Pumpkin Patch

  I must get to bed ASAP!  Its the only time I am NOT coughing.  And my body is soooooooo tired of coughing.  It gives me a headache, a backache and I’m pretty sure it is annoying everyone around me.  Actually, I know it is.  I’m annoyed too!  GO AWAY NOW PLEASE COUGH.  My sister in law Renae reminds me that all this coughing is working my abs.  Well, I hope that they are getting a REAL good workout from all this because I know I’m not!  I haven’t worked out in a few days and I’m starting to go thru withdrawals.  No, really.  I think I am!  I try to convince myself that I can do it and then I remember that it could just make things worse.  This sucks.  Its been suggested I have bronchitis by more than one person.  Anyone know what they even do for that? 

Well, we had to get me out of the house today.  Figured I could cough here or I could cough somewhere else.  So we took the kiddies to the pumpkin patch and the zoo.  First up, Pumpkin Patch!

We had to wait around for a tractor with a trailer to come pick us up and take us to the patch.

Woohoo!  The tractor!  D loves a good tractor!

There was a dog there that Eric wanted you all to see.  He says this is Roxie, his childhood dog.  Poor Eric.  The owners were calling this dog Buddy.  So um, I believe this is NOT your Roxie, dear.  Bummer.

Avos and DD ridin’ on the trailer.  There were some other kids on it with us, so they were intrigued by them.  

Creeeeeeeeeeeeepy.

Oooooh!  The patch!  Sweet! And the search for the GREAT PUMPKIN began.

 

Please, if you think he picked this one – then you don’t know Dylan.

Avery was not a fan of the patch.  She kept tripping over the vines and it really made her mad.

Now THIS is a pumpkin he can get on board with!

I stand by it.  Not sure how the heck I’m gonna carve it, but I’ll stand by this choice.

D left.  I felt unsure of myself.  Didn’t know what to do.  So I did my best senior picture pose.  

Now to find Avos a pumpkin.  No, we do NOT need two GIANT pumpkins!

She decided to hang with Dylan’s pumpkin while Dylan went to find her a pumpkin.  I noticed that the scenery wasn’t so great at this angle.  Damn port-a-potty.

Thaaaaat’s better.  See the farm in the background!  Very nice.

Then it was off to the Little Falls Zoo.  We’ve been here many a time, so it wasn’t anything too exciting.  Plus, most of the animals have gone on vacay for the winter so there wasn’t as much to see.  Avos, for some reason, wanted a ride.  Weird.  

Then she remembered, “Oh yeah.  I hate to ride.  I’d rather walk!  I can’t see #%#$ from this vantage point!”

Much better! Hey!  Prairie Dog! Do us a favor and eat the food we just bought you!  

Well that’s it from me.  I must go shut myself up.  G’night!

Still recovering

Day 5 and still not feeling that great.  I think I was re-infected by the kids when they were infected by me.  Right now I’m feeling better than I did this morning – probably because of this weird drink my friend Livvie told me to drink.  It was 5 smashed garlic cloves, lemon juice and water. I brought it all to a boil, poured the water into a cup and added honey and a ton of cayenne pepper.  Bottoms up!  It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, actually!  And my cough finally seems to be tapering!  I also have some restorative tunes to give to credit to.  Guster’s new album came out 10 DAYS ago!  How the heck did I forget about it?!  So I’m listening to it right now – Guster always makes a person feel better!  Love the Guster!  Oh and lets not forget about the Almond Butter Cups that always make me feel super.  Love those too!

In other news, we must bid farewell to an old friend.  I’ve been given crap in recent years for my green winter coat.  Last year I was told I better get rid of it before other hockey mom’s start calling me Shrek.  I’ve worn this coat since 2005 I think.  Its been with me thru my single days, my preggo days and has brought me to here.  Its a great coat!  Only problem is yes, I’ve had it a LONG time and people are sick of it.  Also, its permanently dirty from brushing up against the car, etc.  It was time I moved on. We ARE going to miss each other though.  Don’t worry, I wont be doing anything DRASTIC like getting rid of it.  We have such a tight bond!  That would be just WRONG.

So, let me introduce you to my new coat!  I dare you to come up with a nickname they could call me now, Lulu!   These pics are the best I could do.  I wore my hat so my hair didn’t scare you all.  I’m sick, ya know!  Like I really do my hair when I’m sick!  Or um, if I’m not leaving the house.  

This is the Columbia Snake Away Down Coat.  It has some sort of water/stain repellant built into it!  Fabulous!   Annnnnnnnd – its REVERSIBLE!!!! 2 coats for 1!  How thrifty am I???

Today’s snack ROCKED. I can’t tell you how much I love this stuff.  It is SO good.  Especially when you heat it up and its all warm and melty.  Mmmmmmm Avos had her apple sans almond butter.  She prefers to stay clean.  Her hair may be messy, but her clothes must be clean.  At least that I can control, right?

Well there is a rousing game of hide and seek going on.  Dylan is hiding, so I spoze I should quit “pretending” to seek!

African Peanut Stew

  Greetings from the land of the dead!  I’m alive! I’m alive!  But barely.  Still coughing, still having issues with breathing at night -  but I think I’ll live.  Sadly, in the last half hour, Avery has started running a fever.  She’s currently asleep on top of Eric who is soaking up the snuggles.  NO FAIR!  I was busy making food!  This isn’t right!  I took care of her while I was sick and I should get to be the one to care for her now!  Though, it is probably my fault she’s sick, but oh well.  But really, someone else got me sick.  So we’ll blame them.  Whoever they are.

So while I was busy being a semi present parent, Dylan was busy playing with one of his new birthday presents.  It’s a Fischer Price iXL.   Kind of like an iPod for kids.  Plays games, music, reads to him, etc.Sadly, there may need to be an intervention with him.  He did this pretty much ALL DAY today and is playing with it right now while I’m typing this.  Eric just asked him if he wanted to go on a bike ride with me and he said, “NO!  I’m playing with this!”   Well, before she got sick, I was finally able to get her hair styled!  Piggies!!!!

For once, she didn’t pull them out!!  Progress! Dinner tonight needed to be comfort food of the soup variety.  Enter in the African Peanut Stew from Grandma Toni’s Kitchen.   
African Peanut Stew by Grandma Toni (see Ma, I gave you credit)

1 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 medium sized onion (chopped)

1 medium sized red pepper (chopped)
1/2 cup carrots (chopped)

1/2 cup celery (chopped)

3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 TB fresh grated ginger root

1 TB curry powder
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
4 cups chicken broth
1 cooked sweet potato cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups shelled edamame
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped – optional
5 oz bag of fresh spinach
salt and pepper

1. Saute the first 5 ingredients.
Add the ginger root, curry, and garlic.  (Don’t knock the glasses – I need them for protection. ) Next, add the tomatoes and bay leaf and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and sweet potato and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes. Ne

xt, stir in the edamame and peanut butter. And finally, add in the cilantro, spinach and salt and pepper to taste.  You are supposed to serve this over rice, so you could do that if you wanted.  I ended up pureeing all this so that my people would eat without complaining.  Though, it turns out that was a waste of time because Dylan wouldn’t eat, Avery was too sick to eat, and Eric was busy holding Avery while she was sick.  Oh well! I enjoyed it!   Have a good night!