Fall is in the Air

Oh Fall..thank you for making a surprise appearance today. I know you are just teasing us and that bully Summer will be back before we know it but I do appreciate you today. It was fun to break out pants today even though it made me realize how tall Emma got since last year (and made me run to the store to buy her more pants since apparently it's not right to have pants graze your ankles). It's nice not to hear the hum of the a/c for today. So, thank you..I've had quite enough of summer...the heat, the humidity, the pool towels, the sunscreen so feel free to make your return sooner rather than later, 'k....

Diversity 101

One of the really cool things about living where I do is that it is very, very diverse. Much more so than when I was growing up here and much more so than I really realized when we first moved back to the area. Today I had the pleasure to go on a field trip with Lily's Kindergarten class. They went to the library across the street from the school and got to hear a special story time and take a tour of the library. Very cute. I haven't had too much interaction with her class this year so I was excited to meet her friends and to put faces with the names of kids she talks about. I knew from the names on the class roster that there must be an interesting mix of kids in her class. I also knew there was a lot of boys. ;So, I was really excited to actually see the mix of kids in her class. There are 16 boys and 9 girls. There is also an awesome racial mix in her class - white, African American, Hispanic, Asian and Indian..with no one group really being the "majority". I love that she's going to school with all kinds of kids and that she thinks it's so cool that she gets to tell me how to pronounce their names. I love that she thinks her bff, Alyna, "looks just like me and is so pretty" (she's Asian by the way with dark eyes and dark hair). I love that to Kindergarteners its all one world and everyone is the same. I think we could all learn a lot from them.

OMG Pie

Paul & I first had "The Pie" right after Emma was born. Our Sunday school teachers brought us a meal and for dessert she brought this fabulous pie that we couldn't stop talking about. We raved about it so much that she brought us another one a few weeks later. God Bless her.

We couldn't forget The Pie. Paul and I would reminisce about the goodness of The Pie. I longed for the recipe but didn't have it and you know google wasn't so popular back then. Fast forward a year and a half and I was pregnant with Lily, living in MA. My 2 besties came to visit and one brought with her "The Sweet Potato Queens Big Ass Cookbook." And would you believe the recipe for The Pie was in there! So we made it while they were visiting and Oh! My! Goodness! We all loved, loved The Pie.

For awhile every time my BFF visited she requested The Pie and so I'd happily make it for her. But it's been some time since it's been requested and so I haven't made it in forever. I hosted bunco this week and I was looking for a good dessert recipe when I remembered The Pie. I thought, yes, I'll make it. And Oh! My! Goodness! It was So! Good! Just as I remembered...creamy, nutty, oh so yummy. So, dear friends I want to share the recipe with you. It's easy and super yummy..just please don't think about the calorie content, 'kay.

OMG Pie - makes 2 pies

1/2 stick of butter
coconut - about 7oz or half a big bag
pecans - about 1/2 or so - more if you love 'em
2 pie shells - any kind
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 block of cream cheese
16 oz of cool whip
12 oz. caramel sauce

Melt your butter and spread out your coconut and pecans on a cookie sheet. Toast in oven - I think I do about 400 for about 10 min or until coconut gets nice and pretty brown. Mix together the cream cheese and the sweetened condensed milk until nice and smooth. Add in the whipped cream. Wait for the pecan/coconut mixture to cool a little before you move on to assembling the pie. Pour 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture into the bottom of each pie shell. Top each with a 1/4 of the coconut mixture and drizzle caramel sauce on top. Then top with more cream cheese mixture and the remainder of the coconut mixture. Freeze until ready to serve.

That's it my friends, simple, easy and while your hips may never forgive you your friends will love you!

One of the Best Gifts I Ever Got..

We said it was for the kids. We lied. It was for us. My kids are having SO. MUCH. FUN! with the new play set. They want to be outside playing on it all the time. I'm sure the novelty will wear off but for now we're all enjoying it (and the neighbors kids too). Thank you Paul for agreeing to this treasure. I will forever be indebted to you for the joy it's given to the kids and the peace it's given to me.

Purplicious

On the way to the pool...

Car Seat Safety

Sunday night a friend called to tell me that her cousins got in a car wreck. The little boys (both under 5) were riding with their father in an open top convertible when they got in the wreck. The tragic thing is that neither child was in a car seat. Both kids went out of the car. One boy had to have a bunch of stitches in the back of his head..the other boy was in a coma initially but is doing much better now though still in icu. The dad was treated and released with minor injuries.

