Pumpkin Patch 2009

Sigh. I just so enjoy this time of year. Hayrides, bonfires, the crisp crunch of leaves under our feet, and the pumpkin patch.
We have made a pilgrammage to area pumpkin patches each year photographing the memories, trying to hold onto a happy memory our family holds dear.
The boys have gone from us carrying a pumpkin for them, to going to pick their own. They take pleasure in this as the last few years, we have been carving them. No, no stencils for us! The boys want to make their own creation.
It is fun to look at all the colorful gords, and pumpkins. There are usually some grandmas that are chatting up a recent receipe that worked for them using pumpkin. I had heard of pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie.. but this time I learned about a soup.

Pumpkin Soup

1/2 c. onion
3tbsp. butter
2cups mashed cooked pumpkin
1tsp salt
1tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
3 cups of chicken broth
1/2 c. half and half

Chop the onions and brown with butter in a pan. Put mashed pumpkin with onions in pan. Add the sugar, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Slowly add chicken broth and heat thoroughly, but don't boil. To serve, pour into a bowl and add the cream. Makes 4-6 small servings.


These ladies were very sweet. When I brought this up to the boys, they wrinkled up their noses and said. "Yuck!". One day after they have forgotten about it, I may just suprise them and see how they like it!

Happy Autumn all!

School is in Session

It's that time of year again!
We are in the groove! Actually, I am late in posting this. The boys have been in school for two weeks now.
Our typical day starts around 5:30 am. It's time to motivate the oldest. Sometimes he moves and sometimes he doesn't. He has learned from last years splash therapy, (see older post) so he tends to get up. This gives him time to eat and get ready. Mind you even though he is twelve gentle reminders to brush his hair and teeth are necessary. He could care a less about what he wears to school,or what he looks like. His bus, should he choose to ride it arrives at 6:40 sometimes earlier. If we miss it, we are not far from the school, and I like to think I've saved him from some middleschool horror by taking him instead. It is truly enough to make me blush just to process what he tells me is talked about between middleschoolers these days!
Since an hour later the youngest leaves on his bus, I'm in waking up our little ray of sunshine just before 7am. This is the child that cares what he wears to school and how he looks. (crazy they are both from the same chemistry set). Depending on his fashion of the day, yes he cares..then he will eat, and then without me asking or reminding, he is upstairs again to brush his teeth and fix his hair. He is really into the bangs being lifted just so in the front. A quick spritz of hairspray and he is ready to go.
I've developed a new plan for school this year. We pack lunches the night before. And preferably, the boys pack them. This has a two fold purpose! One - I'm not doing it, and Two- they always get what they want in there. No more complaining about what type of sandwich they got, or snack. They picked it out in the store, they pack it into their daily lunch bag.
Side note on lunch boxes these days...they don't come with a thermos! They haven't for awhile, and I just don't understand. Each boy has sooo outgrown the Capri Sun stage,they would take 4 or 5 with them each day! So, I went and bought each one a modern type thermos. I still have a old Hotwheels thermos from our oldest's first lunch box. So if one wants to take soup, this can be accomplished also.
This weekend we bought new soccer shoes for our youngest starting his 5th year. Just this spring he was wearing size 5. Now less than three months later he is wearing a 7! This is a MENS shoe size! uhuh. Now I know where all that food is going! A size 7! Sigh, time is going by so fast! Our Saturdays are filled up from now until sometime in November. Good stuff.
Our oldest has decided to opt for piano again this semester. From June 2008 until May of this year he took on violin. He excelled. Violin was such a neat change in the myriad of sounds coming out of our home any given day. Since to achieve a certain note, one has to listen for the appropriate sound, violin was right up his alley! He can listen to a piece of music and then re-create most of it on both violin and piano.
His piano teacher, whom he has played with for the last three years, minus the last year had an opening! Today they met again and both were overjoyed. She let me sit in on the lesson, and wow did I learn a lot! Yes, they spend time on the piano, but she also spends time with flashcards. Yep! Music notes on flashcards. When she flashes a card he has to name the note/symbol and find it on the keyboard and play it for her. If he is right he gets to move on, if not.. try again! Neat stuff! She enjoyed listening to the new songs our middleschooler has learned, and patiently showed him how to work on his timing. After the lesson she explained to both of us, how she wants to work on his recognition of the actual notes, not just the sound they make.
She could tell he still practices on his own here at home as he had many of the attributes of a seasoned player still! Kudos! He hopes to play in the band at church one day..and one day I believe he will!

Brave boy

Yesterday I received a phone call from the principal of our elementary school. She was calling to let me know that my third grader was in her office. She further explained that he was upset and she wanted me to know why.
(I don't know about you, but my brain was coming up with all sorts of scenario's while I waited for the explanation)
Seems he was in the bathroom at the same time as some fifth graders. Apparently there was some horseplay on the behalf of said fifth grade boys. They were playing in the soap. Smearing it on the walls, throwing it at each other, flicking it on the mirrors ect.
Our third grader asked them to please stop, they were making a mess. (future police officer?) They laughed in his face, taunted him, and kept him from washing his own hands by threatening to get soap and water all over him. Something along the lines of him being "just a third grader, and what was he going to do about it, they were fifth graders".
Our brave boy went straight to the principals office instead of back to his own classroom and told her what was going on. Her response? This is where it gets good. She takes him with her to the different 5th grade classrooms for him to pick out the boys. Problem #1. How many classes were disturbed for this? Second, here is this scared third grade boy, who has already been picked on, now having to make a up in your face in front of their peers identification! Can you believe it? OH MY!
Brave little man manages to point them out. Wait, it gets better!
Now the three boys and our third grader march back down the hall all the way to the principal's office. Can you imagine that walk? Sigh.
Once in the principals office, she makes our boy recount what he saw and has him point to which boy did what. Then said boy has a time to deny or admit his guilt. Tell me, what do you think is happening here? Denial was the play decided upon by two of the boys. One of them outright admitted to messing around. He was one involved, but not the main culprit. Eventually the other two were given a "write up" which basically means a note sent home to their parents.
As soon as the 5th graders left her office, our boy sat himself down in one of the principals chairs and just cried. Cried, relief that it was over and cried over the possibility of another encounter in the future. The principal made a big deal about how brave he was for following through. As our boy made his way back to his classroom he wanted to be sure from me that instead of riding the bus home, he would be picked up by me. No problem, I assured him.
I was upset. I just wish I had gotten there before he had to go identify them in front of their classes. Poor thing. Hopefully he doesn't have a bulls eye on his back for the next two weeks of school.