the end of summer 08.

Tomorrow marks the last summer holiday for the season.

{photo}graphic memory.

I love things that teach kids to use their imaginations, and also don't cost much money. What happened to the days of macaroni necklaces, rice and oatmeal container drums, and banging on pots and pans?

.

The other day, a memory was sparked in my mind.

.

When I was about 5, my family traveled from Arizona to Massachusetts to visit my paternal grandparents for 2 whole weeks. We were not able to pack many toys, thus leaving our busy hands a bit bored for the eternity that 2 weeks is to a small child.

.

One day, I remember my dad making my sister and I cameras out of a piece of notebook paper. Nothing fancy, just a quick little peep hole, and of course, some quickly drawn camera features to make it realistic. In my mind, It was a real camera! I have a vivid memory of taking a walk and pointing my camera at EVERY little thing (good practice for later) meanwhile, making a little list in my head of my shots. Later that day, I drew out my photos and admired my handiwork. I don't remember much about that trip, but I do remember that--- and in great detail.

.

Seeing as I was so impressed with this simple imagination building activity, I wanted to pass it along.

Complete with a tin foil flash.

.

I upgraded them a bit.

.

The boys loved their new cameras!

Those simple cameras, they came with us:

Which wasn't hard to accomplish considering they are as thin as a sheet of paper and fit into a pocket! Technology these days!
Later this afternoon, I had the boys "develop" their pictures.
Ben proudly held this photo up for me to see and said "Guess what this is mom!?"
I guessed. "A scarecrow?" Look at those long straw-like fingers. Spooky almost!
Ben said,"NO!"
I guessed again. "A gingerbread man? That hair looks like frosting?!"
Ben said again, "NO!" and then paused and wrote the letters M-O-M right next to the face of the scarecrow looking gingerbread man. Are my fingers really that long?
.
Josh was very excited to draw his special pictures.
My favorite was the one with the blue flowers.

I hope that I can help my boys develop a love for art and photography as I have learned myself.

messy kitchens.

As always, I find my days surrounded by good food.

Yesterday, I taught a little chef's class the centered around fun and healthy breakfasts.

Who can resist these:

My blog needs a little pink, so I couldn't forget to post the girls as they work on their festive fruit skewers.
Aren't they precious? (just let me soak in that extra estrogen-- sometimes I find myself deprived of girly girl things.)
.
Ben displays his finished creation!

Today, my wedding ring twin- Kirstin, invited us over and we watched as she turned her kitchen into a pizza restaurant. (BETTER than Giada if I might add.) I couldn't turn down a handmade crust, now could I?

.

Who knew she would made 4 whole pizzas! WOW!

This girl knocked it out of the ballpark with a BBQ chicken pizza, a peperoni pizza, a plain cheese pizza, and my personal favorite, THE:

Have you ever had a veggie and feta pizza? As soon as I snake the recipe, I will pass it on. Delicious!
.
Ben was in heaven with not only a myriad of pizzas to choose from:

Thanks Kirstin! You rock my pizza world.

the frog with the man hands.

With Josh at school, I find lots of time to spend with Ben. Today, he even found time to give me a foot massage.

I'm not kidding!

Ben is my mamma's boy. He loves to be by my side-- all the live long day. Today, he even surprised me with an:

It had a lots of scenes, a plot that was hard to follow, and a happy ending. But, after the show I decided to give the puppets a:

Puppets (like clowns) somewhat freak me out.

I don't know why.

I've had this fear ever since I can remember. And this frog puppet was somewhat fascinating and slightly eerie. I had to inspect this puppet closer. Where did we even inherit this beastly little thing?
It's body is handmade, it's head is held on with a tightly wound rubber band, the frog's frozen "startled" gaze is spooky. But the worst thing about it is:

I don't know if I am going to be able to sleep tonight knowing that this mutant frog is somewhere in my house!

Anybody want a puppet?

humble beginnings for a little momma.

my top three for today.

1. An extra long morning of:

(Enjoying an afternoon picnic with friends--- and of course, Benny.)

2. Getting to watch Kirstin take care of her daughters:

(feeding plastic dolls is such hard work!)

3. Being inspired by my husbands addiction to Bonanza enough to run on down to Target to buy some:

(Here's to you, Little Joe.)

apples and donuts.

And it is my pleasure-- to introduce you to, our newest:

In spiffy new clothes, squeaky new shoes, and a crisp red apple for the teach--- freshly washed himself (he insisted) in the bathroom sink.

.

Don't worry dear teacher:

If she is a smart teacher (which most are) she will gladly wash it before even pressing it to her mouth for a bite--- as I would, if a little boy named Josh handed me a sweaty little red apple. But alas, another story for another day!

.

Ben was playing it cool most of the morning, and upon being asked if he was "just a little bit sad" that Josh was leaving for school, he answered in the negative. But, I beg:

As you can see in this picture, we are out of the sunshine, and he will not (WILL NOT) look at me for a quick shot.
.
This is how the day went. Asking Ben a question, and then getting a woeful whine in response.
.
Keep reading, and you will see how we remedied the situation (if not only for a moment.)
.
But, back to the man of the hour!
.
Seriously, Josh was like an old pro, as we met up with Janelle and her family to head to school. Those two took off like soldiers and:When we arrived at the right place, Josh turned at the door and said (in a coy voice) "Goodbye! You can go now!"
.
He waltzed right into his classroom like he owned the joint.

But of course, in good parental fashion-- we followed him inside and made sure he was situated before class started.

.

And then we stood back, and watched a bit... and waited. What were we waiting for?
.
No tears.
No sad eyes.

No whimpering cries.
.
I turned to Jeff, "Now what do we do?"

And he said, "I guess we just leave."

.

