As American As Apple Pie . . . Bars

I receive "Family Fun" magazine each month. I usually cut out recipes of meals that look appealing and would probably be enjoyed by my family. I rarely cut out dessert type recipes, because, I'm not the best baker. Sure, I can bake a cake from a box and spread some store bought frosting on it and it's alright, but it's not 'homemade' in the sense that I gathered all the specific ingredients to make the cake batter and frosting.

My cousin once told me that it's still "homemade" even when it's from a box because I still took the time to add the final ingredients to bake the cake and open the top to the frosting and spread it over the cake myself. So, when you put it that way, I'm actually not bad at baking.

Reading through my "Family Fun" magazine the other day I came across a recipe that caught my eye. It was "Apple Pie Bars". I was intrigued. It called for me to make the pie crust from scratch, not just use a store bought crust. I also cored, peeled and thinly sliced the baking apples, not just buy apple pie filling. The final touch to the Apple Pie Bars was an icing drizzle, also made from scratch and not just thinned down store bought vanilla frosting.

It was all a little more time consuming then I anticipated, but, completely worth it. It took most of Jessi's nap time, but my day was going smoothly as far as housework and laundry, plus, John and Jessi didn't completely destroy the living room during play time before nap/quiet time. I was able to actually relax and enjoy the process of making and baking this yummy looking dessert.

As it was baking in the oven the warm comforting smell of apples and cinnamon began filling the house. When it was finished I placed the pan on the counter to cool and took a picture with my phone to send it to Charlie, teasingly telling him "If only this picture could tell you how good this smelled".

It cooled for an hour before I cut it and tried a small slice. It . . . was . . . Delicious! Everything I hoped for. Jessi and Tabytha both shared the slice I cut and really liked it. As soon as Charlie got home he tried it and said it was the best apple pie he'd ever had!

I guess I'm starting to get the hang of this baking thing after all!

A New School Year

Another school year has begun. Today Tabytha went off to her first day of 3rd grade. Sometimes it seems like time has flown by and other times it seems like it's going by in slow motion.

I got a postcard earlier this week stating Tabytha's new school bus pick up and drop off times for this school year. She would be picked up at 8:12am and dropped off at 4:10pm. This morning the pick up time was WAAAY off. Unless 8:58am is the new 8:12am. But, I didn't get that particular memo.

The first week or two of school is typically filled with a lot of waiting for the bus to show up at an undetermined time after they say the bus will be there. It's understandable. There's new students to be included in the bus route meaning new houses to drive to in order to pick up the new students. After a week or two when the bus routine has been established the bus driver is pretty consistent with the pick up and drop off times.

Long story shortened. Tabytha, Jessi and I (while John was still asleep) made our way outside about 5 minutes before the bus was scheduled to be there, so I could get some pictures of Tabby on her first day back to school. Charlie called to wish Tabby a good first day of school and then we sat and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Around 8:35am I started trying to call the Dept. Of Transportation to find out how much longer the bus might be. Busy signal. I waited a few minutes and tried again. Busy. Again. Called back again (now around 8:45am) and got through. The gentleman on the phone called the bus driver over the 2 way radio and the bus driver said he was about 7 minutes away. I thanked the guy on the phone and went back to waiting. But, now, with the knowledge that the bus was in fact on its way.

The bus finally made its way down our road and stopped in front of the house to pick Tabytha up. The clock read 8:58am. That's 2 minutes before school is scheduled to start for the day! No biggie, really. At least we didn't miss the bus completely ending with me packing all the kids up to drive her to school.

A little extra waiting (45 minutes) wasn't the end of the world and Tab is now at school as an official 3rd grader. I'm looking forward to hearing all about how her day went when she gets home tonight.

Beating The Heat

There's a term all Marylander's know well, and will gladly tell visitors from other states. "If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes". This year our seasons have been just about as extreme as you could imagine. This past winter brought the most snow in a season we've ever seen. Cumulative accumulations of over 8 ft. We didn't have much of a 'Spring'. Things seemed to jump from being buried in several feet of snow to hot and humid very quickly. Watching the evening news last week the weatherman said we've already had about 35 days this summer over 95 degree's, which in itself is a record for Maryland.

