I just want him to stay little!!!!!!!

These are Cubbys school shoes from last year...he picked them out himself at Stride Rite. I looooved them....he would wear them with his brown and blue corduroys...when he wanted to look "handsome"....he's out grown them...but I just haven't been able to part with them :( It makes me sad that he doesn't fit in any of the toddler clothes...no more 5T's.......he's in the "big boy" section now. No more baby clothes as he says!!




When we went back to school shopping a few weeks ago...these are the shoes he picked out. He wanted "skateboard" shoes....and then we scored on these black Adidas (...and yes, I knew how to spell that by saying in my head...All Day I Dream About Sex!!) at Famous Footwear for $7.99!!! The box said $49.99!!!!!!!! He was soooooo happy!! I just hugged him.....and thought in my head...."I just want him to stay little".

What is it?? Wednesday

First of all.....I just have to mention that today is 09/09/09...isn't that really cool???? And now, back to business.......50/50 ticket stubs fill up my pretty little canister. For those of you who aren't familiar with what they are.....at all of the local sporting events, as a fundraiser, moms and dads sell tickets to all of the fans during the event. Then a ticket is drawn. The winning number is announced and they split the money. Sometimes it can be quite a hefty amount...especially at the high school football games. Well, these are the tickets they sell at T's football games every weekend. Cubby has loved them since he was really little. He always collected them after the number was drawn....putting them in his pockets, playing with them in his play cash register and having his own 50/50 raffles at our house. I even won once a few years ago!! Last Saturday I asked the mom in charge of the raffle if I could have all of the tickets at the end of the night.....not just for my post here....but I have an idea that's brewing in my crafty little brain on how to re-purpose them on a big project I have up my sleeve. More on that in the coming months.....

Reuben Casserole

This is not a picture of the Reuben casserole I made......that didn't turn out so great....this is what my SIL and I had to drink on a gray, rainy Labor Day. It really helped to brighten our day!! Even though it was rainy it didn't stop the boys from jumping on the tramp and wakeboarding.....they crave each other when they don't see each other every week and they didn't care what the weather was doing!

But I still did want to share the recipe I made.....I've had it for about 10 years and it always goes over quite well. I don't care for corned beef...so I use turkey...and technically it's called a Rachel when you do that....but here goes....

Ingredients:
6 slices pumpernickel or rye bread, toasted and cubed...about 5 1/2 cups
1 (14 oz.) can sauerkraut, drained
1 lb. thinly sliced corned beef or turkey, from the deli, cut into strips
3/4 cup Russian dressing....I use it straight from the bottle
8 oz. (2 cups) shredded Swiss cheese

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12x8 glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place bread cubes evenly in bottom of sprayed dish. Spread sauerkraut evenly over bread. Layer corned beef or turkey over sauerkraut. Pour dressing over the top. Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray; place, sprayed side down, over baking dish.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, and additional 5 to 10 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and cheese is melted.

Chocolate Cake

I just can't say enough about how much I looooove this cake!! For one thing it is soooo easy and you can have all of the ingredients on hand. I made it last weekend for a family dinner and decided I hadn't had enough so I made it again...that's right twice in one week!!!!! You don't need an occaision.....just get the stuff and whip it up.......here we go....

1 box of Devils Food cake mix
1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Jar Caramel topping
1 12 oz. bowl of Cool Whip
3 or 4 crushed Heath bars.....I actually used 6!!

Bake cake as directed in a 13x9 pan. While cake is still hot, poke holes with the handle of a spoon all the way to the bottom. Mix about a 1/4 cup of condensed milk with the jar of caramel......I thought the whole can made it too "wet" ...let it soak in....and cool completely. Frost with the Cool Whip and sprinkle with crushed Heath Bars.

This will truly become a family favorite!! And be sure to think of the Treatgirl every time you make it :)

First Day

Today was my kiddos first day of school...Every year I go through this...the heartache and worry, missing them, and wondering if they'll remember all of the fun times we had and not me yelling for the umpteenth time to turn off the t.v. and video games and go outside!!...only this year was the HARDEST yet......Cubby went to kindergarten. I started crying when he graduated from pre-school in May and the tears have been leaking ever since. The big kids got on the bus at 6:43 a.m. and of course there are no more "off to school" pictures for them....so I had Chip run out to the sidwalk and sneak this one of them getting on the bus.

Cubby goes to afternoon kindergarten so we spent the beautiful morning playing frisbee and riding his bike. We had lunch and then headed up to his school. We got there an HOUR early!!!! I knew I wanted to take some pictures.....of course, the scrapbooker in me coming out :) And he did notice there were no other kids there! So we played at the playground for a bit.




We waited on the sidewalk for the teachers to come open the doors.....and I could feel the knot in my throat welling up, the tears were almost about to spill over...



And then this is where I lost it!!!!!!!!!!! I drove home blubbering and sniffling...I don't know.....I'm hoping tomorrow goes better for me...HE totally had a great day and that's the most important thing.....I just have to get a grip!! Maybe I can help in the classroom every day?????




I have a tradition of baking a cake for the first day of school every year....this year it was this lovely, scrumptious chocolate number.....with lots of caramel, Cool Whip, and crushed Heath Bars....let's just say, if they don't have this in heaven, I'm not going!!!!..stop back tomorrow and I will share the recipe :)

What?! "Mock Apple Pie"...yep, kids! It's zucchini!

I have done EVERYthing to zucchini.....baked it, stuffed it, fried it, sauteed it, made it into soup......but make it into a pie that tastes like apple??? Nope!!! not until today, that is. I've heard of it, and quite honestly I wasn't interested.....like, how could it??? And why not just use apples?!!!! Well Ms. Bragarmar brought a piece to football practice the other night and I was blown away!! It was scrumptious and TRULY did taste like apple!!!!!!! Well, her crust was amazing as well....and I do need a lesson on that....but I got busy this afternoon. And look, I don't even have a pie pan.....I used a Corning French White baking dish...But that didn't slow me down...I also used pie crusts that you get in the refrigerator section...shhh....my kiddos don't know the difference. Hopefully someday soon I be cranking out "real" ones. I do need to get a rolling pin though:)



If you'd like to try it for yourself and pull it over on your family here's the recipe:
6 cups zucchini
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 T. flour
1 1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
Dash of salt and nutmeg

Dough for a double pie crust

Pare zucchini, wash and slice lengthwise. Remove seeds. Slice like apples. Add a little water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add zucchini and simmer for about 15 minutes or until tender. Cool and drain well. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix, and place into an unbaked 9 inch pie crust. Cover with top pie crust and flute to seal edges. Cut slits into the top of crust for steam to escape. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes.

What is it?? Wednesday

With the chilly evenings we've had around here a nice cup of tea really hits the spot....so we've filled our canister with a selection of our favorites.....green tea, orange spice, herbal mint, ginger, cranberry, mango passion fruit tea and of course...sleepy time!!! Cindylou is the one who always gets the process going....she looooooves her tea! As a matter of fact....let me go brew a bit myself! That would be a nice treat after a very looooong day!