Sweet Little Sunday Excursion

The weather yesterday was great. It hit 70 here in Indiana and the sun was shining. My son and I couldn't resist a chance to get out and take pictures of the fall foliage.

We had quite an adventure! First we tried to get the foliage and an old barn that sits off the highway, but the only spot you could see it well from was on a bridge and there was way too much traffic to stop and get out.

I turned the car around and tried to head out a country road called Maple Turn, only to find out the state police had the road blocked for some reason. I'll have to check the paper today and see what happened. Our town is pretty boring, so anything like that is sure to make the front page, right beside the 12 year old who grew a monstrous pumpkin in his back yard or the guy down the street's multi-point buck score on his hunting trip.

We finally settled for the city park, and took many pictures of the little pond that's there. I liked this picture, mostly because of the kids walking the trail on the far side of the water. The park was full of families, and each shelter house was taken for a birthday party, reunion, or end of the season cookout bash. One shelter house held kids in Halloween costumes. Skeletons and witches were playing on the swings. It made me think about how, in today's society, moments like this are far too few. When was the last time you can remember trudging around a little pond, exploring the trail around it that leads through the woods? Ducking to avoid that low branch that will snag your hair or your shoe slipping off the path into the mud. When was the last time your kids had the opportunity to have that kind of adventure?

Seems like parents are busy working overtime, and shuffling the kids back and forth between dance, soccer, and music lessons. Free time at home is usually after dark and spend on the computer of playing video games. I'm glad I took the time to give my son a little adventure this weekend. I'll leave you with a shot of my son taking his own pictures.

Halloween Coloring Page Creator

Your kids can create their own halloween coloring pages here. You get to choose characters, backgrounds, and even add your own message, then print it out and color away! I spent about a half hour here playing, so I can only imagine how long my son will spend.

Equal Time for Equal Parenting Duties.......A Stay At Home Dad Speaks Out

I absolutely love this entry! A stay at home dad keeps this blog, and in this post he talks about the five hardest things to deal with while staying home with the kids. None of these will come as any suprise to us moms, though. But it's funny and refreshing to hear a dad with the same complaints as us!

He talks about not being able to keep up with the housework, about things getting broken around the house, lack of adult conversation, no time for himself, and the dreaded 30 minute-get-ready-to-go times, even if it's just a trip around the corner to pick up one of the kids.

Of course, as moms, we already knew all this, didn't we? Maybe he should try doing all of the above while holding down a full time job outside the home? But then again, would we really put that off on anyone?

Frugal Tip - Hiding scratches in furniture

Scratches in wood furniture:

Mix oneteaspoon of instant coffee with two teaspoons water to make a paste. Apply to the scratch or scuff with a cotton ball. The more you dab the darker it gets.

The World Can Wait.........

Yes, it can. The world will wait. The dishes will wait. The laundry will wait. And it did. All week long.

While I took my daughter and three of her best friends to the mall and dinner in celebration of her fourteenth birthday.

While I went to soccer practice with my son and cheered from the sidelines just as enthusiastically as I would have if it were a game. It all waited while I watched my daughter cheer for her last football game as an eighth grader.

While I helped my son pick out a movie and other goodies with his birthday money at "the department store who shall not be named."

It was still there when I finished checking homework and discussing with my son how his anxiety attacks have really lessened over the last month or so, or when my daughter's best friend brought over her homemade birthday gift(a wonderful collage to their friendship).

And it's Friday now. I've packed their bags to go to their dad's house. My daughter will celebrate her birthday there this weekend. As I finish up working for the week and start to close up shop-so to speak-I take a quick look around. Yep, it's still there, the laundry, vacuuming, this morning's dishes. It all waited. But my kids wouldn't have. They would have gone on, with or without me there. So now, while they are gone this weekend, I'll get it all caught up, and take a little time for me. Rejeuvenate. Rest. Be an adult. Because Monday starts another week full of times with them that just won't wait, and I wouldn't want them to.


