Happy Halloween!

When a good idea backfires

Nate has been cracking my up lately. He's turning into a typical 4th grade boy. Sometimes I don't like it, but other times it's been fun to see the new things he comes up with. Now that the tooth fairy myth has been busted, he's starting to catch on to other myths (I see the end of Santa soon!). But he's also a good sport about playing along for his sister.

So tonight at Costco we were trying to keep Lily near the cart and after the third time telling her not to wander away, Nate tells her, "Lily you have to stay by the cart or the aliens will abduct you". He then looks at me and puts his finger to his mouth like a "shhh". So we keep shopping and then Nate walks off to look at something. Lily tells him, "Nate you have to stay by the cart or the aliens will abduct you!" in a very serious tone. Nate and I started laughing. He might be growing up, but he will have to watch out for the smarty pants on his heals!

Lessons Learned

Things I have learned this week:

• Don't sponsor your child per lap in the jog a thon. When you do that, it will rain and the kids will jog inside the gym, doing 29 laps in 30 minutes. That's $1 per lap, per kid. YIKES!
• If you teach preschoolers to make worms out of play dough, they will then put the worms down other student's shirts.
• Don't wear white to preschool!!!!
• If one child signs you up to bring cookies for their class Halloween party, don't think that making pumpkin shaped sugar cookies is a cute idea. Because then, the other child will want you to do the same for their class and you will end up making 4 dozen pumpkin shaped sugar cookies with orange frosting and sprinkles.
  

Tasty Tuesday

Wow, I actually remembered Tasty Tuesday.....on Tuesday! Here's a quick crock pot soup that I made on Saturday. It was so nice to come home from the hospital with dinner done and smelling wonderful. I sent the leftovers to Grandpa along with some homemade rolls. Yummmm.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 jar garlic salsa
1 can cooked chicken (or leftover chicken)

Dump all ingredients into crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Update

I'm sorry that I haven't' been blogging much. Life is crazy and right now I'm just trying to keep up with the basics. Grandma is still in the hospital and the doctors say that they have exhausted every test they can do. They still have no answer as to why Grandma is in pain and has no appetite. Grandma is on a feeding tube right now, and they won't discharge her until they can take it out. Please keep her in your prayers. We are all pretty frustrated that we have no answers. Thank you.

Crazy Friday

What a crazy week. I still am trying to figure out how to balance work and home life. Canning is finally done, and right now everyone is healthy (knock on wood). Dan left for work this week, so we have another adjustment there. I finished my temporary sub job in Kindergarten this week. I will really miss that class. Yesterday I actually got to lead the class for 20 minutes while the teacher was in a meeting. I had an audience of adults, which made me nervous, but I had fun. So today was my first day off of work in over 3 weeks and what did I do? I went back to the school. Why? Because I'm crazy, that's why. Nate was supposed to have a field trip today, and it got canceled because of the rain. So I still went to his class and helped out, then went and helped Lily's teacher.

The other crazy part of the week is Grandma. She has been back in the hosptial for a week, and they still have not found what is causing her pain and her stomach problems. We are getting very frustrated watching her shrink away. Please keep her in your prayers. Specifically we want answers and solutions to her problems. Also, please pray for the staff at the hospital. We are getting frustrated with the lack of care Grandma is getting, and the slow response time when there is a serious problem. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

Pumpkin Pictures

The 2nd annual chili cook off and pumpkin carving party at Little Bearfoot Farm was a hit. We all had a blast. Who knew that 8 different chili's could be so different. The winner for the night was Brad Neitling, and the boobie prize when to Jennifer Roosma. While I really liked my own chili, I think I was near the bottom on the votes. Oh well, we all had fun. The kids carved their pumpkins (Nate on his own, Lily directed me on what she wanted). And the pigs at the farm were happy with all the pumpkin guts. Thanks everyone for a fun night.....I will keep working on my chili until I win!