I have never liked summer time for that reason alone. I hate being hot and sweaty. Last Saturday the weather topped off at 108 degrees. CRAZY HOT! The air conditioner can't keep up with that kind of heat. Inside the house the thermostat was reading 84 degrees. I had all the ceiling fans set on 'high' and all that did was blow the hot air around, which was better then nothing. So, Saturday night I told Charlie I wanted to go out and get an inflatable pool for the kids and I to splash around in and keep cool during the day.

After dinner I left the kids home with Charlie and went out in search of a small pool. Something small enough that wasn't too expensive and yet big enough that I could sit in there with the kiddies and cool down, too.

My first stop was Target. They had a pretty good selection of small inflatable pools. Big enough for my two little ones to play in, but not much room left for big sister or mommy. So, I left and went to the next store I thought might have something. Kmart. Literally had no pools of any kind. Left there and went to the next store down the road. Toys R Us. They were also out of any kind of pool. Now I'm getting a little bummed out. I leave and try my luck at Walmart. They also have nothing available. Not even little plastic baby pools (you know, the little tiny preformed plastic pool that's about 3 ft around and 6 inches deep). I'm getting disheartened now, but am still determined to come home with a pool for the kids. Last stop, Big Lots. The woman at the register was pretty sure they didn't have pools, but IF they did they would probably be in the kids toy section. I check. Nothing. Not even a water gun.

Totally bummed out I leave the store, empty handed. I decide to go back to Target, because at least there, they had small inflatable pools which would give the kids something to at least splash around in a little and have fun. I go back to the isle that has the baby and toddler pools. I found a decent sized baby pool that looked pretty good and it was only $9.99. I grab it and then see a Toy Story themed pool with Buzz Lightyear on it and it comes with 2 Buzz Lightyear water guns that attach to a hose for added fun in the pool. It was on Clearance!!! As if it was meant to be. With these 2 inflatable pools and water guns that come with one of the pools there's plenty of water fun to be had by all the kids in the backyard.

So, 2 hours after I began my hunt for a pool, ending at the store I started at, I made my way home with both the pools. Sunday afternoon Charlie used his air hose to inflate the pools and I filled them up. A storm passed through while the pools were filling up and we all got soaked, which wasn't so bad for the kids cuz they were already in their swim suits, but I was still fully dressed. When the lightening started we all went into the house to wait it out. It passed by quickly. I got my swim suit on and we all went back out to play. John LOVED the Buzz Lightyear pool and water guns. The 'baby' pool is actually bigger then the Toy Story pool and is big enough for the 5 of us to sit in, but isn't room for playing around. That's one of the reasons I got 2 pools. One for me to relax in and the other for the kids to play around in.

We've already had a lot of fun in the little pools and look forward to more fun the rest of the summer.

Summer Evening Fun

Yesterday was our nations birthday. The 4th of July. Traditionally celebrated with wearing red, white and blue, cookouts and fireworks. When I was a youngster I remember my parents taking my brother and I to a park in Glen Burnie to watch the fireworks. We always had a blast and were mesmerized by the fireworks show. I can still see the beautiful bursts of color in my mind.

I've never actually taken my kids to go see fireworks. Tabytha spends the 4th at her biological grandmother's house and I feel like John and Jessi are still a bit to young to take out late at night to watch fireworks. In the next couple of years I plan to take them, but for now, we stay home.

We had our own fun last night, however. Instead of fireworks, we had waterworks. After dinner I was in the backyard with John and Jessi holding the hose and spraying it into the yard while John and Jessi put their hands into the stream of water squealing and giggling. Jessi doesn't like to be sprayed by the hose, but enjoys playing in the spray on her own terms. She must be the one to approach the water, not the other way around. John wanted to spray the water, so I let him. I held on to the hose while he held down the nozzle to release the water.

