Can't Resist...

Well, I was going to make y'all wait to get our Christmas cards to share these beauties. But... I couldn't resist! Our friend, Elisa Perry, took our family pics. (Check out her website: elisaperry.com.) And we LOVE them! Since there's no way we could possibly share of all of them in one Christmas card, anyway, I thought I might as well put a few up here. So... enjoy!

Worth Celebrating

Hello, hello.
By way of an update, I thought I'd share a few things from these last few weeks at our house that I think are worth celebrating...

Brian's parents came to visit! 
It really was sooo wonderful to have them here with us. They stayed for a couple of weeks, and just had a lot of every-day moments with us. We read stories, took walks, went to the park, went shopping, made crafts and projects, etc... all the normal stuff we do around here. We also had a few outings, to a museum, to Stew Leonard's, across the Tappan Zee Bridge and around the countryside, etc. One night when Brian was with us, we got in the car as it was getting dark, and drove downtown to see the lights. We drove in the city, and went across six bridges and one tunnel. (It only cost us $40+ in tolls, for our two-hour tour!) I really wish Brian could have spent more time with them while they were here. He was swamped, to say the very least. But we made do with what time we could snatch from his sleep.

Some fun pics the kids took with Grandma and Grandpa...

Natalie is walking!
It's not official yet, because she still crawls when she really needs to get somewhere. But she walks clear across the living room, or clear down the hall, or clear across our bedroom rug. It's adorable, as you may have seen in our cute video post. She is soooo pleased with herself; she claps lots of times when she finally topples to the floor. Yay for Natalie. Grandma and Grandpa Bishop got to be here to see her take her first steps, which was an extra special treat.

Blurry, I know. But she was walking toward me, so cute!

Spencer is potty training! For real!! FINALLY!
We have Grandma Bishop to thank for this one. While she was here, she was able to work with him (and me), and give us the extra courage to make it happen... First pee and poop in the toilet during the two weeks Grandma and Grandpa were here. We have a ways to go (like, the fact that he has only officially pooped in the toilet one time, sorry for the detail, if you're not used to potty talk). But if we're "baby stepping" then this last two weeks we went leaps and bounds.

Here's his "smile," if someone actually tells him to smile. So funny!

Samantha is reading!
Basically, she'll read anything she can get her hands on. We've been to the library for new books soooo many times in the past few weeks. She is supposed to keep a reading log and have us read at least one book to her every day. Well, she's advance far beyond that, and usually reads three or four books to me -- or to Spencer -- to pass off her log. It's sooo nice to have another reader in the house, especially when she decides to read bedtime stories to Spencer! (not so nice to have her reading email over my shoulder, sigh.)

Here she is, putting on a puppet show for Grandpa and Grandma...

Henry is gone!
Those you who know our history, know that Henry is the mouse that's been in our house. (Spencer is sure the mouse was actually named Peanut, not Henry, btw.) Well, I am happy to report, Henry -- or Peanut -- is no longer a household resident. His last sighting was more than a week ago. Hooray!! I don't know where he went or what happened to him. We never caught him in a trap, and I'm doubtful he ate any poison (yes, I caved and put decon behind the stove), because I saw him several times AFTER there was poison out. I think I'd start smelling him, if he really ate the poison. At any rate, he isn't coming out to say hello in our kitchen anymore. And we aren't finding any more "mouse evidence" around where it was before. So... yay! whew! good riddance! etc.

No pictures of Henry, after all. (Thank goodness!)

Brian's deal is close to launching!
Whew! This has been a doozy of a deal, for sure! He's been coming home so very late (I won't even post the times on here, for the shock it may cause). Then, he just gets up in the morning with the rest of us, and hits it again. I have to say, it was especially hard while his parents were here, just because we wanted to have some time ALL together, ya know? Well, anyway, it looks like things are finally winding down -- after three (or more?) weeks of work-to-death time. We are happy to look forward to a break! yay!

We got family pictures taken!
Those of you who go through the yearly ritual of family pictures know how crazy it can be, picking out the perfect outfits, getting everyone ready, hoping everyone cooperates, timing it between naps and meals, hoping for good weather, etc. Well! We did our family pictures today, and I think everything went quite well. The weather was GORGEOUS -- a real relief. And the fall colors were perfect. yay! I'm not sure I totally love what we decided to wear, but all in all, it wasn't so very stressful, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out in a few weeks or so. I'm sure I'll keep y'all posted. For now, I'm celebrating the fact that they're DONE for this year, eh!?!

That's the wrap for today, folks!
Bye!

