NOOOOOOOO!

Today Jack figured out how to say, "Nooooooooooooooo!" He said it over and over today and he meant it! This afternoon I was going to pick up Dave from work and I was planning on leaving the kids at home with Grandpa Judi. Jack was standing by the door and I told him bye and he yelled, "Noooooo!" and he really meant it. I enjoyed the days when he couldn't express himself and would do whatever I thought was best for him. I guess those days are over now.

South-of-the-Border Chowder

Cammie posted this recipe on her blog a little while ago. I made it for dinner tonight and my family loved it. So, I thought I'd pass it on. I'm excited to have my leftovers tomorrow. Cammie said that it is even better the next day.

1/2 C Chopped Onion
4 Bacon Strips....or more if you like bacon a lot... substitute turkey bacon for lower fat grams.
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 package (32 oz) frozen Southern-style hash brown potatoes
2 cans (14-1/2 oz each) chicken broth
1 can (14-3/4 oz) cream style corn
1 can (11 oz) Mexicorn, drained
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilis
1/4 cup pearl onion
Sour cream and minced fresh cilantro, optional

In a soup kettle, saute onion and bacon until onion is tender and bacon is crisp. Stir in flour, cumin, chili powder and garlic powder. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened.

Stir in the hash browns, broth, cream corn, Mexicorn, chilis and pearl onions. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes or until heated through. Garnish with sour cream and cilantro if desired.

Yield: 10 servings or 2-1/2 quarts.

You can make this in a crock pot too. Just cook the bacon as instructed, them dump all the ingredients into a crock pot and set it on a medium heat setting for about 3 hours.

Nutritional Analysis: 1 cup (without additional toppings) equals 197 calories, 6 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 6 mg cholesterol, 756 mg sodium ( you can cut the sodium WAY down by using low sodium chicken broth), 34 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 6 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable.

**I substituted potatoes from Vaughn & Maianne's garden instead of the hashbrowns. I just boiled them seperately for a little while before I added it to the soup.

Twilight Series

It's not often that I take the time to read a book (mostly because I can't seem to get what I need to do done, not ignore my kids, and still have time to read). But I got my copy of the 2nd book of the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer from the library yesterday. I've had a hold on it for a few months and it was finally available yesterday. I really want to read it, but I guess I'll have to stay up later at night or maybe give up some computer time. If you haven't read them, I recommend them.

Getting Ready for Halloween

I took the kids to a neighborhood Halloween carnival yesterday. Here are a few pictures from it. Kate had to wear her shredding, much-loved Cinderella dress (she wouldn't wear her nicer one) and Jack was Mickey Mouse.

My Favorite Pumpkin Cookies

These are my favorite pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I don't make them very often because Dave isn't a big fan of pumpkin and then I end up eating too many. They sure are yummy!

Pumpkin-Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup pecans
¾ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:
Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, and then stir these dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. Add the pecans and chocolate chips.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets and bake in a 350-degree for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Yield: 4 dozen

Why?

I took this picture a few weeks ago of Jack, but he makes messes like this often. I always wonder, "Why little boys are so messy?"
Right now his shirt is splattered with brownie dough. I guess I should learn to take his clothes off when he eats or at least put a bib on.

Little Tap Dancer

Kate started tap dancing lessons yesterday. We are switching her to a dance class closer to home (I've been taking her to Bountiful since we moved). At the new class they do half an hour tap and a half hour of ballet. We searched all over yesterday and finally found her some new tap shoes. She has been wearing them almost all the time. But, there are a few downsides to it -- 1)she can't wear them outside 2) she can't do up the laces and 3) she keeps taking them off, so I have to tie them a million times a day. At least she'll get some use out of them before she grows out of them. Her new dance teacher is the sweetest, bubbliest lady I've ever met. The little girls in the class eyes light up while she is dancing with them. It is really sweet and Kate loves it!

Grandma and Grandpa's New Floor

Last weekend we helped Vaughn & Marianne install their new floor in their kitchen/dining room/hall. We all (including Jack) helped scrape the cardboard backing from the old linolium off of the floor. Then Vaughn and Dave installed the new floor. It looks great!

The Greatest Bath Ever!

Kate got her cast off of her leg yesterday. Hooray! Last night she had the greatest bath ever. It's been such a pain to bathe her for the last five weeks since she broke her leg. Last night she actually wanted to get in. It was very refreshing!

Kids

I got out the camera this afternoon after Kate got all dressed up and here is the result of our "photo shoot."

Kate is wearing her much loved Cinderella dress and her princess hair (thanks Ethan!) . She has finally come to grips that she can only wear one dress-up shoe with her cast on. At least it matches -- all pink!

Jack was trying to pose just like Kate I guess. He's holding his favorite thing -- a ball!