All the while we're having fun, laughing and getting wet. I hear the back door open and Charlie was coming to see what we were up to. I gave him a smile and went back to playing with the kids. Suddenly my back is soaked with freezing cold water from the water bottle Charlie was drinking from. I pulled the hose out of John's hand real quick and turned it on Charlie to "get him back". He ducked back into the house and I thought that was the end. Little did I know this was going to spawn a 'water war'. Charlie got hold of John's big water gun and filled it up in the house, went out the front door and came around to the back gate where the kids and I were (still spraying the garden hose). My back gets soaked again, but I didn't know where it was coming from at first.

I found him and turned the hose on him, again, and he retreated out of range. John and Jessi thought this was hysterical. Charlie came back to spray us with the water gun again and I would spray him with the hose, again. Our buddy, Harold, was also at the house and came out to see what all the ruckus was and Charlie and I both turned on him. John and Jessi were running around the yard shrieking and laughing. We were all running around laughing and having a good time.

This went on for about 45 minutes. It was great. So, no, we didn't pack up in the car and go fight the crowds for a good seat to see a fireworks show somewhere, but, we had a lot of fun playing in our own backyard. John and Jessi aren't likely going to remember these times, but I will and I look forward to telling these stories to them when they're older.

Summer Begins

I've been 'absent' from blogging lately, so here I am to catch y'all up with the happenings in my zoo.

Summer break started with Tabytha finishing 2nd grade and John turning 3. Tabytha's last day of school was the 11th. She brought home her final report card and she did great. Next year she'll receive actual letter grades for her work and I can't wait. It's so much easier to read a report card with "A", "B", "C", etc. . . instead of "C" for consistently demonstrates skill, "P" for progressing, "O" often demonstrates skill, etc. . .

The week before school let out we celebrated John's 3rd birthday. It wasn't a big event. We kept it pretty low key. My parents, Charlie's parents, my sisters, Charlie's sister and family, Harold and my friend Drea and her family were our party guests. We would have loved to have all our friends with us to celebrate, but space in our home limited how many we could invite. Everyone had a nice time. I made slow cooked pulled bbq chicken, we grilled hot dogs and burgers, my mom made smokey Joe's, my MIL brought soda's and my SIL brought a watermelon. John got wonderful gifts from everyone and has enjoyed playing with all his new toys since he got them.

Last weekend was my niece, Shelby's, 3rd birthday. She's 9 days younger then John. Her party was at 2pm and we left our house just before 1pm. On our way to Charlie's sister's house we hit beach traffic. NOT fun. We FINALLY made it over the bridge and managed to get to Faye's house by 3:15pm. Yup, an hour and fifteen minutes after the party started. Aggravating traffic aside, we have a great time at Shelby's birthday party. She got a lot of very nice gifts and she was super excited when she opened our gift. At John's birthday party Faye told me she wanted a sunflower sprinkler and I got the last one at the store Faye suggested getting it at. When Shelby opened it she squealed in delight. That made my day knowing she was happy with her gift.

So far the summer has been relatively 'uneventful'. There's been playing in the sprinkler and in the backyard. We'd like to take a couple days later this summer and go to the Baltimore Aquarium and Port Discovery with the kids and my mom and sisters. We may even take a day trip or two to the beach.

My Happy Mother's Day

I'm mother to 3 beautiful children. Each year, our calendars mark a day set aside to 'honor' mothers across the country. Tradition and commercialism tell you that you should give your mom flowers, breakfast in bed, chocolates, cards or some kind of gift.

All of these things are fine and good. As for me, what I wanted most for Mother's Day, was to do NOTHING. I didn't want to clean the house, do laundry or cook. Tending to the kids in some way was inevitable. One is still in diapers and one is in the middle of potty training.

Our friend, Harold, actually crashed on our couch Saturday night. He was nice enough to watch the kids late into the night while Charlie and I were at my friend's wedding. He woke up before the rest of us and went out to a quick mart and got Krispy Kreme doughnuts for everyone. And with that, breakfast was taken care of.