Autumn Thoughts

Today is one of those gorgeous, crisp, autumn days that makes me LOVE that we live in New England! The leaves are changing, the sky is blue, and everything feels so fresh. Yay! I took the kids for a walk this morning, just around the neighborhood. We took the double stroller, and Spence got off and on at his leisure -- picking up sticks and rocks, "feeding" leaves to the ducks in the pond, etc. Natalie kicked her little legs, babbled incessantly, and tried to grab any bushes that were close to the sidewalk. She kept turning around to grin and giggle at me, obviously happy to be on an outing. (Sammie was already at school, and missed out today, too bad.)

As we rounded the last corner before coming home, we could see the big oak tree in front of the house across the street was dropping lots of its leaves. Someone had swept/blown them into a big, long pile along the sidewalk. Here's the tree, I actually took a picture of it a few days ago, for my dad (who thought it was a "remarkable" tree when he was here -- "so big!") ...

 The leaf piles around the tree looked so fun, as we got closer, I spontaneously decided to sit right down in the middle of the pile. Spencer caught on and started tramping through them. Natalie watched us from her stroller, giggling and reaching for any leaves I threw toward her. Finally, I got her out and let her sit in the leaves, too. She loved it. They both looked so cute, and were having so much fun.We were so close to home, I decided to go get the camera, so we could capture the moment -- and maybe the feeling -- on film. First shot says it all...

Spence was having a little snoozer...

Showing Mommy her pretty leaves (and prettier eyes, and adorable piggy tails)...

Buried boy...

 Nattie, looking up, pointing (which she hardly ever does, and I didn't really catch it on the camera very well)...

Here's what she was looking at, in all its red-brown glory...

Tramping, tromping, smashing, stomping...

Closely examining...

Climbing the wall to sit on top, then jump of (notice the shoes on the wrong feet -- I pointed it out to him before we left the house and he told me, "It will be okay like this, Mom.")...

 Giggling together...

Reveling together...

Trying to move to a new spot (unsuccessfully -- she kept heading toward the road)..

Ooooh... another pile, just across the street. Maybe we'll head to THAT one tomorrow!

Actually, in our neighborhood, they have these guys who come blow all the leaves out of peoples' yards and pile them up along the street or sidewalk, as pictured. I'm not sure if home owners pay for the service, but they even did our house, without saying a thing to us. We've wondered what they do with the huge piles -- would love to see the giant leaf vacuum guys come around and suck them up! We're also wondering if they'll come blow our leaves again in a few weeks, when the REST of the leaves are down. Who knows?!

Anyway, it was a fun morning. Samantha was sorry she missed it, so we went again this afternoon (but forgot the camera). We'll probably go again in the morning, so she can have her moment to pose for some pics. If you haven't crunched some leaves this fall, I highly recommend it; it's hard not to smile and feel like a kid, and definitely something to smile about! Welcome, Autumn!!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Hello, hello.
I have things to blog about, for sure. But my mind is tired tonight, and my creativity is lacking. So, I'll save my "real" blogging for another night, kay? Instead, you get the rare treat of reading my latest tasty recipe. I've never done a recipe post before, have I? Well, don't worry -- I'm not about to go all "foody" on my blog. (Other bloggers do a MUCH better job of that than I could ever be committed to!)

But, I did make this delicious soup on Sunday, for our after-church lunch. And it hit the spot on a beautiful autumn day. It was so good, that my mother-in-law asked for the recipe (not to brag, of course). But while I'm patting my own back here, I will also say that I got it off allrecipes and tweaked it substantially (as I often do, because sometimes, let's face it, I know how to make it better than the 5-star 2500+ reviewers on allrecipes). So, now that it's not really the allrecipes version, I'm calling it my own. 

I'm sure you all will want to pull out your slow cookers and give it a try, right? Or at least make a mental note that it's out here for ya, for someday...

Kam's Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 1/2 - 2 pounds chicken breasts (lots of chicken made it really good!!)

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green pepper and onion, coarsely mashed

1 (10 ounce) can green enchilada sauce (Target brand is great!)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 large green pepper, chopped

1/2 t garlic granules (or powder)

1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth

1 (14.5 ounce) can black beans

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn

2-3 tablespoon chopped cilantro

juice of 1/2 lime

• 
  
• Tortilla chips, grated cheese, sour cream and lime slices for garnishes.

Directions

1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, and green peppers into a slow cooker. Pour in chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and lime juice. Stir in corn and beans. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Remove chicken breasts and shred. Return to cooker and add cilantro.
3. Simmer 15-30 more minutes to blend flavors.
4. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream and limes.

  

Kids update -- on video

Just thought I'd share a few videos of the kids from the last few days, for your enjoyment.

First up, Natalie is WALKING. Sort of... 

