying the fall weather ... I'm just hoping that it sticks around for a while  :)

Walks are getting a lot easier. I really don't make him, he insists!

It takes a lot longer to get there, not because Emmitt walks slowly. It's because he has to stop and talk about everything he sees.

On this trip he was interested in the dry leaves falling to the ground, the ants walking across the sidewalk, the mulch around the base of the tree, the geese flying through the sky . . . . and the dog poop.

I love it, but also try to keep him moving along, because his big brother is on the bike way ahead.

He is getting pretty brave. I'm thinking it's time to try without training wheels ... maybe we'll give it a try before the snow starts falling.

The girls wanted to do some baking this weekend. We started off making pear bread. May sound like a strange choice, but when given nearly 100 pears that are all ripening at the same time ... now it's just the matter of using them before they go bad.

I made one loaf this week to try out the recipe and everyone devoured it.

So we made 6 more loaves this weekend. Here's the recipe if you are interested. (Pear bread link)

Notice ..... they were done before the Packer game started .....  yes, that was planned  :)

Zoe has been begging to make Cake Pops for months.

Today was the day!!! I don't have a recipe, it's so easy  :)

First make any kind of cake you want. (If you make fancy shaped cakes for your kids birthday parties, this is what you can do with all the extra pieces)

I don't have a picture of the crumbing part ... but you crumble the entire cake into crumbs.

Then add frosting until it's the consistency of play dough.

Roll it up into balls (make sure that they are compact so they don't fall apart, some of ours did)

Place in freezer for 15 minutes, but you don't want them to freeze ... if you need more time you can put them in the fridge.

 Dip lollipop stick into melted Candy Melts about a half inch and push into cake ball half way, don't push all the way through.

Dip and rock the cake pop in Candy Melts. Spin and tap slightly to remove extra chocolate. DO NOT SPIN OR STIR WHILE IN THE MELTS! The Cake pop will come right off the stick. (We lost a few ..... not to worry, they were eaten, still taste good minus the stick) Also, notice that we have chocolate, we like the baking chocolate chips, not fans of the Candy Melts, but the Candy Melts harden fast and come in lots of pretty colors.

 Yes, I see those fingers in her mouth. She washed her hands at least 10 times during this process. I think it's instinct for a child to lick chocolate off their fingers ..... really, can you blame her  :)

Then pass the coated pop off you your pushy assistant!

 And she will add the sprinkles  :)

And then admire them while they harden.

The best part, they are old enough to clean up after themselves after the fun is done. And I wasn't willing to help, the Packer game had already started......

 It'll take us a little bit of practice to make them look like the ones in the magazines. But trust me .... they taste just as good  :)

All in all . . . . great weekend.

GO BREWERS, GO BADGERS, GO PACKERS AND GO BREWERS AGAIN!!! 

What a great weekend to be a fan  :)

Now the depressing update. We are trying to buy a short sale house. We are 3 months into the process. The house we are trying to buy is owned by a couple that are going through a divorce. One of them has just filed bankruptcy. So now the house may have to go through bankruptcy courts before it can be sold. We are waiting to hear. But we are actively looking for a different property again. Thinking our best option now is to rent and maybe wait out the process on this house . . . or a different one.

I'm still hoping, but I want to be home for the holidays. Just have to find a home . . . . .