And of course, it wouldn't be a gathering without cupcakes. Here is my annual "Sierra with a cupcake" picture. To see a history of other pictures click Here.

Chili Cook Off

I was told today by my hubby that I haven't blogged since Monday. He told me to get on top of it. Cuz really, I only had a sinus infection this week. That's all. So I feel like I am playing catch up all day, trying to get the house back in order. Last night I made my chili for tonight's chili cook off. This is the famous Little Bearfoot Farm chili cook off. Last year we had a blast eating chili and carving pumpkins. This year the competition is on and we have all been tweeking our chili recipes for months. While I talk a lot of smack, I really don't think mine will win. My goal is to NOT get the boobie prize. Wish me luck, and go check out the plaque I'm hoping to win! Littlebearfootfarm.blogspot.com

Calendar Girl

Lily is our calendar girl. Meaning, she schedules everything and has it all in her head. Today she came home from school with the notice about school pictures on the 23rd. She is already planning what she will wear that day, even remembering that she has PE that day and will have to wear her tennis shoes.

So the other day Dan and I were discussing how old our dogs were. We finally agreed that Lacey is 11, born in August and Bandit will be 11 in February. Just so we wouldn't forget, we told Lily. She now has those dates in her little vault and it will never be forgotten again. Who needs a palm pilot when you have Lily?

Contribute 2009

Don't forget that tomorrow is Contribute 2009. The idea is that 100,000 people spend $50 at a local family owned business. We will be doing our part and I encourage you to pledge to do the same. You can find out more details by clicking on the link on the side bar. Thanks!

Train Show

It's tradition that we take the kids to the train show in Lynden every October. Here's a little trip through time.

Uncle!

I give up, I'm crying Uncle! All week I have been fighting a cold (thank you for sharing, darling little kindergartners). Dan helped me make salsa on Wednesday night while the kids were at kids club. The salsa was disappointing, edible, but not worth all the effort put into it. I had hoped to do one more batch of applesauce because I have two boxes of apples taunting me from the garage. I can hear them talk to me every time I walk by them. They are saying things like; Hello, are you ever going to finish all your canning? You know we won't last forever!
Today after I got home from school I finally had to give in and admit that I am sick. To most people this is not a big deal. For me, I don't like to be slowed down. So I had to cancel the PTO board mtg that was scheduled to meet at my house, and I crawled on the couch with Dan's big fuzzy blanket. I was truly feeling guilty about not getting the applesauce done, until Dan went and counted how many jars of applesauce we already have. 27 jars! Ok, so I call Uncle and am not going to feel guilty anymore. I'm sending the apples to Tracie's tomorrow to be pig food. Now they can't taunt me anymore!

Things you hear from Kindergartners

I'm working in a kindergarten class, and I tell you they crack me up every day. If you ever need a good laugh, just go eat lunch with the kindergartners. Here are a few things I heard this week.

• I can't go line up, my feet won't let me.
• My brother got kicked out of this school.
• My Dad bought a GMC today and it cost $100, and then he bought my Mom a Porsche for $200.
• Knock knock jokes that make no sense and include the words banana wana.
• My Dad has a computer but I can't play games on it or it will get little bugs in it.
  

Tuna Time

You can tell that I do a lot of canning. At this point of the year, I am ready to put the canner away for the year.....but there is still more to do. Some of my friends have been giving me a hard time about all the canning I have been doing this year. I have done more than normal, but some of it has been for Grandma and Grandpa. And then there was the tuna.