Er, at least she's taking a few steps here and there. I LOVE it!!!

Sweet Spencer boy. He was asking for a peanut butter sandwich the other day. It was so cute, and he was asking so sweetly, I had to get the video camera...

And Samantha... 

We watched that Jimmy Kimmel post-Halloween special where he asked parents to tease their kids and tell the kids that they (the parents) ate all the Halloween candy. (Hilarious, if you missed it! Look it up!)

We decided to try it on Sammie. (Forgive my shaky camera skills... I couldn't resist looking at her "in person" which meant I wasn't manning the lense very carefully)... hmm... having trouble uploading. Hopefully I'll get it.

Happy happy Halloween... and some other pics

Happy November everyone! Is it just me, or was October a really long month?! It seemed to last and last. At the same time, now that it's over, I'm wondering, how in the WORLD did it get to be NOVEMBER already?!?

Well. Anyway. We've had an October here, long and short at the same time. And here are some pics of our time...

Natalie, darling dear. Look at that hair. It's so cute, cute, cute. And curly, curly, curly. And red, red, red. Just had to put up a couple pics of our cutie...

Next up, Spencer's Joy School Halloween Party. Samantha was sick with a sniffle (bad enough to be home, but not bad enough to miss something fun, ya know?) So, she got to join in the party, parading around with the four Joy School boys, and eating cookies they decorated themselves...

Anybody hear the East Coast weather reports from this last weekend? This was what our back yard looked like last Saturday...

SNOW!!! Big, fluffy, wet, heavy flakes. It was absolutely GORGEOUS! And also one of the worst storms for our area in a LONG time, for all the damage it did! It was worse that Hurricane Irene, by a long ways. There are still people without power (five days later). Lots of towns cancelled Halloween, or postponed trick-or-treating until this coming weekend. What made it so bad is that the snow was soooo wet and heavy, and all the trees still have their leaves. So, the trees "caught" all that snow on their leaves, and huge branches were breaking off EVERYWHERE, crashing across roads, ripping power lines down, etc.

Luckily, we didn't have it too bad. We never lost power, and the worst real damage we saw was a big tree that fell across our road, a few blocks down the street. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our church's big Halloween party for Saturday night. That was a let-down. We were on the planning committee, and let me tell you, it was going to be AWESOME! We had everything all decorated and set for a chili cook-off, a kids' carnival, and a trunk-or-treat... all set up with a monster theme, etc. And then... the snow. My good friend was in charge, and had been planning it for a month. So, it was quite the disappointment.

To make things better, we decided to have an impromptu chili/halloween party at our house instead...

Did I mention Brian's parents are in town? Here are the kids with Grandpa and Grandma, waiting for our party guests to arrive.

And here are most of the kids lined up, in their costumes...

We had two other little "monsters" but I'm not sure where they were for the photo shoot??

We just had two other families over (I don't think our little front room would accommodate much more). We ate chili together and let the kids play some games. Musical chairs was a bit of a fiasco, maybe I'll upload the video I took, if I can get it to work (which I usually can't!) It worked better when we just let them play "run-around-the-chair-like-crazies" to some Halloween music. Then we let the kids "trick-or-treat" upstairs, with all the grown-ups standing behind bedroom doors, or in the bathroom, or hall closet, handing out candy. Kinda fun. Here's Brian, dressed as a crazed BSU fan. He even let me paint "BSU" on his cheek.

On the REAL Halloween night, we got together again to take the kids trick-or-treating. Fun times!

Couldn't resist taking a picture of cute Clara... she was dressed up as a skunk! So stinkin' cute! ;)

So, our group went up and down one really nice long street, with lots of houses giving out lots of fun treats. Sammie led the pack, and Spencer brought up the rear. And yes, that's SNOW. Burrrrrr!

Brian and Natalie missed the "group" trick-or-treating party. So we did a little more afterward, to our nearby neighbors. And we got Natalie all dolled up, for posterity's sake, even though she didn't really have a clue what it was all about. She sure looked cute!! Aunt Melissa made her clown costume, isn't it so darling?

 One last photo shoot, before they unloaded their loot, took off their costumes, and headed to bed...

In case it wasn't obvious, Samantha was a bee. (She actually went around saying "bzzzzz! I stung you!!" after she picked her candy out of people's trick-or-treat baskets.) And Natalie was a clown. (It took A LOT to get that red paint on her nose, just in case you wondered.)

 Spencer was a dragon, and I bribed him to smile and wear his "hat" in this picture before he could have some Halloween candy. hee hee...

I'm sure I have more to write. But this was my Halloween post. So... ta da! It was a fun night/weekend. Now what to do with all this candy!??!