Happy Birthday!

On Saturday we had a birthday party for Olivia with all of her cousins. They dressed up, we had cake, opened gifts and we went to a fall festival in town. Olivia dressed like a lady bug.
Blowing out her candles and wishing for lip gloss and office supplies.

Our adorable 7 year old

Cute cousins

Face painting, hay rides and fun games.

The weather was beautiful and we had a great time!

This was the low part of the day. I never thought a Jack in the box could top my clown fear!

My girls didn't think it was scary (at all) and even gathered around when I snapped the photo. I stayed way back and zoomed...No way I was getting too close. Hello, I got chills even loading the photo on the computer.

10-26-01

Olivia Ryan October 26, 2001

Today our sweet Olivia turns 7

7 things we love about Livie...

• Her sweet cheeks. The kind you just have to kiss
• Her big heart. She loves to make others happy.
• Her laugh. The way she always giggles.
• Her cuddles. Asking for mommy/daddy time to snuggle and read a million books
• Her new toothless grin. She was so proud she lost both top teeth and how she hid her tooth and said she did not need money just fairy dust and the tooth fairy's real name.
• Her big brown eyes. At least 1 got my dominant gene.
• Her hugs and kisses. She always needs just one more.

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Pumpkin Patch

Picking Pumpkins!

Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins.

Not actually "picking" just picking out of a pile. Everyone gets to choose a small pumpkin to take home after they go on a hay hide to the barn and feed animals. They scatter the small pumpkins out in one area to make it easier to "pick". As soon as Emerson saw them she shouted,"KICK BALL" and took off running. She was so excited. She was a little Beckham out there. In her defense they were the perfect size. Sorry if you were there after us and got a bruised pumpkin.

It was very overcast and got quite chilly, notice the sweaters. No sunshine for miles. No idea why they are squinting. Emerson finally played nice and is resting with her pumpkin and big sister Connor. We searched the pumpkin piles for a Spookley, but none were found. For those that don't know the childs book, Spookley the Square Pumpkin, you should check it out. It's a really cute book with a great message about a cute square pumpkin that saves the patch.

She will put anything in her mouth. Yum....indian corn.

Harrison (cousin) and Olivia on the hay ride. They can't wait to feed the animals.

Landon on the tractor

I'm not sure if she's concerned they are in there or she is left out?

The girls feeding sheep. Thank goodness for hand sanitizer!

Harrison as pumpkin-man

Cousins (minus 3)

Harrison, Eme, Landon, Chandler, Livie and Connor

Silly Girl!

It was bed time and the girls were all getting ready for bed. Emerson decided she would sleep in Cookie's kennel. She squealed "Night-night" and ran off to claim her spot. She held the door shut, so her sisters could not get in.

She would fling the door open and just laugh!

Rob and the girls could not get her out without her kicking and screaming.

They would pull her out and she would crawl right back in.

We finally got her to come out by offering her a second teeth brushing session. Yes, my girls might be the only kids that actually beg to brush their teeth. I will tell them if they don't hurry and get on their PJ's they will run out of time and won't GET to brush their teeth. Out of fear of "the sugar bugs" they move quickly. Hopefully, it will last forever!

Go Panthers!

What a great Day! My sister came over after church to watch the girls so Rob and I could get out for some much needed adult time. It's always fun to go to the game, tailgate, hang out with friends and watch the Panthers. Even better when they win! The weather was perfect. Cool Fall jacket weather. Thanks Aunt Aly!

Panthers 30- Saints 7

Recipe

Hello...might be nice if I gave the recipe.

I followed it exactly because that's just what I do (I blame it on my chemistry background). Next time I might step out of the box and use spinach in the ricotta filling instead of parsley. It was delicious the way it is, I just love spinach. Enjoy!

Black Bean Lasagna

No boil Lasagna noodles

2 cups reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese

Sauce:

1 med onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped (I used minced from a jar)

1 cup water

2 cans(15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can(14.5 oz) whole tomatoes, with juice

2 cans(6 oz) tomato paste

Saute onions and garlic until tender. Add water, tomatoes (break up with spoon),tomato paste and beans. Simmer uncovered for 15 mins stirring occasionally.

Filling:

1 container(15 oz) fat free Ricotta

1/2 cup reduced fat Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup egg product or 4 egg whites

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (optional, I did use it)

Mix well.

Heat oven to 350

Layer noodles, 1/3 of sauce, 1/3 of ricotta mixture, 1/3 of Monterey Jack cheese in 9x13 baking dish.

Bake 30-35 min. Let stand 15 before serving.