Dan went on a charter fishing boat with Uncle Marv two weeks ago. He brought home 300 pounds of tuna! We were told that frozen tuna is only good for about two months, so we decided to can some of it to make it last longer. Ok, so we had never canned tuna before, and had 300 pounds of tuna. My brother in law David canned some tuna last month and told me that you put about a pound of tuna per pint. Did I mention that we had 300 pounds of tuna? So, first we had a canning party at Uncle Marv's and Aunt Ruthi's house. (Thank you again for letting us stink up your place!). Then the next day Dan canned tuna while I was at work, then we vacume packed and canned more when I got home. The next day, more vacume packing and Dan decided to go deliver fresh tuna to whoever would take some. The day after that Dan smoked some of the tuna, and we finally finished vacume packing the rest. We ended up only canning 54 pints of tuna, but seriously, we will be sick of tuna, let alone the smell! I am still trying to get the tuna smell out of the towels we used when canning! Yuck!


I have actually ran out of pint jars, and am running low on quart jars. This is a first for me! The biggest problem right now is finding spots to put all of my filled jars! I would like to do one more batch of applesauce soon, and I picked up tomatoes today to make some salsa (Thanks Ron!). Wish me luck......and lots of energy!

Grandma is home!

Thank you everyone for your continued prayers. Grandma Dennison is finally home. While she is far from recovered, we are happy to see progress. My hope is that Grandma will take it easy and let everyone take care of her. This is a difficult thing for her to do when she is home.

For example, when we have large family gatherings, you won't find Grandma sitting. She will not sit down until everyone has eaten and has a drink in their hands. I give warnings to friends when I bring them to Grandma's house: just take a drink and hold on to it. Doesn't matter if you want a drink or finish your drink, just take it and hold it so Grandma will leave you alone.

While I don't see Grandma hosting gatherings soon, I'm hoping by Thanksgiving that she will be back to her perky self.

Tasty Tuesdays!

Yipee, Tasty Tuesdays is back. Every year I want to try something new to can. Last year Dan found this sweet and spicy salsa that looked heavenly. I had never canned salsa before, but gave this a shot. The whole two hours it was cooking on the stove, I was stealing bowl fulls of this salsa. Dan loved it, but since it only made about 6 pints, he hoarded it! He asked me to send him a care package over Christmas, and I sent a jar of this salsa. I paid extra for priority mail, but the box got smashed, along with the salsa. (He said it was a very messy box!). I promised him I would make more this year, and today that is what is on the stove top. I'm giving you my version of it, but it's close to the original recipe. So if you have a chilly afternoon, give this recipe a try, you will LOVE it!


Peach and Pear Chili Sauce (From Better Homes and Garden's New Grilling Book)

4 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes
4 medium pears (peeled, cored and diced)
4 medium peaches (peeled, pitted and diced)
3 medium green sweet peppers, chopped
4 small onions, diced
1 med. red sweet pepper, diced
1-3 seeded and chopped Serrano chile peppers
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Blanche tomatoes, peel and remove ends and cores. Cut into chunks, then combine the remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered for 2 hours until thick, stirring occasionally. Ladle hot sauce into jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Process in a boiling water canner for 25 minutes, remove from canner and cool on towels.

Back to work, 3 lost teeth, and a tooth fairy talk

Tuesday I received my first phone call to sub as a Para Educator. This is why I finished my degree last year and busted my tail for. The hope was to get a position at the kid's school, but there wasn't one open. So I filled out the paperwork to be put on the Substitute list. From there it's just a waiting game, hoping to get a call. Sometimes the subbing is prearranged, so I have advanced notice, sometimes it's a call at 7:20am the morning of. So Tuesday morning I got a phone call asking me to sub at the kid's school. I jumped at the chance. I have been volunteering in this building for the last 4 years, so I am familiar with the staff and procedures. Of course it's different when you are actually working, but it was nice to have knowledge of how things run at the school. I loved my first day at work. I worked in the Life Skills class with the special needs kids. Wow, what a learning curve for me! The kids were great! I got called to work in the same class on Wednesday, and had fun. Thursday I was asked to work in a kindergarten class, and then Friday I worked both kindergarten and Life Skills. I really am enjoying the work, and know this is what I want to do. What a relief!