My heart is so heavy for this family. How awful and tragic and just sad for all of them. I don't know all the details of the accident like why they were out but you imagine they were going for a quick trip so perhaps the dad didn't think it necessary to buckle the kids in the carseats. But, accidents happen any time. Any time. You can't help but wonder if some of the injuries could have been prevented had the kids been in their car seats. You'd think the boys wouldn't have went out of the car, especially if the seats were installed properly.

So, dear friends, I urge you to revisit car seat safety..you never, never know when an accident might happen and you know they say most accidents happen when you are close to home. If you are unsure about the car seat laws in your state then find them out. In NC it's 4 and 40 lbs before kids are supposed to be in booster seats and 8 or 80lbs before they can be out of a booster seat. I know it's a pain to have to buckle kids in but you just never know what's going to happen and better to be safe than sorry.

Jacob 9(ish) Months

Here is the latest picture of Jacob. It's supposed to be his 9 month picture but we won't mention that he's really 10 1/2 months. His 6 month picture was late too so I guess to keep it all even I'll do his 12 month picture late too. Shhh...don't tell...

The Mall & Tax Free Weekend..

go together like oil & water. Or maybe it's me + the mall + tax free weekend that go together like oil and water. I had a total brain lapse and thought it would be fun to go fall clothes shopping at the mall today with big girls. It's tax free weekend here and apparently everyone in the greater triangle area was so desperate to save a whopping 7% that they too thought it would be fun to go shopping at the mall. I should have turned around when I saw the number of cars leaving the mall but since Emma had remarked to me that "I just like clothes that come from the mall" and I was armed with coupons from Gymboree and The Children's Place I soldiered on. 15 minutes and 1 crappy mid level parking lot deck spot later we got into the mall. I kid you not there was a line outside the Apple store - about 20 people deep - they had bouncers watching the door telling people when they could go in. I guess since Macs never go on sale saving 7% is a good deal but good grief. A line. In August. Seriously?

To make a long story short we got Emma a couple shirts and skirts and that's about it. The mall was really crowded and it just wasn't that fun. Plus we were really looking for pants and long sleeves and there really wasn't much of that where we went Turns out Emma has a lot (A LOT) to say about what she wears but she really doesn't like shopping for clothes. She just wanted to watch the movies at Gymboree and Crazy 8. We had better luck at Walmart where we got some pants. I never dreamed my 6 year old would be so picky about what she wears. She certainly has her own ideas of what she likes and how she likes it to fit/feel. I can't begin to imagine what the teen years hold for us..nor do I want to. Thank goodness Lily isn't quite as picky and Julia doesn't care. Yet.

Almost Done!

The new house is coming along quite nicely. I've unpacked all the boxes I can - I have 2 boxes of kids books and 1 box of office stuff left but I have no where to put those right now. Losing the storage space we had in our built-ins in the other house has been a little tragic but we're making it work. I guess we need to get a computer desk soon and another book case. I didn't realize how many kids books we had! Paul needs to hang some curtain rods in a couple of the kids rooms and their rooms will be 100% done. I need to put up some pictures and we still need some window treatments downstairs but that will come in time. We are feeling pretty settled though I'm having a hard time remembering where I put stuff in the kitchen! I'm tired of doing house stuff and not seeing my friends (since the last few weeks I've been so busy working that we haven't done much social stuff) so I'm looking forward to getting out now that things are good! And looking forward to having people over to the new house!

Sooooo Tired

I might be the most tired I have ever been in my life..and let's not forget I've had 4 babies. Also, every single muscle in my body aches. Every one. Every single one. BUT..The unpacking is almost done - the kitchen, all the bedrooms and bathrooms, laundry room, toy room, linen closet - all done. The only thing left is the dining room and the bonus room (which will be a pain because we have no storage in there..). It's been non-stop since Friday. That's the day the packers came. They packed, we moved some small stuff and painted 2 bedrooms in the new house. Yesterday the movers came. They moved, I unpacked and Paul cleaned. Today was a full day of unpacking. Thank God for the grandmothers. They kept the kids all weekend - 2 to my moms, 2 to Paul's moms. They were so wonderful. They allowed us to get so much done! So I'm sitting now for the first time all weekend. And I might fall asleep typing. I'll post some pictures tomorrow.