A Leopard, A Genie, A Wizard and A Pumpkin

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Bloggy Welcome

I was able to reconnect with two of my friends this past week and they each have a blog.

Pam and I met in college. I think she was a freshman when I was a sophomore. That would mean we have known each other for 17 years. Wow! Pam and her family made a recent move. Now we are located in between her and her extended family. I love it. When I spoke to her the other day she asked if they could stop over on their way to and from visiting their family. Yeah!! I can't wait. Pam, welcome to my blog.

Laurie and I met when we were stationed in 29 Palms. I think we probably first met when I started attending CWF (Christian Womens Fellowship) so we have known each other over 8 years. Where does the time go? Laurie has done a better job keeping up via email over the years than I have. I had managed to lose her contact information and thought I would never be able to find her. I have a couple friends who are very much into Facebook, so I set up a page. I don't use it very often at all. But the other day, I decided to type in Laurie's name and see what happened. I was thrilled to find her and she had her blog address listed. Laurie, welcome to my blog! It is so nice to be back in touch.

Dress Like A Farmer

Hannah's school had "Dress Like A Farmer Day" today. She tilts her head every time we try to take her picture. Rachel and Aaron do it to. She made sure to tell me that she didn't want to look like a cowboy. I tried to find a John Deere hat, but my efforts were fruitless. It must be more of a Midwest thing.

I thought I would share the conversation we had in the car on the way to school.

This may be girl talk, but I think my husband and my dad are the only guys who read my blog.

Hannah: I like these kind of pants I am wearing. I know what they are called.

Jody: You do. What?

Hannah: A bra.

Jody: (Trying not to chuckle because Hannah gets very mad if she thinks you are laughing at her.) Oh, no. Those are called Bib...Ov..er...Alls (I could just see her getting to school and telling her teacher to look at her bra.)

Hannah: Oh, yeah. Bib overalls. I know what a bra is.

Jody: You do.

Hannah: Yes. When you are a grown up you wear it on the bumps you get.

Great. Her teacher is in for quite a day.

The Terrific Kid Award

Aaron brought home a letter last week stating that he had been chosen from his class to receive "The Terrific Kid Award" sponsored by The Kiwanis Club. A child from each class was selected and the school had an awards ceremony this morning. I've always known he is a terrific kid, but it was nice for the school and The Kiwanis Club to recognize it as well. He had such a hard time adjusting to his new school, I was very thankful that he was selected.

Pumpkin Muffins

Rachel loves pumpkin muffins. She likes them so much that when she was in second grade she chose that recipe to go in her class cookbook they compiled for Mother's Day. I think I first got this recipe from Weight Watchers. Rachel made them yesterday and they are so simple she was able to almost make them herself.

Here's what you need.

A spice cake mix (any brand will work)
1 can of pumpkin (NOT pie filling)
1/2 c. water

Put all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and mix. The batter will be thick but these turn out very moist.

She made a pan of mini-muffins

and a pan of regular muffins.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 12 minutes.

Scary Spiritual Pumpkins

Since Rachel has been really little, we have usually painted our pumpkins instead of carving them. It is easier and believe it or not less messy.

Last year the kids decided they wanted to carve instead of paint.

This picture of Aaron is from last year (makes me miss our old house just a little) and the expression on his face pretty much sums up how all three of the kids felt about actually getting the "guts" out of the pumpkin. I was sure they would all want to go back to painting this year.

However, Rachel is the only one who decided to paint.

Yesterday I took the three kiddos to WalMart and let them each pick a pumpkin. Rachel found hers right away. Aaron looked at a couple and Hannah made me dig through the boxes to find what she had imagined to be the perfect pumpkin.

The pumpkins before the kids apply their creative abilities. Isn't the tablecloth fun? I found it on clearance last year. It is vinyl and easy to clean.

I think this is a sweet picture.

They cleaned their pumpkins.

They used dry erase markers to draw the faces they wanted to be carved in their pumpkins.

Their expressions clearly show that they aren't thrilled about scooping out the insides of the pumpkin. Aaron is actually helping Hannah clean out her pumpkin.

Hannah's heart seed.

Rachel painting hers.

P.K. helped Aaron carve his.

The finished products.

We obviously have Halloween traditions that we follow in our home each year. Our whole family dresses up. I'm always a pumpkin, P.K. is always a wizard (he puts his robe from his Harvard graduation to good use once a year) and the kids choose whatever they want to be. I steer them away from anything scary or gory and we just have fun as a family. (P.K. won't be here this year, but that is a different post.) That said, this is where the title of this post comes in. I carved Hannah's pumpkin and then P.K. carved Aaron's. While Hannah was waiting for them to finish she was making her pumpkin say things. Her pumpkin starts saying, "I'm a scary spiritual pumpkin. I'm a scary spiritual pumpkin." Go figure.

Banana Pancakes

***Updated to include the recipe per Marine Wife's request****

Jody's Banana Pancakes

3-4 bananas (the ones that are brown)
Whatever brand of pancake mix you have on hand and ingredients on package
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t nutmeg

Mash bananas in bowl. In a seperate bowl measure out enough mix to make one and a half batches (I know math, yuk!). Add cloves and nutmeg. Stir dry ingredients just to incorporte spices. Add any other ingredients that your particular brand of pancake mix calls for. Stir in mashed bananas. I think you all probably know how to make pancakes from this point.


Several years ago P.K. mentioned that his mom use to make banana pancakes. One morning I decided to give it a try. My banana pancakes are now a family favorite. This morning was the first time I had made them since we moved.

Aaron and Hannah helped me. I've been trying to let them help in the kitchen more often. It is hard for me to do because I would rather just get the job done. But each time I have slowed down to let one of them help, I've enjoyed our time in the kitchen.

Hannah is mashing the bananas.

Aaron is mixing the batter.

Rachel and P.K. both like the banana pancakes without syrup since the bananas add sweetness.