So there we were. And we were waiving. And we were walking. And the teacher was smiling. It's all a blur now.
.
So we made it back home, all in one piece. Not one tear was shed. But, I had to put on a brave face for Ben-- who was immediately rushed to the bakery for a consolation prize.

But, before we left--- in good brotherly fashion, Ben made sure that we picked:

yes, tis true...

tomorrow...

I don't know if the fact that he's going to be gone all day, or the realization that time really is ticking by and that one day I really will be a white haired old lady-- but I'm feeling a little bit bummed.

Really, where did that last 5+ years go?

And, in closing-- I will leave you with a quote made notable by Josh himself.

"Don't worry Ben, I will be home on weekends!"

Wish us luck!

Jester Jeff and the gang.

I think that we've seasoned our kids for greatness in the class clown category. (is that a good thing!?)

.

I am always the butt of the jokes in this house. But, isn't it normal for the boys to pick on the girls? I just take it in stride. Besides, what do I expect for marrying a man who's childhood nickname was "Jester Jeff". I guess I could take a hint.

.

My boys love a good joke. But, sometimes I even catch them doing unintentional funny things. Like last week, I turned the corner to do some laundry and found Ben on the couch watching cartoons and looking like this:

This was a little airplane blanket set he scored from the flight attendant on his birthday when we flew home from Alabama last year. Jeff was the pilot, and the crew was extremely nice. The blanket came in it's own bag-- which according to Ben, makes the perfect hat.

Favorite Ben jokes lately include anything from adding the term "eyeball sauce" (whatever that means!) to everyday dialogue, to his standby joke that he uses over and over again:

Knock Knock!

Who's there?

Popcorn!

Popcorn who?

Popcorn eating popcorn! Ahhhhahahaha!

He thinks it's hysterical.

We do too. (the first 10 times anyway!)

kindergarten baby.

Yesterday, we were able to meet Josh's Kindergarten teacher-- and can I just say that I love her! I am so happy with the vibe in the classroom, the way that she approaches the children, and her personality. I couldn't have picked a better person to "pass the torch" on to.

.

So, this officially starts our:

The last weekend of summer.

Do you remember the first day of school jitters? Man, I do! Josh is a little wound up too, I know he's excited.

.

It's so weird to have a child in school, when it feels like yesterday I was just there myself.

Mrs. McEwen made us do exercises and her knees cracked when she would do squats.

I remember that she use to keep her big, old brown dog tied up out back (our room had a front and back door) and his name was Beau.

I remember getting scolded for braiding my "My Little Ponys" hair during story time which just happened to fall right after show and tell. Who cold resist it's glistening pink beauty. Not me.

and--

that's all I really remember about kindergarten.

But OH!

How exciting to get to wear that freshly pressed:

Aren't ours lovely? I think I was in 2nd grade?!
.
Purple plaid was all the rage, and don't forget to wear white socks with your sandals. (Accessories! Are socks accessories?!) I was such a fashionista. See how my pink ribbon matches my pink lined backpack, that was so not an accident.
.
I have to admit, I cannot wait for Josh to bring home the coveted:

I had some beauties in my day. Who else from my 90's generation remembers sitting in the uncomfortable fan back wicker chair for a perfect photo opportunity? I think Jeff does. (Virginia, if you are reading this, please send me that HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR PHOTO, and quick!)

pull out the big white hats.

Today, I had a leisurely morning with the:

Cooking with the little chefs is so fun. For instance, they do all of the:
Even little Livee got into the action.
We started out with the classic:
What?! You've never heard of an ugly dumpling? You are missing out! Read on! (recipe at the end!)

.

Then, one of the favorites:

This was a hit, because you get to dump everything into a bag and then:

My personal favorite was the:

I think it's because I have an odd fascination with popcorn balls. Why, well who knows. Anyway, we greased our hands and did our best making corn shaped rolls.

.

My kids were silent for a good 30 minutes while they gnawed on theirs. Ahhhhhh... peace and quiet.

Last but not least was the ever trusty:

Don't have a Popsicle mold? No problem. Just use some paper cups, topped with tin foil and a Popsicle stick. Voila!

Here, now go make your own!

Ugly Dumplings
1 medium apple, or pear
1 package of extra large refrigerated biscuits
2 T sugar
¼ t ground cinnamon
2 T butter or margarine
1 T butter or margarine, melted

Peel and chop fruit.

Separate biscuits, on a lightly floured surface, pat or roll each biscuit into a 4 inch circle. Place about 1 T fruit in the middle of each biscuit.

Stir together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over fruit. Dot each with some butter.

Shape into bundles and seal by moistening and pinching the edges. Place in a greased muffin pan. Brush with melted butter. Bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm. Makes 10.
.
Indian Corn
10 cups of popped popcorn
1 C brown sugar
¾ C water
¼ C corn syrup
¾ t vinegar
½ C golden raisins
½ C purple raisins
wooden skewers

In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, corn syrup, and vinegar. Cook and stir over medium high heat until the mixture boils and reaches the hard ball stage (250). This will take about 15 to 20 minutes. Pour sugar mixture on top of popcorn and add raisins. Stir until all ingredients are coated. Using buttered hands, shape mixture onto sticks to resemble ears of corn. Serve the same day.
.
Smores trail mix
2 C honey grahams cereal
1 C tiny marshmallows
1 C peanuts
½ C chocolate chips
½ C raisins

Add all ingredients to a medium paper sack. Close the end of the bag and shake well! Store the mixture in a sealed container. Makes about 5 cups.
.
Yogurt Pops
1 container of yogurt
your choice of fruit
¼ C milk
2-3 ice cubes
1 T honey

Throw everything into a blender, and blend until creamy. Pour into Popsicle mold, or paper cups and Popsicle sticks. Freeze until set.