So during this busy week, the kids lost 3 teeth..... AT SCHOOL! Nate lost two, two days in a row, and Lily lost one on Friday in the lunchroom (while I was there!). I knew Nate was getting suspicious about the tooth fairy, asking to set up surveillance cameras to really see if she was real. Then this morning he came to me, and this was our conversation.

Nate: Mom, can I talk to you in private?

Me: (freaking out) Ok. Lily can you go in the other room please.

Nate: Mom, what do you do with the teeth?

Me: What do you mean? (playing dumb)

Nate: I know it's you that puts the quarters under my pillow.

Me: How do you know this?

Nate: The kids at school say it's the parents and not the tooth fairy, and I saw you the other night. (He soooo did not!).

Me: Well...........You are right Nate, there is no tooth fairy. Thank you for having this talk in private, because Lily still believes in the tooth fairy.

Nate: So, what do you do with the teeth? (Like seriously Mom, that's all I wanted to know!).

Me: I keep them in the bathroom in a little bag.

Nate: Ok.

I'm fine with this, but now he's questioning the Easter Bunny! I knew this day was coming, but it's so much more fun when they don't question these things!

When it rains, it pours

Seriously! Things have been so crazy, that I missed Tasty Tuesday last week, and I can't think of anything today. Update on Grandma, she was getting better and they moved her out of ICU, then she coded during the night and they put in a temporary pace maker. Today they are hoping to put in a permanent one. Please keep her in your prayers today.
I have been canning away, finishing peaches for Grandma and Grandpa. Dan went tuna fishing over the weekend and brought home 300 pounds of tuna.....and a squid. Last night we had our first canning party and got a bunch of it vacuum packed and canned. Today Dan and I were going to bust out more canned tuna, but I got called to sub for a Para Educator at the school. (Whoo hoo, my first day of work!). Canning will have to wait until this afternoon.
Wish me luck and please keep Grandma in your prayers!

Peach Queen

I can't believe the price of fresh peaches this year! Back in the old days (when I managed a fruit stand) I sold peaches for $12 a box, and people thought that was high. My sister in law, Tiffani, went searching for peaches and the best deal she found was $22 a box. I always try to get peaches from Idaho because they are cheaper. One year we planned a trip to my Dad's over Labor Day weekend, and were fortunate that Dad's peaches were ready to can.

So these last few weeks I have been asking family and friends to pick up peaches for me if they are over on the East side of the mountains. I lucked out this week when a truck driver friend of mine called and said he was going through Idaho. He brought me 3 boxes of beautiful Hale peaches, and they came to $15 a box. (He will be rewarded with canned peaches!). The boxes were mostly green, but had a few peaches that were ripe, so I did a canner load last night, and then another tonight. (Note to self, make sure you have enough lids BEFORE you start canning!). Canned peaches on the counter are a beautiful thing!

Back in my glory days at the fruit stand, I sold hundreds of boxes of peaches each year. My produce supplier was amazed and started calling me the peach queen. Because I still can peaches every year, the nick name has stuck. My mom ordered me the labels for the canning jars, and I have a few different kinds. I love these big old fashioned labels. I have others that are small and say "from the queen of the kitchen".

So I'll be busy for the next couple of days, finishing all the peaches. Maybe I should save a few for peach pie! YUMM!

Contribute 2009

Scentsy has come up with a fabulous idea to help small businesses. They tried this in their own community this summer and had a tremendous impact on their local economy. They wanted to share this with the whole nation. The idea is that 100,000 people pledge to spend $50 on October 12th at a local family owned small business. This would put $5 million dollars into small business that are struggling right now.
I have made a pledge to do this, and I encourage all of you to do the same. Click on the link in the sidebar of the blog, and it will take you to the site to make your own pledge. Scentsy is also offering tee-shirts for $9 that promote Contribute 2009. In return for purchasing a shirt, Scentsy will send you a $10 coupon on your birthday to be used for Scentsy products. I hope you will help make a difference!