"The work can wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you do the work."
~ Patricia Clafford


Bright Blessings,

busymom

Interactive Community Exclusively for Moms' Groups

www.mothersclick.com

Now, my kids are beyond the age of playgroups and with my schedule I couldn't be involved in a co-op, but this site looks good and might just work for organizing car pools from cheerleading and soccer practice to games, etc. Anyway, its certainly worth a check out! Here's an excerpt below from the press release.

Inspired and co-founded by first-time mom, Andra Davidson, MothersClick is a dynamic and interactive community designed exclusively for busy moms and mothers’ groups. MothersClick provides the tools and services for organizing and managing group communications, events and activities, such as playgroups and co-ops, and it helps maximize the value of moms’ time spent online by sharing knowledge; asking questions and finding answers to the experiences of motherhood and parenting. MothersClick is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif. For more information, visit www.mothersclick.com.

As I dug around a bit, you can find other's in your area and join an existing group, start a group, ask questions, etc. If you're going on vacation, ask the locals what the good places to stay with kids are.

And then there are blogs to read. Yes, blogs. Mommy blogs. Need I say more?

signed,

your blog and internet addicted friend,

busymom

CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 lb. Angel hair pasta
1 can Cambell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 lb. Mexican or regular Velveeta Cheese
1 can Rotel tomatoes (tomatoes with green chiles)
PREPARATION:
Boil chicken breasts in large pan adding a pinch of salt to water. Remove chicken when completely done. Boil noodles in remaining broth, drain after done. Cut chicken into small, bite-sized pieces. Cut cheese into small chunks and combine in your crock pot: chicken, noodles, cheese, soups, and Rotel. Cook on medium heat until cheese is all melted.

WHOLE BAKED GARLIC WITH TOASTS

1 large head of garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
ten 1/3-inch-thick diagonal slices of Italian or French bread
Cut off the top quarter of the garlic with a sharp knife to
expose the cloves, set the garlic in the middle of a large
piece of foil, and drizzle it with 2 teaspoons of the oil.
Crimp the foil around the garlic to enclose it completely
and bake the garlic in the middle of a preheated 425 degrees
F. oven for 40 minutes. While the garlic is baking, brush
the bread slices with the remaining oil and bake them on a
baking sheet in the lower third of oven (below the garlic),
turning them once, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are
golden and crisp. Unwrap the garlic and put it on a serving
plate surrounded by the toasts. To serve the garlic: Remove
the softened cloves with a knife or fork, or turn the head
of garlic upside down and squeeze out the cloves, and spread
the garlic on the toasts.
Serves 2 as a first course.

Boy,this is a mother's dream.........

A flying car! Now, imagine how much time this would save us between dance and soccer and cheerleading and music lessons.

Does it come with a nice looking driver so I can read while we fly?

Sloppy Joes

serving size 6-8
2 lbs hamburger
1 onion, diced
10 oz tomato sauce
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
2/3 cup catsup
2 teaspoons chili powder
salt and pepper
1/2teaspoon mustard (optional)
1-2 teaspoons steak sauce
1/3 cup chili sauce

Brown hamburger and onion.
Drain out grease.
Add with rest of ingredients to a crock pot. Cook on low about 6 hours.

Slow Cooker Pizza Casserole

serves 6-8 for less half all ingredients.
4 (14
ounce) jars pizza sauce
1 1/2
lbs ground beef, cooked and drained
1
lb sausage, cooked and drained
1
lb corkscrew macaroni, cooked and drained
2
cups shedded mozzarella cheese
2
cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 (4
ounce) cans mushroom stems and pieces, drained
2 (3
ounce) packages sliced pepperoni
1/2
cup finely chopped onions
1/2
cup finely chopped green bell peppers
1
garlic clove, minced

Combine all indgredients in slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours, or on HIGH for 2 hours.