What's for Dinner

Black Bean Lasagna So yummy and so easy! Don't be fooled by the number of ingredients. My sister's friend, Laura gave me the recipe and I tried it out last night. Big hit! Will definitely make it again. It tasted great and is low fat and full of protein

Love Pumpkin

I do love pumpkins! I love this one because my daughter Landon painted it in Kindergarten.

I just can't stop loving this one! Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is so good, but so bad! It's wrecking my diet. Well worth a longer workout on the treadmill!

Yummmm!
(and I don't normally drink coffee)

Hiding

This is toddler hiding at it's best! When I called her name she said,"shhh, Mommy...I hi-ning". Maybe she's helping the cheese hide from the crackers?

Is it too much to ask that she dust the blinds while under there?

Smell the Roses

I know there are a lot Martha Stewart watchers out there and I'm no exception. My head is full of projects I've seen and I'm going to do, but never get around to. I finally broke down and attempted to make the gorgeous coffee filter roses that Cassie Chappell created. It was actually very simple and even more rewarding. Tracing and cutting out the petals took the longest and was boring busy work. The first rose is the one I have pictured and it is not perfect. My outer petals are too long so they flop. But hey, roses aren't perfect in nature anyway. :)

SUPPLIES

The supplies were very affordable Less than a total of $10 to make more than I could ever want. 400 cone coffee filters from Costco for 3.75 (you need 8 for each rose) A pack 30 green wires for .88, A roll of the sticky/stretch floral tape for .88 both from Walmart. Rose colored Van Gogh water color paint for 2.75 at local craft store. The other things I had on hand include: pencil, scissors, paint brush, and bamboo skewer to roll the edges. I printed the templates from Martha (yes, we are first name:)).

It was a great project! I can't wait to try other colors ( maybe orchids). It was so much fun. My 14 year old niece, Morgan even made one. I think they will make perfect decorations for Emerson's 2nd birthday party in November. We should all take more time to stop and smell the roses, or in this case make roses!

2 min

Yesterday, I went to brush my teeth before I walked out the door to head to Target. Emerson was in the kitchen playing fridge farm so I thought it was the perfect time. Emerson LOVES the fridge. The ice/water dispenser is pure magic for her and lucky for me has a lock button. I have started tying the fridge doors closed with a ribbon so she can't get in. She likes to take all the things out of the door and has even been known to climb up and sit on the shelves. Today she learned to untie. It was just a matter of time. Mustard was her choice and painting was the game! Mommy was not thrilled with her art and she can't understand why.

Crocs and pants. (good thing they are the cheap-o $3 knock offs)

Yes, that is sidewalk chalk art. (Thanks, Connor for opening the new holders before school)

She managed to paint the remote.

Her it-wasn't-me look. Hmmm my sister's are at school, this is a tricky one.

I'll blame Cookie, since she has mustard on her too! Poor puppy. Yellow mustard is a pain to clean off of white puppy fur.

She was much happier to be bathed and headed to Target. I guess sneaking off to brush my teeth for 2 minutes was just 2 minutes, too long.

HARVEST!

I got the best gift from The Preppy Engineer!

She gave me so many wonderful goodies for the Fall Swap that Preppy Mama organized.

I love everything! I hear Starbucks calling my name.

It was beautifully wrapped and adorned with grosgrain.

What a perfect start to my weekend. Thank you Preppy Engineer!

Lunch

Emerson waiting for lunch time

Emerson and Olivia

Emerson and her cousin Maddi having lunch.

Connor and Emerson sharing a kiss.

Landon, Connor and Emerson


Cousin Miles with Emerson and Landon

I made a school lunch visit. Emerson and I ate with her sisters and cousins today. With 6 at the same school I thought it was best to make a day of it instead of a week. Long day from 10:45-1:45. And we missed one cousin for a nap.

Cousins

Cousins Summer 2005 (9 out of 10, Emerson was not born, yet)
Spring 2007

I have 4 neices and 2 nephews.The ages are 14, 12, 12, 10, 9, 8, 8, 7, 5, and almost 2.
My 4 daughters are the youngest.



On at least 1 day a week I have all 10 at my house afterschool. Yes, 10! That's two more than Kate Gosslin. I have often thought of J&K+8 and how they frequently refer to their life with 2 sets of multiples as a challenge and I would agree it's a zoo. However, I think it's the # of kids not the fact they are multiples that is overwhelming. Once they were out of diapers she gets the avdantage of multiples. It would be much easier if on Tuesdays, I only had to keep 2 age groups entertained instead of 8 different ages. Well, and a camera crew to help watch over them when they run off!