TIS THE SEASON

OH FALL, HOW DO WE LOVE THEE???

* finally having (free) air conditioning in the car
* cool air putting us to sleep
* no hot sun waking us up
* Bears football
* the promise of Wisconsin
* the crunch of the leaves
* a new look for the arboretum
* Pepper making her 1st "Francesca Tree"
* (honeycrisp) apple picking...
* resulting in homemade (honeycrisp) apple cider donuts
* dresses over tights
* a new monkey sweatshirt
* a girlified Rolling Stones jacket
* eating honeycrisp apples at every meal
* warm vanilla sugar body lotion
* our favorite month of the year
* making our own halloween costumes
* did we mention honeycrisp apples???

I HEART BABY DANCING

This is obviously not Monkey or Pepper, but it still makes me laugh!

THE GREAT NEWS...

Is that Monkey is now officially
A PRESCHOOLER!

He was so excited, he did a hip shake, puckered his lips, and gave me his

best Elvis impersonation!

What can I say? 

The kid knows great music!

Someone, please tell me where the last

3 1/2 years went, because I'm not sure, but at least I know that it has been time well spent!

GREEN SMOOTHIE

So, I have been making smoothies for a long time, but mostly blueberry based ones. One of my newest obsessions is the Vita-Mix Blender. I realize that with the price tag, I won't be buying one anytime soon. I am stuck using my boring old blender that is so slow, you could blend faster by using a hand blade! Needless to say, it does get the job done...within an hour (haha)!!!  Today, I decided to start our journey to a healthier smoothie by making it green (as in spinach-green)!  Here is the original recipe and some notes.

TROPICAL GREEN SMOOTHIE

*1 c. green grapes
*1 c. baby spinach leaves
*6 oz. vanilla yogurt
*1 frozen banana, cut in chunks
*1/2 c. frozen pineapple chunks

Place frozen fruit in blender first.
Add other ingredients.
Blend until smooth.
Enjoy!

NOTES...

*I used organic grapes and spinach, as they are on the top ten list of fruits and veggies that contain the most pesticides.
*I used organic yogurt because, besides being better, it also tastes better!
*I washed the spinch and squeezed the water out, but if you see green, then stop because you are also squeezing the vitamins out!
*I added flax seeds, but it's up to you!
*I don't measure anymore. I go with the flow and taste as I go.
*Make your own adjustments!

The kids each devoured 2 cups and are you wondering about me?
Me? The spinach LOVER? Well, it didn't taste right, but to be fair, nothing tasted right today because I am coming down with a cold.

GOOD THINGS HAPPEN IN 3'S

I JUST GOT A PHONE CALL WITH GREAT NEWS!  MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW...
I WAS SO EXCITED, I BRUSHED MY TEETH SO THEY WOULD MATCH MY BRIGHT SMILE!
WHILE I WAS WALKING OUT OF THE BATHROOM, THE PHONE RANG AGAIN WITH MORE GOOD NEWS!
MAYBE IF I BRUSH MY TEETH AGAIN, THE PHONE WILL RING AGAIN...

THIRD TIME'S A CHARM?

OR AM I ASKING FOR TOO MUCH?

IN SOMEONE ELSE'S WORLD...

...the following would not be odd to hear, but in my world, if the following events happened in ONE day...

* Monkey & Pepper both woke up after
   12 hours of sleep
* the t.v. was on for more than an hour
* we have not left the house for any reason
* it is 3:30 and we are still in jammies
* I didn't have to yell!
* the word silence was mentioned
   a few times
* I am on the computer before 11pm
* the kids napped SIMULTANEOUSLY
   FOR 2 HOURS
* I got to nap, NO, REALLY NAP,
   LIKE FOR REAL
* the 1st pot of Autumn Vegetable Soup
   was made for lunch

....then you know the kids are sick!

WHY WE LOVE TRADER JOE'S

There are many reasons why we heart

Some goofy guy hearts them even more. 

He made a corny video of his reasons!

It makes me smile every time I watch!

SAD ANNIVERSARY

I PRAY FOR EVERYONE..

...affected by the tragic events that happened eight years ago today. I will never forget being in that store. Time moved so slow. A saleswoman said that a plane crashed in New York. You would think that it was sad, but it could happen. I KNEW something else was going on. I explained that I worked for United and asked to use the phone to call over to the airport to get more info. By now, the entire store was waiting on my next move.

I called one desk; no answer.
"The line is busy." I lied.
I called the next desk over; no answer.
"That line is busy too." Another lie.

I pretended to call desk after desk with no luck, each time trying to reassure the worried faces around me.

"The lines are all busy because the employees are probably trying to rebook passengers."

By my fifth or so phone call, I knew they were starting to question my lies. I couldn't tell them that the reason the phones had gone unanswered was because they were evacuating the airport.

"You shouldn't worry." Another lie.

I somehow managed to keep it together until I left the store and got into my car where I promptly fell apart. I don't know how long I cried; what was being said on the radio; or how I got home. I called the manpower office at work. I was told that if I did not show up for my shift later that afternoon, I would be written up.

Thank you, United, for your compassion.

I chose to stay home and be with my family, uncertain of what was going to happen to our world in the coming hours, days, years. It hasn't been good.

