Cold Milk

+

Warm Pumpkin Bread

=

Smiling Happy Faces

To the Chain...

On C's Bike,

I realize that to ride a bike without you,

would be

difficult.

{but let's talk}

I love the

adoring

admiration

that comes when I successfully

put you back on.

Over and Over, again.

And, maybe

I don't mind getting my

darling, tiny hands all

black and oily.

And I may even go so far as

to say that I feel like

putting on a

shiny,

silky cape

to accentuate

my

complete awesomeness.

But,

Seriously,

I like it best,

when you just

stay on.

For the entire ride.

And don't fall off

31 times.

Most Enthusiastically,

Me

09.25.09

Nacho Night

The last Friday of each month

in our house

We spread out a blanket,

let the kids pick the movie,

and

stuff our bellies

with

Nachos

mmmm.....nachos

{jealous?}

B's Birthday

Simply 7

A Birthday in our house

always starts with

a highly nutritious breakfast of

sweet rolls,

in bed.

*

For party time,

I let the kids be involved

in planning

what they want

to do.

This year,

B's plan was very

simplistic.

He wanted

ME

to make cupcakes with

rainbow chip frosting

and a party at our

neighborhood park,

where he just wanted to

play on the

"Big Toy",

Have cake

[sans ice cream]

open presents

and play some

old fashioned

red light/green light.

No mention of

big blow-up carnival rides,

no clowns,

no pony rides,

no planes flying over,

dropping candy,

just real simple,

It was

Boys Night Out

September 23, 2009

This month for

Boys Night Out

the Gang went to

Which is a place full of fun things

like skating, mini-golf,

carnival rides,

Bumper Cars and Lazar Tag,

and ticket rewarding arcade games.

The boys always look forward to

see what Dad has cooked

up for them

for the evening,

and they always

have a

Blastin' Good Time

{So does Dad}

The Waffle House

The Other Night for

dinner we went

to this tiny little place

and enjoyed ourselves

and the delicious

waffles,

and fries,

and cool whip

and strawberries

and chocolate

{yes, chocolate, too!}

and vowed

we'd go

there

again.

Ode to the Garden

Dear Garden,

In the beginning we treated you darling.

We enthusiastically watered you,

kept you fabulously weed free,

and harvested your produce hourly.

You gave us back more than we expected,

in the way of lettuce, peas, cucumbers, zucchini,

and tomatoes.

{let's face it, Garden, everything else was just so-so},

Nonetheless,

you have become neglected.

So Sorry.

Please don't hate our stinkin guts.

-t family

PS I see your pumpkins are coming along- think they'll be ready for Halloween?

Celebrate

Got together with the T Family today

to celebrate our

September Birthdays,

and for those of you

who weren't there,

which would be all of

YOU,

here's how it went:

First

one must indulge in

the

PRE-Party

food

Then burn off those calories

doing wondrous feats

like

Playing football,

climbing trees,

trying out G'Pa's

rope swing

{we all know about how much MOM loves it!}

{Me and C}

and hanging out

with the ones you

love.

Then its time to get

the Party started!

{My B}

by

enthusiastically ripping

paper off your gifts,

Wheezing on the cake,

and stuffing ourselves to

the gills with

cake and ice cream.

Happy Birthday!

Saturday

Ryan and I had tickets for

where we had a GREAT time,

BUT,

when we returned to get the kids

from G & G Timmons' house

we found that they had been busy

with Grandpa,

rigging up one of these

{a rope swing}

and having all sorts of

fun

doing

swingin'

things like

this

and

this.

And,

Of course,

Mom

had to test the

strength of that

lil' branch, too

and did wild and shocking

things like

and

this.

We stayed for quite

a while,

enjoying the setting sun,

the perfectly cool weather,

and

waiting for Mom

to get off the swing!

{a perfect evening for a swing}

September 11, 2001

I Remember:

8 years ago

Getting ready for work and sitting down to eat breakfast with my husband, when my mother in law calls and says "Turn on your TV!"

Watching on live TV as the smoking towers crumbled on the screen behind the news anchor.

First One. Then the other.

My sister calling and saying,

{speaking about my other sister who was living in DC}

"She can't get a hold of her husband.

He was most likely at the Pentagon

when it was struck"

crying as I told my husband that.

Kneeling and Praying.

For Them.

All of Them.

My mom calling a few moments later,

"He's alive. He's fine."

Barely able to tell my husband

as I choke and cry with

relief for Them

and sadness for those

whose story ended different.

Driving to work and hearing that another plane had gone down

and wondering when it would end,

and how bad it was going to be.

At the bank where I worked,

we put a TV in the lobby

and we were glued

and so were our customers.

The Friday following that Tuesday

was declared a

National Day of Mourning.

We waited in lines to donate money.

We put flags and ribbons

on cars

and our hearts.

The bank where I worked,

purchased these pins

(the one pictured above)

for all the employees.

We tied ribbons of

red, white and blue

for any customer

who donated to the cause.

We cried

and

we cried.

And we came together.

And I always wonder

what I would have done

if I were in one of those towers,

If I were on one of those planes

If my loved ones had been.

And what about

those people who were?

Joy in the Journey

Enrichment
September 09, 09

It was wonderful!

I

LOVED

hearing from different

friends about how they

find

Joy

in their

Journey.

I

LOVED

how fantastic

our Enrichment Committee

is at always

getting it done!

Thank You!

and

I LOVED

being there!

{cutie-pie tickets and itineraries by Rachelle H!}

All these things

put

Joy

in My

Journey

The Crowd went WILD

For these

which I found

HERE

I used

dark choc. chips

and toffee bits

Bruschetta

I love bruschetta

and with all my

garden tomatoes handy,

it was time to break

some out

1 lb. roma tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

{or 2 tsp. dried basil}

2 sliced gr. onions {opt.}

1/3 cup Kraft Italian Dressing

Mix all together, lightly

I serve it on french bread

{or whatever I have}

that has been

buttered and broiled

also tastes great

served over noodles

At the Ol' Ballgame

09.05.09

{We don't care if we ever come back!}