Late morning Charlie packed up the kids and went to the grocery store to pick up a few things and give me some quiet here at home. I uploaded some pictures to facebook, watched a movie and vegged on the couch. Charlie brought home Pizza Hut for lunch. Awesome. 2 meals taken care of, and neither of them by me! So far this day has been awesome!

Jessi took her regular afternoon nap after lunch and Charlie and I watched some tv in the living room while John and Tabby watched cartoons in our room. When Jessi woke up I went back to check on John and Tabby and laid down in my bed with them. I don't remember what they were watching because I was resting. I never actually fell asleep because all three kids were in my bed with me and being very good. I was able to relax and rest my eyes a bit.

Dinner time rolled around and I figured my lazy day was done and I'd have to get something put together for everyone to eat. Charlie actually had plans to make dinner. He's not good in the kitchen and never learned to cook. While he was at the store with the kids he picked up some Chicken tenders and tater tots to make for dinner. He got in the kitchen, told me to get out and got dinner started. No, it wasn't a big fancy meal, it was just chicken tenders and tater tots cooked in the oven, but he did it all himself. He even served me and the kids before himself.

All in all, the day was exactly what I wanted. A lazy day surrounded by the 3 blessings who made Mother's Day possible for me and a husband willing to give me a day off from cleaning, laundry, cooking and washing dishes. It was bliss.

Topping It Off With A Wedding

One of my dear friends, Kristin, got married today. This week, leading up to the wedding, was an eventful one for me. Monday my friend, Sarah, came into town. She's Kristin's cousin and one of her bridesmaids. Whenever Sarah's in town I try to make a point to visit with her and her daughter because she lives so far away. We made plans to have a play date Wednesday, so I could see her and our kids could play together for a while.

Well, Tuesday another friend of mine needed someone to watch her two youngest kids while she went to work. I told her I could watch them and asked if she didn't mind me taking them with me to visit with Sarah. She had no problem with it. Wednesday morning John had speech therapy. After he was done I packed up John and Jessi in the van, made my way over to Beth's house to pick up Emma and Noah and headed over the bridge to visit Sarah and Kaleena. I stopped by Einstein Bagels and got box of bagels for lunch for everyone.

We got to Sarah's and I got all the kids set up with a bagel and we all ate outside on the back deck. When we were done with lunch we all headed downstairs. The kids all played well together and Sarah and I chit-chatted. We had a nice visit and around 2pm I gathered the 4 kids I brought and headed home, dropping Emma and Noah off back at their house.

Friday another good friend of mine, Corinna, came into town for Kristin's wedding. She came over Friday night to spend time with me and my family. I haven't seen her in a couple years because she also lives far away. I made dinner and we sat and talked for awhile while John, Jessi and Tabytha were all charming her.

Kristin's wedding day finally came. My mother-in-law came over to watch the kids so Charlie and I could go to the wedding and reception. The wedding was beautiful, Kristin was radiant and all my friends were lovely. At the reception Kristin sat all us AACS'ers (me, Corinna, Holly, Drea and Julia. Sarah sat at the head table because she was a bridesmaid) together and we had a blast! Kristin is the last one in our circle of friends to get married. Somewhere during the reception we all got together for a group picture. All 7 of us gathered in and several pictures were taken with all our cameras. After our group picture was taken we all stood in a circle and put our left hands in the center for a picture of all our hands with our wedding rings. Since Kristin was the last to get married it seemed like a nice idea to get a picture of all our married hands.

After the reception Charlie and went to Drea and Ronnie's house to hang out more. Julia and her new hubby, David, were there, too. The day was long and Charlie had a few beers. Around midnight Charlie started dozing off so I took that cue and we said our goodbyes and headed home. We enjoyed the wedding, had a blast at the reception and got to hang out more with a few friends afterward.

It was a fantastic week and I loved every minute I got to spend with my friends. (the lovely ladies in the picture with me, far left, are Sarah, Corinna, Kristin, Holly, Drea & Julia)