I PRAY FOR THE FUTURE...

ANOTHER GREAT WEEKEND...

It was another not so quiet weekend.  Do we ever have a day planned that includes only ONE activity?  Not usually...just ask Joanne!  Keeping busy has kept us out of the house, which is always a good thing! 

SATURDAY...Our annual trip to the
Bristol Renaissance Faire!

I stayed up until 4am the night before finishing our Ren crafts. 

Francesca wore her wench flower wreath for all of 38 seconds...

...so I enjoyed it for the rest of the fest!

Nicholas and his silver sword with hand picked "jems" protected his Princess Maile, without fail, except for when he was busy eating!

Joey hates crowds, heat, dirt

and over-priced food.

I give him credit; he made the best of it!

We saw beautiful forest fairies.

And angry, bad knights.

Our only regret was that we were running so late, we spent more time looking for

J x 3 + G = The Lisy Family :) than we did hanging out with them!

We had a long day, but well worth it. 

We knew it was time to leave when Monkey and Pepper turned into...

Just kidding. They aren't giants....

*************************************************

SUNDAY...And we're off...to Arlington!

What a great afternoon!  It was nice to relax and enjoy a laid-back sunny day and actually win some money!  We have some goofy pics since we were attempting to

get back to 35mm film.

We have a LOT of pictures of birds. 

Thank you Donald!

Here are the winning horses we picked...

Joey - The Elevator

Deanna - Si Si Mon Amie

Nicholas - Wild Comedy

It seems as if our theory of (somewhat) choosing a horse based on a name that means something to us,

works every time!

Francesca wasn't feelin it.  She absolutely refused to touch the program every time we tried to get her to pick!

A little snack for the boys. 

Thank you, Zio!

The boys also enjoyed riding around the track on Sammie...

Francesca and Valentina were both a bit overwhelmed and mostly watched and slept.  Maybe next year, girls!

Joey could have been an actor in (insert your favorite mob movie title here) with his classic look and favorite shirt!

All in all, we had a very nice afternoon with family and friends and a very nice dinner afterwards!


MONDAY...BBQ...NUFF SAID

DEANNA IS A LOSER

Sadly, I did not win my MADSEN bike that
I have been drooling over. 
They are giving away one bike per week, so I still have another chance!

I get an entry for each click on the pic,
so....let your fingers do the walking!

If I win, I will personally ride to your house and deliver to you a delicious loaf of multigrain bread that's homemade from our favorite local bakery.

HAPPY HALF BDAY NICHOLAS!

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed

One fell off and bumped his head

Mamma called the doctor and the doctor said...

No more jumping; it's time for bed!

...11 MINUTES...

I had the pleasure of being allowed exactly 11 minutes (quite typical) to myself today, courtesy of Boss #1 and Boss #2.  At countdown + 1 minute, I attempted to get comfortable on the couch for a nap.  Stupid me, I had the window open for some fresh air.  I get zero breeze on most days, save for the times when the renters next door start to chain smoke.  I was lucky enough to only breathe in 4 cigarettes, which is the limit over here for air to be considered "fresh".  If those guys had lit the 5th one, I would have shut the window.  They went inside and then the kids in the neighborhood came home screaming from school.  I am really surprised I haven't learned Polish yet.  Does "coorva" count?  I do tend to waste time on things that do not matter (i.e. naps).  If you are ever in a similar situation and you have 11 minutes to spare, let me offer a few alternatives which would be a better use of your time...


* take a nice bathroom break


* take a phone call with 100 ?'s to qualify you for a survey that will have your quota filled after all those questions are answered


* try to write a blog entry; get stuck; swear at the cat out of anger


* pet the cat and apologize (you would have to do this on an alternative break)


* delete your unwatched tivo

* make a to-do list with pretty cursive so it looks nice on your fridge (because it will stay there so long, it will become a piece of fridge art)


Hope these suggestions help!  If you find that they take longer than 11 minutes, you move slower than I do, which I highly doubt is possible :)


GOTTA GO.....MY BOSSES ARE SCREAMING AT ME TO GET BACK TO WORK!

THANKFUL FOR A LOVELY WEEKEND

We had a great and (not at all) quiet weekend! 

Here are a few things we are grateful for...

Joey working late on Friday nights, so we have a chance to MISS him!

Thank you Joey/Daddy!

Getting lost in nature!  Thank you God and our favorite hideaway!

Deanna having the best laugh of her life after seeing "The Bubblebath"!

Thank you Grandma Jan!

Our new favorite vegetarian dish...

The Sweet Ass Texan Bean Salad!

Thank you Auntie Pam!

An absolutely fabulous sushi dinner from TANK!  Thank you so much Franco!

Devouring Red Octopus Martinis! 
They go down too smooth!

Thank you Pasquale!

An honest to goodness full night's sleep
(9 1/2 hours to be exact)

Thank you mom and dad!

Great laughs; great times; great company; great memories!

Thank you for it all, Kiddieland!

A great friend who also happens to be a great photographer! 

Thank you Janet!

 p.s..this is my new fav pic of myself :)

Hope y'all were also able to enjoy these last beautiful days of summer!